Taking charge of any part of your life means adjustments in your normal routine. Some are easy, while others may be a bit more challenging. To help prepare, complete the following statements.

If You Can Think It, You Can Be It
An important step to managing your blood glucose is the ability to visualize success. Take a moment to consider each of the following images. Pause on each before moving on to the next. Give yourself time to let the thought sink in, become a part of how you think of yourself. Once the image is clear in your mind, go to the next thought and do it again.
Picture yourself with controlled blood glucose & mdash; healthier than you’ve ever been & mdash; looking forward to the day with enthusiasm and optimism for what lies ahead.

See yourself moving through the day & mdash; confident you know what to do about your blood glucose levels. You’re able to accomplish more and achieve greater personal satisfaction.

Imagine a lifestyle where you control your blood glucose levels, not because you have to, but because it’s what you want to do. Managing your blood glucose helps you feel better about yourself and makes you a role model for family and friends & mdash; and you’re proud of that.

How did that feel? It is possible to visualize yourself in control of your blood glucose, isn’t it? If doubts creep back in your mind, return to this exercise to imagine success again and again.

Researchers from Osaka University Medical School in Japan studied 60 overweight men with high blood pressure. The first group consumed a low-calorie diet for 24 weeks. Meanwhile, the second group participated in aerobic exercise for one hour everyday. The last group dieted and exercised. Researchers measured the participants’ body mass index (BMI), fat percentage and blood pressure every two weeks for two months.

After 12 weeks, BMI fell 17 percent in the diet-plus-exercise group, 14 percent in the exercise alone group and 12 percent in the diet alone group. Fat percentage dropped 25 percent in the diet-and-exercise group, 27 percent in the exercise only group and 9 percent in the diet only group. Blood pressure in the combination group dropped the most, followed by the exercise group.

After 24 weeks, BMI decreased an extra 4 percent in the exercise only group. It fell 2 percent in both the diet alone and combination groups. Lead researcher Kazuko Masuo, M.D., Ph.D., from Osaka University Medical School, says exercise burns fat and reduces insulin levels, which lowers blood pressure. A low-calorie diet also reduces insulin levels. Dr. Masuo hopes the findings, presented this week at the 55th Annual Fall Conference of the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure, will convince doctors to inform patients diet-plus exercise is the most effective method to lower blood pressure.