Type 2 Diabetes – Seattle – Beyond Type 2

Often when a type 2 diagnosis is presented, the patient is sent to an eight hour class. The class covers exchanges in food, which is the correct portion size a diabetic should have every single time, and how to monitor that with different foods, vitamins, and water, how to exercise, and how to take medication. Usually the patient attends this class one day after the diagnosis is presented.

Since the information presented to the patient is new it creates a huge learning curve and they are expected to learn in all in one day. The class is multi-faceted including exercise, medication, food, insulin if needed, sleep, foot care, and what can happen if you don’t control your diabetes. Often times scare tactics are used, which are definitely motivators but not the way it should happen the day after the patient is diagnosed.

My comprehensive program Beyond Type 2 Diabetes is eight weeks long and covers the psychology, education, and exercise components.

I start out with an entire day on the psychology of the diagnosis. I ask these questions:

• When did you get diagnosed?
• What was your reaction?
• How has your reaction changed today?
• Where do think you’ll be ten years from now?
• What are your biggest worries?
• What are your biggest woes?

I don’t teach about diabetes because no one would be interested. The program is about the patients’ experiences and supporting each other in the process. My focus is always on the patient and their experience.

Every day that we have class, there is a check-in. I ask questions such as:

• How did you do this week?
• How did you feel this week?
• Was it a good week or a bad week?
• What are you coming up against psychologically?

The classes have a component of education to determine what people know and if there is any discord with that information and veering off into “I know I can’t eat sugar”, then I will gently bring them back to the research studies that have taken place that allow sugar in the diabetic diet. I take a very scientific approach. For example, I teach about what the pancreas is doing in a diabetic, which enables understanding exactly what the body is doing with food when food is eaten.

Most programs do not have the psychology component and they don’t combine the psychology portion with fitness. The combination of psychology with fitness works well because the patient is doing it. They understand the science of it and actually perform with the knowledge of what is actually going on with their bodies. Psychologically there’s a huge release of energy through the exercise and the huge release of the psyche and stress through the group. The patient is not only losing weight, but losing mental weight as well and in the process becoming more and more empowered.

A Typical Beyond Type 2 Evening
Group Setting – snacks and water are provided. In the group room, check-in occurs to see how things are going. The first week is spent on psychology, who are you with this diagnosis, who are you without this diagnosis, and who will you be with this diagnosis.

Workbook Exercises – this is about your own process, struggles, and successes throughout diabetes and beyond type 2. The goal is to figure out where you are with this diagnosis, where do you want to be, and what your goals are.
Group Closing – the group session closes.
Before Exercise – check blood sugar and weigh in. Confidentiality is kept and the numbers are not revealed.
Change into exercise clothes and exercise – gentle and motivating, fun, music, and camaraderie
Snack before driving home
Check blood sugar again

Other times you come in for exercise, group, or one-on-one sessions. Support group is offered once a week. One-on-one is every other week and is based on each patient’s struggles and successes as individuals and how they are doing with the group. The goal is to lower A1C and go beyond type 2 diabetes.

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