If you’ve been told you are diabetic or pre-diabetic you’ve probably been told to lose weight and take more exercise.  That’s the story I hear most from my clients.  Some of them have also been told to monitor their blood sugar, but not many.  While these are important factors, I believe that it’s not that simple, there are other areas that often don’t get the attention they need to truly transform your future health. I’m talking about energy.

Not just the physical energy we get from food, I mean the energy that flows through us as we live, breathe and make choices each day.  This energy is as much spiritual and emotional as it is physical. 

When it flows through our body in the way that it’s meant to, it brings us forward, helping us reach a place of health and balance.  When it’s blocked by stress, limiting beliefs, or unhealthy habits, it can hold us back, preventing us from living life to the full whatever age we are.

Your path to wellbeing begins by tuning into the energy within you, understanding the blocks that might be holding you back, and unlocking your true health potential.

Through my work as a nutritional therapist, energy expert, and former diabetes nurse, I’ve come to see how deeply our physical, emotional, and spiritual energies impact diabetes management. By balancing my four pillars of health – eating, drinking, moving, and thinking – I believe we can create an accessible approach that brings out the best in all of us.

Eating: Truly Nourishing Your Body

Of course, what we eat fuels our body physically, however, it also has a really significant impact on our energy.  Many people with Type 2 diabetes feel overwhelmed by what they should and shouldn’t be eating, often focusing on losing weight through dieting. While losing weight is part of diabetes management we also need to nourish both body and spirit.  Food needs to be a pleasure, not a chore.

When you eat carefully – choosing foods that nourish you rather than leave you depleted – you begin to feel different, you experience a different kind of energy. Eating plenty of protein, foods rich in fibre, and keeping healthy fats, for example, can support a healthy blood sugar balance, and these foods will also provide a steadier, more sustained energy through the day as well as a better night’s sleep. Imagine how much more alive and ready for action you feel after eating a healthy meal with protein, vegetables and some healthy carbohydrates compared to a quick sugar fix or a carb-heavy meal.

The energy you create when you eat healthy food is not only physical, it aligns with a more radiant, grounded version of yourself.  People around you start to notice it, it emanates from your very core.

To work with food as energy, I encourage you to tune in to how food affects you. Listen to your body, your mind, and your mood and take note of how they are influenced by each meal.  When you feel sluggish after a meal, ask yourself if it’s from the food you’ve eaten, the amount you ate, or whether there is some kind of emotional pattern at play.

With this awareness, you’re no longer simply feeding your body but rather connecting with your inner energy in a way that begins to support true change.

Drinking: It’s All About Flow

Water is life-giving, it makes up about 75% of your body.  Maintaining hydration is key for everyone, however, for people with diabetes, it is absolutely vital.  Just imagine for a moment water made into syrup by adding sugar, it gets thicker, and stickier, now add some water and it becomes more fluid again. 

I know it sounds simple doesn’t it, now think of blood in the same way, add sugar to it and it gets thicker, it becomes harder for the heart and blood vessels to move it around, add water (by drinking it) and it starts flowing more freely.  Keeping it simple, water is possibly the most important thing you can do for your body when you have been told you are on a journey towards diabetes. 

By staying hydrated you are helping the body to move the blood around more easily, clear waste and move vitamins, minerals and nutrients in and out of the cells for energy.

That’s the basics, then you have the way water impacts your metabolism, just 500ml can increase your metabolism by 30%.

Dehydration also affects the way our brain works, water helps to increase the energy through electrical pathways in the brain so you think more clearly and feel more energised.

When you resist drinking that glass of water remember why it’s a good idea. Each glass of water can be a reminder to let go of stagnant energy and make room for better mood, energy and flow. Before you drink, take a moment to pause, breathe, and think about what you want that water to do for you. 

When you hydrate well, you’re not just supporting cellular health and blood sugar stability – you’re allowing energy to move more freely throughout your body.

Moving: Let’s Shift The Momentum And The Mood

Exercise has become something we do in the gym or go to classes for, as opposed to simply getting moving. Movement gets the energy flowing around your body, the blood, the fluids, the nutrients, and the waste products.  Movement even shifts the way hormones behave but somehow it’s all become about “exercise” and not about getting moving.

Movement doesn’t need to be intense to be effective. Even gentle activities like walking, stretching, or yoga can help you shift your energy, letting go of what’s holding you back and creating a sense of openness and freedom in your body.  

There is a Chinese saying “Walk 100 steps after a meal, and live to 99.” This traditional wisdom reflects the belief that a gentle walk after eating can promote digestion, support longevity, and improve overall health.  It’s one of the things I suggest to my clients with diabetes.  Why not give it a try?

A Real Story For You

I remember hearing a story from a Diabetes Consultant a few years ago.  He had a diabetic client in his office who was clearly very overweight with very high blood sugar.  He asked if there was a staircase at the man’s office.  “Yes,” he replied.  The doctor suggested he climb one step when he arrived at the office each day and then asked him to return to see him in 3 weeks.  The client was confused.  However, when he returned 3 weeks later, he gleefully told the Consultant that he could now climb the whole staircase.  He was super proud of himself.

This is a real story, one that it’s worth taking note of.  We all have to start somewhere.  Start small and get consistent.  Even if you are in a chair and can’t get out, you can still do it,  lift your feet, raise your arms, turn your body.

I encourage you to think of movement not as something you have to do, but something that creates a flow of energy throughout your body.  Whether it’s a walk, a yoga class, or even a few minutes of stretching in a chair, notice how moving can shift your emotions and mental wellbeing. Perhaps you feel lighter, more open, or more connected to yourself and others afterwards.

By thinking of movement as a way to release stuck energy, it becomes less about “burning calories” and more about feeling alive, giving you a greater sense of freedom. This subtle shift can change the way you experience movement, making it less of a chore and more of an enjoyable practice that you look forward to.

Thinking: Internal Thoughts And Energy

The final pillar is, I think, super powerful in giving us the energy to make changes towards better health.  Our thoughts have such a profound impact on our energy and therefore on how we behave towards ourselves and others.  They can be positive and supportive or restrictive. They can be nurturing or depleting.  For those managing diabetes, limiting beliefs can easily slip in, the voice in our head whispering that one chocolate bar won’t hurt, that we can’t change the habits of a lifetime, or that one mistake means we might as well give up.

When I’m working with clients, we look at ways to shift these energy-draining thought patterns and think of ways to change things that fit with daily life. We then look at how you personally might be able to make it work. By making a clear plan and finding the language to support it, you can begin to see diabetes management as an opportunity for better health rather than a weight on your shoulders.  It becomes a way to connect more deeply with yourself, to understand how your body works, how it gives you energy and vitality and how it processes sugar to support that.  It’s important to notice that internal dialogue – be kind to yourself, forgive yourself for the mishaps and get back on track.  We are none of us perfect.

Developing a mindset that supports progress is really important.  Remember, the energy you put into your thoughts can move you forward or it can keep you in a place that makes no sense, stuck somewhere that you feel tired, uncomfortable, unsatisfied and quite honestly, unwell. When that little voice in your head says you can’t answer it straight back and say “I can and I will.”

Stepping Into Your Energy

As you can see, I believe that managing diabetes goes far beyond diet and exercise; it’s about learning to listen to your body, taking notice of your unique energy patterns and then learning to work with them to nourish your mind, body, and spirit.

By considering the four pillars – eating, drinking, moving, and thinking – you can start to step into your power, clearing blockages and allowing your energy to flow towards better health.

It’s not about perfection; it’s simply a gentle daily commitment to yourself: listening to what you need and honouring that with small, consistent actions.

I know that you have it in you to do this, I’ve seen it happen with my clients. When you learn to tune in to your energy, to nourish it, and to give it space to grow, you unlock something that can support every aspect of your life, including your health. Remember, this path is unique to you – by taking small steps each day to connect with your own energy, you will learn to believe in yourself.

I have a resource that you will find useful and supports this article. You can click to download it here.