Holiday Lifestyle or Lifestyle Holiday

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Diabetics across the nation are preparing to live the holiday season, and there are life choices to be made. With holidays approaching, people get excited about taking breaks and spending time with loved ones.  Some feel the pressures of preparation.  If you have diabetes, you may have bigger decisions to make than the rest of the population.

As holidays arrive, the homes fill with presents and the table tops fill with sugar.  While some people are deciding between peppermint and chocolate, diabetics are making a more important lifestyle choice.  If you guessed that choice is “do I eat sweets?”, then you are not privy to the entire picture.  The diabetic decision is to not change and ignore their condition, or to choose a path of longer life, and a life with a much higher quality.

The decision of life is what Dr. Wayne Woo preaches to all of his patients.  His passion around this mission has changed the way he interacts with his patients and the diabetic community as a whole.  Dr. Woo volunteers his time to spearhead important programs and events open to the diabetic community.  He hosts several festivals focused on diabetic education and he, his wife Pat Woo, his family and staff join together to cook feasts for his patients and their friends to demonstrate how delicious a healthy life style can be.  Vendors arrive and set up stations to demonstrate the latest technologies, and the banquet room is converted into a conference hall where educational sessions are held for the entire group.

Dr. Woo, who has been nationally recognized as one of three Diabetic Educators of the Year, has also been piloting a combination program for his patients.  It is like a “The Biggest Loser” program, but tailored for diabetics.  It combines diet, exercise and close monitoring, and it has helped a few patients facing the “life style” decision to turn their life around, and with it their quality of living and life expectancy.  Participants have benefited from significant weight loss and improved cardiovascular health in addition to psychological benefits.

The holidays are approaching.  If you know someone with diabetes, and you see them avoiding sweets, know that diet is just one of the smaller choices that are part of the larger choice — choosing life.  We choose to eat healthily, exercise and reduce our stress because we choose to enjoy life, enjoy our families and be with them for as many years to come as our life grants us.  It just doesn’t make life sense to cut our time with loved ones short.

Dr. Wayne Woo is an Endocrinologist, not just a General Practitioner, and is the most recognized Diabetes Educator in the area.  His 10000 square foot facility is used regularly to host events and showcase life style choices for patients with diabetes and other endocrine related diseases and disorders.

The Diabetes and Endocrine Institute is located just off of Lakeland Drive next to The Courthouse gym in Flowood.  New patients can call (601) 932-1223 to set up an appointment or to arrange an initial consultation. You can visit their website at www.diabetesandendocrineinstitute.org or by going to www.drwoo.org.