Objective: to determine the relationship between biological, psychological and sociocultural personal factors, perceived barriers, family support behaviors, modeling of family members, neighborhood surroundings, and the lifestyle practice for type 2 diabetes (T2D), in recently diagnosed patients. Method: descriptive, correlational, cross sectional study, non-probabilistic sampling, and a sample of 130 people between the ages of 20 and 50 was used. Seven validated instruments and a sociodemographic data sheet were used. The data were collected from patients with T2D attending two public health centers, those who were diagnosed ≤ 2 years were invited to participate in the study. The data was analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, (SPSS) version 21. Results: the average age was 44.40 years (SD= 5.69), and schooling of 8.98 years (SD= 4.60), 60.8% were female (79). The final model F (2,127) = 13.68, p < .001, R2 = 16%), showed that perceived barriers and the health center were significant to explain lifestyle practices. More perceived barriers had a negative effect on lifestyle practices, while participants from the urban center showed more lifestyle practices. Conclusion: Less perceived barriers showed more lifestyle practices.