Whether or not you have diabetes, losing and then maintaining a healthy weight are crucial choices we have to make. We consider adequate weight management even more vital to the health of diabetes patients. Why? The obesity rate everywhere is increasing.
Weight Management Tips for People with Diabetes
According to the World Health Organization, most people with diabetes, especially type 2, are obese or overweight. Maintaining the right body weight can help your body to keep up with its need for insulin, reduce insulin resistance, restore your blood sugar numbers to an average level and even eliminate diabetes totally. In the long run, they are bound to have beneficial effects on your heart, blood pressure, and even reduction in complications.
Concentrate on Small Changes
One reason some diabetes patients haven’t been able to adequately manage their weight is that they set out to achieve unrealistic goals. It is safe and better to concentrate on minor changes you can uphold in the long run. Losing weight is one thing; maintaining the right weight after achieving your goal is another. Some patients go on extreme diets and exercise, which are unsustainable in the long run because they cannot be maintained. The healthy habits you begin today can help your weight management for a lifetime.
Be Active
Many people manage their weight through their diets alone–this shouldn’t be so. Physical activities and exercise can help you regulate your weight and improve your insulin sensitivity. It would help if you incorporated physical activities into your routine to shed excess weight and even keep it off. These activities don’t suggest sweating it out at the gym.
Simple activities such as walking around your house, watching less TV, adding more steps to your primary means of transportation, jogging, running, and other forms of aerobic exercises can make a vast difference. You can also practice strength and resistance training so that your body can use up calories and increase calories deficit.
Curtail Calories Consumption
Eating too many calories is bound to raise blood glucose levels. Reports have shown that a low-calorie diet can put your blood sugar level back on track. You can cut calorie intake by reducing high-calorie snacks, eating calorie foods in bits (instead of consuming at once), going for calories alternatives, and checking out the numbers of calories per serving of packaged foods (which can be found on nutritional labels).
You don’t have to stop eating calories per se, in fact, your diet must contain calories. However, you can opt for healthier calories and fats, eat less processed meat or red meat, cut down on added sugar, limit refined carbohydrates, reduce soft and alcoholic drinks and eat less salt.
Eat Healthy Meals
A healthy diet is fundamental to managing your weight, and diabetic condition. A healthy diet can prevent, manage and even reverse diabetes. Eating healthy meals does not mean depriving you of what to eat or sticking with bland foods. It means eating a well-balanced diet and having a healthy meal plan.
Diet rich in veggies, fruits really can improve your energy, mental clarity, and digestion, this opinion is specifically confirmed by Kathy Shattler, MS, RDN. It is also crucial that you program your eating, eat at regularly set times and keep records of what you eat–these are excellent strategies.
You can start eating healthier by taking a look online on sites like Proper Good, which may give you great recipe ideas.
Keep Tabs on Everything You Do
Tracking all you do on your weight management journey by writing all the information on your trip, either with the traditional pen and paper or with the aid of online applications, can help in the long run. You will decide on healthy targets, identify patterns and changes, keep track of your diet and enable you to stick to a healthy weight management plan. Apart from serving as motivation and source of inspiration, it will also help you score and appreciate your progress.
Drink Water
Staying hydrated with water is vital for healthy weight loss management. Dehydration and diabetes go hand-in-hand. Water enhances your digestive system, eliminates fats and waste from the body, and naturally suppresses your appetite.
Keeping your weight in check is necessary but a significant part of diabetes care. It should be at the peak of your to-do list. Even though losing weight can be extra challenging for someone with diabetes, it is possible–even the tiniest weight shedding can make a tremendous difference.
You should get the support you need too, as staying motivated in your weight management journey can be difficult. Also, connect with people and programs that can help with the motivation you need. What more is stopping you from getting started?