6 Ways to Help Diabetics Lose Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is important for everyone. It is especially important for those suffering from diabetes.

Excess body fat in diabetic increase body’s resistance to insulin and make it difficult to control blood sugar level.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), 90 percent of people suffering from diabetes are overweight or obese⁽¹⁾. Research shows, higher body mass index increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes⁽²⁾

If someone has diabetes, choosing the wrong diet would cause harm. Diabetic should avoid weight loss pills and a starvation diet.

The right way to lose weight is to incorporate a healthy diet into the overall management plan of diabetes.

6 Ways to Help Diabetics Lose Weight

Set Small and Realistic Goals

Setting strict goals would make you lose the track easily. Focus on changes that you can maintain for long.
Drastic diets and extreme exercise do not work for anyone and they soon leave it.
Do not try to transform the body all at once. Set small realistic targets such as walking around or having desserts only on weekends. As you get adapted to these habits, raise the bar.

Get Active

Diet is an important factor to lose weight but exercise is also important to keep the pounds off over time.
The research found that people who increase physical activity and reduce calorie intake reduce more body fat than people who only diet⁽³⁾
A study done in 2019 found exercise is more important than diet for weight loss management⁽⁴⁾
A moderate exercise of 150 minutes per week or 30 minutes for 5 days in a week should be done for sure.

Schedule Meals, Including Breakfast

Most people skip breakfast. This leads to overeating later in the day.
This can sabotage the weight loss plan and cause a fluctuation in the blood sugar level.
Eating breakfast everyday keeps up the energy levels and helps you stay active throughout the day.
A diabetic diet involves three meals a day for the better use of insulin in the body. These meals should be taken regularly.
The breakfast should include fiber-rich and healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruits, and low-fat dairy. It helps in keeping blood sugar levels in check.

Cut Down On Calories

Consuming too many calories and fat can raise the blood glucose level. Cutting down calories can help in losing weight as well.
It is good to consult a dietician to figure out a diet plan that works for lifestyle, goal, and taste. It can help find the right number of calories depending on body type, activity level, and weight, and help manage blood sugar levels as well.

Fiber Intake

When you cut down on calories, you feel hungry after a short while. For this, you need to increase fiber intake. Fiber is the plant-based carbohydrate that slows down the digestion process while moving through the system. This helps control the blood sugar level.
Food that is high in fiber is low on calories, so a larger volume can be consumed keeping the calorie count low. People who eat more fiber are able to stick more to a lower calorie diet and lose more weight.⁽⁵⁾
There are different fiber-rich foods including whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts that can be incorporated in a diabetic diet.

Keep A Track Of The Progress

Noting down details of the weight loss help set targets and notice patterns. This way any progress would be noticed.
Write down all the foods you eat including the serving sizes.

How To Prevent Overeating?

There are a few strategies that can help you prevent overeating.

Eat low-calorie food. Start the meal with the food on your plate that has the lowest number of calories. By the time you reach the other food your hunger would have calmed.
Keep yourself busy. When you are idle you eat more. Keep yourself busy with activities like walking, knitting, gardening, or doing crossword puzzles.
Brushing teeth with peppermint-flavored toothpaste also dampens the desire to eat.
It is important to eat healthily and exercise regularly even after reaching weight loss goals. If you are a diabetic make sure you eat healthy and timely to keep the weight and the blood sugar at normal levels.

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6 Ways to Help Diabetics Lose Weight