In order to live a healthier life, it is important to maintain a healthy weight. Long periods of physical inactivity and eating damaging foods can lead to unwanted weight gain. This load burdens the body enough to affect its functions. Shedding those extra pounds is necessary to make your body function better, and you feel better.
When you have Diabetes, one factor that may hold you back from losing weight – insulin sensitivity. Insulin is responsible for metabolizing sugar (glucose) in the body. The excess influx of sugar makes your body to stop burning fat and utilize the sugar instead. When fat stores increase, losing weight becomes tougher.*
For people suffering from Diabetes, the best way to manage your life is to lose some extra weight. The key is to embrace a perfect balance between your blood sugar levels and your dietary habits.
One of the researches showed that a 7% weight loss increases insulin sensitivity by 57%, as observed by the medical director of the Obesity Clinical Program at Joslin Diabetes Centre.*
There isn’t a single right way to lose weight but a combination of ways to make you successful in your venture.
Cutting carbohydrates is the most effective
Carbohydrates affect the pancreas’ capacity to produce insulin. Someone suffering from Diabetes already faces problems in insulin production. Hence, carbs should not constitute more than 45% of the diet.*
Studies also show that a low-carb diet eventually reduces your appetite and makes losing weight an effortless task. *Lower carbs also mean a lower blood sugar level, lower blood pressure,etc.*
You need some fat
Many people go about skipping fatty meals and cutting off their fat intake in order to reduce weight. As a result, they end up consuming more carbohydrates for their daily allowances. Thus, increasing their carbohydrates which is the opposite of what should be done.
The following benefits of consuming fat (in limited amounts and the right type of fat) should be enough to convince you.
- Fat helps you feel full: Foods containing fat take a longer time to digest as compared to carbohydrate-rich foodstuff. Consequently, you will feel fuller for a longer time if you consume some portion of healthy fats along with your meals.
- Fat tastes satisfactory: Humans are inclined to consume foodstuffs that taste better. You believe it or not, fat is added to make things better and a small amount of it does no harm. If it’s the healthy fat, you can occasionally include it in your diet.
Healthy fats: Unsaturated fats are usually considered heart-healthy. Food items like Avocados, Cheese, Dark Chocolate, Whole eggs, Fatty fish, Nuts, Chia seeds, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, etc. are considered to be very healthy.
Maintain a Calorie Count- Lower Your Calorie Intake
When you’re asked to keep a track of your calorie intake, you’re not supposed to go nuts about counting each and every calorie. However, maintaining a daily total close to a similar figure is required. A Diabetic person is usually required to take 1500 to 1800 calories per day, to promote weight loss.* However, the figures may vary depending upon your age, lifestyle, sex, etc.
People who are obese may initially be required to consume more calories, as a bigger body requires more fuel. A low-calorie diet may induce a weight loss which is too fat for them and isn’t healthy.
Note: One important thing to keep in mind is that switching to a low-calorie count should not be a result of skimped protein intake. Protein is essential to maintain muscles and maximize your potential to burn calories.
Lesser protein leads to the loss of muscle- which in turn is considered to contribute to long-term weight gain.
About 20-30% of your diet should consist of proteins. Food items like Lean Meat, Poultry, Fish, Beans, Legumes, Soy products, Tofu, etc. are very rich in proteins.
You can also use a number of weight loss products for diabetes, if your diet and physical routine is too slow to give any results. Most of these products are designed to provide the results faster, however, you will still need to continue you diet and exercise regime.
Diabetes and Sweets
The amount of sugars you can consume depends on factors like:
- Physical activity
- Trying to lose weight or maintaining a healthy weight
- Blood sugar levels
If you’re not aware of your condition, you should not try and determine your intake yourself, thinking that a bit of sugar does no harm. Many things labeled as “sugar-free” but are not exactly what they claim. They contain carbohydrates and calories which affect your blood sugar. A dietician can appropriately suggest you personalized goals and diet for the same.
To reduce your sugar intake, you can definitely go for sugar substitutes which are low or no-calorie alternatives and have a very little or no effect on blood sugar. Before purchasing one, it is still recommended to check the nutritional details.
If you have a soft corner for drinks and Diabetes comes in your way, you can try out some Diabetic Supplement Drinks. They are prepared with the same underlying principle- to substitute sugar and stabilize blood sugar levels.
Pair your diet with its partner- Exercise!
It is inevitable to say that exercising is the most obvious step in your weight loss journey. Any sort of physical activity will make a difference and will count. Be it aerobics, walking or jogging, swimming or a proper strength training routine- every exercise counts. It is very important to burn calories as you keep consuming more each day. The body does not require such a huge stock of the same and hence, it is better burnt off.
If you’re too eager to burn calories, you can supplement your meals with a Dybesweet Rose Sabja – Natural Fat Burner Milkshake. It will induce the mechanism of burning calories and show quicker results.
Also, you can try pairing your protein consumption with the kind of workout you decide. Food items that are rich in protein should be consumed sometime near your workout- either before or as a post-workout meal. This makes the best use of muscular strength and also enables recovery at the same time.
Summing up
Being diagnosed with Diabetes type 1 ensures the usage of additional insulin. However, if you have type 2 Diabetes there are a number of lifestyle changes that can help you reverse the effects of it on your body. Almost all of these changes point towards a healthier and active life. If you wish to switch to a healthier life, you need to maintain a healthy weight and shed off the extra load your body is carrying. Being diabetic does affect your weight loss journey, however, it still is very achievable. All you need is to embrace the new lifestyle and keep following it consistently. Eating healthily and staying physically active should last a lifetime and not just for a phase. This will make losing weight an effortless task, almost as if you’re not supposed to put some extra ‘efforts’, it will come naturally.
