Control Diabetes with Weight Loss and Exercise

About 90% of people with diabetes suffer from Type 2 Diabetes or what is known as “obesity-related diabetes mellitus.” Additionally, statistics show that nine out of ten people diagnosed with diabetes are overweight.

Controlling diabetes may have a lot to do with controlling your weight. Since a person’s metabolism is directly related with the maintenance of normal levels of blood glucose in your body, managing your diabetes through weight loss and exercise may be effective as a treatment option. In fact, several experts advice weight loss and exercise as a method of managing diabetes.

Why Lose Weight and Exercise?

Ever heard of “cardio metabolic risk”? It simply means that if you have several metabolic problems at once – overweight, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure – you have a higher risk of developing serious complications like heart disease. Losing weight and exercising regularly will help improve these conditions and lower down your cardio metabolic risk of developing other more serious conditions.

Fat and Obesity

Obesity is more likely to occur in people with diabetes. In fact, researchers believe that being obese or overweight is a leading risk factor for diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes. You will know whether you have a healthy weight or not by measuring your body mass index or BMI.

Being overweight means having a BMI of 25. On the other hand, if you have a BMI of 30, the condition is no longer mere overweight but obesity. Either way, this means that you have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes as well as other cardio metabolic conditions.  

In addition to your weight, another important risk factor that you might want to look into is the location of your fat deposits. Researchers have observed that if a person’s fats are deposited in the middle of his torso or around the middle (“apple-shaped” figure) this raises his risk for heart disease and other related conditions.

High Blood Pressure

Just as obesity and type 2 diabetes are closely related, these conditions also go hand-in-hand with high blood pressure. Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure can increase your chances of developing heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.

Out of all persons with diabetes, 40% of them have high blood pressure, leading to stroke.

High Cholesterol

Your body needs sources of energy in order to perform its regular functions and these sources of energy include glucose and fats (lipids). When you have too much glucose in your blood, your body will automatically store these as fats in your body so that when you need them in the future, your body will release the hormone adrenaline which will in turn stimulate the release of glucose from these fat molecules.

Now, some of these fats are turned into cholesterol, both HDL (or the good cholesterol) and LDL (or the bad cholesterol). If you have higher LDL levels in your blood but lower good cholesterol levels, then your risk of getting of stroke is higher as well.

All three conditions are related through one common denominator – your weight. By controlling this aspect of your body’s health, then you have a better fighting chance against diabetes and live a fuller life.

1-2 Weight Loss Plan

The first thing you need to know about losing weight is that many people try it but very few succeeded in keeping weight off. The reasons are varied. Some people are trying to lose too much weight too fast. Others are trying to follow a diet plan that doesn’t reflect how they eat long term. How do you succeed in something where so many others have failed?

Reality check: Losing weight is a healthy risk that you want to take because you want to improve your condition. There is no easy way to go about it so don’t try to find any. Otherwise, you may end up losing weight fast and gaining it back even way faster.

Below are three simple steps – well, not really steps but more like reminders – to help you keep to your weight loss plan:

Set Your Goals

Remember that the key to a successful weight loss plan is to be realistic. Set realistic goals for yourself.

For instance, you may start by thinking that you want to lose five or ten pounds. However, don’t stop there. Weight loss isn’t just about losing weight but about keeping them off.

Here are some tips:

Time – Be sure to choose a time when you can start your weight loss plan with the least possible distractions.

Food – What and when you eat is an important aspect of your weight loss plan, obviously, so do a self-check of your eating habits before you start. It helps if you keep food records for about a week before starting with your weight loss plan. You don’t need any reminders to be honest.

Be Ready – This is standard procedure. Your food habits will have to be changed once your weight loss plan starts so be ready. You may have to say goodbye to some of your favorite indulgences in foods which are unhealthy.

Physical Activity – Diet is only one part of your weight loss plan. Being active physically comprises the other.

Making that Lifestyle Change

When you are serious about losing some weight as an affective diabetes management plan, then you must be prepared to make some lifestyle changes. You have already set your goals for your weight loss plan and have gone through some tips to help you determine what these goals are. Now is the time for you to determine how ready you are to make those changes necessary to ensure success in your weight loss venture.

Here are the tips:

How much should you eat to eat healthy?

Ask your dietician for some advice on what foods are good for diabetes. Generally, you can never go wrong with foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Observe a proper diet of fruits and vegetables well balanced with meat.

Is your refrigerator and pantry clear of tempting items?

Self-discipline is an essential part of weight loss. However, sometimes you may have cravings that are difficult to contain. Do yourself a favor and remove any tempting items from your kitchen.

Have you stacked the house with healthier foods?

Once you have removed the tempting items from your kitchen, replace them with stacks of foods that are better for your health and more conducive to the success of your weight loss plan. Keeping a good stack of fruits and vegetables in the fridge will make it easier for you to eat them.

Exercise and Stay Active

Exercise and staying physically active will have a synergistic effect on your weight loss plan. After all, as already mentioned, diet only makes up one part of your diabetes management. For the most effective method, you need both diet and exercise to control your weight, which in turn leads to better diabetes management.

However, for the diabetic person, too much exercise may prove to be too strenuous. So how do you know when enough is enough?

The good news is that the federal government regularly puts out the Dietary Guidelines for Americans where they publish suggestions on how much activity Americans should aim for.

Dietary Guidelines

According to the Guidelines, people with pre-diabetes (those who suffer most of the risk factors of diabetes but do not have the condition), diabetes, and the adult public in general should set a goal of 30 minutes minimum on most days for doing any of the following physical activities:

• Walking
• Gardening
• Doing yard work
• Swimming
• Cleaning the house
• Or anything that increases your heart rate and causes you to break a sweat

Children or teenagers, on the other hand, are advised to aim for 60 minutes every day.

And now for the Steps;

First, get your doctor’s OK – This is important since most people with diabetes or pre-diabetes have heart or other diabetes-related problems. Consult your doctor for his opinion on some safe exercises that you can perform.

Get Started – The best way to do a successful exercise plan is to find an activity that you enjoy doing. Believe it or not, your enthusiasm for an activity can be a huge factor to ensure that your exercise plan is successful.

But when you choose your activity, you should also consider another factor – that is, whether it fits with your schedule or not. A suggestion would be to choose two activities – one that you can do outside when the weather permits and one that you can do indoors in case of bad weather.

And really, that is all to exercising, because getting started is the only difficult part of the whole deal. Once you are through the first step, then you are on your way to enjoying a healthy, full life even with diabetes.