7 Essential Tips for Successfully Losing Weight with Diabetes

Losing weight can be challenging for anyone.

But if you follow the 4 golden rules of eat right, exercise right, sleep right and stress light or rather eliminate stress – then diabetes or no diabetes – losing weight is 100% possible. 

Effective Ways for Successfully Losing Weight with Diabetes

Try to follow these tips – they might be useful for you to lose weight even with diabetes.

1) Move your body

Exercising every day not only keeps your blood sugar stable but also helps in losing weight with type 2 diabetes. Working out makes the body more sensitive to the insulin hormone, which plays the most vital role in blood sugar management. 

In addition, if a person practices cardio training like jogging, swimming, or regularly skipping, it will significantly increase the body’s insulin sensitivity while also helping weight loss. 

If you are not sure where to start, you can try to incorporate these simple exercises in your daily life.

• Brisk walking for 30 minutes a day
• Cycling at a moderate pace for 30-60 minutes
• Swimming
• Weight lifting
• Practising yoga

Furthermore, apart from losing weight with diabetes, there are multiple benefits of exercising. Physical activity also lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.

2) Drink Water Before Every Meal

The super simple thing to do is drink enough water throughout the day, as it plays a crucial role in weight management. It not only is calorie free but also helps to improve the metabolism of your body. A study shows that water intake can reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes in most patients. 

Furthermore, drinking water before every meal will make you feel fuller and, in turn, reduce your appetite. Consuming lesser calories in each meal will ultimately lead to weight loss.

Moreover, choosing water over sugar-rich drinks such as cold drinks, packaged fruit juices, etc. will help to control the rising sugar level in your bloodstream.

However, if you are drinking water to lose weight with type 2 diabetes, there is no specific recommended amount. Make sure to drink enough water to maintain your hydration balance.

3) A Balanced Diet Plan is key

Eating a well-balanced diet and maintaining a normal body weight are important for everyone. However, for type 2 diabetes patients it is even more crucial because most of the time, the condition is linked to being overweight.

According to the American Diabetes Association, the diabetes diet should be in a proportion,

• 50% of the plate must include non starchy vegetables, you can add vegetables like gourd, and green leafy vegetables.
• 25% of the plate may have healthy whole grains like wheat, ragi or brown rice. 
• In the rest 25% of the plate one must add lean protein, such as chicken, or fish. Vegetarians can include paneer, tofu, or dals and pulses.

Additionally, people with diabetes must avoid:

•  Sugary beverages like carbonated drinks, canned juice and food that has high sugar content in it, like cakes, ladoo, candies, halwa, etc.

• Foods that have high carbohydrate content in them, like white bread, white pasta
• Saturated fats (like butter, ghee, cream)  and trans fats – hydrogenated oils

4) Your screens need a break too!

If you are eating in front of a screen or book, then your mind remains focused on these distractions. These can make you eat more. Furthermore, the brain will never feel satisfied even after eating. Therefore, even if you are full, the brain will start craving more food, and that will lead to overeating.

Losing weight with type 2 diabetes will be much easier with attentive eating. However, you can try drinking water or herbal tea while watching TV instead of eating junk foods to avoid harmful calorie intake.

5) Keep a Food Log

Do you remember what you ate last Thursday afternoon? Do you know how many calories you consumed after drinking one glass of a cold drink yesterday? Keeping a tab on what you are eating is very important if you are trying to lose weight with type 2 diabetes.

As per a study, dietary tracking can be beneficial to diabetes patients who are trying to reduce weight. Furthermore, maintaining a food log not only helps you lose weight but also helps you understand what food is giving your blood glucose a spike. Therefore, you can adjust your meals as per this log to avoid any sudden rise in blood sugar levels.

To keep a food log, you can try old-fashioned notebook methods, that is, writing down what you have eaten. You can also use trusted Weight Loss Program like Fitterfly Weight Loss Program that helps you to keep a tab on your food intake easily.

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6) Walk After Every Meal

A 10 minute walk after eating a meal can go a long way to regulate blood sugar. A study goes to show that regular exercising can be effective for people suffering from type 2 diabetes, and walking is the most ancestral form of physical activity. 

Walking after a meal promotes healthy metabolism by stimulating the stomach and, therefore, aids weight loss. A study also shows that walking improves lower limb function and overall mobility. Another study shows that walking can improve acute glycemic control among diabetic patients. 

Try to walk for at least 10-15 minutes after each meal. It can do you a world of good.

7) Overeating is your biggest enemy

Sneaky overeating can prevent you from losing weight with diabetes. You can follow the following tips to avoid overeating and junk eating.

• Make sure to eat foods which are low in calories first. If you start every meal with low-calorie foods, then by the time you get to the high-calorie foods, you won’t be very hungry.
• Make sure to eat salads with certain veggies like cucumber, onion and tomatoes with each meal. These vegetables are not high in calories, and incorporating them into your daily meals will make you full enough.
• Most people who sit idle tend to overeat. Therefore, try to keep your hands busy with various activities like knitting, sewing, drawing, etc.
• Diabetes patients tend to avoid all their favourite foods to control their blood sugar levels. This can lead to more cravings and you might end up doing more harm! So, do not ban all your favourite food even if you are trying to reduce weight in diabetes. Just focus on eating nutrition-rich foods in every meal. You can talk to our expert nutritionists who will give you a personalized diet plan where you can eat everything you love and still keep your glucose levels in check. It’s totally possible!

FitterTake

Diabetes and obesity make your body more prone to other conditions, such as heart conditions, high blood pressure, kidney conditions and even nerve damage. Shedding a few extra kilograms from your body weight will also prevent you from the risk of other health conditions, not just diabetes.

We know it’s easier said than done but #WorryNot, we are here for you. Fitterfly’s programs like Fitterfly Weight Loss Program and Fitterfly Diabetes Care Program are designed just for you. Our in-house expert coaches in the field of nutrition, physiotherapy and psychology understand the depths of health conditions like diabetes, prediabetes and weight loss.

They will guide you with tips, tricks and practical personalised solutions on ways to effectively manage your diet, exercise, sleep and stress.

Speak with us and see how we make it possible for you. 

If you wish to lose weight in the healthiest way possible, learn more about Fitterfly’s Weight Loss Program!