These Weight Loss Tips do not Neglect the Diabetic Condition as Most Popular Opinions on Weight Control do

Note that this is not weight loss advice for any particular person. These ideas are based on general health principles that I have learned and practiced. There has been no other proof of the effectiveness or accuracy of these statements aside from the literature cited and the experience of the author (who knows firsthand what it means to be type 2 diabetic). Please read the disclaimer.

Weight loss tips regarding the diet

Whole foods versus processed foods - Cut out the processed foods and low fiber carbohydrates from your diet. For example, replace white bread and white rice with 100% whole wheat bread and brown rice.

Remember to break the fast - Do not skip meals. More specifically, do not skip breakfast. There is great evidence that the habit of skipping the first meal of the day is related to uncontrolled body weight. Some diabetics are afraid to eat breakfast because they have high fasting glucose in the mornings.

Fads are bad, very bad - Avoid fad diets, they waste your money and often promote malnutrition. Why? Any diet that calls for the abundant use of one food or food group and the neglect of others us unsustainable. I've seen weight loss tips encouraging people to eat lobster, shrimp, and other similar "low carb" or "no-carb" food. Don't fall for those things. Those foods are some of the highest sources of dietary cholesterol. You may lower the carbohydrates to the detriment of higher cholesterol levels; and that, to me, spells disaster! Don't create another serious problem in trying (wrongly) to alleviate another.

Dine instead of graze - If you embark on an exercise program to lose weight, do not increase the number of meals or the number of times you eat per day. Some fitness trainers may advise you to eat every three hours, citing your increased demand for calories. So what do most people do? They eat some more, supplying more calories and leaving the fat (stored calories) in tact. No. There is a way to deal with the hunger pains.

The advice given by fitness instructors to eat more frequent and smaller meals is an encouragement to have up to 4 or five meals per day! This taxes your stomach and can lead to problems of indigestion, e.g. acid reflux. Why? Our digestive systems take up to 4 hours to process and metabolize our food after a meal. When freshly swallowed food enters the stomach and is thrown in with already orocessed material, it often leads to indigestion and acid reflux problems. Before long you might be twiddling tums. You don't want to go there!

It doesn't make sense to damage one organ in order to try to fix one problem. So what is the solution to this? How have I done this personally? I drink water. Whenever you feel hungry before regular meal time, dring water. It fills your stomach and suspends the sense of hunger.

Exception to the "rule"

There is an important exception here. If you're diabetic and your blood sugar level indicating a hypoglycemic attack you must get your sugar level up immediately. You have to snack. At this point, I would like to remark that I have been there. I had those hypos. The good news is that they get less frequent and more difficult to happen until they eventually become very rare. Our system responds to our habits. It does. Today, I have 3 meals per day and I don't snack.

Weight loss tips for exercise

Strength Training Exercises - Weight-bearing or Strength-training exercise helps burn excess calories for hours. Exercise physiologists and medical professionals tell us that of the three main forms of exercise we can do, nothing helps us burns calories more effectively than strength training. It is said that an exercise routine involving squats, weight lifting, arm curls, upper and lower body strengthening exercises cause our muscles to continue burning calories for 5-6 hours after the exercise.

On the other hand, you will be burning excess calories after a cardiovascular workout for about an hour or so.

I need to stress again that these weight loss tips are very diabetic-friendly. The fitness industry markets its service mostly for "looks", i.e. for cosmetic appeal. This is where the interest of the majority of potential patrons is. Everyone wants to look good. However, as a diabetic your main preoccupation or concern might (and definitely should) not be body-sculpting. It's normalizing blood sugar levels.

Weight loss, dieting, lowering cholesterol, and all these quests are all aimed at slowing the accelerated pace to the grave that is associated with the diabetic condition.

Be the tortoise and not the hare - Often whe we get enthusiastic about something as good as exercise we start out strong, only to fail to finish the race. Take this weight loss tip seriously. If you are overweight, there is a great chance that you have been neglecting to exercise for quite some time. So, your body is not as conditioned as you would like to become. It is therefore very necessary to start gradually.

A measured or gradual return to the habit of physical exercise is very important for the diabetic. We all know how eratic our blood sugar level could get when our body senses trauma - as in sore muscles from an exercise routine. Take it easy BUT be consistent.

A Lifestyle Makeover - Approach physical exercise as a lifestyle change. You are developing a good habit and replacing a bad one. As such, you are in it "for the long haul." When a health educator told me I should walk for one hour every day I cringed. The first day wasn't bad but by the 3rd day almost every muscle was sore. I persisted, and after a 3 or 4 weeks I wanted to find one more day in my week. It really felt good, and the numbers told the story. Those high glucose level readings became very difficult to find. The big surprize was when I got my lab test results - A1c 5.3%.

Now, this was not a fitness instructor-led exercise program. Walking is a normal life habit that most people can do. Also, it is important to note that diabetes control or weight loss is not achieved by any single modification or intervention. My experience tells me that a combination of healthy habits is necessary.

Not one of these weight loss tips is optional. You cannot afford to exercise like a body builder and then eat everything everytime. Regulating diet, having regular exercise, and getting adequate rest are all important and indespensable.

References:

Luddington, A., Diehl, H. (2002). Health Power

---

---