Weight Loss and Diabetes

Are you concerned about weight loss and diabetes? Today more and more people are living on a dangerous ‘cocktail’ of unhealthy life style choices. Many of us eat too many bad foods (and not enough good foods) and engage in way too little physical activity, and way too much stress. These issues are the main causes of certain health issues becoming more common, such as diabetes for example. The good news is that if you’re a diabetic, much of this can be turned with weight loss.

For people who are morbidly obese and diabetic, it is possible that weight loss can eradicate the diabetes altogether. In the Australian version of ‘The Biggest Loser’ (series 3, 2008), there was a contestant called Sean Holbrook who had a starting weight of 174.6 kilograms (385 lbs) and uncontrolled diabetes. The male trainer, Shannan Pontan, suggested that weight loss could not only bring his diabetes under control but also eradicate his need for medication. Some experts blasted him for suggesting it and called him irresponsible. However, Sean did exactly that. In the first week he lost 12.6 kilograms (27 lbs 12 oz). He was eliminated in week four but by the time he appeared on the finale he had lost almost 80 kilograms (178 lbs) and his blood sugar levels were normal… AND HE NO LONGER NEEDED MEDICATION!! Shannan was correct. Weight loss and diabetes were apparently incompatible and once he lost the weight the diabetes ceased to be an issue. You can read more of Sean’s story at Biggest Loser Recap

That said, not all diabetes sufferers will be cured by losing weight. But if their diabetes is caused by excessive fat around the pancreas (where insulin is produced) that inhibits passage of insulin into the blood stream, then yes, losing weight could very well resolve the issue!

Most doctors will advise you to lose weight and exercise more, but they rarely help with finding the best method to achieve that. Many people try several methods before finding the right combination of dietary changes and exercises that you can remain motivated to perform.

Of course, exercise is a crucial component with weight loss and diabetes. Most people think that working out is all about ‘work’. But if you find an activity you enjoy doing, it becomes fun and you don’t have the same difficulty motivating yourself as you would with something you didn’t enjoy. Remember the sheer joy you experienced as a child when you took off in a dead run? Or how free and alive you felt just skipping down your driveway? You can recapture a lot of that joy by taking the time to find a physical activity that you enjoy. This is the number one ‘secret’ to being successful in your weight loss: find an exercise that you like doing.

Of course getting more physical activity is the first part of the weight loss and diabetes equation. The second part is to make better food choices. I don’t use the word ‘diet’ because that has such negative connotations. As far as I’m concerned, ‘diet’ is a dirty four letter word!! People frequently equate the word with eating celery stalks for days on end, which is totally counter productive by the way since it causes your body to enter starvation mode in which it conserves fat in order to survive and burns it as slowly as possibly by slowing down your metabolism.

Rather than starving yourself it’s better to make better food choices and lifestyle changes. Start simple and small. What is your biggest weakness? Too much soda, sweets, carbs? Whatever it is, start there. Don’t expect to go cold turkey and completely cut those things out of your diet. It’s unlikely that you will be able to succeed as doing that tends to lead to cravings for that item and eventually bingeing on it. Instead just make it a policy of reducing intake of that problem item.

For example: If you drink four sodas a day, then concentrate on changing that habit and cutting back to one soda a day. It’s all about moderation. Also, take a look at Miracle noodles for a noodle that is carbohydrate and calorie free and ideal for diabetics because it is made from soluble fiber which is proven to help stabilize blood sugar levels. Find out more about miracle noodles.

Go easy on yourself. While it’s good to have an ultimate goal, that goal should be realistic and should involve several smaller goals that are easy to achieve rather than setting yourself up for failure by setting unachievable goals that will be virtually impossible to stick with. Give yourself every chance of success.

Choose to start smaller, with more achievable lifestyle changes. It won’t take longer because the overly confidant goals will probably never be accomplished anyway. Smaller goals have a much better chance of success, so start there.

Most health issues can be improved or prevented by maintaining a healthy weight and getting exercise. Diabetes is one of those illnesses, weight loss and diabetes reduction go hand in hand.