Preparing Healthy Food Options
Ten Tips For Successful Weight Loss
1. Avoid yoyo diets.
2. Dont skip meals to lose weight!
3. If you do snack choose your snacks wisely.
4.Sometimes food really does mean sometimes only!
5. Did you know alcohol contains a lot of kilojoules?
6. Watch your portion sizes.
- Fill at least half the plate with a variety of vegetables
- Divide the other half equally between protein and carbohydrate
- One serving of protein is about the size of your palm, or a deck of cards
- One serving of carbohydrate is about the size of your fist. This is about 2/3 of a cup of cooked rice, 1 cup of pasta or noodles, or 3 small pieces of potato or sweet potato
7. Smart dining out
8. Slow down your eating!
9. Avoid using food for comfort.
10. Get off the couch – burn those kilojoules by moving more!
More information
Use Tricks To Prevent Overeating
These sneaky strategies can help keep you from overdoing it on diet-damaging foods.
- Fill up on low-calorie foods first. Start every meal with the foods on your plate that are lowest in calories, suggests McLaughlin. Non-starchy vegetables make the perfect low-calorie starter. By the time you get to the other foods, you wont be so hungry.
- Change your salad dressing system. Instead of sprinkling or pouring dressing on your salad, dip your fork into a side dish of dressing and then your salad with each bite. Youll be amazed how much less you use and how many calories you save.
- Take up a busy-hands hobby. If youre idle, youll be more prone to eating when youre not really hungry. Keep busy with activities like walking, knitting, scrapbooking, doing crossword puzzles, or gardening.
- Carry a toothbrush and toothpaste. Keep them in your purse or briefcase. When cravings hit, brushing your teeth with peppermint-flavored toothpaste can dampen your desire to eat.
- Arrive fashionably late to parties. Without as much time near the buffet table and calorie-rich appetizers, youll likely eat less.
Its important to continue to eat healthy and exercise regularly even after reaching your weight loss goal. Thats why its so important to set realistic goals from the get-go: The healthy habits you initiate to lose weight should last a lifetime so you can keep it off.
Additional reporting by Colleen de Bellefonds
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Insulin Resistance Is At The Core Of Type 2 Diabetes
With type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does create insulin, but either not enough or more than enough but, due to insulin resistance, glucose cant enter through the doors of the bodys cells they are literally locked out, unable to enter cells to be used for energy.
In fact, you may even over-produce insulin to meet the energy demands of the body. However, with type 2 diabetes, sugar cannot enter through the doors of the bodys cells they are literally locked out.
With nowhere to go, the glucose stays in your bloodstream, circulating much longer throughout the vascular system, and this is a problem.
Excess blood sugar makes our blood vessels less stretchy and causes them to narrow, blocking blood flow.
Damage to large blood vessels is called macrovascular disease, while damage to small blood vessels is called microvascular disease.
Complications from macrovascular disease include heart attack stroke and peripheral arterial disease .
Microvascular disease can lead to problems with our eyes, nervous system and kidneys.
Even if you dont feel symptoms of diabetes , damage can build up over time, little by little.
The best first option for treatment is diet.
Why Does Diabetes Cause Weight Loss
Diabetes is a chronic disease that is destructive if left untreated. Symptoms are often so subtle and sometimes gradual that people don’t realize they have the condition. There are three types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational.
- Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. The immune system mistakenly attacks the healthy tissues of the body and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. The damage from these attacks causes the pancreas to stop making insulin. Type 1 diabetes can appear at any age but usually develops during childhood or adolescence.
- Type 2 diabetesoccurs when the body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use it properly. People usually acquire type 2 diabetes later in life, however, with a rise in childhood obesity, children are developing type 2 diabetes at an increasing rate. Being overweight is a primary risk factor for type 2 diabetes. This is the most common form.
- Gestational diabetes is pregnancy related and usually subsides after the baby is born.
In all forms, diabetes functions similarly. Most of the food we eat is broken down into a sugar called glucose, which is then released into the bloodstream. When blood sugar rises, it prompts the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin is a hormone that the body needs to deliver the glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body.
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You Dont Have To Do It Alone
Find family and friends who will support and encourage you in preventing type 2 diabetes. Join with a neighbor or coworker in changing your lifestyle. Talk with your health care team to learn about programs that may help, such as the National Diabetes Prevention Program.
- National Diabetes Prevention ProgramLed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the National Diabetes Prevention Program offers lifestyle change programs based on the Diabetes Prevention Program research study. Participants work with a lifestyle coach in a live group or online setting to receive a 1-year lifestyle change program that includes 16 core sessions and 6 post-core sessions . Find a program near you.
What Is My Risk For Diabetes
While physicians and researchers have established a link between obesity and Type 2 diabetes, genetics and environment play a huge role in determining who will develop diabetes. While this relationship is not completely understood by doctors and researchers, what we do think is that your genes and environment contribute to your baseline risk of developing diabetes. If you are obese, you can reduce this risk by eating a low-fat, low-sugar diet and exercising regularly.
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Weight Loss In Children
Unexplained weight loss can occur in people who have type 2 diabetes, but its more common in people with type 1. Type 1 diabetes usually affects children and adolescents. Parents are often the first to notice an unusual weight loss in a child with type 1 diabetes.
Weight loss in kids with diabetes can occur even in those who have a normal or increased appetite for the same reasons it happens in adults with diabetes. Once kids are diagnosed and treated for diabetes, weight loss ceases and typically returns to normal.
Pay Attention To Portion Sizes
Using the plate method can help you manage your portion sizes. Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables. Fill one quarter with a lean protein, such as chicken or turkey without the skin, or beans. Fill one quarter with a whole grain, such as brown rice or whole-wheat pasta.
You can use everyday objects or your hand to judge the size of a portion. For example:
- 1 serving of meat or poultry is about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards
- 1 3-ounce serving of fish is the size of a checkbook
- 1 serving of cheese is like six dice
- 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta is like a rounded handful or a tennis ball
- 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is like a ping-pong ball
Resources to learn more about portion sizes
- ChooseMyPlate.govlearn about portion sizes at meals
- Just Enough for You: About Food Portionslearn how much you need to eat and how to control food portions
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Reason #: With Type 2 Diabetes Insulin Is High And Insulin Is A Fat
Everyone has glucose, a type of sugar, in their blood at all times. Glucose is a source of energy that largely comes from eating carbohydrates. Simply put, when you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar rises.
Insulin is produced by your pancreas, and insulin has many functions in the body. One of insulinâs functions is to help get glucose out of the blood and into cells where it can be used. In order to do this, insulin rises along with glucose. So when you eat carbohydrates and glucose rises, the insulin is rising as well. Once in the cells, glucose is mostly used for energy. If you have type 2 diabetes, this process doesnât work well anymore: your body has become resistant to the signal of insulin, so the insulin isnât as effective at moving the glucose out of your blood. Thatâs how you end up with high blood sugar levels after eating carbohydrates. Having chronically elevated blood sugar levels is dangerous, so your body needs to do something about it.
Your body responds by making more and more insulin to try to get the job done. Recall now that insulin has many functions, not just to facilitate the removal of glucose from the blood. Insulin also works to promote the storage of fat and to block the release of fat from fat storage. So instead of losing weight, you just keep gaining, thanks to all that insulin.
Other Symptoms Of Diabetes
In addition to unexplained weight loss and excessive hunger, excess thirst and increased urination are two of the other most common symptoms of diabetes. High blood sugar levels forces the kidneys to work overtime in order to clear the excess glucose through urine, according to JDRF. This causes a person with untreated diabetes to urinate more frequently. To make more urine, the kidneys need more water, causing excess thirst.
Dr. Halprin points out that excessive urination can also play a major role in the unintentional weight loss related to diabetes. “The reason a person pees a lot is because the body is trying to get rid of all the sugar,” she notes meaning the glucose that was supposed to go to the cells. “The body’s not holding onto it. So that’s where all the calories go: down the toilet.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, additional symptoms of diabetes can include fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing sores, frequent infections and/or numbness in the hands or feet.
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Write It When You Bite It
Writing down what you eat is the single best predictor of weight loss success. But most people dont do it because they think it will be too time-consuming. Guess how long it takes ? Less than 15 minutes a day on average. You dont need to add lots of detail, but aim for at least 3 entries each day and do it consistently day after day for the best results. Use this handy food diary pdf icon to get started.
The Benefits Of A Healthy Weight
Thinking of dropping a few pounds? If youre overweight and have diabetes, its one of the best things you can do for your overall health. A study at the Kaiser Permanentes Center for Health Research in Oregon found that people who shed weight within about 18 months of being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes were more likely to keep long-term control over their blood pressure and glucose levels.
When you have diabetes, a healthy weight reduces your risk ofcardiovascular disease and actually helps your bodys own insulin to work better. In addition, people who lose weight generally feel better. Its value added! says Dr. Ian Blumer, a diabetes specialist in Ajax, Ontario, and author of Diabetes for Canadians for Dummies.
Want work towards a healthy number on the scale? These six tips will help you reach your goal.
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Committing To Weight Management Is For Life
- American Diabetes Association. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes2009. Diabetes Care. 2009 32:S13-61.
- Becker G. Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the newly Diagnosed. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Marlowe & Company 2007.
- McCulloch D. Patient information: Diabetes type 2: Overview. UpToDate Web site. January 30, 2009. Available at: http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~n0K0MIfI1iZs.& selectedTitle=5~150& source=search_result. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- McCulloch D. Patient information: Diabetes mellitus type 2: Overview. UpToDate Web site. December 4, 2008. Available at: http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~X0jjLnBn4._ko& selectedTitle=4~150& source=search_result. Accessed April 20, 2009.
How About Protein Carbs And Fat
Im not going to stand here and tell you that there is only one way to lose weight with type 1 diabetes. Ive had experience losing weight on a high carb diet, low carb diet, and moderate carb diet.
Theyre all predicated on the aforementioned calories in, calories out equation.
But, a couple of tips to consider as you plan your diet:
Protein is helpful in satiety AND retaining muscle mass
In other words, protein will help keep you fuller for longer after meals, which is key in a situation where you are eating less than you may be accustomed to normally.
Additionally, when people lose weight, the composition is typically 75% fat and 25% muscle1. However, a higher protein diet has been linked to a reduction in the amount of muscle lost during a caloric deficit.2
I could go on and on all day, but Ill leave you with this:
Recommendation: Aim to eat 0.5-0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight per day. It will help you keep your hard-earned muscles while losing weight. So if you weight 200 pounds , you should aim for 100-160 grams of protein per day.
Note: If you suffer from kidney disease or have any history of kidney problems, increasing your protein intake may not be recommended.3 Always consult your medical team before making major dietary changes.
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Almased Encourages Weight Loss For Any Individual Including People With Diabetes
Many people who are overweight also have leptin resistance, which drives their desire to eat more and more.
Not only does Almased support healthy blood sugar and thyroid health, but it also supports healthy leptin and ghrelin levels , so youll feel full and satisfied longer.
Making lifestyle changes can be hard, but isnt it worth it?
Can You Reverse Diabetes By Losing Weight
According to the authors of a newstudy people with diabetes can potentially reverse their condition by losing around 33 pounds or 15 kilos. The analysis is based on the results of recent clinical trials.
In the study from 2011, people who had recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes lost weight on a calorie-restrictive diet. Their blood sugar levels returned to normal. People who had been diabetic for up to ten years were able to reverse their disease by losing around 15 kilos and maintaining that body weight over time. The analysis was confirmed with a 2016 follow-up report. Want to learn more about reversing your type 2 diabetes? Read this blog post.
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How Much Weight Loss Is A Concern
Unexplained weight loss is when someone drops a significant amount of weight without a change in diet or exercise or without making other lifestyle changes.
Losing 10 pounds or more, or 5% of body weight, during a period of six to 12 months is when healthcare providers become concerned there is an underlying health issue.
Unexplained weight loss occurs most often and is more serious in people aged 65 and older. People in this age group may need to see their healthcare provider if they lose fewer than 10 pounds or less than 5% of their body weight without trying.
Tricks That Improve Long
Find cookbooks or search the web for recipes that will inspire you to make-over your favorite dishes.
Work with a registered dietitian who specializes in diabetes to help you set reasonable goals, and to develop an eating plan that fits your schedule, makes sense for your family, recognizes your likes and dislikes, and feels right.
And remember, weight loss is a temporary process the real challenge, as you likely know from past experience, is keeping off the lost weight. To achieve this goal, you must embrace a new way of eating, one that is agreeable but meets the healthy view of the new you.
Physical activity is probably the best strategy to help keep you from regaining the lost weight, and in the article on exercising when you have type 2 diabetes, you can learn about how to start an exercise plan.
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