Weight Loss
Insulin works to keep your blood sugar in normal range. Extra weight
will keep the insulin from working as well as it should. Loosing the extra
weight is one thing you can do to help care for the diabetes and your health.
How much weight do I have to loose?
First decide what would be a good healthy weight for you. Realize that
whether you need to loose a little or a lot, you do not have to do it all at
once. If you loose even small amounts of weight regularly, it is more
likely to stay off. Research has shown that any weight you loose, and keep
off, will improve your health and help your diabetes. Start by loosing 2 -
4 pounds this next month.
Things to do Every Day: #5 Have patience with people.
Dr. Steve Stephens
What can I do to loose weight?
There are many ways to loose weight. It is important for you to find a
way that will work for you. Five ways to loose weight are
- eat less food
- eat fewer sweets
- eat less fat
- eat regular meals
- be more active
Eat less food
The food you eat has calories. When you eat more calories than your
body needs for fuel, it is stored as fat. So extra calories means extra
weight. If you eat less food, you will get fewer calories and will lose
weight. If you take in just 250 calories less each day, you will lose
about 1.2 a pound a week or 25 pounds in a year.
One way to eat les food is to eat smaller portions. If you usually have
two pieces of toast for breakfast, try one or one and a half. If you eat a
medium size sandwich at lunch, try the regular or small size.
Pick one meal each day and choose smaller portions for that meal. Then
start to eat smaller portions at other meals and snack times. If you have
smaller portions you will eat less food. It may help to increase the
amount of low-calorie or no-calorie foods you eat.
Here are some other tips:
- Use a smaller plate or bowl.
- Eat only one serving, stay away from seconds.
- Drink water on no-calorie drinks with the meal.
- Slow down. Actually lay your fork or spoon down between bites.
- Keep a bag of raw vegetables cleaned and cut to bite size in the
refrigerator.
As you think of other ways to eat less food, make a note in your log book.
If you eat a little less each day you will loose weight.
Eat fewer sweet foods
Another way to loose weight is to eat fewer sweet foods. Foods like
candy, cake, pies and regular soft drinks all contain added sugar. The
sugar will cause your blood sugar to rise fast and high. A single
piece of pie or bowl of ice cream may have 400 calories or more. One
piece of cake might have 300 calories. Eating even 200 extra calories
a day will cause you to gain 20 pounds in a year.
Fruits are sweet too but they have less calories and more other
nutrients. If you are in a habit of having a sweet dessert, try a
piece of fresh fruit instead.
| High-Sugar foods |
Low-Sugar foods |
| Cake, pie, cookies, candy |
Fresh fruit: melon, berries, apples, oranges |
| |
Sugar-free pudding or gelatin |
| |
Yogurt |
| Jam, jelly, honey, syrup, regular soft drinks |
Sugar substitutes; diet jam, jelly; diet soft drinks |
Here are some other ways to eat fewer sweets:
- Buy fewer sweets, and get smaller packages when you do.
- Eat a small piece of the sweet foods, or share a dessert.
- Keep the sweets you do buy out of sight.
- Drink sugar-free tea, coffee or soft drinks.
- Use sugar substitutes like Splenda.
Can you come ways to eat less sweets?
Eat less fat
Food that is high in fat is high in calories too. Extra
calories means extra weight. High fat food will also increase
the fat and cholesterol in your blood. This can lead to
blockage of the blood vessels. You do need some fat in the
diet but one way to loose weight is to eat less.
Fat is in the food and in the things we put on the food to add
taste. Fried food, butter, salad dressings and lunchmeats are
high in fat. Choosing low-fat versions of these will lower the
calories.
At times you may be eating more fat than you know. Fat can
be hidden in foods. Restaurant food, and fast foods, will have
more hidden fat. Whole milk has more fat and calories than
skim milk.
Cooking with fat will add calories because some of the fat will
stay on the food. A boiled potato may have 70 calories.
If you fry that same potato in 1 tablespoon of margarine, it will
have 205 calories - 135 extra calories from fat. So boiling,
baking or broiling meat and vegetables will have less fat than if
you fried them.
If you cook with less fat and look for hidden fat, you will eat
less fat and calories.
| High-Fat foods |
Low-Fat foods |
| Chips, doughnuts |
Plain popcorn, pretzels, bagels |
| Fried foods, french fries, lunch meats, gravy, sauces |
Baked, broiled, roasted or boiled meats and vegetables |
| While milk, butter, margarine, oils, cream, cream
cheese, salad dressing, bacon |
Skim milk, low-fat cream cheese, cheese made with skim
milk, cooking spray |
Here are some other ways to eat less fat:
- Choose low-fat versions of the foods you like.
- Pick foods with less fat.
- Have a turkey sandwich instead of salami or other lunch
meat.
- Buy tuna in water instead of in oil.
- Use low-fat salad dressings.
- Use mustard instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches.
- Trim extra fat off meat before cooking.
- Use less margarine on toast.
- Use milk instead of cream in coffee.
If you slowly decrease the fat you eat you will get used to the
taste. For example if you use whole milk, move to 2% a while
then 1% and later skim.. You can even mix the low-fat and
regular products and slowly use less of the regular.
Eat regular meals
It will help if you eat regular meals. Skipping meals might
seem like a good way to eat less, but if you skip a meal you are
likely to eat even more later. The more you eat at one time,
the more insulin you need to lower your blood sugar. Your body
can only make so much insulin at one time. Eating too much at
one time will cause your blood sugar to be much higher.
Starving yourself one day and overeating the next will also make
it harder to keep your blood sugar in good range.
Eating food that is not in your plan can also cause weight gain.
Try to eat regular meals. Try to eat about the same amount of
food at about the same time each day. It will work best to eat
three meals and only planned snacks every day.
It will help if you plan in advance what you will eat. Try
to plan out your menus. Check to see that you have the foods
for these meals in your house.
ou can prepare some foods ahead of time. Try fixing supper
after you eat lunch, when you are not hungry. The right food
will be ready at supper when you are hungry and you won't be as
likely to nibble as you cook.
If you plan ahead, it will be easier to eat regular meals and
snacks.
Be more active
When you are more active you will burn up more calories.
Exercise will help you loose weight. More activity will help
you have more energy too.
Here are some suggestions on how to be more active:
- Do some easy exercise; stretch your arms up and down over
your hear when you are sitting. Do leg raises when you are
sitting in a chair.
- Take a walk. Plan a walk after eating. Ask someone to go
with you.
- When you go to the store, park at the far end of the lot.
The walk is good.
- Do some activity, walking or stretching or anything, for 10
minutes three times a day.
Look for and list other activities, even ones you may not like to
do so you can find something you will enjoy.
The more active you are, the more calories you use up and the
more weight you will loose.