To manage diabetes you need to control your weight. But having diabetes makes it hard to lose weight! Well don't give up so fast. There are easy ways to lose weight with diabetes without starving your self. But before you get on a diet to lose weight let us help you understand how high blood sugar levels are making you gain weight and what can be done to keep that in check.
How does high blood sugar promote fat storage
Our cells use glucose as the main source of energy. Your blood sugar level is the amount of glucose circulating in your blood from the food eaten. This glucose is either used for immediate consumption of the cells or stored for future use. High levels of glucose promote fat production in the pancreas and high levels of fat in the blood. Therefore maintaining healthy sugar levels is crucial to your overall fitness and well-being. Eating right helps keep the glucose levels in check that helps regulate your hormones, triggering your body to burn stored fat, and increasing your metabolism to help you lose weight.
Low Blood sugar levels also promote fat storage
While control your blood sugar levels is good, not eating enough to maintain the sugar levels can also make you gain weight ! Eating too little glucose can lead to a low blood sugar level, causing your body to go into “starvation mode” where it burns your lean muscle instead of the fat. This is the last thing you would want!
Diet Guidelines to help boost metabolism
The diet plan for a diabetic for an individual is based on height, weight, age, sex, physical activity and nature of the disease conditions. While its important to space your meals make sure that you don’t pass the 3 hour limit between each meal. Starting your day with water and keeping yourself hydrated helps flush toxins from the body & rev up the metabolism. Making sure your diet contains fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates along with the good fat & essential minerals/vitamins. Limiting your intake of caffeinated drinks and switching to green tea helps keep the sugar spikes in check. Focus should be in consuming high quality nutrition and adding variety of seasonal fruits & vegetables in the diet.
Eating sugar free deserts & food products does not help keep your sugar in control. Infact they tend to have an adverse effect on your health in the long run.
Here are two diet sample of 1400 calories each to help eat healthy to manage your sugar better & lose weight. Please check with your medical specialist what calorie requirements are adequate for you.
1400 Calorie Indian Diabetes Diet Plan Pre-breakfast: 5 soaked almonds with skin. Breakfast: 2 small Methi besan chila & 1 glass low fat milk (add a pinch of cinnamon ) Snack: 1 cup green tea &1 medium size apple Lunch: 1.5 bowl/katori cucumber tomato salad, 2 chapati, 1 cup bowl/katori lauki & channa dal, half katori/bowl bhindi vegetable Evening snack: 1 bowl/katori Sprouts chaat with onion, tomato &lime Dinner: 1.5 bowl/katori onion and tomato salad, 2 chapattis, 1 bowl/katori paneer & capsicum vegetable, 1 bowl/katorilow fat curd
1400 Calorie Western Diabetes Diet Plan Pre-breakfast: 5 soaked almonds with skin. Breakfast: 1 bowl Apple-cinnamon oatmeal (3 tbsp oats cooked 1 cup low fat milk, one-fourth tsp cinnamon and add chopped apple) Midday: Green tea with handful roasted unsalted peanuts Lunch: 1 bowl Lettuce-cherry tomato salad, 2 Vegetable-bean roll ( saute 4 tbsp boiled white beans with cabbage, onion and tomato, wrapped in 2 whole wheat wrap/roti), half bowl hung curd dip(add 1 tsp crushed mint in half bowl low fat curd) Post Snack: 1 bowl fruit salad (apple,pear,pomegranate) Dinner: 1 bowl clear tomato soup, 75g Grilled chicken/fish with 1 bowl sauted vegetables (Green beans, bell peppers with onion and garlic) & 2pc Multigrain toast
Remember to Exercise
Lastly you must get physical active to manage your diabetes better. Exercise is the most natural way to help manage your sugar & help lose weight . Glucose is metabolized better in the body, when you exercise. Muscle movement leads to greater sugar uptake by muscle cells and helps lower blood sugar levels. Latest research has shown that 15 minutes walk post all your major meals is known to have better results in controlling sugar than 45 minutes of dedicated exercise during the day.