All of us know about diabetes and understand the complications attached to this disorder. But we deny this that our body gives signals to warn us. This warning is called the pre-diabetes stage. Once a person gets diagnosed of diabetes it comes as a shock. But when the initial shock of your pre-diabetes diagnosis wears off, one starts wondering what can one do to avoid getting into that category of a “Diabetic” in other words how to prevent type-2 diabetes. The good news is that perhaps most people can reverse their pre-diabetes. At the very least, you can significantly improve your blood glucose numbers.It's going to take a little effort. All one has to do is to change the lifestyle and eating habits that set the stage for pre-diabetes. In this part we would focus on diet
Control your cravings: Cravings are like addictions. Wheat stands first in that—the prime ingredient in pasta, bread, pizza, bagels, and muffins. Desserts are the next, which tend to use dairy and sugars. The more you eat the higher is the craving. One bite is enough to the satisfy craving, but you need to train your mind for that. It comes gradually.
Plan the meals in advance: Don’t wait until you’re hungry. This means thinking about meals and recipes which are not complicated, ingredients easily available and bought once or twice a week. Start writing your next shopping list and shop whenever convenient.
Read the labels of ready made foods: Get in the habit of reading the labels right up to the fine prints as these fine prints contain the real information. Low fat often means high in sugars or refined carbs which are actually high on the glycemic index. Ironically, the healthiest foods—fish, chicken, veggies—aren’t usually labeled.
Take out time for cooking: - With today’s hectic schedules, we known this can be a challenge. Cooking can give you optimal control over the foods you eat and their ingredients, so it’s a great way to live healthier. Make the time to prepare simple meals. Cook extra, so you have leftovers and the same effort is not invested again.
Start the day with healthy breakfast: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Do not skip it. Even if you’re not hungry, have a bite or two of something with protein. Good choices may be an egg or a fruit, porridge, along with some apple slices. One should remember that the impact of carbs may be higher at breakfast due to higher cortisol levels, so be sure to count your carbs.
Eat smaller portions at regular intervals: We tend to use visual cues to determine how much to eat, like the size of the plate. Decrease your plate by one size and you are successfully eating smaller portions. But do not starve yourself- eat small but frequent meals.
These are a few tips which can help in bringing about changes in the diet and bring one back to normalcy. But this would not be sufficient as a lifestyle change is required to challenge pre-diabetes. Some exercise regime too needs to be followed for getting perfect results. We would continue to talk on this in the next part.