As closely as people with diabetes must monitor what they eat, it may seem incongruous that weight gain often accompanies diabetes symptoms. The Office of the Surgeon General reports that more than 80 percent of diabetics are overweight. This raises the risk of complications such as heart attack and stroke.
To lose weight, you'll need to stick to a low-fat diabetic diet while you get more exercise than usual. This proven weight loss formula will help you safely reduce by substituting better nutrition for the foods and habits that encourage weight gain.
Cut Dietary Fat and Sugar
Proven weight loss involves taking in fewer calories than you expend in a day. "Crash" programs, however, won't work with a complex diabetic diet. Instead, you'll need to incorporate dietary changes into your permanent lifestyle, according to the America Diabetes Association. A major step in this direction is to choose foods with the least fat and sugar.
Save on these less-beneficial nutrients and their high calories by selecting low-fat fish over fatty meats, or substituting beans and rice as a protein dish. For a daily effort toward losing weight, choose a breakfast cereal that has 5 g of sugar or less per serving, and eat it with fat-free milk.
Increase Dietary Fiber
With less fat and sugar in your diabetic diet, you'll have more room for vitamins and minerals, and for the dietary fiber that can help you lose weight. Plant-based fiber foods, in general, have fewer calories than animal-based foods per serving.
The National Institutes of Health notes that the fiber found in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains makes you grow full on less food volume. You can use this nutrient as a tool for weight control. Incorporate high-fiber cereal, pinto beans, spinach and strawberries into your meals in place of fried foods and refined grain products for a proven weight-loss method.
Increase Physical Activity
No matter how many calories you cut from your diabetic diet, you won't lose weight unless you expend more calories than you ingest, report the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Check with your doctor to see if the average goal of 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise is right for you.
You can start toward this proven weight loss goal by engaging in an activity such as walking in 10-minute increments. You'll know that your activity level is adequate when you begin to lose weight. The CDC calls a 1- to 2-pound loss per week a safe and reasonable rate.
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