Diabetes affects your body's abilities to control blood glucose levels. It is caused by either your pancreas' inability to make enough insulin to control glucose in the bloodstream, or by your cells' inability to utilize the insulin that is produced. In both cases, your body is able to more efficiently control blood glucose when your body weight is within normal limits. As a diabetic, you also must be very aware of the type of diet and weight loss plan you use, in order to reduce the risk of low blood sugar, seizures or, in extreme cases, death.
Diabetes Exchange Diet
The recommended eating plan for people suffering from diabetes is centered around an exchange list, according to MayoClinic. The diet is rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories. You and your dietitian choose an appropriate caloric intake for your specific needs. These calories must meet your basic calorie needs, plus any additional exercise that you have planned. Foods are broken up into basic food types and you are allowed a certain number or amount based on the amount of calories you are allowed. You can also exchange or trade foods within a group because they affect your blood sugar in a similar way. Combined with exercise and the desire to permanently change eating habits, this low-fat, low-calorie diet plan will help you achieve your goals.
Diabetes Drugs
In an effort to afford diabetics better glucose control, drug companies are continuing to develop and manufacture more efficient medications. Some of these medications have the side effect of weight loss. Byetta is an injection that is not insulin, but mimics the effect of another hormone, making the body use insulin more effectively. It also delays the movement of food from the stomach to the intestines, making you feel full longer, according to MayoClinic. The side effect is that you eat less and lose weight. Liraglutide is another injection that was developed by Novo Nordisk. The medication proved to be more effective than the obesity drug Xenical in reducing weight, as reported at Bloomberg.com. Dapagliflozin, a new drug studied by both Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, has shown potential to control blood sugar and reduce weight by eliminating blood sugar through the urine, reports EmaxHealth.com. Although these drugs have proved useful in reducing weight when you suffer from diabetes, they are not the complete answer. You must also address the foods that you eat in order to ensure long-term weight loss should the medication be discontinued.
Skipping Insulin
Although unhealthy and very dangerous, some diabetics have turned to skipping their daily shot of insulin in order to lose weight. This method of losing weight has also earned the name diabulimia, according to DiabetesHealth.com. It is an eating disorder in which a type 1 diabetic is able to lose weight rapidly by decreasing the amount of glucose the body is able to assimilate and use at the cellular level. Because the glucose is not used, the body does not use the calories and they are purged through the urine. Complications of this diet can lead to slow growth in teenagers, increased potential for serious side effects from increased glucose levels as the diabetic ages and an increased death rate. Serious side effects include kidney failure, loss of eye sight, foot ulcerations and amputation. Additionally, the death rate in type 1 diabetics with an eating disorder was three times greater than those who did not.
