When it comes to managing your weight, there’s no shortage of extreme diet trends, supposed miracle recipes and wacky exercise fads. While these methods claim to be effective, they are often complicated to follow or unhealthy in general. On top of this, these weight management methods don’t always account for illnesses, like diabetes, where blood sugar can be dangerously affected by certain diets or exercise routines.
Weight management is an important part of treating diabetes, but the clutter of all these unhealthy methods can make it difficult for people with diabetes to find healthy and effective ways to manage their weight. Below we offer some helpful tips and reminders for weight management with diabetes.
Set achievable goals
Instead of starting extreme diets and excessive exercise routines, try setting realistic health goals. Focusing on creating new habits and changes you can maintain for a long time will help you manage your weight more effectively. Start with realistic goals that fit your life, like taking a walk every other day or eating more vegetables than sweets. When you start with more realistic goals, you create habits. Over time, these habits become easier and can be upgraded for a new challenge when you’re ready!
Focus on nutrition
While monitoring calories and cutting down on certain types of ingredients can help with diabetic weight management, overemphasizing this can actually be harmful to weight management goals. For long-term, sustainable weight management, it’s important to focus on providing your body with the right amount of nutrients rather than a certain number of calories or types of food. Restricting calories can be dangerous for a person with diabetes and can also make you more likely to want to binge eat later on. Likewise, restricting our diet to only “healthy” foods can make us feel frustrated and give up on our goals. It’s important to find balance in your diet by focusing on consuming nutritious foods, while allowing yourself to eat foods that make you happy!
Reach out for support
Managing your weight with diabetes can feel frustrating, but you’re not alone. Creating a support system of doctors, dietitians, counselors and friends and family who understand your
experience and can offer support will help you stay on track to accomplish your health goals. This also has the added benefit of being able to talk about the emotional struggles that come with diabetes. Treatment for illnesses like diabetes often only focuses on treating your physical health, but addressing your emotional wellness is essential to achieving long-term success.
Managing your weight with diabetes can be difficult, but with the right approach and trustworthy support, it’s achievable. The Wellness and Stress Clinic of Memphis is committed to providing free medical services to our community. Our one-on-one health consultations and educational courses can help you learn more about diabetes and how you can best control it. To learn more about our services, visit our website or call us at 901-306-5433.