There is no denying that weight and diabetes are linked to one another, and if you are overweight and dealing with sugar issues, especially the Type 2 diabetes, there is no choice but to lose weight. Losing those extra kilos only helps in lowering the blood sugar levels and improves your overall health. However, first things first, you have to work closely with your diabetes expert and doctor, mainly because there are many things that come in the picture. This includes oral tablets, insulin, medications and age that need that attention. Long before you start any routine, remember the key is to reach close to the ideal weight, and that will help you stay focused.
Start with Realistic Goals
Diabetic patients should know that losing weight for them isn’t going to be as easy as any other normal person. Also, it is important to know that overnight changes are rare with Type 2 diabetes, and you have to understand your limits. Losing even as less as 10 pounds can change the game for you and help in lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, and improve cholesterol. So, don’t start with plans of dropping many kilos in a week, but realistic goals will make things easy for you.
Start with Diet Changes
That’s something that not many understand. For diabetic patients, the key is balance between the workouts and meals, and the first thing starts in the kitchen. Start with chopping off 500 calories from the diet but do not ignore the benefits of carbohydrates, which have the biggest effect on sugar levels. You will need carbs for sure, but choose the foods you want to get the carbs from. Avoid the starchy foods and find fiber based carbs from whole grains, veggies and fruits.
Balance Your Workout
Every adult should get at least 2.5 hours of exercise a week, and if you didn’t have a plan or workout regime ever, that’s realistic enough to start. Aerobic exercises are good to go, so walking and jogging should not be of any harm. However, do speak to your doctor, who can tell you the exercises to be avoided. Split your 2.5 hours in the way you want, so start off with strength training and use regular walks to maintain the pace around the week. If you are not fond of the weight machines that you see at the gym, try for the workouts that use your own body weight, such as squats, lunges and pushups.
Medicines and Workouts
One thing that diabetic patients need to consider is the exercise timing. Even 20 minutes on the treadmill may mean losing sugar instantly, so a close check once you start working out is important. Usually, if you start losing weight and are consistent with your regime, both medications and insulin can be lowered overtime. Every workout has its own effect. Blood sugar lowers consequently as you do aerobic exercises, but when it comes to weight training, weight loss starts later.
Understand and kick start your plan today!