The Diabetic Weight Loss Diet Produces Impressive Results!
By Gail M. Davis | August 15, 2008
The diabetic weight loss diet is becoming more and more common. It’s difficult to find another medical condition as closely linked to weight-issues as diabetes. 9 out of 10 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight! Fortunately, this type of diabetes, the one most closely linked to weight and lifestyle, can be prevented or delayed by losing weight and increasing physical activity!
Medical professionals are astounded that a drop of only 10-15 pounds can produce impressive results! This small amount of weight lowers not only blood glucose levels, but also blood pressure, and blood fats. To start your program, use a weight loss journal and an exercise log to record your meals and activity. Include several specific goals that you would like to accomplish and record those as well. You will find the information in your food and exercise logs to be very valuable as you progress through your program.
Visualization is an important tool for weight loss. Spend some quiet time each day reflecting on your goals. Visualize the steps that you will have to take to make your goals reality. Imagine yourself at the end of the month, healthier, more in control, and that much closer to your weight loss target.
You will need to be active a minimum of 30 minutes each day, but 60 minutes is better for weight loss! If formal exercise is not your cup of tea, then remember that everything you do, whether it’s walking the dog, raking and mowing, or washing and waxing the car, burns more calories than sitting in your easy chair. Try to learn to appreciate exercise for the health benefits, and the beauty that surrounds you when you go outside.
The diabetic weight loss diet is not unique. It’s still all about calories in versus calories out. Most type 2 diabetic patients consume between 1500 and 1800 calories each day. This would vary according to sex, age, fitness level, and weight. Consult your doctor before beginning a program.
Low blood sugar levels are generally associated with low carbohydrate consumption; therefore, at least 50% of your diet should consist of carbohydrates. Eat plenty of starchy foods, grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, and milk. Portion control is essential to keep your blood sugar at acceptable levels because your body will convert carbs into glucose.
Different carbohydrates behave differently in your body. The Glycemic Index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on the effect they have on your blood glucose levels. The carbohydrates are ranked as High (70 and above), Medium (56-69), and Low (55 and below). Carbohydrates ranked “Low” only produce a small fluctuation in your blood glucose and insulin levels, and are the ones you want to consume. Eating low GI foods will keep you balanced and satisfied longer.
To move towards a Low Glycemic Index diet, make healthier choices. The American Diabetes Association recommends eating breakfast cereals consisting of oats, barley, and bran, breads made of whole grains, fruit and vegetables, salads with vinaigrettes, pasta, quinoa, and basmati rice.
As we mentioned before, portion sizes are very important. Weigh and measure your portions until you’re good at estimating amounts. Use the Diabetic Food Pyramid to learn recommended amounts. Make healthy substitutes whenever possible. If you follow these simple guidelines for the diabetic weight loss diet, you can lose weight safely and enjoy many amazing health benefits.
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Physical treatments and are the usual method employed when managing diabetes.
By Shelley Campell | August 13, 2008
Kidneys, eyes and other systems and organs of the body can be affected by diabetes as time goes on. The kidneys may not filter as well as they should. Acuteness of vision may become less sharp. By watching the diet, exercising and possibly taking prescribed medications, the physical manifestations can be controlled.
The inability to deal with diabetes and its effects is another aspect, which affects both body and mind, and its diagnosis and management is an uphill task.
Stress can either be the cause or the result of those effects. When you are under stress, your immune system becomes weaker, and the ability of your body to fight off infection, colds, and so forth becomes less. These complications of diabetes are only some of the possible obstacles. This can lead to more stress when your ability to function is lessened and it becomes the beginning of a vicious cycle.
A wide range of diabetes management techniques is necessary to break that cycle. You can reduce the effects by keeping your body as healthy as you possibly can. Maintaining a positive outlook will help to reduce the chances of these effects taking place.
That is not simple. The first step is the acceptance that managing diabetes and its effects is a long term proposition, often extending over a lifetime.
Most importantly, blood glucose levels have to be carefully monitored. Controlling blood glucose levels - by diet, exercise and (if essential) medications - is critical in helping to reduce the physical stress on the body. This aids in alleviating the concern of the diabetic. Monitoring and managing it will become as much of a habit as brushing your teeth, and will become part of a daily routine.
Patient can be motivated to engage in those practices with the help of awareness. Comprehending the ramifications and potential severity of the condition motivates taking responsibility and making good choices. Knowledge about your body and the condition will support self-care.
Understanding the potential complications will give you incentive to avoid them. Having the right information does not always guarantee doing the right thing. A commitment of one’s will is essential. In order to manage diabetes while living a normal life, it takes courage. In a way, this courage is greater than the courage people summon in an emergency.
Just because you wish for it, doesn’t mean you get that kind of commitment. You can begin by overcoming small obstacles. A small diet alteration. Getting into the practice of exercising three times a week. Soon your efforts will become more widespread and you will be able to make more dietary changes and you will be able to carry out your exercise routines daily.
As you resolve these problems a bit at a time, you will develop confidence and be able to resolve even larger problems. With time, for most people, managing diabetes becomes a routine which is no more difficult than completing the typical school or work assignment. Meeting and solving challenges becomes just another item on the daily to do list, but these will lead to daily rewards.
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Find How Revise Recipes to Make Them Diabetic Friendly
By Irene Maseko | July 29, 2008
Diabetes certainly limits some of the food you can consume, but by using the right diabetic recipes you can still enjoy fine food. An excellent method of reducing the symptoms of diabetes is by controlling what types of food you eat, this is also a good method if you want to avoid diabetes in the first place. If you are living with diabetes, one of the best ways to fight this disease is with a diabetic diet plan using diabetic recipes.
One of your first goals with your new diabetic diet should be to lose some weight as this is not only important in maintaining your health but may have been the cause of the condition to start with. And one of the best ways to follow a diabetic diet is to eat foods that are from all of the four basic food groups.
For patients, having a healthy diabetic diet plan means eating in a way that reduces the risk for complications that are commonly associated with their condition, including heart disease and stroke. A diabetic diet using specially formulated diabetic recipes which are essentially a healthy, low-fat, balanced eating plan that helps the patient feel better and more energetic, and achieve some control over the symptoms like fatigue, thirst, blurred vision.
A healthy diabetic menu is concerned with eating a balanced diet of non-fat dairy foods, lean meat, poultry, fish, whole grains, fruit, vegetables and beans. The low-carb diabetic dietary plans are a little different and only certain vegetables are allowed such as kidney beans, carrots and avocados as well as fish, meat, poultry, cheese and eggs. Diabetic recipes should include foods that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as skinless poultry, fresh fruit, and vegetables as previously mentioned.
Weighing your food when you’re on a diabetic diet is as important as the foods you consume, so that you receive the correct amount of calories. Using the food labels in the supermarkets will also become second nature when you are preparing your diabetic recipes as they contain useful information, usually based on a diet of 2,000 calories per day.
When on a 2,000-calorie diabetic diet plan, the ideal breakfast should consist of two slices of bread or two rice cakes or half a cup of pasta, one cup of skimmed milk or a cup of sugar-free yogurt, one egg in any form, boiled or poached or scrambled and surely a serving of one’s favorite fruit. In a 1,800 calorie diabetic diet plan, diabetic recipes might suggest that the breakfast should ideally consist of two slices of bread, a cup of skimmed milk, one serving of a fruit like a medium-sized banana, apple or an orange, and a tablespoon of cheese.
The afternoon snack can consist of a fruit, two to three crackers, and half a cup of tea or coffee made with artificial sweetener. Alternatively, to vary your diabetic diet you could always have a cup of skimmed milk or yoghurt to replace the tea or coffee. There is no reason for you to believe that you can no longer enjoy your food if you’re restricted to a diabetic diet, because diabetic recipes are designed to have plenty of variety.
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Diabetes - Environmental and Lifestyle Risk Factors for Diabetes
By Julia Hanf | July 29, 2008
Why any particular person gets diabetes isn’t completely known. Complicating the situation is the fact that there are different types of the disease, though Type 1 and Type 2 are the most common. Of those, Type 2 accounts for about 90% of cases.
Luckily, some risk factors for diabetes are well-documented and many can be controlled or eliminated. Lifestyle choices play a major part in preventing the disease and people who already have diabetes can control it through lifestyle changes.
Obesity is widely recognized as one of the leading risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes. While there is a genetic influence - some shed or gain weight and body fat more easily than others - it is subject to influence by choices. A high BMI (Body Mass Index) is an adjustable number with the proper diet and exercise. A BMI of higher than 27 correlates with increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. The number should not be taken as a sole determinant, however, since its diagnostic value is less for those who are very muscular or are pregnant. But a high BMI is an indicator of obesity and should be checked.
Beyond simply being overweight, where the majority of excess body fat resides plays a role in the odds of contracting Type 2 diabetes. Those who tend to store body fat around the waist are at higher risk. While that in itself is largely a genetic issue - some individuals are naturally pear-shaped, others are not - the results can be influenced by diet and exercise.
Claims of supplements that target fat at the waistline are yet to be proven. Similarly, assertions that it’s possible to selectively remove waistline body fat through specific exercises are ill-founded. But an overall weight-reducing diet and general exercise program will help reduce large fat deposits, including those of the waistline. More generally, a sedentary lifestyle increases the odds of contracting Type 2 diabetes. Partly that’s the result of adopting a mindset that brings with it a number of less than ideal choices. But in particular, the lack of exercise is a direct cause of higher body fat percentage as well as a number of follow on effects.
In multiple ways, exercise plays a significant role in the control of diabetes. High blood pressure is a risk factor for diabetes, but exercise lowers blood pressure. Glucose levels are a key factor in contracting diabetes and regular exercise helps keep them under control. In addition, regular exercise helps lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol; a high level of bad cholesterol is another risk factor for diabetes.
Of course, exercise is not really “magic,” it is a choice and so is diet. These healthy lifestyle choices can give you power over diabetes. Even if you are at high risk for diabetes or already have the condition, you have some ways to control it.
Through a real life crisis Julia figured out how to live diabetes free.
Visit http://www.yourdiabetescure.com and learn more about your solution
for diabetes.
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The General Symptoms of Diabetes
By Julia Hanf | July 29, 2008
The signs of diabetes may be confusing. Not all the common symptoms are present is each case of diabetes. Symptoms may appear and disappear. Other problems can produce similar symptoms. Despite these factors, diabetes is usually marked by some common signs.
Unusually frequent urination is one of the classic symptoms that suggests the possibility of diabetes. One defining attribute of the disease is excessive glucose levels in the blood. Either the body produces too little insulin to deal with it (Type 1 diabetes), or the insulin isn’t used correctly (Type 2).
The body attempts to compensate by eliminating the excess glucose using the urine. The kidneys work at higher than normal levels to filter out the excess sugar. When they can’t remove enough, the remainder is passed through when other fluids are eliminated as waste products of metabolic processes.
The excess urination leads to extreme thirst. A person with untreated diabetes may be constantly thirsty. No amount of fluid seems to quench the thirst, but it does cause more urination.
Fatigue that will not go away may also accompany diabetes. Glucose is the body’s major energy source and it must be processed with the aid of insulin. When insulin is not present or not used properly the person will have little energy and will feel fatigued.
But other body systems can be affected by diabetes and show up as symptoms.
Blurry vision can result from any number of conditions, even simple age where it is often just presbyopia. Presbyopia results from reduced elasticity of the lenses as we age, leading to a lessened ability to focus. But the cause in the case of diabetes is very different.
In diabetes, high blood glucose levels decrease the fluid in all the tissues, especially in the lenses. This impedes focusing. New blood vessels form in the retina as diabetes advances and can severely impair vision, causing spots or flashing lights in the visual field. Rings can appear around lights.
Diabetes can also affect wound healing. Cuts, especially on the feet may heal more slowly in a person with Type 2 diabetes. Scientists don’t clearly understand the reasons for this problem, but can be another symptom. In addition, the immune system is weakened and cannot fight infection as well.
See a physician if you suspect you have diabetes. Don’t try to self-diagnosis. The symptoms of diabetes can be easily due to some other condition. Blood tests are needed for an accurate diagnosis. Fortunately, your insurance policy will likely pay for these simple tests.
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