1. Guide To Diabetes Weight Loss
Did you know that you can be 'just a little bit diabetic'? The condition is technically called 'pre-
diabetes', and it is characterized by persistent high blood sugar levels. Pre-diabetes is a serious
condition, though its symptoms may be so subtle that you don't notice them affecting your life. More
importantly, it's an indicator that there is something seriously wrong with your body. Left untreated,
over 50% of those diagnosed with pre-diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes within ten years.
If your doctor has told you that you are one of the more than 16 million Americans who has pre-
diabetes, the American Diabetes Association has some very good news for you. In March 2005, the
ADA released the results of the multi-year Diabetes Prevention Project. In a study that followed
thousands of patients across the nation who had been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, the Diabetes
Prevention Project found that patients who lost a 'moderate' amount of weight reduced their risk of
developing full-blown diabetes by over 58%. Even more encouraging, many of those patients had
managed to reverse their condition, and their blood sugar levels were well within normal ranges.
This was a result that the researchers had not expected. Diabetes (and pre-diabetes) is the result of
changes to cells in the pancreas that reduce the amount of insulin that they can produce. Doctors have
always believed that those changes are irreversible. Now however, the research seems to suggest that
losing weight with a healthy balance of exercise and diet can actually heal those early damages caused
by diabetes.
Here's the even better news. Those results were achieved by people who lost 'moderate' amounts of
weight - from 5-7% of their total body mass. In other words, if you weigh 200 pounds and have been
diagnosed as pre-diabetic, losing just 10-15 pounds can more than halve the risk of developing full-
blown diabetes, and may reverse your condition entirely.
Here are some healthy weight loss tips from the American Diabetes Association:
1. Keep your diet balanced. Eat a variety of foods in all food groups, with an emphasis on grains,
starches and fresh vegetables and fruit.
2. Learn to eyeball portions. Portion control is far more important than restricting what foods you eat. A
'portion' of raw vegetables may be considerably larger than a portion of the same vegetables cooked.
There are some handy reference guides on their web site at http://www.diabetes.org
3. Add one half hour daily of moderate exercise to your daily routine five days a week. This one single
lifestyle change seemed to be the key to both weight loss and the beneficial effects derived from it. It
was the single significant difference between the two groups in the study.
The results of the Diabetes Prevention Project only confirm what has been the best advice in dieting
circles for years - losing weight with a balanced diet and exercise is the healthiest way there is.
For more information visit: Glycemic Index Diet and Diabetes Weight Loss