The promotion of a healthy lifestyle is focused on a beautiful, slender body in both women and men. But not everyone who wants to lose extra pounds copes with the task in full. Obesity often goes in tandem with diabetes, which slows down the process. How to lose weight with diabetes without harm to health? Does diet help in normalizing weight in diabetics?

Vicious circle

Not all obese people suffer from diabetes, although the predisposition to the occurrence of the second type of disease is high. The hormone "insulin" takes part in the formation of subcutaneous fat, which, in its functionality, should help the absorption of glucose by cells. In fact, this is a normal process. Cells get their energy from sugar. But the body can fail for two reasons:

This pattern occurs in people with a history of type 2 diabetes or a pre-diabetic condition.

Obese people try to eliminate carbohydrates completely from their diet and switch to a protein or carbohydrate-free diet. The problem is that the body can only get energy from carbohydrates. There are more serious complications that immediately affect the diabetic's sugar level and general condition.

Weight loss in diabetes should be rational and gradual. In type 2 disease, weight loss helps to normalize glucose levels and can completely eliminate diabetes.

Do type 1 diabetics tend to gain weight?

If type 2 diabetes is the result of malnutrition, lifestyle and excess weight in a person at a certain age, then type 1 occurs due to a decrease in insulin production or its complete absence in the body.

These people do not suffer from obesity, because the dosage of the hormone through injections does not exceed the norm.

Weight gain can begin if, in addition to the problem of insulin production by the pancreas, insulin resistance (decrease in the sensitivity of cells to the hormone) is added.

The amount of insulin will have to be increased by changing the dosage. The more injections, the worse the patient becomes. The injected drug will accumulate and process glucose into fat.

In any circumstances, a person needs to lose weight. Weight loss - normalization of sugars.

Changing habits

Losing weight with type 2 diabetes is possible if you approach the process with basic knowledge about the causes of obesity. Many "people in the body" believe that by reducing the calorie content of the menu or reducing portions at meals, the weight will melt before our eyes. All buns, sweets, cereals, pasta, potatoes have been removed, but problem areas are growing by leaps and bounds. Counting calories for type 2 diabetics will only lead to a nervous breakdown and a feeling of powerlessness. Lack of sugar can cause more serious problems:

• Cell renewal will be stopped;
• Renal and heart failure;
• Conduction disturbance in the nervous system;
• The onset of glycemic coma;
• depression;
• Impotence.

Before you start losing weight with diabetes, you should consult with a nutritionist and endocrinologist.

The process must be controlled in order to timely adjust the dosage of drugs (insulin or tablets to reduce sugar). As the fat layer decreases, glucose levels may decrease or return to normal.

Experts always recommend rethinking your eating habits. It is difficult for an adult to take such a step. A diet is selected in which carbohydrates are present, but useful for diabetics. Be sure to keep a food diary in which all foods for the day are recorded.

Weight loss in type 1 and type 2 diabetics cannot be done without exercise. Proper fitness helps to increase the sensitivity of cells to insulin and convert glucose into energy, not fat.

To lose weight, you need to eat

Nutrition for diabetics should be complete. The body needs proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins. Particular attention should be paid to carbohydrates, which are found in a large number of products. Not all carbohydrates are the same. They are classified according to the glycemic index (GI):

• Simple with a high level of GI - once in the body, they are quickly converted into sugar and absorbed by cells. If the diet consists of a large number of such products, then there is an excess of glucose. Insulin converts the excess into fat, making a reserve in case there is no other food.
• Difficult with low GI - splitting is slow, energy is supplied to the body in uniform portions. There is no excess that insulin would convert to fat. The feeling of hunger may not come until 4-5 hours after eating.

On the inclusion in the diet of complex carbohydrates in combination with proteins and fats, a low-carbohydrate diet for diabetics is built.

It should be remembered that carbohydrates are needed only for the cells to receive energy from glucose. The rest of the menu should be proteins and healthy fats.

To understand which foods are complex carbohydrates, you should study the list of low GI carbohydrates in detail and carefully read the labels on the packages.

To effectively reduce weight in diabetes, you should learn how to make a daily menu and buy the necessary products in advance. This approach will eliminate disruptions if there is a feeling of hunger, and time is running out.

Diabetics of type 1 and type 2 should not skip breakfast, so as not to disturb the glucose level. It is better to replace coffee with chicory or tea, because caffeine provokes profuse urination and can lead to dehydration.

In diabetes, there is a problem of low water content due to excess glucose.

The interval between meals should not exceed the threshold of 5 hours. Ideally, if there is an interval of 4 hours between breakfast, lunch and dinner. Snacks are acceptable, but taking into account the analysis of sugar levels using a glucometer. At the stage of losing weight, this device should always be at hand.

A weight loss diet for type 2 diabetes should be developed by a nutritionist, at least for the first time. Having understood the principle of proper nutrition and having received positive results, you can adjust recipes and menus, taking into account your taste preferences.

Additional Weight Loss Tools for Diabetes

Diet alone is not enough to reduce weight in type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In addition, doctors advise:

• Physical activity without fanaticism;
• Taking special pills that help reduce insulin resistance of body cells in diabetes.

For diabetics, sports are a must. Adequate physical activity helps to normalize sugars and hormones.

No need to work out in the gym or in group trainings until a sweat. This will be inefficient. The best way to burn calories with diabetes is to take daily walks at a brisk pace. Some people prefer swimming. You can alternate these loads. The duration should not be less than 1 hour.

With a large weight, running and serious power loads are contraindicated. Bones and joints experience increased stress due to kilograms, and high sugar causes swelling, bone fragility and reduces the elasticity of blood vessels. Falls, injuries and high blood pressure are possible. Sports should be fun.

Diet pills for diabetes

To restore the sensitivity of body cells to insulin in type 2 diabetes, tablets, the active ingredient of which is metformin, help. The most famous and affordable is the drug Siofor. Its reception should be agreed with the attending physician, who will determine the correct dosage. There are other metformin-based tablets in the pharmacy network. The drugs can also be used by type 1 diabetics when obesity occurs to reduce the number of insulin injections.

It is difficult for a person who is accustomed to a certain diet to adjust to a new life. It is most difficult to refuse food if it served as the only source of pleasure. Requires the introduction of drugs containing chromium, zinc, fish oil, which reduce food dependence on carbohydrates.

Sometimes the food addiction of diabetics has to be treated with the involvement of a psychologist or psychiatrist. It is necessary to break the circle when problems stick and lead to new weight gain. In some cases, weight loss begins with this step, because all the problems are in the person’s head.

Is it possible to lose weight quickly with diabetes?

For each person, the concept of excess weight is individual. For some, 5 kg seems like a serious problem, while someone dreams of cutting weight by half.