Diabetes Weight Loss: Week by Week. Jill Weisenberger

Month 7: For the Long Haul: Be Sodium Savvy Remember Your Progress Report

      Month 8: For the Long Haul: Keep Your Heart Healthy Just Say No!

      Month 9: For the Long Haul: What Will You Gain from Whole Grains? What Are Whole Grains? Overcoming Obstacles

      Month 10: For the Long Haul: Making Healthful Eating Affordable Beware the Health Halo

      Month 11: For the Long Haul: Eating Well When Away from Home Make a Travel Plan Be Moderate

      Month 12: Maintaining Your Weight Loss Stay Motivated

      Appendix Weight-Loss Graph and Chart SMART Goals Worksheet Food Record Weekly Plate Method Planner Trouble Times and Places—A Record Trouble Foods—A Record Check It Score It My Progress Overcoming Obstacles—The HURDLE Method Sample Meal Patterns from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 7-Day Menus Recipe Appendix

       References

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      Countless people helped me conceive of this book and make it a reality.

      First, thanks go to my patients, who have taught me about their lives,

      struggles with their weight and food choices, and the strategies to their many successes. You all inspire me.

      Thank you to all of the wonderful people at the American Diabetes Association, especially to Victor Van Beuren for your relentless support, guidance, and enthusiasm for this project and for always saying something that makes me laugh. To Greg Guthrie, thank you for tirelessly plowing through the details and being such a pleasure to work with.

      Many colleagues have contributed to this book. Thank you, Wendy Jo Peterson, MS, RD, Rita Grandgenett, MS, RD, and Judy Doherty for creating such delicious and nutritious recipes. Thank you, Carly Sopko, RD, for helping with recipe testing and making it a fun week together in the kitchen. To Michelle Voss and Sarah Waybright, MS, RD, thank you both for your kind research support, creative minds, and attention to detail. Thanks go to many more colleagues around the country for generously sharing their skills and knowledge and for introducing me to their patients who are profiled in this book.

      Nothing in my life would be worth doing without the support of my best friend and husband, Drew Weisenberger. Thank you for always putting me first and for treating me like a princess even though I know I don’t deserve it. To Erin and Emily, I thank you both for being terrific daughters and also for putting up with tasting the same recipes over and over and complaining very little. Thank you also for always saying that you are proud of me and for pushing me to do my best the same way I push you to do yours. To my four-legged best friends—Nikki, thanks for making sure I never sat still too long, and Cocoa, thanks for always keeping me company, no matter the time of day or night.

       Getting Started

      Chances are good that you have tried to lose weight in the past—perhaps many times. You may have lost weight but gained it back, plus more. Maybe you stopped losing weight after dropping just a few pounds. Many people with diabetes think it’s impossible to control both their weight and blood glucose at the same time and are confused about which one to make a priority. But there’s good news; you really can do both. Dealing with the immediate effects of exercise and food choices on your blood glucose does make weight loss more challenging, but it’s not impossible.

      Why should you be successful this time when you weren’t successful in the past? This book does not promote a one-size-fits-all diet. You are not identical to anyone, and your diabetes and your life are not identical to anyone else’s either. Therefore, you need to make your own best diet. There are no rules here—just guidance. In Diabetes Weight Loss—Week by Week, you’ll learn that weight loss is about skill, not willpower. There is a large gap between being motivated and successfully losing weight. That gap needs to be filled with knowledge, strategies, skills, self-confidence, and feedback. That’s what this book will give you. By taking small steps, you can trim down and feel fabulous—while taking care of your diabetes at the same time. You will learn skills to handle yourself in the kitchen, grocery store, and restaurants. You’ll learn to handle tough situations and difficult people. You’ll be able to set realistic weight-loss and lifestyle goals, and you’ll create ways to be more active.

      Having a strong set of skills is far better than having willpower. Think about when you learned to parallel park your car, throw a curveball, or tie your shoes. Did willpower make you successful? Of course not. If you are able to do those things well, it’s because you practiced and developed those skills. Becoming a pitcher, bowler, tennis player, cook, or safe driver requires knowledge, strategy, practice, skill, and feedback, either from a coach or your own experiences.

      Success also requires that you have the proper attitude. It is important that each week you focus on the knowledge, skills, and strategies that will get you to your weight-loss and health goals. Pay attention to your weight, but don’t let that be your focus. Don’t be in a rush to lose the weight. By working hard at lifestyle changes, not only will you be healthier and slimmer, you’ll also be more likely to keep the weight off and maintain your new healthy habits. That’s why this book covers a full year. You’ll have plenty of time to practice new skills. You will face new challenges as the seasons change, especially during celebrations, vacations, and other events that occur during a year. This book is designed to reflect the struggles and topics you could work on with a registered dietitian, health coach, or diabetes educator over 12 months. It is advised you see a registered dietitian to help you develop an individualized meal plan based on your personal carbohydrate needs and medications. This book will supplement your plan.

      In this week-by-week guide, you will cover a lot of material in the early chapters. There are mini lessons covering diet, food knowledge, cooking skills, behavior change, physical activity, and diabetes-specific concerns. Each chapter covers just a few of these topics. This will give you a good knowledge base that you can translate into actions at a reasonable pace. You must take action, though. Just passively taking in the information is likely to do little to help you change behaviors. Read the sections, practice the skills, decide how you can apply the information. Then, start using your new skills. Each week and month builds on the previous mini lessons. The later chapters provide information and skills for making your weight-management plan work over the long haul.

      If you have a burning desire to read ahead to learn more about a particular topic, go ahead. Just as if you were working one-on-one with a registered dietitian, you should cover the topics most important to you. However, you should resist the temptation to take on more than a few topics and skills at one time. Long-term success requires re-learning behaviors, and we can learn only so much at one time. Also, resist the temptation to skip sections. If you are looking to lose weight, everything in this book applies to you.

      Share this book and what you learn with your family and others who are important to you. Allow them to support you, and allow them to learn as well. Most of the skills you will learn are the same skills anyone—with diabetes or not—needs to achieve successful weight loss and optimal health. Ask someone who wants to lose weight to work through the book with you. You’ll both benefit and enjoy each other’s support.

Prepare to Be Successful

      Before