Diabetes Weight Loss: Week by Week. Jill Weisenberger

strength, flexibility, and other activities that improve coordination and help you prevent falls • Standing on one foot, sitting on an exercise ball, yoga

      The table below shows the approximate number of calories burned by individuals with different weights. Get moving!

      Using a Pedometer

      Walking is a favorite exercise among people who want to lose weight. Increase your motivation by using a pedometer. A pedometer is a handy little device that you carry in your purse or pocket or clip to your pants that counts each and every step you take while you are wearing it.

      • Expect to spend about $30.00 for a reliable pedometer. Some are very fancy and have lots of additional functions, but the only must-have feature is its ability to count steps.

      • Start off with the pedometer clipped to your waistband above the center of your knee. To check its accuracy and to find the best placement, set your pedometer to zero. Wiggle and bend a little. A good pedometer will measure steps only, not twists and turns. Next, with your pedometer still set at zero, walk exactly 100 steps. If your pedometer registers between 90 and 110 steps, consider it accurate. If it appears to be inaccurate, move it to other places on your waistband and continue checking until you find the right spot. If your pants roll down at the waistband or are very loose, try turning the pedometer inward so it faces your body. If moving the pedometer to various places doesn’t make it count your steps accurately, you should return it and select a different brand.

      • Wear your pedometer all day for several days to determine your average number of steps. Then set a goal to increase your average number of steps by 500 to 2,000 steps daily. A typical long-term goal is 10,000 steps per day.

      Exercising with Diabetic Eye Disease or Nerve Disease

      Though the benefits of being active are almost always greater than the risks, some complications of diabetes may restrict your choice of activities. If you have proliferative retinopathy (eye disease), then exercises that increase blood pressure (such as high-intensity aerobics and weight lifting and activities that jar the head or place the head below the level of the heart) may damage your eyes further. Check with an ophthalmologist for advice before beginning any exercise routine.

      Peripheral neuropathy (nerve disease) can cause numbness, pain, and weakness in the hands and feet. Though physical activity can help prevent or ease neuropathy, if you have a foot injury or ulcer, talk to your doctor about appropriate exercises and avoid weight-bearing activities, such as walking and dancing. Stick to swimming and biking and take extra care to protect your feet. If you have autonomic neuropathy, which affects the heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, bladder, or genitals, you must obtain physician approval and receive specific guidance before exercising.

      TIP!

      Whenever you exercise, especially if you are alone, wear a medical ID bracelet or carry identification that states you have diabetes and lists your medications and an emergency contact. If you can, carry a cell phone and blood glucose meter as well.

Medication Check

      Some diabetes medications, as well as other medications such as prednisone, certain antidepressants, and beta-blockers, may make weight loss difficult. If you’re taking one of these or another you think may cause weight gain, ask your health care provider to review your drugs. Perhaps you can take an alternate medication or lower your dose. No matter what, don’t make changes without discussing it first with a member of your health care team.

      WEEK 1 ACTION STEPS

      Select from the following goals or steps, modify them, or create your own. Choose the ones that are important to you while being careful not to overwhelm yourself with more than you can handle. This week I will:

      Make 2 SMART goals.

      Record my food intake and activity daily.

      Learn my calorie needs at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov. My calorie needs are ____________________________________________________________.

      Use a calorie-counting book/website to estimate my intake.

      Decrease my calorie intake in the following ways:____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

      Learn more about the Mediterranean diet by visiting www.oldwayspt.org.

      Speak to my health care provider about beginning an exercise program.

      Increase my weekly physical activity by 45 minutes.

      Determine my baseline daily steps by wearing a pedometer.

      Other:____________________________________________________________

      Now that you know some basics about calories and several balanced meal plans, you’ll learn a few guidelines for planning your meals, how food labels can help you stay on track, and how your blood glucose might change with your new diet. But first, you’ll pick a weight-loss goal.

       Pick a Weight-Loss Goal

      To get healthier you don’t need to lose tons of weight. Dropping as little as 5–10% of your starting weight is a big plus. Losing just a little can significantly lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol, reduce your risk for certain cancers, lower blood pressure, and may help you control your blood glucose with fewer medications or lower doses. If needed, start with a goal to lose 10% of your starting weight (see the table below). Once you hit that mark, in say, 3–6 months, decide if you want to work toward an additional 5–10%. Beginning with a small goal, such as losing 5 pounds in the first month, is a good idea.

What Is Healthful Eating?

      Eating healthfully shouldn’t be complicated. It’s not easy in our fast-paced, fast food society, but a healthful nutrition prescription shouldn’t be difficult to understand or be filled with lists of strict or tricky rules. Unfortunately most diet plans found on the Internet and promoted on TV are complicated, unbalanced, or both. Many have long lists of foods to eat and longer lists of foods that you shouldn’t eat. Some require that you avoid carbohydrates or eat them only at certain hours. Others forbid fats. Some require combining one food group with another. All of this is more complicated than necessary, and it doesn’t usually lead to good nutrition or lasting weight loss. Often individuals who follow a plan like this eventually return to old eating habits and regain all of the lost weight plus more!

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