Carrying excess weight is linked to many health problems and has a large link to developing insulin resistance.
This applies to type 1 diabetes as well as type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops regardless of body weight, however keeping a healthy weight when living with type 1 will reduce risk of complications, as well as reducing insulin demand.
Which ever type of diabetes you are living with, it’s in best interest to keep excess body weight to a minimum.
Work with your medical team
Trying to lose weight can cause sugar levels to drop quite quickly and can cause stubborn hypo’s.
This is due to a change in diet, increased exercise and increased insulin sensitivity.
Therefore it is vital to get advice before you make any drastic changes to your lifestyle. Making gradual changes is the best protocol. This allows sugar control to remain stable, as well as increasing the likelihood you’ll stick to positive changes.
4 simple tips to focus on
1. Increase movement
Everyone knows we have to move more in order to shift some weight.
We want to gradually increase the duration and intensity of exercise, especially when trying to keep sugars balanced.
This can start with going on a slow 20-30 minute walk everyday. The duration can then be built up, increasing by 5 minutes every week.
Whatever form of exercise you choose, remember to start slowly and you’ll eventually learn to love it!
2. Make swaps, don’t ‘cut things out’
If you go crazy and attempt to ‘cut out’ all ‘bad food groups’, I guarantee it’ll be an epic fail. Losing weight is generally viewed as a negative experience, but it doesn’t have to be this way at all.
Rather than focusing on taking away, we want to focus on replacing and adding nutritious foods. You can absolutely eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, have snacks and lose weight.
I’ll write another post on the specifics but here are a couple of examples.
- Replace chocolate cereals with oats. Add 1 tsp raw cacao, a sprinkle of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nut butter, a handful of berries and walnuts.
- Replace snack bars with homemade protein balls. See my recipe here!
3. Focus on sleep
Sleep is fundamentally important in losing weight.
Getting good quality sleep consistently is also key to mood regulation and productivity.
When we change our routine it will require discipline. It is so hard to stay disciplined when we are tired!
Make sure you are getting 8-9 hours of sleep, avoid blue light one hour before bed and make your sleeping environment quiet and peaceful.
4. Hydrate
Hydration is vital to support your kidneys, digestive system, and well, everything.
People living with diabetes must support their kidneys by drinking enough water. This puts less pressure on them and supports removing toxins from the body.
Make sure you are drinking 8-10 tall glasses of water everyday. I recommend investing in a water bottle that goes everywhere with you. Seeing your water bottle is an instant reminder to drink some water.
Thank you for reading losing weight with diabetes, I hope you found these tips useful! Be sure to subscribe and follow me on Instagram!
If you liked this post, be sure to check out Bulking with type 1 diabetes and 5 foods packed with hidden sugars!
