Healthy Weight Loss Strategies
WebMD Medical Reference
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
If you have diabetes, you probably know that carrying extra weight around your waist increases your risk for heart disease and makes it harder to manage diabetes. But did you also know that just a 10-pound weight loss can help lower your blood glucose and blood pressure, improve your blood fats, and make it easier for your body to use insulin?
You don't have to be model thin or fit into skinny jeans to make big improvements in your overall health. Making small changes in the amount and types of food you eat and getting regular exercise can help you achieve a healthy weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week. In 7 to 10 weeks you can lose about 10 pounds, which can help you improve your health, manage your diabetes better, and maybe even allow you to cut back on your diabetes medications with approval from your doctor.
You may be thinking, "Well, I've tried this before, and never got anywhere." The key to successful weight loss is to think in terms of small steps. You're not trying to lose 50 pounds -- just 10 pounds will do for now. No matter how much you want to lose, it helps to plan ahead for weight loss before you actually start trying to lose weight. You can succeed at losing weight by taking these three steps to help you overcome your barriers:
1. Ask yourself why you want to lose weight.
2. Set realistic, specific goals to help you lose weight and keep it off.
3. Think about the challenges you may face and plan ways to overcome them.
Here are some practical weight loss tips to help you get started:
Diabetes and Weight Loss: Why Do You Want to Lose Weight?
It's not enough to hear from your doctor that you should lose weight. It has to be something that you want for yourself. Exploring your personal reasons for taking off unwanted pounds will help you keep on track through the tough times of low motivation or high temptation. What inspires you to lose weight?
• Do you want to be able to keep up with your children as they get older and more active?
• Is there a charity walk or run you've always wanted to join?
• Are you tired of feeling tired?
• Do you want to be able to manage your diabetes more easily?
• Are you planning a big vacation and want to be fit enough to fully enjoy it?
• Do you want to lower your risk for heart disease and other health problems?
Whatever your reasons -- and there may be more than one -- write them down and post them on the refrigerator door or somewhere you can see them. Your list will serve as a daily reminder of why you're tackling the challenge of losing weight.
Healthy Weight Loss: Set Specific, Achievable, Livable Goals
Losing weight isn't easy. But you can make weight loss easier by setting realistic goals that you can live with. Willpower alone may let someone restrict their eating for a certain amount of time and lose weight. The problem comes when they try to maintain that new weight.
Restrictive diets are tough to maintain on a long-term basis, and the lost weight is likely to come back. In the long run, it's more helpful to aim for a smaller, more realistic number, like a loss of 10 pounds, to start. Then put your focus on making healthy changes in your eating and activity habits.
Try these healthy weight loss goals on for size. Which goals fit your lifestyle?
• I'll eat whole-grain cereal and skim milk instead of a muffin for breakfast four days a week.
• I'll plan before eating out by looking at the menu online and deciding ahead of time what to order.
• I'll eat blueberries and non-fat yogurt instead of ice cream four nights a week.
• I'll use the "Plate Method" to help manage my portions. Non-starchy vegetables and fruits go on half the plate, starchy foods such as brown rice go on 1/4 of the plate, and lean proteins such as skinless poultry, fish, and lean meat goes on the other 1/4th.
• I'll write down everything I eat for 2 weeks.
Weight Loss and Fitness: Set Realistic Activity Goals
Being active every day will help you control blood sugar levels and improve your energy level, overall mood, and physical endurance. Moving your body every day will also help you keep off excess weight. Consider these specific, achievable, livable activity goals:
• I will walk around the neighborhood after dinner for 30 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
• I will get off the bus two stops early and walk the rest of the way to work.
• I will sign up for the Tuesday night low-impact aerobics class at the local gym.
• I will track my activity every day by writing it on my personal calendar.
To make your own list of goals, think about what will work for you. Be specific about when, where, and how you can reach each goal. It's fine to start slow and build up to 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.
Add variety to your activity plan by putting together a combination of activities you can do throughout the week. Experts recommend a combination of aerobic activities and strength-training exercises. Aerobic exercise could include walking, climbing stairs, dancing, or swimming. Strength training uses weights or exercise bands to strengthen muscles and should be included in your exercise routine at least 2-3 days a week. Ask your doctor before you start an exercise program to make sure it's safe for you.
Calories and Weight Loss
Keep in mind that you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume in food and beverages in order to lose a pound of body weight. To lose one pound a week, you could reduce the amount of calories you take in by 500 calories a day or increase your physical activity levels to burn 500 more calories a day. Or you could do a combination of both.
For example, if you skip the cheese on your lunchtime sandwich, drink seltzer with lime instead of a regular soda, and eat a fun-sized candy bar instead of a large one, you'll cut out 300 calories. Add a 30-minute brisk walk, and you'll burn about 200 more calories.
That's just one approach. To create your weight loss plan, consider asking your doctor for a referral to a registered dietician who can give you nutrition tips and help you develop a plan that will work for you.
Plan for Weight Loss Challenges
Think about all the things you encounter in a day that cause you to want to overeat or make less-than-healthy choices. Job stress can be a big factor, especially if your officemate keeps a tin of chocolate on her desk. Boredom can also trigger mindless snacking, and so can watching TV.
Create a list of all your biggest weight loss challenges, and how you can overcome each one. At work, take a different path to your desk so you don't see your colleague's tempting chocolate. At home, try taking on a small project or new hobby to keep you away from the TV.
Keep healthy, satisfying snacks handy for the times when temptation is likely to strike. Keep water handy as well, and don't forget to drink it. Water can make you feel full and has zero calories.
Take a moment to recognize each small success. A lifestyle change is difficult, and you deserve to feel proud of your efforts. Over time, you'll see the benefits of these lifestyle changes in the form of better overall health and well-being. Stick with these changes, and as time passes, you're likely to meet -- and perhaps exceed -- your 10-pound weight loss goal.
WebMD Medical Reference
SOURCES:
American Diabetes Association: "Healthy Weight Loss."
CDC: "Losing Weight."
CDC: "Getting Started."
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: "Guide to Behavior Change."
American Diabetes Association: "Setting Realistic Goals."
American Diabetes Association: "Tips to Cut 100 Calories."
American Diabetes Association: "Activities and Calories Burned."
American Diabetes Association: "Create Your Plate."
CDC: "Improving Your Eating Habits."
American Diabetes Association: "Your Weight Loss Plan."
American Diabetes Association: "Test Your Fitness Knowledge."
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD on August 14, 2011
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