Losing weight to manage diabetes

Having a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight can help manage your diabetes. If you are overweight or obese, losing weight is probably the most important thing you can do! Studies show that shedding unnecessary weight can be far more effective at stabilizing blood sugar than medicine and it's easier than you think. Little changes every day can make a big difference in your overall health — especially when it comes to your diet and eating habits.

So how much weight do you need to lose to significantly bring down your blood sugar? The answer is 10 percent of what you weigh now. Less than you thought, right? If you currently weigh 200 pounds, 10 percent is just 20 pounds.

You may think that you should go on a formal diet, but our advice is to not go on a diet. You see, popular diets often don't work well in the long run. Yes, they help you lose weight quickly, but then you go back to your old eating habits once the program is done and the weight comes back.

Losing weight is not about the next fad diet, it's about a lifestyle change. Also, most fad diets are not considered healthy. Consult your doctor if you think you really need the structure of a diet. Your doctor can refer you to a dietician, who can help you build a meal plan specific to your lifestyle.

Eating healthy is linked to safe weight loss. The far better path is to learn to eat healthily all the time. Do that and the pounds will fall away slowly, steadily and naturally. The weight will stay off, because you've changed permanently — not just for 12 weeks.