Your diabetes diagnosis is all your parent’s fault!
I’m kidding, of course, but there is some truth to it.
Type 2 Diabetes is a complex disease. It has several “causes”. There is an inherited component to the disease. There is also an inherited component to your body type and composition. And how you learned to eat while growing up affects your dietary choices. So, it’s both “nature and nurture”.
Photo by whoislimos on Unsplash
Type 2 diabetes is inherited.
Don’t beat yourself up. Getting diabetes is not completely your fault.
But that’s not an excuse for inaction. You do have some control.
You can make some small changes in your diet and exercise that can help. But you should make these changes slowly.
“Crash” diet and exercise programs don’t last. You can make small changes and they become a habit and “stick”.
Type 2 diabetes is a dietary problem.
You can make these small changes in your diet.
- Decrease your carb intake
- Increase your protein and fat intake
- Increase your vegetable intake for more fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
By making these changes you get
- a more balanced and nutritious diet
- slower absorption of glucose into the bloodstream
- more stable blood sugar levels
And all this leads to more energy and vitality and less cravings and fatigue.
You just feel better and may be able to control your diabetes with fewer meds.
Type 2 diabetes is also a physical problem
The problem is not being overweight but “over-fat”.
We naturally lose muscle tissue as we age. This is why even thin folks can get type 2 diabetes. They’re “skinny-fat”.
They have too little muscle relative to the amount of fat they do have.
To lose fat and gain muscle to control your blood sugars better you need to move more. Be more active.
The less you move, the less you feel like moving. Then, you gain less muscle and gain more body fat. But the opposite is also true.
Moving more also just makes you feel better.
You need to gain muscle mass and strength.
To combat this natural muscle decline you have to do exercise that helps to increase your muscle size and strength.
This added muscle can actually make you more sensitive to the insulin your body produces.
This increased insulin sensitivity helps you to achieve better blood sugar control. You can then control your diabetes on fewer or no meds.
Doesn’t obesity worsen diabetes?
Yes, it does.
So, you also have to decrease your body fat percentage.
Excess body fat causes all kinds of problems for everyone.
But it’s especially bad for diabetics. It’s well-known that excess body fat or obesity causes heart disease and high blood pressure.
But obesity also causes abnormal hormone regulation that can make your diabetes much worse.
Combine the dietary and exercise changes above to get the most effect.
Changing your diet to get more balance keeps you satisfied longer due to better nutrition. So you actually feel more full and get more nutrients with fewer calories.
And gaining muscle actually helps you lose fat as it helps you burn more calories even at rest.
You were dealt a bad hand!
But with small changes over time in your diet and exercise you can get a better hand!
Heck! You can even become the dealer and control the game.
With a balanced diet, strength training, and a positive attitude you can overcome this disease. You can fight your genes!
You don’t have to just take it! I have several patients that have gained control of their diabetes and you can too.
Think of these changes as your prescription. Instead of medications with lots of side effects your going to use your mind and body to control your diabetes.
Just because you got type 2 diabetes, you don’t have to keep it.