You may not get down to the number you saw on the scale 20 years ago, but you can still get to a weight that enhances your health and your life.
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Medical Weight Loss / Diabetes Management
Losing weight doesn’t have to mean losing a lot of weight. Taking off just 5% to 10%—that’s 10 to 20 pounds for a 200-pound person—can improve your health and well-being. If you have diabetes, you may find your blood sugar levels are easier to manage and that you need less diabetes medicine after you lose weight. Many people who lose weight notice that they have more energy and sleep better too.
A healthy weight goal is one thing; dropping the pounds is quite another. If there were an easy way to lose weight and keep it off, everyone would be doing it. We’ve all known someone who follows a popular diet plan and loses weight fast but then gains it all back (and then some). After trying and failing over and over, it’s easy to see why people give up.
Food for Life
Instead, create an eating plan that you can follow for life. It just needs two key ingredients:
- It’s based on healthy food.
- You can keep doing it long term.
With that in mind, you may need to try different things to figure out what works best for you day to day. Some people cut back on sugar and eat more protein to stay fuller longer. Others focus on filling up with extra fruits and vegetables, which leaves less room for unhealthy food. Still others limit variety for most meals and stick with choices that they know are healthy and filling. The details will depend on what you like and what fits in best with your life. If you need ideas and support, talk to a registered dietitian or diabetes educator (your doctor can give you a referral).
Physical Activity
Physical activity can make you feel better, function better, and sleep better. You’re not likely to lose a lot of weight with physical activity alone, but combining it with your diet strategy can improve weight loss. Here are the basic guidelines:
- Every week: do at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, such as jogging, or an equivalent combination of the two.
- Two or more days a week: do strength-training activities, such as lifting weights or using a resistance band, that involve all major muscle groups.
If you have diabetes, physical activity can help you manage the condition along with your weight. Being active makes you more sensitive to insulin (the hormone that allows cells in your body to use blood sugar for energy). Your body won’t need to make as much insulin or you won’t need to take as much. Lower insulin levels can help prevent fat storage and weight gain. Learn more about being active when you have diabetes here.
While how you lose weight will be highly personalized, these pointers have helped others reach their goal and could help you, too.
Willpower Isn’t Enough
Don’t get us wrong: willpower is great. It just isn’t enough. You can’t count on it to reach and maintain the healthier weight you want.
But don’t worry; there are other ways. Control your environment so temptation is out of the picture and healthy habits are in. Some ideas:
- Don’t bring home food you don’t want to eat. Make home a safe zone!
- Avoid buffet-style restaurants.
- Don’t let yourself get too hungry.
- Cook your own food so you can control the calories.
- Lay out your workout clothes before you go to sleep.
- Keep the dog’s leash and your walking shoes by the door.