Summer Weight Loss Plan for Prediabetes

Planning Your Prediabetes Summer Weight Loss Regime

Summer is around the corner. Are you ready? This is not about achieving a bikini body that is a distant dream for 99 percent of us. This is about being your healthiest, happiest self: strong, confident, and with healthy blood sugar levels.

If you have prediabetes and are overweight or obese, losing extra weight can be one of the most effective ways to get your blood sugar under control. In a matter of weeks, and without any crash dieting, you may be able to lose enough weight to lower blood sugar levels and lower your risk for diabetes. Get started now, and by summer, you could be the healthiest you have been in years!

Effect of Weight Loss on Prediabetes

What might happen if you lose a few extra pounds? You could…

• Have more energy and focus.
• Fit better in your clothes.
• Gain confidence.
• Lower risk for heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and certain types of cancer.
• Prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.

Research shows that lifestyle changes such as weight loss can lower blood sugar and slow, stop, or even reverse insulin resistance and the progression of prediabetes to diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) has demonstrated that you do not need to lose much weight to gain benefits.

In fact, losing 5-7% of your body weight if you are overweight or obese, and achieving at least 150 minutes per week can lower your risk by 58%.[1] That is equivalent to a loss of:

• 8 to 11 lb. if you weigh 160 lb.
• 10 to 14 lb. if you weigh 200 lb.
• 12 to 20 lb. if you weigh 240 lb.

In addition, each kilogram (2.2 lb.) of weight loss has been linked to a 16% lower risk for diabetes. [2]

These figures can be heartening if you are not sure about your ability to lose 20, 40, or 100 lb. to get to a so-called “ideal” weight. Instead, each pound that you lose is worth celebrating.

Summer Weight Loss for Prediabetes

The best diet for prediabetes has a variety of nutritious foods, controlled portion sizes, a moderate amount of high-fiber carbohydrates, and not too many sugary, fried, or highly processed foods. A good weight loss plan also has some features that make long-term success easier.

• Plenty of vegetables and lean proteins to stave off hunger.
• Freedom to include one or two cheat meals or snacks a week.
• Foods that are associated with weight control and/or lower risk for diabetes, such as whole grains, leafy green vegetables, and nuts.
• An emphasis on a healthy process and awareness of yourself, and not on dramatic, rapid weight loss.

You can customize your own prediabetes diet plan for weight loss using the meal and snack suggestions below.

Exercising for Summer Weight Loss

Hit the recommended exercise per week, and you may be well on your way to improving your blood sugar levels. Physical activity increases insulin sensitivity (lowers insulin resistance) and because it burns calories, it can contribute to weight loss, which further lower blood sugar. [3]

You might first think of aerobic exercise when considering summer weight loss goals. This type of exercise is something that gets your heart rate up, but that you can keep up for a while without getting completely winded. The goal amount in the DPP is at least 150 minutes per week, but feel free to do more than that if you are in shape to do so – the benefits keep increasing.

Resistance training, or strength training, is another type of exercise for summer weight loss. Some people avoid it because they think they will bulk up too much or because they think it is bad for blood pressure, but those are not true. Strength training can tone your muscles, improve cardiovascular risk factors including blood pressure, and help prevent diabetes. You can get these and other benefits by hitting of your major muscle groups 2 to 3 times per week.
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Prediabetes Weight Loss Menu

Your prediabetes weight loss menu can be interesting, simple, and great-tasting. It can include foods you love and be customized to your lifestyle. Here are some ideas for meals and snacks for summer weight loss.

You can use these meals and snacks for a few weeks or several months to lose weight. They are nutritious, balanced, and versatile. Just add extra snacks if you are particularly active or are a larger man, or keep it to just one snack a day if you are a less-active, smaller woman.

This prediabetes weight loss plan lets you select any breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus one to three snacks, each day. The plan emphasizes moderate amounts of healthy carbohydrates plus lean proteins and healthy fats. You can always vary it by swapping out “like” foods, such as a pear for an apple, chicken for fish, oatmeal for cereal, or brown rice for pasta.

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A personal coach such as Lark can help you turn your goals into reality. Lark DPP has achieved full CDC recognition and it specifically targets the weight loss you are after to treat prediabetes. Your personal coach works with you through your smartphone to help you lose weight and build other healthy lifestyle habits. Are you ready for summer?

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References

1. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. February 7, 2002. N Engl J Med. 2002; 346:393-403. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa012512 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa012512
2. Hamman RF, Wing RR, Edelstein SL, Lachin JM, Bray GA, Delahanty L, Hoskin M, Kriska AM, Mayer-Davis EJ, Pi-Sunyer X, Regensteiner J, Venditti B, Wylie-Rosett J. Effect of weight loss with lifestyle intervention on risk of diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2006 Sep; 29(9):2102-7.
3. Hamman RF, Wing RR, Edelstein SL, Lachin JM, Bray GA, Delahanty L, Hoskin M, Kriska AM, Mayer-Davis EJ, Pi-Sunyer X, Regensteiner J, Venditti B, Wylie-Rosett J. Effect of weight loss with lifestyle intervention on risk of diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2006 Sep; 29(9):2102-7.

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