Diabetes is a disease in which your body either can’t make enough of the hormone insulin or is resistant to its effects. Insulin transports dietary glucose (i.e., sugar) into your cells, which convert it to energy. When your body can’t move glucose into your cells, it builds up in your blood vessels and puts you at risk for serious complications, such as:
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Your pancreas can’t produce insulin at all. You must take insulin for the rest of your life to use glucose as a fuel and to reduce the risk of blood vessels and nerve damage.
Unlike Type 1 diabetes — which seems to be genetically determined — anyone can develop Type 2 diabetes. In fact, as more people around the world adopt a Westernized diet, the rates of Type 2 diabetes have skyrocketed. The number of people with diabetes worldwide has more than quadrupled since 1990.
In Bowie, Maryland, expert internist Dr. Kimberly Bolling helps patients with prediabetes and both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. No matter which type you have, in some cases, lifestyle changes (including weight loss) can help you control your disease.
But can weight loss help you avoid medications if you have diabetes? The answer depends.
If you have Type 1 diabetes, your immune system is overreactive and attacks the islet cells in your pancreas that produce insulin. Without insulin, you can’t convert the food you eat into energy. Instead, dietary glucose may build up in your blood vessels, leading to organ failure and even death.
You can’t stop taking insulin to control Type 1 diabetes, even if you lose weight. Obesity may complicate your disease, but the main driving force is your pancreas’s inability to produce insulin. You must continue to take insulin for your entire life.
However, your health may benefit in other ways if you lose weight. You could improve your cardiovascular health and clear up brain fog, while controlling your blood glucose levels.
Type 2 diabetes is an acquired disease that results from lifestyle choices, including a high-carbohydrate diet and a sedentary lifestyle. Losing weight by changing the way you eat and exercise can help manage your blood sugar or even reverse diabetes.
If you want to lose weight to control your diabetes, you must cut out the foods that raise blood glucose, including sugar and ultraprocessed foods. Instead, focus on whole foods, such as fresh vegetables and low-glycemic fruits, as well as high-quality sources of protein.
Making healthier choices helps you lose weight without feeling deprived. A better diet and more exercise can reverse insulin resistance. Once your body becomes more responsive to insulin again, your blood glucose stays at healthy levels.
In one study, women and men with prediabetes changed their diet and exercised more, which lowered their risk of Type 2 diabetes by more than 60% over three years. Weight loss and blood-sugar control through diet and exercise also reduced your risk for other health threats, including fatty liver disease.
If you’ve tried to lose weight on your own, you may have experienced the yo-yo effect, where the weight you lose comes back and comes back hard. Restricting calories alone isn’t the way to cut fat, build muscle and strength, and take control of your health.
We offer weight-loss management support that helps you change the way you eat and move for life. With our guidance, you develop a more protein-centric approach to eating that minimizes your craving for the simple carbohydrates that raise blood sugar.
We also help you design an exercise regimen that you can stick to and help increase your general activity level to maximize your health. We may also recommend semaglutide or other medications to help you lose weight quickly for a confidence boost.
Do you have prediabetes or diabetes? Find out how attaining and maintaining a healthy weight can also control your blood sugar. Contact us for weight loss management and diabetes care today by calling 301-352-0090 or clicking here for our appointment form.
