Diabetes: Approach With Care
Why A Weight Neutral Approach?
When I talk to potential clients about diabetes, one of the first things they say is, “My doctor told me that I need to lose weight.” They come to our conversation feeling defeated and hopeless because they have tried to lose weight over and over.
Perhaps in the past they have lost weight, but soon regained the weight and sometimes even more. Then they get a diabetes diagnosis and the first thing they hear is they need to lose weight?!
When I hear this, I feel so frustrated for them!
Diets Don’t Work
Let’s make this clear: There is no proven method to lose weight permanently for most of us. We may lose weight, but most of us regain the weight, usually within 1–5 years. For the small percentage who do keep the weight off, it’s usually because they develop disordered eating behaviors in order to avoid regaining.
Since most people can’t keep the lost weight off, they find themselves in a cycle of yo-yo dieting, sometimes for decades. Scientific research reveals that yo-yo dieting creates even more negative health consequences. More about that in another post.
What Does Work?
Maybe you’re surprised to hear that my health coaching doesn’t focus on weight loss, particularly for those who have been diagnosed with diabetes. And you may be asking yourself what does she recommend?
Joyful Movement
1) Physical activity improves insulin sensitivity and that means that it’s easier for blood sugar (glucose) to get inside your body’s cells to provide energy.
My first piece of advice to anyone who has been diagnosed is to consider ways to get their body moving! Most dieters associate exercise with punishment, a way to burn off the extra calories they ate that weren’t on the “program.”
I am not talking about punishing boot-camp type physical exertion. Remember we want to give up the “lose weight” mentality and think of ways to move our body that we look forward to and enjoy!
Mindful Eating
2) Mindless eating can detour our blood sugar management. Reflect on your own habits surrounding eating and determine when you might be eating without being physically hungry. Mindful eating is a self-care practice that leads to food freedom and peace with our bodies.
Sleep Matters
3) My next piece of advice? Insist on getting adequate sleep! Lack of sleep can make it exceedingly difficult to manage your blood sugar.
Start thinking about your sleep habits and how you might improve them. Developing a sleep ritual can be helpful as well as making your bedroom a haven of comfort, a place you look forward to going to at bedtime. Gratitude journaling, deep breathing, and meditation can also facilitate good sleep.
Take A Deep Breath
4) Life is stressful and that will never change, but how do you deal with the stresses of life? If we stay in a constant state of anxiety and overwhelm, our body stays flooded with stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. The presence of those hormones decreases our cell’s sensitivity to insulin and that can have a negative impact on blood sugar management.
My favorite de-stressing tip? Take up deep breathing! It is inexpensive, it can be done anywhere, and science says it works! Start by setting aside 3–4 times a day and simply try focusing on your breathing!
Getting in the Nutrition Lab
5) While I am an anti-diet messenger and health coach, what you feed your body does matter. My clients focus on a balanced diet that is filled with important nutrients, including carbs, the main energy source for your body. While people with diabetes need to experiment to discover what amount of carbs is right for them, avoiding carbs entirely is not necessary.
Consider your body a scientific laboratory and conduct food experiments to see what works for you!
Self-Compassion Is Key
6) Self-compassion and a non-judgmental attitude are essential to any behavior change.
Why?
When you are trying to create new habits (and ditch old ones), treat yourself with love and acceptance. If not, when things don’t go as planned, you might give up. You may be too hard on yourself; you’ll hear the negative self-talk in your head that says you’re never going to get this right. And that is just not true!
You need lots of self-compassion to manage your blood sugar. Reflect on what’s working? What’s not working? Why isn’t it working? How can we change it and make it work better? Or maybe we need to try a totally different approach!
In the end, life happens, but self-compassion keeps us moving forward with a spirit of curiosity and hopefulness and that’s an important key to managing your blood sugar!
I hope these tips are helpful. If you have any questions, you can contact me at healthcoachlisat@gmail.com. In the meantime, try the self-compassionate approach and see what works for you!
