Lose Weight by following a Diabetic Diet

I'll assume if you're reading this, like millions of Americans, you've been diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Once you're diagnosed with diabetes, the information you receive and the emotions you feel can overwhelm you. You may feel shocked or experience anger, grief or depression because you might think life as you knew it is over.

You may suddenly think you must limit what you eat to foods that don't appeal to you, but it's simply not true. With smart planning, you can still have the foods you enjoy eating-you just need to be aware of how it affects your blood glucose and plan accordingly. You may even have been told that you can't have sugar, but that's one of the biggest misconceptions about diabetes.

Another misconception is that once you're diagnosed, it's too late to 'do' anything about your diabetes. For me, diabetes was a wake up call. When I got the results back on my A1c and saw it was 9.5, I knew I had to get back in the driver's seat and take control of my life.

I studied the Glycemic Index and learned which carbohydrates would make my glucose levels rise rapidly and which ones would help keep them steady.

I studied different foods and how they made my blood glucose levels react. What I discovered is that a regular size Hershey candy bar didn't raise my levels nearly as high as a banana did. You'll hear many people say that a diabetic diet is 'simply to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet'. What they don't say is that for a diabetic, fruit can make your glucose levels rise very high, very quickly.

By keeping track of the amount of carbohydrates I consumed, I lost sixty-five pounds and brought my A1c down to 5.9. The doctor was amazed. So how many carbohydrates should you consume? Because diabetes is not a one size fits all, that amount depends on your body's nutritional needs. Remember that YOU are your body's best advocate.

So what are the foods off limits on the diabetic diet list? Ready for this? No food is off limits. Not one. As a diabetic, you can still eat the SAME foods a non-diabetic eats. You don't have to change what you eat. You have to change how much you eat of the food.

If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, make a determination that yours can be a success story.

One important thing for you to remember if you've been diagnosed with diabetes is not to think you should just eat any old way in whatever amount you want because it won't matter. It does matter. By using a diabetic diet, you not only gain the benefit of better health (losing just ten percent of your body weight improves your overall well being), but keeping your glucose levels in a healthy range reduces your risk of complications in the future.

Having diabetes does not mean you're going to face amputation. It doesn't mean you're going to go blind or have severe complications. Don't let all the 'what ifs' or 'could happens' frighten you. Living with diabetes only means you have to keep a close eye on what's going on with your glucose. You need to test your blood glucose when you get up in the morning (fasting), test two hours after you eat and before you eat. You can switch that up once you get a hang of how various foods affect your diabetes and check either before or after a meal.

Two hours after a meal, your reading should be less than 180 and before you eat, it should be 70-130.

Checking your glucose levels on a regular basis is one of the keys to living a healthy life with diabetes. If you can't afford to buy a meter, some diabetic companies will send you one free of charge.