Why Is It Hard to Lose Weight With Diabetes?
According to information from the medical website Medline Plus, diabetes is a disease characterized by the body's inability to produce or properly utilize the storage hormone insulin. Insulin deficiency can be either genetic, as in type I diabetes, or developed, as in type II diabetes. In either case, an individual with diabetes will have a more difficult time losing weight than someone without the disease, owing to his body's inability to control blood sugar and insulin swings.
Diabetes and Insulin
You need to understand the link between blood sugar, insulin and diabetes to better understand why weight loss is more challenging for someone with the condition. Blood sugar is impacted by the foods you eat, with carbohydrates being the food source that has the largest overall impact on blood sugar. When you eat foods containing carbohydrates, blood sugar rises in proportion to the speed at which the food is digested, with fast-digesting carbs causing a proportionately greater increase in blood sugar than slow-digesting carbs. The body responds to this elevation in blood sugar by telling the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin is a storage hormone that binds to blood sugar and carries it to either fat cells (for storage) or muscle cells (for quick energy, where needed). The body will only devote as much of the floating blood sugar to the muscles as required by your current activity level, so elevations in blood sugar during periods of inactivity will result in a proportionately larger increase in fat storage. The reason why diabetics have difficulty losing weight under normal circumstances is that their blood sugar levels are almost constantly elevated through their body's inability to properly regulate blood glucose with insulin. This results in a nearly constant stream of fat storage, as the body must work harder to reduce blood sugar -- constantly feeding it into fat cells for storage, resulting in weight management problems.
Diabetes Dieting Solutions
Managing blood sugar effectively is the key to diabetic dieting. As the body cannot handle excessive amounts of blood sugar without a disproportionate response involving excess fat storage or the development of the symptoms of hyperglycemia, you must control your blood sugar by only consuming carbohydrates that have a nominal impact on blood glucose levels -- fruits, vegetables and whole grains. An alternative solution, accepted by the American Diabetic Association, is adherence to a low-carb diet. This removes the issue of blood sugar from the equation almost entirely, allowing individuals with diabetes to lose weight at a fairly normal rate. Regardless of whether you choose a carb-restricted or low-carb diet, managing blood sugar is the key to losing weight with diabetes.
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