Nutrition Blog | OnPoint Nutrition

Top 5 Ways A Weight Loss Coach Can Help You Manage Diabetes | OnPoint Nutrition

Written by Abby Aikens | Nov 9, 2022 5:00:00 PM

Diabetes (and prediabetes) feels like a life sentence. They are doomed to worry about every snack or meal.

Will my next snack send my blood sugar skyrocketing to the moon?

Some diabetic conditions are incredibly delicate, and the anxiety for yourself or your loved one mounts daily (but it doesn't have to be this way).

At OnPoint Nutrition, our dietitians and nutritionists serve people daily. We have helped more than 3,000 people like you trying to manage diabetes.

Let's alleviate some of the burden and strain of dealing with your health condition. 

By the end of this blog, you will better understand the top five ways a weight loss program can help you manage your diabetes and live a better life in the process.

You deserve to live a healthy and happy life.

 

What is Diabetes/Prediabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic condition marked by consistently high blood sugar. 

The precursor, prediabetes, is one of those things that you may not even know you have! This is marked by blood sugar levels higher than usual but not quite qualifying for diabetes. 

Living with undetected prediabetes is extremely dangerous. You are at greater risk for:

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Heart Disease
  • Stroke

So, it would help if you were sure to visit with your doctor regularly to stay vigilant to health concerns and address them before it is too late.

A simple lifestyle overhaul could be all you need to reverse prediabetes and reduce the risk of suffering through a more intrusive, chronic illness.

There are two types of diabetes:

  • Type 1-The less common of the two kinds, Type 1 diabetes is believed to stem from an autoimmune response that causes the body to cease average insulin production. As a result, those with this condition must take insulin daily for survival. Usually, this type is detected early in life.

  • Type 2-Rather than an insulin deficiency, type 2 diabetes is marked by the body's inability to utilize the insulin it does produce. This more standard version of diabetes is often developed over many years due to lifestyle.

When you live with diabetes, in addition to regular medical visits and taking all prescribed medications, you must educate yourself on diet and determine a self-management plan to regulate your blood sugar.

Those with type 2 diabetes can manage their symptoms by losing weight, being active, or eating more nutritious food.

Without a strategy for managing your blood sugar, you could find yourself dancing with uncertainty.

Every birthday party, family gathering, and even a regular day is another stressful endeavor where you have to wrangle your impulses and calculate your dietary moves.

All forms of diabetes are a danger to your health. Diabetes is no game; this is where a great weight loss coach, like a dietitian or nutritionist, will serve you well.

It's time to see what a great weight loss coach for diabetes might look like and how they might help you.

 

Credentials of a Qualified Weight Loss Coach to Manage My Diabetes

When it comes to a severe condition like diabetes, the weight loss coach you choose absolutely must be a credentialed expert. 

Someone like a dietitian or a credentialed nutritionist is, without question, the best person to help you manage your weight and disease.

They have the specialized training and education necessary to make safe and sustainable changes to your diet and routine to live your best life and break free from the health fluctuations that frustrate you.

Some dietitians and nutritionists specialize in diabetes and various forms of diabetes.

 Many dietitians focus on:

Dietitians are always a safe bet for diabetes. A dietitian is medically trained and certifiedto provide an evidence-based diet and lifestyle plan to intervene in diabetic disease.

A well-trained nutritionist can provide dietary instructions and lifestyle recommendations to improve quality of life.

When choosing whether to go with a dietitian or nutritionist, consider their education, certifications, and experience to select the best coach for your specific diabetic needs.

 

How Can a Weight Loss Coach Help Me Manage My Diabetes?

 

1. Controlling Blood Sugar

Since this is the premise of the disease, controlling blood sugar should be a primary focus of the  grand strategy when trying to achieve weight loss and blood sugar control. Uncontrolled blood sugar can lead to many more conditions and, sometimes, can even be fatal. 

Because of this, maintaining control of your blood sugar is one of the most important self-management skills you can develop.

A qualified weight loss coach will understand the delicate balance and precision it takes to create a diet that leaves you feeling fantastic and having no regret.

 

2. Lifestyle Changes & Direction

As previously mentioned, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes can be managed and even put behind you by making a serious commitment to lifestyle changes. 

A great weight loss coach can help you make the best choices for your diet, show you how to incorporate healthy food into your meals, and promote increased exercise.

 

Liz Cook, MS, RD, LDN, says:

"Diabetes impairs your body's ability to make or use insulin properly, which results in too much glucose (sugar) circulating in your blood. 

When you exercise, your muscles need glucose to fuel movement, so the excess glucose circulating in your blood gets used. This lowers your blood sugar, which is the goal of managing diabetes.

Generally, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is recommended for at least 150 minutes weekly. This can be walking, jogging, biking, swimming, or really anything that increases your heart rate. 

The 150 minutes can be split however it works best for you. For example, 30 minutes of exercise 5 days per week or 50 minutes of exercise 3 days per week."

 

These simple measures make a big difference in the way you will feel. If you stick to steady, healthy change, slowly, you will find yourself in a happier, healthier state than when you started.

Every day will be a more solid footing in your new lifestyle and a step closer to freedom.

 

3. Meal Planning Advice

A great weight loss program will certainly include meal planning advice. The advantage of meal planning with a condition like prediabetes is being able to foresee the quality of your weekly meals. 

A well-thought-out, wholesome diet is a great way to avoid high glucose levels that may land you in a critical state or diabetic coma. The idea is to prevent large spikes and crashes. 

Better planning your meals will help you to avoid these instances, and without incidents, this also leaves a little wiggle room for if you feel like having that special treat (that you would usually avoid, like the plague).

A great diabetes weight loss coach has the skills and education to help you choose a meal plan strategy that works for you and helps manage your disease.

 

4. Achieve and Maintain Weight Loss

Weight loss was a critical factor in reducing or eliminating the symptoms of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. You can ditch some of the symptoms like exhaustion, unquenchable thirst, insatiable hunger, and skin irritations.

When you can significantly reduce your weight at a healthy rate, you can reduce or eliminate symptoms of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. 

A great weight loss coach will help you to make a healthy plan for your chronic condition and steadily move into a healthier version of yourself that is easy to maintain.

Your weight loss program must be sustainable to keep the weight off and not be right back where you started.

 

5. Preventing and Treating Comorbidities

Numerous comorbidities are associated with diabetes. 

Diabetic Comorbidities include: 

  • heart disease
  • hypertension
  • esophageal disease
  • vision issues
  • Soft tissue disorders

Depending on the severity of your diabetes, these comorbidities can cause permanent issues. 

While something like hypertension will likely subside if you are no longer diabetic, not all comorbidity conditions reverse.

So, it's essential to prevent them  and actively work to identify, manage, and treat these diabetic comorbidities  wherever possible. 

You may still live with some of these even if you eventually come out of your diabetic diagnosis.

The ideal person to help you manage these issues is a qualified weight loss coach, such as a dietitian or nutritionist focusing on diabetes.

 

Taking the Next Steps With the Best Weight Loss Coach for Diabetes

By now, you realize how important it is to find the right balance in your lifestyle, diet, and movement. 

The anxiety that disrupts your quality of life and threatens potentially fatal consequences is a significant burden to bear on your own.

Finding a qualified weight loss coach to lead the charge on this endeavor will make or break your success.

A great weight loss and diabetes management program will involve someone capable of helping you manage the symptoms of your diabetes with their expert skill and education. 

On your journey, you should find a balanced lifestyle, meals, and exercise plan with a nutrition coach while they monitor related conditions so you can proceed with the healthy change.

At OnPoint Nutrition, thousands of clients have come looking to lose weight and manage a chronic condition like diabetes. 

We have shown them the value that a great coach can bring to their life and how powerful change can be.

Aren't you ready to drop the feelings of impending doom and restriction and open up a new perspective of hope for positive outcomes?

Anyone willing to dedicate and take the steps to good health can say they have shed the weight of the anxiety on their shoulders.

Click the link below to begin the journey of regaining control over your diabetes and your life.