Diabetics: lose weight – but do it the right way
Short, sharp diets don't help for long
Get rid of those excess pounds, lose weight! The media are full of tips on how to do it. Especially fruit-juice and rice diets or fruit days promise not only rapid weight loss, but also a positive effect on your health. Watch the pounds tumble, purify the body and stock up with vitamins at the same time – who would say no to that?
So it's hardly surprising that people with diabetes are also tempted – especially since doctors usually advise them to lose weight, and nutritionists always recommend eating lots of fruits and vegetables.
Even so, short, sharp diets – even ones based on healthy food – are not suitable for diabetics because the weight loss is usually only short-lived.
More promising: change your eating habits
If you want to lose weight permanently, you need to fundamentally change your eating habits. Experts recommend a varied, low-calorie diet with a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Short diets can only be a start, at best – especially for type-2 diabetics who don't yet need drugs.
Be careful: juice fasting is not a good idea
Diabetics who regulate their blood-glucose level with tablets or insulin should be particularly careful. Zero diets are taboo for them, and juice fasting is not to be recommended either. As a general rule, your daily energy intake should not fall below 1200 kilocalories, because eating only extremely small amounts of carbohydrates can lead to hypoglycemia, a dangerous condition. Dr. Thorsten Petruschke, Bayer HealthCare, says: "Especially type-2 diabetics who take tablets to lower their blood glucose sometimes underestimate this danger. This is because the tablets continue to have an effect for many hours. So if a person doesn't feel well in the afternoon, they might not realize that it's because they took a tablet in the morning and then had too frugal a lunch."
Before you start a diet: discuss it with your doctor
You can avoid hypoglycemia during a diet if you consult your doctor beforehand. S/he can adjust the drug dosage to the change in your food intake.
Another important precaution to prevent hypoglycemia is to test your blood glucose regularly – e.g. with a Contour or Breeze glucose meter from Bayer. Thanks to automatic coding they provide especially reliable results – without a lot of effort – and enable you to measure quickly and easily. In this way, regular blood-glucose testing before and after meals becomes routine – whether you're at home or traveling.
Advice for patients
Every body reacts differently to medicines. Therefore it is impossible to tell which medicine works best for you. Please consult your physician.
