Eight out of ten people with type 2 diabetes are overweight, so it’s easy to understand why you should manage your weight. Excess weight prevents insulin from doing its job, especially when the fat is around the tummy area. Luckily, losing weight gradually, even just a few pounds, can help lower the amount of sugar in your blood and keep you slimmer around the waist.

Understanding how someone becomes overweight

Your lifestyle, emotions, stress, financial situation and social environment are just some of the factors that can affect your weight.

If you need to shed a few pounds, understand why you’re overweight in the first place will help you find strategies that work for you. A dietitian, a kinesiologist, and a psychologist can help you achieve your goals.

Managing your weight is possible!

• Eating well and exercising are two key steps to weight control.
• Miracle and starvation diets may promise quick results, but they usually don’t keep their promises in the long run. They can even cause physical and psychological damage.
• Listening to your body will help you know when you’re truly hungry, like when your stomach contracts or your energy level drops. This is when you should actually start eating, not just when you get a craving, which could ease you to eat even though your body doesn’t really need food.
• At meals, eat slowly so you have time to feel when you’ve eaten enough. Stop eating when you’re no longer hungry, even if you haven’t finished your plate.

Did you know?

Some studies show that not getting enough sleep can contribute, for a variety of reasons, to weight gain.