Burn Fat as a Diabetic

The main way to burn fat as a diabetic is to eat fewer calories than you use for your daily activities.

This basic fact about weight loss is true for everyone, whether you have diabetes or not. The difference between a diabetic diet and other diets is that diabetics need to eat small meals throughout the day. Their food intake must be balanced with protein, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and fats. Following extreme weight loss diets could be dangerous for a diabetic.

Healthy Weight Loss

According to the American Diabetes Association, losing extra pounds could lower your blood pressure and help you have a better cholesterol rate. Dropping those extra pounds is often helpful in controlling glucose levels as well. As a diabetic, you should never fast or skip meals. Doing this causes your blood sugar to go down to a level that could be dangerous. In addition, your
body goes into a type of starvation mode and holds onto the fat in your body. This could very well result in an inability to lose the fat you want to drop.

Keeping Carbs

Someone without diabetes may cut down on carbs to lose weight. Diabetics should not eliminate this food group from their diet. In fact, the American Diabetes Association recommends that you get 50 to 60 percent of your calories from carbohydrates. Some nutritionists advocate cutting these down by about 10 percent to approximately 50 percent carbs. Check with your dietician or nutritionist to be sure that this is a healthy amount for your circumstances. The most important part in cutting down on carbs is to eliminate sugary foods and white flour from your diet. Diabetics should avoid these foods that are considered simple carbohydrates. Eating whole grains in breads and cereals is better because they are complex carbs that take longer to digest.

Benefits of Exercise

Controlling your diabetes is easier with exercise. A balanced diet plus exercise can eliminate the need for medication for many diabetics. Exercise is even more important when you are trying to lose weight. Losing belly fat, or visceral fat that is deep within the abdomen, is especially important to avoid heart disease and other side effects of diabetes. Studies point to the fact that exercise is necessary to lose visceral fat. A diet plan that is balanced, plus walking for 45 minutes three to four times each week is a good start to a plan that will help you drop fat and pounds. When you are in better physical shape and your diabetes is under control, you can add weigh-lifting and expand your exercise plan.