Diabetes Weight Loss: Week by Week. Jill Weisenberger

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СКАЧАТЬ are no longer fasting, so it stops releasing extra glucose.

      Breakfast in a Scramble

      • Start your day with a piece of fruit, if the thought of eating in the morning makes you queasy. Eventually add other food groups.

      • Get organized the night before.

      — Pack a peanut butter and banana sandwich and a cup of low-fat milk to go.

      — Measure out dry cereal and store it in the refrigerator with a cup of low-calorie yogurt and a plastic spoon to take with you.

      — Prepare your own trail mix of dry whole-grain cereals, dried apricots, dried cherries, and other favorite dried fruits. Pair with a cup of yogurt, or if you want to avoid more carbohydrate, grab a tiny container of cottage cheese, or a cheese stick to round out this speedy breakfast.

      • Keep a few meal-replacement bars and drinks on hand for when all else fails. Keep some at home and at work.

      — Pick those with at least 3 grams of fiber, 10 grams of protein, no more than 3 grams of saturated fat, and about 250–400 calories. See Week 13 for more information about meal replacements.

      • Make a smoothie with nonfat Greek yogurt and frozen fruit. Eat it at home or take it with you. See the recipe for Mixed Berry Smoothie in the Appendix.

      • Stock up on dry and cooked whole-grain cereals. If you prefer long-cooking oats, prepare several servings at once. Store the

      leftovers in the refrigerator in serving-size containers.

      • Early in the week, make several hard-boiled eggs. In the morning, grab one, along with toast or fruit or both.

      • Scramble eggs with diced peppers and onions. Wrap them in a tortilla or place between two halves of an English muffin.

      • Combine any three food groups such as grains, lean meat, and fruit, if you don’t like traditional breakfast foods,

      • Eat last night’s leftovers.

      Cheryl S’s Story

       I always thought I was too busy to eat breakfast, and I thought that skipping breakfast would mean less calories overall. But, that wasn’t true. Eating breakfast has helped me control my blood glucose better and has kept me from getting so hungry that I eat whatever is convenient. What’s really surprising is that I feel SO much better. Now I plan ahead to get my breakfast ready while I’m getting ready for work. I even keep some things in the freezer for days when I’m in a hurry. Eating regularly throughout the day is one of the best things I can do for myself.

Use a Small Dish

      Eating behavior expert Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think We Eat (Bantam Dell, 2006), argues that on average Americans eat about 30–35% more than they think they do. Even the most aware individuals eat about 20% more than they realize. If you think you aren’t influenced by the size of a dish, you probably are, he says. When nutrition science professors and graduate students were given various sizes of ice cream scoops and bowls to serve themselves at a party, those with the larger dish served up to 127 more calories compared with those with the smaller dish. That amount increased further when they had both the larger dish and the larger scoop. Even students and professors who know lots about food and what they are eating can be misled!

      If the size of a dish can trick you into eating more, it can also trick you into eating less. Apply this concept to all aspects of eating and drinking. Will it be more satisfying to eat a 4-ounce steak on a 12-inch dinner plate or on an 8-inch salad plate? On the bigger plate, the steak looks like a child’s serving. Pull out your small dishes and glasses or buy some attractive new ones. Use nothing larger than a 9-inch plate for dinner, 1-cup bowls for cereal, ½-cup dishes for ice cream and other desserts, and 1-ounce shot glasses for M & M’s, jellybeans, and the like.

      TIP!

      Visit www.mindlesseating.org for more information about mindless eating and how to break free of it.

Keep Moving

      For weight loss, blood glucose control, and overall fitness, you should engage in both cardiovascular (aerobic) and strength-training exercises. If you have any doubts about beginning an exercise program, or about cranking it up a notch if you’re already active, talk to your physician first. If you started walking last week or just started wearing a pedometer, keep it up this week and do a bit more, if possible. Our emphasis this week is on cardiovascular exercise. Walking, swimming, biking, stair climbing, dancing, and other activities that get you breathing heavily for several minutes strengthen your heart. This type of activity aids weight loss by burning calories, giving you a boost in energy (this is why being tired is a poor excuse not to exercise), improving triglyceride and cholesterol levels, increasing insulin sensitivity, and lowering blood glucose levels.

      You may feel overwhelmed with the recommendation to engage in at least 150 minutes of cardiovascular activity weekly. If so, take it slowly. Any amount of activity is better than none. Thirty minutes is better than 20, and 20 minutes is better than 10. Set SMART goals for exercise, just as you do for dietary changes. Examine where you are, where you want to go, and make strategies to get there. The best activity to pick is the one you enjoy, and the best time to do it is the time that works for you. For example, if exercising before bed makes it hard to relax into a good slumber, you might be more consistent if you exercise before dinner. Be sure to pick an indoor activity for bad weather days as well.

      During exercise, you should work hard enough to improve fitness, but not so hard to hurt yourself. Warm up for a few minutes with some slow walking and some gentle stretches before beginning your aerobic activity. Do something similar after your activity. Adjust your intensity up or down to hit the range you are aiming for. As your fitness improves, add either a few minutes to your exercise routine or pick up the intensity a bit. Listen to your body and follow the pace that’s right for you.

      Rate Your Exercise

      A useful tool to help you judge your exercise is the Borg Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale. It helps you assess your level of effort. The Borg Scale ranges from 6 to 20. Generally, a rating between 12 and 14 indicates a moderate level of intensity.

      Here’s how you use it: while doing physical activity, rate how you perceive your level of exertion. Consider how strenuous the exercise feels to you, including your sense of exertion, effort, and fatigue. Focus on your whole body’s level of exertion, not just on any one part of your body. Then, choose the number on the scale that best represents how you perceive your level of effort.

      The Borg Scale runs from 6 (no exertion at all) to 20 (maximal exertion). A 9 is “very light” exertion, such as an easy, slow walk. At 13, the effort is “somewhat hard,” the work is tiring but you can keep going on. For 15, you’re working out pretty hard, and at 17, the physical activity is strenuous and tiring. When you get up to 19, it’s hard to consider keeping up this level of exertion for any length of time.

      It’s important to try to honestly assess your exertion level. Don’t think about how difficult you think the activity should be. Just scan your body and fairly assess how hard СКАЧАТЬ