3 Simple Steps to Prevent Diabetes, YES YOU CAN!
To prevent diabetes, you must first acknowledge that it CAN be prevented. Your determination to make the necessary changes will go a long way toward helping you succeed.
Step 1: Increase Activity so You Feel Better Step 2: Choose a Healthy Diet to Live Longer
Step 3: Lose Weight to Look Younger and Better
Step 1. Increase Activity so you can Prevent Diabetes and Feel Better
Get moving! Just 30 minutes a day. Get walking, get cycling, get swimming, get dancing, get jogging, get skipping, whatever you like – just get busy! Thirty minutes a day of moderate physical activity, plus a 5-10% decrease in body weight, will make a difference. And the closer you get to your ideal body weight, the better the improvement. You can succesfully prevent diabetes through regular exercise. For a lot of people, this part is more difficult than staying away from the fast food joints and eating more veggies. Yes, you actually do have to get up and move it. If you want to lose two pounds per week, then you must you do exercise that will burn 500 calories every day (plus reduce the amount of food you eat by 500 calories per day; see Eat Less). If you want to lose one pound, you do 250 calories worth of exercise per day (and eat less). Please be sure to consult a doctor before starting any exercise program. If you’re serious about losing weight to prevent diabetes, you may want to keep track of your calories in, and calories out. You will need an idea of how much exercise you have to do to burn your target number of calories. This depends upon your weight and the type of exercise you do. Heavier people burn more calories doing the same exercise than lighter people do. And more strenuous exercise, such as running, burns more calories than easier exercise, like walking. So how can you find out how many calories a person of your weight uses with various forms of exercise? If you’ve ever used a treadmill or other automated exercise equipment in the gym, you’ll notice it asks you to input your age and weight before beginning exercise. Then it is able to tell you how many calories you’re using up as you exercise, based on this information. Or you can look in a good book about exercise and weight loss or search online for a calorie counter. The keys to sticking with your exercise routine are commitment, fun and convenience. You have to first decide that exercise is an absolute priority and quitting is not an option. Next, think of activities which you might enjoy – some people do better with an exercise buddy or social activities like salsa dancing. Finally, make sure it is convenient to include the activity in your daily routine. In other words, don’t join a gym which is 45 minutes from your house and opens at 7AM if you have to be at work at 9AM – it’s just not practical. Also, if you are not a morning person, don’t sign up for the 5AM spinning class! Set yourself up for success! As with every other goal, for success with your exercise program to prevent diabetes, you must create a definite written plan with specific, measurable objectives. Figure out what type of exercise you want to do, where you will do it, and when, and create a schedule you can stick to. You can find time by watching less television, limiting internet time and reclaiming wasted moments by getting more organized. It's important to do this before you start, so that you do not become frustrated and quit when you cannot find time to exercise. If you like to use exercise equipment but you do not want to buy any, you need access to a gym. If you want to run or bicycle, you need to figure out how to do that without hurting yourself. Sort it all out ahead of time and it will be a lot easier when you actually workout. Before starting any exercise program, you should consult your doctor. Then start slowly and work up to a more challenging routine. Keep it fun by rewarding yourself for little successes. You lost two pounds? Celebrate – not with high calorie foods, but maybe with a special exotic fruit you like. You stuck to your routine for an entire month? Celebrate - maybe with a brand new journal to keep track of your progress and record your journey. After six months, reward yourself with an ipod. Plan it all in advance, the anticipation will help to motivate you, and you can make sure your savings can pay for the prizes.
Step 2. Choose a Healthy Diet to Prevent Diabetes and Live LongerCLICK HERE! for Your Healthy Food Guide  What did you eat today? If you think about the choices you made in selecting breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you can have agood idea how committed you are to making healthy food decisions that prevent diabetes. In the past 10 years, many peoplehave improved the way they eat by decreasing their intake of fat and sugar. Have you made any personal resolve to improve your diet? Do you seriously want to prevent diabetes? Ensuring good nutrition requires knowledge as well as willpower. Makinghealthy food choices is what good nutrition is all about. A good diet includes foods that supply all of the nutrients essentialfor normal function, and excludes foods which lead to decreased function. It is important that we choose a variety of good foods to stay healthy and prevent diabetes. But how can we know whether we are getting all the nutrients we need? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed the Food Guide Pyramid to help Americans choose what -and how much- to eat from each food group to get the right nutrients, without having too many calories,fats, cholesterol, sugar or salt. While I am not endorsing this pyramid, I believe that with some sensible changes it can givegeneral guidelines for achieving a balanced diet. The Food Guide Pyramid encourages eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day and reducing the amount of fat, especially saturated fat, in the diet. Fats, oils and sweets are at the top of the Pyramid, and should be eaten infrequently,and in small amounts. The bulk of our diet should be whole grains, nuts and legumes (peas and beans). These complexcarbohydrates are an important source of energy, are high in fiber and low in calories. Ounce for ounce, carbohydrateshave less than half the calories of fat. Nutrition experts recommend that at least half of our daily calories should comefrom complex carbohydrates. Examples include broccoli, carrots, cabbage, sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, whole grain cereals. It is important that you balance your carbohydrates with protein in order to help prevent diabetes. Since proteins are incorporated into the blood stream slower than carbohydrates, they balance the increase in blood glucose which may result from carbohydrate intake. And complex carbs are absorbed slower than simple or refined carbs, so they do not increase the blood sugar as much. These simple principles can be applied to your diet to help reverse or prevent diabetes. Experts who study these things say that people who follow a plant-based diet live on average seven years longer than the average American. This type of diet is also most effective for people who want to stop diabetes. I would suggest you consider modifying the Food Guide Pyramid recommendations to exclude dairy products (contrary to popular belief, we can get all the calcium we need from dark green leafy vegetables). I also recommend that you choose to limit meat intake as much as possible, eventually down to about 3-4 times a year. (This allows you to enjoy your favorite meat dish at family gatherings such as weddings, major holidays or other special occasions if you desire, without guilt.) If you choose to include dairy products in your diet, two to three servings per day should come from the milk, yogurt and cheese group. It is probably best to choose dairy products which are lowfat and organic in order to reduce the health risks associated with saturated fats and insecticides. CLICK the link below to learn when to buy organic Organic Foods - To Buy or Bypass?The Food pyramid suggests that two to three servings should come from the meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts group. As I suggested above, you might want to consider eating meat rarely, or not at all. If you choose to eat meat, make sure you select the most healthy varieties. Organic lean meats, organic and free range poultry and small ocean fish are probably your best bets. We can get high-quality protein from beans and peas, especially when combined with whole grains, and from nuts. Vegetarians should ensure an adequate intake of vitamin B12 supplements. Intramuscular or sublingual B12 formulations are most likely to be usable by the body. Each day, choose a variety of foods from the five major food groups and build your Pyramid from the bottom up. This will contribute significantly to your efforts to prevent diabetes. The decision to follow a healthy diet may involve giving up many of your favorite foods and beverages. Colas, coffee, tea and other drinks containing caffeine may be best avoided since they can have adverse effects on your health. Nutritionists say you can learn how to balance your food choices by fitting in your traditional favorites and enjoying your meals and snacks while still promoting good health. But they say you must rethink your meals from the first bite through dessert. Occasionally you can eat some foods with more fat or more sugar, as long as you choose small portions and use them only infrequently. As the experts say, the goal is to moderate, not eliminate, fat and sugars in your food choices. Unfortunately, some people feel they can eat anything as long as it is fat-free. But in reality a lot of these foods simply increase sugar, salt or artificial flavoring to make up for the fat. Nutritionists agree that to improve your food choices, you must read food labels, focusing on calories and grams of fat, then choose products which are low in both. This will help you to be more aware of the calories and fat in foods you eat and thus you'll have a better sense of the calories you take in each day without counting every mouthful. So, remember, in your quest to prevent diabetes always exercise portion control. Now, when you make the decision to switch to a more healthy diet, you can begin by modifying your food choices gradually. Eat foods lower in fats and sugars, and try to prepare old favorites in a more nutritious manner. Bake, broil, boil, steam and stew rather than fry meats, fish or poultry. Trim all visible fat from meats, fish and poultry. Remove skin from poultry, preferably before cooking. Learn to add flavor with garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, liquid aminos , herbs and spices. Saute vegetables in broth or water instead of fat Try using vegetable cooking spray to stir-fry. Also try adding some new vegetables and fruits to your meals. You could be pleasantly surprised how delicious fruits and vegetables can be and how easy it is to include them in your daily diet. Be sure to follow a varied, moderate and balanced diet. The following are some great and easy-to-follow smoothie recipes adapted to help you on the road to adopt a more nutritious diet and successfully prevent diabetes. Smoothie Recipes to Prevent Diabetes
 People can actually achieve normal blood sugar levels, reverse and prevent diabetes by losing excess weight. It’s simple, but may not be easy. Let’s take a minute to discuss why losing weight may not be easy. The first reason is: you want to stay the way you are, and you think that attempts to change it are too hard or may be harmful. We think losing weight is simple in theory but difficult because you have to change your thinking, engage your willpower, change your habits and work hard. What habits? Two habits: eating habits and exercise habits. I told you it was simple. Study after study has proved that nothing beats increased exercise and decreased food intake for losing weight. Nothing is better. Not surgery – it may be faster, but has serious risks; and you may end up regaining the weight in a short time. Not fad diets – they work just-in-time for the wedding, but by the time you get back from the honeymoon, your old weight is also back, if not more, because, I mean, really, who could live off cabbage juice for the rest of their life anyway? Find the right path to prevent diabetes with weight loss
Chances are, if you’re overweight or obese, it is probably because you eat more than your body needs. Now, you can probably think of Grandpa John who could eat half a cow and never gain any weight. On the other hand, Grandpa John probably spent his entire day lifting, pulling, pushing, chopping, walking, sweating – so his body needed more calories than you do, and some people naturally burn fat faster. Do you spend your day sitting, watching, thinking, calculating, waiting, loading (the dishwasher, washing machine or grocery cart) surfing (the net), driving? Then your body needs fewer calories to function. If you eat more than the needed amount, you will gain weight. Every time. If you consume fewer calories than you use up, you will lose weight. Unless, of course, you have some sort of illness, like an underactive thyroid, this method will work for you. So keep reading, discuss what we say with your doctor, and follow it if she approves. Now let’s be frank. Your body doesn't like you to eat less than it needs; it will think you are starving. If you go on a very limited diet (like, let’s say, the grapefruit diet) your body will rebel! You will feel hungry, tired, and cranky. You (and your friends and family) can only take this for so long, so this is why fad diets are doomed from the very beginning. You should always combine a sensible diet with exercise for best results. When you exercise, your brain produces hormones that help you feel good. You also increase your ability to burn fat. So if you eat fewer calories than your body needs, but don't go under your requirements by too much, and exercise intensely enough that your body keeps going and burns even more fat, you will lose weight. And weight loss is one of the keys to prevent diabetes. A healthy rate of weight loss is about 1-2 pounds per week. So any diet that promises “lose 40lbs in 8 weeks by eating our food” may be setting you up for failure. Sure it may work for a while, but don’t ignore the evidence – a sensible diet plus exercise is the best method for losing weight and keeping it off. Be sure to visit our sensible diet page to view some suggestions that really work. ________NOTE________ Since we do not know exactly what causes Diabetes Type 1 yet, our hands are tied when it comes to prevention. But scientists are doing some promising research now with adult stem cells that may help to reverse, and perhaps eventually prevent Diabetes Type 1. OK, back to Diabetes Type 2. So I have shown that a healthy diet and regular intense exercise are the two keys to your successful weight loss. Guess what? They are also the keys to successfully prevent diabetes type 2, heart disease, stroke, and even some cancers.
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