Plan of action: A four-week, step-by-step way to fight diabetes
Tens of millions of Americans are at risk for type 2 diabetes — dangerously high blood sugar that develops when the cells throughout your body resist insulin.
An estimated 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes — above-normal blood sugar
that can lead to diabetes, and another 47 million have metabolic syndrome — a
step before pre-diabetes, when blood sugar is OK but insulin resistance is
high.
Get your blood sugar levels under control now with Woman Day magazine's
four-week anti-diabetes action plan. It's based on a healthy lifestyle that
works for every woman, taken from the four main strategies of the Diabetes
Prevention Program, and the good news is that there is no major overhaul necessary.
The evidence compiled is so strong that researchers at the Harvard School of
Public Health think that healthy habits could prevent 90 percent of type 2
diabetes cases.
The outline of the plan includes:
Week 1: Move!
Your goal: Thirty minutes of activity such as walking, riding an exercise bike,
swimming or doing a workout DVD at home most days of the week, plus strength
training (lifting weights, using resistance bands) two to three times a week.
How to do it:
-Think 10-10-10. Ten minutes of stretching in the morning, a brisk 10-minute
walk at lunch, and 10 minutes of strength training in the evening every day
adds up to 3½ hours a week of exercise — an hour more than people in the
Diabetes Prevention Program did. And the short bursts really work. One British
study showed that very short, high-intensity workouts on exercise bikes
improved insulin resistance by 23 percent in just two weeks.
-Put it on your calendar. If you prefer 30-minute sessions, take time on Sunday
night to pencil them into your calendar on at least five days each week. Tell
yourself and your loved ones it's your time to exercise, and unless something
of major importance comes up, stick to it. Scheduling makes it more formal, and
you might even find that your kids or spouse will remind and support you.
-Strength-train while you watch TV. Devote commercial time to a few
muscle-building (and maintaining) moves. Try crunches, modified push-ups (on
your hands and knees), squats and lunges. Aim for two to three
strength-training sessions per week for the best results.
Week 2: Stop portion distortion
Being overweight doubles your odds of developing diabetes, and if you're very
overweight or obese your chances triple. The key to keeping the scale steady —
or losing weight, if you need to — is to practice portion control.
-Measure. Use measuring cups and spoons to check portions before you eat.
Sounds like a pain, but after you do this a few times you'll be able to eyeball
it. (But re-measure monthly to make sure you're not inching toward overdoing
it.)
-Divide your plate. Another way to make sure you're eating the right amount:
Fill half of your plate with vegetables (with little or no added fats, oils,
breading or sauces). Use one-fourth for meat or a non-meat protein such as
beans, eggs or tofu, and one-fourth for a grain or starchy vegetable such as
brown rice or a small sweet potato.
-Wait 20 minutes after eating. This is how long it takes for your brain to
register the "I'm full" message.
Week 3: Hello, fiber
Whole grains, fruits, vegetables and other high-fiber foods protect against
diabetes by filling you up for fewer calories, slowing the natural rise in
blood sugar after a meal, and providing nutrients such as magnesium and
chromium.
-Visualize your goal. Every day, aim for three servings of whole grains (one
serving equals a slice of bread or one-half cup brown rice), 2 cups of fruit
(one medium apple or orange is about 1 cup) and 2 and one-half cups of
vegetables. Have at least two servings of fruits and/or vegetables at every
meal. This will make reaching that 25 grams a no-brainer. Double up at dinner
by serving an extra vegetable.
-Check the nutrition facts label. Make sure breads and cereals have at least 3
grams of fiber per serving. Five grams is even better. Take a look at the
ingredients list, too: a whole grain like rolled oats or whole-wheat flour
should be first.
Week 4: Fix your fats
There's the good-poly- and monounsaturated fat, and the bad-saturated and
trans. Your mission is to cut the amount of saturated fat to less than 7
percent of your total calories (that's about 14 grams or less a day for a
2,000-calorie diet) and have the good fats in moderation. The bad fats are even
more dangerous than sugar. Be sure to read all labels carefully for saturated
fat gram counts: Even "healthy" foods have it.
-Snack strategically on nuts. They're an excellent source of the
"good" monounsaturated fats, which some research shows may protect
against diabetes by reducing low-grade inflammation, making cells a little more
insulin-sensitive and even helping with healthy insulin production. Pairing a
small handful of nuts (one-fourth cup or less) with a piece of fruit or a small
bowl of sliced raw veggies gets good-for-you monounsaturated fats into your
diet without going overboard.
-Cook with olive or canola oil. Rich in monounsaturated fats, these oils are a
smart swap for butter, which is packed with saturated fat. Just watch how much
you use: one tablespoon has 120 calories.
-Switch to lowfat or fat-free dairy. The calorie and fat savings can be
dramatic. An 8-oz glass of whole milk has 8 grams of saturated fat; lowfat (1
percent) has just 2.5 grams and fat-free (skim) obviously has none. If you
drink two glasses a day, switching to fat-free could save you 16 grams of saturated
fat.
-Sidestep "stealth fat" in chicken and turkey. Trimming the fat and
removing the skin from a chicken breast cuts saturated fat in half. If you're
buying ground turkey instead of ground beef, be sure it's turkey breast;
regular ground turkey and some turkey products may contain fattier dark meat
and even turkey skin, which raises the fat content as high as some ground
beefs. Look for types that say "light meat," "white meat,"
or "breast" on the ingredients list.
