Obesity and Diabetes

Obesity and Diabetes

OBESITY AND DIABETES: NO QUICK FIX
by Peter J. Nebergall, PhD

Almost daily we encounter yet another reputable study linking
type 2 diabetes, or its complications, with being overweight. Just as often,
if not more, we hear ads for "wonder-diets," "amazing fat-burners,"
"weight-off pills," and other appeals to the credulous to lose weight
overnight, without undue effort. And we are confused.
We know, by now, that obesity can raise insulin resistance,
the central symptom of type 2 diabetes. Lose the weight, lessen the resistance.
We also know that the bad food habits behind most obesity are part of that "unhealthy
lifestyle" our health care team wants us to change. Yes, we know we want
to be slender!
The problem becomes how do we lose that weight? Is there a pill
for this ill? Can't the doc prescribe something that will make the 30, or 50,
or 75 pounds melt away, while I'm sleeping?
There are folks who'll be glad to sell you one! They'll even
tell you about their grandmother's best friend's second cousin, who was cured
of his fat, even healed of his diabetes just by reading the label. And you can
have this miracle substance too, for a small fee...
No. There's only one reliable way for most of us to lose that
bulk; the same way we put it there—with a lot of slow, hard work. How should
you do it? How did I do it? (Yes, I lost 40 pounds this way.) Diet and exercise,
like they say in the books. And the answer is yes, you can do both, with the
help of your health care team. There are a few folks who find their medications
spur weight gain. This is unfortunate, but the worst thing you can do is skip
your meds, just to keep the weight off—your body will not thank you.
First, are you following a meal plan? How many calories? If
you take in more than you burn off, you will gain weight. If you are in balance,
you will maintain weight, and if outgo exceeds income, your weight will drop.
It's like your bank account.
There are two things you can do. You can restrict your food
intake (of course review this with your health care team, who will help you
design a healthy and balanced weight-loss diet), and you can increase the amount
of calories that you burn off in regular exercise. Improving your diet and exercise
takes time, and it takes discipline. The specialty "fad" diets owe
their apparent success not to the magical properties of this or that substance,
but to the demand for food-discipline required by the diet. "True believers,"
in whatever, tend to follow orders—and that's exactly what you need to
do, to make any diet work.
Diets take time. It takes time for your body to adjust to lessened
food intake, and get around to burning off those inches. It takes more time
for most of us to shed those trashy eating habits, like our addictions to hot
fudge sundaes, milkshakes, pints of beer, french fries, and size huge pizzas.
"Are ya' full yet? Eat up!" they say, and "up" is the word
we see on the glucose monitor screen too. We all want to feel like life is bountiful,
but overindulgence at the table is a dangerous habit, especially if you have
diabetes.
So what should you do? I suggest you start by making an inventory
of your eating. Be honest; how much do you take in? Then, you and your health
care team can construct a reasonable and workable meal plan. Then keep it. Avoid
a sense of hurry; you didn't put those pounds on overnight, so don't expect
to take them off in two or three weeks. Diets work faster when combined with
a sensible program of exercise. Your health care team can help you design one—but
YOU'VE got to keep at it.
Should you take an "appetite suppressant" pill? Wouldn't
it be faster? In almost all cases, no. Most "diet pills," if they
work at all, are amphetamines, lightweight cousins of illegals like "dexies,"
"speed," and "crystal meth." They can hurt you bad! Some
of the "most promising" have been pulled from the market as unsafe.
You might be able to find them, but, unless your doctor thinks they are appropriate,
I would seriously question their use. If you have diabetes, stick to weight-loss
techniques that are safe.
We live in a culture that does not encourage self-discipline.
In our advertisement-drenched society, one is encouraged to purchase answers,
not to achieve them. We are taught we cannot cope by ourselves—that "the
miracle of modern science has a pill for every ill." It may be good marketing,
but it's not good diabetes care. Take care of yourself; there is no quick fix.