No, I am not a diabetic, although I am as surprised at this as my doctor! She continues to do A1C tests every six months. Both my parents were overweight a lot of their adult lives and became Type 2 diabetics around the time they turned 50. I always thought that would happen to me, but here I am at age 63 with no signs of diabetes. I even had a doctor once in Maryland who told me that if I hadn't become a diabetic by that time (about age 55 then) that I probably would never become one. I don't know if he is right, or if other doctors would share that opinion, but so far he is correct.
Despite that good news about me, I have lived with a diabetic my entire married life. Mark and I married in December of 1975. Just four months later, I came home from work and found Mark throwing things at the dining room wall in anger and despair. He had just had a check up at work when he turned 25, and it said he was a Type 2 diabetic. He was angry because he had grown up with a Type 1 diabetic mother, on insulin, often out of control and heading to the hospital ER. He was scared and very angry with life in general on that day.
Over the years, he has learned to control it and has avoided insulin all this time. Along the way, we have both learned a lot about nutrition, metabolizing sugars and other carbs, and living with diabetes. During that time, I gained and lost a LOT of weight several times, in and out of control over the years. No matter what I might KNOW about good nutrition, healthy eating, and good habits, there have been decades when I did not PRACTICE any of that knowledge. I have lived in denial for a lot of my adult life, and despite that, I am STILL not a diabetic.
Now Mark and I are in love with the magazine Diabetic Living. It is our newest tool in our toolbox for eating healthy and controlling blood sugar and weight. Although the magazine is written mostly for Type 2 diabetics who need to lose weight, Mark and I are both using it to our advantage. He does not need to lose weight, but he does need to control his sugars to continue avoiding insulin injections. I do need to lose weight, so I can use those tips to my advantage. Although I don't need to count carbs and worry about metabolizing them, I do need to keep my calories low in order to lose more weight. This magazine is perfect for both of us.
The current issue has several great articles in it. I am going to take this blog and several future ones to share information from one of those articles. The article is called "Weighing the Truth." It points out common myths about weight loss and what is really fact. I thought I knew most everything about weight loss and nutrition, but this article opened my eyes to some new ideas. So today I'm going to share one of these statements.
EXERCISE IS ESSENTIAL FOR LOSING WEIGHT.
I have always believed that. Certainly, the show Biggest Loser perpetuates that idea. People exercise all day long on that show and lose a lot of weight. Every magazine I ever read about weight loss included an exercise program. My own phone app includes a way to log in my daily exercise.
Well, here's what this article says about that!
FALSE!! Are you as surprised as I was? Here is the answer from the magazine:
"This study finding in particular got a lot of yoga pants and lab coats in a twist, Casazza, (Ph.D, RD, asst. professor in the Dept. of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama) says. The belief that exercise is an essential component of any successful weight loss plan is long held and deeply ingrained. But there's a problem; it's not true. 'Going to the gym doesn't make you thin any more than sitting the library makes you a scholar,' she says.
Unless you commit to an Olympian-caliber training program, you simply can't burn enough calories to make up for even tiny lapses in dietary discipline. For example: A 150 pound woman walking for 60 minutes at a moderate pace burns about 225 calories. And a Snickers sounds mighty good after that walk. Just one measly 20ounce bar adds back 250 calories--more than enough to undo that entire hour of exercise.
The only way you can reliably lose weight is by reducing the number of calories you eat. But here's an important note: while it takes dietary changes to get the weight off, you'll find it extremely difficult to keep it off unless you increase your activity level. That's because regular exercise does burn enough calories to offset the creeping rebound that bedevils most people who have lost weight.
Increasing exercise and activity is essential for other reasons, says Diana M Thomas, PhD, director of the Center for Quantitative Obesity Research at Montclair State University in New Jersey and one of the study's authors. 'Waist circumference consistently reduces in response to exercise,' she says, because your body is designed to dip into belly fat first in response to physical activity.
'If people are concerned with how they look, that lower waist circumference will improve your appearance and help you slip back into those jeans you love.'
But don't feel obliged to call it exercise. That word too often conjures images of unpleasant grunting and sweating. Instead, call it activity--and all activity counts, including dancing in your flannel jammies. Keep it simple. Just move more whenever and however you can."
So in a way, the title of the article and the false answer is only partially true. Moving is essential. Increasing the activity level in any way possible is essential. Keeping the calories low is essential. I knew that! I'm glad I live in Solivita because it makes moving and keeping active very easy.
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