Changes in diet can be very helpful! In fact, a large study, the Diabetes Prevention Program that was completed several years ago, showed that by reducing fat content of the diet and losing 7% of previous body weight, as well as exercising for 150 minutes/week – people with pre-diabetes were able to significantly reduce their risk for progressing on to develop type 2 diabetes.

The first step in making needed changes to dietary intake is for people to know what they are eating. Keeping a food diary for several days, where a person records every food or drink consumed, can be very helpful in identifying how many calories are being eaten and whether the source of those calories are nutrient dense foods, or ones high in calories and fat. For the majority of people with type 2 diabetes, weight loss (caused by a loss of body fat) will help to reduce insulin resistance and improve blood sugar levels. In fact, this may also result in a need for less diabetes medication. Reducing calories by reducing fat intake and portion sizes of a variety of foods will result in weight loss. It is important that this reduction in calorie intake be accompanied by an exercise program, as this will not only enhance the rate of weight loss, but will prevent a person from losing lean muscle mass.

For people who are at an appropriate weight and have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, counting carbohydrates in the foods eaten and taking appropriate diabetes medications to control rises in blood glucose is appropriate. How much carbohydrate per meal or snack is recommended will vary from person to person, depending on their age, current height and weight, level of physical activity, muscle mass and what whether the goal is for weight loss, gain or maintenance.