Many people contact us to ask if Food Optimising will fit in with their diabetes – the answer is a resounding YES! Not only will it fit around the condition – many members tell us that it has helped control it.
“At my heaviest weight I’d been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and the condition was steadily worsening. After losing 85lbs with Slimming World my confidence and physical health have improved dramatically and I feel great. My doctor has even reduced my diabetic medication – she told me that I’m the only person in her diabetic clinic to have their medication reduced. I’m hoping that it can stop altogether eventually!”
Barrie Walters
"I’d been controlling my type 2 diabetes for several years using medication. When I went to a routine appointment at my local diabetes clinic however, my doctor was pretty blunt. He told me that if I didn’t change my lifestyle, in a few months time I would need to start injecting insulin.
Part of my condition meant that I experienced diabetic lows, where I’d feel light headed and would start sweating. After joining Slimming World and losing 85lbs I experienced my last low nearly a year ago and took my last pill - my diabetes is now controlled by my diet alone! My doctor is amazed. He’d never heard of someone with diabetes at my level changing their condition so drastically purely through diet."
John Ritchie
how can Food Optimising help?
Because Food Optimising is extremely generous and flexible, and puts you in control of the foods you eat and when you eat them, it is easy to fit in with any personal advice on diet that your diabetes care team gives you. Taking insulin or other medication need not be a barrier to losing weight; our research shows that Slimming World members with diabetes lose weight as successfully as other members.
The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse and the American Diabetes Association, recommends a number of steps to healthy eating, which can help control your blood glucose levels and blood fats as well as regulate your weight.
Here is how Food Optimising helps you take those steps easily and enjoyably to achieve your goals:
1. Eat regular meals each day
Aiming not to skop meals but eating a regular breakfast, lunch, evening meal, and healthy snacks when you need them, helps control your blood glucose level and appetite. The flexibility of Food Optimising means you can choose when and what you want to eat making it easy to meet your individual needs.
2. Enjoy starchy, carbohydrate-rich foods
Food Optimising makes it easy to include startchy carbohydrates at each mealtime. Pasta, potatoes, rice, and beans are Free Foods, which means you decide how much you want to eat and when you want to eat it to fit in with your diabetes meal plan*. Whole wheat bread and wholegrain cereals are Healthy Extras, so you can enjoy them every day if you wish. Filling up on fiber-rich foods is great for weight loss because they help keep you feeling fuller for longer and are low in energy density, which means they help keep hunger at bay without piling on the calories.
3. Easy ways to eat less fat
When you are Food Optimising you automatically reduce your fat intake:
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high-fat foods are counted as Syns, so they are limited, but oily fish is a Free Food and olive oil is a Healthy Extra, both are rich in 'good' fats which are recommended for people with diabetes.
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you are encouraged to choose non-fat versions of dairy produce, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese
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trim off fat from meat and remove skin (the lovely high-fat bit) from poultry
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cook using healthy, fat-free methods such as broiling, steaming or baking instead of frying.
4. Fill up on fruit and veg
The United States Department of Agriculture Food Guide (choosemyplate.gov) recommends that we eat at least 3 cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit a day so that half our plate at each meal is made up of fruit and vegetables; with Food Optimising you can eat as much as you wish*. This is because fruit and vegetables are super-healthy, low-energy dense foods to fill up on. All fruit and vegetables, fresh or frozen, are Free Foods so you can keeps the fruit bowl full and pile your plate with vegetables at every meal.
5. Include more oily fish
It is recommended that you aim to eat two or three portions of non-fried oily fish a week, such as mackerel, herring, salmon, and sardines. Rich in healthy polyunsaturated fats, oily fish are Free Food when Food Optimising*.
6. Easy ways to eat less sugar
Like high-fat foods, sugary foods count as Syns and so are automatically limited when you are Food Optimising. But there's no need to go without sweet tea or sodas: sugar substitutes are Free Foods and can be used in drinks and in cooking; low calorie sodas and sugar free soft drink mixes are also Free Foods.
7. Keep an eye on salt
It is easy to monitor your salt intake when you’re Food Optimising because you are encouraged to prepare meals using fresh foods, rather than eating a lot of ready-made and convenience dishes. Herbs, spices and garlic are all Free Foods.
8. Keep an eye on alcohol
All alcohol counts as Syns, so is limited when you are Food Optimising. A small glass of wine or 7 fl oz of beer both have around 5 Syns, so with a typical daily allowance of 10 Syns, you can enjoy one or two drinks a day if that is how you like to use them. Drinking on an empty stomach, which is not recommended if you have diabetes, need never be a problem as there are always Free Food snacks to fill up on.
We recommend that you talk to your diabetes care team about Food Optimising. This is especially important if you are taking insulin or other diabetes medication as doses may need adjusting as you lose weight.
For more information on all aspects of diabetes, check out:
http://www.diabetes.org
http://ndep.nih.gov
If you have diabetes it is vital that you always follow the advice given by your health care team and continue to follow your diabetes meal plan, specific to your personal needs. If you don’t have a diabetes meal plan please talk to your doctor and/or dietitian who will help you create one that suits your needs, routine and any medication you take.