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- Restart Your Blood Sugars<\/strong> \u2013 Check your blood sugars. Record your blood sugar before each meal and two hours after the beginning of each meal. If you\u2019re on insulin, you also need to check at bedtime.<\/li>\n
- Restart Your Food<\/b> \u2013 Balance Green Light Foods<\/a>. Eat three balanced meals each day without snacking. Build your meals around non-starchy vegetables and legumes. Avoid animal products, refined grains, sugar, and oil. Limit starch consumption to one to two servings per meal, and continue to check blood sugars.<\/li>\n
- Restart Your Exercise Plan <\/strong>\u2013 Walk 10-20+ minutes after each meal. After-meal exercise is a secret weapon to lower blood sugar spikes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Let\u2019s take a closer look at each of your action items.<\/p>\n
1. Restart Your Blood Sugars<\/strong><\/h3>\n
We promote diet and exercise change that can rapidly lower blood sugars. You may need to lower your insulin or oral diabetes medication within just a day or two of starting. Many people who follow this program have discontinued all blood sugar meds within one to two weeks. This is great news! But it needs to be done safely and in collaboration with your healthcare team.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/shutterstock_207941596-300x201.jpg\")
<\/a>It\u2019s impossible to know how quickly your blood sugars will drop since everyone is different. That\u2019s why testing is critical. On the Restart plan, you must test your blood sugars before and after every meal. Your health care providers need this information to know what recommendations to make for adjusting your medications. Tracking your blood sugars will also help you learn how various foods are impacting your blood sugars.<\/p>\nThe goal is eventually to get your blood sugars to:<\/p>\n
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- Under 100 before meal<\/li>\n
- Under 160 1 hour after meal<\/li>\n
- Under 140 2 hours after meal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Because this program is so effective, it can quickly lower your need for diabetes-related medications. That\u2019s why the number one concern is to prevent dangerous drops in blood sugar. Checking blood sugars regularly will guide you and your medical team to adjust your medications and keep you safe.<\/p>\n
Since low blood sugars are very dangerous, it would be better to err on the side of taking too little medication than too much. Since you are checking your blood sugars frequently, repeated high blood sugars are certain times of the day can easily be corrected after you have adjusted to the right diet and exercise strategies. Typically, insulin is adjusted by only about 10 percent every few days, but in an intensive lifestyle intervention program, insulin and oral medications may need to be adjusted dramatically by as much as 50 to 100 percent within days. This is all determined by your blood sugar response to the program.<\/p>\n
Some people with type 2 diabetes are no longer able to produce adequate amounts of insulin. This occurs when the pancreas has been damaged over time from chronically high blood sugars. These individuals will have higher blood sugars and won\u2019t require as rapid an adjustment in insulin and oral medications. However, they have a good chance of eventually reducing the amount of medication they need. More importantly, they will experience a much higher quality of health and greatly lower their risk of diabetes related complications.<\/p>\n
Remember, check your blood sugars frequently to stay healthy and safe!<\/p>\n
2. Restart Your Food<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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- Goal to have 45+ grams of fiber daily with meals.<\/li>\n
- Three balanced meals daily without snacking.<\/li>\n
- Limit pasta and rice by emphasizing vegetables with healthy fats and proteins.<\/li>\n
- Starches should not compose more than \u00bc of overall food volume for meals. Serve non-starches first to avoid over consumption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3. Restart Your Exercise Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Step 1: <\/strong><\/p>\n
Walk for 15-20 minutes after each meal.<\/p>\n
You already know that healthy meals help control blood sugars. But did you know that what you do right after you eat also makes a big difference? After-meal exercise is one of the most powerful (and yet little known) strategies for diabetes reversal. But why is it so effective? Isn\u2019t exercise healthy at any time of the day.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very important to minimize after-meal blood sugar spikes, and that\u2019s where exercise comes in. When you engage in light to moderate exercise right after your meal, your muscles become eager to accept the glucose you just ate.<\/p>\n
You can potentially reduce your after-meal blood sugar spike from 1 to 3 points for every minute you exercise after a meal. For example, if your after-meal blood sugar usually spikes to 200, you could potentially prevent that spike and lower it to somewhere between 140 and 180 by simply taking a 20-minute walk right after eating. It doesn\u2019t take long for the benefits to add up and show up in your Hemoglobin A1C results.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/shutterstock_343491992-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>One study from the Mayo Clinic found that diabetics have significantly lower blood sugars four and a half hours after a meal if they go for a walk right after eating.<\/p>\nAfter-meal exercise is powerful. It improves blood sugars, lowers triglycerides, helps control weight, aids in digestion, and prevents the awful feeling of a food coma. After-meal exercise is a valuable tool for battling diabetes and optimizing wellness.<\/p>\n
So why not start today? Get some light exercise after each meal. Just stand up and go for a walk. You don\u2019t need to change your clothes or work up a sweat. Keep it simple. 15-20 minutes is a great goal, but anything is better than nothing. You\u2019ll notice a big difference when you move after your meals.<\/p>\n
Step 2: <\/strong><\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve mastered after-meal exercise, you can build on it by adding 30+ minutes of aerobic exercise, 3-4 times per week. This can be brisk walking, jogging, biking, or anything else that gets your heart pumping, your blood flowing, and your health celebrating.<\/p>\n
Step 3:<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n
If you\u2019re feeling extra ambitious, you can add a strength-training workout 20-40 minutes, 2-3 times per week. Strengthening your muscles works wonders to help control your blood sugars.<\/p>\n
\nExcerpted from Life and Health’s diabetic-friendly cookbook, From Plant to Plate: Diabetes Edition<\/a><\/p>\n
- Restart Your Food<\/b> \u2013 Balance Green Light Foods<\/a>. Eat three balanced meals each day without snacking. Build your meals around non-starchy vegetables and legumes. Avoid animal products, refined grains, sugar, and oil. Limit starch consumption to one to two servings per meal, and continue to check blood sugars.<\/li>\n