How Much Weight Do You Need to Lose to Lower Your Pre-Diabetes Risk?

If you’re above a healthy weight range, your risk of developing pre-diabetes increases significantly which puts you at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other complications like heart disease. The good news is that weight is something you can manage through balanced eating and regular exercise. It’s also important to note that even if you’re within a healthy weight range, factors like family history or an unhealthy lifestyle can still put you at risk. So while you may not need to lose weight, healthy eating and regular exercise are still a vital part of lowering your risk of developing pre-diabetes and other health issues.

Before we get into what a healthy weight range is, here is a quick note about blood sugar:

When you eat food, your body absorbs sugars, including natural sugars from carbohydrates like bread, vegetables, and fruit, into your blood. Then along comes ‘insulin’, a hormone produced by your pancreas. Insulin tells other parts of your body, like your muscles and brain, to take the sugar out of your blood and either use it for energy or store it away for later.

What is the healthy weight range?

A healthy weight range does not mean you have to have a flat stomach! Having some fat around your tummy is perfectly normal and healthy. However, carrying too much weight around your tummy means that fat is putting pressure on precious organs like your liver and pancreas. This fat interrupts how your body uses insulin to move sugar out of your blood into other parts of your body. This causes a build up of sugar in your blood which can lead to pre-diabetes.

So how much fat is too much?

For women a waist circumference over 80cm

For men a waist circumference over 94cm.

Simply grab a measuring tape and measure your waist to see where you fit.

If you fit within the healthy weight range then you do not need to lower your weight to reduce your risk. However, it’s important you maintain your weight, eat healthy foods and exercise regularly to keep your blood sugar levels stable and reduce your risk.

How much weight do I need to lose to lower my risk?

If you’re above the healthy weight range, dropping just 5 to 10% of your body weight can make a big difference in lowering your blood sugar levels. For instance, if you weigh 80 kg, aiming to lose 4 to 8 kg can have a big impact. 

Not only does losing this weight reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but it can also lower your chances of other health issues like heart disease. Remember, you don’t have to be stick thin, you just need to fit within this healthy weight range to lower your risk.

What’s the Best Way to Lose Weight?

Losing weight can feel very tricky. Our best advice would be to avoid a restrictive diet and focus on eating a variety of nourishing foods. Unless you have been given specific advice from your health professional, these are our top tips to help you come down to a healthy weight range.

1. Eat mainly from these 5 Food Groups:

Vegetables

Almost every meal should contain some veggies. Aim for a variety of colours throughout the day.

Fruit

Aim for around 2-3 servings of fruit, again aiming for a variety of colours. 

Wholegrains

Try to have a serving of wholegrains with most meals. This includes wholegrain breads (rye, spelt, barley, seeds), rolled oats, long grain rice, quinoa and pasta.

Lean protein

Try to have some protein with every meal. This includes things like, lean cuts of red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, low fat dairy, beans, lentils and chickpeas.

Healthy fats

Have a Small amount of healthy fats with most meals like extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and oily fish (salmon, mackerel and tuna).

If you fill up on these foods with every snack and meal you will find you won’t crave the other stuff as much eg. chocolate, pastries, fried foods.

2. Eat regularly

A big mistake lots of people make is skipping meals. Skipping meals is pretty much asking for cravings and overeating. Start by trying 3 meals and 2 snacks a day and make sure each one of these is filled with the foods mentioned above to keep you feeling FULL and satisfied.

3. Listen to your hunger and fullness cues

• Don’t wait too long to eat. When you start to feel your stomach grumble and your energy dip, have your next meal or a healthy snack. Waiting too long can increase your risk of overeating and lead to stronger cravings.
• Stop eating when you start to feel full. Eat slowly to give your body time to recognise fullness. Stop when you’re satisfied before your stomach starts to stretch and you feel overly full and tired. You don’t have to finish your entire meal every time.
• Don’t stop eating if your stomach still feels empty. Stopping too early can lead to cravings for something sweet and overeating after your meal.
• Avoid eating if you’re not genuinely hungry. Before you eat, check in with yourself – are you bored, stressed, or genuinely hungry

4. Pair your ‘sweet treats’ with a healthy food

If you’re really feeling like something sweet then try pairing it with something high in protein or fibre. This will not only stop you from eating too much of the sweet treat by filling you up, it will also help reduce the blood sugar spike caused from the sweet food – bonus!

For example, pair:

• A row of chocolate with fruit and a handful nuts
• A scoop of ice cream with fruit salad
• 2 small biscuits with a slice of low fat cheese and carrot sticks
• A small handful of chocolate chips with low fat Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of peanut butter.

5. Regular Exercise

Regular exercise is key to maintaining a healthy weight and comes with a tone of other benefits for your physical and mental health. One major perk is that it helps lower and stabilise your blood sugar levels.

Aim for: 

• 30 mins of moderate activity most days eg walking or swimming.
• 20 mins of vigorous activity 3 times a week eg jogging, fitness classes at LLGA.
• Resistance training twice a week such as bodyweight exercises, pilates, yoga, using weights or resistance bands.

Our cross training classes will get your vigorous and resistance training done in one session! These are available in park, online or on demand all for free!

To wrap things up, managing your weight and blood sugar is all about making simple, sustainable changes. Focus on filling up on nourishing foods, pairing sweet treats with something healthy, and staying active. It’s not about being perfect – just finding what works for you and sticking with it. Keep things relaxed, but stay consistent, and you’ll be on the right track to feeling great and lowering your risk of pre-diabetes. You’ve got this – just take it one step at a time!

Please note our advice is general in nature and should replace any advice your doctor or health professional has given you.

Sources:

 https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/about-diabetes/pre-diabetes/

https://www.ndss.com.au/wp-content/uploads/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-understanding-pre-diabetes.pdf