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You can be diagnosed with pre-diabetes before you actually get diabetes. In pre-diabetes
you have higher than normal blood sugars but they are not at the level that they would
need to be in order to be considered diabetic. If you are obese or severely overweight and
pre-diabetic there are steps you can take to put off the actual diagnosis of diabetes or
prevent it.

The same test is used for pre-diabetes as it is for diabetes. Once you find out that you
have pre-diabetes you can make a plan with your doctor to prevent the onset of the
disease. By losing weight and either adding or increasing your level of physical activity
you can delay diabetes for quite sometime. There have been people who have gone on to
maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise and have remained in the pre-
diabetic phase for their lives.

If you are not able to get down to your goal weight, just losing a small amount can be
beneficial. It takes an additional strain off of your body by lessening the need of the
amount of insulin that is produced. There are many other benefits that you will also get
by reducing your body weight including increased energy and cardiovascular health.

Most times, doctors do not test for diabetes unless there are risk factors present including
age (over 45 years old). But if you are considered obese, your doctor will probably order
the appropriate glucose test each year at your physical examination to check for pre-
diabetes and diabetes.

If you are considered obese, especially with an above average amount of abdominal fat
and are insulin resistant, you may have what is known as metabolic syndrome. It is
important to note that you can be insulin resistance and not actually have diabetes – yet.
If you are insulin resistant you may be what is termed pre-diabetes.

If you are insulin resistant, your body is not using the insulin your pancreas is producing
effectively. Your pancreas will continue to produce more and more insulin but your body
will not use it and cannot derive the energy from the food you eat. This condition can be
passed on from another member of the family but it is also caused by obesity and
inactivity.

As with diabetes, the risk factors for having metabolic problems – metabolic syndrome –
are quite similar. Age is a risk factor, the older you are the chances of having this are
greater. Almost half of the people with metabolic syndrome are over the age of 60 but
symptoms have been seen in children and adults in their 20’s. Another risk factor for
having this syndrome is race, people from a Hispanic or Asian backgrounds are at a
higher risk than others. And as mentioned there is also the hereditary factory.

Being obese with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25 is a factor too. The difference
with this factor from the others is that most people have an element of control over this.
If they are able to lose weight and exercise they can reduce or eliminate this contributor
towards metabolic syndrome.

When you get the diabetes, exercise is will help control your blood sugar levels. But if youare overweight or obese and diabetic, exercise will also help you lose weight. As adiabetic, there are additional considerations and precautions that you need to take beforeyou begin an exercise routine. And once you have begun, you always need to be awareof the risks involved.

can do more damage than good if you do not. It is especially dangerous if your blood
sugar is on the low side and you begin to exercise. The physical exertion can cause your
blood sugar to drop even further which can become an emergency situation. As a
precaution, if you are exercising at a gym make sure the staff are aware of your condition
and have emergency instructions and numbers to call. If you walk or run on your own
outside, keep identification on you that advises you are diabetic along with contact phone
numbers, a snack, and instructions.

For other tips on exercising with diabetes, you can follow the same guidelines that make
sense for everyone else. Stretch before and after exercising, drink plenty of fluids, and
don’t push yourself too hard. It is a smart idea to check your blood sugars before and
after exercising and if you are feeling light-headed during your work-out check it then
too.

As feet problems are common in diabetics, wear proper footwear and socks. If you
notice any sores on your feet that are not going away on their own, see your doctor. If
they are not healing they can lead to an infection and other related complications. Even
though there are risks involved to exercising, the benefits make it worth it.

Everyone needs a little help now and then and shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it. A newly
diagnosed diabetic may feel overwhelmed with the restrictions that they are faced with
and not knowing how to plan meals. The support that is needed is from a dietician or
nutritionist. Depending on your goals and weight a dietician can provide you with a meal
plan that will meat the criteria of a healthy diabetic diet and help you lose weight.

In the beginning, the concern with a diabetic diet is to make sure you are getting enough
food so your blood sugar does not drop too low. You will also want to monitor your
levels to look for any spikes in your readings too. A dietician can work with you on this.
If you are eating the recommended diet plan and it is not working, you are feeling hungry
afterwards or your blood sugar is too high – call your dietician. He or she can work with
you over the phone to make immediate changes and schedule an appointment to rework
your plan.

Your dietician can also make recommendations on substitutions for your favorite foods
that you were afraid you could never eat again. They will educate you on portion sizes
too. There really isn’t too much that you can’t have as a diabetic as long as you are
planning your meals out, getting exercise and eating in moderation.

Food guides change and your dietician or nutritionist will have the most up to date
version. Try and follow it and combine foods as you have been taught by your support
team. If you are unsure if something is allowable on your diabetic diet, call your
dietician for advice and if you can’t reach them leave a message and hold off until you
hear back from them.

If you are a diabetic and are overweight or considered clinically obese, you can improve your overall health and the management of your diabetes by losing weight. It may seem like an overwhelming goal if you have tried in the past to lose weight and have failed. But there are steps you can take and support you can utilize to help you reach your goals.

The first step to losing weight is to set a short-term goal for yourself. You can do this on your own but can also get help from your doctor or a dietician. A good goal when
starting to lose weight is to take a small percentage of your overall weight and aim to lose
that much in your time frame. For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds aim to lose weight
5% of your body weight to begin (10 pounds). When you lose weight as a diabetic you
are helping your body by lessening your insulin requirements. Weight loss will also
assist you in keeping your blood sugar levels under control.

Another method to lose weight is physical activity and exercise. Getting your body
moving will increase your metabolism and that act will assist in losing weight too. Not
only will increased metabolism aid in weight loss, it will also help in controlling blood
glucose levels. Your body will be processing food more efficiently.

Diet and exercise go hand-in-hand with weight loss. It also takes patience and time but
as you begin the road to weight loss the benefits you will derive as a diabetic will begin
right away. And as you reach your goal weight you will gain better control of your blood
sugars. If you are having difficulty losing weight on your own, speak to your doctor
about other options that are available to you such as medication or possibly surgery.

Both diabetics and obesity are linked to kidney failure. There are many people who are
both diabetic and obese and they have an increased risk of being diagnosed with serious
kidney problems that lead to dialysis or the need for a transplant. Kidney failure and
damage in a diabetic patient is known as diabetic nephropathy.

The kidneys’ job is to clean the blood but when the blood has excess sugar (glucose)
present it causes damage to the kidneys. This damage can happen even before someone
knows they are diabetic or if they are not diabetic bur are considered obese. High blood
sugars that are present in the bodies of obese people and diabetics are a problem to these
organs and other functions in body.

There really aren’t any symptoms for the early signs of kidney damage. You probably
will not know that it is occurring unless your doctor performs a test to check for protein
in your urine (done with a dip stick in the office). If the doctor finds the presence of
protein it will be closely monitored depending on the amount of protein present. During
the beginning stages of diabetic nephropathy the kidneys are still able to function and do
their job of cleaning the blood. Action will need to be taken to get blood glucose levels
under control to prevent further damage to the kidneys.

If your kidneys fail you are at risk for high blood pressure and the build-up of toxins in
your blood because the kidneys are not able to filter them out. The two options available
at this point are dialysis or a kidney transplant. Dialysis is a method to clean your blood
using an external machine you are hooked up to that your blood is run through and then
put back in your body