Free Weight Loss Tools For People With Diabetes

Free Weight Loss Tools for People with Diabetes

Welcome to SparkPeople, America's most active weight-loss and healthy living website! This article will introduce you to all of the SparkPeople features that can help adults manage type 2 diabetes, including our Spark*D Diabetes Management Program, which offers a variety of free tools, trackers, articles and support options that can help you achieve success in the lifestyle management program that your doctor, health care provider and/or Certified Diabetes Educator has outlined for you.
SparkPeople can help you with the diet, exercise and weight-loss components of your treatment plan, but please note that our website is no substitute for regular medical care. While certified diabetes educators helped develop these articles and tools, you should follow the treatment guidelines given to you by your doctor and/or certified diabetes educator should you encounter any contradictions to your treatment plan.
About Type 2 Diabetes
People with type 2 diabetes must work to manage the disease for the rest of their lives. You can help control your blood glucose levels by following a healthy diet and exercise program, losing excess weight, and using medication prescribed by your doctors.
In our Type 2 Diabetes Condition Center (found under the "Your Health" tab at the top of the site), you'll find dozens of healthy lifestyle articles we created specifically for people with type 2 diabetes, including: What SparkPeople Offers People with Type 2 Diabetes
Free Meal Plans. Our meal plans were created by registered dietitians and meet the basic dietary guidelines for people with type 2 diabete Continue reading

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Recognizing Signs of Diabetes in Cats

Cats can develop diabetes just as humans can, and the treatment and management of the condition are very similar. Treatment may include dietary changes, adequate exercise and insulin.
Feline diabetes mellitus is more common that most people realize. It is thought that the condition is becoming more prevalent in cats due to factors such as diet and low activity levels. Male, neutered cats are at increased risk, as are cats who are overweight or obese. Age and underlying health issues may also be components in the development of diabetes. Because cats often mask illness quite well, being aware of the signs of this disease is important.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes can be classified into two categories. Type 1, which is the less common of the two, results when there is a lack of insulin being generated by the pancreas. Type 2 occurs when the feline body develops a resistance to insulin. Both types lead to abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood and the urine.
Symptoms of diabetes
Early symptoms such as lethargy may be inconclusive and possibly indicators of other diseases, which is why a veterinary exam is an important part of getting a correct diagnosis and treatment.
The following symptoms may be strong indicators of diabetes:
Weight changes
Weight gain in the early stages of diabetes will eventually change to weight loss as the disease progresses.
Insulin, normally released by the pancreas, aids in the transfer of glucose to the cells. A lack of insulin, or an abnormal response to the insulin, affects the regular production of energy. When this energy is missing, the b Continue reading

The Difference Between Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia

Diabetes is a condition which is known to elevate the levels of blood glucose levels in the body of the patient. But there are times when the level of blood glucose either becomes too high or too low. When the blood glucose is too high, the condition is called hyperglycemia and when it is low beyond a certain level, it is called hypoglycemia. In this article, we shall analyze and study the differences between the two conditions. So, join in for the article “The Difference Between Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia.”
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia
Meaning of Hyperglycemia Versus Hypoglycemia
Let us first understand the difference in the meaning of the two terms:
Hyperglycemia refers to very high blood glucose levels in a diabetic patient. In fact, the level of fasting blood sugar is more than 126 mg per dl while the random blood glucose level is somewhat more than 200 mg per dl.
Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, refers to extremely low levels of blood glucose levels in a diabetes patient. In this case, the patient experiences a fasting blood glucose level of up to 126 mg per dl while the normal level of blood glucose is less than even 70 mg per dl. There are many other differences between the two terms which are explained as below:
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia
Another difference in the two types of the condition is with reference to the signs and symptoms of the two. Following are the signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia:
Warning Signs of Hyperglycemia
Following are the symptoms of high blood glucose levels:
Increase in fatigue and we Continue reading

'Alarming' rise in cancer rates driven by diabetes, obesity

New research crunches the numbers on diabetes- and obesity-related cancers and projects a steep rise in diagnosed cases.
Researchers at several institutions worldwide — including Imperial College London in the United Kingdom and the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Lyon, France — have recently established that cancers related to metabolic diseases, especially diabetes and obesity, have an increasingly high incidence.
According to the team's data, 5.6 percent of all cancer cases throughout the world in 2012 were linked to pre-existing diabetes and a high body mass index (BMI), which is defined as over 25 kilograms per square meter.
Of this total, 3.9 percent of cases were attributable to diabetes — almost twice as many cases as were related to a high BMI.
Lead study author Dr. Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard and colleagues also worked out the estimates for the probable incidence of cancers related to diabetes and other metabolic disease in the next few years, and their prognosis is not encouraging.
The researchers' study findings were published yesterday in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.
Diabetes, high BMI increasingly dangerous
According to reports published last year in The Lancet, around 422 million adults worldwide live with diabetes, and 2.01 billion adults are overweight or obese.
These numbers are particularly concerning, since diabetes and obesity are established risk factors for many different types of cancer, such as colorectal and pancreatic cancer, as well as cancer of the liver and gallbladder, b Continue reading

Reach your goals with our proven program

Participants who
followed our type 2 menu
lost 3x more weight
than those receiving
usual care
Participants also
achieved a lower HbA1c
of 6.6% as compared to 7.5%
for usual care while showing
greater improvements in HDL
(good) cholesterol and
triglyceride levels
72% of participants
reduced or eliminated
their use of insulin
A recent review of 10 commercial weight loss programs by researchers at Johns Hopkins published in the June issue of Obesity Reviews Journal‡, found that only those individuals with type 2 diabetes following the Jenny Craig program reduced hemoglobin A1c -- a three-month average of blood sugar concentrations -- more than weight loss counseling at 12 months.
Jenny Craig was recommended as one option due to its strong evidence to support diabetes benefits.
Take the guesswork out of diabetes meal planning with our easy to follow, calorie + carbohydrate controlled type 2 menu that gives you the right balance of nutrients to lose weight, yet has a variety of delicious flavors to keep you excited about what you’re eating.
Your dedicated personal consultant designs strategies to help you reach your weight loss goals and hit your diabetes targets, while giving you weekly one-on-one support, either in person or over the phone.
In an independent study Jenny Craig participants following the lower carbohydrate menu for diabetes lost 3x more weight than those receiving usual care, achieved a lower HbA1c of 6.6% as compared to 7.5% for usual care, while showing greater improvements in HDL (good) cholesterol and triglycerides.† Continue reading