One thing health experts know for sure is that if you're overweight and have type 2 diabetes, dropping pounds lowers your blood sugar, improves your health, and helps you feel better.

If you have excess body fat (especially around the midsection), the insulin in your body makes doesn’t work as well as it should and may not move sugar into your cells effectively. When insulin can’t work as it should, this condition is called insulin resistance. If you have insulin resistance, your body may make too much insulin to try to lower blood sugar levels. At the same time, your liver releases too much sugar into your bloodstream because your body’s cells need fuel. The end result is high blood sugar.

Losing just 5% to 10% of your weight can make a big difference in how well you are doing in controlling your diabetes. Making gradual changes in your eating and activity habits is the best way to lose weight and keep it off.

In order to lose weight safely and effectively, be sure to follow these proven weight loss tips. 

Reduce calories and eat a low fat diet - to lose weight, one must create an energy deficit. Contemporary recommendations encourage a gradual, slow weight loss of about 1-2# per week. People can generally reach this goal with a deficit of 500-1000 calories per day. Sustaining this calorie deficit should produce a 5% weight loss within a couple months for most people. A general calorie goal for weight loss should be around 1200 calories/day. 1200 calories per day produces a calorie deficit for most people, but provides enough to keep you full and your metabolism fueled. 

Eat Breakfast - It’s true; breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Including this meal in the daily routine is a common denominator for successful weight loss and maintenance. The explanations for this observation include the possibility that breakfast does the following:

Suppresses mid-morning hunger, produces better blood glucose and elevates basal metabolic rate, Yields fewer episodes of imbalanced, impulsive, or excessive eating later in the day, increases fiber intake (e.g., from cereals, fruits, and whole grains), reduces dietary fat intake, encourages improved health consciousness 

Check Body Weight Frequently - In addition to a reduced calorie diet, frequent weighing is an integral part of successful weight loss. Monitoring weight on a regular basis is a form of accountability and self-monitoring, and consistent self- monitoring is associated with improved weight loss. Weigh yourself 1-2 times a week, and be consistent with the time of day and what you are wearing (for example; consistently weigh with shoes off or on, with jacket or without). 

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