Have you ever wondered what could be the most effective way to lose weight if you have type 2 diabetes?
A fresh study has shown that eating less often could be a simple yet powerful strategy for weight loss.
People with type 2 diabetes, who are typically overweight or obese, might find this method easier than counting calories.
The Magic of Eating Less Often
In the study, the participants with type 2 diabetes were asked to only eat between noon and 8 p.m. every day.
The surprising result was that these people lost more weight than those who were counting calories. Both groups did manage to improve their blood sugar levels in a similar way.
Vicky Pavlou, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said that most people find it hard to keep counting calories over a long time.
But this study showed that just watching the time, not the calories, might help you eat less and lose weight. This approach of time-restricted eating, where you eat only within a certain window of time, is becoming more popular.
The Study: How It Was Done
Krista Varady, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her team conducted this study.
They wanted to check if time-restricted eating could help people with type 2 diabetes. Before this, similar studies were done only on people with obesity.
The team worked with 75 people, all different in race and age (from 18 to 80), and all living with obesity and type 2 diabetes. These participants were divided into three groups.
The first group followed the time-restricted eating plan and only ate between noon and 8 p.m. The second group could eat at any time but used a mobile app to count their calories.
Their goal was to eat 25% less than what they usually ate to keep their current weight. The third group didn’t change anything about their eating habits.
What The Results Showed
After six months, the researchers found that the people who only ate in the eight-hour window lost 3.55% of their body weight. For a person weighing 275 pounds, this would mean losing almost 10 pounds.
On the other hand, the group counting calories didn’t lose any weight. However, both these groups had a decrease in their blood sugar levels.
The study also looked at whether these diets helped with heart health, but the weight loss with time-restricted eating was not enough for this.
It’s also harder to see improvements in heart health when people are taking medications for cholesterol and blood pressure, like the participants in this study were.
The Bottom Line
Time-restricted eating might be a good option for people with type 2 diabetes who are trying to lose weight and improve their blood sugar levels.
However, since there are different types of diabetes medications, some of which could cause low blood sugar or need to be taken with food, it’s important to talk to a dietitian or doctor before starting this diet.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about berries that can help prevent diabetes, obesity, and cancer, and new drugs to treat diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about the normal blood sugar for people with diabetes, results showing that Zinc may be the key to better diabetes treatments.
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