Weight loss can become a symptom of having diabetes. Since the body cannot use blood sugar, calories that would otherwise be used for it can be used. Even if you eat a normal amount of food, the loss of sugar and calories caused by diabetes will allow you to lose weight. For this reason, we are going to explain how to gain weight if you have diabetes, so that you can maintain a healthy weight.
Bearing all this in mind, we are going to give you a series of tips that you must take into account in order to achieve this goal.
Change your diet
One of the first things you should do if you want to know how to gain weight with diabetes is to change your diet. For this, it is recommended that you follow the following recommendations:
- Eat often. It is possible that after eating very little you feel that you are full. In this case, it is advisable that you eat 5 or 6 times a day, since the usual three may not be enough for you. Also, add side dishes and additional foods to your meals that allow you to increase calories
- Eat nutrient-dense foods. You should try to eat foods that have high levels of nutrients. Eating more to gain weight won’t be healthy if you don’t eat the right foods to gain weight. To ensure good nutrition, bet on grains, raisins and whole-grain breads; eat plenty of fruits, dairy, nuts, vegetables, seeds, and lean meats. In any case, control your diet to ensure the sugar content is adequate.
- Do not drink liquids before meals. Although there are people who want to have a drink before the meal, it is best to avoid it, since doing so could make you feel full before eating. Avoid drinking liquids for at least 30 minutes before a meal.
- Eat the right snacks. If you like to snack between meals, make sure they have good nutritional values. To get to know how to gain weight if you have diabetes, what you should do is increase your caloric intake but in a healthy way. To add calories and nutrients to your snacks you can include dried fruit, avocados, cheese, nuts or peanut butter.
- Eat the right carbohydrates. Increasing the amount of carbohydrate levels is a good way to gain weight while giving your body energy. To do this, bet on whole foods, yogurt, milk…
- Get the right fats. Fats are some of the most important foods for adding calories. Eating a high-fat diet will make it easier and faster for you to gain weight. However, you should avoid Trans and saturated fats at all times. Instead, go for monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, considered “good fats.”
Set goals
In addition to the above, it is important that you are able to set goals for weight gain. For this you have to take into account the following considerations:
- Know your healthy weight. Not all people have the same goals to reach a healthy weight. For this reason, you should try to know what yours is, for which you can look at your BMI or Body Mass Index. It is important to have an adequate weight, which is not exceeded or above the recommended or below, as this poses a health risk.
- Consider your caloric intake. If you want to know how to gain weight if you have diabetes, you need to know that gaining weight is the result of having a higher caloric intake. However, for this you will have to calculate the calories you need each day, and proceed to consume 500 more calories per day. In this way, check that you are gaining weight.
- Exercise. Physical exercise can help you build your muscles, which in turn will help you gain weight. To do this, use weights or do strength training so that the caloric increase is transformed into fat.
Other tips
You should take into account other tips when it comes to knowing how to gain weight if you have diabetes that should always be very present in you, such as:
- Always try to monitor your blood glucose levels when making changes to your diet. This is very necessary to avoid health problems that can become very serious.
- Don’t be in a hurry to reach your goal. It is preferable that you do it calmly and make a good selection of the foods that best suit you. This way you can see which ones work best for you.
- Being a diabetic person, before starting a diet for yourself, it is recommended that you go to your doctor so that he can tell you the best way to gain weight while keeping diabetes under control.