How to Avoid Type 2 Diabetes with Real Food

Transcript:

Melanie: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition, brought to you by Nutritional Weight & Wellness. I am Melanie Beasley, and I'm here today with Britni Vincent, and we are both Registered and Licensed Dietitians. And today, Britni and I are tackling a topic that affects millions of people.

Here's the good news. For many, it's largely preventable. We're talking about diabetes, specifically type two diabetes, and more importantly, how to avoid developing it in the first place. A startling statistic from the CDC is that nearly half of adults in the U.S. are prediabetic. That is crazy.

Britni: That is a very alarming statistic.

Melanie: It's not how it was even 20 years ago. And vast majority of them don't even know they have it. And that's the scary part, because it can be doing some damage…

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: …when you don't know. But we really want this conversation today to be hopeful because when people hear the words prediabetes or insulin resistance, or they have a high A1C, they often feel like they're on a runaway train. 

But the message we want to share today is that there is so much that you can do with food and lifestyle to support a better blood sugar and a better long-term health to prevent that scary diabetes diagnosis and, and any side effects that can come from having diabetes.

Britni: And I would say if you already have been diagnosed with type two diabetes, keep listening because you can actually reverse that.

Melanie: Yeah, we see it in clinic all the time. And we're going to break it all down for you today. And thanks for being here with me today to discuss this, Britni. This is always fun.

Root of the issue: insulin resistance

Britni: Thank you. Well, let's start with the root of the issue. Which is insulin resistance. So what is insulin resistance? You've probably heard that term. Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas. So its main job is to help move glucose or sugar from your bloodstream into your cells where then it's turned to energy.

Melanie: So your cells are resisting the effect that insulin has on that.

Britni: Exactly. So I think one way that is helpful to think of it is insulin is like a key. So it's unlocking a door at your cells to allow that glucose to shuttle in the cell and turn into energy. And then when you have insulin resistance, it's like that key gets jammed and that key is not unlocking the door.

And so that glucose or blood sugar is going to hang out in your bloodstream. And at that point, our body is trying to always compensate for itself. So it's going to produce more insulin to try to compensate in that situation. And the problem is that's not effective. And in fact, it just kind of turns into a vicious cycle. So eventually, the whole system gets overwhelmed, and that's when you begin moving toward prediabetes and eventually type two diabetes.

Melanie: Yeah. So the real underlying cause of type two diabetes is what you're saying, is chronic insulin resistance, broken key, right? Insulin resistance can go undetected for years, and like I mentioned, most people that are prediabetic, they don't even know it.

And that means a person may not feel dramatic symptoms, like I just feel fine, but my A1C is high. But inside the body, that high insulin pattern is quietly building. And one way to picture it is this. Every time you eat a breakfast of a bagel, cereal, toast, juice, or sugary latte, then a sandwich and chips for soda or soda for lunch, then an afternoon snack or granola or sweetened yogurt and maybe pasta or a takeout pizza for dinner, your body keeps getting hit with the sugar because of these things break down to sugar, which means they need that key, the insulin to get in the cell.

And that means when you're eating a lot of these foods, you're getting a big dump of glucose into your bloodstream, and that means more insulin and more insulin. And eventually your cells, they stop responding to that insulin bath that's always coating them, and that's when the body has to work even harder to keep your blood sugar in range.

And when it's not doing a good job, that's when you see a high A1C or your blood sugars are creeping up because your body's not keeping up with that carb load that's converting to blood glucose.

Britni: Yeah. So thinking about the key drivers of insulin resistance, the, a diet, high in refined carbohydrates and sugars, just like you described Melanie, you know, grazing all day long.

Melanie: Yeah.

Britni: I, I know that that can be a habit that people can fall into fairly easily, but every time you're eating, you're making insulin.

Melanie: Yeah, I had a client and she would say, because she was eating at her desk while she was working, it would take her two hours to get through lunch.

Britni: Mm. Mm-hmm.

Melanie: So it was a chronic input of food that required insulin every time. So I said, well, you're keeping your insulin high for two hours.

Britni: Yeah, a lot of people don't think of it.

Melanie: Yeah. They're just finishing their lunch.

Britni: Yep. So really trying to finish a meal, I would say, in like…

Melanie: An hour.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: 45 minutes, an hour.

Britni: And then giving yourself some time in between, giving yourself three, four hours.

Melanie: And let that insulin come down.

More factors that can contribute to insulin resistance

Britni: Yep, yep, exactly. And I, and I see that in individuals who wear a continuous glucose monitor, their overall blood sugar is better when they adapt those kind of eating patterns. So other, other contributing factors to insulin resistance, this is kind of where the vicious cycle comes in.

Elevated insulin causes body fat storage, but excess body fat, especially that visceral fat in the abdomen, will also contribute to more insulin resistance. Poor sleep is a contributing factor, and we see this.

People that have a poor night's sleep, I have clients that notice their blood sugar is 10, 20 points higher the next day. Chronic stress, sedentary lifestyle, just lack of activity. All of those can play a role, and over time, this combination can lead to metabolic dysfunction.

So diabetes, type two diabetes, it's not a sudden event that you're going to develop overnight. It's really a slow progression that can take years, even decades. You know, I think about what people eat as a child.

Melanie: Yeah.

Britni: And I think for some individuals, this can start when you're pretty young.

Melanie: Yeah, I think so too. And I also think that we have to, circling back to what you said about chronic stress, that might look like a chronic health condition that's stressful. It might be chronic underlying infection that's stressful to the body.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: Or multiple infections back to back to back. When we're under stress, the body pours in blood sugar to handle that stress. So if that's going on chronically, that may not even be something that you're aware of that's happening.

Britni: Yeah, absolutely.

Melanie: And if you're thinking that you're doomed to get type two diabetes because you have a family history, I want you to know this. Genetics do play a role, and it can put you at more risk if you have a family history, but there's a big but here, but diet and lifestyle factors have a bigger impact.

You know, think of it like genetics loads the gun and the diet and the lifestyle pull the trigger. So how you live day-to-day is a bigger predictor of getting type two diabetes than your genetics. So you have the control. This isn't your destiny.

Britni: Absolutely. I have a client who comes top of mind. I just talked to her a few days ago. Her siblings have type two diabetes, at least one, maybe both of her parents did. And she's about 60 now. Her A1C is great. She's worn a continuous glucose monitor. Her blood sugar's great. I mean, she is preventing it through all of these things that we're, we're talking about today.

Melanie: Well, she's lucky to have you to teach her those things.

Biggest dietary culprits of insulin resistance

Britni: It's, it takes some effort, but it is, it's worth doing, you know, for that prevention aspect. So let's, let's talk a little bit more about the biggest dietary culprits of insulin resistance that you should try your best to avoid. Because think of it in one sitting, we can only tolerate or utilize so many carbohydrates. Varies from person to person, also depends on where the carbohydrates are coming from.

Melanie: Right.

Britni: So thinking about soda, sweetened coffees, energy drinks, sports drinks, I mean, that's a lot of sugar in one sitting that you just, your body can't, can't utilize all of that.

Melanie: Yeah. Quench your thirst with water.

Britni: Water. Yeah.

Melanie: Have some black coffee.

Britni: Yeah. These are, are really one of the fastest ways to spike your blood sugar and raise your insulin. And I think they're really easy to overconsume because they're liquid. They're not really filling you up and you're, you're thinking of them maybe in a different way.

Juice, that is going to fall into that category as well, even for children because even though it's marketed as healthy, think of how many oranges it takes to make a glass of juice.

Melanie: Right.

Britni: And then you're missing the fiber from actually eating that whole orange. It's not as satiating, and you're going to drink it pretty darn quickly, probably.

Melanie: Yeah. And if you, if you hit on apple juice or cranberry juice, those are generally filled with high fructose corn syrup. Mm-hmm. A lot of them are. And they don't have any fiber, there's no pulp, and that high fructose corn syrup really skyrockets your blood sugar twice as fast.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: As if you were to have regular sugar, not that we're promoting regular sugar in any way, shape or form.

Britni: No. So really thinking about, like you said, water should be your primary beverage. Maybe you throw in a sparkling water or two for something a little different, herbal tea, unsweetened tea, coffee without the added sugar.

Melanie: But you could sweeten with monk fruit or stevia, and those won't pop that blood sugar up. And what do you say to your clients who say, "But I need my vitamin C from that orange juice, Britni?"

Britni: Get it from food.

Melanie: Like broccoli.

Britni: From real food.

Melanie: Yeah.

Britni: Eat the orange, eat some broccoli, eat some bell peppers.

Melanie: Next is refined carbohydrates. When I mean, say refined, what that really means is it's been processed in a factory. So bread, even whole grain or sourdough, pasta, bagels, crackers, box cereals, these are processed. You can't go pluck them. You can't hunt them.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: They come from a factory. And so what happens is these act almost like sugar in your body. And here's really something that you should think about is look at the nutrition labels of a high carbohydrate food. Four grams of carbohydrates equals a teaspoon of sugar once it's digested in the body.

That's a really eye-opening way to realize how much sugar that you're putting in your body when you eat a high carbohydrate food. Even if it has no added sugars, I have a box of “healthy cereal” in my office to show my clients that one serving, which is three-fourths of a cup has 45 grams of carbohydrate.

Britni: Wow.

Melanie: And two grams of fiber of that is fiber. Not very much.

Britni: Mm-mm.

Melanie: So it really is a sugar bomb, but you feel like it's so healthy. So for just one cup of cooked rice, white or brown, also 45 grams of carbs. So about 11 teaspoons or close to a quarter cup of sugar once you digested it and you're thinking, "I just had some rice." So I bet if you ordered a rice based bowl or a stir fry type dish at a restaurant, you'd get definitely more than a cup.

Britni: Oh, absolutely.

Melanie: Of rice.

Britni: Yeah. So thinking about these high carb foods beyond that, we always recommend avoiding those ultra processed foods in general because they do tend to be higher in sugar, carbohydrates, refined oils, seed oils, additives. I mean, just look at the ingredient list.

Melanie: Most of them are pretty nutritionally void.

Britni: Yeah. So these foods, I mean, they're generally low in fiber, low in protein, really easy to overeat because they make them taste really delicious.

Melanie: They do.

Britni: So it’s hard to put them down.

Melanie: Protein bars that look like they're packed with protein. They should be pretty good.

Britni: Yeah. Glorified candy bars.

Melanie: Yeah.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Granola is just a crumbled cookie.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: That's why it's so delicious.

Britni: So these foods just keep you on this blood sugar rollercoaster throughout the day. You spike high, you drop, and then your body wants more carbs and sugar as a pick-me-up, and it just kind of keeps going throughout the day.

Melanie: And when you do that drop, that's when you feel exhausted.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Or irritable. That, you know…

Britni: Hangry.  

Melanie: That hangry feeling you want to lay your head on the, your desk; take a nap.

Britni: Yep.

Protein’s importance for muscle & help with insulin resistance

Melanie: Well, let's speak a little bit about protein. I did mention it. And here's something interesting. We're always talking about the importance of eating protein and protecting your muscles, especially as we age, but did you know that muscles and insulin have a direct relationship with each other?

So think of your muscles as one of the biggest regulators of your blood sugar. They're not just for movement, they're metabolic powerhouses. And when you eat, most of the glucose gets pulled into your muscle tissue. But if you start losing muscle, that system breaks down. You have less pull. So with less muscle, your body has fewer places to store glucose, so blood sugar stays higher and your body has to pump out more insulin.

Over time, that leads to insulin resistance. But here's where it gets interesting. It's a two-way street. Insulin actually helps maintain and build muscle. So when you become insulin-resistant, your body loses that signal and muscle breakdown can accelerate.

Incorporate movement & strength training

So you end up in this vicious cycle, less muscle leads to worse blood sugar control and worse blood sugar control leads to even more muscle loss, and that's why strength training and maintaining muscle mass isn't about fitness or looking a certain way. It's one of the most powerful tools we have for preventing and improving the metabolic disease. You know, I, I always tell my clients, motion is lotion.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: You move to keep moving.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: You move to feel better. So walking, we lead sedentary lifestyles. I mean, back in the day, you wanted to turn the channel, you got to get up. You got to go turn the channel. Or you would get up on commercials, and you would get stuff done on commercials. So you were moving at least when you were watching TV in the evening.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: Now you don't have to.

Britni: Nope.

Melanie: No, fast forward the commercials, you've got a remote control. You're not popping up like you used to. So we have to intentionally exercise now.

Britni: That's so true.

Melanie: We're not going out and pumping water at the well.

Britni: Nope.

Melanie: So we have to intentionally move. So if you tell yourself, "I need to move every hour." And your goal should be to walk an hour a day, no matter the pace, no matter the speed, doesn't have to be crazy.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Could be 15 minute increments, but you need to be walking and you need to be lifting heavy things and heavy to you.

Britni: Yes.

Melanie: When I have clients that start moving, I think of a client that I had and she was pretty sedentary. Well, she retired and she began to walk when she met with girlfriends instead of coffee or lunch.

Britni: Oh, that's great.

Melanie: She walked everywhere. And one of her girlfriends was also my client. She said, "Oh, she always wants to walk. We're walking."

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Well, she had struggled with 30 stubborn pounds. She was only five foot four. When she started walking, because she always ate really pretty good, you know, she had me as her nutrition coach, and she was eating really well. But when she started moving, metabolically, her A1C came down, her fasting blood sugar came down, and she dropped 30 pounds.

Britni: Wow. That is amazing.

Melanie: And she felt like she was living her best life in retirement. So don't wait for retirement.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: Just move.

Britni: Yep. Start small.

Melanie: Well, we're ready for our first break, and we will be right back.

Britni: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. We are talking today about how to prevent type two diabetes. And before the break, Melanie, you were talking about muscle and how muscle makes a huge difference in your ability to utilize glucose.

Melanie: Mm-hmm.

Britni: So thinking about how can you get more movement in your life? I recently got a walking pad. I know you have one too, Melanie, and so, you know, for checking emails or work that, that you can kind of multitask, that's a great way to get more steps in.

Melanie: You don't have to be moving rapidly.

Britni: No, not at all. Just any sort of movement.

Melanie: Mm-hmm. We, I mean, we're in Minnesota.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: So when it's cold, I am a fair-weather walker.

Britni: Mm.

Melanie: I see these wonderful people out there and it's 20 degrees and they're bundled and they're walking, they got yak tracks. That is not your girl. So I will turn on a Netflix or something else and I will walk for that hour inside.

Britni: So that's an idea. Of course, you know, if you're able to get outside, being in nature is always better, but, it can be an easier way for some people. And then, like we said, start small, you know? Or like you mentioned, break it up throughout the day.

Melanie: Maybe you don't want a walking pad. Maybe that's not your jam, but I'll bet you go to the bathroom.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: And when you go to the bathroom, you know, you stand up, you buckle your pants, and then you act like you're going to sit down 10 times. Sit back down 10 times. I call them touchdowns. You barely touchdown, you stand back up.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: If you did that every time you went to the bathroom.

Britni: That adds up.

Melanie: That adds up. Or maybe every other time and you do pushups on the handicap bar.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Start with what your body tolerates and your body will learn and improve.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: And then the end of the day, six o'clock you get to be done. You don't have to do anymore touchdowns or pushups. But you feel pretty good about yourself.

Britni: Absolutely.

Melanie: And you didn't have to change your clothes, you didn't have to go anywhere, you're not buying a membership, but it's moving your body.

Britni: Yeah. So just find how it can work. And then, you know, the habit stacking of tying it to you're already going to the bathroom, so it can be a way to trigger, okay, now I need to do my little exercise.

Melanie: Yeah. And it's, you're going to feel pretty righteous at the end of the day.

How do you know if you’re insulin resistant?

Britni: So I, I think we get the question a lot. How do I know if I'm insulin resistant? I think you can think of insulin resistance as a spectrum. How do you find out where you are on that spectrum? One way is testing your hemoglobin A1C at your doctor's office.

So this is going to reflect your blood sugar balance for the last two to three months. So it kind of gives us a bigger picture of your average blood sugar. Over 5.7%, that is really considered prediabetes, and optimally I would say 5.4 or below.

Melanie: Me too.

Britni: You can also check your fasting insulin, and that is different than your glucose, so that's measuring the amount of insulin your pancreas is outputting. Some doctors will run it, run it, some won't, but I think it's a great, great measure, and you want that optimally five or below. Because we want, you know, going to the doctor once a year and getting your blood sugar taken, that is like one second snapshot in time that's not really giving us the big picture.

Melanie: The big picture. And the A1C, what that is, is a screenshot of what your blood sugars have been doing over three months. So sometimes, some people, when they wake up in the morning, they haven't eaten anything, they get up and they get moving, and their fasting blood sugar begins to rise, and they're like, "What the heck? I haven't eaten anything." But your body does pump in some cortisol in the morning that's really normal to get you up and going, so you have energy. That cortisol can raise your blood sugar.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: So, that A1C is kind of a better picture I think. But if your A1C is 5.4 or below and you wake up and your blood sugars are always around 95, 100, and you're like, "What the heck?" It's probably the, it's probably the mechanism of action that I was just talking about.

Britni: Yeah, that's a good point.

Melanie: And you can let it go. So we like both.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: To see. And the good news is, if you test a little high in that prediabetes range, you can significantly lower it without medication in many cases. And we work with clients all the time to help lower their A1C through eating a balanced real food diet. And one tool that we love using is a continuous glucose monitor, and you and I both have done a podcast together on when we tested our glucose monitors, that'd be a good one to listen to if you look up continuous glucose monitor in our search engine, you're going to get that podcast. But there were some eye-opening moments for us.

Britni: Yeah. I, I mean, we are all individuals, obviously, but I think looking at my, myself, my client's continuous glucose monitor, their data, it just really proves that everybody is significantly different in how their body responds to different foods. So it basically just allows you to know what works best for your body.

Melanie: Mm-hmm.

Britni: Which I feel like is very empowering. And then also, you can't argue the data even if you know in your head that drinking a sugary latte is going to spike your blood sugar. I think seeing that hard data, that's different.

Melanie: It's really fun.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: It's, it reminds me of taking those tests from magazines to see where you fell in a category. It's like you get to see where you fall in the category, what foods, what they do to your body, and you can't turn a blind eye. I used to love those almond crackers.

Britni: Mm-hmm.  

Melanie: And I would have them every once in a while if I thought, Oh, I think my tummy's a little sour. I should just have a few crackers. Or, holidays, I would always have those, they're almond crackers. So I thought they were mostly almond flour, which doesn't spike your blood sugar.

Well, they are not. They're mostly starched with a little bit of almond flour. So even the, what you think might be working for you, it spiked my blood sugar, and I was like, they betrayed me. I don't buy them anymore. So when I feel sorry for myself, I'm not going to grab crackers anymore. And those continuous glucose monitors, we sell them in the office.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: If you have an appointment, they're like 10% off at whatever the price is.

Britni: Yes.

Melanie: And they're a whole month.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Yep. Love that.

Britni: There’s two different sensors and you don't necessarily have to wear them back to back.

Melanie: Mm-hmm.

Britni: I recommend do, do the first sensor, live your life as you have been as like some baseline data, meet with one of us and we talk through it and then you can make some changes and, and wear the next one.

Melanie: Yeah. Wear the next one and see how you're doing with the changes.

Britni: Yeah. The, my clients that have done it have really gotten a lot out of it.

Melanie: Yeah.

How to eat for blood sugar balance

Britni: So let's talk specifics about how we would recommend eating to keep your blood sugar at a healthy level, to prevent prediabetes and type two diabetes. So of course, eating real food in balance. So that is going to mean real carbohydrates, vegetables, some fruits, possibly a little grain depending on if you tolerate it.

Melanie: Mm-hmm.

Britni: Rice is a big blood sugar spiker.

Melanie: It is.

Britni: Yeah. So maybe you lean more into a little bit of quinoa or wild rice or just stick to those veggie carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes.

Melanie: Riced cauliflower.

Britni: Yes. Yes.

Melanie: It's a good sub if you find that you really love rice in dishes.

Britni: Yep. And then fruit as well. But the fruit and those more starchy carbohydrates, those are the ones you need to be mindful of the amount of.

Melanie: And yes, we're talking potatoes.

Britni: Yes.

Melanie: Those darn potatoes.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: But I did find that things like butternut squash barely spiked by blood sugar compared to a potato.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: Delicata squash. It's got sort of that starchy feel, but it barely spikes the blood sugar. So you can swap this for that.

Britni: Absolutely. There are beans; generally speaking, people tolerate beans fairly well from a blood sugar standpoint. And so these real food carbohydrates from nature, they're coming with some fiber, and that fiber is going to slow the absorption.

Melanie: Mm-hmm.

Britni: And prevent a larger blood sugar increase.

Melanie: Which kind of brings to mind the order that you eat.

Britni: Yes.

Melanie: So if you have something with fiber before you even begin the meal. Even if it's a handful of real seedy crackers like Flackers.

Britni: Mm-hmm.  

Melanie: Are they the most delicious? No. But do they come with a fiber? Yes. And then that will curb, you know, your appetite where you're cooking so you're not nibbling. Then you set up your plate of food and maybe it might be a piece of fish or a pork chop or a steak and you've got some broccoli and you've got some wild rice.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: So if you start with the broccoli and the meat, and then the last thing you eat is the wild rice, but we all want to stick our fork in the carb first.

Britni: Of course.

Melanie: The potato, the rice.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: The noodle. And so eat it last, and that will mitigate that huge spike in your blood sugar.

Britni: Yeah. It can make a big difference. And, you know, realistically, you're not going to necessarily do that with every single meal, but when you can why not?

Melanie: Why not do it that way? And, you know, at least start off that way.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: And, you know, that's just one example. Let's say you had a stew.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Maybe you start with a green salad beforehand. And that's going to, the vinegar and the fiber and all that helps to mitigate, again, the blood sugar spike.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: And keep those concentrated carbs that are high in carbohydrate like the wild rice or the beans. Keep it at like a half a cup.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: And you're going to fare a lot better. But if you sit down and you have two cups of watermelon, there's just not enough fiber in the world.

Britni: Yep. So with, you know, when we talk about balanced eating, all those meals you described, with those carbohydrates, we're getting some fat and some protein in there too, because that fat and that protein is also going to slow digestion, reduce that blood sugar bump up. You know, one of my clients that did a continuous glucose monitor, and along with that, to get the best data is tracking your food along with it.

Melanie: Oh, yeah.

Britni: So we realized she really wasn't getting enough protein. And by bumping up her protein, that made a big difference in her blood sugar balance throughout the day because it slowed down the absorption of the, those carbohydrates at the meal.

Melanie: Yeah, that's a great point.

Britni: And so, you know, those healthy fats, butter, coconut milk, avocado, nuts and seeds, olive oil, quality protein sources, animal sources like grass-fed beef, pasture-raised turkey or chicken, pasture-raised eggs, wild-caught fish, those are all going to be wonderful, real food sources.

Melanie: Not a protein bar?

Britni: No, that's…

Melanie: I'm picking on protein bars today.

Britni: Yeah. Well, they're everywhere.

Melanie: They are everywhere. They're a whole wall.

Britni: Yeah. It's crazy.

Melanie: They're in grocery stores now. Because protein is vibing. You know, that's the…

Britni: Sure is.

Melanie: I predict it's going to be fiber next and then there's going to be a whole wall of fiber things, but right now protein, it’s having its day. She's the win.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: And so with that comes the manufacturing looking to make money. And so they're making a bunch of food. But can you pluck a protein bar from the tree or a bush?

Britni: No.

Melanie: No. It is not real food. Our bodies just respond better when we choose real food from nature.

Britni: Absolutely.

Melanie: So when you're traveling and you're thinking ... I mean, who doesn't love, you get through security to go get a great coffee?

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: Everybody loves that coffee on the airplane. So think about you're going to get a coffee and then you're going to sit for two to four hours for a flight or maybe longer.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: So a sugary coffee is not your win because you can't start doing touchdowns in the airport bathroom. The airplane bathroom is just icky. It's an icky place. So, you, that's really where you want to be a plain coffee, you know, just keep it very simple, maybe some real cream in there.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: But not a sugary coffee. Don't start your vacation off with a sugar bomb.

Britni: Yeah, because then it's just going to probably lead to more cravings.

Food ideas to bring when traveling (or everyday life!)

Melanie: So what do you bring? You know, we've, we sort of trashed protein bars. So what do you bring when you're traveling?

Britni: Meat sticks.

Melanie: Hard boiled eggs.

Britni: Nuts. You know, a clementine is really easy to travel with and it's small.

Melanie: Yeah.

Britni: I mean, having a meat stick and some nuts and a clementine, it's arguably just as easy as grabbing a protein bar.

Melanie: It really is. And you can feel really good about it.

Britni: And it's going to satiate you a lot more.

Melanie: Yeah. My favorite snack that I like to bring is hard-boiled eggs, macadamia nuts, because I don't buy them typically, only for vacation travel, because I will plow through the bag.

Britni: Yeah. So it feels a little special then.

Melanie: Feels a little special and celery sticks. I love a crunchy celery stick. So I've got fiber in the celery. I'm going to do the macadamia nuts and I'll do the hard boiled eggs.

Britni: Perfect.

Melanie: So, you know, I'm going to have good food when I get to where I'm going. It doesn't have to be the yummiest food when I'm on the airline. It doesn't have to be fancy.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: Now, if you're somebody that really loves to have something that you could grab in that peel, maybe one of our, we have muffins on our website that have some, real natural protein powders in them. You could bring a muffin-

Britni: Absolutely.

Melanie: With a beef stick and some, and some nuts or seeds. But, yeah, and you're not going to stink up the airline.

Britni: And of course, these could all be ideas for everyday life too that would be easy to throw together and keep around.

Move after your meals to lower blood sugar

Melanie: That's a really good point. One simple tool to naturally lower blood sugar is to move after your meals.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: So like I said, you don't want to get that coffee and then go sit on an airplane. You want to be able, if you're going to have something that might pop your blood sugar up, again, you didn't hear me say I bring fruit on an airplane because I'm aware of this spike and I can't do anything about it.

But if, if I'm somewhere else and I want to have an, I want to have a small apple at the end of my meal, which is one of my favorite things, then I'm going to move after a meal. And even a few minutes of walking around the office or up and down the stairs a few times after lunch helps your glucose uptake.

I used to work at the VA hospital. Their flight of stairs to get from the, the basement to the top, it's an ordeal. And so after lunch, you would see a bunch of people in the stairwell puffing it up those stairs. So I like to remind my clients that movement doesn't need to be punishment, just gentle and consistent movement. I don't like to walk so fast that, you know, I'm cranking my arms. It's just not how I enjoy nature, but I'm going to walk and I'm going to move and listen to your body. If when you're walking too fast, the pace is hurting your knees, you can slow down.

Britni: Absolutely. And you said, you know, enjoy. I think that's important because if you're going to stick with something, there has to be some enjoyment with it.

Melanie: It does. You can dance to a YouTube channel.

Is diet or exercise more important for weight loss/preventing type 2 diabetes?

Britni: Yeah, absolutely. So this whole topic brings up a question I'll get from clients. When it comes to weight loss or preventing type two diabetes, what's more important? Diet or exercise? Can I continue to eat my favorite foods if I work it off in the gym? You know, we…

Melanie: This is where you take a deep breath. And what do you say?

Britni: Well, the honest answer is diet really does have the biggest impact. And we're not just saying that because we're dietitians. I've heard plenty of personal trainers say the same thing.

Melanie: Yeah.

Britni: But, you know, that exercise, of course, as we've been talking about, can make a really big impact. And you can think of it as you really can't out exercise a processed food diet.

Melanie: You can't. And, you know, along with the processed food comes more detriment than just blood sugar.

Britni: Yes.

Melanie: So it's a win-win for you all the way around and if you combine a balanced diet with additional movement, oh my gosh, the difference you're going to see and it, you're going to feel different. You feel better. You all, you have energy, you don't collapse at the end of the day.

A few main takeaways

So we've covered a lot today. The biggest takeaway I want to hear from today's discussion is that when it comes to preventing or even reversing type two diabetes, you're not powerless.

You definitely have the control. And we see our clients take control of their health every day in clinic just by eating a real food diet and moving their bodies. It makes a huge impact overall and it takes a little bit of effort because change is difficult in the early days, but you're worth it. You deserve that good health.

You deserve that longevity. You deserve to feel good. Remember I said motion is lotion. Literally moving your body decreases aches and pains and it works. We see it working. It's so fun to see clients come in with their new labs. They're so excited. And I'm like, they did it. You did it all by yourself.

I just handed you the tools and that's why we're here for is to give you those ideas that feel satisfying while keeping you on track and reaching your health goals. We can sort through what's going to work for you. It might not be a fitness center. That's okay. There's lots of places that you can make improvements and see improvements.

It’s okay to start with small changes (& some examples!)

Britni: And you don't have to do all of this all at once, you know? Start with small changes. So here are maybe some easier ideas you can start trying this week: starting with a protein forward breakfast. Honestly, it makes all the difference, I think. It's naturally going to help you to make more balanced food choices the rest of the day.

You're going to have more energy, probably better moods. So maybe that's eggs. Maybe it's a smoothie. I think that's an easy way to start your day. Maybe it's a cup of plain yogurt. You make your own little parfait situation. Maybe it's a cup of cottage cheese. Maybe it's leftover dinner.

Melanie: You do that a lot.

Britni: Yeah. I mean, once you get out of the breakfast food for breakfast why not? It's all the same.

Melanie: Ditch the cereal, ditch the toast.

Britni: Yes. Yes.

Melanie: I have a client and she bakes a sweet potato where it's almost done and then she slices it and puts it in the toaster.

Britni: Yes, I've heard of that.

Melanie: Yeah. So I haven't done it yet because I always cook my sweet potatoes too long and they get mushy and you can't toast that.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: So I hope she comes back in so that I can say, "How'd you do that? How long do you cook your sweet potato?" But I think it's intriguing.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Reinvent that breakfast. It doesn't have to be eggs.

Britni: No.

Melanie: It can certainly be something different. It could be one of the muffins from our website.

Britni: Mm-hmm. Lots of options out there.

Melanie: If you find yourself relying on restaurant foods too often, you know, maybe a goal is to try this week is to make a batch of protein. You know, you can slap some chicken thighs, chicken breasts across that cookie sheet, spray it with some avocado oil, season it up and cook a platterful. So you've got chicken at the ready, and let's say you get home and you are famished. You can grab a cold chicken breast.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: Or chicken thigh and eat that instead of the crackers and hummus. And then maybe what you're going to grab is some frozen vegetables that don't require much other than some steaming and some butter. And you got it. You're good. Yeah. Fill your grill, as things get warm.

Maybe throw things in your crockpot like a beef roast or a pulled pork. Easy breezy. Don't slather it in, in the sugary barbecue sauce. You know? But, all of that is an easy food prep and then all you have to do is pair it with a salad or a vegetable and, and you've got a balanced meal.

Britni: Yeah, it doesn't have to be complicated.

Melanie: Mm-mm.

Britni: Maybe if you are somebody that gravitates towards those sweetened beverages, you could try stevia drops in water or coffee.

Melanie: Or club soda.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: The root beer ones in club soda.

Britni: Mm. Yeah. That's tasty. You know, you could brew your own berry flavored iced tea. So it tastes a little sweet, but it's not going to have that sugar in there.

Melanie: And if it's cold and you want to start decreasing the wine in your life for the cocktails, put it in your usual cocktail glass, put it in your wine cocktail glass. You can add little bitters to it. It's very cocktail-esque and you're not going to get the blood sugar devastation from the alcohol.

If you're in the habit of skipping breakfast or eating very lightly early in the day, try out a day of eating that balance protein forward. And I think that mid-afternoon carb craving is going to go away. If I don't get enough protein at my meals, two hours later, I am jonesing for something.

Britni: Yep. And I'm wanting to snack.

Melanie: A little “something-something”.

Britni: Yep.

Melanie: But if you get enough protein. So if you find yourself, you're hungry two hours, three hours after a meal, look back and think, "Okay, next time I need to have more protein.

Britni: And if you find that getting exercise is difficult for you, try something new this week that you enjoy. Again, even if it's just walking for a few minutes, after lunch or watching a YouTube exercise video, those small shifts repeated consistently can create a lot of very real change. Consistency. I think that's the key word there.

Melanie: Don't give up. And here's the thing, if you're trying to lose weight, you're trying to bring your blood sugar down, don't give up when you don't see the scale move.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: For, you know, five, six days. Don't think, "Well, it's just not working for me, " because there's something biochemically that's happening.

Britni: Mm-hmm.

Melanie: Where your body holds onto water, get, and then all of a sudden that water drops off. But, you know, when you're in a moderate calorie deficit, you're going to lose weight.

Britni: If you found this episode particularly helpful, please share it with someone who could benefit from listening. And if you are ready to make some changes to your health, come and work with us. We would love to see you. A lot of people don't realize that their insurance will actually cover their appointments for nutrition counseling.

We have a lot of clients that have unlimited coverage, which is, it's amazing. So to find out if we're in your network with your insurance provider, you can visit our website, weightandwellness.com, or you can always give us a call at 651-699-3438. And our office staff, they're always there to help and answer your questions.

Check On Insurance Coverage For Nutrition Counseling!

Melanie: Our goal at Nutritional Weight & Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It's a simple yet powerful message. Thank you.