Your prescription for a healthier lifestyle

Change your lifestyle. Reduce your diabetes risk.

Losing weight, maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising regularly are the best ways to reduce your diabetes risk.¹¹ Of course, if you have high blood pressure or cholesterol, or if your clinician has prescribed medication to control your sugar levels, be sure to follow your clinician’s treatment plan and take your medications accordingly.

Lifestyle changes work!

Carolyn, PreDx Patient

Now I know I’m on the right path

Margaret, PreDx Patient

Being healthier can pay off!!

Michael AbouAssaly, MD

Maintaining a healthy weight helps reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes

If you’re overweight, your body has to work harder to make and use insulin. Those extra pounds may also cause high blood pressure. But the good news is that you don’t have to lose a dramatic amount of weight to improve your health. Studies show that losing as little as 5% of your body weight can reduce your risk for diabetes by more than 50%.¹²

Here are a few suggestions to help you reach and maintain a healthy weight:¹³

Set a realistic goal for weight loss.
Avoid fad diets that promote large amounts of weight loss in a short time. It’s usually difficult, if not impossible, to keep the weight off once you start eating regularly again.
Aim for a gradual weight loss of about 5 to 10% of your body weight to start. Even this small amount of weight loss has big benefits in the form of lower blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels—not to mention how good you’ll feel when you look in the mirror.
Keep track of what you eat. Eating less will help you lose weight. But first, you have to figure out how much you eat. A good way to do this is to keep a food diary. Simply write down everything you eat, every day—be sure to include what you eat and how much.
Reduce your serving size. Once you determine what and how much you’re eating, try to eat less. Eating smaller portions will reduce the amount of calories you consume and help you lose weight.

Make smart food choices

Your body is like a well-oiled machine. To keep it in good working order, it’s important to fuel it with healthy foods. Putting together a well-balanced diet means making smart food choices:¹⁴

For Walter, starting with small changes led to big results

Walter, PreDx Patient

Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables with every meal
Choose whole grain breads, cereal, rice and pasta over processed grain products
Include dried legumes, beans, peas and lentils
Eat fish at least two to three times a week
Choose lean meats, and remove skin from chicken and turkey
Select non-fat dairy products including skim milk, non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese
Skip the diet drinks and regular sodas; drink water instead
Substitute monounsaturated oils, such as olive oil, for butter
Limit your fat intake to about 25% of your total calories
Keep your portion sizes small—too much of any food—even healthy ones—can cause weight gain

Get a healthy dose of physical activity

Regular physical exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Choose an activity you enjoy, such as walking, hiking, biking, even gardening—and you’ll be more likely to stick with it. Aim for at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week, to reap the rewards.¹⁵

Exercise...¹⁶

A patient decides “I want to be there for my grandchildren”

Michael AbouAssaly, MD

Significant changes in just 6 months

Shawna, PreDx Patient

Burns calories and helps your body use insulin more efficiently; both actions lower blood glucose
Strengthens your heart, helping it to work more efficiently, which can help lower blood pressure.
Increases your levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and lower your levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides
Helps you lose weight and keep it off
Reduces your risk for other health problems including heart disease and certain cancers
Helps reduce bone loss, especially if you do weight-bearing exercises such as walking or running
Makes you more energetic during the day and helps you sleep soundly at night
Works wonders to alleviate stress
Strengthens muscles, especially if you lift weights
Increases your flexibility, enabling you to move more easily

Your doctor or nutritionist can help you create a diet and exercise plan to safely lose weight and keep it off. Remember, dropping those extra pounds will lower your risk for diabetes. Plus, you’ll feel better and have more energy to do the things you really enjoy.