Calories influence energy levels and body fat.

Protein influences everything from muscle growth, appetite control right through to hormone production.

Fiber feeds the bacteria in our guts which play a role in the health of our immune system.

Carbs influence blood glucose and exercise performance.

Vitamin C protects against the damaging effects of high blood glucose and oxidative damage.

Salt influences water retention.

etc… We could go on forever.

The nutritional components of food serve many different roles within the human body.

This article aims to highlight 5 key nutritional aspects of food which have been shown to improve the action (or sensitivity) of insulin, resulting in improved blood glucose management in people with diabetes.

Before we go into details – it is important to understand a few key terms surrounding insulin and diabetes.

Key Terms

Insulin is a key hormone involved in the use and storage of fuels within the body.

Insulin sensitivity refers to how effective the hormone insulin is at doing its job in the body. This varies between individuals and is reduced in people with diabetes.

Insulin resistance is when muscle, liver and fat cells do not use insulin properly. As a result, glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine and is excreted out of the body, never fulfilling its role as the body’s main source of fuel.

Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by different degrees of insulin resistance, where not enough insulin is produced, or the current insulin produced does not work effectively.

Disorders in insulin production and signalling can have widespread and devastating effects on the body’s organs and tissues if left uncontrolled. Therefore, it is important that people with type 1 diabetes (who produce next to no insulin) have an uninterrupted supply of high-quality insulin medication to replicate their own natural insulin production.

Individuals with type 2 diabetes may also need to take medication to improve the effectiveness of their natural insulin production.

In both cases of diabetes, certain lifestyle factors are advised to support medication therapy. Nutrition is one of them.

5 Incredibly Powerful Eating Tips That Boost Insulin Sensitivity Naturally

Consume Foods That Have Been Scientifically Proven to Boost Insulin Sensitivity.

Scientific research has demonstrated foods like vinegar, lemon, lime, walnuts, almonds, green tea, cinnamon, and turmeric have insulin-sensitizing properties. Including nutrient-dense foods like these in your diet may help improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin and ability to store consumed carbohydrates within muscle glycogen stores instead of as fat. That’s why I included all these kinds of foods inside the Ultra Lean and Muscle Building Cookbooks. If you haven’t checked these cookbooks out already, you’re missing out on over 200+ mouth-watering diabetic friendly recipe ideas that will help you get you in shape without giving up the foods you love.

  Consider Supplementing with Magnesium and Vitamin D.

Magnesium and vitamin D have been shown to improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Low magnesium levels are common in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Magnesium is an essential dietary mineral and the second most prevalent electrolyte in the body besides sodium. Magnesium has a strong relationship with insulin and thus plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism _1,2.

Research has shown that subjects who supplemented with oral magnesium improved their fasting blood glucose levels and increased their insulin sensitivity.³

The standard dose for magnesium supplementation is 200-400mg.⁴

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient essential for human survival.

Vitamin D is known to aid in improving insulin receptor function, prevent islet cell death, as well as improve beta cell function.

Research in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have shown positive results in that supplementing with vitamin D has the potential to lower haemoglobin A1c compared to baseline.^5,6 Much of this may in part be due to improving insulin resistance.

Individuals with diabetes should get a 25(OH)D blood test to assess their current vitamin D status. The Vitamin D Council recommends a blood level between 50–80 ng/mL year round.

If needed, 1,000-2,000 IU (25–50 mcg) of Vitamin D per day is more than adequate. ⁷

Both magnesium and vitamin D may be consumed via supplements. However, they can also be obtained from food.

Magnesium rich foods include green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and broccoli.

Vitamin D is easily received by getting sun exposure daily; however, people who live further away from the equator or experience harsh, cold winters are at a disadvantage and may need an additional vitamin D supplement. Also, foods such as fatty fish like salmon, dairy, eggs, and cod liver oil may be consumed to achieve adequate vitamin D levels.

 Prioritize the Essential Fatty Acids, especially Omega-3.

The human body can synthesize most of its fat needs from the diet. However, there are two essential fatty acids, known as Omega 6 (linoleic acid) and Omega 3 (alpha-linolenic acid) which cannot be produced in the body and must be consumed from food. Both of these fats can be found in plant and animal foods.

Consuming a healthy balance of omega-6s and omega-3s is very important for human health.

However, in today’s modern society many populations at risk of obesity and diabetes have an imbalance in their consumption of omega 3s and 6s, whereby too much omega 6 is consumed at the expense of omega 3.

While both of these fatty acids are essential for good health, the stark imbalance is pro-inflammatory and detrimental to insulin sensitivity. The imbalance is a result of the world’s growing food intake, particularly increased consumption of processed food cooked in processed polyunsaturated fats like sunflower oil.

The first line of defence in rectifying this imbalance involves eating fewer calories and improving energy balance with physical activity. The next step is to increase omega 3 consumption from cold water fatty fish or use of high-quality Omega 3 food supplements.

Ideally, 340-453g (12–16 oz.) of cold-water, fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel each week, if personal taste allows for it. Otherwise a good quality fish oil supplement.

 Avoid Trans Fats.

There is nothing positive or healthy about man-made trans fats. They are well established to cause insulin resistance, resulting in a decrease in insulin sensitivity. Additionally, trans fat may increase abdominal fat storage.

Food products that contain trans fat include, cakes, vegetable oils and margarine. Substitute these common cooking products for healthier oils like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil or real butter.

Trans fats are mentioned on nutrition labels.

Strive to purchase and consume foods that contain 0g Trans Fats.

Food over Macronutrients.  

Carbohydrates have the greatest effect on blood glucose levels, protein has a moderate effect and fat a relatively small effect.

However, when it comes to mealtimes, we mostly consume mixed macronutrient meals comprised of different food sources.

Think about it. You rarely eat a potato on its own. Rather, a combination of potato (carbs), meat or fish (protein) and a good dab of butter (as fat).

If you keep consistent with the amounts of carbs, fat and protein at meal times, you’ll have a much better chance at working out a reliable insulin to carb ratio.

This is great, but what happens when you make an extreme change and decide to consume a food dominant in one macronutrient? Or, vary the composition of your set meal in favour of a certain macronutrient such as a pepperoni pizza which is super high in fat?

When the time comes, you must be willing to increase or decrease your insulin accordingly. This requires an in-depth understanding of how to dose and spread your insulin for mixed and, or, single macronutrient-based meals.

Dosing your insulin accurately is extremely important for avoiding hyperglycemia and further insulin resistance.

Want to put this learning into practice?

I’ve taken all of these principles and incorporate them into Diabetic Shred Guide – a 112-day fat loss system for men and women living with diabetes. It contains everything you need to know about eating, training and living to get lean. You get weekly meal plans tailored to your metabolism and over 50 challenging workouts.

If you want to learn more about flexible dieting you can check out my body transformation diet and training guides created exclusively for people with diabetes.

Diabetic Shred –  112-day Advanced Body Transformation Guide Built for FAT LOSS.

References

1. Paolisso G, Scheen A, D’Onofrio F, Lefebvre P: Magnesium and glucose homeostasis. Diabetologia33:511–514, 1990
2. Nadler JL, Buchanan T, Natarajan R, Antonipillai I, Bergman R, Rude R: Magnesium deficiency produces insulin resistance and increased thromboxane synthesis. Hypertension21:1024–1029,
3. Mooren FC, Kruger K, Volker K, Golf SW, Wadepuhl M, Kraus A. Oral magnesium supplementation reduces insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects-A RCT. Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism. 2011;13(3);281-284
4. http://www.nap.edu/read/5776/chapter/8#223
5. Aljabri KS, Bokhari SA, Khan MJ. Glycemic changes after vitamin D supplementation in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and vitamin D deficiency. Ann Saudi Med. 2010;30(6):454-458.
6. Mitri J, Muraru MD, Pittas AG. Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011.65(9):1005-15.
7. Example.com The Supplement-Goals Reference Guide

It’s beautiful.

What else feels this good right after a long day at work, and hard gym session?

The warm plates are sitting out, the food is on the table and your family (or better half) mumbles with a half-eaten piece of pizza in their mouth, ‘Sit down and have a few pieces, there’s dessert too.’

You really wish you could, but there’s one big problem…

You are 2 weeks into your new fat loss diet and want to be in the shape of your life for once.

You know this type of food isn’t going to help you. It’s one of the reasons you need to lose weight in first place.

Add to that, you know this food and diabetes don’t get along. You’re anxious about the amount of insulin you are going to inject for the massive blood sugar spike you are about to experience.

But, in the famous lyrics of R.Kelly – Bump N’ Grind. Your mind is telling you no, but your body is telling you YES!

See, our food environment is a pretty big deal.

As humans, we make hundreds of decisions about food every single day¹. This tends to get more challenging when you start dieting and get ‘hangry.’

When you live with your family, a partner or friends you are exposing yourself to their way of eating. This can be a problem…

Like I say in my book if you live with three other people who eat crap and don’t value a lean healthy body, there is a high probability that you will become the fourth person in the group.

Cooking and eating food has a massive social element that many people overlook. This is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to food environment.

Just think of how awkward the following circumstances can be when you are trying to diet.

• Being asked out to a buffet meal with friends and family.
• Cuddled up on the couch for a movie with a brand new date who brought you a share size bag of M&M’s to enjoy.
• Eating at a restaurant with a group of friends and the breadboard comes out.

Then there are other factors like convenience and prevalence of junk food in your fridge or naughty cupboard.

IT’S EASY TO FEEL GUILTY

… when you turn down someone’s cooking efforts, the surprise pizza order or that share size bag of M&M’s.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed, give in and say, ‘I’ll start back on the diet tomorrow,’ which, of course, rarely ever happens.

Willpower Has a Fuse

It can run out, especially when you are under stress, and have to make hundreds of decisions about food on a daily basis.

When you’re tired and running low on calories, you are much less likely to exert willpower and far more likely to jeopardize your fat loss efforts by indulging in excess calories. Especially, if they are ‘offered on a plate’ or just down the stairs.

This relates to the model of behaviour known as “Ego depletion” ²

A large amount of scientific evidence (meta-analysis) by Hagger et al in 2010 showed that:

• Ego depletion significantly affected self-control task performance.
• Ego depletion was significantly affected by the degree of effort, perceived difficulty, perceived negative effects and subjective fatigue.
• Low blood glucose levels affected ego depletion negatively.

Given the fact that willpower is a limited resource,

it makes sense to elevate your food environment and improve it by either removing unhelpful food choices that are contradictory to your end goal or simply not putting yourself there in the first place.

Changing Your Environment Can Help

Let’s take the same situation you were in earlier on, but this time you don’t smell pizza or brownie, nor get tempted to ‘have a piece’ because you know your family, or better half sits down at the same time every single week to eat a takeaway.

Eating a filling meal before you arrive home grants you permission to use the, ‘I’ve eaten already’ excuse.

Or, if you live with a partner, you could tactfully plan your daily calories around the takeaway meal using an intermittent fasting style approach, backloading your calories into the evening. Another solution would be to ask your better half to have a friend round to eat with.

Losing body fat is a process that requires food restriction.

Sacrifices have to be made if you want to look a certain way or want to hit a target bodyweight. If your friends and family can’t support your goal, educate them on why you’re doing it and how it will improve your quality of life. In turn, letting you live life to the fullest.

If they can’t accept that, stick to your guns.

No one needs to eat pizza and brownies to fit in.

Having competed as a bodybuilder for many years I know too well how to enhance my food environment for muscle gains and fat loss.

Try any of these tactics if you suspect your environment is holding you back

• Empty your naughty food cupboard of sweets and confectionary. Out of sight, out of mind. Just make sure you keep some fast-acting sugars for hypo prevention. Sports drinks are perfect as they are the least likely food product to be consumed when you are bored or hungry.

• Diet soft drinks are great for killing a sugar craving and support fat loss due to their zero calorie content.

• Equip yourself with great tasting diabetic friendly recipe and snack ideas. That’s why I created the Ultra Lean Diabetic Cookbook – it’s loaded with 100 delicious diabetic friendly recipes you will love including Tortilla Pizzas, Protein pancakes and much more. All the calories and macronutrients are outlined for you – they even come with a Myfitness pal barcode for easy food tracking.

• If you use flexible dieting as an eating strategy, keep all junk food in opaque tins at the top of a cupboard so they are hard to see and reach.

• When the share board comes out, excuse yourself and nip out to the toilet. Tell the table to “eat away” and by the time you get back most of it will be gone.

• Avoid going shopping when hungry.

• Avoid hoarding junk food when it is on offer at your local supermarket. Before you place it in your trolley, ask yourself, ‘Do I need it?’

• Don’t walk down the sweetie isle when dieting. That’s just torture.

• Don’t watch Man Vs. Food or any form of bakery program when dieting. It might push you over the edge and cause you to say, ‘F**k it, let’s eat!’

• Increase your protein, and fiber intake when dieting to keep hunger under control.

• Coffee (pre 5 pm) can help suppress appetite.

• Master your insulin dosing. Be mindful that a hypo will require you to eat. Keep your food environment in mind and do your best to consume straight sources of glucose rather than cakes and crisps which contain a lot of excess calories.

• Sugar-free jelly is ultra-low in calories and provides a temporary fill me up.

• You can also use the good old diabetes excuse and tell people that junk food doesn’t have a place in your diet. Obviously, make sure your friends and family know what a hypo is and what foods are best to treat it.

There are many other strategies you can use, but these are great examples.

While you are here, make sure to check out the Diabetic Shred Guide a 112-day fat loss system for men and women living with diabetes. It contains everything you need to know about eating, training and living to get lean. You get weekly meal plans tailored to your metabolism and over 50 challenging workouts.

It’s imperative to know what diabetes is and the fundamentals of diet, exercise, lifestyle, and medication management. Here are five important points a healthcare or fitness professional should understand before engaging with T1D individuals involved in sport or fitness.

1. High-intensity exercise like weight training can increase blood glucose levels, even without the consumption of carbohydrates. This is a result of counter-regulatory stress hormones that increase in circulation as a result of high-intensity exercise. It is imperative that such increases in blood glucose are anticipated and dealt with.

2. Low-intensity exercise like cardio has the potential to lower blood glucose and cause hypoglycemia.

3. The psychological aspect of managing diabetes is undervalued and not talked about enough. If T1D athletes and fitness enthusiasts were to place a higher value on their diabetes management, they would excel in their fitness or sporting efforts. Poorly managed diabetes will have a highly detrimental effect on muscle building, fat loss, and sporting performance.

4. Whey protein and supplements like caffeine have the potential to increase blood glucose levels and may require insulin.

5. People with diabetes are more susceptible to podiatry problems, which can have implications for exercise program design.

• Women with Diabetes can develop a great looking body, they just need to think differently, and require unique information and support.
• Improving your body is more challenging if you have diabetes. There are many important nutrition considerations.
• The best fat loss and body sculpting diet plan for females with diabetes is the one that fits your lifestyle and isn’t difficult to manage from a diabetes perspective.
• Improving your body involves set periods of eating a calorie surplus and deficit.
• 99% of women looking to lose fat and develop their shape prioritise the wrong things when it comes to diet.
• If you don’t assess your diet you won’t reach your ideal shape.
• You need fewer supplements than you think. Women do well with whey and creatine, and these are valid options for people with diabetes.

What you’re in for?

4,000 Words

Reading Time ~ 22 minutes

Before we begin, let’s get straight with each other why you’re reading this exact article.

You’re a female living with diabetes who wants to look better naked and buy a completely new wardrobe?

You’ve tried to lose weight and get in shape countless times but you still aren’t happy.

No matter how many diets you have tried, you keep asking yourself,

‘What do I need to eat?’

‘How much do I need to eat?’

‘Am I allowed to eat this? Am I allowed to eat that?’

‘What should I do for this night out I have coming up, will my diet fail?’

‘Why am I constantly hungry?’

‘Is diabetes the reason I’m struggling to lose weight and get in shape?’

‘Dieting downright sucks and I have no hope of building a body that men will bow down to.’

Ok, Stop.

Panic over.

If you have struggled to find decent diet information for creating a better-looking body with diabetes, you’ve come to the right place.

This article is grounded on ten years of academic learning, 1000s of blood glucose tests, 1000s of hours in the gym and over 700 client transformations.

You will learn many new things and discover various aspects you haven’t considered before. You’ll walk away equipped with the right knowledge to make massive changes and create the body you always desired.

I’m all for creating a great looking body as fast as possible. However, to achieve this, your diet MUST be set up correctly.

There is a fine line between…

• Eating too much vs. eating too little.
• Taking too much insulin vs. taking too little.
• Training too much vs. training too little.

Overlook one detail and you run the risk of burning out, losing shape, gaining waist inches and looking the same (or worse) from year to year.

Sound familiar?

Let’s look at how we can fix it.

In order to build a great looking body, you’ll need to build muscle and lose body fat.

Nutrition, in conjunction with a well-structured training program and dedicated periods of rest are essential in every woman’s journey to creating the perfect looking body.

This article focuses on the nutritional aspect of developing a great looking body.  If you want to learn more about the training, make sure you read this article after.

___

The diabetic body is governed by a different set of rules and requires a much more tactful approach to diet than would be advised by the mainstream fitness media or your local gym hero.

___

Let’s look at the challenges females with diabetes face in their quest to build a better-looking body.

• Increased levels of muscle protein breakdown.
• Reduced strength.
• Decreased joint and muscle mobility due to glycation.
• Increased potential for injury.
• Increased fatigue.

These challenges are real.

However, they only become a serious problem to creating a great body when blood glucose levels are not controlled. You can safely say diabetes is not an advantage, BUT, with the right knowledge, plans and guidance, diabetes DOES NOT have to be a disadvantage.

The more you know about diet, the better you will control your blood glucose levels.

GETTING STARTED:

THE BODY SCULPTING DIET PLAN FOR FEMALES WITH DIABETES.

When it comes to creating your own diabetic fat loss diet plan a number of factors need to be considered. Some are more important than others and must take priority. It’s easy to get excited and place more attention on the small details like the newest supplement, diabetic special food or the best time to consume your whey protein, rather than prioritizing the more important (yet sometimes boring) aspects like the ‘WHY’ behind eating better, overall, calorie intake or diabetes management.

THE DIABETIC MUSCLE AND FITNESS NUTRITION PYRAMID

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Nutrition Pyramid (pictured below) outlines all the nutritional aspects of building a successful fat loss diet for females living with diabetes. The most important factors are at the bottom and the least important factors are at the top.

Structure your nutrition like this and you can guarantee high-quality results.

This is the exact hierarchy of importance I have incorporated into my 112-Day Female Focused Fat Loss Transformation Guide for Females. 

1. PERSONAL VALUES FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS.

Your personal values for health and fitness are your WHY behind your HOW TO.

Find as many reasons as you can to support why improving your diet will enhance the quality of your life. These answers are the driving force behind your daily attitude and actions.

Confidence, better sex, tastier fashion, job opportunity, and improved quality of life are all obvious benefits of losing fat.

2. DIABETES MANAGEMENT.

Even if a diet is comprised of the best quality and freshest food or most expensive supplements on the planet, poorly controlled diabetes can predispose individuals to malnutrition, a condition where the cells of the body cannot utilise fuel properly.

Malnutrition resulting from poorly uncontrolled diabetes adversely affects body function, well-being, predisposes individuals to disease and delays recovery from illness.

Your diabetes must be exceptionally well controlled in order to reap the full benefits of healthy eating.

3. ADHERENCE.

Whether your goal is to shred pounds of body fat, create a perfect body shape or maintain body weight, your diet plan must be able to accommodate social occasions, days off, and the odd slice of pizza when you fancy it. Yes, a diabetic just said pizza.

The best body sculpting diet plans for females with diabetes incorporate a little give and take. If set up correctly, the total number of calories you consume will allow you to achieve your goal without restricting the foods you love.

Eating ‘clean’ doesn’t mean you’re doing things optimally. This is especially true if you find yourself craving the foods and macronutrients you restricted.

What good is a diet that drives you crazy?

You’ll struggle to get results, never mind maintain them.

Besides being ultra consistent with your calorie intake and essential nutrient targets, the secret to developing a better-looking body is eating a diet you enjoy. Adherence is everything. This viewpoint is also supported by the Journal of the American Medical Association who researched pretty much every fat loss diet on the planet and found ‘adherence’ was the most significant factor behind a diet’s success ⁹.

How many massively restrictive diets have you started, only to stop once your burst of enthusiasm has been replaced by pure monotony? Time to re-think things?

As for training. It’s only the fun part.

I take dietary adherence seriously. I’ve even incorporated detailed instructions and principles on how you can eat the foods you love, and still get in amazing shape in my breakthrough fat loss diet and training guide for females living with diabetes. 

Forget overly restrictive, dull, boring chicken, broccoli and rice diets, carb cycling, detoxes and super expensive supplements.

Focus on sustainability and killer consistency.

Once you’ve identified the goal of fat loss you will need set yourself a time frame, measure your progress and get accountable.

1. SET A TIME FRAME

You need to set yourself an adequate time frame for getting in shape.

How long will depend on how much progress you want to make.

There is a huge difference between,

• Losing 10lbs of fat vs. 100lbs

While developing a great looking physique takes years, generally speaking, 16 weeks is enough time to make significant body transformation changes. This is the exact length of Diabetic Shred – the breakthrough fat loss diet and training plan for women with diabetes.

2. MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS

If you aren’t assessing you’re just guessing.

To get the most out of your body sculpting diet plan, you must learn to evaluate and measure your food intake.

“Tracking food may seem like a mundane task”

Think again, tracking allows you to build portion control habits, and eat more flexibly in relation to your body transformation goals.

Fat loss requires eating less than you burn off. Overeating will hinder your fat loss efforts, while under eating will increase your chances of muscle loss and fatigue.

Far too often people blindly drop their calories and increase their training when there is no need. You must adjust when the time is right. How will you know? Tracking of course!

Having worked with 100s of females in the pursuit of getting a great looking body, I know too well how confusing it can be when it comes to making decisions about when to cut calories and where from. I paid great attention to this dilemma when developing Diabetic Shred.

The plateau is usually the time when people give up on their goals. Diabetic Shred outlines a crystal clear decision process for when and where to adjust your calories, once you hit a plateau.

Having a clear set of questions and actions like this saves hassle, gets better results, and most importantly keeps you progressing not quitting!

3. GET ACCOUNTABLE

To get the most out of your body sculpting diet plan, you must get accountable.

Hiring a coach or personal trainer with a proven track record who understands diabetes management will be worth its weight in gold, especially if it is your first time getting serious.

A good coach will give you that much-needed push during training, along with good honest critical feedback on your development and shape.

Now let’s get into the nitty gritty of nutrition and talk calories, carbs, protein, dietary fat and supplements.

4. Energy Balance

The first place to start when building your diet plan is calories.

Calories play a crucial role in everyone’s attempts to get a great looking body¹.

If your goal is to lose body fat or develop your shape, you must first establish how many calories you need to maintain your current bodyweight, and then work from there.

How do I work out my maintenance calories?

Record your body weight and calorie consumption over 14 days. Total the values up and divide each of them by 14 to get your fortnightly calorie and body weight average. Compare this value to your starting body weight…

• If your body weight has gone up, this indicates a calorie surplus.
• If your body weight has gone down, this indicates a calorie deficit.
• If your body weight has remained the same, this indicates maintenance calories.

Oh, and if the idea of weighing yourself seems daunting, here are some useful tips on how to weigh yourself properly.

Another way to calculate maintenance calories is by using a calorie calculation.

These aren’t 100% bulletproof, but they do get you on the right path.

Once you’ve established a maintenance level of calories, you’ll need to adjust it to your goal.

Generally speaking, for fat Loss – eat slightly fewer calories than you need to maintain your body weight.

 5. MACRONUTRIENTS.

Everyone gets confused about macros. It’s no surprise considering the vast amount of conflicting and over-complicated information found online and in the papers.

Low carb,

High carb,

High fat,

Low fat.

Which macro split is best for diabetes?

Here’s what you need to know about macros…

Certain macro nutrients are essential, others not.

Protein and the essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) need to be consumed via the diet.

Carbohydrates and other forms of fat are non-essential as the body can produce them by itself.

The best diet contains all the macronutrients in the right amounts specific to your overall calorie goal for fat loss, shape development or body weight maintenance.

What ratio of macronutrients you decide to eat is largely down to personal preference once you have met your essential needs for protein, essential fatty acids and carbohydrates for hypo treatment/prevention purposes.

How much protein do I need?

To keep it simple, 1.4-2.0g per Kg (0.6-1.0g per lb) of protein for the majority of people reading this.

In other words, if you weigh 67kg (147lb) you would consume 90-150g of protein per day. Split equally over 3-5 servings of 20-40g each day.

How much fat do I need?

Generally speaking, consuming 20-30% of your calories from fat is a great place to start. You might consume different amounts each day. However, over a period of weeks/months – they should average out.

In respect to your overall fat intake, certain types of dietary fat are essential, others not.

Omega-3s are essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that need to be supplied through the diet

There are three types of omega-3s involved in human physiology: ALA, EPA & DHA. Predominantly of marine origin, EPA and DHA are better than ALA found in plant oils, due to their greater bioavailability ^2,3.

Consuming fatty fish and fish oil supplements has been shown to improve dozens of aspects of health and disease, including insulin sensitivity, blood lipids, depression, inflammation and blood pressure, to name a few ^2,3,4,5,6.

Taking the different government and health organisations’ recommendations into account, 1-3 g of combined EPA-DHA per day suffices. The upper dose of 3g would be more suitable for people with diabetes due to the predisposition of a high triglyceride level and elevated blood pressure.

1 gram of fish oil is the equivalent to around 3 fish oil capsules per day or three to four 112g portions per week of oily fish like salmon, mackerel or sardines.

You’ll want to check how much Omega 3 you can take with your health care professional if you’re taking blood thinning medication.

How many carbs do I need?

Carbohydrate should make up the remainder of your calorie intake once you have calculated your calorie intake for protein and fat. The more carbs you eat, the less fat you’ll eat, and vice versa. The more dietary fat you eat, the fewer carbs you’ll consume.

Think of carbohydrate as a performance fuel, not a recovery fuel. The more training you do, the more you’ll need.

Do I need to go low carb if I live with diabetes?

Not necessarily.

If you are highly active and strength train 3-6 times per week, carbohydrates will help fuel your exercise performance and provide your body with a better training stimulus.

The fibre aspect of carbohydrates has also been shown to play a key role in the health of our microbiome, which has now been repeatedly shown to play a key role in body weight management ^7,8.

Carbs provide a range of different vitamins and minerals. They also taste great and help with dietary adherence.

Provided you manage your blood glucose levels and account for the calories you consume from carbohydrate, there is no reason to exclude them. On a side note, you must account for the carbohydrate calories you use to treat hypoglycaemia. This may vary from day to day.

If you”re like most women with diabetes, trying to figure all this out can get pretty overwhelming. One of the easiest ways to overcome this is to follow simple recipe plans. That’s why I created the Ultra Lean Diabetic Cookbook – it’s jam packed with 100 delicious diabetic friendly recipes. All the calories and macronutrients are outlined for you – they even come with a Myfitness pal barcode for easy food tracking.

6. NUTRIENT TIMING

Nutrient timing is more important for people with diabetes, especially when it comes to preventing/treating hypoglycaemia or preventing hyperglycaemia.

Refer to the infographic below and review when nutrient timing is Very Important, Worth Considering and Not Important. It’s the perfect size for Instagram, so please do feel free to share on social media (remember to tag us)

Getting your nutrition timed right has favourable effects on body composition, mood, and diabetes management. However, it should never be prioritised over the more important levels of the pyramid such as energy balance and macro nutrients.

A prime example of this would be the ‘no carbs after 6 dogma.’

In terms of meal frequency, 2-4 meals for fat loss and 3-5 if developing shape.

7. MICRONUTRIENTS/FIBER/WATER.

The topic of micro-nutrition may sound mind-numbing but you can’t overlook it.

Long-term micronutrient deficiencies will have a detrimental impact on your health and ability to perform/recover optimally from your training efforts.

Micronutrient deficiencies can result from prolonged period of low-calorie dieting and poorly controlled diabetes. A varied diet is a great way to get a range of micronutrients in

If you have any problems with energy levels, hunger, skin, or problems sleeping, you might be short of a few vitamins or minerals. Rather than assuming, the best way to check for micronutrient deficiencies is by getting a blood test done.

Fiber Intake

First of all, it is worth noting fiber is not an essential nutrient.

1. It makes you feel fuller (helps with fat loss)
2. Slows gastric emptying and nutrient absorption (can help with blood glucose management)
3. Decreases blood cholesterol
4. Decreases mineral absorption
5. Provides food for the bacteria in our guts which are shown to play a massive role in health and obesity prevention.
6. Helps you go to the toilet.

High-fiber foods like fruits and vegetables contain lots of other nutrients (vitamins and minerals) that are important to health.

If your fiber intake is low, don’t start ploughing it down. The body, particularly the bacteria within your gut need a little time to adapt. Otherwise, you’ll be pretty bloated and be blowing a lot of gas.

Provided you don’t suffer from IBS or any other serious bowel condition, 30-40g of fiber is a great target to shoot for daily.

Water Intake

Water is important for all things health, muscle building and exercise performance. There isn’t really a fixed water goal you should work to, per say, as hydration needs vary widely with body weight, sweat rates and frequency of hyperglycaemia.

Generally speaking,

• Aim for at least 5 clear urinations a day.
• Make sure you’re not dehydrated before training.
• Hydrate yourself well both during and after hyperglycaemia.
• Your hydration needs will increase if you are using the likes of creatine.

  8. SUPPLEMENTS.

When it comes to supplements, let’s get five things straight.

1. Supplements are the least important part of the nutrition pyramid.
2. Supplements can be a great nutritional insurance to someone living with diabetes. However, they will not mop up the damage caused by poorly controlled diabetes.
3. Supplements are a healthy addition to a good diet plan, but they will not make up for a poor one.
4. Generally speaking, supplements are not needed. Unless you don’t eat oily fish or natural sources of omega 3.
5. Supplements are never to be seen as shortcuts.

What supplements do I need?

Generally speaking, protein powder is a convenient easily digested source of high-quality protein, creatine along with caffeine are useful for boosting strength and cognition, Vitamin D is good for health if you live in a dull climate, fish oil seems to improve many elements of health – which makes all of these a worthwhile investment.

Since I consider the subject of supplements such a non-important topic, I’ll cover them in greater detail in a separate article, as I don’t want them distracting from the more important parts of this article.

In fact, I guarantee some people will have skipped everything I’ve said up until now. If you have – go back and start afresh.

If you’ve read the whole way up until here. Great!

Respect the hierarchy of importance for each element outlined in the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness nutrition pyramid, get focused on creating healthy habits over the long term, assessing your progress and just eat real food.

TAKE HOME

Before you pay for another month of gym membership ladies please consider these key principles for losing fat with diabetes.

• Proper female fat loss nutrition is about understanding how to eat healthily and sustainably towards your goals. All diet plans work (for a while), use them as a template from which you can adjust according to your results and personal circumstances.

• Never hop from diet to diet. It’s best to measure progress after about 2 to 4 weeks and then continually adjust.

• The ultimate nutritional approach to sculpt a great body will always be calorie controlled and nutrient dense, along with a diet that supports exercise performance and recovery.

• To get the best possible results your diabetes must be extremely well-managed through regular blood glucose testing and appropriate amounts of medication. This is essential for the proper absorption and metabolism of nutrients from food.

Since you have made it to the end of this blog, you are obviously serious about losing fat and building a new wardrobe (ha).

I hope you take action on what you’ve learnt!

If the idea of building your own diet and training seems too daunting for you,

here’s an 85% off coupon for what many diabetic women have coined the world’s Best Female Diabetic Body Transformation Diet and Training Plan.

Everything is done for you!

Join over 3500+ women who are currently following the plan and creating a better body and life for themselves.

The best thing about it?

It only costs a fraction of a typical 1-hour personal training session. You get 112 days’ worth of first class diet and training content that isn’t available anywhere else in the world, bar here!

IF YOUR GOAL IS FAT LOSS GET DIABETIC SHRED

REFERENCES

1. The poor, misunderstood calorie: calories proper: Volume 1 Lagakos Ph.D., Dr. William
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28289069
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23794360
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25278765
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4013121/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24117792
7. Le Chatelier, T. Nielsen, J. Qin, E. Prifti, F. Hildebrand, G. Falony, et al. Richness of human gut microbiome correlates with metabolic markers Nature, 500 (2013), pp. 541-546.
8. -P. Furet, L.-C. Kong, J. Tap, C. Poitou, A. Basdevant, J.-L. Bouillot, et al. Differential adaptation of human gut microbiota to bariatric surgery-induced weight loss: links with
9. Pagoto, Sherry L, Appelhans, Bradley M. A. Call for an End to the Diet Debates

Quick Summary 

• The more emotionally attached you are to your health and fitness goals, the clearer they’ll be and the greater you’ll value them.
• Lifting weights to look better is a sound reason to get started, as the health benefits always come as a byproduct.
• Increased muscle mass can help reduce diabetes medication needs and improve blood glucose control.
• You should never go into a set completely shattered. Each set needs to be quality.
• It doesn’t matter how good your training program is: if you don’t control your blood glucose levels, you’ll never build the body you desire.
• Each session should provide the body with a different training stimulus.
• Rest is equally as important as the training itself.
• A professional coach is worth their weight in gold.

What you’re in for?

4,000 Words

Reading Time ~ 26 minutes

HOW TO SET UP A WEIGHT LIFTING PLAN FOR DIABETES

We get all sorts of visitors on DiabeticMuscleandFitness.com: both men and women, ranging from the everyday gym goer to professional bodybuilders with diabetes, sports athletes right through to newly diagnosed teens who haven’t an ounce of muscle to their name.

If the idea of building muscle, getting stronger and improving whole body definition sounds good to you, then you’re in the right place.

The training information I am about to share with you is grounded on the latest exercise science, thousands of gym sessions and countless hours coaching people with diabetes of all shapes and sizes.

Let’s get started.

Weight Training and Diabetes 101

Weight training, also known as resistance, body weight or strength training is one of the most beneficial forms of exercise you can perform, especially if you live with diabetes.

When performed properly, weight training delivers a host of health benefits including,

1. Increased physical strength.
2. Denser, stronger bones.
3. Increased metabolic rate at rest (allows you to eat more calories, whilst staying lean)
4. It burns body fat and helps prevent obesity.
5. Releases key endorphins that make you feel great.
6. Improves balance and coordination.
7. It can protect against sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss)
8. Increased glucose uptake (it can help manage diabetes)
9. Improved blood lipids.
10. Plus, looking jacked and toned in your favourite clothes feels great!

In this article, I want to discuss the most important principles for building a highly effective weight training program for people living with diabetes, whose goal is to build muscle and simply look better naked.

If you are a typical reader of fitness magazines like Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Oxygen, this article is for you.

What this article is not.

This article does not focus on the goal of building maximum strength for sports like powerlifting and Olympic lifting. I will cover these specific training goals in another article.

Let’s get started…

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid.

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid outlines all the most important variables that make up a successful weight training program in order of importance. Similar to nutrition, many people prioritize the wrong stuff like what is the best exercise for arms over more important stuff like sets, reps, weight used on the bar and personal values for health and fitness (the driving force).

Let’s run through each aspect of the pyramid and highlight everything you need to know when it comes to getting the most out of strength training with diabetes.

Feel free to download the pyramids and upload them onto your social media if you wish. It’s important other people living with diabetes see these. If you’re using a PC right click and ‘Save As’. If you are using a mobile, hold your index finger down and saving the image.

Also, (if you haven’t already) get signed up to my insiders’ mailing list. You don’t want to miss an update. Strength training science is constantly evolving. I’ll keep you in the loop with anything worth knowing. So sign up and don’t miss a thing.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF SETTING UP A WEIGHT TRAINING PLAN IF YOU LIVE WITH DIABETES ARE…

1. PERSONAL VALUES FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS.

Change your mindset, before you change your behaviour.

Why are you thinking of getting more muscular and healthy?

The more value you see in your health and fitness goals, the more attention you’ll give them. This is why personal values for health and fitness are the most important aspect of the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid.

If you want to get the most out of strength training you need to identify how it will benefit your life. For most people, the idea of looking better is more important than health.

Girls, you’ll probably see more value in building a great shaped butt, tight core and strong defined legs over improving your bone density.

Guys, you’ll value a well-cut 6-pack, jacked arms and 300lbs bench with more than improved glucose uptake.

Lifting weights to look better is a sound reason to get started, as the health benefits always come as a byproduct.

The more you value something in life, the more energy and focus you’ll put into it. This is your WHY.

Check out these examples of WHY people value strength training.

• I’ll look better naked.
• Have better sex.
• Have more confidence.
• Be able to wear nicer clothes.
• Physical Strength and Fitness.
• Both physical fitness and a great looking body are signs of self-respect and care.
• Working out feels amazing and lets me clear my head.
• Being strong will help me protect myself.
• Lifting weights allows me to eat more food, (if you follow my insta stories you’ll know I love food. 🙂
• Increased muscle mass lowers my insulin needs – it literally resembles a vacuum for glucose.

Setting Realistic Goals Is Important.

Goal setting is a powerful process for mind and body. Clear goals provide you with direction and motivation to turn your vision into a reality.

However, there is a big difference between positive and realistic goal setting.

What is your goal, is it realistic?

Positive goal setting is like flicking ‘Beast Mode ON’ and thinking you’re going to be Arnold Schwarzenegger in 6 months or Monica Brant after you finish your newest tub of pre-workout.

So many of us fall prey to this mode of thinking. They spend so much time scrolling through Instagram and Facebook comparing incredibly jacked and ripped guys and girls on Instagram, thinking to themselves,

‘I’m going to look like that!’

The problem is, not many people come to terms with the backstory to their favourite fitness photos on Instagram.

• Genetics (different parents, ethnicities).
• Years of training experience.
• Expert coaching and mentorship.
• Use of anabolic steroids.
• More free time (giving them the ability to train multiple times a day).
• No kids to keep them up at night.
• The list is endless…

Be realistic when setting your training goals.

Be original, define YOUR own personal success criteria, do not borrow those belonging to an individual whose life bears no resemblance to yours.

Stay focused and make the best of your own unique circumstances, rather than comparing yourself to everyone else, especially the pro fitness models and bodybuilders who have been at it a lot longer than you.  The acronym S.M.A.R.T is a great framework to base your goals off.

Every time you set a goal, ask yourself, is it…

S –  Specific, Significant, Stretching

M – Measurable, Meaningful, Motivational

A – Attainable, achievable

R – Realistic

T– Time-Based

The best way to set a training goal is to acknowledge;

• How you don’t want to look and feel.
• How you want to look and feel in your new body.

You need to get very specific.

Ask the right questions and you’ll come up with great answers.

• How lean do I want to be?
• How muscular do I want to be?
• How strong do I want to be?
• How do I want feel?

Goals will differ from person to person. Some people will want to look better for the beach, while others will want to look like a hardcore bodybuilding monster.

Once you visualise how you want to look, hold that image in your head and think about it constantly.

So, how do you look? It’s not that far away.

Now we have goal setting and motivation out of the way, let’s look at the fundamental building blocks that make up a highly effective diabetes weight training program.

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Training Pyramid outlines all the key elements of strength training program design in order of importance. Too many people prioritise the wrong stuff, like the best exercise to do, or the best weightlifting belt to buy over the much more important stuff like managing blood glucose levels around exercise, adequate training volume and sufficient rest.

We’ve already covered the most important element of the pyramid ‘Personal Values for Health and Fitness’. Now, let’s discuss the other factors and their role in building a successful strength training plan for diabetes.

2. DIABETES MANAGEMENT.

It doesn’t matter how good your training program is, if you don’t control your blood glucose levels, you’ll never build the body you desire. One of the most important take-homes people have when reading my best-selling book, The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide is this:

‘OBSESS OVER PERFECT BLOOD GLUCOSE CONTROL 24/7 – 365 DAYS A YEAR.’

While looking after your diabetes may seem obvious, not many people do it (well).

How dedicated are you to perfecting your control?

What does good diabetes control look like to you?

1. Do you check your blood glucose levels regularly?
2. Do you correct high blood glucose ASAP?
3. Do you question ‘WHY’ your blood glucose levels go outside range, and get to the root of the problem?

Call it obsessed, but some of us want to get more out of training and live longer.

Poor blood sugar control (both short and long term) is the enemy to building a better looking and feeling body.

We live in an age with breakthrough diabetes management tools. There has been no better time to have diabetes. Recognise this reality and make the most of what is on offer.

Dedicate your life to chasing perfect control. Get as close to normal (nondiabetic) A1C levels as you can. Your dedication will pay off.

I’ve also covered a tonne of information on the effects different types of exercise have on blood sugar levels and diabetes in my book The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide.

3. TRAINING ADHERENCE.

The term fitness is defined as, ‘the ability to do a task.’

You may be fit enough for one training program, but not another.

Before you consider exercises, sets, reps and how much weight to use, you must ascertain the following key factors:

• What is the maximum number of days you can train per week?
• How much time can you spend training per session?
• What is your training experience? Do you know your exercises?
• What is your current fitness level?

These factors determine how much training you can handle.

Have you ever jumped into a hardcore program without considering what’s best for you? How did that end up?

If you’re new to training, you’ll lack the basic strength and physical fitness to handle high levels of work. You will get a lot out of a little. Less is more. The great thing is, you will progress quickly and will be hungry for more.

If you are thinking of following the training plans of professional athletes, fitness superstars or pro bodybuilders – be warned! These people are fitter than you, and most likely have more resources in their corner including genetics, supplements, more free time and a coach.

If you have a decent level of experience and strength base, you’ll be able to handle more training. However, it still needs to be manageable from a time and recovery perspective.

This is especially true if you’ve taken time out from training, because of injury or needing a mental break. You’ll not be fit enough to jump back into your old ways of training. You’ll need adequate time to get back in and adapt yourself.

YOU SHOULD NEVER LEAVE THE GYM SICK, IN PAIN, ABSOLUTELY SMASHED or asking yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’.

Focus on leaving the gym tired, stimulated and challenged.

LEAVE SOME FUEL IN THE TANK FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAY.

So many people hold the misconceived notion that a workout must leave absolutely f***ked. If it doesn’t they automatically assume they haven’t worked hard enough.

This way of thinking isn’t smart.

What good is a workout program that burns you out physically and mentally?

There is a fine line between too much, too little and just enough. Your workouts need to be challenging and enjoyable at the same time. This is much more sustainable and you’ll reap far better results.

Follow a training program that stimulates, not annihilates.

Have an intro week, test how certain exercises feel and how well you recover from set number of training sessions.

Your strength training program should keep you healthy and yield long-term progress rather than burn you out, cause injuries and drive you to resent training.

How Long Do I Need to Train For?

Would you say you are a beginner, intermediate or pro?

This is highly dependent on your personal agenda and lifestyle. If you perform other forms of exercise like football, yoga etc. or work a very heavy laboursome job you will need to be mindful of doing too much and cap training sessions at 2-3 times per week.

As an example, let’s assume you were dedicating all your exercise time to weight training. You training frequency would look like this:

Beginners: 30 mins of strength training x3-4 times per week for the first 3-6 months.

Intermediate: 30-60 mins of strength training x5-8 times per week.

Pro: Sports Specific -30-60 mins of strength training x5-10 times per week.

You also need to consider fitting training around your family. One of the most valuable things you can do is introduce them to exercise, especially loaded movement.

There’s nothing stopping you taking time out to show your partner or kids a few simple exercises like body weight squats or weighted carries. If you have really young kids, just get them moving and playing – embracing the full range of human movement.

Why not make it a family ritual to train together one day every week? You can get a tonne of training done with just bodyweight alone.

4. TRAINING VOLUME AND FREQUENCY.

Training volume is defined as the amount of sets x reps you perform over time for a given body part or movement, in other words, the total amount of work you do.

As a general rule of thumb, your training volume should increase over time.

However, this doesn’t mean you should continually add sets and reps in an endless fashion.

Volume increases only work up to a certain point. If you add too much volume you run the risk of overreaching and building high levels of unwanted fatigue.

As fatigue increases, your performance and training effect will diminish.

In a nutshell, you need to perform enough volume to progress, but not as much as possible. Only increase training volume when you have plateaued or feel very well recovered well.

Frequency refers to how often you train a particular body part or movement.

Generally speaking, you should aim to train each body part at least x2/week. If you have a weak part that needs attention, you may consider going to x3/week if you have the time.

How many reps?

Research has shown muscle gain is possible across a range of rep schemes ^1,2. Gains in muscle mass are pretty much equal regardless of repetition range provided training is carried out to muscle failure

Generally speaking, you could have one day dedicated to 6-10 reps and the other 10-20 reps.

Each session should provide the body with a different training stimulus.

You will need to go to failure on reps over 15 Rep Max, whereas reps between 6-15 rep max are probably the most time efficient and don’t need to be taken to complete failure. What would be the difference in time in the gym for these per session, per week, per month, per training block of three months – this would bring it right into the reader’s mind!

5. INTENSITY & PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD.

You must give your muscle tissues a reason to adapt. This requires challenging your muscles progressively and changing your training program over time.

Increasing weight is one of the most obvious ways to force an adaption.

Other methods include increasing the number of sets and reps you perform or using advanced training variables like bands, chains, drop sets and supersets.

Does this mean my workouts need to get harder and harder, for the rest of my life?

Not necessarily on every set of every workout, it might take you a few weeks training at a particular weight before you acquire the strength and fitness to move the weights up. Generally speaking, you should strive to get physically stronger on a consistent basis, over the course of the month/year.

Learn to measure your training…

When was the last time you kept a note of your sets, reps and progress, honestly?

Track your progress via photos and a log book. If you aren’t getting stronger, look at your diabetes management, total calories, rest and work effort during training. Something will be out of place.

If the idea of manipulating sets, reps, and training loads seems too complicated for you, don’t panic – I’ve done all the hard work for you by creating two complete done-for-you 16-week training protocols that incorporate all the essential aspects of progressive overload needed for optimal strength and muscle development. They also come in 16-weeks of printable log books.

Diabetic Shred is a 16-Week fat loss training guide -> Get Started!

Diabetic Mass is a 16-Week Muscle Mass and Size -> Get Started!

6. EXERCISE SELECTION.

Exercise selection needs to change between training sessions and block phases. This provides your body with a variety of stimuli and helps avoid injury or niggles.

There is no such thing as a mandatory exercise; however, there are mandatory movement patterns you will need to include in your strength training program.

Movement patterns are fundamental to the proper functioning of the body and involve the use of multiple muscle groups at one time. Exercises are drills that allow you to overload each mandatory movement pattern.

Thousands of exercises exist. However, not all are created the same. I’ve outlined some of the most popular and effective exercises for each movement pattern below.

Consider the muscles involved in each movement.

Squatting

• Front Squat
• Goblet Squat
• Back Squat
• Box Squat

Unilateral (single leg)

• Lunges
• Dumbbell Split Squat
• Single Leg Press

Quad Dominant

• Leg Press
• Leg Extension
• Band Exercises for quads

Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

• KB Swing
• Deadlift
• Romanian Deadlift
• Good morning
• Rope pull through
• Lying Leg Curls
• Seated Leg Curls

Horizontal Pressing

• Bench press
• Close Grip bench
• Decline bench press

Vertical Pressing

• Military press
• Seated Dumbbells shoulder press
• Push Press
• Front Raises
• Lateral Raises

Horizontal Pulling

• Barbell Rows (overhand)
• Dumbbell Row
• Chest Supported Rows
• T-bar rows

Vertical Pulling

• Pull Up
• Lat Pull Down

Elbow Flexion Exercises

• Any kind of bicep isolation exercise.

Elbow Extension Exercises

• Any kind of triceps isolation exercise.

Carrying

• Farmers walk
• Single arm walk

Core

• Palloff Press
• Abs Roll outs
• Handing Leg Raises

How many Exercises?

How many different exercises did you do in your last session?

Generally speaking, for most body transformation training, 4-6 exercises per workout is more than sufficient. These should include all the exercises above, unless injury is an issue or there are noted weak points in one’s physique, sometimes common in competitive bodybuilders.

Workouts can be split into both whole body or upper/lower based body workouts. I’ve created some very useful templates you can perform each day you train.

WHOLE BODY TRAINING TEMPLATES

Workout #1

X1 Squat/Unilateral Leg Exercise

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

X1 Horizontal Press

X1 Horizontal Pull

X1 Carry

X1 Core

Workout #2

X1 Unilateral Leg Exercise

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

X1 Vertical Press

X1 vertical Pull

X1 Core

Workout #3

X1 Quad Dominant

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring Dominant

X1 Vertical Press

X1 vertical Pull

X1 Core

UPPER/LOWER BODY TEMPLATES

Workout #1 – Upper

X1 Horizontal Press

X1 Horizontal Pull

X1 Vertical Pull

X1 Vertical Push

X1 Elbow Flexion

X1 Elbow Extension

X1 Core

Workout #2 – Lower

X1 Squat/Unilateral Leg Exercise

X1 Hip Hinge/Hamstring dominant

X1 Quad Dominant

X1 Core

7. REST PERIODS.

How much rest do I need during training?

I’ll keep this ultra-simple and to the point.

You should never go into a set completely shattered. Each set needs to be quality.

• Big Bang Exercises like squats, deadlifts etc. 2 minutes is adequate.

• Moderately Taxing Exercises like pull ups, barbell rows, close grip bench etc. 1-1.5 mins rest is sufficed.

• Isolation Exercises like curls and cable work 30-60 seconds is more than enough.

If you’re new to weight training – take a little longer.

Is it ok to take a break from weight training?

Yes, and I highly recommend you do.

Milk every training session for as long as you can, then take a self-assessed break or period of detraining to recharge your batteries. You can’t just keep adding more.

Have you ever got bored with same the routines, frustrated you’re not progressing?

Generally speaking, every 4-8 weeks of consistent training should be followed up with 5-10 days of detraining or complete rest. The more stress you are under (like poor sleep, stress, illness, not eating enough and high or low blood glucose levels) the shorter your training cycle and the longer your detraining/rest periods should be.

During a detraining period, you’ll need to manipulate:

• Training Volume – Reduce training volume by 50% of your normal routine. So instead of 4 sets, do 2.

• Intensity – This includes the load and how hard you push to failure. Reduce your training load by 60-80% of what you normally use. Don’t bring your sets to exhaustive failure, work with around 60-70% of the effort.

• Frequency – Reduce frequency from 2-3 times per week to 1.

Tempo refers to the speed at which you are lifting across different parts of the rep.

It’s one of the least important factors when it comes to training for a better-looking body.

I’ll get straight to the point with this one.

• Perform all your reps in a safe and controlled manner.

• Maintain consistent control and speed during the negative (lowering) and positive (pressing/pulling) parts of the rep. Generally speaking, 2 seconds is a good speed to go at.

• Pause at the bottom and top of each rep for around 1 second.

• Repeat again until the target number of reps has been achieved.

That was long but worth it.

You’re now equipped with more knowledge than most personal trainers when it comes to designing a strength training program.

I hope you enjoyed what you read and take action on the tips I have shared with you the next time you pick up a barbell.

What key things do you remember, what are you going to take action on?

Here’s some you will want to consider…

Take Home Points

• You must follow a weight training plan that suits your current fitness level and personal schedule.

• Obsess over perfect blood glucose levels pre, during and after exercise.

• Train using a variety of exercises.

• When performing an exercise, do so with intent. Focus on complete quality and putting your body into the most favourable mechanical position.

• Don’t be stupid and train through pain. Get it looked at.

• Perform a range of 6-20 well-controlled reps.

• Progressively increase the weight you use over time. If you don’t have the fortitude to turn double, treble or even quadruple your lifts, then take up fishing.

• Never start a set exhausted. Wait until you have properly recovered.

• Train using a range of movement patterns and exercises.

• Weightlifting belts, squat shoes and heart rate monitors are the least of your worries.

Safe to say, you’re pretty serious about building muscle, aren’t you?

As you know strength training is only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting in shape.

There’s so much more to it, especially when it comes to managing blood sugars with diet, supplements and lifestyle to achieve greater fat loss and maximise muscle growth.

But, I can only cover so much in these articles.

If you want to learn more (much more) and master everything there is to know about strength training science, managing your diabetes and becoming your own personal strength coach and nutritionist, then you need to check out The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Guide.

With over 400+ pages of evidence-based theory on how to build a stronger, better-looking body with diabetes, this is an absolute must for any dedicated gym goer living with diabetes.

IF THAT SEEMS LIKE TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOR YOU…

I HAVE TWO MORE PRACTICAL GUIDES FOR YOU.

If your goal is fat loss -> GET DIABETIC SHRED   

If your goal is lean weight gain –> GET DIABETIC MASS

References

1. Schoenfeld BJ et al. Muscular adaptations in low- versus high-load resistance training: A meta-analysis. Eur J Sport Sci. 2016;16(1):1-10. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2014.989922. Epub 2014 Dec 20.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25530577
2. Schoenfeld BJ et al. Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Oct;29 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25853914

Quick Summary 

• Everyone who goes to the gym with the goal of getting stronger and leaner is technically bodybuilding whether you like it or not.
• Competitive bodybuilding is fat loss taken that little bit further.
• The best diabetes bodybuilding diet plan is the one you can stick to the longest.
• Bodybuilding involves set periods of eating a calorie surplus and deficit.
• Bodybuilding is more challenging for people with diabetes. There are many important nutrition considerations.
• 99% of people looking to lose weight or gain muscle mass prioritse the wrong things when it comes to diet.
• If you don’t assess your diet you won’t reach your true potential.
• You need fewer supplements than you think. Both whey and creatine are valid options for people with diabetes.

What you’re in for?

3,500 Words

Reading Time ~ 20 minutes

If you live with diabetes and love bodybuilding, this article is for you.

I’m all for building muscle and shredding fat as fast as possible. However, to achieve this, your diet MUST be set up correctly.

There is a fine line between…

• Eating too much vs. eating too little.
• Taking too much insulin vs. taking too little.
• Training too much vs. training too little.

Overlook one detail and you run the risk of burning out, losing muscle, gaining body fat and looking the same (or worse) from year to year

Sound familiar?

Bodybuilding with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, is more challenging than you think.

That’s why so many people living with diabetes fail to look and perform their best in the gym.

It’s taken me ten years of academic learning, 1000s of blood glucose tests, 1000s of hours in the gym and over 700 clients later to develop, The Ultimate Bodybuilding Cutting and Mass Building Diet Plan for people living with diabetes.

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

WHAT IS BODYBUILDING?

When you hear the word bodybuilding what comes to mind?

Most people, conjure up images of overly tanned men and women hitting muscle poses on stage in their underwear.

While this represents the ‘competitive bodybuilder’, what about the vast amount of everyday gym goers who have no intention of getting on stage, but simply want to look better naked?

Like it or not, anyone who goes to the gym with the intention of looking better is bodybuilding.

Male, female, young, or old – it doesn’t matter. Bodybuilding is about building muscle, minimising body fat and looking your physical best.

Competitive bodybuilders train year-round in an attempt to increase their muscle mass and strength. They dedicate set periods of time (usually 20 weeks) to ‘MASS GAIN’ followed by another 10-20 weeks of fat loss, doing what is commonly termed CUTTING. When the time is right, the competitive bodybuilder steps on stage with other competitors to be judged.

The judging criteria is based on overall aesthetic development which includes muscle size, muscle symmetry, level of body fat and presentation skill (i.e. posing).

What is required to compete and look your best?

Nutrition, the right training stimulus and dedicated periods of rest are essential in every bodybuilder’s journey to building the perfect looking body (competitive or not).

This particular article focuses on the nutritional aspect of bodybuilding, specific to people living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. I will cover the training aspect in another article.

Bodybuilding with Diabetes

Bodybuilding and Physique sports are becoming increasingly popular nowadays. Just look at the increased availability of protein supplements, meal prep services, and healthy eating restaurants.

Bodybuilders who live with diabetes are few and far between. The fear of low blood glucose, the frustration of high blood glucose, lack of support and not knowing how to eat are the main reason so many people with diabetes fail to pursue their bodybuilding or physique body transformation goals.

Does this mean bodybuilding with diabetes is out of reach?

Living with diabetes doesn’t mean you can’t partake in body building or transform your body.

Just look at the likes of IFBB PRO Anth Bailes, IFBB PRO Jason Poston, IFBB PRO Collete Nielson, Aidrian Brodlell and other leading diabetic bodybuilding stars.  All of these individuals have won trophies and graced the front of many muscle and fitness magazines, all while living with type 1 diabetes.

While it’s great to see so many people take an active interest in their health, it’s a hard push to find good quality, evidence-based diet information for bodybuilding and diabetes. As a result, many individuals end up following sub-optimal advice that jeopardises their health and bodybuilding results. You may have experienced this yourself?

The diabetic body is governed by a different set of rules and requires a much more tactful approach to diet than would be advised by the mainstream fitness media or your local gym hero.

Let’s look at the challenges a bodybuilder living with diabetes faces in their quest to build a better-looking body.

• Increased levels of muscle protein breakdown.
• Reduced strength.
• Decreased joint and muscle mobility due to glycation.
• Increased potential for injury.
• Increased fatigue.

These challenges are real.

However, they only become a serious problem to building muscle when blood glucose levels are not controlled. You can safely say diabetes is not an advantage to bodybuilding, BUT, with the right knowledge, plans and guidance, diabetes DOES NOT have to be a disadvantage.

The more you know about diet, the better you will control your blood glucose levels.

Getting Started:

The Diabetic Bodybuilding Diet Plan.

When it comes to creating your own diabetic bodybuilding diet plan a number of factors need to be considered. Some are more important than others and must take priority. It’s easy to get excited and place more attention on the small details like the newest supplement, diabetic special food or the best time to consume your whey protein. Rather than prioritizing the more important (yet sometimes boring) aspects like your ‘WHY’ behind eating better, overall calorie intake or diabetes management.

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Nutrition Pyramid

The Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Nutrition Pyramid (pictured below) outlines all the nutritional aspects of building a successful bodybuilding diet for fat loss or muscle gain with diabetes, from most important (at the bottom) to least important (at the top). Structure your nutrition like this and you can guarantee high-quality results.

This is the exact hierarchy of importance I have incorporated into my new 112 Day Body Transformation Guides, Diabetic Shred and Diabetic Mass, developed exclusively for people living with diabetes.

1. PERSONAL VALUES FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS.

Your personal values for health and fitness are your WHY behind your HOW TO.

Find as many reasons as you can to support why improving your diet will enhance the quality of your life. These answers are the driving force behind your daily attitude and actions.

Quick hint, you’ll need a lot more reasons than simply wanting to look better to fit in.

I’ll do a separate article on the psychological aspects of getting in shape as it’s a complex subject well beyond the scope of this nutrition article.

2. DIABETES MANAGEMENT.

Even if a diet is comprised of the best quality and freshest food or most expensive supplements on the planet. Poorly controlled diabetes can predispose individuals to malnutrition, a condition where the cells of the body cannot utilise fuel properly.

Malnutrition resulting from poorly controlled (i.e. uncontrolled) diabetes, adversely affects body function and well-being, in addition to predisposing individuals to disease and delaying recovery from illness.

The point of the matter – Your diabetes must be exceptionally well controlled in order to reap the full benefits of healthy eating.

 3. ADHERENCE.

Whether your goal is to shred pounds of body fat, gain mass or maintain body weight, your diet plan must be able to accommodate social occasions, days off, and the odd slice of pizza when you fancy it. Yes, a diabetic just said pizza.

The best diabetes bodybuilding diets incorporate a little give and take. If set up correctly, the total number of calories you consume will allow you to achieve your goal without restricting the foods you love.

Eating ‘clean’ doesn’t mean you’re doing things optimally. This is especially true if you find yourself craving the foods and macronutrients you restricted.

What good is a diet that drives you crazy?

You’ll struggle to get results, never mind maintain them.

Besides nailing your calorie intake and essential nutrient targets, the secret to building a better-looking body is eating a diet you enjoy. Adherence is everything. This viewpoint is also supported by the Journal of the American Medical Association which researched pretty much every fat loss diet on the planet to find ‘adherence’ was the most significant factor behind a diet’s success ⁹.

How many massively restrictive diets have you started, only to stop once your burst of enthusiasm has been replaced by pure monotony? Time to re-think things?

As for training, it’s only the fun part.

I take dietary adherence very seriously in my guides. I’ve even incorporated detailed instructions on how you can eat the foods you love and still get in amazing shape. The breakthrough diabetes bodybuilding diet and training guides are Diabetic Shred and Diabetic Mass.

Forget overly restrictive, dull, boring chicken, broccoli and rice diets, carb cycling, detoxes and super expensive supplements.

Focus on sustainability and killer consistency.

Know Your Goal:

To Cut, Build or Maintain?

Now you’ve got to terms with the foundation of your diabetes bodybuilding diet plan, let’s discuss your goals before going any further.

1. FAT LOSS – Fairly self-explanatory. The goal is to get as lean as possible while maintaining, and where possible increasing, muscle mass at the same time.

2. INCREASE BODYWEIGHT & MUSCLE MASS – When the primary focus is an increase in body weight, muscle size and strength. Successful mass gain involves very little fat gain.

3. MAINTAIN BODYWEIGHT – Maintaining your current level of body fat and muscle mass. Typically reserved for retired bodybuilders or individuals who no longer have the time or resources to commit to a full-time bodybuilding lifestyle. If you want to keep looking great naked, with the minimum effective dose, maintaining is your goal.

Once you’ve identified your diabetes bodybuilding goal you will need set yourself a time frame, measure your progress and get accountable.

Let me elaborate…

1. Set a time frame.

You need to set yourself an adequate time frame for getting in shape.

How long will depend on much progress you want to make.

There is a huge difference between

• Losing 10lbs of fat vs. 100lbs
• Gaining 2lb of muscle mass vs. 20lbs

While building a great looking physique takes years, generally speaking, 16 weeks is enough time to make significant body transformation changes.

2. Measure your rate of progress.

If you aren’t assessing you’re just guessing.

To get the most out of your diabetes bodybuilding diet plan, you must learn to evaluate and measure your food intake.

“Tracking food may seem like a mundane task”

Think again, tracking allows you to build portion control habits, and eat more flexibly in relation to your bodybuilding goals.

Fat loss requires eating less than you burn off. Overeating will hinder your fat loss efforts, while under eating will increase your chances of muscle loss and fatigue.

Mass gain requires eating slightly more than you burn off. Overeating will increase your chances of gaining unwanted body fat, while eating too little will slow muscle growth and prevent you adding size.

Far too often people blindly drop their calories and increase their training when there is no need. You must adjust when the time is right. How will you know? Tracking of course!

Having worked with 100s of bodybuilders and physique athletes, I know only too well how confusing it can be when it comes to making decisions about when to cut calories and where from. I paid great attention to this dilemma when developing Diabetic Shred and Diabetic Mass.

Both guides give you a crystal clear decision process for when and where to adjust your calories, once you hit a plateau. The plateau is usually the time when people give up on their goals. Have you given up when improvements have slowed?

Having a clear set of questions and actions like this saves hassle, gets better results, and most importantly, keeps you progressing not quitting!

3. Get Accountable.

To get the most out of your diabetes bodybuilding diet plan, you must get accountable.

Hiring a coach or personal trainer with a proven track record who understands diabetes management will be worth its weight in gold, especially if it is your first time.

A good coach will give you that much-needed push during training, along with good honest critical feedback on your physical progress, and posing.

Now let’s get into the nitty gritty of nutrition and talk calories, carbs, protein, dietary fat and supplements.

4. ENERGY BALANCE.

The first place to start when building your diet plan is calories.

Calories play a crucial role in everyone’s attempts to build muscle and shred fat ¹.

If your goal is to lose body fat or increase body weight, you must first establish how many calories you need to maintain your current bodyweight, and then work from there.

How do I work out my maintenance calories?

Record your body weight and calorie consumption over 14 days. Total the values up and divide each of them by 14 to get your fortnightly calorie and body weight average. Compare this value to your starting body weight…

• If your body weight has gone up, this indicates a calorie surplus.
• If your body weight has gone down, this indicates a calorie deficit.
• If your body weight has remained the same, this indicates maintenance calories.

Oh, and if the idea of weighing yourself seems daunting, here are some useful tips on how to weigh yourself properly.

Another way to calculate maintenance calories is by using a calorie calculation.

These aren’t 100% bulletproof, but they do get you on the right path.

Once you’ve established a maintenance level of calories, you’ll need to adjust it to your goal.

Generally speaking, for…

• Fat Loss – Eat slightly fewer calories than you need to maintain your body weight.
• Mass gain – Eat slightly more calories than you need to maintain your body weight.
• Body maintenance – Keep eating the same amount of calories.

5. MACRONUTRIENTS.

Everyone gets confused about macros. It’s no surprise considering the vast amount of conflicting and over-complicated information found online and in the papers.

Low carb,

High carb,

High fat,

Low fat.

Which macro split is best for diabetes?

Here’s what you need to know about macros…

Certain macro nutrients are essential, others not.

Protein and the essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) need to be consumed via the diet.

Carbohydrates and other forms of fat are non-essential as the body can produce them itself.

The best diet contains all the macronutrients in the right amounts specific to your overall calorie goal for fat loss, mass gain or body weight maintenance.

What ratio of macronutrients you decide to eat is largely down to personal preference once you have met your essential needs for protein, essential fatty acids and carbohydrates for hypo treatment/prevention purposes.

How much protein do I need?

To keep it simple, 1.4-2.0g per kg (0.6-1.0g per lb) of protein for the majority of people reading this.

In other words, if you weigh 67kg (147lb) you would consume 90-150g of protein per day. Split equally over 3-5 servings of 20-40g each day.

How much fat do I need?

Generally speaking, consuming 20-30% of your calories from fat is a great place to start. You might consume different amounts each day. However, over a period of weeks/months – they should average out.

In respect to your overall fat intake, certain types of dietary fat are essential, others not.

Omega-3s are essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that need to be supplied through the diet

There are three types of omega-3s involved in human physiology: ALA, EPA & DHA. Predominantly of marine origin, EPA and DHA are better than ALA found in plant oils, due to their greater bioavailability ^2,3.

Consuming fatty fish and fish oil supplements have been shown to improve dozens of aspects of health and disease, including insulin sensitivity, blood lipids, depression, inflammation and blood pressure, to name a few ^2,3,4,5,6.

Taking into account the different government and health organisations’ recommendations, 1-3 g of combined EPA-DHA per day suffices. The upper dose of 3g would be more suitable for people with diabetes due to the predisposition of a high triglyceride level and elevated blood pressure.

1 gram of fish oil is the equivalent to around 3 fish oil capsules per day or three to four 112g portions per week of oily fish like salmon, mackerel or sardines.

You’ll want to check how much Omega 3 you can take with your health care professional if you’re taking blood thinning medication.

How many carbs do I need?

Carbohydrate should make up the remainder of your calorie intake once you have calculated your calorie intake from protein and fat. The more carbs you eat, the less fat you’ll eat, and vice versa. The more dietary fat you eat, the fewer carbs you’ll consume.

Think of carbohydrate as a performance fuel, not a recovery fuel – the more training you do, the more you’ll need.

Do I need to go low carb if I live with diabetes?

Not necessarily.

If you are highly active and strength train 3-6 times per week, carbohydrates will help fuel your exercise performance and provide your body with a better training stimulus.

The fiber aspect of carbohydrates has also been shown to play a key role in the health of our microbiome, which has now been repeatedly shown to play a key role in body weight management ^7,8.

Carbs provide a range of different vitamins and minerals. They also taste great and help with dietary adherence.

Provided you manage your blood glucose levels and account for the calories you consume from carbohydrate, there is no reason to exclude them. On a side note, you must account for the carbohydrate calories you use to treat hypoglycaemia. This may vary from day to day.

If you”re like most men with diabetes, trying to figure all this out can get pretty overwhelming. One of the easiest ways to overcome this is to follow simple recipe plans.

That’s why I created the Ultra Lean Diabetic Cookbook for men looking to shred fat.

….and The Diabetic Muscle Building Cookbook for men looking to pack on muscle size and strength.

These books are are jam packed with 200 mouth-watering diabetic friendly recipes. They include everything from beef burgers, tortilla pizzas, tacos the whole way through to protein bars and pancakes. All the calories and macronutrients are outlined for you – they even come with a Myfitness pal barcode for easy food tracking.

6. NUTRIENT TIMING

Nutrient timing is more important for people with diabetes, especially when it comes to preventing/treating hypoglycaemia or preventing hyperglycaemia.

Refer to the infographic below and review when nutrient timing is Very Important, Worth Considering and Not Important. It’s the perfect size for Instagram, so please do feel free to share on social media (remember to tag us)

Getting your nutrition timed right has favourable effects on body composition, mood, and diabetes management. However, it should never be prioritised over the more important levels of the pyramid such as energy balance and macro nutrients.

A prime example of this would be the ‘no carbs after 6 dogma.’

In terms of meal frequency, 2-4 meals for fat loss and 3-5 if bulking to add size.

7. MICRONUTRIENTS/FIBER/WATER.

The topic of micro-nutrition may sound mind-numbing but you can’t overlook it.

Long-term micronutrient deficiencies will have a detrimental impact on your health and ability to perform/recover optimally from your training efforts.

Micronutrient deficiencies can result from prolonged periods of low-calorie dieting and poorly controlled diabetes. A varied diet is a great way to get in a range of micronutrients.

If you have any problems with energy levels, hunger, skin, or problems sleeping, you might be short of a few vitamins or minerals. Rather than assuming, the best way to check for micro nutrient deficiencies is by getting a blood test done.

Fiber Intake

First of all, it is worth noting fiber is not an essential nutrient.

1. It makes you feel fuller (helps with fat loss)
2. Slows gastric emptying and nutrient absorption (can help with blood glucose management)
3. Decreases blood cholesterol
4. Decreasing mineral absorption
5. Provides food for the bacteria in our guts which are shown to play a massive role in health and obesity prevention.
6. Helps you go to the toilet.

High-fiber foods like fruits and vegetables contain lots of other nutrients (vitamins and minerals) that are important to health.

If your fiber intake is low, don’t start ploughing it down. The body, particularly the bacteria within your gut need a little time to adapt. Otherwise, you’ll be pretty bloated and be blowing a lot of gas.

Provided you don’t suffer from IBS or any other serious bowel condition, 30-40g of fiber is a great target to shoot for daily.

Water Intake

Water is important for all things: health, muscle building and exercise performance. There isn’t really a fixed water goal you should work to per say, as hydration needs vary widely with body weight, sweat rates and frequency of hyperglycaemia.

Generally speaking,

• Aim for at least 5 clear urinations a day.
• Make sure you’re not dehydrated before training.
• Hydrate yourself well both during and after hyperglycaemia.
• Your hydration needs will increase if you are using the likes of creatine.

8. SUPPLEMENTS.

When it comes to supplements, let’s get five things straight.

1. Supplements are the least important part of the nutrition pyramid.
2. Supplements can be a great nutritional insurance to someone living with diabetes. However, they will not mop up the damage caused by poorly controlled diabetes.
3. Supplements are a healthy addition to a good diet plan, but they will not make up for a poor one.
4. Generally speaking, supplements are not needed, unless you don’t eat oily fish or natural sources of omega 3.
5. Supplements are never to be seen as shortcuts.

What supplements do I need?

Generally speaking, protein powder is a convenient easily digested source of high-quality protein, creatine along with caffeine is useful for boosting strength and cognition, Vitamin D is good for health if you live in a dull climate, fish oil seems to improve many elements of health – which makes all of these a worthwhile investment.

Since I consider the subject of supplements such a non-important topic, I’ll cover them in greater detail in a separate article, as I don’t want them distracting from the more important parts of this article.

In fact, I guarantee some people will have skipped everything I’ve said up until now – if you have – go back and start afresh.

If you’ve read the whole way up until here. Great!

Respect the hierarchy of importance for each element outlined in the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness nutrition pyramid, get focused on building healthy habits over the long term, assessing your progress and just eat real food.

Take Home

Before you pay for another month of gym membership consider these key principles for cutting, bulking or maintenance phases.

• Proper diabetes bodybuilding nutrition is about understanding how to eat healthily and sustainably towards your goals. All diet plans work (for a while), use them as a template from which to adjust according to your results and personal circumstances.

• Never hop from diet to diet. It’s best to measure progress after about 2 to 4 weeks and then continually adjust.

• At all times, whether gaining, losing or maintaining, the ultimate nutritional approach for diabetic bodybuilding is a calorie controlled, nutrient dense diet that supports exercise performance and recovery.

• To get the best possible results an individual’s diabetes must be extremely well-managed through regular blood glucose testing and appropriate amounts of medication. This is essential for the proper absorption and metabolism of nutrients from food.

Since you have made it to the end of this blog, you are obviously serious about your physique, so

I’m going to give you an 85% off coupon for what many have coined the most advanced diabetes bodybuilding diet and training programs in the world. And, yes before you ask you can do SHRED first, then MASS (or vice versa)

They are also both an absolute steal too, at only £13 ($16)

If your goal is fat loss -> GET DIABETIC SHRED   

If your goal is lean weight gain –> GET DIABETIC MASS

References

1. The poor, misunderstood calorie: calories proper: Volume 1 Lagakos Ph.D., Dr. William
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28289069
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23794360
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25278765
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4013121/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24117792
7. Le Chatelier, T. Nielsen, J. Qin, E. Prifti, F. Hildebrand, G. Falony, et al. Richness of human gut microbiome correlates with metabolic markers Nature, 500 (2013), pp. 541-546.
8. -P. Furet, L.-C. Kong, J. Tap, C. Poitou, A. Basdevant, J.-L. Bouillot, et al. Differential adaptation of human gut microbiota to bariatric surgery-induced weight loss: links with metabolic and low-grade inflammation markers Diabetes, 59 (2010), pp. 3049-3057, 10.2337/db10-0253
9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256290225_A_Call_for_an_End_to_the_Diet_Debates

• People with diabetes can eat junk food, provided they monitor their calorie intake and dose their medication accurately.
• Junk food should never make up the bulk of your diet, even if the food choices fit your calorie needs.
• Junk food isn’t filling and may leave you feeling hungry. This can be problematic for fat loss.
• People with diabetes need to be vigilant with blood glucose management when including junk food in their diets.

CAN YOU EAT JUNK FOOD IF YOU HAVE DIABETES?

The simple answer is YES.

You can include junk food as part of your daily eating regime if you live with diabetes.

However, this doesn’t mean you can eat as much Oreos, Ben & Jerrys and Pizza as you like. There are certain rules and principles you must respect before you rush off and start snacking.

First, let me ask,

Is junk food good for you?

Honestly? Is It…?

Are there any benefits to including junk food in your diet?

Ask a health professional or someone on the street, and their first reaction will be a confident ‘NO’.

‘Junk food is not healthy and should be avoided or kept to an absolute minimum.’

Let’s explore this common dogma a little more.

Here are the main reasons why most people have a negative perception of junk food:

• Junk food is high in calories and increases fat gain.
• Junk food is low in vitamins, minerals and fibre.
• Junk food doesn’t fill you up and increases your chances of overeating the rest of the day.
• Junk food can spike blood glucose levels, increasing the potential for hyperglycemia.
• Dosing the correct amount of insulin with different types of junk food can be challenging and increase the potential for hypoglycemia.

All of these points are true.

However, these negative aspects only become apparent when junk food is overeaten or makes up the bulk of someone’s diet.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD OR BAD FOOD. JUST GOOD OR BAD DIETS.

Too many people look at food in isolation, blaming individual foods as the sole cause of obesity and other metabolic disorders like diabetes.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Excess calories and low levels of physical activity are the main reason for today’s obesity epidemic. This is a huge topic well outside the scope of this article.

IT’S BETTER TO REVIEW YOUR DIET OVER A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME. NOT JUST ONE DAY. THINK ACROSS THE WEEK, MONTH AND YEAR. 

For example, if you maintain your bodyweight on 2500kcals.

Which diet would prove more healthful?

A. 2500kcal of entirely fresh, whole minimally processed fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat.

Or,

B. 2500kcal of Oreos and processed beef burgers.

The answer is ‘Option A’ of course.

Even though both diets yield the same energy, Option A provides you with all the essential nutrients, vitamins minerals and fibre; whereas, option B is lacking and will inevitably pose a nutritional health deficiency risk if consumed over the long term.

Now, If I added a third option that included

C. 2500kcal of mixed food sources, with 2000kcals coming from fresh, whole minimally processed fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat and 500kcals coming from Oreos and other sources of junk food goodness.

Would this be unhealthy?

Not necessarily.

The bulk i.e. 80% (2000kcals) of the diet is made up of whole foods and a mere 20% (500kcals) is comprised of junk.

It still allows me to control my energy balance, body weight and obtain all my essential nutrients, whilst at the same time include 500kcals of junk food for intuitive or social nibbles if I really wanted it.

YOU CAN TACTFULLY INCLUDE JUNK FOOD AS PART OF YOUR DIABETIC BODYBUILDING AND FITNESS REGIME.

Some people call this style of eating ‘If It Fits Your Macros – IIFYM’ or flexible dieting.

If It Fits Your Macros and Insulin sound pretty cool.

I digress.
Call it whatever you want.

The flexible dieting approach has been shown to be superior to a more rigid-type approach (e.g. clean eating) for long-term weight loss/maintenance in the research. ^1,2

This terminology simply represents three important principles involved in goal-orientated diabetic bodybuilding nutrition.

#1 Energy balance.

Calories are important.

Provided your diabetes is kept in control, weight loss is pretty much the relationship between calories consumed from food versus calories expended by the metabolism, physical activity and exercise.

1. When people are in a caloric deficit, they always lose weight.
2. When people are in a caloric surplus, they always gain weight.

Eat within the lines – according to your goal.

#2 You are what you do on average.

In other words, if you eat the bulk of your diet from low-quality junk food, you will look and feel like junk. Hence, why fresh, whole minimally processed food MUST make up the bulk of your dietary intake.

As a general rule of thumb, I try to eat 70% + of my diet from whole food ingredients, but with up to 30% from junk. Very rarely do I go crazy and consume 50% + of my diet from junk food, bar Christmas. Then again that’s only 1 day out of 365 per year. See my point?

You are what you do and ‘eat’ on average.

#3 Adherence.

Modern food technology and marketing tantalise our taste buds and get us salivating from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed. We are faced with so much more pressure to eat nowadays than ever before. Add to that the convenience of foods – we are spoilt for choice.

Sometimes you have to face it.

A cold chicken salad won’t cut it. But your favourite chocolate bar will.

What do you do?

1. Give in and then feel guilty for eating a ‘bad’ food.
2. Be strong and restrict yourself, until you crack at the weekend and end up eating more chocolate than you could ever imagine.

Been there done that.

Feeling restricted is one of the biggest reasons why most diets fail.

If people only knew how to tactfully manage ‘desired’ junk food choices within their calorie intakes, we would undoubtedly see less obesity and more sustained fat loss.

What about ‘clean eating’ for people with diabetes?

The popularly coined way of dieting ‘clean eating’ has no real definition.

How do you know what you’re eating is ‘clean’?

Rather than focusing on ‘clean’ eating.

Get your calorie intake right,

Eat a colourful diet,

Vary your vegetable, fruit, meat and dairy sources,

Don’t overly restrict food groups

If you want a little bit of junk food, eat it.

Just ensure you cover it with the right amount of medication. Note as many details down as possible,

• Calorie intake
• Carb intake (this affects blood glucose the most)
• Protein (also affects blood glucose levels)
• Blood sugar before eating
• 45 mins to 120 mins after eating.
• Insulin Dose
• Any stress or physical activity that may have influenced blood glucose levels between eating and injecting.

Keeping a tab on all these details will help paint a better picture of how your blood glucose will behave when you consume certain foods leading to better long-term blood glucose control.

Check out this video of me eating ice cream in Barcelona. I discuss how I manage my own diabetes whilst eating sugary junk foods.

JUNK FOOD IS A USEFUL TOOL FOR HYPO PREVENTION.

Sugary drinks and confectionary are rapid treatments for hypoglycemia. If fat loss is your main bodybuilding goal, focus on using fast-acting carbohydrate sources of junk food that are low in fat and protein.

These foods bring blood glucose back into range faster than mixed macronutrient foods. You also avoid the unwanted consumption of fat and protein calories, which can add up over time.

Take Home

• People with diabetes can include junk food as part of a healthy muscle building and fat loss diet.

• The danger is in the dose. Never let junk food comprise the bulk of your diet. It’s generally low in vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre.

• Blood sugar levels may be more prone to hyperglycemia especially as you vary junk food choice and timing.

• Fast acting carbohydrate forms of junk food can be useful in treating hypoglycemia.

• Obsess over keeping your blood glucose levels in range. Track your food, medication, and how your blood sugars respond to set foods. This will allow you to predict and dose in the future. This may take some time.

As long as the bulk of your nutrition comes from high-quality foods, you keep your diabetes well managed, your body fat in check, avoid chronic stress, get enough sleep and are regularly active, you are going to be successful with your bodybuilding and strength training efforts.

I have incorporated these exact nutritional tactics into my incredibly popular Diabetic Shred 112 Day Body Transformation Guide. The transformations and results people are achieving are incredible. Every day I am tagged in posts by people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who are now increasingly mindful of their calories, not feeling restricted, and are losing large amounts of body fat while still eating the foods they love like burgers, ice-cream and chocolate.

References

1. Stewart TM, Williamson DA, White MA. Rigid vs. flexible dieting: association with eating disorder symptoms in non-obese women. Appetite. 2002 Feb;38(1):39-44.
2. Stotland S. Moderation: an alternative to restraint as a mode of weight self-regulation. Eat Behav. 2012 Dec;13(4):406-9.

Let’s face it, weighing on the scales can be a complete mind game for any diabetic looking to build muscle and shred fat.

One minute bodyweight moves in your favour, the next it takes an unexpected spike leaving you confused and ready to swing a sledgehammer at the scales. Check out these 5 super useful reminders to consider every time you step on the scales.

You don’t suddenly gain fat within seconds of eating something ‘bad’.

Fat gain results from consuming more energy than you burn off. Visible excess body fat accumulates over prolonged periods of time (multiple days, weeks, months) not 10 seconds after eating.

One sitting of ‘bad’ food doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll gain fat. What you eat across the day (total calories) in conjunction with how active you’ve been through exercise and basic day to day (non-exercise) activities determines how much fat you gain.

Body fluids can change rapidly over 24 hours.

There are various reasons why body water levels change across the day. Diet, especially the intake of water retaining nutrients like salt and carbohydrate, sweat rate during exercise right through to the use of certain medications all play a role.

If we remember the fact that muscle tissue is comprised of around 70% water, this gives us a fair idea just how heavy body fluids can be, especially in a well-trained individual.

If you have diabetes hyperglycemia can result in more frequent urination which results in water loss/weight loss. Long-term hyperglycemia can result in both muscle and fat loss – influencing weight loss on the scales.

Losing weight this way is unhealthy and counterproductive to diabetic bodybuilding, fitness and sporting performance.

Keep your weighing as consistent as possible: device, time and location.

Consistency is key for accurate weight tracking.

Comparing your morning to evening body weight is a stupid assessment.

 You’re just weighing the day’s food, water and bowel content. The next time you weigh on the scales, drink 2 litres of water then weigh yourself before going to the toilet.

You’ll be significantly heavier. Think how heavy a 2-litre bottle of water is?

None of this is ‘FAT’ gain.

Average body weight across 7 days works far better than 1 day in the week to the next.

Weighing from one day in the week to the next is highly inaccurate. Average body weights are much more reliable and take into account day to day peaks and troughs in bodyweight.

If you want to understand more about the science behind what the scales say and why they should never be a sole indicator of body composition progress, check out my hugely popular in-depth article on WHY THE SCALES LIE

Diabetic Shred –  112-day Advanced Body Transformation Guide Built for FAT LOSS.

Diabetic Mass –  112-day Advanced Body Transformation Guide Built for MUSCLE MASS GAIN.

Stupid question!

YES!

People with diabetes can build a quality set of abs, 6-pack or core (whatever your preferred term)

All it takes is consistent application of the right knowledge.

I’ve recorded a detailed video discussing a number of important issues people with diabetes face when it comes to building a shredded set of abs.

Topics include:

• Calorie Balance and Diabetes.
• Hyperglycemia – your biggest enemy to building muscle and looking great!
• Diabetes medication and fat gain.
• Insulin abuse in competitive bodybuilding
• Why hypoglycemia will make you fat!
• and much much more!

I appreciate getting below 10% body fat may not be every diabetic’s goal.

However, there a great deal of people with diabetes who are highly passionate about bodybuilding and showing off their physique, where ultra-low levels of body fat are essential to showcase muscular definition.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

If you love this kind of diabetes diet and training stuff and want to know even more about how to shred fat and build a better-looking body with diabetes, then you’re in the right place.

Right now, you can join many other like-minded individuals in the private Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Facebook group who are following my 112 Day Diabetic Shred transformation plan and also save a MASSIVE 85% OFF with this coupon below.

Backed by a full 100% results guarantee you have nothing to lose and, with this coupon, you can access over 112 days of workouts, 7-day meal plans supplement guides and personal support from Phil Graham and the rest of the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness team all for $16 (£14). Get started here and claim your 85% discount now.

Going too hard too soon with massive food drops, crazy amounts of cardio and training is unsustainable and will most likely backfire – killing your attempts to get lean(er).

More Is Better, Right?

How many times have you heard someone start out with the following intentions?

‘I’m cutting out all carbs.’

‘I’m going to the gym x7 nights a week.’

‘I’m cutting out all alcohol.’

‘I’m going for a walk every night.’

While all the above may be necessary at some stage in your fat loss efforts, they do not need to be conducted all at once. The harder you go, the greater the shock to body and mind.

The Body Doesn’t Like Sudden Changes

Changing 101 behaviours at once can prove stressful, leaving you miserable and overwhelmed.

The human body can sense steep drops in energy. As a result, the body does everything it can to protect itself (preserve energy)

Fatigue, irritability, reduced performance, muscle loss and major appetite issues are typical of a diet and training regime that’s too extreme.

From a diabetic perspective, sudden increases in activity and reductions in food intake may create havoc with blood glucose control resulting in more hypos/hypers than ever before. 

You must measure and review key factors like body weight, physical performance and visual appearance before adjusting your diet and training regime. You want to get away with the minimal amount of calorie drops, exercise and physical activity before adding more in or taking more away.

You want to get away with the minimal amount of effort, so employ slow tactful manipulation of food, exercise and physical activity. I’ve outlined what I consider ideal weight loss targets at the end of the article.

The three most important factors to adjust for on-going fat loss are:

1. Energy Intake

Once fat loss slows food (calories) may need to be reduced to create a deficit. The only time calories should be brought back to balance or into a surplus is during a diet break or scheduled re-feeds.

2. Strength Training

Lifting weights serves one main purpose, and that is to stimulate muscle growth. Your body’s ability to burn fat is much more reliant on the 23 hours of eating, physical activity and sleep to burn body fat. Training volume and exercise selection are adjusted to accommodate recovery needs, prevent staleness of training (boredom) and avoid/work around injury.

3. Physical Activity

This has a massive impact on energy balance. As your fat loss slows, physical activity will need to be increased. Remember as the body gets lighter – it burns fewer calories moving throughout the day.

How Much Weight Can I Lose Safely?

As a general rule of thumb, you can expect the greatest body weight losses during the first few weeks of a fat loss diet and training regime. 

It’s normal to lose between 2-4% of total body weight in the first or second weeks, especially if you are transitioning out of an extremely poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. Don’t panic this is usually a shift in fluid and bowel contents.

Generally speaking,

Obese Individuals – 2-4% total body weight (2.5-5lbs per week) 

Lean Individuals – 0.5-1% total body weight (0.25-2lbs per week) 

Super lean individuals may not lose weight between weigh-ins. The reality is, they mightn’t have any to lose. If you’re super lean and body weight stays the same, your main progress marker will be strength (it should be up or constant) and/or an improvement in physical appearance.

Individuals using creatine and other sports performance supplements need to be mindful that water retention can mask weight loss. Visual appearance, feedback from a friend or looser clothing are solid gauges that you’ve lost body fat.

Like What You’ve Read? 

If you love reading this kind of stuff and want to know even more about how to shred fat and build muscle with diabetes, backed by science and proven to work in 100s of clients then you’re in the right place.

Right now, you are more than welcome to join many other like-minded individuals who are following my 112 Day Diabetic Shred transformation plan.

Backed by a full 100% results guarantee you have nothing to lose and, with this coupon, you can access over 112 days of workouts, 7-day meal plans supplement guides and personal support from Phil Graham and the rest of the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness team all for $16 (£14). Get started here and claim your 85% discount now.

When it comes to building a better body what grabs your attention most?

• The newest supplement?
• A professional athlete’s latest diet and training plan?
• Or, some fancy training footwear that’s been proven to increase performance by 10% (well, so the studies say)

The problem with fitness nowadays is too many people focus their time, money and effort on the wrong stuff.

The Boring Stuff Matters Most

Calorie balance, progressively lifting heavier from session to session, good hydration, adequate rest and sleep.

If these aren’t in place, your muscle building, and fat loss efforts are going nowhere.

While new and exciting approaches flood our news feeds on a daily basis, it’s important to realise that 99.9% are spin-offs of the fundamentals, just packaged and marketed smartly.

For example, take the newest pedometer. Besides taking calls and coming in pink, black and beige.

What’s its primary function?

To track steps.

In other words – encourage you to move more and increase energy expenditure.

Sound familiar? Yeah, it should. It’s the basic fundamentals of fat loss.

What Are The Key Essentials?

Having worked in the industry over 10 years now, I’ve identified what I feel are the 5 most important factors to consider before paying attention to the mass of minutia.

While reading this, ask yourself honestly, have you mastered the 5 factors I talk about.

If you haven’t, you may as well wave goodbye to your hard earned gains, cash and happiness!

1. Adherence

The psychological aspect of getting in shape is often overlooked but is crucial in determining your overall success.

Your level of motivation may not resemble that of a professional sportsperson whose career and livelihood depends on how they look and perform. Respect the fact, their mindset, priorities and access to resources are different to yours.

Don’t compare yourself, especially with what you see on social media.

Your diet must be affordable, accessible and account for your personal food likes and dislikes (you won’t stick to a diet you don’t like – one sure way to encourage binge eating). It also helps if you can cook (and store) what’s on the meal plan!

Your training regime must suit your current level of strength and fitness. It must also be tailored to the equipment you have available.

2. Patience

Worried you’re not making enough progress?

Guess what?

I’ve never heard of anyone complain they’re progressing too fast.

We all know the odd person who looks incredible no matter how dumb or lazy their approach.

The fact of the matter it isn’t you, nor me, so get over it!

Everyone is subject to a plateau no matter how genetically gifted they are.

It just happens at different times for all of us. Your body can and will adapt to everything you throw at it, both from a nutritional and training perspective.

Accept the fact you will never progress in a linear fashion.

Be patient, identify plateaus and work with them.

Like I say to all my personal training clients – It’s those that train the smartest last the longest.

3. Goal Focused Nutrition.

Here’s a breakdown of the key factors I take into account when helping my clients focus on their long-term dietary success.

• Appropriate calorific intake (the major determinant of weight loss and muscle gain)
• Essential Nutrients (fats, protein and micronutrients)
• Metabolic abnormalities and medical conditions like diabetes etc.
• Flexibility and diet breaks – realise, you won’t be able to stick to your program 100% day in day out. There will be times when things will slip. There is nothing wrong with this, such is life. Having the right plan in place that allows you to compensate and get on with things effortlessly is crucial.

I appreciate trying to figure all this out can get pretty overwhelming. One of the easiest ways to overcome this is to follow simple recipe plans.

That’s why I created the Ultra Lean Diabetic Cookbook for men and women looking to shred fat.

….and The Diabetic Muscle Building Cookbook for men looking to pack on muscle size and strength.

These books are are jam packed with 200 mouth-watering diabetic friendly recipes. They include everything from beef burgers, tortilla pizzas, tacos the whole way through to protein bars and pancakes. All the calories and macronutrients are outlined for you – they even come with a Myfitness pal barcode for easy food tracking.

4. Respect Your Ability To Move.

I’ve seen too many people neglect the extremely fundamental yet essential aspect of mobility. Good mobility translates into quality movement; quality movement translates into getting more from your exercises.

As a result, you can expect to load your exercise more safely and achieve a fuller more productive range of motion. This equates to increased muscle fibre activation and stimulation, which is essential for maximising your muscle gain and fat loss efforts.

Healthy mobility also reduces your chance of injury as poor mobility can result in the body finding compensatory movement patterns, which equate to strain on certain areas of musculature that shouldn’t come into play in the first place.

Factors that contribute to poor mobility:

• Posture – think sitting hunched over all day
• Injury/Pain – think of that old knee injury
• Shitty technique – sacrificing technique for load
• Prolonged muscle soreness (under recovery) – inadequate rest, hydration and nutrition are to blame.
• Poorly controlled diabetes.

Factors I’ve found help improve mobility:

• Strengthening the glutes and core which function as key stabilisers
• Foam rolling, static stretching, Ice Baths – to help calm neural reflexes and hypertonicity (tightness) associated with overworked tissue.
• Being ‘postural aware’ – taking regular breaks from sitting etc.
• Perfect practice makes perfect – focusing on quality movement not just shifting a load from A-B
• Utilising different training techniques and exercises to work around injury and pain
• Adequate, rest, nutrition and hydration (recovery)

5. Don’t Rely On The Scales.

The scales should never be considered your sole indicator of fat loss progress, especially in individuals who are already lean. While weight loss is an important and expected side effect of fat loss, there will be times when the figure on the scales won’t budge in your favour.

Don’t stress, there are a number of reasons why your scales weight will go up, despite being in a calorie deficit.

Prime reasons include:

• Fluid retention from medications, supplements (creatine), illness or recent hydration. Try weighing yourself after drinking 2 litres of water (you will see just how much fluid weighs!).
• Carb cycling (increasing carbohydrate intake will increase body weight)
• Sodium manipulation (sodium increases water retention) – combine sodium with more carbs and there is greater potential for weight gain.
• Bowel content – influenced by diet.
• Faulty scales (it happens)
• Increases in muscle mass.

What’s my strategy for dealing with unexpected weight gain?

Before weighing always stop and ask yourself,

Q. ‘Am I looking leaner?’

Q. ‘Has anyone else noticed?’

If you answered yes and yes – you’re winning!

Visual assessment always trumps a set of stats, especially when improving body image is the main goal. As the saying goes the mirror is your best friend.

In order to provide a more accurate evaluation of your body composition progress, you can also correlate changes in body weight with other key measures including:

• Visual assessment,
• Tightness/looseness of clothing,
• Waist circumference,
• Umbilical skin fold measure (easy to obtain)

Take Home

Build your house on solid, time-tested foundations, not quicksand. Don’t be fooled by the latest accessories, get your priorities right!

Like What You’ve Read? 

If you love reading this kind of stuff and want to know even more diabetes-focused diet and training info backed by science and proven to work in 100s of clients then you’re in the right place.

Right now, you can join many other like-minded individuals in the private Diabetic Muscle and Fitness Facebook group who are following my 112 Day Diabetic Shred transformation plan and also save a MASSIVE 85% OFF with this coupon below.

Backed by a full 100% results guarantee you have nothing to lose and, with this coupon, you can access over 112 days of workouts, 7-day meal plans supplement guides and personal support from Phil Graham and the rest of the Diabetic Muscle and Fitness team all for $16 (£14).

Get started here and claim your 85% discount now.