Getting SMART About Your Weight Loss Goals With Type 2 Diabetes

‍How to lose weight with type 2 diabetes (and stick to it) with the SMART method.

It’s not just you. Almost everyone struggles to maintain a healthy weight. In fact, the average American gains two pounds a year, and even when they lose weight they struggle to keep it off. For people with type 2 diabetes, losing weight can be an even greater challenge, but we here at Virta Health are in the business of proving it’s not impossible when you have proper support.

If you keep your goals realistic, you can lose weight and reverse diabetes by adopting a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet. Just ask Jack, a police officer who lost 80 pounds to play in the World Series of Stickball after starting Virta in 2018. “I have less joint pain. I have more energy and focus, and I sleep better.”

Jack is not an exception in discovering that losing weight can have positive ramifications throughout every aspect of your life, not just your diabetes. But how do you know what a realistic goal is, and what methods can you use to find them?

How to Manage Your Weight Loss Goals With Type 2 Diabetes

One tool for success in weight loss is using a framework for your goals. The acronym to remember is SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Making sure each of these five elements is reflected in your diabetes weight loss plan will help you evaluate your successes, adjust when things aren’t working and allow you to objectively measure your progress:

• Specific: In cooperation with your doctor, set firm numbers for goal weight, BMI, A1C or other targets you want to hit with your weight loss plan
• Measurable: Decide how you will track and record that progress; how often you will check in and compare results.
• Achievable: This might be the most important component of the SMART framework. Talk to a doctor, a nutritionist, a personal trainer or other professional to make sure that your weight loss rate is possible given your current lifestyle, then adjust those goals to increase the chance of success.
• Relevant: Think about how your weight loss goals will affect your life. Connect them to things you want to change or improve, instead of as an abstract set of numbers.
• Time-Bound: Human beings work better on deadlines. Making sure that you are working to attain your weight loss within a defined span of time will help you stick to new behaviors that might be challenging.

Stay Slow, Steady and Focused

Staying SMART about your weight loss goals is one of the best tools at your disposal to reinforce weight loss. But don’t forget about dopamine. That’s the chemical your brain releases that makes you feel good. Progress towards your goals releases dopamine, so keep a chart of your progress, and check it regularly. Every squirt of dopamine incremental success to your goals releases will only reinforce your weight loss journey.

Just remember: you want to take it slow and steady. That’s the most effective way to achieve sustainable, lifelong weight loss.

In general, healthy weight loss maxes out at 1 to 2 pounds per week. So don't just track your weight. Also track other health related goals, like reducing your glucose levels, or just being more active. If you're only focused on your weight, which can fluctuate based on numerous factors out of your control, you might not feel as if you're making enough success towards your goals.

The Takeaway

Weight loss is a difficult proposition, but it’s attainable as long as you realistically manage your goals, and have the proper support. If you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and want to lose weight, Virta Health may be able to help. By making healthy lifestyle changes in a medical setting with supportive resources like 1:1 virtual coaching, you can regain control of your health and feel like yourself again. See if you’re eligible for Virta Health here.

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