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Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes. How To Reduce Belly Fat?

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Posted on Mon, 6 May 2013
Question: My husband does not drink but has a very hard, large belly....Two years ago he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. His belly button protrudes and our doctor has told him it is herniated and would need to be operated on to relieve the protrusion...in all honesty thats not what I'm writing you about...He is now 55 and I was wondering what I can do to help him reduce the belly. Should he be avoiding certain foods, what foods should he be eating more of and how much exercise should he be getting in order to raise his metabolism and reduce his belly. He is 6' 1" and weighs 250. He's had the belly for several years now...
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Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (2 hours later)
Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic

      His BMI is 33 (Obese) / Less than 25 is normal / ‘Overweight’ is in between the two. One can not reduce only the belly! - the whole body weight has to be tackled...There are specific exercises for strengthening the abdominal wall muscles, but not feasible because of the umbilical hernia.

.       Weight is like bank account. The account grows when you withdraw less (Cut down unnecessary physical work) and you deposit more (eat more). If the weight is picking up, it only means – the exercise is not enough or the food is more.

     He has to reduce the QUANTITY of his food and change the QUALITY too. It is not possible to explain or understand the nuances on a single occasion. To start with, reduce the amount to one third of what he is presently taking. Avoid all fats – they have double the energy of carbohydrates. Healthy FOOD is a must. Avoid saturated fats – coconut oil, palm oil, butter, ghee, full cream milk...Avoid junk foods in particular – French fries have palm oil / Pizza has cheese / Change to Poly-un-saturated oil – like sun flower oil / Include Mono-un-saturated oil – Olive oil.
You should see a good DIETICIAN - One generally needs SEVERAL sessions, to master concepts of calories, nutritional values, biological value, vitamins, minerals and so on. you have to reduce the quantity of your food and change the quality too.

     Exercise helps. But he has to do really severe and prolonged exercise – several hours. Start half an hour a day and slowly step up every week. Its role is however is limited. For example, in walking 1 kilometre, one spends 1 Calorie per kilogram of his body weight! A cup of rice or an average bar of chocolate has approximately 200 calories. A treadmill may help. The ideal solution is to get him enrolled in a Gym and have a supervised program. If not, regular exercise – say walking or jogging - 30 minutes a day / at least 5 days in a week – is necessary minimum.

Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Anantharamakrishnan

Cardiologist

Practicing since :1966

Answered : 4505 Questions

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Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes. How To Reduce Belly Fat?

Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic

      His BMI is 33 (Obese) / Less than 25 is normal / ‘Overweight’ is in between the two. One can not reduce only the belly! - the whole body weight has to be tackled...There are specific exercises for strengthening the abdominal wall muscles, but not feasible because of the umbilical hernia.

.       Weight is like bank account. The account grows when you withdraw less (Cut down unnecessary physical work) and you deposit more (eat more). If the weight is picking up, it only means – the exercise is not enough or the food is more.

     He has to reduce the QUANTITY of his food and change the QUALITY too. It is not possible to explain or understand the nuances on a single occasion. To start with, reduce the amount to one third of what he is presently taking. Avoid all fats – they have double the energy of carbohydrates. Healthy FOOD is a must. Avoid saturated fats – coconut oil, palm oil, butter, ghee, full cream milk...Avoid junk foods in particular – French fries have palm oil / Pizza has cheese / Change to Poly-un-saturated oil – like sun flower oil / Include Mono-un-saturated oil – Olive oil.
You should see a good DIETICIAN - One generally needs SEVERAL sessions, to master concepts of calories, nutritional values, biological value, vitamins, minerals and so on. you have to reduce the quantity of your food and change the quality too.

     Exercise helps. But he has to do really severe and prolonged exercise – several hours. Start half an hour a day and slowly step up every week. Its role is however is limited. For example, in walking 1 kilometre, one spends 1 Calorie per kilogram of his body weight! A cup of rice or an average bar of chocolate has approximately 200 calories. A treadmill may help. The ideal solution is to get him enrolled in a Gym and have a supervised program. If not, regular exercise – say walking or jogging - 30 minutes a day / at least 5 days in a week – is necessary minimum.

Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck