Nutrisystem D: Everything You Need to Know About Our Diabetes Weight Loss Plan

Article posted in: Diet & Nutrition
diabetes weight loss

If you have Type 2 diabetes, you know that a healthy diet can mean the difference between blood sugar control and sugar-gone-haywire. The problem: Your body doesn’t use insulin properly. Insulin is the hormone produced in your pancreas that tells your organs and tissues to absorb the sugar or glucose from your bloodstream to use as energy. In order to lose weight, it’s important to find a diabetes weight loss plan that is both safe and effective.

According to the American Diabetes Association, too many dietary carbs—which break down into sugar—can overwhelm that insulin traffic controller and send your blood sugar soaring. Controlling your intake of foods that raise your blood sugar, losing weight and using up that free-floating sugar by exercising can help you manage your diabetes and may even help with prediabetes.

What is Nutrisystem’s diabetes weight loss program?

Nutrisystem D information for diabetics with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes

Nutrisystem D is a weight loss plan designed specifically for people with Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. (Unlike Type 2, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Those with Type 1 diabetes may have to inject themselves with insulin daily.)

This diabetes weight loss plan is also perfect for people with the condition known as prediabetes, characterized by impaired insulin sensitivity—not full blown Type 2 diabetes but heading in that direction. Studies, published in Diabetic Living, have found that 70 percent of people with prediabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes over time unless they take steps to stop it, including losing weight and changing their diets.

The Nutrisystem D program integrates the science of the Glycemic Index (GI), a measure of how much individual foods raise your blood sugar. Foods lower on the GI release glucose more slowly so your insulin system isn’t overrun. This prevents blood sugar spikes which are not only damaging to your organs and tissues, but can stimulate hunger once those spikes become valleys.

The Nutrisystem D program is high in fiber and designed to deliver the right balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates. The meal plan is designed to space your carbohydrate intake throughout the day to help you avoid spikes. This allows you to have some of your favorite foods.

Yes, even on this diet plan, you can eat pizza, burgers, pasta and chocolate cupcakes. Depriving yourself of your favorite foods only backfires. It only makes you want them more. So we’ve taken the guilt out of your favorite pleasures so you don’t have to miss them. You’ll also eat more frequently—every two to three hours—to help keep blood sugar stable.

Check out what a day looks like on Nutrisystem D:

Nutrisystem D Sample Day for diabetics with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes

Does Nutrisystem D work?

Now you might be wondering—does it actually work? You could ask Ramona Y. of Orlando, Fla., one of our success stories. Before she started on Nutrisystem D, she was “on the road to my own destruction.” She’d tried to lose weight before but when she “didn’t become thin overnight,” she says, she dropped out. Then came what she describes as “three life-altering words: ‘You areRamona Y diabetic.’”

After doing some research, she decided to try Nutrisystem D. “I never felt hungry or deprived, “ she says. “The support of my family as well as the great support from the website and Nutrisystem’s awesome support personnel helped me lose 71 pounds.*”

If you can’t take Ramona’s word for it, look at the research. According to Courtney McCormick, MPH, RDN, LDN, Nutrisystem’s corporate dietitian, clinical studies on Nutrisystem D have found that participants with diabetes reduced their A1c, a measure of blood sugar over time, by 0.8 percent at only three months, which is a clinically significant reduction. Those same participants on Nutrisystem D, in combination with weekly group counseling for three months, lost more weight than a control group that received support and information sessions about diabetes management alone.

Ready to make the change? Get started on Nutrisystem D today! >

*Real Success Story. Expect to lose an avg 1-2 lbs per week.