Diabetes Type 2

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a condition that progresses wherein the body becomes resistant to insulin and/or loses the capacity to produce enough insulin. Type 2 diabetes develops over many years. Over time, insulin resistance takes place, meaning that insulin becomes increasingly ineffective in managing your blood glucose levels. Due to this, the pancreas begins to compensate by producing greater levels of insulin to try and deal with the excessive blood glucose levels. Over time, this can then lead to “pancreatic exhaustion” due to an overproduction of insulin. In this state, the beta cells of the pancreas are not ineffective at producing insulin and by the time diagnosis of this stage occurs, individuals have lost 50-70% of their beta cell capacity. Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 90% of people with diabetes.

What causes Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes can occur at any age in life. Type 2 diabetes can occur due to insulin resistance (can be related to long-standing poor nutritional habits, obesity or inactivity (leading to lowered muscle mass) but people of ANY size and shape can develop type 2 diabetes) and insulin deficiency. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented and managed through lifestyle and harmacologic interventions which aim to reduce insulin resistance. Evidence has shown that a loss of approximately 5% of initial body weight if you are overweight can reduce the risk of progressing from impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes by 60%. People of smaller physiques or minimal skeletal muscle mass and larger central adiposity (high waist circumference) are also at risk of developing type 2 diabetes due to the decreased uptake of glucose from a limited muscle mass and increased signaling of hormones involved in insulin resistance produced by visceral adipose tissue.

How can Bites Dietitians help?

Bites Dietitians can help you to manage your type 2 diabetes through dietary prescription. Bites Dietitians will create a meal plan that fits your lifestyle and manages the amount of glucose eaten and hence circulating through your body. We will usually aim to spread out your carbohydrate intake over the day and set limits on portions of these foods to try to keep your blood glucose levels nice and stable and reduce the load on your pancreas. We also make sure we give you ideas for recipes and snack ideas that will help you keep those blood glucose levels stable too! We will also teach you how to read labels, understand the science behind what is happening in your body and give you the tools so that you can start to create your own meal plans and in no time, you’ll become an expert at self managing your diabetes!

We will not cut out any foods specifically, just show you how to eat all foods in a way that manages your blood sugars well.

An interesting fact about Diet and Type 2 Diabetes

Myth – you only get type 2 diabetes when you’re older. Type 2 diabetes is more common in people over the age of 45 years but is becoming more common in younger age groups including children.

How can Bites Exercise Physiologists help?

Bites Exercise Physiologists can provide you with an exercise plan that is suited to your physical activity level, goals and environment eg. whether you’d like to perform your exercise program at home, in a park or in a gym setting, we will design it to suit! We will use the equipment you already own or can help to recommend some equipment options if you’re not a gym person! (in fact alot of our clients prefer to exercise in the comfort of their own home or our clinic!) Specific types of exercise such as resistance training can help to build muscle mass which is metabolically active tissue that acts like a “sink” to soak up excess glucose floating around your bloodstream. Other styles of training such as HIIT training have been clinically shown to help reduce insulin resistance (by increasing insulin sensitivity) and improving glycemic control. Our Exercise Physiologists might also look at the patterns of your blood glucose levels and guide with what times of the day would be best for you to perform your exercises in order to keep your blood glucose (sugars) most stable throughout the day. We will also take into account old/current injuries and make sure your program is tailored specifically to you!

An interesting fact about exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

Exercise increases your body’s use of glucose (sugar) by almost 30 times compared to rest! It’s no wonder that exercise is an amazing (and often overlooked) medicine to help treat diabetes!

What improvement can you expect from a tailored dietary/exercise prescription?

Through following a diet and exercise prescription you will notice changes within days! Within 2 – 3 days of following a structured dietary/exercise plan you’ll already start to notice your post prandial (after meal) blood sugars improve! If a change in body composition is a goal that you’d like to work towards to help manage your diabetes, increases in muscle mass, and reductions to waist and weight will be evident from 1-2 weeks of following your plan. Within 2 – 3 months notable changes in your HbA1c and insulin levels within a blood test will be evident. Within 2 – 3 months you might also begin to rely less on your medications to control your blood glucose levels and we will communicate any changes with your GP, nurse, Endocrinologist and medical team so that dosages may be altered and/or ceased. You’ll also notice less frequent hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic episodes as your dietary intake and exercise habits begin to complement each other nicely.

Helpful things to bring/remember before your first appointment

Pathology results such as HbA1c, Fasting Glucose, Oral Glucose Tolerance Test results (OGTT) and insulin studies
List of medications you are on and dosages
If you are tracking your blood glucose levels at home, your notebook and/or food diary
Any medical history from your GP or specialist that might be helpful for us to know

Here’s A Cystic Fibrosis Friendly Recipe
That You Might Like To Try

CHECK OUT OUR FREE RECIPES

Contact Details



305/29–31 Lexington Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153



0452 458 146

