You’ve heard that weight loss is one of the best ways to manage diabetes. Losing as little as 10 to 15 pounds is enough to improve blood glucose levels, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, improve blood pressure, and help you to live longer with a better quality of life.
So, you go to Dr. Google and find the CICO diet trending. The CICO diet stands for “calories in, calories out,” as long as you burn more calories than you consume you’ll lose weight. It sounds pretty straightforward and easy, right? But can it help manage diabetes? And will it work for you? Let’s take a closer look.
What is CICO?
CICO is based on the premise that if you eat fewer calories than your body needs you will lose weight. There are no foods that are off limits. You just determine how many calories you need to promote weight loss and don’t exceed that number of calories.
Calorie counting for weight loss is not a new concept. In fact, it’s quite conventional.
But there’s evidence that weight loss is just not that simple. “There are many more factors that affect a person’s ability to lose weight, such as gender and how much muscle mass they have. Also, medical conditions that affect their metabolism,” says registered dietitian nutritionist Tamara Melton, MS, RDN, LD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The CICO diet doesn’t address the fact that different foods contain different nutrients. And there is no guidance on how you should balance for nutrients. Melton says nutrient balance is