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“I’m not eating that much, but I’m not losing weight.”
“I suddenly crave sweets in the evening.”
“Even though I’m cutting down on meals, I end up eating snacks anyway.”
We sometimes receive consultations like this from women in their 40s and 50s.
When it comes to dieting,
“just reduce the amount you eat”
is what people tend to think, but there is one more thing I would like you to know about:
blood sugar control.
However,
“if you don’t raise your blood sugar, you will lose weight automatically” is not the case.
The foundation of dieting is balancing energy intake and energy expenditure over the long term.
On top of that, suppressing rapid fluctuations in blood sugar can make it easier to control hunger and snacking, which may result in making it easier to continue your diet.
What is blood sugar in the first place?
Blood sugar level is
a measure of how much glucose is contained in the blood.
It represents this.
When you eat carbohydrates found in rice, bread, noodles, sugar, etc., they are digested and absorbed into glucose, which then enters the bloodstream.
This causes blood sugar levels to rise.
When blood sugar levels rise, a hormone called insulin is secreted from the pancreas.
Insulin works to take glucose from the blood into cells such as muscles and the liver, returning blood sugar levels to an appropriate range.
In other words,
Meal → Blood sugar rise → Insulin secretion → Blood sugar regulation
is the process occurring within the body.
What you need to be careful about in a diet is not “the rise in blood sugar itself”
This point is extremely important.
The fact that blood sugar rises when you eat is a normal physiological reaction.
What tends to become a problem is,
repeating eating habits where blood sugar fluctuates significantly in a short period of time.
For example,
Skipping breakfast
↓
Eating a sweet bun while hungry
↓
Drinking a sweet cafe latte on top of that
↓
Getting hungry again in the evening and eating snacks
is the kind of eating habit I mean.
If this cycle of “hunger → carbohydrate-centered meal → hunger again” continues, some people find it difficult to control their food intake and snacking.
“Insulin makes you fat” is a bit too simplistic
On social media and elsewhere,
“Since insulin causes fat storage, you will lose weight if you don’t raise your blood sugar”
is an explanation you sometimes see.
This is a bit too simplistic.
Insulin is a necessary hormone for humans to live, and its secretion after a meal is not inherently bad.
And the most important thing for reducing body fat is,
creating an appropriate energy balance over the long term.
The 2026 American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines also recommend combining nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral changes to adjust energy intake in a sustainable way for weight loss.
In other words,
it is not just about looking at blood sugar levels.
However,
a diet that stabilizes blood sugar levels often results in a diet that makes it easier to lose weight.
That is what it means.
5 points for controlling blood sugar levels
1. Do not have meals consisting only of carbohydrates
Breakfast is just bread.
Lunch is just a rice ball.
Snacks are just cookies.
Instead of meals like these,
combining carbohydrates + protein + vegetables, etc.
is recommended.
For example,
Rice ball + egg + miso soup
Bread + yogurt + salad
Rice + fish + vegetables
are some examples.
Instead of “not eating carbohydrates”,
Do not finish your meal with just carbohydrates
is an easy way to think about it.
② Eat vegetables and protein first
Even if the content of the meal is the same,
eating vegetables and protein first, and carbohydrates later
may help moderate the rise in blood sugar after a meal.
A systematic review published in 2026 also reported that in healthy adults, the order of eating vegetables and protein before carbohydrates may suppress the postprandial blood glucose response.
However, this does not mean that “as long as you practice veggie-first, you can eat whatever you want.”
The total amount and content of the meal are important.
③ Do not make sugary drinks a habit
Drinks are surprisingly easy to overlook.
・Juice
・Coffee with sugar
・Sweet cafe lattes
・Soft drinks
can increase your carbohydrate and energy intake just by drinking them.
For your daily hydration,
water, tea, and sugar-free drinks
are recommended as the standard.
④ Move a little after eating
When it comes to blood sugar control, people tend to focus only on meals, but
moving your muscles is also extremely important.
This is because muscles are one of the major tissues that utilize glucose.
There is no need to suddenly start intense exercise.
After a meal,
・Go for a walk
・Go shopping
・Do housework
・Reduce time spent sitting
is better than “not moving at all.”
Even under the 2026 ADA standards, it is recommended that people with diabetes or at risk of diabetes avoid sitting for long periods and interrupt sedentary time at least every 30 minutes.
5. Do not lose muscle mass
When dieting after your 40s,
the mindset of “not just losing weight” but “maintaining muscle”
is also important.
Diets that involve extreme calorie restriction may lead to the loss of not only fat but also muscle.
Therefore,
combining a proper diet, strength training, and daily activity
is essential.
Instead of a “starvation diet,”
adjust how you eat and build a body that can move.
This approach is better suited for long-term weight management.
For those in their 40s and 50s, it is better to “adjust” than to “not eat.”
As you get older,
many people feel that”the same diets that worked in the past no longer help me lose weight.”
I think many of you feel this way.
That said,
skipping breakfast,
cutting out carbohydrates completely,
eating almost nothing for dinner
—there is no need to continue with such extreme methods.
What is important is,
what you eat,
how much you eat,
how you eat,
and how much you move.
Blood sugar levels are just one part of that.
It is not that “lowering blood sugar makes you lose weight,” but rather,
by creating lifestyle habits that prevent large fluctuations in blood sugar, you make it easier to control hunger and appetite, creating a state where it is easier to continue a diet.
This way of thinking is important.
Why not start building a body that can lose weight even while eating in Nishichiba?
At our personal gym in Chiba/Nishichiba,
we don’t just have you exercise,
we support you in building a body that you can maintain without strain, including diet, muscle, posture, and daily life.
we support you.
“I’m eating less but not losing weight”
“I can’t stop eating sweets”
“Since turning 40, I’ve suddenly stopped losing weight”
“I want to exercise but don’t know where to start”
If you feel this way, we recommend reviewing your lifestyle habits first.
Dieting is,
It is not a test of endurance.
It is important to understand how the body works and find a method that suits you.
If you are looking for a personal gym in Chiba or Nishi-Chiba, please feel free to consult with us.
*If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, hypoglycemia, or other conditions, or if you are using blood sugar-lowering medication or insulin, please consult your primary physician before making significant changes to your diet or exercise routine.
