Skipping meals is no shortcut to weight loss or blood sugar control.

Instead, enjoy seven rewards of eating regularly.

Skipping meals, however, may actually increase your blood sugar and cause you to gain weight.

Here are seven rewards of eating regularly scheduled meals when you live with diabetes.

Reward 1: Improve fasting blood glucose numbers.

Now Cheryl, PWD punch in 2, won’t leave home without eating breakfast.

Her blood glucose numbers have improved.

Reward 2: Stay off the blood sugar roller coaster.

A meager meal can give you a meager rise in blood sugar.

She thought a big meal wouldn’t hurt as long as she held back at other meals that day.

Reward 3: Fight fatigue and boost energy.

Eating meals spaced throughout the day provides a consistent fuel source and can help combat the feeling of fatigue.

She didn’t realize how drained she felt every day until she started feeling better.

Along with other eating changes, spreading out her foods has helped her accomplish more throughout the day.

Tip:Tired or thirsty?

Reward 4: Learn how foods affect your blood sugar.

Eating randomly makes spotting trends and controlling blood glucose levels much more difficult.

Tip:Set up a simple experiment with the following steps.

Wash and dry your hands, then check your blood sugar before your meal.

If you take blood glucose-lowering medication with meals, take your dose as usual.

As you take your first bite of the meal, set a timer for 2 hours.

Check your blood sugar again 2 hours after the first bite.

Repeat the experiment on another day to compare information and check for trends.

If results are off-target, talk to your provider about meal, exercise, and medication options.

Reward 5: Meet weight-control goals.

Skipping meals is like skipping your medications.

It causes erratic blood sugar levels, making weight control difficult.

Last but not least, skipping meals can lead to overeating later, especially at your evening meals.

Reward 6: Help some medications do their jobs.

These medications may increase the risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).

Because having a low blood sugar may make you feel panicky, it’s easy to overeat.

You may easily consume more calories than you oughta treat the low.

Reward 7: Create order in your day.

Both exercise and leisure time help you manage stress, which helps you control diabetes.

Consider that most of us need at least 5 cups of fruits and vegetables daily.

That’s pretty hard to accomplish if you skip meals or eat on the run.