Toning and losing weight
- Thread starter okx
- Start Date
- Messages
- 19,477
- Type of diabetes
- LADA
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Maybe tell us a bit more about yourself?
Members on here are always happy to help, but the information you give isn't enough to have any idea on your diet, the amount of exercise you plan on doing or the amount of exercise you currently do.
What makes you feel you might be overdoing it?
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Ok, I started gym i’m going mon-fri for 2hrs late evening (idk if I should cut it down since i’ve just started), I swim for an hour aswell but that is fine. I feel that I may overdo it because my blood sugar goes down very quickly but I want to be more active. As for dieting i’m not sure where to start with that I was suggested to do a calorie deficit i’m not too sure if that would be the right move for me?
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Ok, I started gym i’m going mon-fri for 2hrs late evening (idk if I should cut it down since i’ve just started), I swim for an hour aswell but that is fine. I feel that I may overdo it because my blood sugar goes down very quickly but I want to be more active. As for dieting i’m not sure where to start with that I was suggested to do a calorie deficit i’m not too sure if that would be the right move for me?
AloeSvea
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,059
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Other
I can't imagine being as active as you are AND go on a calorie deficit way of eating - and for how long could it last? I am physically active, and need food to fuel that. As do we all, I might venture to say! (I understand you are type 1 so am expecting lots of sporty type ones to contribute on that one...)
So as a low-carb type two-er, I consider myself fat-fuelled. Plenty of literature on that being a good way to go for those with diabetes, and athletes generally. Plug it in to your search engine and have fun reading up on it - and be prepared to be reading for a long while! The bible, if you like, on the topic is Volek and Phinney's 'The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance'.
I watched a great vid from a Low Carb Down Under conference from some years ago, by Prof Caryn Zinn - she is very good on Low-carb fat-fuelled performance and spells it out with great graphics in her slides. The one I am thinking of is low-carb for weight loss and athletes. I highly recommend having a gander at her presentations. And she co-authored a book called 'What the Fat' which is also excellent.
I’ve been going to to the gym now for the last 4 months and am having good results with both losing fat and controlling blood sugar at the same time.
First important thing to note is that if you want to lose fat a calorie deficit is crucial. Exercise is great for improving your health and is important but it is only one part - diet and a calorie deficit are the biggest things in losing fat. My partner who was very overweight and at risk of developing T2 has been using a calorie deficit for over a year and has now lost over 60lbs - he did this without going to the gym, by eating in a calorie deficit and making sure to increase his general activity (hitting 10,000 steps a day, moving more).
The second thing I have found really helpful since starting the gym is to focus on strength training - it was scary at first but I get so much more from my workouts and am seeing muscle start to increase and fat reduce. As part of this I am eating a diet that is higher in protein and lower in carbs (although I wouldn’t say it is low carb). I’ve found by eating a higher protein diet that my blood sugars stay very stable and I’m not having big post meal spikes or hypos anymore. As a T1D it can be hard to exercise so much and control blood sugars but eating this way has helped me personally so much.
All I can say is to give it a go, don’t try a fad diet, eat within a slight calorie deficit (100-500 calories lower than your maintenance depending on what feels right for you - I aim for 400-500 lower then it gives me some room to stay in a deficit if I need to treat a hypo), start strength training and take your time. You can’t spot reduce belly fat, it will take time and you have to be patient but you will see change throughout your whole body. If you search for ‘body recomposition’ on Google or social media you’ll find lots of helpful information.
First important thing to note is that if you want to lose fat a calorie deficit is crucial. Exercise is great for improving your health and is important but it is only one part - diet and a calorie deficit are the biggest things in losing fat. My partner who was very overweight and at risk of developing T2 has been using a calorie deficit for over a year and has now lost over 60lbs - he did this without going to the gym, by eating in a calorie deficit and making sure to increase his general activity (hitting 10,000 steps a day, moving more).
The second thing I have found really helpful since starting the gym is to focus on strength training - it was scary at first but I get so much more from my workouts and am seeing muscle start to increase and fat reduce. As part of this I am eating a diet that is higher in protein and lower in carbs (although I wouldn’t say it is low carb). I’ve found by eating a higher protein diet that my blood sugars stay very stable and I’m not having big post meal spikes or hypos anymore. As a T1D it can be hard to exercise so much and control blood sugars but eating this way has helped me personally so much.
All I can say is to give it a go, don’t try a fad diet, eat within a slight calorie deficit (100-500 calories lower than your maintenance depending on what feels right for you - I aim for 400-500 lower then it gives me some room to stay in a deficit if I need to treat a hypo), start strength training and take your time. You can’t spot reduce belly fat, it will take time and you have to be patient but you will see change throughout your whole body. If you search for ‘body recomposition’ on Google or social media you’ll find lots of helpful information.
In Response
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,483
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
@okx I have no experience of dieting but I am a regular gym attendee.
I have tried a number of different approaches to avoid the BG drop
- make sure I have no bolus insulin on board when starting exercise.
- have a higher BG when starting. For example, eat a biscuit with no insulin. I think @Juicyj aims for a level between 9 and 12 mmol/l. This is too high for me as anything over 8 will make me weary resulting in a further rise.
- drink very weak diluted fruit juice instead of water
- vary cardio and resistance training - typically cardio reduces levels and resistance training (e.g. weights) can increase them so, with the right balance and order, I can use cardio to lower when too high and resistance training to raise when getting too low
- getting fitter. The more my body gets used to exercise, the lower the impact of the exercise on my levels
- I use a pump so am able to suspend my basal insulin during exercise
What do you do at the gym?
Do you have a program?
Are you varying it in order not to put a strain on your body and the same muscles every day. Fifteen hours a week is a lot of activity and you may struggle to maintain it. Please give your body time to recover.
I have tried a number of different approaches to avoid the BG drop
- make sure I have no bolus insulin on board when starting exercise.
- have a higher BG when starting. For example, eat a biscuit with no insulin. I think @Juicyj aims for a level between 9 and 12 mmol/l. This is too high for me as anything over 8 will make me weary resulting in a further rise.
- drink very weak diluted fruit juice instead of water
- vary cardio and resistance training - typically cardio reduces levels and resistance training (e.g. weights) can increase them so, with the right balance and order, I can use cardio to lower when too high and resistance training to raise when getting too low
- getting fitter. The more my body gets used to exercise, the lower the impact of the exercise on my levels
- I use a pump so am able to suspend my basal insulin during exercise
What do you do at the gym?
Do you have a program?
Are you varying it in order not to put a strain on your body and the same muscles every day. Fifteen hours a week is a lot of activity and you may struggle to maintain it. Please give your body time to recover.
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Thank you so much, I will watch her videos and do more reading. I really appreciate this!
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Yes, I think so too because I am also going with someone however they are not diabetic. For the gym time I have decided an hour for now, for swimming I only go on saturdays.
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
I have but they haven’t been much help for some reason … I have been chasing them up because my nurse said she’ll share some tips and readings with me.
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Thank you, at gym I focus on abdominal so I have yet to use weights fully (just kettlebells). Because I am a recent starter I do not necessarily have a program / routine however, the continuous ones I use are mainly stretches and upper body workouts.
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
I have lost 5 stone on a low carb diet. Both my diabetes nurse and my GP were more than happy. I have a BMI of 25.7 and I want to lose another stone. There’s been loads of help here with recipes etc. I don’t have anything against soup and shakes but it’s not for me. The problem with shakes is it does t teach to eat healthily. I know you get your diabetes in remission by alternative methods. Low carb has proved successful for losing weight and lowering blood sugar.
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Congrats on the weight loss! I have the same thought about shakes too, when I was in uni I used to do them all the time but then when it came to my meal times I was never hungry (I get full quick and for a long time) which overall made me forefully eat as I fall into hypos. Low carbs is something I already practice but if I do calorie deficit would that be too much?
- Messages
- 19,477
- Type of diabetes
- LADA
- Treatment type
- Insulin
Please keep in mind that the person you replied to has type 1 diabetes, so they will never go in remission.
A low carb diet can help with losing weight in T1's as well in T2's, but a big difference is that T2's have insulin resistance, which T1's don't have as a rule. This means that low carbing may not be as effective for losing weight as it is for T2's.
And well done on your weightloss and lowering your blood glucose!
- Messages
- 19,477
- Type of diabetes
- LADA
- Treatment type
- Insulin
With exercise and changes in diet you'll need to adjust your insulin doses accordingly.
So if you went low all the time on the shakes, it looks like your dosing for them was a bit off.
Are you carb counting to determine your insulin doses? Have you done any basal testing to make sure that your basal dose is correct?
- Messages
- 11
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
My basal dose is correct and yes my carb counting detemines my insulin take.
AloeSvea
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,059
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Other
Re belly fat/abs, my advice is, if reducing belly fat is part of the equation, which I believe it is? Check out first if you are having bloating issues with food. To do that you need to have some simple elimination diets. First of all wheat products, then dairy, as the main causes of belly bloat. Do it for a month a piece. If you think this might be you - give 'Wheat Belly' a read. Once you've cut down on the bloat, in my experience, the muscle building of stomach crunches and so on can be seen a lot better. I did a job where I was constantly tummy crunching, and my abs are still there to some degree five months later, with some light maintenance. (I don't need a gym - my property provides me with mulitple opportunities to do heavy lifting and some stomach crunching!)
A belly fat book I recommend is Liz Vaccariello's 'Flat Belly Diet'. The tag line being '...The Secret to a Flatter Belly. Lucky for you, it's food!'
