How do you (Type 1's) lose weight?

[BaliRob]

In conjunction with a considered low carb diet - Walking, Cycling and Swimming are all that are needed for the relatively fit person to lose and maintain weight levels. None of this 'Gym' business - all that does is tone and build muscle.

 

[MuncieR]

Everybody is different but generally, if you’re eating more than you burn you will gain wait! There are plenty of calories in low carb foods.

Losing weight is NOT EASY but is nearly always because we are putting in more than we need. It’s easy to blame other things...

I am a type 1 diabetic and my weight has gone from several stone overweight to ‘officially’ underweight (tho I thought I looked amazing).

100 calories surplus a day (a biscuit) is a lb of weight gained a month.... in a few years...!

Eat less, do more! Don’t deprive yourself of anything but do not binge... if you never over eat you will never gain weight!

I don’t keep treats in the house, I buy them separately to my regular shopping as and when. I can’t say no if I open the fridge and see chocolate biscuits....

I run 30-50 miles a week and pretty much eat what I want. It’s a lifestyle choice! It’s hard and I don’t enjoy it but this maintains a regular weight for me and has done for years.

Historically type 1s gained weight because they were encouraged to eat high fat diets (low carbs). If your insulin levels are wrong you may be overeating to compensate for hypos. This defo happened to me as a child!

There used to be some good training for dose adjustment - ask ur diabetes nurse or consultant.

My hba1c has never dropped below 60 (it has been in the 90s before) but my cholesterol is low, liver and kidney function strong. This has happened since I became a compulsive runner!

I like a drink and a party. Drinking plenty of water and lots of exercise can counter a lot of that!!!

 

[Wurst]

For me weight loss starts in the Kitchen fridge / cupboards . If you haven't got it you can't eat it.

You need to be in a calorie deficit for efficient weight loss so it's worth counting them. Exercise is also important. I've fallen into the trap before thinking if I'm exercising daily I can eat what I want , wrong !

Some of the best things I eat , in terms of 'treats' ,when I need to drop a couple of kgs' are sugar free jelly , VLA and frozen raspberries. Having some chewing gum also helps.

 

[JoeT1]

In conjunction with a considered low carb diet - Walking, Cycling and Swimming are all that are needed for the relatively fit person to lose and maintain weight levels. None of this 'Gym' business - all that does is tone and build muscle.

That's not all it does. A consistent training regime and high reps with lower rep will burn as many calories as a 5km walk, if not more.

 

[RAPS_od]

I'm a T1 and find it pretty difficult to lose weight. I went to my doctor (and slender, tall, Asian man) and he said eating low carbs was the way. Well. I went from November to March eating almost no carbs unless I had a hypo or it was Friday, when I'd have popcorn at the show. And what to my wondering eyes did the scale show? I lost ONE whole pound. (Good thing I pooped before going.)
I told my doctor I really wasn't happy about this. He reminded me of a few things:

• I had been gaining 2-3 pounds every time I came in (every 3 months)
• Currently, I'd lost 1 pound, which meant
• I was doing the right thing.

I've kept at it now so that it's become a way of life. I've lost about 16 pounds altogether, but I'm still far from my target weight. Mind you, I get almost no exercise (bad feet - can't swim, walk, run; problems with my tailbone keep me off the bike) and I'm still losing weight.
Sure, I miss bread. But if it ever gets bad, I have a piece of bread! One piece of bread will not kill my diet.
All of this is to say keep at it. It takes a long time for T1s to lose weight, but it can be done.

 

[rubold]

Simply avoid all wheat products. Wheat is broken down almost instantly to glucose in the stomach. Most other carbohydrates are much better eg. porridge, rice, root vegetables.

 

[Kristin251]

I'm a T1 and find it pretty difficult to lose weight. I went to my doctor (and slender, tall, Asian man) and he said eating low carbs was the way. Well. I went from November to March eating almost no carbs unless I had a hypo or it was Friday, when I'd have popcorn at the show. And what to my wondering eyes did the scale show? I lost ONE whole pound. (Good thing I pooped before going.)
I told my doctor I really wasn't happy about this. He reminded me of a few things:

• I had been gaining 2-3 pounds every time I came in (every 3 months)
• Currently, I'd lost 1 pound, which meant
• I was doing the right thing.

I've kept at it now so that it's become a way of life. I've lost about 16 pounds altogether, but I'm still far from my target weight. Mind you, I get almost no exercise (bad feet - can't swim, walk, run; problems with my tailbone keep me off the bike) and I'm still losing weight.
Sure, I miss bread. But if it ever gets bad, I have a piece of bread! One piece of bread will not kill my diet.
All of this is to say keep at it. It takes a long time for T1s to lose weight, but it can be done.

Since going low carb have you added , or eat lots of dairy? Dairy I a very well known weight staller. I know it does me. As mentioned by @rubold , wheat and all grains are as well. Low carb or not.
Unfortunately with them, it’s more of an all or nothing thing. Just a little bit does matter so reducing isn’t enough.
But congrats on your success

 

[JoeT1]

So I have seen just a 1lb weight loss in the last week, but i'm definitely too sensitive when it comes to all this as it is. Need to relax, feel the benefits more and judge by how I think I look and more importantly how I feel. I've gone keto really over the last few days, and surprisingly finding it just fine. Cauliflower rice, broccoli rice, cabbage rice, all really nice and adding an egg gives it a bit more of a texture.

Cut dairy out too, was having some milk with my tea, but will try green tea with lemon for a few days and see how I adjust to that.

 

[Kristin251]

So I have seen just a 1lb weight loss in the last week, but i'm definitely too sensitive when it comes to all this as it is. Need to relax, feel the benefits more and judge by how I think I look and more importantly how I feel. I've gone keto really over the last few days, and surprisingly finding it just fine. Cauliflower rice, broccoli rice, cabbage rice, all really nice and adding an egg gives it a bit more of a texture.

Cut dairy out too, was having some milk with my tea, but will try green tea with lemon for a few days and see how I adjust to that.

I just cut ALL dairy today. I was only having a small piece of cheese at night and ghee in my broth. Then added butter before meals and I’m achy. So it’s all going now
Along with coffee and nuts. Arg....

 

[lalacakez]

Well I use to do it the bad way work out ate what I wanted skipped insulin boy did I drop weight so fast anytime I ate healthy and took insulin I gained weight so i thought hey let's stop taking it for awhile and see what happens i still do it here and there but i take small amounts then I need it **** my off that when you work your butt off you get low from a work out and end up eating or having to drink juice to bring your sugar up and it was really hard to lose the weight you work so hard and sugar isn't good for you it's like what's the point of working out getting lows and drinking sugar just to get fat again my sw was 220 lbs I'm now 165 lb my goal weight is to get to 115 lbs or more because I'm 5'6 if I'm going to be blind and dead might as well look good I'm just saying

 

[Key_master_]

Thanks. Yeah, I may even just cook up a couple of boiled eggs and have them cold when feeling a little peckish. Should do the trick and easy..

Depending on what approach you are following snacking inbetween isn’t really advised unless your sugars are dipping, that means your out of balance with your insulin or meds or not eaten enough at your last meal. A proper balanced meal with enough protein and carbs will keep you energised between meals. This high fat nonsense is crazy. Skipping nutritional foods for pure fat is ludicrous. No such thing as a freebie when it comes to snacks.. (Dr Bernstein) when I switched to his approach I found once you step over the mark of 10g protein or even a fat source will eventually cause your sugars to rise with no insulin on board for it.

Example 100% cocoa chocolate no added sugar at all. Too much of that and the fpu (fat/protein units measured in kcal spike your sugars over it’s digestion time. It actually has more energy than my packet of dextros per 100g..

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @lalacakez I would recommend looking at the DWED website- diabetics with eating disorders, it is incredibly dangerous for diabetics to omit insulin in the pursuit of losing weight, you have already pointed out that it’s preferable to go blind in doing so. Diabetics need insulin to stay alive so not taking it brings with it many other issues as well as blindness. Please seek help for this and contact your consultant or DWED direct.

Please let me know if you want this moved into the ED section ?

 

[JoeT1]

I'd echo what @Juicyj has said @lalacakez and please seek some help with regards to the habits you have gotten into. I understand it can be frustrating to say the scales not move or even go up even when you are doing some of the right things, but believe me, it's not the route to go down.

I have always had a bad relationship with food, before diagnosis. I was pretty much bulimic when I was younger as I grew up a little chubby, or at least in my mind, a little chubby. I got massively into being bulimic, and in turn lost the weight, to the point of being too skinny. After this, I got into the gym and weightlifting, again, small bit of an addictive mentality and made some good progress there, but again, unhealthy progress as I took certain supplements that you just simply shouldn't need to take. I always ALWAYS have a body image issue, looking for the flaws all the time.

Since diagnosis, I found myself not fretting as much, concentrating more on getting into a routine and getting my blood sugards stable. I have seen over the last couple of months this has turned a little, and although keeping my blood sugars as good as they have been since diagnosis, I am focusing on my body a little too much. I was happy to see I didn't require insulin as much with Keto, thinking adding this to my 10,000-18,000 steps a day and working out a couple of times a week, the weight (only 5-7lbs) would just come off. I have restricted my eating, perhaps a little too much for my comfort and lost 4lbs, but have been stuck on that for a week or two now. Now I can sense it creeping into my head that it's the insulin that is just stopping me from losing the weight, and even if I do lose another couple of lbs, once I start incorporating a little more food again, i'll just throw it back on straight away.

It's incredibly frustrating, which gets me a little at times because I absolutely know I should concentrate more on just feeling good and healthy, but in turn it seems i'm wired to get that mostly from how I believe I look. Most would say i'm in decent shape, have no weight to lose and am healthy, but anybody who has felt the way I do will tell you it's not that simple.

Certainly not a cry for help. Just a little let off of steam I guess. I see the route others have gone down, and feel like I should throw away the scales that I weight myself on once to twice a day for madness reasons, and focus on how I feel and the guy I see in the mirror.

 

[anna.chalk]

Hi Joe i seem to be in the same situation as you: eating far less but not losing weight. I would just like to loose 10 kg or even 5! No idea how to cope with it. My readings are all over the place: 7 at breakfast, nearly always 10 at 21.00
Again: no idea how to cope with this!! Good luck to you, hope you soon loose some weight!
Anna Chalk

 

[sue58]

I go yo Slimming world. I don't find losing weight to be easy but it's about what you eat and portion sizes. Maybe doing that would help as I lost about 10 kilos

 

[smc4761]

Hi Joe, its been nearly 6 months since your original post did you manage to lose any weight. To be honest with you height I dont think you really need to lose any weight

I have been type 1 for 37 years and steadily put on weight. However about 12 weeks ago I halves the number of carbs I consume, take literally no potatoes rice pasta or bread and have lost nearly a stone, and I am also pretty much a sloth. I do this for 4/5 days a week and maybe have a takeaway at weekend. Also swapped my beer not that I drank much for G&T

From what I understand its not so much calories that pile on the pounds its the carbs. Cut out the 4 carbs mentioned above for me seems to be the way to go, although I appreciate it may not work for all

 

[sue58]

I have been diabetic for 43 years and like you I've put more and more weight on. Eat plenty of vegetables and salad and protein to fill you up and reduce your carbs and that should be a big help

 

[JoeT1]

Hi Joe, its been nearly 6 months since your original post did you manage to lose any weight. To be honest with you height I dont think you really need to lose any weight

I have been type 1 for 37 years and steadily put on weight. However about 12 weeks ago I halves the number of carbs I consume, take literally no potatoes rice pasta or bread and have lost nearly a stone, and I am also pretty much a sloth. I do this for 4/5 days a week and maybe have a takeaway at weekend. Also swapped my beer not that I drank much for G&T

From what I understand its not so much calories that pile on the pounds its the carbs. Cut out the 4 carbs mentioned above for me seems to be the way to go, although I appreciate it may not work for all

Hi There,

Thank you for taking the interest. Yes, I have managed to get weight to my optimal level I think of 12 stone, so since January it's gone from 12St 13lbs, to 12St 0lbs on Saturday monring......12St 3lbs this morning as I indulged in some drinks and food at the weekend, but suspect some is water weight..

I'm certainly still thinking about my weight, but have managed to up my exercise all the time and take the good readings with the bad. My diet is still low carb, and apart from 3 horrible bottles of Budweiser on Saturday, I have kept it low carb throughout. I was only thinking today of having a couple of days of some more moderate carbs for a change, maybe later in the week.

 

[smc4761]

Hi There,

Thank you for taking the interest. Yes, I have managed to get weight to my optimal level I think of 12 stone, so since January it's gone from 12St 13lbs, to 12St 0lbs on Saturday monring......12St 3lbs this morning as I indulged in some drinks and food at the weekend, but suspect some is water weight..

I'm certainly still thinking about my weight, but have managed to up my exercise all the time and take the good readings with the bad. My diet is still low carb, and apart from 3 horrible bottles of Budweiser on Saturday, I have kept it low carb throughout. I was only thinking today of having a couple of days of some more moderate carbs for a change, maybe later in the week.

Thats the thing I think we have to get out of the mindset its a low carb diet, its really a change of lifestyle that you have gone for. Typically diets are a fad that may last for a few weeks/ months, until you achieve your goals, this may be to lose weight.

Your idea of having a day or so of moderate carbs is a good thing. Dont feel you have to sacrifice all the bad(good) carbs, just remember to adjust your insuling doese accordingly.

PS drink better beers, Budweiser is dreadful