Help I can’t lose weight

Key_master_

Well-Known Member
Messages
223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Ok so novarapid won’t work like humulin... wonder if diabetic nurse will try stop me doing keto... I really want to...
Novorapid will work,you just have to split the dose. Because it works so quickly you may also get hypos before it’s even got to the protein digesting. In fact you may find it’s run it’s course before your body has even started to digest the protein. That’s the spike that was mentioned before by **shell**

There really is no need to go Keto.. just eat the fat that comes naturally with the protein in meals. Keto means stripping back almost all of the carbs from your meals. We need the carbs we have to provide all our vitamins and minerals. If you follow dr Bernstein’s method there is no need for going Keto to loose weight. If you get Keto wrong and end up starving yourself you’ll not only loose body fat very quickly but your muscle. I’ve heard dr b say a number of times once you’ve lost both body fat and muscle through starving yourself which some do if Keto is done wrong then it’s really hard to build up the muscle you lost and it tends to be replaced rapidly by fat.
 

LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,233
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.
I would be so afraid to inject without rice potatoe or pasta... I would not know what to take for a salad... feel so clueless and lost I’m in so much pain after my surgery I’d feel better if I could keep bloods stable I can’t even do that but I would if I just knew the right thing to eat I thought I was doing well... I thought insulin was for carbs.... thanks so much for trying to help me

Just a quick note - you have already had loads of good advice.

Insulin takes glucose out of the blood, and stores it in the liver and muscles. However there is only a small amount that can be stored there, so any extra is stored as fat.

So if you eat a lot of carbohydrates, you generally have to take a lot of insulin and that in turn stores any extra glucose as fat.
 

sarahm723

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi, I’m type one as well and have recently adopted a low carb/keto diet to normalise my blood sugar, I’ve reduced my HbA1c from 89 to 50 in three months doing this. I’ve also reduced my insulin, from 36 units of background a day to 18. I take a unit of Novorapid in the morning to counter dawn phenomenon, but rarely need to take any with meals. Keto,is a little trickier for me as I don’t eat meat, poultry or cow dairy, but I’m doing well on it - I saw my dietician yesterday and she says I’ve got a really healthy diet.

Here’s some examples of meals I eat:

Breakfasts: avocado with a tbsp each of mayonnaise and peanut butter; two boiled eggs with a Lidl high protein roll; mushroom omelette; smoked salmon & scrambled egg; mushrooms and asparagus fried in goat’s butter; eggy “bread” made using a slab of aubergine dipped in egg and fried; sometimes I’m not hungry and just have a bulletproof coffee (black coffee with a tablespoon of butter or coconut oil blitzed into it with a blender).

Lunches: often I’m not hungry after a breakfast like the above, so don’t bother! But when I do, it could be any of the breakfast things; a sardine toastie using LivLife low carb sliced bread; a plate of olives, cheese, artichokes, salad; roasted cauliflower hummus with keto crackers (lots of recipes for bread replacements on www.dietdoctor.com); above ground veg stir fried in coconut oil with soy sauce; avocado and king prawns with mayonnaise... sometimes I’ll have a portion of whatever I cooked the night before if there’s any left.

Dinners: hard to know where to start. Lunch things plus “proper” cooked meals. You can get low carb versions of pasta, noodles etc, and I regularly use cauliflower and celeriac rice in place of the usual stuff. But as rice and pasta are really just cheap fillers for a good sauce, I like to not bother and just have more of the interesting part :D I make a lot of curry, as my whole family loves it. I can start dishes off together, then split it and add extra fat for me, and meat and pulses etc for my menfolk. I often make roasted tandoori baby cauliflower, it’s my new favourite thing!

I usually make extra portions for the freezer so that on days where I can’t be bothered or am too busy to cook, I’ve got a portion of something quick that I can microwave - I usually write the number of carbs on the tub to make it easy to work out if and how much insulin I might need with it.

Tonight I’m having tofu fried in coconut oil until crispy, with some stir fried bean sprouts and a liberal dollop of kebab chilli&garlic sauce, which gives it a good kick without any carbs. I’ll have that with egg fried cauliflower rice.

Obviously you can add meat to all the above if you eat it! I’ve found that more satisfying meals tend to have reduced in size over the last few weeks because I don’t want to eat so much, which means my stomach has shrunk too. I’ve lost about half a stone since starting two months ago.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for such detailed msg , I get so confused if I buy his book I suppose il get food lists on it ? It baffles me not to take insulin during the day if not want to... god I wish I had it all sussed it’s very hard to get the hang of
 

sarahm723

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Novorapid will work,you just have to split the dose. Because it works so quickly you may also get hypos before it’s even got to the protein digesting. In fact you may find it’s run it’s course before your body has even started to digest the protein. That’s the spike that was mentioned before by **shell**

There really is no need to go Keto.. just eat the fat that comes naturally with the protein in meals. Keto means stripping back almost all of the carbs from your meals. We need the carbs we have to provide all our vitamins and minerals. If you follow dr Bernstein’s method there is no need for going Keto to loose weight. If you get Keto wrong and end up starving yourself you’ll not only loose body fat very quickly but your muscle. I’ve heard dr b say a number of times once you’ve lost both body fat and muscle through starving yourself which some do if Keto is done wrong then it’s really hard to build up the muscle you lost and it tends to be replaced rapidly by fat.

Sorry I didn’t mean to say keto I mean dr Bernstein’s diet I thought that was keto sorry .. I don’t know wfat are carb foods I just thought it was pasta rice and potatoes should I just buy his book for food lists
 

sarahm723

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Just a quick note - you have already had loads of good advice.

Insulin takes glucose out of the blood, and stores it in the liver and muscles. However there is only a small amount that can be stored there, so any extra is stored as fat.

So if you eat a lot of carbohydrates, you generally have to take a lot of insulin and that in turn stores any extra glucose as fat.

Really ? God .. so much knowledge .. thanks.. I feel so clueless And confused don’t know where to start .... knowledge is power ... I feel powerless so much info but not a clue
 

LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
There’s pretty much at you need to know on this page, it’s fab.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

Recipes, what to eat, what not to eat, videos, all sorts. It’s written in a very easy to understand way, with lots of really nice pictures. Dr Bernstein’s book is very good, but pretty heavy going, and very much geared to the American healthcare system, including different units for blood sugars. His diet is great, but has more protein than keto - when you eat very low carb, the liver can create glucose from protein, and many of us find we need to take about half as much insulin for the grams of protein as we do for carbs. There’s a fair bit to get your head around, but we’re all happy to talk about it here :)
 

Key_master_

Well-Known Member
Messages
223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Sorry I didn’t mean to say keto I mean dr Bernstein’s diet I thought that was keto sorry .. I don’t know wfat are carb foods I just thought it was pasta rice and potatoes should I just buy his book for food lists
I have his food list on my it won’t diabeat us page. There’s also ideas for meals plans and recipes.

In fact I’ll post it here. It’s more of a U.K. version of dr b’s.. (it’s nice and long)

Food list


Here is a list of foods that will have little impact on your blood glucose level. One very simple rule to go by is to eat whole foods wherever you can, Completley avoid any vegetables that come from beneath the ground as these are all high in starch and quick acting carbohydrates. Pasta, bread, rice and baked goods that are made using refined grains should also be avoided these contain nothing but quick acting carbohydrates that will impact hugely on your blood glucose levels. Its very simple once you get your head around it and life becomes a breeze instead of a chore. It’s so uplifting when my blood sugars are nice and stable instead of being all over the place. I certainly don’t miss those disappointing high blood sugars anymore that make you upset and feel defeated. Here’s a list of foods that are good for us, contain all our nutritional needs and will have a far less impact on your blood sugars.

Lets start with Vegetables

Artichoke Hearts, Asparagus, Bamboo Shoots, Beet Greens, Bell peppers, Bok Choy, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Collard Greens, Celeriac, Daikon, Radish, Dandelion Greens, Eggplant, Endive, Escarole, Hearts of Palm, Kohlrabi, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Patty Pan Squash, Pumpkin, Radicchio, Rhubarb, Sauerkraut, Scallions, Snow Peas, String Beans, Spinach, Kale, Summer Squash, Turnip Greens, Turnips, Watercress, Water Chestnuts, Zucchini (courgette) and Zucchini Flowers.

Salad Stuff

Cucumber, Lettuce (any type), Bell Peppers, Cress, Rocket, Water Cress and Walnuts

Sources of protein

Beef :- in any form (just be careful with burgers and ground beef as sometimes manufacturers add extra carbohydrates to them in processing.

Chicken :- again any form, just be careful of processed options like breaded or batter covered products as they have loads of excess carbs. So many herbs and spices you can coat or add to your chicken dishes with zero carbs in.

Eggs :- invaluable source of protein and add an extra feeling of fullness to your meals, so versatile as well. Never have too many eggs in your pantry. omelette for breakfast is a massive hit with me, you can add mushrooms, peppers or any veg of the above list, will keep hunger locked up till lunch.

Pork :- Again all forms, just watch out when on the hunt for sausages as these can be loaded with added naughties like dextrose, Flour and breadcrumbs to bulk them out. always look for the highest meat content possible. Also sweet cured bacon and gammon should be a no brainer as well. smoked is perfectly fine and by far my favourite.

Cheese :- Go for hard cheese like cheddar and edam over softer cheeses you’ll be surprised just how much protein there is in cheese 30g per 100g is on par with chicken.

Alpro No added sugar Yogurt :- Not massive on the protein content but does make a nice change from omelette sometimes and with nuts and seeds added you soon boost its protein content.

Seeds :- Hemp, chia are my seeds of choice when packed full of protein, healthy fats and minerals.

Nuts :- Brazil, Hazelnut and walnuts make and excellent alternative to a breakfast cereal my special yogurt, nut and seed recipes is in the recipe section. Its packed full of goodness and loaded with steady release energy. so easy to make and tastes out of this world.

Fats :-Coconut oil is lovely to cook and bake with, I use it in my stir fry instead of sesame seed oil or supermarket brought stir fry oils. cooks food really nicely adds lovely flavour and leaves a smoothness to your dish that is delicious.

Butter :- Yes you read correctly, no artificial spreads in my household, i mean if a fly won’t even go near them then why should we. i use butter to grease my pan for my omelette, use it on my low carb savoury scones, in cake recipes and also in my no sugar butter icing.

Fresh Cream :- For hot drinks instead of milk. Great news for all you coffee lovers, creamy coffee is my favourite (decaf of course). Its even lovely in tea as well, I’m an avid tea drinker again decaf for me though.

Flour Alternatives :- Really need a mention here also, i use almond flour to bake with, I’ve made all kinds of sugar free cakes now. one of my favourites is no added sugar whatsoever Red Velvet cake, it has the most tasty cream cheese frosting on top its so delicious. Also I’ve mastered muffins and savoury scones, The last two come in really handy if you don’t fancy a decent sized salad at lunch and need to find a few grams of carbs. All recipes can be found in the recipe section on here.
 

Key_master_

Well-Known Member
Messages
223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Another good thing about this lifestyle is there is no waste. You cook what your going to eat with no wasted portions. It also saves you loads of money too, which is another pleasant surprise. Talking roughly £25 a week to eat fresh, healthy and wholesome foods.
 

sarahm723

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I have his food list on my it won’t diabeat us page. There’s also ideas for meals plans and recipes.

In fact I’ll post it here. It’s more of a U.K. version of dr b’s.. (it’s nice and long)

Food list


Here is a list of foods that will have little impact on your blood glucose level. One very simple rule to go by is to eat whole foods wherever you can, Completley avoid any vegetables that come from beneath the ground as these are all high in starch and quick acting carbohydrates. Pasta, bread, rice and baked goods that are made using refined grains should also be avoided these contain nothing but quick acting carbohydrates that will impact hugely on your blood glucose levels. Its very simple once you get your head around it and life becomes a breeze instead of a chore. It’s so uplifting when my blood sugars are nice and stable instead of being all over the place. I certainly don’t miss those disappointing high blood sugars anymore that make you upset and feel defeated. Here’s a list of foods that are good for us, contain all our nutritional needs and will have a far less impact on your blood sugars.

Lets start with Vegetables

Artichoke Hearts, Asparagus, Bamboo Shoots, Beet Greens, Bell peppers, Bok Choy, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Collard Greens, Celeriac, Daikon, Radish, Dandelion Greens, Eggplant, Endive, Escarole, Hearts of Palm, Kohlrabi, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Patty Pan Squash, Pumpkin, Radicchio, Rhubarb, Sauerkraut, Scallions, Snow Peas, String Beans, Spinach, Kale, Summer Squash, Turnip Greens, Turnips, Watercress, Water Chestnuts, Zucchini (courgette) and Zucchini Flowers.

Salad Stuff

Cucumber, Lettuce (any type), Bell Peppers, Cress, Rocket, Water Cress and Walnuts

Sources of protein

Beef :- in any form (just be careful with burgers and ground beef as sometimes manufacturers add extra carbohydrates to them in processing.

Chicken :- again any form, just be careful of processed options like breaded or batter covered products as they have loads of excess carbs. So many herbs and spices you can coat or add to your chicken dishes with zero carbs in.

Eggs :- invaluable source of protein and add an extra feeling of fullness to your meals, so versatile as well. Never have too many eggs in your pantry. omelette for breakfast is a massive hit with me, you can add mushrooms, peppers or any veg of the above list, will keep hunger locked up till lunch.

Pork :- Again all forms, just watch out when on the hunt for sausages as these can be loaded with added naughties like dextrose, Flour and breadcrumbs to bulk them out. always look for the highest meat content possible. Also sweet cured bacon and gammon should be a no brainer as well. smoked is perfectly fine and by far my favourite.

Cheese :- Go for hard cheese like cheddar and edam over softer cheeses you’ll be surprised just how much protein there is in cheese 30g per 100g is on par with chicken.

Alpro No added sugar Yogurt :- Not massive on the protein content but does make a nice change from omelette sometimes and with nuts and seeds added you soon boost its protein content.

Seeds :- Hemp, chia are my seeds of choice when packed full of protein, healthy fats and minerals.

Nuts :- Brazil, Hazelnut and walnuts make and excellent alternative to a breakfast cereal my special yogurt, nut and seed recipes is in the recipe section. Its packed full of goodness and loaded with steady release energy. so easy to make and tastes out of this world.

Fats :-Coconut oil is lovely to cook and bake with, I use it in my stir fry instead of sesame seed oil or supermarket brought stir fry oils. cooks food really nicely adds lovely flavour and leaves a smoothness to your dish that is delicious.

Butter :- Yes you read correctly, no artificial spreads in my household, i mean if a fly won’t even go near them then why should we. i use butter to grease my pan for my omelette, use it on my low carb savoury scones, in cake recipes and also in my no sugar butter icing.

Fresh Cream :- For hot drinks instead of milk. Great news for all you coffee lovers, creamy coffee is my favourite (decaf of course). Its even lovely in tea as well, I’m an avid tea drinker again decaf for me though.

Flour Alternatives :- Really need a mention here also, i use almond flour to bake with, I’ve made all kinds of sugar free cakes now. one of my favourites is no added sugar whatsoever Red Velvet cake, it has the most tasty cream cheese frosting on top its so delicious. Also I’ve mastered muffins and savoury scones, The last two come in really handy if you don’t fancy a decent sized salad at lunch and need to find a few grams of carbs. All recipes can be found in the recipe section on here.

Wow your so giving of your time to help me this has helped me so so so much I can not thankyou enough . Have you a page with recipes and stuff... I’m not sure I have the hang of this app as in Iv nener been on anyone’s page on this app . And you don’t have fruit ? Can I ask what you do if you are low ?
 

Key_master_

Well-Known Member
Messages
223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
It reslly is no trouble at all, everybody is the same on here. All a bunch of helpful peeps helping others to thrive as we have.

I use the forum via safari on my browser rather than the app. It’s a lot easier..

Here’s a link to the page. https://itwontdiabeatus.wordpress.com/
(There’s a savoury and sweet recipe section and also ideas for meals)

I just use dextros tablets when I’m low. There 2 for a £1 from Sainsbury’s and home bargain. No brainer for me. So convenient to carry as well. Others use liquid glucose but it’s harder to dose unlsss you pre measure before.

When you start reducing your insulin to suit this lifestyle, hypos become lesser, you will slightly bounce a little low but dextros gets you back there. Depending on the circumstances around the hypo I.e exercising, skipping a meal or just not getting enough food you may need more or find a very small protein snack is also needed.
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
If it is any help - though I am a type two needing only diet control, the diet is exactly the same foods and to start off with was exactly the same amounts as the weight controlling Atkins diet I followed whenever I could get away with it for decades - I started in the early 1970s - but HCPs have always reacted madly whenever they found out. Whenever I could get back to eating low carb my weight dropped dramatically - I tried 20 gm of carb a day and lost 3Kg in 3 days, so I didn't try that again.
At the moment you are doing exactly what I was told to do - eat plenty of carbs from starchy foods - I got up to 264lb on a cholesterol reducing diet before I was diagnosed.
Many low fat products have carbs added to make them palatable, even though there are essential fats, but no essential carbs - we are being fattened up like farmyard animals, on the same sort of diet. It is a bit worrying....
 

JoeT1

Well-Known Member
Messages
277
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
About 8 weeks ago I started ultra low carb (or keto), I started off at the same weight as you. Now, I haven't pushed myself to the limit with excersice, but I do a bit. Getting 10-15,000 steps nearly every day and a little weight/gym work, basic push ups, dumbells etc.

I now have knocked off 8lbs and will probably take off another 2-5lbs for comfort. I started at the same weight as you. My insulin needs have dropped, although last couple weeks have gone back up slightly. It's easier to control BG's when I eat this way. I also fast from about 8/8.30pm until about 12.45pm the next day, something I will be changing soon as fasting isn't suiting me really.

Find what works for you.
 

NicoleC1971

BANNED
Messages
3,451
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
You may find going very low carb too quickly will be tricky as your body adjusts from burning glucose from starchy carbs to living more off fat (your own personal store or the fat that you eat). You may well find you lose lots of weight initially because your body does not need to retain so much water to process carbs but also that you feel a bit off (termed the keto flu). It would be a shame to dive into a radical change then feel as if you've failed because it was too much.
Very low carb (Dr. Bernstein allows 18g I think) is not generally supported by the mainstream NHS. If you mention keto they may appear alarmed because they associate it with ketoacidosis (where your insulin is inasquate and your blood glucose and ketone bodies are high) which is very dangerous. I would use the term 'nutritional ketosis' which describes the fat burning state mentioned above and where the ketones are 0.5-3.5 rather than sky high with sky high bgs!
There are some really good suggestions on this thread about how to adapt slowly e.g. start with an easy to swap out meal and keep a close eye on your basal and bolus dosing.
 

LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
Wow your so giving of your time to help me this has helped me so so so much I can not thankyou enough . Have you a page with recipes and stuff... I’m not sure I have the hang of this app as in Iv nener been on anyone’s page on this app . And you don’t have fruit ? Can I ask what you do if you are low ?
Most of us will bang on about the wonders of low carb and keto until the cows come home :D

Here’s some good links with recipes and guidelines:

https://www.ruled.me/ketogenic-diet-food-list/
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes
https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/
 

LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
Thanks so much . Wonder will the doctor let me change to humilin than novarapid
If Novorapid isn’t working for you, then it’s a good idea to discuss a change. Most doctors are pretty open to getting the regime right for you, I’ve found. I’ve just swapped my basal insulin at my request.
 

sarahm723

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 1
If it is any help - though I am a type two needing only diet control, the diet is exactly the same foods and to start off with was exactly the same amounts as the weight controlling Atkins diet I followed whenever I could get away with it for decades - I started in the early 1970s - but HCPs have always reacted madly whenever they found out. Whenever I could get back to eating low carb my weight dropped dramatically - I tried 20 gm of carb a day and lost 3Kg in 3 days, so I didn't try that again.
At the moment you are doing exactly what I was told to do - eat plenty of carbs from starchy foods - I got up to 264lb on a cholesterol reducing diet before I was diagnosed.
Many low fat products have carbs added to make them palatable, even though there are essential fats, but no essential carbs - we are being fattened up like farmyard animals, on the same sort of diet. It is a bit worrying....

I totally agree my weight just going up up up it’s so depressing ... all these carbs just seem to be the enemy
 

LooperCat

Expert
Messages
5,223
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
@sarahm723 For pretty much the entire 20 years since my type 1 diagnosis, I have followed the NHS guidelines on diet - low fat, lots of fruit & vegetables and around 50% of calories to come from carbohydrate, while failing to lose the weight I was told I must.

And for those 20 years I have got fatter and fatter, needing larger and larger doses of insulin. Huge swings in my blood sugars, feeling constantly hungry, feeling terrible. I felt like I was feeding my insulin the whole time, always one step behind. I’d eat a healthy meal based on the EatWell plate and be starving within an hour - this food just wasn’t satisfying me.

I had to try something new.
 

sarahm723

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 1
@sarahm723 For pretty much the entire 20 years since my type 1 diagnosis, I have followed the NHS guidelines on diet - low fat, lots of fruit & vegetables and around 50% of calories to come from carbohydrate, while failing to lose the weight I was told I must.

And for those 20 years I have got fatter and fatter, needing larger and larger doses of insulin. Huge swings in my blood sugars, feeling constantly hungry, feeling terrible. I felt like I was feeding my insulin the whole time, always one step behind. I’d eat a healthy meal based on the EatWell plate and be starving within an hour - this food just wasn’t satisfying me.

I had to try something new.

You left me hanging there ha appease tell me what you decided to do :) thanks
 

badmedisin

Well-Known Member
Messages
247
I take insulin for carbs ? I mean I can’t take insulin without carbs I could not cut out carbs altogether ??? Am I wrong about this people ..
Thanks for trying to help


You still need insulin if you don't eat carbs. In fact you still need insulin if you don't eat anything (ref. my food poisoning causing ketoacidosis before I knew that...). You'll just need less of it.