Type 1 Type 1 and weight gain

[EmlynV]

Hi All,

Over the past year I have completely lost control and have gained an enormous amount of weight. I have also almost doubled my insulin intake.

Does anyone have any advice on how to safely regain control and lose the weight gained?

It’s killing me mentally and need to fix it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Kind regards

 

[Bewildered]

Hi I’m in the same position so watching for advice. Everything I read says it’s insulin that’s causing it doh, but what to do about it. The dietician says any diet will work ‍ Then I’m told to increase the insulin ratio. I’m so miserable! Hopefully we can get some advice on here - I’ve started reading about fasting but not sure about this .

 

[searley]

For me

The only real way to lose weight is through correct diet and exercise

Insulin will force the body to use all the energy from food and and excess gets stored as body fat so the only way to prevent that is reduce the intake

Exercise will help a little as that will help the body use the energy from the food you eat but a fair amount of exercise is needed for small amounts of calories so the best thing is not eat as much in the first place..

I struggle as I'm a comfort eater so when things aren't good out come the food.

The only cure for me is to stay busy.. If my mind is busy I can skip a meal and not even think about it.. But the second i stop and sit down my brain says "food"

So some of it comes down to trying to tackle what's made you loose control.. Whether you tackle it head on.. Of do what I do which is stay so busy you don't have time to think

Once you start to loose a little weight the insulin needs should reduce again.. It may not be easy though as the body gets used to the extra food and as soon as you take it away you body will almost scream for it

Good luck

 

[ert]

The side effect of insulin is weight gain. I put on 20 kg when starting insulin. My specialist wasn't concerned as my BMI ended up at 24. I have worked very hard using calorie counting on myfitnesspal.com, intermittent fasting, and exercise and low carbohydrate (less insulin) and high healthy fat (more calories - so I have to be careful) to get my BMI down to 22 which I'm happier with now. I seem to be able to maintain weight now, but it is a huge effort to lose weight which never was a problem for me before diabetes and insulin.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/insulin-and-weight-gain/art-20047836#:~:text=Weight gain is a common,your overall diabetes management plan.

 

[In Response]

I don't get this myth that the right amount of insulin causes weight gain.
Everyone, including non diabetics, use insulin and we do not all continue to gain weight.
Propogating this myth results in a fear of injecting insulin for vulnerable, newly diagnosed T1s.

Yes, EXCESS insulin which is a result of insulin resistance may cause weight gain.

This may seem pedantic but please be aware how dangerous your inaccuracy can be. Not taking insulin is LETHAL.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi All,

Over the past year I have completely lost control and have gained an enormous amount of weight. I have also almost doubled my insulin intake.

Does anyone have any advice on how to safely regain control and lose the weight gained?

It’s killing me mentally and need to fix it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Kind regards

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

How long have you been diagnosed T1?

 

[EmlynV]

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

How long have you been diagnosed T1?

Thanks, I have been type 1 for about 3 years - I was in full control but then gradually let things slip out of control. It’s a major headache

 

[EllieM]

OK, I have some experience and a lot of sympathy with this topic. I have been T1 since the age of 8, with a T1 mum and (in old age) a T2 dad, so not the greatest of genetic backgrounds.

Given that I am prone to insulin resistance, and am a lot more insulin resistant than I was twenty years ago, I have had to make some decisions. Firstly, my bg comes first. Under no circumstances will I ever try to lose weight by skimping on or skipping insulin. That way lies DKAs, complications and premature death. Insulin is my best friend, it's kept me alive and well for 51 years.

I am currently sitting at overweight but not obese, and in an ideal world would like to lose 15kg. The only thing that seems to stop me from gaining weight is to restrict my carbs, this plus exercise tends to reduce my insulin resistance. (If I also give up alcohol and cheese I probably lose about 1kg a week, but I rarely have the will power to do both at the same time. ) Note that I don't drastically restrict my carbs, probably normally on around 100g a day, but it works for me.

As regards the exercise, I only wish I'd prioritised this at @EmlynV 's age, and not waited till I was in my late 40s. It makes a massive difference to my health and well being, and reduces my insulin needs by a little as an extra bonus. Likewise with the carb restriction, I don't go overboard on this, but do walk my dog every day, plus a couple of sessions a week at the gym (I'm sure they aren't necessary if you've got the will power to take enough exercise at home, but I am naturally sedentary so find a gym work out makes a big difference.)

 

[EllieM]

Over the past year I have completely lost control and have gained an enormous amount of weight. I have also almost doubled my insulin intake.

If you've only been diabetic for 3 years it is possible that the insulin increase is partly due to the ending of your honeymoon period, so I wouldn't necessarily assume this is due to increased insulin resistance. Have you tried talking to your clinic and are you confident to adjust your doses if your insulin needs changing? (eg if you lose weight and/or take more exercise you are quite likely to need to adjust your doses.)