Belly Fat

[rogerkbevan]

I am type two diabetic and have been on insulin for 4 years in the first 18 months of starting insulin I put on over 3 stone having been a consistent 14 stone for many years before, the doctor and nurse warned me of this and even though I kept up my normal exercise regime my weight still spiralled.The last 4 months I have been on quite a strict healthy eating programme and have only lost 14 pounds(about a pound a week) not very encouraging and very hard work but I will continue as I am determined to try and get back to my original weight. Any advice would be greatly received.
However the biggest problem and although I have lost weight is the dreaded "Belly Fat" even at 14 stone I never had this belly fat. Can anyone suggest how I can tackle this problem as it is now becoming an obsession and a concern to me? I have tried sit ups and other forms of exercise but nothing seems to work.Maybe I just have to persevere.
I would be very grateful for any advice.
Regards.
Roger.

 

[bulkbiker]

May we ask what your healthy eating programme is?

 

[Mrsass]

As bulkbiker asks above, if you could share what you are eating that would help,

but also, are you doing cardio? That is what is going to burn fat

Abbie

 

[Sean01]

Hi I can explain why sit ups wont work and why other exercise will.

Doing sit ups will exercise the stomach muscles. It will not get rid of tummy fat. That would be like something we used to call spot reduction - i.e. trying to target fat loss on a particular part of the body. The best thing to do is to burn off calories by using large muscle groups like the legs or back muscles. They do the most work and burn the most calories - so rowing/rowing machine and walking/cycling/running or resistant exercises like squats/leg press. I'm sure everybody is different, but this worked for me.

 

[AndBreathe]

I am type two diabetic and have been on insulin for 4 years in the first 18 months of starting insulin I put on over 3 stone having been a consistent 14 stone for many years before, the doctor and nurse warned me of this and even though I kept up my normal exercise regime my weight still spiralled.The last 4 months I have been on quite a strict healthy eating programme and have only lost 14 pounds(about a pound a week) not very encouraging and very hard work but I will continue as I am determined to try and get back to my original weight. Any advice would be greatly received.
However the biggest problem and although I have lost weight is the dreaded "Belly Fat" even at 14 stone I never had this belly fat. Can anyone suggest how I can tackle this problem as it is now becoming an obsession and a concern to me? I have tried sit ups and other forms of exercise but nothing seems to work.Maybe I just have to persevere.
I would be very grateful for any advice.
Regards.
Roger.

Well done on dropping some weight. From what I read that can be trickier on insulin, for some.

Firstly, may I ask why you went onto insulin? Was it due to an intolerance to other forms of medication, or because you found it increasingly tricky to manage your levels?

In addition to giving us a few clues about what you are eating, it would be useful to under stand roughly how much insulin you are taking each day and whether you are on a mixed insulin, or matching your insulin with what you eat, variably on a meal by meal basis.

I know I ask a lot of questions. I'm good on questions, but the answers are all part of any potential solution.

 

[rogerkbevan]

First, thanks to all who responded. I will try to answer your questions in order.
Breakfast
Mostly Fruit & Greek Yoghurt or Cereal - with Skimmed milk & A little Sweetener -No Sugar
Lunch
Cabbage Soup or Salad & Fish or Fruit
Dinner-6-630pm
3 time s a week Cabbage Soup or Chicken/Prawn Stir Fry with sauce or Mushroom Omelette once a week Steak & Salad
Evening
Dried Fruit & Nuts & fresh fruit.
I am no saint, I will occasionally have a Sandwich at lunch & Cheese & Tomatoes for Supper (my biggest downfall)
Once a Month I will have a Chinese and a Thai Curry/ Occasionally an Ice Cream (I'm an Ice Cream Aholic)
I Play Golf whenever possible (cardio) Its Hilly in Wales some of the Courses are Lung Busting.
I don't go to the gym at the moment I gave it up when I had a shoulder op maybe I will start back again..
I first went on to Insulin by the recommendation of my Doctor (Diabetic Specialist) not because of intolerance but he deemed it to be an asset and would help control my blood sugar, My Doctor (whom I trust) said Insulin is not a dirty word it is there to be beneficial so use it.
I use SoloStar Slow releasing Insulin I started on 40 units over 3 years this rose to 160 units I am now back down to 80 units the last 3 Months and my blood sugar has been consistently good. I do not adjust my insulin to match my meals.
Once again thank you all for your advice.
Roger.

 

[notned]

Hi Roger,
It looks to me that you are a follower of the low fat regime and 'five a day'. And that is 'healthy eating'. The first of those is now totally discredited - indeed some eminent international doctors actually blame the obesity epidemic on the low fat diet. For the second, there is no scientific proof that the 'five a day' do you any good at all. I might as well also throw in the fact that one of our (UK) doctors dismissed excercise as being totally useless in weight loss - although he did say that it was vital for other purposes, heart health and such.

Cereals in the bin. Fruit, berries only, treat an apple or an orange as a treat. Greek yogurt - depends. My favourite is Morrison's Greek Style yogurt but it is loaded with carbs (sugars). I bought two pots this afternoon, just to test my will I'm weakening..

Bread - bin. Grains, bin. Pasta, bin. Rice, bin. Until you find out what you can take.

I was surprised 'AndBreathe' asked her odd question about insulin. She's always seemed fairly sensible previously I was on insulin from diagnosis for a couple of years till I weaned myself off it last July. I read of some of the problems people have with metformin and such and wonder if its worth it. I think they're just frightened of needles As if you can feel them these days.

You say your blood sugars are good. What are your HbA1c's like? What do you get from your meter?

 

[rogerkbevan]

So what is your main diet like, what foods do you eat that would help with weight loss?
My HbA1 Had come down from 68 to 53 (22nd Feb) in 3 months due to my Healthy Eating but the weight loss was very very slow about 14lb's in that period.
My meter readings range from 3-10 in the morning & through the day but peaks after my evening meal at about 14 -16 this when I tend to eat most and have cravings, this very rarely happens during the day?
I am now away for 1 month but thank you all for your comments and advice.
Roger.

 

[AndBreathe]

Do you cabbage soup three times a week in the evenings and lunchtimes too? If so, don't you get bored of it?

I might be inclined to search out snacks other than dried fruit as that tends to be very concentrated sugar. Do you test after dried fruit or just after meals?

Where are you off to for your month away?

 

[rogerkbevan]

Sorry don't know your name.
Actually I know it sounds horrible but I was surprised how lovely it is, I eat about 10 bowls a week I get fed up of looking at it but when I start eating it the soup redeems itself.
I only test my sugar levels in the morning and evening.
1 week in London, 2 weeks in Florida and the a further week in London before I return to South Wales.
Regards. Roger.

 

[notned]

Oh! You're Welsh. That explains the cabbage soup

Her name is 'AndBreathe' as far as you and I are concerned 'rogerkbevan' and mine is 'notned'. Your handle is 'rogerkbevan' but for all I know you could actually be Fiona Simpleton-Smythe and I should be ignoring you 'AndBreathe' is one of the highly respected members of this forum (hence the smiley after my previous mention of her), so just watch it sonny.

I told you above what I don't eat - when I'm being good - so I eat just about anything else. When I'm not being good I may have fish and chips from the local chippy. I measure 80 grams of chips out and the Starlings in the back garden have the rest plus the batter from the fish - they love Thursdays.

You really need to do some reading, as the rest of us have had to. It's not for me, or anyone else, to lead you down a particular path because what suits one of us may not suit another. I admit to being LCHF (look it up) but I recognise that that solution may not work for everyone.

When I took my situation firmly in hand I lost 10 kilos in a little over a year. A blood test of 3 is a crash to me - and yes, I get some down there. Anything above 8 scares me almost to death. And yes I get some of those too. I keep them fairly tight always aiming for 5.5-6.5.

If you are a driver, on insulin you must have HbA1c tests. Record them - you might not need them now but you probably will at some point. Testing twice a day is not really enough to get a picture of what you eat does to your blood sugar. My diabetes nurse set me up as before every meal and at bedtime, right at the start. Some on this forum test before and 2 hours after each meal - I don't have that many fingers.

I'm trying to attach a jpg showing the effect of chemo on my blood glucose. Started a new. more accurate meter late on 5th Feb. First chemo was 11th Feb..