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Blood is too well controlled? Getting fat?

M

Medina27

Well-Known Member
Messages
85
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I know this might sound crazy but with my blood so well controlled I'm starting to get negatives like weight gain and in particular Abdominal Obesity (or beer belly) -probably as a side of effect of healthy control and so much insulin in the blood

I'm worried if this carries on I might develop Insulin Resistance and other problems that are strongly connected to a growing waistline. Mine is 37 inches (clinically overweight)

It seems logical to me, to cut down on the insulin amount, let my blood sugar climb SLIGHTLY for a while, losing a bit of the visceral fat (along with diet and exercise of course) in the process

Or am I totally insane?
 
Can you explain why you think good control leads to weight gain?
It has never been a problem for me.
Excess insulin can lead to weight gain which is what is seen by people with type 2. With Type 1, we do not have excess insulin - we should be replicating the same levels as someone without diabetes.

I would look to other reasons such increasing exercise or reducing portion size.
 
I would reduce carbs slightly so that you need a little less insulin. That way you can hopefully stop gaining weight whilst still maintaining brilliant control.
 
zand said:
I would reduce carbs slightly so that you need a little less insulin. That way you can hopefully stop gaining weight whilst still maintaining brilliant control.
Click to expand...
Why?
As @Medina27 has Type 1, insulin resistance/excess insulin is not a problem.

If you are suggesting reducing carbs as a way to reduce what is eaten, fine but there is no reason to reduce insulin unless you experience insulin resistance.

Sorry @zand I do not mean to focus this on you.
There has been a problem amongst people with Type 1 diabetes being distracted by the very different condition which is type 2 because it is more common.
The usual reason for someone with Type 1 to eat a low carb diet is because they are experiencing problems with blood sugar management which is not what Medina has said.
 

Hi,

Looks like you were diagnosed a little over a year ago? Your earlier posts suggest your HCPs weren't too sure.

What diabetes meds are you currently prescribed?
 
Yes to reduce what is eaten. Carbs are often the least beneficial of the food groups as most junk foods are carb laden so it makes sense to reduce those and then probably insulin needs will be less.
I should have known better than to answer a T1 thread. It won't happen again.

Edit: there was a T1 poster on here years ago who was told by his DN that his control was too good (I guess she feared he may be getting hypos). Unfortunately he listened to her and relaxed control a bit. He never regained that great control again, which is why I was suggesting to tweak the diet to lose weight, along with any necessary insulin reduction to match the change in diet, rather than adjusting solely the insulin)
 
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Hi @Medina27 , Have you NOT been so active, as in exercise because of Covid and do you drink alcohol ie beer as that has a lot of carbs in it, hence men and beer bellies. Or are you on any new medication, does the larger girth run in your family ? I have put on a few pounds, don't know how many, because some of my jeans are quite tight, so I am trying to do more exercise. I have found the lock down's difficult as my get and go just wan't the same anymore.
Edited, how long have you been diagnosed, when I started to take Insulin the weight went on, obviously because I was ill before and down to 7st 1, but it soon sett;ed down.
 
Medina27 said:
It seems logical to me, to cut down on the insulin amount, let my blood sugar climb SLIGHTLY for a while,
Click to expand...

On this one; If you happened to be losing or lost hypo awairness, this could help regain the warning symptoms.
This "stratagem" is not a healthy way if it's regarding weight..
 
I think @zand has a good point. Insulin is the hormone you need to store energy as fat. This goes for non-diabetics, T1's and T2's. So by eating a bit less carbs you'd need a bit less insulin, just like non-diabetics. And they can lose weight by eating fewer carbs, so why not T1's?

Another thing is that many T1's gain some weight when things are settling with insulin, so you might have that going on as well. At 32 you are of the age many people start to develop a bit of a 'dad bod'. Who knows, it may have nothing to do with your insulin, it might have happened anyway.
Medina27 said:
It seems logical to me, to cut down on the insulin amount, let my blood sugar climb SLIGHTLY for a while, losing a bit of the visceral fat (along with diet and exercise of course) in the process

Or am I totally insane?
Click to expand...
Don't.
 
Have you thought of cutting your need for insulin by eating less carbohydrate? Or by adding some extra muscle?
Last thing to do would be to drop insulin and let blood sugars rise as you will not feel good and its not a long term solution but I am guessing you knew that.
If you cut carbs you can eat more fat and protein btw.
 
I believe it is factually incorrect to suggest type 1s can't get insulin resistance which isn't to say this is what the OP has. Its on a spectrum and as we lose muscle or eat a little more rubbish than normal (ageing and Christmas plus lack of gyms) then the body is good at storing extra glucose as fat if the muscles can't use the energy at once.
It is a thing but doesn't get talked about for fear of diabulimia etc. or perhaps because clinicians are obsessed with blood sugars. It is called Double diabetes. Having a waist line over 35 inches is a watch out for IR and if anyone is getting a bit of a dad bod /beer belly that doesn't mean it is healthy even if it is normal these days!
 
Genuine question. Educate me please if I’m wrong. If it possible for a non diabetic to become insulin resistant (and maybe ultimately type 2) and gain belly fat in the face of a lot of carbs and therefore insulin is it not possible it can also happen to a type 1 who is imitating a non diabetic insulin response albeit with exogenous insulin. Isn’t that what they call double diabetes? In which case addressing the insulin resistance element of the problem the same way as other insulin resistant people (eg type 2) would make sense wouldn’t it?
 
Insulin Resistance can certainly happen in Type 1's. I think they call it "double diabetes", which is what I'm afraid of. Think about it... if my blood is perfect, then technically I like a normal person and susceptible to everything normal people are susceptible to.

In fact I already have Acanthosis Nigricans (dark armpits) which is associated with Insulin Resistance. And my wasitline is getting bigger, which is another bad sign

Thanks for the advice though everyone. I think the sensible thing to do is lower my carbs so that I can lower my insulin and avoid further problems
 
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Hi,

Here's wishing you the very best of luck with your goal. But never at the expense of your BGs.
I believe "skin tags" are another sign of possible insulin resistance.

Keep us posted.
 

Shouldn't be a massive influence either way, it could be that you are over injecting basal or bolus, leading to you eating more to correct lower BG.

If anything i find with good control, my weight stays pretty much exactly the same. I do exercise a lot though, which to me really is key to getting good BG control, it's also an excellent way to maintain good insulin sensitivity (in the short term anyway!).
 
Gonna drop this info here in case anyone runs into the same problem



https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-and-weight-loss-type1.html

Less insulin intake, improved weight management

A good rule of thumb is that the more units of insulin you take per day, the more likely you are to put on weight.

Say Jill and Michelle are roughly the same height and both have type 1 diabetes. Jill is taking 50 units per day and Michelle is taking 100 units per day. Generally speaking, it’s more likely that Jill will be finding it easier to manage her weight than Michelle.

So, if you’re looking to lose weight, one way to achieve this is to modify your diet, or eating habits, so that you take less insulin whilst maintaining good blood control.

Warning note: We need to make an important safety note that reducing your insulin whilst letting glucose levels go high for long periods of time is not a good idea at all. Doing this will lead to a much greater risk of very serious health problems such as retinopathy, neuropathy and kidney disease.

Reducing insulin intake safely
There are a number of ways insulin intake can be reduced in a safe way:

  • Lower your carbohydrate intake
  • Lower your protein intake -if you eat a lot of protein
  • Increase physical activity
  • Reduce snacking
​
 

Have you taken into consideration seasonal weight change? I’m sure it doesn’t happen to everywhere but I tend to gain a few kilograms during the winter and lose more during the summer months.

I’m sure that as type 1 diabetics we are generally eating lower carbs than an average person so I don’t see the necessity to cut your carbs so drastically as suggested by others. Most type 1s I know think 3 times before eating a donut whereas non-diabetics don’t care.

Do not avoid taking your insulin, it sounds like you’re borderline approaching diabetic mental health issues like diabulimia which is dangerous and deadly. If your BMI is over a certain threshold your HCP can prescribe you different medication to reduce your weight, these may be GLP-1 agonists or SGLT inhibitors both of which also help with blood glucose managent.

Your goals for 2021 should be to:
-Start a regular exercise program (doesn’t need to be hardcore gym training - a 30 minute jog a day is good)
-Try to avoid empty carbs, these include stuff like candy, snacks, sugary drinks (only have them as a treat max 1-2 times a week)
-At the end of the day your body doesn’t care about carbs, proteins or fats = it’s all about the calories so try a reduced calorie diet with the help of a diabetic dietitian. Depending on intensity of weightloss needed you could do a 1200, 1500, 1800, 2000 calorie diets.
- Don’t blame good control for weight gain. You could easily lose more weight by eating a low calorie diet than by not taking insulin so you pee the glucose out
 
Medina27 said:
I think the sensible thing to do is lower my carbs so that I can lower my insulin and avoid further problems
Click to expand...

Have you ever looked into the work of Cyrus and Robby, over at MasteringDiabetes? Both of them are T1 and have had unexpectedly positive results, following a very counter-intuitive protocol. They're now helping a lot of folks do achieve the same.
Ain't gonna be for everyone (It'd probably be the last thing you'd be interested in considering). However, if you end up hitting a brick-wall with your current plan, at least there might be another option.

Here are some testimonials (Hit "Load More", to read more). A few T1 examples, in there:

https://www.masteringdiabetes.org/case-studies/
 
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