Cutting insulin to help lose weight

[DovGadol]

I'm new to diabetes and to this forum, so please excuse my stupidity.

I had a heart attack and a quadruple heart by-pass two months ago and am trying to take my health a lot more seriously. I have been diagnosed type 2 diabetic for a year or so, but haven't done much about it. After my operation the doctors started me injecting 10 units of Insulatard on top of Metformin twice a day. I decided to go on a low carb weight loss diet and have lost nearly 10kg in 6 weeks. My glucose levels have been between 5-7 for the last few weeks, and so I decided to reduce my insulin to 8 and then to 6 with little effect on my glucose numbers. I am keen to address to diabetes with weight loss. And I understand that insulin does not make it easy to lose weight.

So my question: is to OK progressively to cut back on the Insulatard - if my glucose numbers remain OK - thus to help with the weight loss?

Be very grateful for any wisdom out there. Thanks.

 

[Kristin251]

I am not familiar with insulatard but would think if you're receiving the same blood sugar numbers with less insulin than I can't see why not. However I would not compromise my blood sugars and let them run higher just to cut back on insulin. If I wanted to cut back on insulin I'd cut back on carbs.

I have no idea what kind of diet your GP or cardiologist want you on. Diet and insulin should be discussed with them of course.

Losing weight on insulin need not be hard as long as your diet is right. There are foods that can make us insulin resistant therefore requiring more insulin. For ME those foods are all grains, all dairy, too many nuts ( especially peanuts ), too much protein and saturated fats.
My diet is 80% fat but mostly plant fats like avocado, olive oil, olives, mayonnaise and some macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds or pecans in moderation. I don't eat chicken skin, bacon, fatty sausages, lots of butter etc.
I used to eat a lot more saturated fats and had high cholesterol. Switching to plant fats brought that right down. Carbs clog arteries and raise cholesterol so I stick with only above ground veggies for those.
All that being said, if you find the right diet insulin will not stall weight loss.
Most importantly is to take enough insulin to achieve good blood sugar control.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Your insulin may have been needed to cope with insulin resistance but as weight reduces so will insulin resistance. This should mean less insulin is needed and your diabetes goes towards remission with a bit of luck. The carbs are the issue in all of this and by reducing carbs as you are doing this helps on all fronts, so keep at it. It's not the insulin itself that causes weight gain but the carbs you have with it.