Getting to a 'healthy' weight....

It's difficult to lose weight, I agree. The things that worked for me were absolute control on calorie intake with less than 30g carbs per day, cutting dairy completely and specific Macronutrient levels, gym was purely weight based total body workouts, mostly based off German Body Composition training, three times per week, and completely cut out alcohol.

These together lost me two stone in about three months.

The only way to do it though is to be dedicated to it and see it as a challenge. As soon as you break form, the weight loss stops.

BethTwydall said:

Just wanted to ask for some help and advice I've been t1 for about 13 years, control as a teenager was awful but in the last 3 years I've really worked hard at it and my last hba1c was 57 which I know isn't perfect but is much improved to what it was. I'm due my next blood test tomorrow so will see how that's doing.
One thing that I struggle with, and I know a lot of Type 1s do, is loosing weight. My current weight is around 80kg and I'm 5'8. This gives me a BMI of 27 and the doc wants me to get it down to a healthy number. I was always a heathy weight as a teenager and ballooned when I got to about 17, hormones, unstable blood sugar, partying..... It took its toll! I feel like I have lost weight and got fitter but in the past 6 months I have really pushed my eating and exercise. I walk most mornings before breakfast for 30 minutes, yoga once a week, kettlecise once a week and gym 2/3 times a week. My diet is low carb and good whole food, organic where possible. I cook everything from scratch.
I just can't help feel a little disheartened at the progress, I can feel myself getting fitter and slightly toning up but it feels very, very slow. I know the most important thing is to keep blood sugars good, so watch them really closely especially when I'm exercising. Does anyone have any more advice on what I can do, just trying to keep my motervation going and keep positive I guess!

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It's great you're doing so much exercise - if that's what you like doing, - but maybe don't count on exercise for weight loss. You don't say how many carbs you're eating, but reducing carbs a bit further (if there's room for reduction) would help your weight loss. I''m 5'8 and was 80kg ish about 18 months ago. I'm now just below 65kg and it has been done by strict low carbing. When I started on this diet, I assumed it would be hard work, but it just hasn't been. Giving up the carbs was the key to feeling much better quite quickly. Good luck with your weight loss journey. It will happen.

BethTwydall said:

I really do enjoy exercise and it helps me control the diabetes better definitely. I've just looked through my meter and worked out today I've had 55g carbs plus dinner so total will be around 70g today. I think I will try and keep it under 50g. I have a 15g snack before I got to the gym, and 15g after, almond milk with hemp powder and a banana whizzed up, should I count this in the 50g?

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Absolutely. Count everything, including the carbs in vegetables..

I saw a motivational weight loss poster the other day that perfectly describes my thoughts: “Anyone can work out for an hour but to control what goes on your plate the other 23 hours….that’s hard work.” Don't get me wrong, I love being in the weight room, but it's only a small part of trying to gain/lose weight.

I focus on three main things when I'm trying to gain/lose healthy weight: calories, insulin, and fitness/activity levels.

For me: 90% of the weight loss equation is calories/insulin while only 10% is fitness/activity.

Calories- means more calories out than in. "Calories out" means more than just "burning" calories. That's why ketogenic diets are often so effective. Instead of (just) decreasing calories in, you're also increasing calories out (ketones).

Insulin- insulin and weight gain are positively correlated which means less insulin ultimately will lead to weight loss. HOWEVER!! This should be done in a safe and healthy way. Diabulimia is a very real disorder and it is incredibly dangerous.

Exercise- again, it's only a small part of the equation. I'm a firm believer that heavy weight lifting is the most valueable exercise with respect to healthy weight loss and/or healthy weight gain. When your goal is weight loss, heavy weight lifting helps retain lean mass (muscle). It also increases your metabolism long after you're done working out (unlike cardio). Don't get me wrong, cardio is great for overall health, but I believe there are more effective exercise approaches when strictly discussing weight loss.

EDIT- I lost around 60 pounds and got down to about 10-12% bodyfat in a little under 3 months.

BethTwydall said:

I really do enjoy exercise and it helps me control the diabetes better definitely. I've just looked through my meter and worked out today I've had 55g carbs plus dinner so total will be around 70g today. I think I will try and keep it under 50g. I have a 15g snack before I got to the gym, and 15g after, almond milk with hemp powder and a banana whizzed up, should I count this in the 50g?

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You don't have to go as low as <50g if you don't want to.

I lost over 2 stone a few years ago just by reducing the food I ate, stopped snacking between meals and cut out supper altogether so sticking to 3 meals a day, also upped my exercise (walking & cycling), my carb intake at the time was around 120g a day.

Must add though, I lost that weight over a long period (over 18 months) so if your looking for a quick solution then do try the very low-carb approach.