Help How can I put some weight ON.?

[shelleyt]

I am type 2 diabetic 10 months standing diet controlled, managing to control bg very well but am losing weight and don't want to. I am 5ft 7 in tall and before diabetes was 10 st 7 lb about right for my height. Now I weigh 8 st 13 and am skinny as a rake I am eating a lot of protein and some carbs but am struggling to keep weight on . Can anyone help please? :?:
Shelley

 

[Synonym]

Hello ShelleyT and welcome to the forum.

There is so much to take in and it isn’t all about being overweight for some of us. It is a tricky thing not to lose too much weight and all I can say is that you need to eat to your meter therefore keeping your bg levels steady.

I have been told that eating lots of protein is not great as it takes more energy to process than it actually contains so perhaps that is better for weight LOSS! :shock:

My doctor assures me that I will plateau at some point and not to worry – so I am trying not to. I am trying to do more exercise to try and build up a bit more muscle which I am told will make me more efficient?!?

I will be very interested in watching this thread.

 

[Janieb]

I really wish you could take some of mine mate - I'm having the opposite problem diet only and my weight loss has stalled.

 

[carty]

Hi I have thave the same problem I am more than 1 stone under weight I have seen a dietitian who was very helpful encouraging me to eat more often add cream to soups eat full fat cheese and butter,Iam also trying to build up muscle but it is impossible to exercise without burning calories .What exercises can any one recomend? The ones on the internet all show young men building impressive 6 packs and as I am a 66 year old granny I dont think these will help!..Any help from anyone would really be welcome we skinnies dont seem to get as much help as the ones trying lose weight perhaps there are not as many of us . carol

 

[Janieb]

I know when my gran who was also Diabetic and was also slender needed to put on weight she had the complan drinks as they are full of vitamins - have you tried those at all?

 

[carty]

Thanks janie .No I havnt tried them yet dietitian said may tried later but I dont know how they would measure as to carbs I am low carb which is helping to get the gs down

 

[shelleyt]

Thank you everyone who has replied and given me some tips. I do appreciate the info

Shelley

 

[John aka Wallycorker]

Hi Shelley,

What about nuts and seeds - i.e. high calorie and low carbohydrate?

You can eat them on their own or add them to just about anything.

Best wishes - John

 

[graham64]

Hi I have thave the same problem I am more than 1 stone under weight I have seen a dietitian who was very helpful encouraging me to eat more often add cream to soups eat full fat cheese and butter,Iam also trying to build up muscle but it is impossible to exercise without burning calories .What exercises can any one recomend? The ones on the internet all show young men building impressive 6 packs and as I am a 66 year old granny I dont think these will help!..Any help from anyone would really be welcome we skinnies dont seem to get as much help as the ones trying lose weight perhaps there are not as many of us . carol

Hi Carol, I'm another skinny T2 you right in saying that we don't get as much help (try ringing DUK they are clueless) as those trying to lose weight, although we are in the minority we still total an estimated 15 to 20% of T2s thats as many if not more than the total of T1s.
I'm in the same age group as you, and like you was encouraged to follow a high fat diet by my dietitian. The problem is getting the balance right, eating more carbs will help with gaining weight but only at the expense of higher blood sugar levels. I have found low carb bread and cakes can be high in calories and help with weight gain with little or no effect on blood sugar levels, just google low carb flaxseed bread and almond flour cake recipes.

Regards
Graham

Edited almond flower :lol: must be the high calorie Merlot

 

[dragongirl]

Hi Shelley
I too am in exactly the same predicament as you and falling below 8 and a half stone now from about the same beginnings as you. I eat and eat - 5 times a day at the moment, and have accepted advice from all these "also underweight" people here, but still it goes down, and non-diabetic people say well you'll have to eat carbs then, and I think no, that's daft. Food is food so any will do, not just carb-laden stuff. So I am now adding in extra cold meat to my snacks (I think Hana advised that) as well as what I was eating before. My snacks are now cheese, nuts, berries AND meat! and will soon be meal sized - that's every 3 hrs now! I have even fried bacon for supper in addition to nuts and cheese. I've upped my veg portions tentatively at proper meals. It's a fight - I never exercise deliberately now. Just whatever happens in the day happens.

Graham - thanks for that bread lead. I'll google it. Fergus's was great but it did affect my bgs even if I only ate an eighth of a cob at once. Maybe my pancreas has recovered a bit now so I could try again but I'll look up these too.

We "underweighters" need to gang together with advice and help!
DG

 

[carty]

Graham thanks for the bread info I am definately going to try it I have just been changed from metformin to glucophage which I hope will make me feel less sick and bloated (although the kind GP stopped my test strips at the same time) .When I get my appetite back I will probably crave a mashed potato sandwich with thick white bread of course !!! I hope you will all help me keep on course .My GP in a telephone consultation said I didnt need to test because it was the meds that lowered the BGS not diet I asked what would happen if I ate scotch pies and fried mars bars every day .He wasnt impressed! but i still didnt get any strips I told him I would have to buy on e bay and I am an old age pensioner .Guess what -- I still didnt get strips .CAROL

 

[Libbyloo]

Hi all skinny T2's!! I'm another.(5' 10" currently 9st and getting lower every week, having lost approx a stone over the last few months). Like you, I'm eating like a horse (low carbs and plenty of fruit and veg with lean meat and fish) but still not managing to stop the weight loss. I'm also lactose intolerant, so I use soya milk products, goats milk and sheep milk cheese etc so a bit limited in terms of spreading dollops of cream on everything etc.

I'm on 2x 500mg metformin and 2x80mg gliclazide daily. The GP and DN have been very helpful but are concerned at my continued weight loss and have referred me to the Diabetic clinic at the local hospital (my appointment is on 15th March) as they think I may need insulin. I'm not convinced about this, as my bg levels are beginning to come down from around 16 at the New Year. Have any of you been given similar advice? If so have you any tips or queries I should raise when I go?

Thanks for the tips everyone has posted, especially the almond flour cake recipe, I'll give that a whirl.

Libbyloo

 

[carty]

Hi I looked at the flaxseed bread recipe it has 5 eggs!! how long will it keep?

 

[pleonism]

All skinnier than I t2's,

Without sounding like a wise guy, which I want to as is my nature, I have notices one thing that has separated me from a thinner person.

My metabolism is slower due to my inactivity. ( I can't believe I am saying this but) IF you eat bigger meals, but less of them, watch more t.v., (the telly ) and choose worse foods you will gain weight.... drop that salad for a quarter pounder from mcdonalds? get a sandwich with fried chicken and cheeze or blue cheeze instead of that health veggie dish? Extra calories in and less movement= weight gain (excluding any medical causes, of course.)

I honestly did not know t2s were skinny and loosing weight is not anything I have ever seen. If you want you can come to my house in the Usa for a few weeks. I will show you how to pack on the pounds, bros and sisters.

obviously, I am not giving any medical advise... only my experience as to why I put on weight.

Good luck,

pleo

I can't wait for everyone to hell at me for not giving healthy advise...lol

 

[Synonym]

We are all different pleonism!

The reason that we struggle with weight is that we are controlling the BG levels and if we ate in an uncontrolled manner the levels would soar, we would be ill and it is doubtful if we would actually put on any weight. :roll:

 

[dragongirl]

Libbyloo - let us know what happens about insulin advice. I am scared to go to the doc with serious weight loss as they are sure to say use insulin so I can eat more carbs. I just can't get my head round the logic of eating carbs to put on weight, yet fear I am being stupid in staying away from the docs. Are they implying that insulin will cause weight gain? Are they implying carbs will? Why wouldn't other food do the same job? (I'm not even eating lean meat, just all meat!) And yet... and yet... the evidence of my skeletal appearance is that other food *won't* do the job. Though it most certainly has sorted out my bg levels. And I'm not hungry or weak. Let us know what happens, please!
DG

 

[Libbyloo]

Hi dragongirl,

Yes I'll certainly let you know how I get on when I go to the hospital on 15th March.

I'm not sure what the GP and DN have in mind, but they have certainly been mentioning insulin rather a lot. I really don't want to go down this route, especially as my bg levels are now much more reasonable (between 4 to 7 when I test 2 hours after eating, although I have had the odd blip when I've been testing out food). As I'm also now feeling considerably better, I'm a bit scared to change my medication in case it tips the boat. I'm intending to try to get clarification as to why insulin may be a better option than my current medication as I'm really not that convinced but I acknowledge I'm a bit of a novice at this.

One thing I had thought of was that if the hospital peddles the insulin argument I may try to 'buy some time' and get a second opinion, perhaps by getting to see one of the people at the London Health Centre (which is listed on this site) and perhaps specifically try to get to see a nutritionist. My previous experience of NHS and nutrition/taking a holistic view left me really ill for over 18mths before it was confirmed I was lactose intolerant, so I'm a bit sceptical as to how the hospital diabetic clinic will approach this.

Thanks for your posting, I had begun to think I was the only twiglet in this world!

I'll update you after 15th, but meanwhile take care & best wishes,

Libbyloo

 

[dragongirl]

Thanks, you too. I'm beginning to wonder if the issue of T2 or LADA is involved somewhere here. I know in the UK they don't tend to differentiate. And I don't understand enough to think it through. But something is clearly not okay!!
Until later, then.
DG

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi dragongirl.

I found this article which might help. Reading through it would seem that a diagnosis of Type 2 is usual instead of LADA and it may take 2 - 6 years before it is clear that you actually have LADA.

http://www.locallada.swan.ac.uk/faq.html

Catherine.

 

[jenrose]

Hi
I am another skinny type 2 and I take advantage of the fact that I can eat nuts and eat rather a lot of walnuts and almonds at lunchtime. This has not affected my cholesterol levels at all and my blood pressure is good (having been high a few years ago). This hasn't helped me put weight on though and as I don't want to take more medicine I keep to a moderate carb diet. I don't know what the answer is.