How to lose weight?

Without being flippant, eat less.
What height and weight are you now ?
Glenn

Low carb might work. Obviously you'll need to adjust your insulin if you try that.

@Domi0205 your profile notes that you are only 18 and your profile pic (while clearly having a filter on) makes you look very slim. What is your BMI?

@Domi0205 if you take your height as 173, BMI (body mass index) is 28, which is in the overweight range. BMI is used by healthcare professionals to assess whether someone is over/underweight or obese. You can calculate it yourself here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/ and find out more about what it means.

Yes, you are a little overweight but not obese. At 18 it is a concern though. As far as diet goes and low carbs etc we'll wait for @daisy1 to send you an introductory sheet. We don't know how well you are managing your condition either so big changes may affect this. For the moment you can count up the amount of kilojoules ( or calories if you prefer ) that you eat per day. Going by your age and weight you are likely eating 10000 to 11000 kj per day. Shave about 2000 kJ of your daily intake and providing that there is no oddball metabolic conditions you should lose about a kg every 18 days. It is a long term process and quick fixes usually don't last.
Good luck
Glenn

Crocodile said:

Yes, you are a little overweight but not obese. At 18 it is a concern though. As far as diet goes and low carbs etc we'll wait for @daisy1 to send you an introductory sheet. We don't know how well you are managing your condition either so big changes may affect this. For the moment you can count up the amount of kilojoules ( or calories if you prefer ) that you eat per day. Going by your age and weight you are likely eating 10000 to 11000 kj per day. Shave about 2000 kJ of your daily intake and providing that there is no oddball metabolic conditions you should lose about a kg every 18 days. It is a long term process and quick fixes usually don't last.
Good luck
Glenn

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Or alternatively @Domi0205 could investigate the theory that her body isn't a bomb calorimeter and can look at some of the hormonal reasons why she may be slightly heavier than she wishes... and that it has far more to do with quality and type of food eaten for satiety and hormonal responses than a purely mathematical solution which has failed almost everyone who has tried it in the long term...

bulkbiker said:

Or alternatively @Domi0205 could investigate the theory that her body isn't a bomb calorimeter and can look at some of the hormonal reasons why she may be slightly heavier than she wishes... and that it has far more to do with quality and type of food eaten for satiety and hormonal responses than a purely mathematical solution which has failed almost everyone who has tried it in the long term...

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Agreed. The calories in/out model is poppycock

Jim Lahey said:

Agreed. The calories in/out model is poppycock

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Yep, beware the BMI monster, my daughter is officially overweight per bmi as is most professional athletes.

My daughter swims a mile in 35 min, does HIIT swimming, as well as HIIT running, her fitness is off the charts (resting heart rate in the 40's) and has a figure my (not large) wife would kill for but readily admits the exercise done by No2 would finish her LOL.

Domi0205 said:

Ermmm????

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The science of dieting is undergoing quite a bit of revision. There are some who think it is all about "calories" (the eat less move more crew) and others who are far more interested in the hormonal impact of food on the way our bodies work. I lost weight by changing what I ate (by eating almost no carbohydrate) without consciously cutting calories. I utilised my hunger and satiety hormones - grehlin and leptin to help rather than hinder.
Simply cutting calories will leave most people feeling hungry and so they will fail at the task. Which is why "Eat less move more" is way too simplistic.
When using insulin you have introduced something else into the equation. If you for example decided to reduce your carbohydrate intake you'd need to be extremely careful with your insulin doses to avoid hypos.
I'd suggest contacting some lower carb T1's like @Mel dCP @NicoleC1971 who may be able to advise better than me.

Spl@ said:

Yep, beware the BMI monster, my daughter is officially overweight per bmi as is most professional athletes.

My daughter swims a mile in 35 min, does HIIT swimming, as well as HIIT running, her fitness is off the charts (resting heart rate in the 40's) and has a figure my (not large) wife would kill for but readily admits the exercise done by No2 would finish her LOL.

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I agree with that too, but it’s not what I meant. I was referring to CICO (calories in calories out) as the defcato model for weight maintenance. It’s total rubbish which completely ignores the extremely complex endocrine system and its role in managing energy distribution and appetite. Hopefully one day, in the next million or so years, smart people will have figured this out. Even the NHS might cotton on eventually

@Domi0205
Hello Domi and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

bulkbiker said:

Or alternatively @Domi0205 could investigate the theory that her body isn't a bomb calorimeter and can look at some of the hormonal reasons why she may be slightly heavier than she wishes... and that it has far more to do with quality and type of food eaten for satiety and hormonal responses than a purely mathematical solution which has failed almost everyone who has tried it in the long term...

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Yes, I believe that is addressed in "oddball metabolic conditions".

Jim Lahey said:

Agreed. The calories in/out model is poppycock

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When understood correctly, it's perfect.

Only if all of a sudden we had no endocrine system to control appetite and the distribution of energy, but you’re free to believe as you wish

Actually, each macro requires a different amount of energy to metabolise, so straight away a calorie is not a calorie when it comes to energy in vs. energy out, and that’s before we even get started on the endocrinology.