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Type 1 How to put on Weight type 1

T

Triscornia

Well-Known Member
Messages
83
My son ( 15 yrs)is losing weight and is so thin that injecting hurts. He is getting taller 173 and only 41 kilos. I don’t know what to do. Dr says he is 2 kilos underweight and should try to eat more good fat foods. He is starting to get tired more often. I don’t know what to do . He tried the booster drinks in the pharmacy but it made him sick.
Any thoughts please?
 
Is he eating much? Do you think he has an eating disorder? Can you just increase the insulin and carbs? Eating disorders can happen just because your weight gets too low (and you lose hunger feelings). It's not just anorexic girls who want to be thin.

Naively, I would have thought up insulin and carbs.
 

How well controlled are his blood sugars? This is paramount to building muscle or putting on healthy weight. I assume he is type 1 on basal/bolus injections. If the needles are hurting has he got the smallest available (I believe 4mm are the smallest)

Generally if he eats more than his maintenance calorie requirements + calories burned through exercise, he will put on weight. You want high calorie dense foods. I'd suggest eating healthy fats like almonds (most nuts tbf), eating more protein in meats like chicken, steaks, fish (healthy fats and protein), topping up with milk and other dairy products.
 

Yes he has a good appetite and he can’t possibly get any thinner as you can see his ribs. I don’t think he has an eating disorder but thanks for your feedback.
 

His levels are good and he has a good appetite. I guess he needs to be out more to increase his appetite. I will try with nuts and cheese as well with the other protein foods already given to him. Thanks for your feedback.
 
Triscornia said:
His levels are good and he has a good appetite. I guess he needs to be out more to increase his appetite. I will try with nuts and cheese as well with the other protein foods already given to him. Thanks for your feedback.
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When you say his levels are good, what range are we talking? what is his hba1c if you don't mind me asking. As prolonged hyper's can lead to muscle breakdown.

Nuts are a good source, you may be surprised. 100g of Almonds have over 500 calories and I can easily eat 100g of almonds when I get back from work
 
Would you consider increasing the carbs for a while, just to increase his weight?
 

His last check of hba1c (2weeks ago) was 6.7 and that was after a very difficult summer trying to keep in range which we found impossible as we were with family it Italy and Ireland and even though the food was the same he reacted differently to it.
I will buy some almonds and see how we go. He has only being diagnosed since February this year so it’s still all very new to us.
Thanks for replying.
 

Doesn't have to be just almonds, because I know these are quite expensive. Even roasted peanuts, (Generally much cheaper) and still relatively low in carbs, high in fats for calories.
 
My bf said one of his friends use to buy super market brand bag of plain peanuts and he would take it everywhere with him to snack on. That helped him with gaining weight. If he likes peanut butter (100% plain, unsalted kind), I know myprotein sells 6kg of peanut butter, he can scoop some to eat with veggie sticks, apple slices, small crackers. If he likes deli meats, it might be expensive, he can have that with cheese.
 

Has your GP bothered to test for any underlying causes of the weight loss?
 
Teenage boys typically need barrow loads of food while they grow. Bedtime "snacks" of a bowl of cereal or half a loaf of bread are not abnormal for non diabetics. Obviously if you're T1 then you're going to have to balance this with lots more insulin...

T1s who don't have enough insulin lose weight (it happened to me briefly as a preteen T1 at a boarding school and I still blame that term for the fact that I'm so much shorter than all my family members ).

Having said all that, there are groups out there who raise their teen T1s on low carb, so it is possible, I don't want to knock your attempts to supplement his diet with fats/proteins rather than carbs. And some kids stay skinny whatever you do. But they shouldn't lose weight.
urbanracer said:
Has your GP bothered to test for any underlying causes of the weight loss?
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I agree with this.

And if he's so thin that it hurts to inject (poor kid, it sounds awful) I guess you've considered that he might be skipping meals and injections at school, or just eating reduced quantities so that he can inject less.

Good luck
 
Sounds to me that you are strict when it comes to your sons carb intake.

I see you mention food rich in protein. Your son has to eat carbs, and live normally even if he has type 1.

If you reduce the intake of carbs, to achive good blood sugar (which I guess you do for your son), then you have the problem right there.

If you avoid carbs, and take insulin, you will make the cells starve in lack of glucose. Causing your body to break down fat cells, to help him «survive».

The biggest mistake are people who think that type 1s have to follow strict diets, or being carefull with carbs. If you do that as a type 1, while taking insulin, your body will break down all of your fat cells. Causing huge weight loss.
 

Emile, I'm not at all sure about a coupe of points in your post. In particular, it is my understanding that insulin enables cells to use glucose. One of the reasons T1s starve (and ergo lose weight) due to their body being unable cell ability to use glucose without adequate insulin. However, as a non-T1, I'll tag a few experienced T1s to comment on the OP's overall situation, and help settle the difference in the conflicting understandings between you and I.

I also don't read anywhere in the OPs posts that her son eats a reduced carb diet, only that @Triscornia has tried increasing his carbs a bit where she can.

@urbanracer , @Antje77 , @helensaramay , @porl69 - could you help please?

@Triscornia - I agree with the others who enquire what investigations your Doc may have done to eliminate other underlying causes for your son's weight loss.
 
@Triscornia
It is also quite possible that it's simply the way his body is growing. I was 6ft tall by the time I was 14years old and as skinny as a rake. I put on a bit of weight as I got older, (you cannot see my ribs anymore) but I've always been slim.

As a younger man I tried to "bulk up" with high carb and whey protein powder drinks but they had no affect on me, - whilst my gym buddies were piling on muscle like anything, I stayed slim. There is a medical term to describe this but it escapes me at the moment.

As I mentioned above, it may be worth checking for any other medical reasons for the weight loss but it may also just be a case of being patient and waiting for the vertical growth spurt to finish to see if he puts on a bit weight.
 
Thanks for the tag @DCUKMod. This is a tricky one! @Triscornia you have taken your son to see your local doctor, what did he say/think the case of the weight loss is? I would be going back to ask for more tests to the cause of this weight loss!
When type 1s are first diagnosed they usually loose a lot of weight pretty quickly but to keep on loosing weight is not right. How long has he been diagnosed type1??
 

Unfortunately no he doesn’t like peanut butter but now I do after discovering it and buying it for him and your right it piles on the weight.
Thanks for replying.
 
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