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How to put weight on with type 1 safely ???

leeroy69

leeroy69

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I am finding it hard to put weight on any help is much appreciated I'm 69kg and 6.1feet
 
Why don't you tell us SPECIFICALLY what you're having trouble with rather than have us try to guess.

Mod edit to remove unnecessary comment.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Leeroy, I currently have the same issue. Personally, I struggle to consume enough calories in 3 meals, whilst also restricting my carbs. I don't want to eat more meals as that means more injections!

Is that the sort of thing you mean? If so I have discovered a few tips that I could share. If I've misunderstood you then tell me to go away and I shall oblige ;)
 
leeroy69 said:
I am finding it hard to put weight on any help is much appreciated I'm 69kg and 6.1feet
Click to expand...

Hi @leeroy69,

Although you're a newbie here, are you actually new to T1 diabetes? Did you suffer the usual uncontrollable weight loss during the pre diagnosis period?

If any of this rings true, you will probably put some weight back on after while. I have always been slim and couldn't really afford to lose 14kgs, but that's what happened before I got put on insulin. It's taken me about a year to put 7kgs back on without having loads of carbs.
 
julian27ish said:
Hi Leeroy, I currently have the same issue. Personally, I struggle to consume enough calories in 3 meals, whilst also restricting my carbs. I don't want to eat more meals as that means more injections!

Is that the sort of thing you mean? If so I have discovered a few tips that I could share. If I've misunderstood you then tell me to go away and I shall oblige ;)
Click to expand...
I just wanted other opinions with a busy work life and a big thing for me is being able to eat more as I sometimes don't feel like eating when I'm not hungry... But when I was first diagnosed I would never feel full up so would just eat everything in sight any ideas and tips is much appreciated
 
leeroy69 said:
I am finding it hard to put weight on any help is much appreciated I'm 69kg and 6.1feet
Click to expand...

I'm naturally slim and when I want to put weight on I increase my carbs (spread out over the day, including carby snacks with a bolus to coverbthem). I also write down what I'm eating for a few days because sometimes I find that I'm not eating as much as I thought, or missing opportunities to eat more. I also make sure to eat enough protein and have healthy fats too.

If you're slim it takes a concerted effort day after day, but I find that if I keep up the above, I do put weight on :)
 
urbanracer said:
Hi @leeroy69,

Although you're a newbie here, are you actually new to T1 diabetes? Did you suffer the usual uncontrollable weight loss during the pre diagnosis period?

If any of this rings true, you will probably put some weight back on after while. I have always been slim and couldn't really afford to lose 14kgs, but that's what happened before I got put on insulin. It's taken me about a year to put 7kgs back on without having loads of carbs.
Click to expand...
Sorry not given all the info I have been t1 for 22 years on nova rapid and lantus just find it hard to put weight on and it's been like this since I become a teenager everyone says to me I need to put weight on and eat more so thought I would ask from others with experience my hsb1c is between 6.5 - 6.9 and not had keytones for 10 years lots of poor control and hospital admissions from the age of 10 - 20
 
leeroy69 said:
Sorry not given all the info I have been t1 for 22 years on nova rapid and lantus just find it hard to put weight on and it's been like this since I become a teenager everyone says to me I need to put weight on and eat more so thought I would ask from others with experience my hsb1c is between 6.5 - 6.9 and not had keytones for 10 years lots of poor control and hospital admissions from the age of 10 - 20
Click to expand...
Hi @leeroy69

I'd suggest that your blood sugars and lack of ketones are more important than what other people think about your body mass. I was in a similar position to you when I was your age. I joined a gym and tried 'bulking up' but it got me nowhere. Some people just cannot do it, and eventually you learn to be happy with who you are.
I know it's easy to say, but try not to get stressed about this. If it's your parents telling you to put on weight, well they will still be worrying about whether you're healthy 20 years from now, that's what parents do.
 
I've used an app in the last when I was struggling to put on weight. I found that quite useful. I entered my food and I had a daily calorie target.

It was a general app and also recorded protein intake, iron, etc, Worth a try if you're interested.
 
Hi. Proteins and fats will add calories without increasing blood sugar to any extent so increasing these may help add a bit of weight. The question is are you happy with your weight. Don't worry too much about what others think as they may be comparing you with the obese people seen everywhere.
 
I use My Fitness Pal app. It's the best I've found for tracking what you are eating. Currently advised to eat min. 40g carbs per meal, but I generally take more to help with weight gain. It's working for me.
 
leeroy

I agree with Diabell. I was stick thin and hated wintertime as the cold hit me hard. Met with the hospital dietician who suggested simple things like instead of my usual cold meat or chicken in the lunchtime sandwiches have a cheese filling instead. She also suggested, if possible, having an omelette most days with cheese added, or feta with olive oil, or even high fat meats like corn beef. Best suggestion from her though was to get the Carbs and Cals book, which let me check the fat content in foods with similar carbs to what I was already taking. That worked a treat and I don’t recall any noticeable difference to my sugar levels. I was concerned that my usually low cholesterol reading would increase but that was ok too.

The weight slowly went on and although these changes might not suit everyone, they worked for me.

Bill
 
Hi there, I'm having a similar problem at the moment. One tip I found useful was to find a good fatty snack that doesn't affect your leveks I've found that advocado and Brazil nuts are pretty much free food for me so I have an advocado mid morning and a good handful of Brazil nuts mid afternoon. We're all different though so these might affect you, worth a try though.

Unfortunately as with most food that's good for you neither are cheap to buy!
 
Dr B recommends increasing protein to put on weight. You may have to up your insulin dose though. You'll lose weight on low carb if you don't have enough fat, but fat in itself won't make you put weight on, only hold it steady.
 
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