I NEED to lose weight

[samantha13]

So shortly after being diagnosed type 1 I was diagnosed with depression. I gave up on myself and binged my way through it. This has now led to me having gained 3 stone and becoming insulin resistant. I'm on MDI and metformin twice a day.

The thing is I really WANT to get it together now. My depression has lifted for the moment. I want to lose weight and decrease the amount of insulin I'm currently needing.

Any advice on where to begin? I've thought about weight watchers. Lchf scares me as I'm worried I'll take on too much fat and not cut the carbs enough

 

[AndBreathe]

Samantha - Let me preface my post by confirming I am not T1, nor do I take any medication, never mind insulin, so my post is really based on what I feel could be a common sense approach.

Is it fair to assume that from various tests and testing that you have done that you might have observed the impact of consuming carbs on your blood scores, and therefore the amount of insulin you need to take on-board to cover them?

When I was diagnosed, I h ad a similar learning experience, but without medication to drive my bllods down, so this forced me to look carefully at my food consumption, aligned with my finger prick testing scores. Pretty fast it became clear I really should trim the carbs back, which I did.

Personally, doing that, but adding lots of delicious vegetables (luckily I love veg), I initially didn't add any fats, aside from stopping anything labelled low fat and taking full fat versions instead.

The impact for me was rapid and stunning. My blood scores quickly moderated into the non-diabetic range and the bit of extra poundage I had been carrying melted away without any further effort.

Once I got pretty close to a weight where I didn't really want to lose much more, I started trying to balance things out. By then, I had had a more recent HbA1c and lipids profiles and I could see an excellent improvement, in both areas.

I don't actually favour that much fat, but in the end, I upped my protein a bit, the added some additional cheese, then nuts (or it could have been nuts then cheese - can't recall without going back through my records) and eventually I balanced up.

Honestly, my experience, and that of many others is the most powerful changes are in trimming back those carbs. That impacts the numbers. That then seems to have the knock-on, for insulin users of requiring less insulin, and so on it goes.

Initially, I wouldn't worry too much about upping the fat too much, although if you are hungry when you reduce the carbs, then a little cheese or a slice of ham can just take the edge off.

There are several T1s who live the lower carb lifestyle, I believe and I'll ping a couple now who will have far more to offer than me. @tim2000s and @robert72 immediately spring to mind, as does @Mrs Vimes .

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. After a tough time, it's great that you want to grasp this thing by the throat and give it a decent shake.

 

[TorqPenderloin]

Weight Watchers is good because it is structured and offers a lot of accountability. The biggest downside is how much it costs to buy all of the food. If you decide to go the WW route, I'd suggest doing exactly what my fiancé did: she followed the program and bought the food for about 2 months, had solid results, and after she got accustomed to the changes she decided to create her own plan that I will say is working very well.

The structured diet plans are great for that initial boost of motivation. However, over-time you'll eventually want to customize and structure the plan a bit more to you and your lifestyle.

Overall, I'd say that one of the main reasons people succeed or fail is because they do or do not have a plan. Sometimes it helps to have a plan created for you (Weight watchers, P90x, Jenny Craig, etc) which takes some of the thinking and guesswork out of the equation.

 

[tim2000s]

Thanks @AndBreathe Hi @samantha13 I've posted about my story elsewhere on the forum, but essentially, about two years ago I embarked on a training regime that cut carbs completely from the diet for four weeks, then reintroduced on a cyclical model, where I'd have a carb binge (brown rice and sweet potato rather than really nice things) and did a load of resistance training. I started with a body fat level of around 25% and dropped it to 13% after 12 weeks.

The key was diet. By removing carbs from your diet, you reduce the amount of insulin you need. Stopping alcohol frees up the liver and removing caffeine removes the cortisol effect. Combining that with resistance training really helps to reduce insulin resistance and by doing this, I reduced my overall insulin needs by about 50%.

What I would say is that this approach is not specific to T1D. It's what most body recomposition training does. They kick you off carbs for a specific period to make you burn that fat, while giving you a calorie controlled diet. In the real "fat burn" stage, men were put on 2000 cals a day and women 1750, and taking the carbs, wine and caffeine out really makes a huge difference.

If you want to know more, happy to say more, but being low carb really doesn't make you gain fat as you use less insulin and therefore burn more of it yourself.

 

[AndBreathe]

Weight Watchers is good because it is structured and offers a lot of accountability. The biggest downside is how much it costs to buy all of the food. If you decide to go the WW route, I'd suggest doing exactly what my fiancé did: she followed the program and bought the food for about 2 months, had solid results, and after she got accustomed to the changes she decided to create her own plan that I will say is working very well.

The structured diet plans are great for that initial boost of motivation. However, over-time you'll eventually want to customize and structure the plan a bit more to you and your lifestyle.

Overall, I'd say that one of the main reasons people succeed or fail is because they do or do not have a plan. Sometimes it helps to have a plan created for you (Weight watchers, P90x, Jenny Craig, etc) which takes some of the thinking and guesswork out of the equation.

When you say, your girlfriend bought all the food for two months, do you mean the ready meals? Personally, that wouldn't be for me and it wouldn't make home life with my OH very easy. We enjoy sharing and evening meal, at the table, eating largely the same foods (he may have some additional carbs, or not). One of us on ready meals could have damaged that dynamic.

 

[samantha13]

Thanks guys @TorqPenderloin I get what you mean-stick to the plan a couple months then find my own way to keep it part of my lifestyle. Thanks

@AndBreath and @tim2000s I do think low carb is the most sensible way to go. I need to research on here. After years of binging I've forgotten how to eat for my health. It'l be Re education for myself too. Thanks

 

[TorqPenderloin]

When you say, your girlfriend bought all the food for two months, do you mean the ready meals? Personally, that wouldn't be for me and it wouldn't make home life with my OH very easy. We enjoy sharing and evening meal, at the table, eating largely the same foods (he may have some additional carbs, or not). One of us on ready meals could have damaged that dynamic.

It's funny you say that because that's exactly what we do NOW, and that was part of the point in my previous post.

While health and fitness has been a part of most of my life, it hasn't been a part of EVERY moment in my life. Prior to my diagnosis last year, I had lost track of the importance of eating healthy and exercising. At the time, I didn't realize the toll it was taking on my body because I was an undiagnosed type 1 and was eating everything in sight yet still losing weight. Like you, we enjoy spending what little time we have together (she travels a ton for work) and always try to eat together. Unfortunately, that caused my eating habits to spill over onto her.

To answer your question, yes, she bought the prepackaged meals. Just before I was diagnosed, she decided that she couldn't keep eating the same things I was because (unlike me) it was causing her to gain weight. Eventually, I was diagnosed with type 1 which was a huge wake-up call for the both of us.

Fast forward to today (7 months after my diagnosis) and we haven't slacked in our goals or progress. I follow a ketogenic low-carb diet, and her goal is to stay under 100g/day and count calories. When she is home, we cook dinner together and eat at our dinner table. Occasionally, we do run or go to the gym together, but for the most part that's our "Me time" (she likes yoga and I like powerlifting). When we are apart, we compete with one another to see who walked more, who worked out that morning, or who ate more healthy.

My point in all of this was that we needed a kick in the a** to get back on track with all of this. Unfortunately, my kick was quite a bit stronger, but for my fiancé the WW approach was her jumpstart.

 

[Mrs Vimes]

Hi @samantha13 . I do lchf and I dropped 5 stone. Too much in the end but I was doing it in desperation to control DP not lose weight. I now look a lot better- I'm 10 stone 7 now. No longer a lollipop head.
Just make sure you test to stay safe. Your insulin needs will drop so to begin with you may find that you are low. If you've been riding high sugar wise you may find you feel hypo in the normal range. Eg in the high 4s.
A thing to be wary of. If you have retinopathy you need to take this slow. Don't know the mechanisms of why or whatever but I've heard it can make it worse to begin with.
If you've been binging it may be better to slowly reduce the number of carbs. Look at where you are at the moment - maybe reduce the carbs for one meal for a week before.
If you have have low insulin sensitivity exercise is a good way to improve this. If starting from the beginning like I did walking is a good one.
The typeonegrit Facebook is great. They are parents of type 1 kids but some adults too. They strive for better blood sugars eating healthily. Don't do the baked goods - they are gorgeous, low carb and won't help losing weight.

If you jump head first into low carb you may find you get carb flu. This is just withdrawal from the carbs. It is annoying but it goes.
Message me if you want.

 

[Fayefaye1429]

For me I lost 6 stone once upon a time through the following, so using the principals of calories and drawing to the nearest whole number for example a meal might say 380 calories I'd draw it to 400 and keep a count on what I ate through the day. I also worked out. A good thing for me to workout near meal times then when I came back I ate and took less insulin anyway due to the exercise. I just found this way I reduced hypos too. I know it sounds complex but once in a routine it's like wow Where has this been all my life lol good luck it's a hard journey I won't lie but is encourage you to use the forum to update your progress your frustrations and celebrations

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi @samantha13 . I do lchf and I dropped 5 stone. Too much in the end but I was doing it in desperation to control DP not lose weight. I now look a lot better- I'm 10 stone 7 now. No longer a lollipop head.
Just make sure you test to stay safe. Your insulin needs will drop so to begin with you may find that you are low. If you've been riding high sugar wise you may find you feel hypo in the normal range. Eg in the high 4s.
A thing to be wary of. If you have retinopathy you need to take this slow. Don't know the mechanisms of why or whatever but I've heard it can make it worse to begin with.
If you've been binging it may be better to slowly reduce the number of carbs. Look at where you are at the moment - maybe reduce the carbs for one meal for a week before.
If you have have low insulin sensitivity exercise is a good way to improve this. If starting from the beginning like I did walking is a good one.
The typeonegrit Facebook is great. They are parents of type 1 kids but some adults too. They strive for better blood sugars eating healthily. Don't do the baked goods - they are gorgeous, low carb and won't help losing weight.

If you jump head first into low carb you may find you get carb flu. This is just withdrawal from the carbs. It is annoying but it goes.
Message me if you want.

Gosh Mrs Vimes - I knew you low carb and work out, but I didn't realise you had lost that massive amount of weight. I know that's not easy for T1s.

When you say you lost too much in the end, did you end up controlled gaining a little again, or did it just happen as your body strove to find it's own comfort zone? I'm a bit interested as we sometimes do hear of T1s who would like to go low carb, but also need to regain weight lost around the onset of their condition.

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Mrs Vimes]

Ooo hello @AndBreathe ! I ate the carbs I was told to. Put on more and more weight ended up a complete lard ar@@e for years. I didn't help myself because I completely bought into the "you can eat anything you want" because I'm greedy as well. I should have had shares in Ben and Jerries.
I packed in alcohol because I realised I was drinking on a Tuesday night and not for the taste. I haven't drank in over three years, I don't think I'm an alcoholic as I don't miss it. (Only very occasionally I think I'd love to get completely ..... But the feeling goes.)
I think this was the start of my problems because out of nowhere my porridge breakfast (same amount for bleedin years) started giving me massive sugars of a morning for the whole morning.
One morning, I had 3 staff phone in sick and planned for that day year 3classes of year 11 were off time table to gave intense revision sessions for an exam the next day. I felt like throwing up. When I checked my blood sugars they were 25.
I taught all morning testing, correcting, drinking water until eventually I got them down. And I just thought well this is my life.
I told one member of staff that if they found me asleep phone an ambulance because I'm actually in a coma. I could not work out *** was going on.
This happened for the next couple of months but thankfully not upto 25. I tested every hour from the moment I got up. I stopped eating breakfast and it helped a bit. This rise started from 7 am and went on until 11.30. Eventually phoned the hospital - "well it is progressive". Now I realise she thought I was type 2 but she didn't offer any advice about medication or anything like that.
Because I've always corrected this is what I did. My blood sugars ran in the high 8/9 all morning. Even correcting. The problem was the only pattern was I knew it would happen, not the amount so correcting was difficult.
I then thought either this is going to blind me/damage me/shorten my life and all the other joys or I've got to find out what this is.
Big shout out to dr Google and the DOC. I realised I had DP going on to a liver no longer kept in check by Sauvignon blanc. I discovered lchf and went with it. My last hbA1c on mdi and lchf was 6.5%. In the mean time the weight dropped off. I got down to a size 8 (from a 20) and became skinny fat. People in work thought I had cancer.
Kicked up a stink at the hospital as my basal insulin wasn't helping no matter what I did. I was having to set alarms through the night to check I was safe and correct from there. I was knackered. I got a pump (NHS) 2 years ago now and a cgm (I self fund) and it changed my life. I'm now in the 5% club. I've increased protein and am in a size 10 looking a lot better for my age. Working out has meant I'm now fitter and musclier. I can sleep through the night now- luxury.
LCHF to me now means small mistakes. Highs are in the 8s. Lows are in the high 3s. I feel safe because I am. I can exercise knowing that I'm safe.
The new challenge now is the bleedin menopause. I'm on Hrt now but it's increasing my insulin resistance and psycopathic tendencies every 4th or 5th week so all change on the insulin front again. I think I'm going to have to pack in cheese, cream an nuts for a while and see what happens.
Sorry but talking about myself is my favourite subject.

 

[Snapsy]

LCHF to me now means small mistakes.

Brilliant post, @Mrs Vimes - and this line sums up to me perfectly why I started to shift my way of eating.

Yes I could have sticky toffee pudding when eating at our local pub, but only with masses of insulin, a massive hypo followed by a massive spike, all adding up to massive anxiety. I used to do this regularly and wondered why I had to go through all that. So now I choose not to! These days for pub puddings I choose cheese and biscuits without the biscuits, or a cup of coffee. I am much more able to be in charge of myself.

Small actions = small reactions.
The mistakes have a much smaller impact on my blood sugar, and this makes a huge improvement to my quality of life.

 

[Mrs Vimes]

@Snapsy No more rage bolusing 10 units to get it down. Now it's 2 or 3!

 

[AndBreathe]

Ooo hello @AndBreathe ! I ate the carbs I was told to. Put on more and more weight ended up a complete lard ar@@e for years. I didn't help myself because I completely bought into the "you can eat anything you want" because I'm greedy as well. I should have had shares in Ben and Jerries.
I packed in alcohol because I realised I was drinking on a Tuesday night and not for the taste. I haven't drank in over three years, I don't think I'm an alcoholic as I don't miss it. (Only very occasionally I think I'd love to get completely ..... But the feeling goes.)
I think this was the start of my problems because out of nowhere my porridge breakfast (same amount for bleedin years) started giving me massive sugars of a morning for the whole morning.
One morning, I had 3 staff phone in sick and planned for that day year 3classes of year 11 were off time table to gave intense revision sessions for an exam the next day. I felt like throwing up. When I checked my blood sugars they were 25.
I taught all morning testing, correcting, drinking water until eventually I got them down. And I just thought well this is my life.
I told one member of staff that if they found me asleep phone an ambulance because I'm actually in a coma. I could not work out *** was going on.
This happened for the next couple of months but thankfully not upto 25. I tested every hour from the moment I got up. I stopped eating breakfast and it helped a bit. This rise started from 7 am and went on until 11.30. Eventually phoned the hospital - "well it is progressive". Now I realise she thought I was type 2 but she didn't offer any advice about medication or anything like that.
Because I've always corrected this is what I did. My blood sugars ran in the high 8/9 all morning. Even correcting. The problem was the only pattern was I knew it would happen, not the amount so correcting was difficult.
I then thought either this is going to blind me/damage me/shorten my life and all the other joys or I've got to find out what this is.
Big shout out to dr Google and the DOC. I realised I had DP going on to a liver no longer kept in check by Sauvignon blanc. I discovered lchf and went with it. My last hbA1c on mdi and lchf was 6.5%. In the mean time the weight dropped off. I got down to a size 8 (from a 20) and became skinny fat. People in work thought I had cancer.
Kicked up a stink at the hospital as my basal insulin wasn't helping no matter what I did. I was having to set alarms through the night to check I was safe and correct from there. I was knackered. I got a pump (NHS) 2 years ago now and a cgm (I self fund) and it changed my life. I'm now in the 5% club. I've increased protein and am in a size 10 looking a lot better for my age. Working out has meant I'm now fitter and musclier. I can sleep through the night now- luxury.
LCHF to me now means small mistakes. Highs are in the 8s. Lows are in the high 3s. I feel safe because I am. I can exercise knowing that I'm safe.
The new challenge now is the bleedin menopause. I'm on Hrt now but it's increasing my insulin resistance and psycopathic tendencies every 4th or 5th week so all change on the insulin front again. I think I'm going to have to pack in cheese, cream an nuts for a while and see what happens.
Sorry but talking about myself is my favourite subject.

Wow! What a fabulous, fabulous post Mrs V.

I know we all hate this big D thing sometimes, but whenever that comes around in my head, I just thank heavens I didn't pull the T1 straw. I'd be a complete tantrum monster!!

A reduction from a 20 to an 8 is staggering. How tall are you, just as a matter of interest?

I just hope you can sort out the menopause thing swiftly as you really do deserve a smoother ride with all the effort you make. I was fortunate to have a "what menopause?" menopause. I didn't complain!

 

[Mrs Vimes]

AndBreathe I'm 5ft 5. My weight did creep upto around 11stone again but I'm didnt worry Because I was sorting out hormones! Now so it's settling down again. I think my bmi is actually overweight or close to it but I can squat 50 kg and do three pull ups in a row now. So I can say the muscles are having an effect.
Thanks for the kind words!
Insulin lays down fat. There is no getting in the way of that.the more carbs you eat, the more fat you gain. The presence of insulin also blocks fat burning. So reducing carbs lowers insulin requirements allowing you to lose weight safely.
The biggee for the beginner is to test, test and test again. This will allow insulin adjustments safely.
My non-d sister watched me lose weight. She stopped eating bread during the week and has lost 1stone over a couple if months just on that small reduction. She eats an inch thick piece of toast with an inch of butter at the weekend as a treat.
I am a complete zealot when it comes to lchf because my partner is type 2. His medication hasn't changed in 3 years, he's on metformin. He's lost 2stone. We bought him a libre freestyle and his blood sugars bimble along in the 5s and 6s. I'm well jealous and very happy. He does treat himself when we eat out but the spike gets to 9 for about 2 hours. We eat out about once a month.

 

[AndBreathe]

AndBreathe I'm 5ft 5. My weight did creep upto around 11stone again but I'm didnt worry Because I was sorting out hormones! Now so it's settling down again. I think my bmi is actually overweight or close to it but I can squat 50 kg and do three pull ups in a row now. So I can say the muscles are having an effect.
Thanks for the kind words!
Insulin lays down fat. There is no getting in the way of that.the more carbs you eat, the more fat you gain. The presence of insulin also blocks fat burning. So reducing carbs lowers insulin requirements allowing you to lose weight safely.
The biggee for the beginner is to test, test and test again. This will allow insulin adjustments safely.
My non-d sister watched me lose weight. She stopped eating bread during the week and has lost 1stone over a couple if months just on that small reduction. She eats an inch thick piece of toast with an inch of butter at the weekend as a treat.
I am a complete zealot when it comes to lchf because my partner is type 2. His medication hasn't changed in 3 years, he's on metformin. He's lost 2stone. We bought him a libre freestyle and his blood sugars bimble along in the 5s and 6s. I'm well jealous and very happy. He does treat himself when we eat out but the spike gets to 9 for about 2 hours. We eat out about once a month.

My OH, who is not diabetic, reduced his carb intake when I was diagnosed, although not as much as I did, in terms of him still enjoying a beer or some toast if he wants it, and so on. He really trimmed up and was astonished how very passive it was for him. He even reluctantly, through gritted teeth, admit he feels better and confesses that a long-standing hiatus hernia is totally asymptomatic when he is both trim and keeping his carbs down.

To call him a complete convert would be a stretch too far, but he doesn't change how he eats and drinks much when we are not together, so it's not my regime policing his eating.

 

[Mrs Vimes]

Yep, my partner had to be persuaded even as a type 2. When he worked away my sugars were brilliant. He'd come home, have a strop about what to eat (might as well eat bloody water) so I just thought alright. I ate what he cooked for three nights. Not massively carby but more than I would normally eat. The proof was in my sugars. In the 14s. I sat him down and explained he could eat what he wanted but I was going to eat for my blood sugars. He made a comment about how he was affecting my blood sugars negatively and it was like a light bulb moment. He started to make a proper effort. He is definitely not perfect but 90% is working for him and we eat lchf together.

 

[Snapsy]

No more rage bolusing 10 units to get it down. Now it's 2 or 3!

'Rage bolusing' - LOL, that's exactly it!

 

[samantha13]

@Mrs Vimes after reading your posts there is no doubt in my mind I need to choose lchf. I eat masses of carbs and bolus huge amounts. I went through menopause early in my 20s and am on hrt. I do zero exercise. This all equals my lovely insulin resistance. No more excuses for me!

 

[AndBreathe]

Yep, my partner had to be persuaded even as a type 2. When he worked away my sugars were brilliant. He'd come home, have a strop about what to eat (might as well eat bloody water) so I just thought alright. I ate what he cooked for three nights. Not massively carby but more than I would normally eat. The proof was in my sugars. In the 14s. I sat him down and explained he could eat what he wanted but I was going to eat for my blood sugars. He made a comment about how he was affecting my blood sugars negatively and it was like a light bulb moment. He started to make a proper effort. He is definitely not perfect but 90% is working for him and we eat lchf together.

Much less relevant to T1s as you guys have to test, but my testing was pivotal in my OH accepting I had T2. I had been asymptomatic, so it was a bolt out of the blue. Only showing him my meter after my finger pricks, then showing him the non-diabetic ranges did he begin to accept it.

I like to think there was an element of not liking that I now had a "condition" to manage forever, as much as having to moderate how we ate.