Insulin and weight gain?

Rebecca..

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12
Hi,

I have been Type 1 for 4months now and i am really struggling with my weight. I have always been a size 8/10 and around 9 stone, when i first got diagnosed i lost over a stone so i knew once i started using Insulin i would put that weight back on and hopefully get back to my normal weight.

However, over the past few months the weight has kept creeping up. I have been low carbing for about 2 months now, i usually have no more than 60g of carbs a day. I also have a fitness app on my iphone so i can keep track of my calorie intake and always have under 1200 calories a day.

I eat pretty much the same thing most days, special k for breakfast, salad for dinner, salad for tea, snacks are cereal bar, low fat yoghurt or fruit. I also exercise at least 5 times a week for at least 40minutes a day. However, none of this seems to help me control my weight. In the last 4 weeks i have gone from 9stone 8 to a huge 10st 3! This is the heaviest i have ever been, i have never eaten so healthily and exercised so much in my life so i can not understand why i am still putting on weight?

I am seeing a dietician again today but she is usually not much help. Its really getting my down, i feel frightened to death to eat anymore carbs and most days go to bed hungry, i have developed a really negative feeling towards injecting my insulin (although i always do my injections when i need to, as i know what complications it can cause if i don't) because i am postitive its the insulin thats making me gain so much weight. :thumbdown:

Sorry for the long post, i would really appreciate your thoughts and advice on this?

Thanks x :wave:
 

Mileana

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553
Could you try something like this for a week or two?

Have eggs and bacon for breakkie or greek yoghurt (full fat) with a few berries or dry-roasted almond splits?

Have salad at lunch - include a good source of protein like tuna, meat. Stick to lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, half a tomato, perhaps a bit of onion. Add a bit of cheese or an oil/vinegar dressing.

Have Veg and meat/fish/egg for dinner.

For snacks, try a small amount of almonds (10 or so), bite sized cheeses, salami sticks, raw veg like cucumber, peppers, carrots if you tolerate them.

If you feel hungry, eat a bit more protein than you perhaps do (unless you have kidney problems or something else preventing it). If you do strength exercise, try a bit of protein afterwards instead of (perhaps) carb snacks - it will help your muscles more as the body can convert a certain bit of it to glucose, but a lot slower. Of course do this only when you are not super low after exercise.

Don't be too scared of fat. In the insulin/sugar equation, fat doesn't really have an effect, it is not often fat that makes you fat, but rather the excess insulin used to cope with sugars, which then stores the sugar if it isn't used.

Be a bit careful with your insulin for a bit while you adjust further - keep an eye on blood sugar until you know if you go low/adjust dose down.

Use common sense while adjusting so you stay safe, but I think the fruit, cereal and cereal bars are the main problems for you - my lowest cereal bar I have found has been 15g carb on it's own, cereal is high in carb and fruit has fructose (carb).

I have gone down to about 30-40g carb per day on insulin - it takes a little bit of tampering and perhaps a slower start (which it sounds like you have also done for a while).

Besides, you may want to also consult a measuring tape - muscles are more dense than fat, so you might find a toning effect taking place which would explain at least some of the standstill. Waist, thighs, upper arms etc measurements once a week might keep you more motivated if this is the case.

Good Luck.
 

Rebecca..

Member
Messages
12
Hi Mileana,

Thanks for your reply, i forgot to add that i do usually have chicken with my salads or tuna. I will give your idea a try and see if this helps. I am hoping the dietician will have some advice for me. I did think the cereal bars where probably not a good idea but i struggle to think of low carb snacks to have that i like (i'm a picky eater at the best of times!)

Is this just something i am going to have to get used to and eat like this forever more, or will there come a time where everything will settle down? Its so hard to cut all the foods out that i am so used to having?

Rebecca x
 

Mileana

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553
The trick for me at the moment is to allow myself some treats sometimes, and cover them properly with insulin of course. But in general, I stick to the plan.

You do know your carb/insulin ratio, right?

Have you had a thyroid check recently - if you avoid most carbs and put on weight still, there may be a clue that way around, come to think of it...
 

Elc1112

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709
Hi Rebecca,

I have exactly the same problem! I've been diabetic since I was a child. When I reached the age of 14 or so it really started to bother me that I would put weight on so easily. The better controlled my sugars the harder it became to lose weight.

Anyway, I'm near 30 now and, although I still put wright on easily if I let myself, things are a lot easier. I try and stick to low GI foods ad they jeep me feeling fuller for longer sonic less likely to pick. In terms of calories, I usually have 1,200 or less a day. That's just the level I find I need to maintain to avoid putting on weight. I do a lot of exercise also. It's not always easy, but I manage to stay at a size 8 or so.

Unfortunately insulin can make you prone to putting on weight. It's normally the more you use the more you gain. If you can get your insulin requirements down, perhaps by trying low carb diets, you should see an improvement.

Em
 

Rebecca..

Member
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12
Yes i know my carb/ insulin ratios.. my levels are really good always between 4-7 before meals so when i do have carbs i am injecting the right amount, i guess i will have to just try eating even less carbs.

I just think its strange that i now eat healthier than i have before and exercise alot more but still manage to put weight on. I have never had a thyroid check either.

Thanks for the advice Em :thumbup: its nice to hear that you can achieve your goals if you stick to it x
 

noblehead

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How much insulin do you inject Rebecca?
 
A

Anonymous

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Hi rebecca.. are you sure about your 60g carbs per day.. it's just that a bowl of special k and milk is 21+9 in my little book, so half your intake..
 

Rebecca..

Member
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12
I inject 1 unit of insulin for 10g carbs. I haven't worked out my ratio's for different times of the day as nobody has gone through this with me at the diabetes clinic, could this maybe be why i am gaining weight so much?

I usually inject 3 units to cover my cereal as i worked it out to be 32g and 2 hours later my levels havent risen so i know i have got that right. I then would have chicken and a mixed salad for lunch so i don't inject with that, the same applies for tea as i never eat carbs for tea i usually will have another salad with tuna or chicken so i don't inject with that either. If i am still hungry after my tea i will have a cereal bar as a snack which is 2 units of insulin as the cereal bars i have are 17g carbs, or i will have a banana which in my book is 27g carbs so i would inject 3 units with that.

Most days i eat pretty much the same as this so i rarely inject more than 6 units of humalog a day

Thanks for your replies x
 

noblehead

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Although you don't mention your basal dose your humalog daily dose at 6 units is extremely low and would be very surprised if this would cause you weight gain, perhaps you should see your gp and discuss this with them as it may not be diabetes related.
 

Rebecca..

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Sorry, my basal is 16 units of Lantus which i take at 6pm. If i reduce this any more i end up with high levels in the morning, i am going to my diabetes clinic this afternoon so i am hoping to get some answers from there, if not i will go to my gp.

Thank you
 

noblehead

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Rebecca.. said:
Sorry, my basal is 16 units of Lantus which i take at 6pm. If i reduce this any more i end up with high levels in the morning, i am going to my diabetes clinic this afternoon so i am hoping to get some answers from there, if not i will go to my gp.

Thank you


Still relatively a low dose and less than what I take (TDD 34 units) so do mention it this afternoon.
 

Rebecca..

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Can different types of Insulin have different affects on people?

It does seem like its the last 5weeks or so that i have put about 10pounds on, even though like i say i have been eating really healthy and exercising.

I will make sure i get some answers from the dietician today, i have also found this website www.avidlite.co.uk which sells really low carb and low GI foods like pasta, bread, cereals etc so i have bought some things of there and will give them a try too

Thanks for your help noblehead :D
 

noblehead

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Rebecca.. said:
Can different types of Insulin have different affects on people?


I good question to ask the consultant Rebecca :)
 

Jude

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Did you manage to get any good advice/answer from the health professionals? I was just looking forward to reading how you had got on and there were no more posts!! Although I am type 2 I am on insulin (humalog 25) and also suffering with a large weight increase (and I already have more than enough!). :cry:

Jude
 

Rebecca..

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12
Hi Jude,

I saw a Dietician and she said the weight i had gained was because i am pretty newly diagnosed (March this year). I went down to a skinny size 8 and lost alot of weight before i was diagnosed so she said because i now had my sugar levels back to normal this has caused me to put the weight back on.

She didnt really help me tbh because i already knew i would put the lost weight back on but since that i have put another stone on too! :x she also told me off for cutting down on carbs and said i NEED a certain amount of carbs to survive and was eating to few.

Since then i have found a very helpful website http://www.yourdiabetes.co/type-1-diabe ... aching.php you get 30 day free trial so i signed up i am going to cancel after the 30days as its way to expensive, but the diabetes coach has been so helpful i send him food and blood sugar diaries and he has advised me on a diet to work for me. He said i was eating too few calories which was slowing my metabolism down. I have been taking his advice on board and increased my carb and calorie intake slightly and the weight has slowly started to decrease, but it could be a fluke!

I do think its a lot harder to shift the weight when your diabetic tho :thumbdown:

Rebecca x
 

hanadr

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I'm not an insulin user, but husband is and he's put on loads of weight over the years. I'd suggest you look at Bernstein's book and try the "doctrine of small numbers" I don't make promises, but Logically, it should work
Hana
 

the_anticarb

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I hate the weight gain that comes with insulin, but even more the fact that you're then told off if you've put on weight by the docs!
It would be interesting to know if there are any slim insulin users on here who aren't on low carb diets
 

tigger

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It could be that you're not suited to the insulin you're on. Certain ones do make it more difficult to lose/more likely to gain than others. My only really successful diet was due to depression and consisted of 5 satsumas and 7 cups of tea in a day. Not a recommended long term one but it did shift the weight. I find that low carb usually helps because I'm more focused on the great effect it has on my blood sugar and less on the lbs so I don't feel deprived which is the killer to all weight loss programmes. Also you can have instant gratification from a good blood sugar rather than waiting to the end of the week to find out you've lost or gained lbs.