Type 1 Losing weight as type 1

[Samanthakate]

Hi everyone, I am recently diagnosed with type 1 and since I started taking insulin I've put on a stone in weight, I'm desperate to try and lose some weight but I don't know the safest way to do this now I'm injecting, any ideas or experiences that could help?

 

[catapillar]

Have you actually put on a stone, or have you simply regained the weight you lost when you had undiagnosed type 1 diabetes? Without insulin your body can't get any energy from food, even though you are eating your body thinks you are starving and it starts breaking down your fat and muscle tissue. With undiagnosed type 1 you are starving to death.

When you start taking insulin your body is desperate to put back on the weight lost when you were so poorly, so you will quickly put the weight back on to go back to your healthy weight.

So, consider whether when you are thinking about weight gain where your starting weight is. Don't measure yourself against a weight you were because you were so poorly you were basically starving to death.

If you think you are actually putting on weight, a type 1 diabetic looses weight the same as anyone else: diet & exercise. You need to be able to carb count to adjust insulin doses when changing your diet, you need to be able to adjust insulin doses to take account of exercise.

 

[uart]

Hi everyone, I am recently diagnosed with type 1 and since I started taking insulin I've put on a stone in weight, I'm desperate to try and lose some weight but I don't know the safest way to do this now I'm injecting, any ideas or experiences that could help?

Yes insulin can cause weight gain. As catapillar pointed out however, how much of a problem this is (or isn't) depends on whether or not you are currently overweight (or underweight).

In any case, if you want to avoid weight gain then that best thing to do would be to follow some T2 guidelines and minimize your insulin requirements by reducing carbs. Make sure that you're not eating to meet some prescribed insulin dose, but rather that you are controlling your insulin dose to match your food/carb intake. Then you can lower your starchy carb intake and lower your insulin dose together.

Look into the principles of LCHF (see for example https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb) and you may find that you can significantly reduce the amount of insulin required. This will in turn help a lot with weight management.

 

[Bon83]

Hi everyone, I am recently diagnosed with type 1 and since I started taking insulin I've put on a stone in weight, I'm desperate to try and lose some weight but I don't know the safest way to do this now I'm injecting, any ideas or experiences that could help?

I completely agree with the others, I had lost considerable weight prior to diagnosis. I then gained about a stone in a week. This is the body regaining it's natural function. Initially I ate to match the units I was told to take and found I was having to eat every 2 hours to keep away hypos. I am still trying to adjust my insulin to what I actually want to eat by carb counting so don't be discouraged if at first it seems hard. Some people on here know some links to good carb counting apps. However getting your ratio's right is a personal thing and will take a bit of practice. Essentially most of our bodies function the same as everyone - there is no easy road to weight loss but diet and exercise will work I promise.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Insulin itself doesn't cause weight gain but it enables the body now to use carbs which it couldn't before starting the insulin. Hopefully your body weight will stabilise but if you eat too many carbs you will keep gaining weight same as a non-diabetic would.