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Needing some encouragement..

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Phoebe13

Member
Messages
23
Hi all

I've been feeling really down and low for a few days now, all tied in with my diabetes, weight loss/gain, fitness etc, and I really just need some words of encouragement / wisdom please!

I broke my ankle about 18 months ago, during my recovery I put on quite a bit of weight (about 15-20 kilos) and went from a size 12 to a 16 as I went from being at the gym 3-4 times a week to basically not being able to leave my apartment for over 2 months, and sitting on the sofa not being able to exercise. I feel totally uncomfortable at this weight and really unhappy, so I've been trying to eat sensibly and exercise more to shift it. But nothing seems to be working. I feel like I've been on a low-calorie/low-carb diet for months, and I try so hard to make healthy choices (lots of salad, fruit and vegetables, avoiding chocolate/crisps/pasta etc). But nothing seems to be happening. For a while (before trying to lose weight) my blood sugars were under really good control, apart from a few minor hypos after the gym, but I was putting even more weight on from all the corrective insulin doses which was upsetting me.

I then started trying to lose weight, I lost a few pounds, but then seemed to put it all back on again.

I feel like, particularly the last few weeks, I've also really let my diabetes control slip out from under me because I was getting so demoralised from the weight gain. I know it's silly to be so upset by it but I really feel like a massive failure at the moment, like I just can't get anything right. I'm still doing insulin but not really checking my blood sugars as much or counting the carbs too closely and working out my insulin, just taking a guess and usually running a bit high to be honest.

I'm trying to comfort myself and sort myself out with the idea of just controlling my diabetes, and forgetting about my weight as it's more important to look after that than the vanity of wanting to be slim. But then obviously being overweight is also really bad for me, so I really DO need to lose this weight, but I'm just getting really depressed and feeling like I'm going round in circles and never achieving anything.

I have a really sluggish metabolism and a big appetite, so I only have to look at a potato to put weight on, and it seems like such a struggle to get it off again. I've seen the nutritionist at my clinic who said I seem to be doing all right things - eating well, exercising etc - and just to stick with it. I've been to see my GP to explain how difficult I'm finding it, she prescribed me some tablets that apparently help by blocking uptake of fat from foods, but I can't get the prescription filled anywhere as apparently the suppliers have halted production. I rang the surgery back to tell them about this and spoke to another GP who said that the tablets weren't going to help me, and that all I needed to do was eat less and mover more (oh really, that hadn't occurred to me at all.... :eyeroll: ) and that if I couldn't lose weight without help then I was a failure, which then made me feel even worse for asking for help!

Basically, I feel like I'm at a total loss for what to do next, I fee like throwing my hands up in the air and just saying "b*gger this" and stuffing my face full of biscuits!

Please, can someone offer me some encouragement / positive mental attitude / helpful advice / success stories.. anything to help me stop feeling like such a big fat failure!?
 
No advice, just sending you some support. We all go through phases of not liking our weight, diabetic or not. Ive had many years of ups and downs. Your control is bound to fluctuate as your weight does so managing your diabetes will be a battle as you lose weight.

Keep at it - you'll get there if you've got enough determination :)
 
It does look like you were doing all the right things and the setback with your broken ankle has lead to your weight gain and low morale Phoebe.

I would get back to the gym 3 times a week and join a local weight loss club who will encourage you to go that extra mile every week, my wife joined slimming world a few years back and lost a lot of weight mainly due to the support and help from her peers and the course coordinator, part of the motivation for her was getting on the scales each week which takes some doing in a group environment, some slimming clubs cater for type 1 diabetics but I can't say what sort of diet they recommend.

I was overweight a few back myself and decided enough was enough, I lost weight by reducing the calories in my diet whilst exercising more, TBH I didn't do it all by myself and did see a dietitian who advised me on where I could cut back on the calories in my food, I lost weight ever so slowly and would only lose 1-2 Ibs a month but eventually I lost the weight I needed to lose. The way I see it and I'm only talking from personal experience here, if you lose weight slowly but at a steady pace by making small dietary changes you are less likely to put it back on, my weight now fluctuates between a pound or two each month but so far I've kept it off.

Good luck and get motivated, you've done it before and there's no reason why you can't again!!!!
 
Hi there, just wanted to say hello and welcome :wave:

I can't give any personal advice on weight issues I'm afraid. But insulin does put on weight and the problem is trying to stop that weight from taking hold. Do you like cycling or gardening, or just going for a walk? I love being outdoors and I would hate to be stuck in a gym desperately trying to get weight off. Maybe an approach of just doing things outside, if possible, like taking the dog for along walk or if you haven't got a dog, borrow a neighbours :idea: Do things that are active, but the things you like to do. then I think when you are actually enjoying something its not such a hard slog or a chore.

Good luck with everything,

Best wishes RRB
 
I was about 55kg overweight at the time of diagnosis, a combination of an unrelated heart problem ten years which made any movement difficult followed by a lack of fitness when I was cured followed by arthritis in my ankle probably brought on by the excess weight. It was a viscious circle but I did break it.

I have lost 25Kg since Christmas, still eat well and do some exercise, 3 x 10 mins per day now.

Cutting out sweets, buns, biscuits, chocolate bars and sugary drinks wasn't enough. I switched to carb watching, cutting out all refined starches but eating reasonable amounts of things like brown rice, wholegrain pasta and so on. I also watch the fats, cutting off the excess fat on bacon or other meats, eating low fat cheeses etc. I started by some leg stretching exercises followed by some very simple exercises which moved those big muscle groups in the lower body, things like squats. Not too many mind. I wasn't fit enough for that. I was trying to get to a level where I could do proper exercise.

I got hold of a rowing machine because that would allow me to exercise without putting too much of a load on my arthritis. A little every day was key. It took me 8 weeks to work upto my present 3 x 10 mins per day. I also dug out my son's old mountain bike, got it working again and bought a bike trainer. These prop up the back wheel so you can cycle using a roller. It makes it like an exercise bike. I now do 2 sessions on the rower and 1 on the bike. I also bought a radio so I can listen to something.

My rate of weight loss has tailed off now but I am not in any sort of rush. I'm too old to look good on the beach this summer anyway so if it takes me another two years, I don't mind. Every little bit is an improvement.

I also spend much of my spare time experimenting with cooking, how to source foods, how to cook from scratch. I don't trust meals or sauces preprepared and sold in a jar, can or packet. My wife tells me that she has lost 5kg by eating the stuff I do and she still indulges with chocolates or crisps, wines and full fat cheeses whilst watching TV.

I can now walk without the aid of a walking stick and am looking forward to a holiday by a lake in Austria where I hope to be able to do some walking around the shore. I'm still not upto walking up the hills. Gently does it. Slow and steady progress is my motto. Well, I haven't any choice anyway, it's all I can do. But, doing something every day, even something small, makes me feel better. Even when I started on the rower and could only do two minutes, I felt better because I knew that after 2 mins, I would be able to do three mins and so on. And, when it works, you feel so much more positive about yourself. Next week it'll be 4 mins and the week after that it'll be five mins. Lao Tzu's observation that even a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step is positive encouragement.
 
Thanks all for your supportive words - I'm just having one of those days (weeks? months?) where it feels like everything is on top of me so needed to get it all off my chest, it's really good to know I'm not the only one who struggles with these problems.

Yorksman, wow, your progress is an inspiration! I know what you mean about starting out with small steps that will lead to the bigger leaps, but I just feel like I've taken 6 steps forward and then half a dozen back at the moment! I will try to persevere with eating sensibly. I need to work moving more into my everyday habits as well, I've been using a lot of public transport to get around since my accident instead of walking, so I need to break that habit! Maybe I won't renew my bus/tram pass this month - it'll save me £40-odd and make me walk more as well - so two birds with one stone.

Thank you all for picking me up when I felt really miserable, I find this forum so non-judgemental and supportive, it's really helped me - reading other people's posts and knowing you're not alone is so refreshing!
 
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