Slimming World and Type 1

Hiya Mrs C !

I tried Slimming World a few years ago and I am sorry to say but I was in the same position as you, I sat there week after week, seeing friends doing very well whereas I didn't lose much at all, it was very disheartening. I know the fact we are type 1 has a part to play in this, of course as before type 1 I could drop 2-3 pounds a week no sweat and now I cannot shift 1 pound a month, I have done some research on it and cannot find a magic cure, however perseverance with the weight loss, it's a steady drop if you are ok with looking at it as a long term solution, I do also suggest maintaining good BG levels too, if you hypo alot the extra glucose could make shifting weight harder also

If you're losing 1 lbs a week that's PHENOMENAL progress. I have to ask, how much weight were you expecting to lose? (That's 52 lbs. a year by the way)

The way you're going to lose weight (fat) is by using it as energy. Consequently, you have two choices: use more energy (exercise more) or consume less energy (eat less).

Some people are able to achieve massive weight loss numbers (I consider 2+ lbs/week to be "massive") because they're severely overweight or because they require a ton of calories.

Now I'm smart enough to know that you should never try to guess a woman's age or how much she weights, but those things are absolutely factors in this case. It's very likely that you need less than 1800 calories a day which means that you're going to have to essentially starve yourself in order to lose more than 1 pound a week. Again, the other alternative is to increase your activity levels.

In comparison, I'm a 27 year old male who weighs about 210 lbs with a low body fat %. My BMR (basal metabolic rate) is somewhere around 2000-2200 calories a day, plus I burn an additional 1000-1500 calories through the heavy exercise that I do. Basically, I have to eat 3000-3700 calories a day to stay the same weight. If we each ate 1000 calories/day I'd likely lose 2-3lbs/week more than you, but it wouldn't necessarily be healthy weight loss.

My point is to explain why you shouldn't compare yourself to other people. You should be proud of your .5-1 lbs/week and that is a very healthy rate of weight loss.

I am not familiar with slimming world but 2 major weight stallers are grains and dairy. And a little ( like cream in coffee) DOES MATTER.

Other than that everything Tork said I agree with.
Also initially many lose a bunch in the 1st week or two and then it slows so persevere if you can .

I just looked it up briefly. For ME it is the grains and dairy at the least that would make me gain in a second. JMO

I put on 3lbs with slimming world! Low carb high fat is the only thing that works for me. Also - forxiga. This is a medication that turns sugar in your blood into sugar in your urine - around 500 calories a day. Since being prescribed it in addition to my insulin I've lost about 2 stone.

Hi. Although slimming clubs such as SW can be good for motivation, they may know little about diabetes or have a valid understanding of nutrition and metabolism and the foods may be higher in carbs than is good for you. Check the SW product labels or recipe advice. They may be following the usual low-fat, low-salt mantra and not worrying enough about carbs - do check. As long as you continue to lose weight that's fine.

I have a friend who has been totally brainwashed by SW diet (& she hasn't lost very much over the 5 years she's been going) if she comes for dinner I have to totally change my way of cooking. Where I would use a carton of cream in a recipe she uses a tbsp of reduced fat cream, where I would use goose fat for roast veg she would use a few squirts of one cal oil. If we want to go out it has to be somewhere that does certain meals & veg no chips or potatoes.

Mrsc85 said:

Thank you everyone, I feel a lot better about myself after reading your comments. I want to loose about 2.5/3 stone which is the weight that I have put on since my diagnosis (this is mainly me overeating to compensate for hypos and feeding my diabetes!)

It is very comforting to know that it isn't just me that has struggled, my group leader at Slimming world really doesn't understand diabetes and offers no advice and no one else at the group has it. She did talk to me about my pancreas regenerating....at that point I switched off and nodded politely!!

I will continue to persevere, keep up my running and swimming and see what happens. As Torq said, If I continue this rate of weight loss, I will be 52lbs lighter this time next year, maybe its not all bad!

Thank you again x

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I have no experience of Slimming world, but wishing you good luck, it wont happen overnight, but be patient and I'm sure you will get there. Take care
Best wishes RRB

I am a member of slimming world. I am also type 1.5. And it works if you stick to plan despite it being a struggle with insulin I lost 1.5 stone in about 3 months. The group leader should have basic knowledge of diabetes and should have info to pass on to members as well

Mrsc85 said:

Hi all,

I joined slimming world about 8 weeks ago and although I started off pretty well, my weigh is not shifting as quickly as I would expect.

I am finding it hard to follow a low carb diet and follow the Slimming World plan.

At the moment, I am only managing to loose about a 0.5lbs. to a lb. a week whilst sticking 100% to plan which is frustrating to say the least. I wonder whether anyone else is finding the same thing when trying to stick to Slimming World and whether the diabetes was partially to blame. I have only been diagnosed for 8 months and wondering whether my body is still adjusting.

I am eating all the right things, exercising more and the amount that I am injecting has decreased which is all good, although I would prefer see the results of this on the scales as well!

I am finding disheartening listing to other peoples success stories while mine seems so far off!

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I went to my GP 2 months ago about trying to lose weight. I put on over 3 stone while pregnant and after 6 months still can't shift it after diet and exercise. GP told.me that apparently insulin makes your body naturally store fat, and because type 1 relies on external source and isn't controlled by our bodies it makes it harder to shift the fat stores. She said it can just take a bit longer unfortunately but it does work

Liz35 said:

I went to my GP 2 months ago about trying to lose weight. I put on over 3 stone while pregnant and after 6 months still can't shift it after diet and exercise. GP told.me that apparently insulin makes your body naturally store fat, and because type 1 relies on external source and isn't controlled by our bodies it makes it harder to shift the fat stores. She said it can just take a bit longer unfortunately but it does work

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I agree. Cutting down on fat allowed me to cut down a lot on insulin and I have been able to lose some weight but stuck now. To be honest I am probably where I should be but would like a 2 or 3 pound insurance policy.

I'm currently doing slimming world plus I'm type one. I joined with my sister who is not a diabetic and she has big losses each week, while I lose 1/2 pound to a pound. I do sometimes feel a bit annoyed that my work is not showing more reward on the scales but last week another lady in Sw told me as long as it's a loss so I felt bit better about it all. Good luck with your weight loss.

I am a type1 one . many years ago I needed to lose a few pounds. What I did was cut down on my insulin first..This made me less hungry as sugars were running higher. Before eating, I asked myself am I really hungry or am I eating because i like it. Taking care of sugar levels is most important.
I am still low weight 10st 12lb couple of day's ago thats how i did it though everyone is different

Kristin251 said:

I agree. Cutting down on fat allowed me to cut down a lot on insulin and I have been able to lose some weight but stuck now. To be honest I am probably where I should be but would like a 2 or 3 pound insurance policy.

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Hi. I'm a bit surprised at that? Fat only has small effect on insulin needs and carbs are the main influencer. Normally you Bolus just for carbs or add a small amount extra for proteins and fats.

I was surprised how much of an effect it had. I was eating quite a bit of fat. Fat does not directly raise bs but it does impede insulin making insulin less effective. I knew that and saw that when I was T2 but it also amazes me how I need to eat exactly the same as T1 to keep steady. I don't eat any carbs to speak of besides salad greens celery radish and avocado for the most part.
I have cut insulin an half since dumping some fat. Also with higher fat I would peak around 2.5 -3 hours and then the amount of insulin left was small so I would rarely come back to fasting. Now I do. Fat keeps me higher longer. I still eat some fat with every meal but just much less

Mrsc85 said:

Thank you so much for replying, I feel like I am being criticised by my the lady that runs the group as she always asks what I am doing wrong. I can honestly say that I am sticking to the plan and excising more so I don't know what more I can do. I guess slow and steady wins the race! x

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Perhaps you should ask her what she knows about diabetes and diet & weight loss. That's the polite version. Is it possible to change groups & tell her why?