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Trying to lose weight

Suebowden146

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Does anyone else have a problem trying to lose weight while on insulin injections. I am really struggling although trying hard. Only managed to loose half a stone since February and feeling a bit fed up now.
 
Hi. I think it's essential, if you are trying to break the cycle from being insulin resistant and overweight, is to seriously low-carb for a while. Perhaps below 100gm day for a few weeks. This really should enable your weight to go down. Once any insulin resistance has faded you should become more sensitive to insulin and can reduce the units (or have a hypo!). If you can get to that point then you may be able to find a carb level that holds you without weight gain. There are exceptions to all of this, but many postings show that this works for many.
 
Suebowden146 said:
Does anyone else have a problem trying to lose weight while on insulin injections. I am really struggling although trying hard. Only managed to loose half a stone since February and feeling a bit fed up now.


I'm a type 1 and managed to lose over 2 stone in weight by reducing the calories in my diet, if you burn more calories than you consume then weight will eventually begin to drop.

My weight was lost gradually over a 2 year period...... not fast by any means but it worked and so far I've managed to keep it off, the way I see it the slower you lose it the less likely you are to put it back on as it gives the body time to adapt to the reduction in calories, I didn't eat any different to what I normally do just cut back slightly on my portion sizes and stopped snacking between meals, I asked for assistance from a dietitian who attends my diabetes clinic and she was extremely helpful in her advice and guidance, prior to that I would diet and lose say half a stone and put it back in no time.

It's fair to say I also increased my exercise during this time which helped immensely, you may notice Sue that once you lose your excess weight your insulin requirements will reduce, losing weight for me has made me more sensitive to insulin and thus I don't inject half as much as I once did.

Failing that some members have found Slimming World to be extremely useful, my wife did this diet a few years back and lost 3 stone, at the same time she was on the diet plan there was a type 2 diabetic who lost a lot weight, the course coordinator did say they cater for people with diabetes but I can't say what sort of diet they recommend or whether it would be suitable to yourself.

Good luck and hope you succeed!
 
I have lost 2 and a half stone and am now within my target weight range. How? I ate 3/4 of what I would before and walk + bus + train instead of driving. I also carry a rucksack with a laptop, decent-sized hardback and a litre of water on me along with everything.

Hope this helps.

Mart.
 
I am confused :shock: lol !

I was losing weight then went on DAFNE adjusted my insulin doses, so am on less insulin now, I eat low carb, about 80g carb a day and havent lost anything in the last 1 1/2 months..

I work full time and a mum so get very little time to exercise, always use stairs etc, but would love to lose 1/2 stone and dont know what to do ?

Anyone with any advice on this let me know and I would be really grateful :thumbup:
 
Suebowden146 said:
Does anyone else have a problem trying to lose weight while on insulin injections. I am really struggling although trying hard. Only managed to loose half a stone since February and feeling a bit fed up now.

Half a stone in 4 or 5 months is not too bad ! Why fed up ? Better to lose it steady, that way it's more likely to stay off !


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Like others above I lost weight while on insulin, 4 stones (56lb) in a year for me and it enabled me to come off insulin, I'm T2 obviously. And like others above I did it by drastically cutting back on the food I ate, to lose weight you must eat fewer calories. I did cut back on the carbs I was eating too but make no mistake loosing weight is all about eating fewer calories.

4 years on now and I have managed to loose another stone (14lb) since I stopped insulin treatment, I do eat more now but still a lot less than I did before I was diagnosed 5 years ago and knew I had to loose weight :D
 
When trying to lose weight as a diabetic, there are generally two schools of thought. Some go for low-carb and others simply go for less food overall. The problem with low-carbing is that some don't realise the calories in the low-carb foods, so still eat fatty foods.
I have been losing weight steadily over the past 8 months or so, since I had a leg amputated, simply by eating a little less than before. After a while it becomes the norm and the weight does slowly drop away. I agree with "mo1905" that half a stone in 5 months is a good loss for you.
Personally, I found that in the past I was eating to my insulin intake. After taking a carb-counting course I have managed to eat less and adjust my insulin to the carb intake. Having fruit for breakfast usually means that I don't need any fast acting insulin at all in the morning and having a salad with something like smoked mackerel also means minimal insulin at lunchtime too. I'll still have sausage and mash followed by ice-cream in the evening.
So, although I don't deliberately follow a low-carb diet, my calorie intake has dropped by quite a lot over the day. And when all's said and done the simple fact is that eating less calories than you burn will create a loss of weight
 
Hi- low carb is the way to go - get the Cals and Carbs book from Amazon, you will then also be able to regulate how much insulin you need - less carbs less insulin. Unused carbs go to fat. Only way I could do it - and switch from spreads to proper butter as there are better fatsin that.
 
Hi,
I am a Type 2 Insulin dependent diabetic needed to loss some weight so joined Slimming World who have info for diabetics weighed 17 st 4 lb and set my target to 14 st 1 lb. I was very surprised that by changing what I ate but tweaking a little bit so to have the carbs needed, in 10 months I reached my target weight. I am still in target after 2.5 years of healthy eating, I like SW as it is not a diet just a very healthy way of living. I was also able to reduce the amount of insulin used by half. So it worked for me.

Steve (Digger) Graves
 
I lost 2.5 stone last year.

I didn't change what I ate, just ate less. About three quarters of what I used to eat. Also, I ate until I was no longer hungry, not so I was FULL UP. Now I have a threshold where my body won't let me eat past being sated and if I continue I feel ill and often end up being sick.

It's common sense, eat what you like, just less of it.
 
Hello all,I me a bit slow at typing,please be patient.I managed to drop from 15 stone to my present 10.5 stone,just by willpower,snag is I've sort of gone of eating. I can't do exercises due to my iffie hip,only fancy eating cake and bit of chocolate.Pleas be carefully dieting I wouldn't want anyone to have the problem.
 
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