Unexplained weight gain

[Dee aka Morgan]

Hi folks

I’ve been lurking on this forum for a few weeks, and I’m finally getting round to posting.

I was diagnosed with T2 in January this year (my HBA1c was 51, due my next one next week, BG around 10-11), along with atrial fibrillation, a slightly enlarged heart and COPD. Not the best starts to a year! Taking metformin (one tablet per day) and edoxaban for the atrial fibrillation. I’ve been put on and taken off beta blockers twice – I have no intention of going back on them as they made me suicidal.


I also live with depression and anxiety (been on meds for around 12 years) and have severe arthritis in both knees, hips and ankles.



Thanks to this forum and a couple of very good books (The First Year with T2 Diabetes by Gretchen Becker and Can I Eat That? By Jenefer Roberts)I’ve adapted my diet to LCHF and it’s been very successful. My BG averages 6.5 now and according to MySugr, my HBA1c should be around 39.



I’ve also lost 19 kilograms, and was expecting to carry on losing weight, although at a slower rate than initially, as I carried on with the LCHF way of eating.



However, the last two weeks, I’ve gained weight. It’s only 1.4kg, but it shouldn’t be happening. I’ve not eaten anything that I wasn’t eating during the previous weeks, and I’ve actually lowered my daily carbs from around 130g to 100g.



Does anyone have any idea why I’m suddenly gaining weight again? I could understand staying the same weight, but I cannot get my head round why I am gaining it. It’s really upsetting me; I haven’t found moving to lchf as difficult as I thought it would be, and I’m never hungry the way I used to be when I was eating “normally” (ie, high carbs!) but I do miss some of the things I used to eat - when I was seeing not only good BG levels but losing weight the “sacrifice” was easy to put up with. Now, I’m really feeling the loss of my favourite foods and it’s not only making me angry, it’s making my depression flare.



I know it’s not much to have put on, but it’s still an increase when I should either still be seeing losses or the very least a stable weight.



For a first post, this is a bit of an epic, sorry!

 

[shelley262]

Welcome to the forum @Dee aka Morgan
Sounds like you’re managing brilliant especially as you have such a lot of health challenges to manage must be very difficult. You’ve had a lot of diagnoses which along with your anxiety and depression must make changing the way you’re eating harder for you we all want to go back to previous comfort foods which are usually carb laden when feeling low so you’re doing so well.
Most important thing is to work on your blood sugar and it sounds like you are having great success with this. The weight will eventually follow.
Our bodies seem to like a set point and don’t like being dragged downwards and try their best to put weight back on or stay the same. I can appreciate that you must feel that your hard work isn’t paying off but it is - your blood glucose is coming down and your body will adjust and start losing again.
Some of us myself included had to go really low carb to achieve results I stick to no more than 20g of carb a day I worked down to this over a month or so. Making another reduction may be what it takes. Also wonder what you are eating why not list a typical days meals we may be able to spot something?
Stick with it it will improve remind yourself just how well you’ve done to date.
I’ll also tag @daisy1 for the welcome pack.

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi folks

I’ve been lurking on this forum for a few weeks, and I’m finally getting round to posting.

I was diagnosed with T2 in January this year (my HBA1c was 51, due my next one next week, BG around 10-11), along with atrial fibrillation, a slightly enlarged heart and COPD. Not the best starts to a year! Taking metformin (one tablet per day) and edoxaban for the atrial fibrillation. I’ve been put on and taken off beta blockers twice – I have no intention of going back on them as they made me suicidal.


I also live with depression and anxiety (been on meds for around 12 years) and have severe arthritis in both knees, hips and ankles.



Thanks to this forum and a couple of very good books (The First Year with T2 Diabetes by Gretchen Becker and Can I Eat That? By Jenefer Roberts)I’ve adapted my diet to LCHF and it’s been very successful. My BG averages 6.5 now and according to MySugr, my HBA1c should be around 39.



I’ve also lost 19 kilograms, and was expecting to carry on losing weight, although at a slower rate than initially, as I carried on with the LCHF way of eating.



However, the last two weeks, I’ve gained weight. It’s only 1.4kg, but it shouldn’t be happening. I’ve not eaten anything that I wasn’t eating during the previous weeks, and I’ve actually lowered my daily carbs from around 130g to 100g.



Does anyone have any idea why I’m suddenly gaining weight again? I could understand staying the same weight, but I cannot get my head round why I am gaining it. It’s really upsetting me; I haven’t found moving to lchf as difficult as I thought it would be, and I’m never hungry the way I used to be when I was eating “normally” (ie, high carbs!) but I do miss some of the things I used to eat - when I was seeing not only good BG levels but losing weight the “sacrifice” was easy to put up with. Now, I’m really feeling the loss of my favourite foods and it’s not only making me angry, it’s making my depression flare.



I know it’s not much to have put on, but it’s still an increase when I should either still be seeing losses or the very least a stable weight.



For a first post, this is a bit of an epic, sorry!

Hi Dee - Have any of your meds changed recently? Sometimes meds can interfere with weight management. Alternatively, have you moved your scales or anything that might impact on how they're reading?

Two weeks is a very brief period. Have you been less active or a bit under the weather at all?

 

[NicoleC1971]

Hi and agree that you need to pat yourself on your back for successfully getting your metabolism back on track and not panic too soon about weight gain.
It may simply be that having lost fat, your body now needs less food to operate.
Or that you are being heavy handed on protein? Eating food when not really hungry?
If you take a look at Diet Doctor there are some good videos about why weight loss sometimes stalls but it might help for you to keep a diary for a week.
Lastly if your diabetes is well under control now why is it so important to continue the weight loss? This isn't a criticism - I just wondered why it is important to you.

 

[daisy1]

@Dee aka Morgan

Hello Dee aka Morgan and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[Dee aka Morgan]

Hi and agree that you need to pat yourself on your back for successfully getting your metabolism back on track and not panic too soon about weight gain.
It may simply be that having lost fat, your body now needs less food to operate.
Or that you are being heavy handed on protein? Eating food when not really hungry?
If you take a look at Diet Doctor there are some good videos about why weight loss sometimes stalls but it might help for you to keep a diary for a week.
Lastly if your diabetes is well under control now why is it so important to continue the weight loss? This isn't a criticism - I just wondered why it is important to you.

I did wonder if it was too much protein - I'm going to reduce my daily intake a bit, and see if that helps.

The reason I want to continue to lose weight - atrial fibrillation is treated by cardiversion, and I need to be lighter for that (I'm severely obese), plus it will help with my arthritis and COPD.

 

[Dee aka Morgan]

Thanks to everyone for the replies.