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Weight gain advice

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Poohbear616

Member
Messages
12
Hi, I was diagnosed Type 2 in February at the age of 36. I had only gone to the doctor to check for a genetic heart defect as my heart rate is quite fast. I always knew I was likely to develop diabetes as my mum, all 4 grandparents and great grandad have had it. I just wasn't expecting it quite so soon. Also I only weigh 45kg so I didn't think it was at that great a risk.

My original Hba1c came back as 92 with my 12 hours fasting blood glucose was 16.1 mmol/l. The doctor originally put me on metformin 3 times a day and kept getting me in for weekly blood tests until I bought a blood glucose monitor. This didn't seem to be working so the practice owner took over my treatment and put me on gliclazide and had me tested for Type 1 as I'm so thin he thought I'd been misdiagnosed.

Unfortunately just as all this happened lockdown started. It's meant I haven't really been given any advice or help in how to deal with everything just what I've found on the internet. It also meant it took over 5 weeks to get my antibodies test results back, which turned out to all be normal.

I had another Hba1c in april which was 73 and I was getting regular reading of 5-7mmol/l in the mornings and evening when I tested. I even got a couple in the 4s.

In the last few weeks I haven't been able to get a reading below 8 even when I exercise and eat as little carbs as possible. I started a food diary and it made me realise just how little I was actually eating during the day. It was only eating 1000-1300 calories a day. I've managed to up this to about 1600 calories a day unless I have a bad day and have something with lots of carbs.

I had another review last week and my Hba1c is now down to 58 which is a big improvement and they have put me back on metformin as well as gliclazide which seems to be helping bring the BG down and I actually had a reading of 5.6 this morning! My big issue is that they want me to put weight on and I've got to get to 51kg which is about a stone extra weight to gain.

I've really struggled finding anything for type 2 diabetics and weight gain as it all seems to be for weight loss. I've started having a glass of whole milk every morning with breakfast, I've increased my fat intake but I was told my cholesterol is getting high.

They did advise protein shakes. Has anyone tried this and does it work? I try to snack during the day as well as my 3 meals but if I have anything after 4pm it seems to mess up my BG reading even if there wasn't any carb in what I ate.

I've always had a problem gaining weight and not being able to eat carb just seems to be making it even harder at the moment. I'm not sure if my weight gain problems are due to having Russell's Silver syndrome which I had no idea about until I was going through all this and the doctor pointed it out in my notes.

What do people advise I should do?
 
If you reduce carbs, you must increase fat and or protein.
When I started Low Carb I lost a lot of weight that I didn't want to lose.
I increased nuts (walnut, pecan, brazil, hazel are all pretty low carb and fairly high calorie)
Cheese is good, full fat greek yogurt is good
Avocado is good - again fairly high calorie

I don't know what Russell's Silver syndrome is so apologies if what I did is not appropriate for you.
 

Hi there - I'm around 48/49kg and 160cm tall, so I'm slight too. Are you shorter than me, or about the same?

When my weight dips a bit, I try to firstly, just make my portion sizes a bit bigger, and concentrate on the fat side of stuff.

You don't have to eat great blocks of butter(, unless you want to!). I just concentrate on fattier cuts of meat, like lamb, pork belly, creamier sauces, cheese and sometimes nuts, although my system doesn't get on too well with too many nuts.

I try very hard not to have to snack, as I prefer to eat meal without snacking. Aside from anything else, it seems to me if I snack my blood sugar is just coming into a good place, then I eat again and boost it up again.

What do you usually eat during the day? That way we can maybe make suggestions of things you might like.
 
Hi. Did you also have a C-Peptide test as well as GAD? You can have a negative GAD as I did but still be T1. Viruses and other antibodies can result in T1. A C-Peptide will measure your actual insulin output and not try to find the cause of your problem (GAD etc) thru a narrow test. Why do the medics want you to gain weight? Is it to match the fact that they are overweight as many are! If you are T1 which is very likely you will be burning body fat. You need to increase fats and proteins whilst keeping the carbs down. Ask to be started on insulin as it appears the Gliclazide isn't working - I had the same problem. Do ask for that C-Peptide if you haven't had it or ask for a further one as you may be in the honeymoon period.
 
I had to google it when I was told so that's understandable. It's a type of dwarfism that causes very small weight at birth. I was 2lbs 8oz and 10 days overdue. It can also cause learning difficulties and deformities but mine is very mild so just a bit short.
 
I'm 150cm so a little bit shorter. The person that did did my review said I'm currently under weight and 51kg is the ideal weight for my height apparently. Though it was a pharmacist that did my review. I think I did loose about a stone of weight before my diagnosis which may be why they want me to put it back on.

I tend to eat egg, bacon and sausages for breakfast with toast if my BG is lower and I know I'm going to be more active. Very occasionally I have lower carb cereal. Lunch is usually salad with meat or fish and cheese, dinner is normally meat and veg with a couple of new potatoes or a tiny bit of wholemeal pasta.

Snacks I've been trying have are protein based like chicken or beefy jerky and cheese.

I have a couple of bits of fruit a day and half a pint of milk every morning.

Unfortunately I can't stand any nuts of any kind. I have tried some recently but it's still a big no no. I also live and share food cost with someone that is trying to loose weight and can't eat alot of red meat. I've just ordered so more fatty meats for me to eat in hope they help.

I will ask the doctors about the c-peptide test on monday when they open. I don't remember seeing it on the blood test form when they did the GAD test.
 
Yes, you are pretty compact, but then, if you're like me, the silver lining are children's clothes and shoes sometimes. There's always a silver lining.

As a 36 year old female, of moderate activity, you 150cm tall, 45 kg weight brings you in at a BMI of 20. Healthy weight is considered 18.5-24.9.

50kg brings you to a BMI of 22, which, to be fair is sometimes used as a rule of thumb. However, unless your profile is wrong, and you happen to be male you aren't underweight.

How do you feel at 45kg? Do you feel thin? Are you unhappy with your weight?

Edited to add the link to the BMI Calculator: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/
 
How about adding some muscle? Strength training in a caloric surplus. Add in some protein around the training sessions. Squats squats squats
 
Definitely female. I do feel thin but then I always have and never been overly happy. I'd be happier if I weighed a bit more.

I definitely need to build some muscle mass as well as it's nearly nonexistent!

Another issue I've found is that even though thin any weight I put on goes straight to my stomach which I know is very bad.
 
Look up the “100 squats a day challenge “ you don’t need to do them all at once. But it’s a super way to increase metabolism and burn up glucose.
 
Hi. It's up to to decide whether you look and feel overweight. A BMI of 22 is the same as me and I feel fine. GPs have tended to think GAD rather than C-peptide but knowledge is changing. GAD only tests for one aspect of the cause of T1 in adulthood whereas C-Peptide measures actual insulin production regardless of cause. Your GP may not be up to date on this.
 
I wouldn't mind adding a bit of mass back on mostly because I lost about a stone before my diagnosis so now all my clothes are a size too big.

Spoke to my doctors today and they gave me a printout of all the tests I've had done since March. I haven't had a C-peptide test done so they've told me to phone up tomorrow to speak to my doctor and get one arranged.
 
 
Yes, Everyone seems to want to LOSE weight. I'm 6 foot 2 inches and weigh 11 stone. How do I keep to a low carb diet and PUT ON WEIGHT??

 
tmule4 said:
Yes, Everyone seems to want to LOSE weight. I'm 6 foot 2 inches and weigh 11 stone. How do I keep to a low carb diet and PUT ON WEIGHT??
Click to expand...
Stick with low carb, basically, but don't fast at all. Have 3 meals, 3 snacks a day. The bulk of us need to drop weight, so meals get skipped, snacks nixed... You don't need to do that. Keep eating, just keep it low carb.
 
tmule4 said:
Yes, Everyone seems to want to LOSE weight. I'm 6 foot 2 inches and weigh 11 stone. How do I keep to a low carb diet and PUT ON WEIGHT??
Click to expand...

TMule4 - What are you actually eating? What are your blood glucose scores looking like alongside? Is your lifestyle sedentary, or active? And finally, have you always been slim?

Sorry for all the questions, but they would help shape my answer.
 
DCUKMod said:
TMule4 - What are you actually eating? What are your blood glucose scores looking like alongside? Is your lifestyle sedentary, or active? And finally, have you always been slim?

Sorry for all the questions, but they would help shape my answer.
Click to expand...
Lots of eggs, cheese, chicken (often home made curry), sweet potato, green beans, gnocchi with courgettes, rice cakes, and a loaf of seeded bread per week. Plenty of fruit - grapes, pears, oranges, satsumas etc. Also 2 squares of no-added-sugar dark chocolate per night. Also a handful of nuts each night. Fasting BG on rising (8.00 am) averaging 5.3 to 5.4 for last three months running. Typical BG 2 hours after dinner is 7, but I am mostly relying on fasting BG to tell me where I am. Last HbA1c was in November 2019, 47; down from 48 in March 2019. I am 83 so Type 2 is probably age-related. Hope this is useful? I could give you chapter and verse!
 
You're eating things I can only dream of. Fruit, gnocci, bread, rice cakes, sweet potatoes...?! If you cut any of those foods out your HbA1c'll go down further. That's still a lot of carbohydrates in there (practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so not just sugars, but the starches too), but considering your HbA1c.... Wow.
 
Oh, sorry, wasn't done yet and clicked post. I'm seeing a lot of carbs, but very little fats. You might want to cut down on the carbs and up the fats considerably, as well as the protein. Just an idea for weight gain.
 
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