To my way of thinking only.... I talk plain straightforward... So aplogise.....
I lost a lot of weight before my diagnosis....and yes after diagnosis. i put the weight back on.
With me pre diabetes, I could eat and drink loads and still lost weight...tbh what you consider eating less and barely snacking... Could actually be a huge amount of food compared to low carbers, weight watchers!! Etc...
Now in all honesty I personally believe that you may well have been size 16.... But that may well have been a light weight for your eating habits then.... And weight gain may and should regain as your bloods lower their levels...
You say you are eating less..with less snacking...
To maintain my weight as a T1 for 25+ years I rarely take snacks unless needed through my physical work. Unless they are needed to combat low levels.. I would personally try to get a new living without too many snacks unless you are going to physically need them due to insulin or you know you are going to exercise physically
There are studies / research that links weight gain to hormones to insulin etc.... But only from my own experience for me, my weight gain after my diagnosis from 71/2 st to eventually 91/2 stone was my body normalising the food contents and getting me back to a stable weight... Since then and I certainly don't blame insulin myself... I put weight on if I eat too many carbs and cala to what my body needs to have.
I daresay people will say that insulin can cause weight gain..... HOWEVER... My own body puts on because of eating too much or not exercising throuh working very hard physically...
What is a typical day menu for you including snacks?
If size 14 or above personally I would get a portion control plate and use it. Or use a while of low carbing.
My husband and I eat the same food each day... He's a pen pusher, i work very hard physically. He eats huge portions of just plain meat, veg and yogurt say for main meal... I eat a 1/3rd of his food... Thats why he fat... I'm not.
Even if insulin is a hormone that increases weight...personally, i believe that it is still possible to lose it.....
Sorry for sounding and being harsh with a critical stance in your early days, but just really to briefly put... Your diagnosis is ground zero day to look clearly at your food, habits, lifestyle and health... Please dont jump on literature saying that insulin is a growth hormone to put on weight, please take a clear view of your whole life..... If it is all down to insulin growth hormone, then there should be one patient here that would be a skeleton...
It may well be a factor for some, but please look at everything.....There must have been people under reseach conditions that put on weight leading scientists to conclude this decision.
My own was that I put on weight to a normal level, because my levels ran so high in prediagnosis that I could eat anything... After when levels stabilised then I got to weight I wanted I did not have to eat even 30% of what I did pre diagnosis.