Weight loss diet not working!

[Mark_1]

I also just realized that plans like Weight Watchers (which I've been on for the past 3 weeks) are not suitable for type 1 diabetics. Namely because WW encourages me to eat fruit for a snack, and penalizes me for eating a slice of cheese or 10 peanuts. But for my diabetes- the cheese or nuts don't require injecting insulin, so they are likely better for encouraging weight loss - in the long run. (assuming I don't overdo it and eats loads of them!). Does this make sense?

!

I don’t think weight watches type diets are really suitable for anyone. It’s a business they need repeat customers.

 

[Mbaker]

It is likely one of the food types is “signaling” and not allowing weight loss. I dropped yogurt as a test around 5 days ago and saw an immediate 0.7 kg loss. Why not try removing 1 item at a time and see if something in your diet is holding you back.

 

[MinaRotter]

I read your post and breathed a sigh of relief - wow, I'm not alone! Your details are very similar to mine. I'm 46, had type 1 since 12, and was a normal weight until mid-20's, but my sugars weren't great. Since then, I got married, went on the pump, had 7 healthy children - and seem to have gained 1 kilo per year. However, my blood sugar control has been great. I've hovered between a 6 - 6.5 HbA1c for years already, and I don't have much trouble figuring out how to stay in control; I also exercise 4x week and know how to adjust my rates without pre-loading with carbs, and usually it works.

SNAP! - Apart from the children - I only have 2.

I'm glad it helped. I started on a strict calorie controlled diet initially (at about 1500 calories a day - but this is probably too low) until I lost the first 10Kg or so (that took about a year of diet alone) and then realised that I was going to have to start gym work to lose any more as I plateaued for the best part of a year. When I started the gym work I stopped the strict calorie controlled diet and coming from such a low calorie diet made it easier to just "be careful" with both calories and carbs. So I don't count them now as such but if I had to estimate, I would say I have around 1800 calories/day (although this is bit of a guess and could be several hundred calories out - in either direction!) and my pump tells me my average daily carbs for the last 30 days are 128g - but this does include Xmas! I guess I would have around 100-110g CHO usually.

Your diet and exercise plan sound absolutely fine to me. I go to the gym about 3 times/week on average and probably eat more carbs than you do. My HbA1c is around 45-50 (6.2-6.7 on the old scale) but my basal changes regularly that makes ideal control a bit more difficult.

I think the main thing is to not give up, think of it as more of a routine/permanent lifestyle change if possible. The other reason I started gym work, aside from the weight loss, was to improve my general level of fitness as I am retired and generally pretty inactive and I think it has certainly done this. If/when I start slacking on the gym, I can use this as motivation to return (I used to get out of breath walking up a slope or stairs - not now).

I don't know if I'm teaching my mother to suck eggs here as I don't know how long you've been going to the gym for and I apologise if you already know all this but I would suggest not going mad at the gym, at least until you have been doing it for a while - if you find it really hard it will be more of a chore to keep going. I calculated my HR zones and during cardio work, stick mainly to zone 3 with the occasional brief incursion into zone 4 or even 5 if I feel good (I eventually started to get endorphin highs which were pleasant enough to get me through a few minutes of zone 4/5). I do fairly tough weight machines as wel but only hard enough so that I can do 2 x15 reps.

I go through phases where I slack off on the diet or gym work if I don't feel up to it but always restart - I think the longest I've gone is about a month, so take a break if you need to but always try and return. I hope these tips help but I'm sure you'll adapt them to suit your requirements - we're all individual!

WOW - well done on the children by the way

Incidentally, your GP should be able to give you exercise on prescription (I think that's still going - although I've been retired for 7 years now) that will not only give you about 3 months free gym access (limited hours though) but also a fitness advisor that will work out an exercise program for you.

 

[escturtle]

SNAP! - Apart from the children - I only have 2.

I'm glad it helped. I started on a strict calorie controlled diet initially (at about 1500 calories a day - but this is probably too low) until I lost the first 10Kg or so (that took about a year of diet alone) and then realised that I was going to have to start gym work to lose any more as I plateaued for the best part of a year. When I started the gym work I stopped the strict calorie controlled diet and coming from such a low calorie diet made it easier to just "be careful" with both calories and carbs. So I don't count them now as such but if I had to estimate, I would say I have around 1800 calories/day (although this is bit of a guess and could be several hundred calories out - in either direction!) and my pump tells me my average daily carbs for the last 30 days are 128g - but this does include Xmas! I guess I would have around 100-110g CHO usually.

Your diet and exercise plan sound absolutely fine to me. I go to the gym about 3 times/week on average and probably eat more carbs than you do. My HbA1c is around 45-50 (6.2-6.7 on the old scale) but my basal changes regularly that makes ideal control a bit more difficult.

I think the main thing is to not give up, think of it as more of a routine/permanent lifestyle change if possible. The other reason I started gym work, aside from the weight loss, was to improve my general level of fitness as I am retired and generally pretty inactive and I think it has certainly done this. If/when I start slacking on the gym, I can use this as motivation to return (I used to get out of breath walking up a slope or stairs - not now).

I don't know if I'm teaching my mother to suck eggs here as I don't know how long you've been going to the gym for and I apologise if you already know all this but I would suggest not going mad at the gym, at least until you have been doing it for a while - if you find it really hard it will be more of a chore to keep going. I calculated my HR zones and during cardio work, stick mainly to zone 3 with the occasional brief incursion into zone 4 or even 5 if I feel good (I eventually started to get endorphin highs which were pleasant enough to get me through a few minutes of zone 4/5). I do fairly tough weight machines as wel but only hard enough so that I can do 2 x15 reps.

I go through phases where I slack off on the diet or gym work if I don't feel up to it but always restart - I think the longest I've gone is about a month, so take a break if you need to but always try and return. I hope these tips help but I'm sure you'll adapt them to suit your requirements - we're all individual!

WOW - well done on the children by the way

Incidentally, your GP should be able to give you exercise on prescription (I think that's still going - although I've been retired for 7 years now) that will not only give you about 3 months free gym access (limited hours though) but also a fitness advisor that will work out an exercise program for you.

Update- I am slowly losing weight! I think the biggest lesson I need to internalize with all of this is that I am not able to lose weight quickly AND keep my sugars in tight control at the same time. I am terrified of running high sugars, so I do run low more often than others. But I just reduced all my rates again, and things are more stable. It just takes a lot of time and patience - more than I expected.

The lows inevitably occur, which derails my carb counts for the day - and also sometimes frustrate me so much that I lose motivation to eat well for the rest of the day. (yes, it's something I need to work on, but hard!) Your story, and the experiences of some others who gladly shared, of persevering even when results are slow - is SO reassuring and inspiring. Also, when people tell me that the ONLY way to lose weight as a diabetic is to drastically cut carbs, I get very depressed. I already know that won't work for me - I just don't enjoy meat or cheese or eggs enough to subsist entirely on them. Also, cooking for a large family (kids ranging from age 6 through 21) makes it challenging (practically and economically) to avoid carbs. I've been fine with about 100gm carbs/day, but lower than that makes me looney.

I keep repeating to myself that this is not a DIET, but as you said- "a routine and permanent lifestyle change," and that keeps me going. So one "bad" day doesn't drag me down too much, cuz it's the big picture. If I lose 10kg by the end of the year and increase muscle mass, I'll be thrilled.

Exercise is a lifesaver for me, those endorphins are great! I keep to zone 3 mainly, but recently I've only been exercising at home (treadmill and weights), cuz my family and work schedule is too erratic to get to the gym regularly. So I could probably exert myself more, which I'm aiming for. Wish me luck!