Type 1 Weight loss - what's the best exercise to do to burn fat and avoid hypos?

[Liv1991]

Hi, I've been type 1 for 18 years and have always had to keep a close eye on my weight. I find the only thing that works to maintain my weight is a low calorie diet of 1200 calories a day but I get really sick of this sometimes and want to be able to enjoy eating without the constant worry of gaining weight. Does anyone have any advice on which types of exercise help you to lose weigh/burn fat?

So far I've worked out...

I can walk for hours without it affecting blood sugar levels which keeps my weight steady but I still have to be sensible with diet.

Running is fine but can make my blood spike quite randomly so it's hard to plan around a busy day and I don't enjoy it so I'm less likely to keep it up.

I have never tried weight training as I've found exercises which involved strength cause me to have hypos almost immediately.

I just want to find something that efficiently burns calories so I feel like I have more freedom to enjoy food!!!

I wanted to pay a personal trainer at the gym but feel like it would be a waste of money as they wouldn't understand type 1 well enough. Does anyone know of any gyms that have experience trainers who know a lot about diabetes?

Also I have a pump so have the benefit of being able to adjust basal profiles when trying new exercises.

Thanks,

Liv

 

[TorqPenderloin]

I'm a firm believer that heavy resistance training (weight lifting) is one of the best approaches to losing fat and retaining muscle.

I find that the key to avoiding hypos during exercise is to workout as far from my last bolus as possible. Consequently, I prefer to workout first thing in the morning after a couple cups of coffee and no food/insulin before the gym.

It sounds like you're off to a very good start in testing and understanding how certain types of exercise affect you. Very few people take the time to do that, yet it's extremely important.

To answer your question: while there are some types of exercise that may be (slightly) better than others, your diet is ultimately going to be what controls your weight and body measurements.

 

[Mbaker]

I agree with @TorqPenderloin that resistance based training is optimum for burning fat, due to the residual afterburn many hours later. Personally I advocate HiiT based weight sets from a time, results and motivational perspective; clearly if you go down this route the advice offered to minimise a potential for a hypo is key. In general cardio only based training reduces muscle mass. The additional trick is to ensure you get adequate sleep as this is when the magic happens and additionally rest days (this is when you could do cardio).

 

[tim2000s]

I'm another that advocates for resistance training for body fat loss. I've found it to be tremendously effective. For me it was "German Body Composition Training" that worked, which is, as @Mbaker suggests, a form of weights based HIIT.

Equally though, it is all about diet. Eat the wrong stuff and no matter how hard you work in the gym, you can't transform your body.

 

[Liv1991]

Ok thanks everyone I'm clueless on the weight training stuff but might talk to a trainer about doing some HIIT stuff.