Feeling hopeless
Day and I have only lost 25 of those 90 lbs . I workout at a gym a minimum of 3 days a week and I am always on a diet . I lose 5 lbs and then I gain 5 lbs .I feel hopeless because and frustrated because I was told yesterday by my regular md that it is the insulin that is sabatoching my efforts . Before I was pregnant I weighed 175 lbs and I wore a size 9/10 and I thought I was fat back then. Is it the insulin that is making it impossible for me to lose weight because it seems that my body has no problem maintIning a weight that I do not want to be . I am so strict with how I eat that I avoided my cousins b- day last week because I didn't want to be tempted by all of the food. On anothor note my bloodsugars are in the best range that they've been in a long time . I stay between 70 and 200 . I know some might think that is to high but my body goes high for no apparent reason sometimes . And yes I feel gross above 150 . Anyone who is a insulin dependent diabetic could you please share your secret with what kind of diet you follow that has helped you to lose weight ( if you ever had a weight problem)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cinderfella on -
I can sympathize. I have two children who are college age now but when I had them I gained 50 lbs with the first baby and 80 lbs with he second one. I was able to take off all but 14 lbs after the second child. Luckily for me, it wasn't too, too difficult to take the weight off. I like to walk so I always took a daily walk with my kids in a double stroller. Plus, I did try to diet a little.
One suggestion might be to cut carbs rather than limit overall food intake. Carbs require more insulin than vegetables and proteins. If the doctor thinks the insulin is making you keep the pounds on then switch out some of the carbs for lean meats and fresh vegetables and salads. You see your insulin requirements start to decline. Perhaps some of the pounds will go along with it. Also, you say you work out several times a week. Make sure you get at least 45 minutes of a calorie burning aerobic exercise in too. These are things that I know work for me. Best of luck.
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Permalink Reply by gawnfishin on -
I just went on Symlin. It is another hormone produce by the pancreas with insulin. It very much leveled out my ups and downs and has the benefit of slowing down how fast your stomach empties. I get a full feeling much quicker and there fore use less insulin along with eating less. This has resulted in a 14 pound loss in a few weeks. Ask your endo about it. Being a pumper I disliked the idea of an injection again but the benefits far out weighed the inconvience for me.
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Permalink Reply by Super_sally on -
I am also trying to lose baby weight. Challenging!
If insulin is the problem (may or may not be), the way to reduce insulin doses is to eat low carb (moderate protein, and high fat). Dietary fat eaten in the context of a low carb diet (I think they are generally looking at low carb as being < 60 g/day), does not cause weight gain.
Make sure your thyroid has been checked and is optimal, as this could be the other factor sabotaging your efforts. Check both TSH, and the FT3/FT4. TSH is ideally 1 - 2 range and FT3 and FT4 should be at least mid-range and preferable in the upper half of the range.
For the workouts, try to mix them up - Ie don't do the same workout every session to help trigger your body into burning fat.
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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on -
I haven't had any babies (junior is 13...) but was up to 275 lbs in maybe 2004-5? I relized "you're 38 (-ish...) and have diabetes and are really heavy..." and would note guys younger than me being dead, with the ADA or JDRF listed in their obits in the paper. I mostly cut out carbs. I used to eat a sandwich, chips, yogurt and an apple for lunch, or go out and have bacon cheeseburgers, etc. w/ my buddies. Now I eat 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich and that's about. It tides me over until 2:00 when I have some nuts and carrots. I'm down to about 185 lbs and feel good. The other advantage of doing the same food all the time is that I think that it makes it easier to keep the lid on my BG.
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Permalink Reply by marie on -
Hi everyone thanks for the advice . By the way I'm actually 33 and I feel like I'm wasting the best years of my life ( the years of being young and the years that my 5 year old still thinks that I'm the most important person still) here's my problem with low carb , I have tried it .Protein raising my bl in the same way that pizza does . Here's an example of what happens when I only eat a cup of chicken whith lettuce , 1/4 cup shredded cheese , and 2 tbls ranch dressing . If I'm around 120 before this type of meal I will not take any insulin but an hour after eating I usually feel that high bl rising feeling and usually at this time I will be between 140 and 180 . I will then take 1 unit and continue to feel like I'm rising and I will test an hour later and now I'm between 160 and 200 so I will take another unit . This pattern will continue until I go to sleep , and if I'm not careful I will end up low in the mid of night . And I'm sorry but when I'm low I have to eat candy until that feeling goes away . But my rule when low is I will not eat food only fast acting fatfree candy like licorice, juice, skittles, gummy candy .however after a low that's a waste of 300 calories at least and usually 60- 90 carbs ( one cup of juice has about 28 carbs and if that juice doesn't work well than it's time for the jelly beans or licorice
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Permalink Reply by Sam Iam on -
Hi Marie,
I'm the same age as you, T1 also, and a parent. I admire your honesty. D is never easy. It sounds like you are doing an admirable job of juggling many difficulties. Some of which I can relate to. Others, not so much.
Reading your post, I come away with a huge pile of problems. Each making the next worse. It sounds like you feel trapped.
A good place to start would be just learning to chill. Stop being so hard on yourself.
It also gather you have misunderstandings about the fundamental mechanics of diabetes. I'm tempted to steal AR's line here, and tell you to read "think like a pancreas." It's not a bad place to start. I've also become a fan of Jenny Ruhl, and Dr. Bernstein. I learned a lot just searching through past conversations on this site. Good luck. Take care of yourself.
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Permalink Reply by sweety1691 on -
facing the same problem....:( i actually feel very very frustrated sometimes instead of doing vigorous exercise twice a day plus eating a low carbs food my weight doesn't seem to loose even a bit..... my body fat actually seems to increase a bit..... its ridiculous. sometimes i actually feel like jumping from the uppermost floor of the building but with a parachute..... hehe...
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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on
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Why wouldn't you bolus before the chicken and lettuce? If you had the "right" amount (ha ha, I know this can be easier said than done...) you might be able to have a smoother and less stressful "post-meal" experience? Instead of "chasing" the high, if you bolus ahead of time, the insulin "anticipates" the high. With practice, you can get the numbers aimed correctly and achieve a smoother curve which, in turn, might also anticipate the low from overchasing?
I had some weight drift not too long ago and started using this app called "Lose It!" to track what I was eating and noted I was tossing quite a few jelly beans down the hatch. When I thought about it, I figured that it meant that my basal rate was running a little hot so I turned it down and lost the jelly beans. Maybe other stuff was involved but my weight went back down.
I suspect that "I have to eat candy until that feeling goes away" might cause both extra consumption of empty calories (as you note yourself...) and also, in turn, lead to BG levels bouncing up and down? I know having small children is hugely stressful and hard, not to mention they enjoy eating crap all the time that is, in turn, in the house. Lows also lead me to "munchies" and, for years, I'd overtreat and go up and down. These days, I treat with very moderate amounts of jellybeans, skim milk (I know, Holger said I was "stupid" in some thread yesterday but I've tried it and it works and doesn't spike my BG...) and V8. It can take it a bit of time to correct the hypo but will pull me out of it. I have got a lot of stuff pretty much "dialed in" so I may not be the best example and the "unknown" when "chasing the dragon" by taking a units here and there after a high caused by no pre-meal bolus, is that there can be quite a bit of insulin-on-board in the equation that can be quite dangerous. That's another reason to shoot before you eat (while corralling 6 year old! eek!), so you can reasonably expect that if you run low, the low won't be as severe as if there's other insulin on board?
Sorry to go on so much but with your description, I can think of those ways to reconceive your approach and perhaps feel better, do less work and be ready to keep up with junior when she's a teenager!
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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on -
I definitely sympathize! I'm not overweight really but if I gain a few pounds, they are very hard to shed.
My endo has told me that this is a common occurrence in well-controlled T1 women. We are
demonstrating the effects of insulin coupled with the propensity for estrogen to store fat.
A few things have helped me: low carb definitely. But like you, protein can cause me to spike so I had to learn HOW to bolus for protein-packed meals. I had to experiment with certain meals to
figure out exactly how much insulin they required. This didn't involve courting
carbs but did involve lots of trial and error.
Exercise (aerobic) definitely helps me. Running has been my outlet and best weight-loss
tool, but any cardio exercise should work (swimming, brisk walking, etc).
I have noticed that diet sodas and artificial sweetners have a negative effect on my weight
Diet coke, as much as I love it, causes me to gain belly fat.
Have you had your thyroid checked? Hypothyroidism does make it really hard to lose weight.
And it's common in T1s.
Also stop weighing yourself! Judge your progress by how you feel, how your body looks and not
by numbers on a scale! My weight naturally fluctuates throughout
the month by as much as 5-7 pounds in either direction (thanks to
those wonderful hormones). I had to stop looking at the numbers
because I found myself becoming obsessed (and not in a good way).
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Permalink Reply by marie on
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I do believe I overtreat when low . Also if I do low carb I know there's a cutoff to the amount of carbs that you should eat for the day but what is the number to the amount of protein grams that you should eat in a day . Honestly protein makes me gain weight ! About a month ago I followed this diet plan thAt I found in one of those muscle and fitness magazines for woman . The diet claimed that it was a diet to shed fat because it was a drastic approach . This was the diet 5 small meals a day each .Breakfeast: 3 whites 1 egg lunch: 4oz chicken and 4oz sweet potato snack: protein shake lunch : 4oz fish and more sweet potato dinner: 4oz chicken or fish and vegetable snack : anothor protein shake . Well I did this diet for about 5 days , plus I went to the gym each day . Yes I weighed myself each day and noticed that I was gaining a pound to a 1/2 a pound a day , so I stopped . The only good thing that came out of that diet was my skin looked brighter and I had more energy . However that is not worth it if I'm gonna gain weight ! I figured that a diet like that was about 1600 calories . I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't seem to matter what I eat it seems to only matter as to how much. Would you all believe that I cannot eat cereal because it rises the bl to fast and requires so much insulin and usually results in a low . Yes I've tried the special-k diet that my friend swore by but for me it had no results cause that week when I followed that diet my bl were high than low and all those treatments for the low defeated the rules of the diet . Anyway how does a diabetic lose weight on a low carb diet if they have to treat low bloodsugars at least 3 times a week or more . When I'm in range like between 70 and 180 I am prone to lows and it's the price I deal with for better numbers and I don't mind it because if I do go low it usually happens at night when I'm home .
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Permalink Reply by Brunetta on -
Marie,Hope this advice helps your questions: you wrote: Anyway how does a diabetic lose weight on a low carb diet if they have to treat low bloodsugars at least 3 times a week or more(?) .
*
well, I do not think that moderate lows 3 times a week is that unusual if you are aiming for control.Dr. Bernstein carries treatments to pop in his mouth, sometimes everyday, and he is the low-carb expert!! Hope the lows you are talking about are not disabling. I generally do not find any "low glucose" higher than 60 to bother me a great deal , and if the CGM tells me I am flatlining in the 60's for hours and I am just sitting at the computer with No insulin on board, I may let it stay like that. Will get something to eat, usually protein and a small carb ( 15 grams or less) if I have to do ANY physical activity,like walking around the house, even when I am am in the 60's. No overtreat and no spike. The lower you get the more the urgency to overtreat.
*But I would not try to overcorrect for a high sugar at night, prior to bed. Not safe. Be conservative until you kinow what is going on by journaling an logging, using the carelink software if you are on a MM. I will say read "Pumping Insulin and Think like a Pancreas" Both have a few tips about weight and insulin usages.
* The above books will tell you how to adjust basal levels as well. Yours may be set too high.*As AR said, you do need to bolus, prerably pre-bolus, regardless of what you eat,( for me unless it is lemon juice, or tea, or sugar free -jello, a few nuts, I bolus) So you are not always chasing blood sugars,bolus when you eat , unless you are very low... I forget the name of the book that tells you how to bolus for protein.. read it long ago,( which for me, at my age of inconsistent tmemeory could be about only 4 years-lol)
I think that you were probably told, at diagnosis by doctors and dieticians not to bolus for protein. I was. This is Not true. Moderate to large amounts of protein will cause your sugars to rise. Unfortunately, I do not think that most medical personnel who deal with diabetics on a regular basis even know this. And use a dual or square wave bolus for such meals. Normal bolusses will hit you too fast. It takes a lot of logging and I know you are busy, but that is the only way you can get a handle on how much insulin you need, when you need it, AND lose weight.*Do not overtreat when you are low. I kniow you wan ti "eat until that feeling goes away", but not a good thing to do if you want to keep calorie consumption down. Eat 15 grams only. Wait 15 minutes,test again. sometimes for me, I have to wait 20 minutes to get a decent( for me over 65) blood gucose. Just make sure it is rising out of the 40's and 50's. Yes waiting out the action of the glucose-raising elements takes a bit of time and patience. But you will keep the yo-yo bg pattern if you continue to overtreat and chase blood glucoses. Lowish carb with moderate protein helps me when I need to shed a few pounds.
*and yes, I do believe you cannot eat regular "store bought" cereal. There is a recent thread called "cereal" I believe, and many talk about their misadventures with this fond convenience food. I can only have a bit (1/4 cup) of puffed wheat tossed in unsweetened plain.greek yogurt.Cereal is considered a quick staple of American diets, but I find my morning blood sugars, the dawn phenomenon and needing more insulin in the moring hours, all lead me NOT to eat it al all. I feel full if I eat green veggies with olive oil and cottage cheese or eggs for breakfast. I pre-bolus with a dual wave 20 minutes before I eat. I eat smaller portions of that when I want to lose weight.
*I know you have a little girl and what I am telling you to try will take more time and effort for you.. Maybe having to get up earlier and perpare most your own meals , from scratch..But you can have her help, maybe the night before you to chop veggies, or make protein rich salads ( little kids LOVE to be chefs) as a bonding and healthy activity. And eating like that will set her up fro a lifetime of wellness,m particulalry if weight may be an issue with family genetics.Hope my suggestions help/ BTW stop weighing yourself every day. You will know by how your clothes fit when you have lost weight.
God bless you and your little one, Marie.
Take care.Brunetta
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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on
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I think that if you have diabetes the best way to approach it is to balance your BG, and then see what it takes to do that. Overtreating lows makes it very hard to manage anything as you will be chasing things with food all day every day. If you are not "balanced" the "chasing" and extra units and all of that will make it impossible to control. If you have "no" carbs, eg chicken, 50% of the chicken (I think it's 53 or 56% exactly but be conservative) will convert to carbs so you should have a little bit of insulin but it has to be BEFORE you eat. Then see what happens, test and treat lows conservatively. If you overtreat, you'll run high, if you eat without bolusing you'll run high. If you overbolus afterwards to fix problem you'll run low, etc.
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