Firstly, :welcome: from me ... and now to the rest of the stuff
...I've joined a gym and have been doing approximately 45 minutes of cardio a day. By doing this, I have be able to almost cut my daily dose of Lantus insulin in half...
That's one of the great things about exercise - is it will reduce your blood glucose levels as well as your insulin resistance, thus reducing the required insulin.
...I am trying to lose weight, but boy is it being stubborn...
Yes, it is that. It's compounded by insulin use as well, unfortunately. Insulin in the bloodstream can/will promote fat-storage as well as cause hunger, neither of which you want...
I am trying out "counting carbs" for really the first time. My A1c is usually in the 7.5 to 7.9 area, except lately it has jumped into the 8.0 to 8.5 range.
Counting carbs is great, but you should have as LOW as possible a target. For example, I'm a 245lb guy that eats under 100g of carb most days. Some days are slightly higher (If I know I'll burn 'em off) and some are even lower, depending on what I eat. I've also eliminated most starchy carbs completely from my diet. The vast majority of my carbs come from healthy veggies and some lower-GI fruit. Dropping the carbs has dramatically lowered my sugars, and my A1c has gone from 12.1% to 7.0% in three months. I'm hoping to be in the 5% club next test.
I am hoping to becoming as aware and informed as I can, so I can improve my health, lose weight, and live a better life.
Great goals, kudos to you for that!
Can anyone explain to me why it is hard for diabetic to lose weight? Any tips on weight loss. I'm 5'5'' and weigh 170 lbs. My goal is to lose 40 to 50 lbs. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
One of the biggest reasons it's hard to lose weight is the insulin. As mentioned, it promotes fat-storage and causes hunger. When you eat carbs, and your body quickly converts that to blood glucose, your pancreas releases insulin (and insulin-dependent type2's inject it) to compensate. The more insulin required, the more likely you are to gain weight from it.
This is why Eric (TheBackPages) mentioned cutting out the carbs... he makes it sound simple, and IT IS.
The more you can cut things like potatoes, pasta, anything with flour, rice/grains/cereals the better-off you'll likely find yourself to be. (Granted, everyone is different, but most diabetics find this works for them).
Try your hardest to get ALL your carbs from healthy veggies (except potato, corn and parsnips) and lower-GI fruits in moderation (basically berries, or very small servings of other fruit if you must) and you'll find you require less insulin and your blood glucose will improve.
Don't worry about fats too much, they are your friend. High-Fiber/Low-Fat diets don't work well for most diabetics, and the science that high-fiber/low-fat advice was based on turned out to be skewed. Unfortunately most-every health-care professional in the world still repeats the mantra, but more and more research is showing that lower-carb lifestyles are better overall for both weight loss and especially diabetes.
Exercise, as you've already discovered is also vitally important. It not only can burn excess glucose in the bloodstream, but regular (daily) exercise will improve insulin-resistance and help you lose weight.
It's also important NOT to starve yourself. Many people think that if 1600 calories is good, 1200 calories must be better for weight loss, and that's just not true. If you're 5'5" and 170 pounds and 43 years old, you likely need just over 2,100 calories a day to maintain that weight. Drop it to 1,600 calories to lose 1lb a week. Don't eat less, because your body goes into starvation mode and conserves the fat and slows your metabolism.
Split those calories into 5 or 6 healthy, low-carb meals a day and you'll also have good success with keeping your metabolism active and your blood sugars stable.
And most of all, stay positive
