[BamaLou]

Hi! I am a 43 year old diabetic. I have been insulin dependent for the past 21 years. I have a 17 year old daughter, and a 20 year old son. I was first diagnosed when I was trying to get pregnant with my first child. I was thrilled when I was feeling nauseated and having to urinate a lot because I thought I was pregnant. So, I went to the doctor and turned out I wasn't pregnant, I was diabetic. I controlled my sugars with oral meds and diet for a few months until I did get pregnant. I went on insulin then and never was able to come off of it. So here I am at 43 trying to take back my health. 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. I was taking 90 units of Lantus every morning, and sliding scale Humalog throughout the day. I am now taking 55 units of Lantus every morning. I am trying to lose weight, but boy is it being stubborn. I am using My Fitness Pal online to log my exercise and calories and keeping up with my blood sugars in the comment fields. 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. I have not had an A1c test since I've started exercising (1 month now). I will soon, though. I am hoping to see some good results from my efforts. 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. 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!

 

[moon]

First, congrats on your exercise and being able to back off your insulin. That's awesome!

I'm not on insulin, so can't speak to the differences of how that might or does factor in. I gained a lot of weight the last 5 years, and realize now that what I thought was emotional craving/eating was actually my low-fat high-carb diet while - unbeknownst to me - being insulin resistant. So my pancreas kept pumping out more insulin, I got hungrier, ate more carbs - vicious cycle.

I went from that diet to a low-carb (averaging about 75/day) high-fat one, not counting calories, and have dropped 10 lbs in 1.5 months. Honestly, I stare at my plate and spot little I used to eat except the veggies. I have cut out all bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, black beans, lentils, and bear in mind I was eating whole grain of those things, yams not white potatoes, and thought I was doing fine. What I knew I needed was portion control and management of sweets, but food choices? No problem.

I was not a big meat eater but am becoming one. I loved cheese but a small amt with fresh whole grain crusty bread. I devoured fruit of all kinds. You get the point.

Now, eating the way I am learning to eat, I have lost the crazy hunger, am not counting calories, am obsessive about carbs, and pounds are falling off. I don't weight myself, the doc does, because I want only to focus on my bg for now, what my meter tells me I can eat, and figured I'd worry about the rest later.

This is not magic according to me. Once we cut out carbs our food choices narrow. That’s not to say they can’t be delicious and satisfying, but they do change and morph into choices that subdue hunger, thankfully!

So – checking your diet for carbs might give you the answer to why your numbers are creeping up, and if you cut more out of your diet the pounds just might start falling off for you too.

Good luck!

 

[ThoseBackPages]

work out daily.

stop eating man made carbs.

do not cheat, ever.

the weight comes off.

 

[beefy]

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

 

[BamaLou]

Thanks so much Moon, ThoseBackPages, and Beefy for your replies!!! WOW!!! Some great information here. A year ago, I was able to take off 20 lbs using Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar diet. I was not exercising then and the weight was coming off slow but steady. I can't even remember how or why I stopped, but I managed to put 10 lbs back on before I decided I wasn't going to gain it all back plus more, and that is when I really got serious about exercising daily and logging pretty much everything (blood sugars, exercise, food, etc). I am planning on going to see my doctor soon so he can write me a prescription for a larger quantity of test strips because while my insulin dose is going down, I have more than doubled how many times I check my glucose levels in a day... but, after reading post on this forum I feel like I am on the right track. I just need to keep tweaking things until I find the right balance. I'm thinking I need to get my brain back into the No Flour, No Sugar mode again.

Thanks again for the information and support! I think I'm gonna like it here!

 

[Shanny]

Sounds like you've figured this out already, Linda . . . no flour, no sugar & scads of strips!

It's good to have you here & I do hope you like it . . . visit as often as time allows, and thank you for joining us!
:welcome:

 

[onlymep]

welcome BamaLou as you can tell, everyone here is passionate about what works for them... that's the key, find what works for you! Personally I eat carbs every meal and I stick to low fat. Now that's just me as I've proven that increasing my meat intake doesn't work for me... my LDL increases. Actually I'm slightly worried as I broke my rule of eating minimal meat for past 2 weeks and I have to hand in my bloods first thing this Saturday (only day I can get in when pathology is open). I've had the shakes you see... I have low iron ferratin reading last test and I'm supposed to take iron supplement but I have a chronic stomach problem. I've been concerned about the shakes (not hypos I checked) so ate a bit more red meat in past 2 weeks. If you make changes to your diet, make sure you keep up with your regular bloods with doc as you don't want to suddenly find something is sky high. You'll find lots of info and support here. Keep us posted on how you're doing. Congrats on your weight loss too.

 

[jwags]

Everyone loses weight differently. When I hit 50 I was carrying a lot of extra weight. Everyone told me I couldn't lose weight and just accept it as part of growing old. I refused to accept that. I was already exercising but decided to doulble my workouts to 2-3 hours a day. That along with diet let me lose 50 pounds over 5 years. It wasn't easy. After I lost the weight I was dx'd with Diabetes. So I had to do a major change with diet again. Where before I used mainly a vegetarian, low fat diet to lose weight now I had to think about bgs. So I added meat and fat back into my diet. I now do a low carb diet and have lost another 30 pounds. Low Carb is the only diet that keeps my bgs close to 100. I have cut out all wheat products except sprouted grain bread. It is definitely doable. I am now at my college weight and weigh less than my college senior.

 

[BamaLou]

That is awesome jwags! Congrats on your weigh loss! I feel pretty determined to make this lifestyle change, and one of the reason is to try and set a better example for my 17 year old daughter who weighs a little over 200 lbs. I am so scared she is going to develop diabetes... but she has lost almost 30 lbs and is just a few pounds away from weighing under 200 lbs in the first time in years. It gives me hope that she can get a grip on things now and hopefully will never develop diabetes.

 

[crricha13]

keep your head high, you can do it! just gotta eat right AND exercise to lose the weight.....don't think you can not eat and lose weight. this will just slow your metabolism and make it more difficult.

 

[Eeyore]

I have found that exercise is just as important as low-carb eating. You might want to consider adding weight-training to your cardio workouts. Adding muscle mass will reduce your insulin resistance and increase your fat-burning metabolism. You don't have to do a lot - get some 10lb weights from WalMart and work with them 3 times a week to start. Good luck!!

 

[ThoseBackPages]

That is awesome jwags! Congrats on your weigh loss! I feel pretty determined to make this lifestyle change, and one of the reason is to try and set a better example for my 17 year old daughter who weighs a little over 200 lbs. I am so scared she is going to develop diabetes... but she has lost almost 30 lbs and is just a few pounds away from weighing under 200 lbs in the first time in years. It gives me hope that she can get a grip on things now and hopefully will never develop diabetes.

Don't make the mistake of equating being overweight with developing Diabetes.

Being overweight is a huge misconception with Diabetes.

Family History of diabetes is a much larger indicator if someone will develop Diabetes

 

[BamaLou]

Don't make the mistake of equating being overweight with developing Diabetes.

Being overweight is a huge misconception with Diabetes.

Family History of diabetes is a much larger indicator if someone will develop Diabetes

I guess I am somewhat guilty of doing that, or it is more like I see her as already having the family history, and the excess weight and bad eating habits might add to her developing it, or developing it at a faster rate. I worry about my son developing it too, and he is as thin as they come. One of my older brothers who is also diabetic, and was diagnosed in his early twenties has always been in superior physical shape his whole life. So yes, I know it is a family history thing... but as a mother... and being "the object of the family history", I have that whole guilt thing going on... "I should of taught them better eating habits", "My kids are going to be diabetics because of me." You, know... you just want better for your kids, you want them to have it all!

 

[BamaLou]

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.

Beefy, seems like you knew I was pretty much doing the 1200 calorie thing. That is how many calories the 'fitness site' I use to track my exercise and calorie suggested. I had been wondering if my body thought I was starving myself... but I also would eat back the calories I burned for the day from my daily exercise. So I should first of all, be consuming 1600 calories a day, and should I try to stay at that limit regardless of what I burn, or do I need to eat back the calories I burn each day. Would you also happen to know how accurate the gym equipment is when it tells you how many calories you burned?

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Beefy, seems like you knew I was pretty much doing the 1200 calorie thing. That is how many calories the 'fitness site' I use to track my exercise and calorie suggested. I had been wondering if my body thought I was starving myself... but I also would eat back the calories I burned for the day from my daily exercise. So I should first of all, be consuming 1600 calories a day, and should I try to stay at that limit regardless of what I burn, or do I need to eat back the calories I burn each day. Would you also happen to know how accurate the gym equipment is when it tells you how many calories you burned?

Everyone is different. That goes for us with Diabetes, and same goes for those that are healthy.

what works for Beefy, may not work for someone else. what works for me may not work for someone else.

the key here is to find what works for YOU. and unfortunately, only YOU are going to be able to find out what works for YOU

trial & error, trial & error, trial & error, trial & error

you will find the balance you seek.

what works for me is not eating. before diagnosis i was a free eater....ate what i wanted, when i wanted and as much as i wanted.
"as much as you can eat" places were a good friend of mine.

now since diagnosis, i do not count calories, i count carbohydrates.

of course when i started this new "diet" was i "hungry"? of course i was. who wouldnt be after eating what i wanted, when i wanted and as much as i wanted for 20+ years?

But you come to a point where you have to take control of your own actions, when you have the option to do so. and when it comes to EATING, we all have a choice of what we do and DO NOT put in our own mouths.

is it easy? no, not all the time. but really, after a while, it became easy for me.

 

[BamaLou]

Everyone is different. That goes for us with Diabetes, and same goes for those that are healthy.

what works for Beefy, may not work for someone else. what works for me may not work for someone else.

the key here is to find what works for YOU. and unfortunately, only YOU are going to be able to find out what works for YOU

trial & error, trial & error, trial & error, trial & error

you will find the balance you seek.

what works for me is not eating. before diagnosis i was a free eater....ate what i wanted, when i wanted and as much as i wanted.
"as much as you can eat" places were a good friend of mine.

now since diagnosis, i do not count calories, i count carbohydrates.

of course when i started this new "diet" was i "hungry"? of course i was. who wouldnt be after eating what i wanted, when i wanted and as much as i wanted for 20+ years?

But you come to a point where you have to take control of your own actions, when you have the option to do so. and when it comes to EATING, we all have a choice of what we do and DO NOT put in our own mouths.

is it easy? no, not all the time. but really, after a while, it became easy for me.

You are wise, oh Jedi Master! I am trying to count calorie and carbs... and hopefully between logging everything and checking my levels all the time, I will find that balance I am seeking.

 

[beefy]

Beefy, seems like you knew I was pretty much doing the 1200 calorie thing. That is how many calories the 'fitness site' I use to track my exercise and calorie suggested. I had been wondering if my body thought I was starving myself... but I also would eat back the calories I burned for the day from my daily exercise. So I should first of all, be consuming 1600 calories a day, and should I try to stay at that limit regardless of what I burn, or do I need to eat back the calories I burn each day. Would you also happen to know how accurate the gym equipment is when it tells you how many calories you burned?

Eric is bang-on with the "trial & error" comments, because we ARE all so different. It's not easy to get weight-loss working, and when you do find what works, sometimes you still need to change it up as your body adapts to that.

As far as calories-in and calories-out goes, on days when I burn more, I certainly eat more. I try to maintain a calorie-deficit of 600-1,000 per day, but it's impossible to be precise/exact in that, so I simply do my best.

Some people think weight-loss is easy for me, because the pounds are dropping quickly, but I'm pretty obsessive. I do my best to eat at very precise times, and I'm really 'anal' about my meals... I will measure/weigh my food and actually enter my items/serving sizes, etc. in a spreadsheet to get a complete calorie count and macro-nutrient breakdown. I go overboard by many people's standards, but it works for me. This method will not work for 99% of the people out there because it's too time-consuming/restrictive/anal-retentive for normal people. I'm NOT normal...

As far as the 'calories burned' stats on the exercise equipment... it's a lot of guesswork, and for the most part I believe it reads HIGH. Everyone's physiology is different. When I workout at the gym at a moderate pace, most equipment tells me I'm burning 14-1500 calories per hour. Yet my heart rate may be only 120-130bpm. I personally doubt I burn that much at that level of effort, but I guess it's possible.

At the pace and effort I went today, most calculators tell me I burned over 2,400 calories in my 2hrs and 40 minutes... If the online calculators are correct, in the past 7 days I would have burned approximately 18,000 calories from exercise. At the rate I usually workout, approximately 60% of my calories burned should be from fat, plus more from the calorie deficit. That means I should have lost over 3-4 pounds of FAT this past 7 days if those calculators are correct. However, neither the scale nor my clothes, nor my unscientific 'pinch tests' indicate that. I believe I've lost about 1.5 or MAYBE 2 lbs of fat this week. As such, I believe the online calories-burned calculators as well as the gym equipment can be up to 30% or more off in it's estimates of calories burned for most people, and at least 50% off in my case. I know that sounds like a HUGE discrepancy, but I think at least in my case it's true.

Most gym equipment calculators only ask your weight, sometimes age, and then calculate calories burned based on weight, resistance and speed... they don't factor in fitness level, muscle-mass, etc., so they will never be exceptionally accurate...

Don't let that discourage you though! The goal is to keep going, and seeing a motivational 'calories burned' number may be a good thing, even if it's a little 'off'... Just remember they're NOT perfect, and may not be representative of your weight loss.

And also remember that we NEVER burn 100% of the 'calories burned' as fat... Some people make the mistake of thinking every 3,500 calories they burn is a pound of fat, and it's just not so. This is why healthy weight loss is slow and steady... don't get caught up in the numbers too much. Most of us overweight people took YEARS getting that way, so be patient working it off and it will happen.

 

[BamaLou]

don't get caught up in the numbers too much. Most of us overweight people took YEARS getting that way, so be patient working it off and it will happen.

Thanks, Eric and Beefy!!! Both of you are helping me out a lot! Although it may sound like I am being a little OCD over the number, I am just trying to figure my body out. Even though I have made very little progress in the weight loss area, I am not really getting discouraged because it is also about an all-a-round health thing for me as well. AND I was always a tomboy in my younger days and I am loving the whole sweating like a pig thing! lol I feel better, my mood has improved greatly, I'm requiring less insulin,and every night after I finish my workout, I feel a little proud of myself!!! The endorphins are kickin'!!! Can you tell!!!

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Beefy, seems like you knew I was pretty much doing the 1200 calorie thing. That is how many calories the 'fitness site' I use to track my exercise and calorie suggested. I had been wondering if my body thought I was starving myself... but I also would eat back the calories I burned for the day from my daily exercise. So I should first of all, be consuming 1600 calories a day, and should I try to stay at that limit regardless of what I burn, or do I need to eat back the calories I burn each day. Would you also happen to know how accurate the gym equipment is when it tells you how many calories you burned?

Thanks, Eric and Beefy!!! Both of you are helping me out a lot! Although it may sound like I am being a little OCD over the number, I am just trying to figure my body out. Even though I have made very little progress in the weight loss area, I am not really getting discouraged because it is also about an all-a-round health thing for me as well. AND I was always a tomboy in my younger days and I am loving the whole sweating like a pig thing! lol I feel better, my mood has improved greatly, I'm requiring less insulin,and every night after I finish my workout, I feel a little proud of myself!!! The endorphins are kickin'!!! Can you tell!!!

imo, there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with being OCD

stick around here, it's a great place to get "real" information from people that know what they're talking about (fellow diabetics)

 

[onlymep]

Linda... just sharing my secret to how I lost 20kgs (44 lbs).... I microwaved all my food (meat, vegies, the lot). I know that sounds silly... but it actually worked for me. I basically didn't add any fats and I watched my carb portions. Like Beefy, I wrote everything down in a food diary. I did that for about a year and then noticed I had plateaued. At that time I only exercised a max of 30mins everyday (but I started at 20mins). I then got put on oral meds and I started increasing my exercise substantially (min 1 hour, but 2 hours daily for quite a bit at one point). I actually got to a point of total frustration. Weight loss is not easy... especially if you have health conditions to contend with. Keep up your positive attitude as that is what it takes. I agree with Eric & Beefy.... it's definitely trial & error, plus your body seems to change as you get older. Eg. the microwave thing only worked on me temporarily really.