Your weight, health and fitness will ultimately be what “you” choose it to be. I’ve known a number of people who were diagnosed T1 and found their weight shot up after diagnosis. After several months things “settled down.” You should be basically to the point where you can “choose.” But I do hope that you choose to just be healthy and fit. You can “choose” to reduce your calories, and you can lose weight, but in the end if you choose to be healthy and fit it won’t just be about reducing your weight. I’ve tried to choose measures of my health and fitness that better reflect my goals (as opposed to weight). In my case, I’ve focused on my performance in the gym and my bodyfat. Don’t mistake your progress towards health and fitness as all being summarized by that number on the scale.
I want to lose more weight because it is a lot easier on my knees/ankles/hips/spine when I run! : -)
It’s been about 8 months for me and I’ve noticed the same thing. The weight I’ve gained so far doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that every time I get on a scale I seem to have gained a few pounds. I just wish it would stabilize again. I am also going to the gym and trying to eat a healthy diet with relatively low carbs.
I just had my thyroid checked and my TSH level was 4.05…my doctor said it was still within the normal range and wasn’t concerned. Still, do you think high TSH could cause weight gain? If so, is there anything I can do about it? I don’t know anything about thyroid.
This thread is incredibly timely for me as I have gained about 12 pounds since starting insulin in mid-November (I was initially dx as Type 2 in July 2009 and then retyped as Type 1 in November 2010). My diet and exercise have remained exactly the same. I acknowledge that I must have gained back some of the weight I lost because my sugars were running too high before the insulin. My doctor said that virtually everyone she sees gains weight when they begin insulin therapy. She recommended eating as few carbs as I could so that I would use as little insulin as possible. I am also reading Gary Taubes’s “Why We Get Fat – And What To Do About It,” which describes how insulin encourages fat production. I haven’t finished it yet - but it is thought-provoking as it questions calories in - calories out being the major factor in weight.
I am sure if we were incarcerated at Auschwitz and limited to 1000 calories a day weight gain would not be a problem. Or loose in Slovakia during WW1. But loose in America what to do ? another problem is getting enough sleep. The 2 issues may be related.
ilana, some would say that the TSH level was quite high! There are debates about what is normal, but the standard lab cutoff for HIGH is often thought to be too high!
It could be a factor in weight gain.
You should ask your doctor to test your free T3 and T4 levels. Many doctors rely only on the TSH, which is more of an average thyroid function test. The other two could be off and still show a “normal” TSH. You can also request an antibody test to see if you have an autoimmune reaction going on (it’s call ATPO in Hungary, not sure if they use the same name in the USA). Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism is really common with type 1. I hope that your endo will be willing to test.
I had a full thyroid workup, which determined that I have Hashimoto’s (tested very positive for antibodies for years) and the ultrasound and isotope exam revealed that there are many “dead spots” on my thyroid. But I have normal TSH levels (1.5-3) and free T3, T4 levels. So I am not treating the Hashimotos in anyway. We are just watching and waiting for my thyroid function to decrease.
The treatment for hypothyroidism is hormone replacement (taking a pill). There are some foods that are recommended to avoid, like soy products, but I think that is still theory at this point!
ilana- A lot of endos use the “normal range” that the labs give them which I personally STRONGLY disagree with! Endos are trained to get our TSH as close to 1 as possible but a lot of them do not!
Thanks for the advice Kristin! I wish I could order the tests myself… I don’t want to be too pushy with my doctor, but I definitely feel like something is wrong. Did you have any symptoms from Hashimoto’s?
The typical symptoms are feeling cold (especially hands and feet), hair loss, being tired, …
I have always had cold hands and feet. So I didn’t really feel anything new.
Most women in my family have hypothyroidism. So I have been watching for it.
Hope that you can get some of the tests!
Hi Emma,
Many things not related to any medical condition may also explain that situation. The most likely to my opinion is that because you are having too many lows your body is starting to feel threatened and is sending starvation signals so it accumulates fat to prepare for starvation.
Another thing may be that with too many lows you are feeding your insulin instead of feeding yourself.
Anyhow I would suggest to avoid lows and if you are having them, I would use some nutritional sugar as opposed to “empty sugar”. I don’t know why everyone is taking these glucose pills when for me one mandarin bring BG up just as quickly as the pill and is loaded with vitamins that help my body to metabolize calories.
Another more optimistic scenario is that you are building up your muscles (muscle tissue is heavier than fat). If you are only diagnosed 5 months ago that means that your muscles were having trouble until recently with lack of absorbed sugar. Now with insulin they can finally be nourished. I have gained 10 kg (22 pounds) since last year when I was diagnosed (at that time I was BMI 19) but all my clothes are still fitting (now my BMI is 21) and nobody even noticed my weight gain (except my husband who sais that I became “a pure muscle”).
Also, stress may the the cause for both, your hormone imbalance and weight gain.
So god luck and try not to feel down as it anly worsen the problem.
Actually, there are those that argue that eating foods that represent extra calories in treating lows can lead to weight gain. Glucose tabs contain just dextrose (glucose) and is converted rapidly into blood sugar countering the low. A fruit like an orange certainly contains glucose, but it also contains significant amounts of fructose. Fructose does not raise your blood sugar, instead, your liver converts it to triglycerides and it is deposited as bodyfat. And while an orange does contain useful levels of vitamin C, other than that it is almost totally devoid of other relevant vitamins. I am always confused about claims that fruits are great sources of vitamins and minerals, for the most part they are not dense sources of nutrients.
Hi BSC,
Well, like I said I had never taken glucose tabs and I BMI is healthy 21 and my cholesterol ratio is less than 2 (meaining more of the good cholesterol than the bad one- very rare according to my DR).
I do not believe anything made artificially by humans is better that the things from nature.
In addition to not having vitamins I do believe the additive that are in those pills are making our pancreas even sicker. I did experiment a lot on myself and everything processed is making by BG
go crazy. As long as I take only fruits, vegetable, unprocessed cereals and organic meat I can live with 14 units of insulin per day (which is 0.2 u per kg of my body weight). If I take a cereal bar (processed) even if it does not contain more carbs than i normally take at the specific time my insulin requierement become much higher. If I take a chips (again equivalent in carbs to one orange) not only my BG goes high byt it become all over the place for the next three days. So figure it out. I do realise it is very hard to eat the way I eat (it is much easier to have a pill than a mandarin or apple with you all the time), the society is not very understanding but I don’t care, my pancreas seems to like it. I only hope other people will take my advice and enjoy the same benefits.
How much in the way of sugars and starches are you eating? The liver converts any excess carbohydrates into saturated fat, which then adds to your weight.
We each have to find our own way. In my case, I’ll continue to use my little sweet tarts and you can use your orange. D is definitely on of those YMMV things.
Hi Emma,
I had the same experience (except for the hormone & period thing ok…) In the end I figured me gaining weight was because i did a little more exercise than i used to do so i gained som muscle that’s all.
If I were you I wouldn’t worry too much about it for now. Considering your further healthy lifestyle you’re most likely gonna end up with a very normal weight after all.