I am a T1D and exercise 30 mins a day cardio/weights/resistance and follow a LCHF diet + restrict my calories to approx. 1200 a day. I eat all non-processed food and my dessert is dark chocolate on occasion. I drink 60+ oz of water a day. Despite this, I am about 30 lbs overweight. I had success on Innvokanna, but my Endo will no longer let me use it, since I went into DKA without high blood sugars (I have no idea why that’s connected to my being allowed to take Innvokanna, but he won’t let me). I’m also on the pump, and average about 35-40 TDD.
Are there ANY suggestions that I’m not already trying to help me lose weight? Meds? Anything?? I’m getting very frustrated here.
The only weight loss tactic I used that worked and endured is a the LCHF diet. How many grams of carbs are you currently eating? I suggest you lower it to 30 grams per day and use a food scale to measure your carb grams.
When I lost 25 pounds five years ago, I used a LCHF diet and only started using it as a way to restore blood sugar control. It did do that and I was surprised at the almost effortless weight loss.
Good luck. Weight loss is tough to pursue since the failure rate is so high. Pursuing fitness might be a more gratifying and reachable goal.
My situation is somewhat similar, and I recently started taking metformin. One benefit is that it reduced my insulin, and went from total of 22.5 to 18.5, and just made another reduction to my basal yesterday. I have lost about 5 lbs, but part of that is typical due to being more active in the spring and summer. No changes to diet, and I love dark chocolate !!
My situation is not that much different than you guys. The only thing is when I workout I end up pulling a muscle or two. Then I have to rest for a few days before starting again . Loosing weight is tougher the older you are. So don’t stop unless you absolutely have to. I worked out all my life. I was a Phys ed teacher for twenty years. I have set up a few weight training programs in my life ,so I have a bite of experience. The other side is I like dark chocolate Too and ice cream so I know the pitfalls of staying in shape.
First I would ask you to do some self-introspection and ask yourself whether your conclusion that you are 30 lbs overweight is a sound and realistic conclusion. As you get older you tend to gain weight. And although we are told that being thin is healthier as you get older actually you have better health if you are not rail thin.
That being said I don’t have any information on you. I would tell you that a female that is 40 years old, is 5’3" and weighs 130 lbs has a BMR of 1330 calories. Since you say you exercise every day, even conservatively as “moderately active” you would then multiply that BMR by 1.55. That means that you need 2000 calories a day. If you have been eating 1200 calories a day your body has probably concluded you are starving and is essentially fighting everything you do and trying keep all your bodyfat and keep you alive.
Second, there are medications that for some people help with weight loss. Metformin can help by making you more insulin sensitive. The GLP-1 drugs (Byetta, Victoza, Bydureon, etc) also help some.
My recommendation would be first to get your head around being healthy and then working on your body fitness. Instead of focusing on weight, focus on reducing body fat. And most of all consider a diet regime that provides sufficient energy and let’s your metabolism return to normal.
ps. With the SGLT2 drugs like Invokana it is vital to stay hydrated, not just drinking water but maintaining electrolyte levels. My opinion is that many euglycemic DKA cases with the SGLT2 drugs are due to the failure to remind patients to avoid dehydration.
If it’s any consolation, muscle weighs more than fat! Working with weights is great but frustrating when I try to lose weight, until “magic happens” and 5 pounds drop off! Don’t weigh yourself more than once a week. You will also be surprised when friends/family comment on your weight loss when the scale sez otherwise.
Actually, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. What is different is that muscle is more dense than fat, so you can build muscle, gain weight and still appear slimmer.
Concentrate on being FIT. Your body will find its proper weight. This obsession with being a certain weight is only good if it helps you be consistent. Guilt, like gravity, is a weak force. Now, if you could maintain or reach your target weight through revenge–well, that would be ideal.
I’m new to this community, but have really benefited from the multiple forums I’ve read so far. Part of the reason I’ve joined the community is for forums just like this one.
I’ve also struggled with weight and am about the same amount overweight that you are, if not a bit more. The weight has packed on since my job changed four years ago to a more sedentary position, and naturally my insulin doses had to be increased because I wasn’t as naturally active as I had been in past. With the struggle of trying to find time to exercise without my blood sugar bottoming out, my diet also initially got worse. I tend to try to stay away from additional medication, which I know we may have different views on, but as others have said, I personally have wanted to focus on being healthy rather than loosing the weight first (even though I wish it would just fall off, of course).
In the midst of this struggle, I’ve found that a paleo/whole30 diet is practically the only way I’ve been able to drop weight. I’m not really familiar with the LCHF diet, besides assuming what that it is low carb high fiber? But as someone mentioned earlier, you want to make sure to have diet that is sustaining you throughout the day, full of dense nutrients, lean protein and healthy fats. It was amazing to me the first time that I did whole30, my insulin needs dropped about 60% and while I didn’t loose a ton of weight (just 6 lbs) the first 30 days (they tell you not to weigh yourself until after the 30 days because it’s ultimately about your relationship with food not the loss), I kept loosing even after stopping the full whole30 regiment. I’m definitely due for another one, as I can see that my relationship with food has begun another unhealthy cycle. But I would love to hear more of other things that you’ve tried. Keep at it!!
I saw an ad on TV that there is a class action law suit for anyone that took Invokana and went into DKA. Classaction.com in case you want to read on the law suit. I took Invokana and had some serious side effects was on it over one year.
I have only lost 5 pounds on Trulicity that I started 6 weeks ago.The insulin I started in October has caused 25 pounds of weight gain within the first month. Some of us instantly gain weight. I too eat a low carb diet drink water do yoga but am not losing weight. I need very vigorous exercise. Today I mowed the lawn and did yoga. I wish you luck! I can relate.
Metformin helped me jump start weight loss as a longtime T1 diabetic (childhood diagnosed, so been on insulin for decades), especially when combined with calorie counting (I also was eating low-ish carb, which helped me stay lower calorie I think, but I suspecting counting calories and eating lower total calories was the key component). If the weight you’ve gained is more in your belly (sign of increasing insulin resistance) and your insulin doses have crept up over time and/or your control worsened, metformin might help too (recommend the ER formulation—I now take 1000mg 2x a day).
Thanks for everyone’s feedback. I’m trying a few new things–tracking my protein (which I have no clue what I’ve been consuming) and keeping it at an amount right for my height/weight/age, trying a new type of working out (switch things up) and the workout I chose is kickboxing and Intermittent Fasting. I’m starting on Monday and going to do this for 1 month (till my next Endo appt). At that appt. I’ll ask about Metformin.
I have always had a very hard time losing weight. I am approaching late middle age, female, diabetic, and hypothyroid. Early last year in utter desperation I started following the ketogains keto programme. This is low carb, moderate fat, and higher protein, combined with focused heavy weight training. In the past year I have lost about 6 kg. Slowly and with great effort.
So, I would say, what cannot be tracked cannot be managed. Those words are not mine. I use chronometer to track food intake. Keto is good, but you either use the fat you eat or the fat on your body. To lose weight you must be in calorie deficit, somehow… Protein is critical for health and metabolism… so I target adequate protein - in my case about 2 g per kg body weight. I also found I need less food calorie wise than I thought. I focus on nutrient density (check out Marty Kendal’s Optimising Nutrition Site). I must be careful my alcohol intake.
First off, regarding the mass difference between a lb of muscle and a lb of fat. A lb of muscle resembles a 5 inch stapler. A lb of fat resembles a paperback copy of Gone With the Wind. So check your clothing sizes and measurements. What I do to lose and keep weight off (I have to be thin - I am a dancer) is to only eat when my bg is 70-95. That way the meter/CGM is saying no - not me! Does a lot to avoid the =feeling of deprivation.
Many folks who follow Mastering Diabetes lose weight. I lost about 10 lbs low carbing and another 10 when eating low fat vegan. The weight just fell off with no effort on my part. Now weigh 106 and am 5’1”. I eat about 300 good carbs a day and feel wonderful. I have had type 1 for 60 yrs.
Granted I had to give up meat and dairy along with most fat, but I was ready to do so.
I should have said that I am also hypothyroid.
I eat as much as I want and am never hungry. I also exercise. A1c 5.5. I take 23 units of insulin and have no working beta cells.
