Feeling hopeless

Hi everyone I’m writing this post today because I am feeling very frustrated about the fact that I can’t seem to lose the weight that I had gained 6 years ago during the pregnancy with my daughter . Yes that wasn’t a typo it really was 6 years ago, my daughter is currently 5 and a half years old and she is so beautiful and loving . However I feel like I am not a fun mom because I never wanna do any activity that makes me feel ugly and fat . For example I can’t even take her to the beach or the public pool because I will not put on a bathing suit and accept the nasty stares that I receive from the other moms who have the figure that I had before I gained this weight . Here’s a briefing of my situation I am a type 1 diabetic and I am 33 I have had this since I was 10, and I have been on the pump for 13 years . I am 5’8 and I currently weigh 246, and I wear a size 16 . I gained 90 lbs during the 40 weeks of being pregnant, my insulin requirements during that time were up to 200 units a day ( with a 7.0 basil rate each hour) I delivered normal ( no c - section ) and right away my insulin requirements went back to 50 - 60 units a day . However the 90 lbs that I gained during that pregnancy never went away . Fast forward to the present g
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)

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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...

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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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).

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 .

hey please do try skipping rope at home.Though it is a traditional Indian method but it actually works as said by my friend.... so lets just give it a try.....good luck..:)

are you exercising? I found if i exercised and cut bad carbs i lost weight. I think what you should do is start getting into a exercise regime and really cut carbs and watch what you eat. You will then need less insulin. I think the more insulin you take the more your body stores fat.
My endo scared me into getting fit and eating right 2 years ago. Took me down to the dialysis center and showed me amputees and this set me straight.

I am 54. Use to weigh 220 when I was on pills. Went on insulin and a strict eating regime 2 years ago. (I don't believe in diets. Its about lifestyle)I now weigh 185 and i i try and live a healthy lifestyle to keep my sugars in line. Its a battle but you have choices.

Most of us let food rule. We must rule over food.

You can lose weight.

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

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.

Thankyou for all the very caring responses . Today is the first day ever that I’m gonna try to do the no carbs / very minimum carb approach . I would like to know what is the limit to carbs if I’m aiming for this. I’m gonna do the LCHF diet . I read up on it and it says you can eat anything you want that is zero carb with high fat and protein content . I’m kinda nervous about this cause it sounds to good to . I’m scared I will gain weight on this . Does this mean that I can eat a greasy hamburger w/ cheese but without the bun or ketchup . Has anyone done this diet and lost a good amount of weight like 20 lbs or more ? Or has anyone gained weight doing this ?

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And if I go low I’ll have no choice but to have about 20 carbs will that make this diet not work if I need a juice box at least once a day ( usually after my hour treadmill or elliptical workout ) and yes I exercise 3-5 times a week and cannot lose a pound I’ve actually gained 17 pounds since September .

And if I go low I’ll have no choice but to have about 20 carbs will that make this diet not work if I need a juice box at least once a day ( usually after my hour treadmill or elliptical workout ) and yes I exercise 3-5 times a week and cannot lose a pound I’ve actually gained 17 pounds since September .

do you pump? you can lower y0ur basals about an hour or so before yiou exercise to avoid lows. I would read the books and other referencesw on using insulin and exercise first. I know you want to get started TODAY.. but you need to know a "ball-park" figure of how much basal you need during your training. I use a 50% basal for cardio, biking, and suspend the pump an hour before I take it off for my aqua-aerobics class( my Paragdirm 522 is NOT waterprofof);70% for short strolls. Only way you know is to try it , several times for each exercise period on separate days, and log. That is why you are in experimental mode now.. AND YOU are your own science experiment.We all are, as diabetics.
Dr. Bernsteins low carb limit is 30 gms a day:6 for breakfast, 12 for lunch, and 12 for dinner. I do not do that low. Lowcarb, for me, is about maybe 60-90 gm a day. Very often always less than 100. I find that when I do lowish carbs and avoid bread/crackers made with wheat, I am not that hungry.

God Bless,
Brunetta

Ps. Have you had your thyroid checked? Low thyroid can cause unexplained weight gain, but I beleive if you had it you would not have enough energy to exercise as much as you do. I have low thyroid, daily take 125 mg of levothryroxine.I did not have unexplained weight gain before this treatment, but I am a little more tired than usual when my thyroid level is low.

Thyroid is borderline , they have me on 0.50 of synthroid . Whenever I lower my basil during a workout I avoid the low but than an hour after working out I will go from 100 to 300 ( and that is without food ) so I just keep the pump on normal basil and I accept the low after the workout but it is always A mild low between 60 and 80 and usually a juice box or 3 glucose tabs bring me right up . Therefore it’s not a scary low cause if it was I would rather deal with the high sugars afterwards

I think that you should "assess" your food input and try to cut back, maybe 10-20% on carbs, and include the "emergency" carbs from treating lows in the "total daily dose" of carbs when looking into this? This will give you a starting point. Check the balance of your BG and how that's moving. Insulin is strong stuff and, if you aren't quite balanced, a little bit can throw you off high or low. If your "ratio" at meals is 10-1 and needs to be say 8-1, you'd have a 30G meal and take 2 units. The slight variance in the ratio leaves you short about 3/4 a unit or, if the unit is changing you can be off like 40 points from that. If you are concurrently taking the insulin late, after you eat, thinking there's "no" carbs in lighter meal, it starts going up and you'd find the higher numbers you seem to be reporting and need to treat, correct, then the "late" meal insulin hits at the same time as the correction and you can find yourself needing the large doses of treatment. I totally did guessing my rates and ratios for years, just guessing, shooting "chunks of 5" ("hmmm, 10 units? I don't want to run high, I'd better have 15...") without doing the counting that my pump does for me now. I haven't encountered a doctor who will usually recommend changing rates rapidly but if your rate and/ or ratio is based on some type of "change", you may not be too far off from really great results if you can do the work. Once your BG is stable, I think that you'll be better able to figure out where the extra weight is coming from and look for opportunities to manage an approach that can work for you.

I am like Shawnmarie in that I don't do "low carb" but in the 100-150 range most of the time, usually 120-130 at the top but well, I like to party. Gary Taubes' books don't offer a "diet" plan but more of a history of science and seem to report that the "high end" for low carb can be as high as 75. I don't recall which scientist had come up with that figure or how much additional benefit is to be gained by going lower than that but, after you get your BG stabilized to the point where you can leave out regular juice and candy "fixes" and may see the results. When I see more jelly beans in my diet, I know that I need to twiddle with my pump to get it set more accurately.