I've been watching what I eat, using Myfitnesspal app, and going to the gym (although am limited to what I can do because I recently hurt my ankle.) So how am I GAINING weight???
I am eating approx 1600 calories a day. It seems as though since I was put on insulin I just keep gaining, it's beyond frustrating, especially because I am already significantly overweight.
Thoughts???
I am no expert at this by any means… but are you sure it isn’t muscle mass that you are gaining since you have been working out? Are you lifting weights?
I have heard of lots of people who like Myfitnesspal, but I personally like Sparkpeople.com. Have you ever looked into that?
Has your insulin in take changed since you have started going to the gym?
How long have you been talking insulin? Insulin is very good at converting carbs into fat. That being said it is possible to lose weight while taking insulin.
Insulin resistance is the main culprit here and it is bad in type 2. There are ways to combat IR and it sounds like you are starting to do those things. Exercise is an excellent way to reduce IR and like Nicole says you will build muscle mass that helps even more.
Don't be discouraged you seem to be on the right track. As your IR decreases your insulin need will decrease and the weight gain issue will likely cure itself.
Jesikabeth, I almost just posted the EXACT same post. I'm T2 and started insulin & victoza 6 weeks ago, and at the same time completely revamped my diet. I'm tracking every ounce of everything on Myfitnesspal and staying between 1400-1700 every day (and I'm both tall & large so that should do it for me). I'm keeping carbs at about 100g/day which is pretty low IMO, although not Bernstein low. On average I do about 28% carbs, 37% protein, 35% fats. All my fats are good fats and my carbs are low GI. I've started exercising the last few weeks but haven't started strength training yet so the "muscle weighs more" thing doesn't apply.
The first week or two on victoza it looked like the weight was going to fall off, but that stopped quickly. I've been 100% on track for 6 weeks now and have my BG in control (after being way out of control for a long time), but the weight is stuck and seems to be going back up.
The math just doesn't add up with the calories in - calories out. I know that's normal with Diabetes but I need to figure out what to do about it to counteract it.
The only thing I can think is that I'm at about 48 units of lantus, which is pretty high.
How do we get this friggin weight off? It is so hugely frustrating. I am trying SO hard and sounds like you are too.
ive read places that lantus contributes to weight gain and that levemir is better in that sense. i know as type 2s you might have a lot more IR and other metabolic issues to deal with that might make weight loss/maintenance more difficult but one thing you might think about is changing your longacting to levemir?
When did you start insulin? Insulin does have a tendency to cause some weight gain when you start as it can cause sodium retention and edema.
That being said, I actually don't believe in the calories in/calories out model, particularly for PWD. All the stuff I've read (like Gary Taubes book "Why We Get Fat") suggests that we will do better if we focus on restricting the carbs in our diet and less on driving a calorie deficit.
ps. I also found that Intermittent Fasting works really well for me (just make sure you have your basal set properly).
pps. If your blood sugar is normalized you should find weight control to be easier (having elevated blood sugars and insulin causes your body to constantly deposit body fat).
I personally like Sparkpeople.comThe best smartphone app for losing weight is YouFatPig, available only for Windows Phone smartphones.
Doesn't help counting or tracking anything, but focuses more on motivation. Once installed, it randomly takes pictures of you through the front-facing camera, applies funhouse mirror distortion to it to enhance one's -- what do they call it -- Pig Profile, then hurls insults at you randomly about what a glutton you are.
Some artificial intelligence algorithm tries to shout the insults out when it detects there are other people around. The idea is that, having your pocket shout at you, "you're so fat you could get a job as a bridge anchorage" unexpectedly when coworkers are standing around the water-cooler will spur action.
You can get a free copy at youfat.pig. Next release is supposed to have some social networking/latitude-like integration, so other users can heap scorn on you when they're nearby.
<smartass mode off>
I've been a MyFitnessPal user for a year, and have been pretty happy with it. There are some things I do find highly annoying, though, so I'm gonna check out Sparkpeople. Thanks for the pointer, Nicole!
Thank you for your reply.
I've been on insulin for about 8 months or so (give or take)
Thank you for your reply!
I am also on myfitnesspal, and you're right that math does NOT add up here either.
Wish I knew how to get this weight off! Hit me up on myfitnesspal, my name on there is JesikaLizBeth
Thanks, Brian :)
jesikabeth, while the cal in / cal out accounting isn't rigorous, one thing is: Physics. It really is as simple as using more energy than one is eating. Calorie counts are imprecise to begin with, and as Brian has explained, insulin biases the metabolism to convert glucose and store it as fat, rather than burn it.
Rather than counting calories, use your scale as a guide to energy balance. If you're gaining weight, you're eating too much for your activity level. Cut back a little on total caloric intake (its imprecise, but good enough to measure trends) a bit, see what happens. Repeat until you start to sustainably lose weight.
Diabetes has many tricks to confound and confuse. But it must obey the laws of physics. Modifying diet to change the mix of calories to less carbs, more fat is good advice. However, no matter how we slice it, gaining weight in the end simply means you need less energy to function at your activity level than you are taking in and "using" either to power your body, or increase its fat stores.
Finally, look into keto-adaptation and a ketogenic diet. This is a nutritional approach 100% free of carbs. More and more diabetics are going fully, or partially this route. I'm trying to myself, with limited success so far, but only because I'm not ready yet to fully go there. I like a bun with a hambuger too much :-)
I have a lot of trouble losing weight, and was not successful until I lowered my calorie intake to 900 calories a day and was cycling about 30-50 miles per week (not counting calories I took in to keep my BG up). Physically it took some extreme extended activity to get the weight to start dropping off...Injected Insulin and food are a prefect storm for me...and the better my BG control is the easier it is for me to put on the pounds.There is no easy way out...I now belong to Weightwatchers' and like their program, the phone app and food label scanner is very nice for counting carbs but it's a little pricy ,about 9 dollars per week.
Dave, I just don't understand though (and sounds like Jesikabeth is in the same situation) - whether we call it cals in/out or the physics or something else. By any calculator I can find online I am eating about 1,000 cals less than I'm burning in a day, plus on top of that I'm doing about 30 min exercise a day. Keeping this up for the last 6 weeks and seeing my weight flatline and creep back up... I just don't understand. I'm tracking every tiny thing constantly so I can't imagine my counts being all that inacurate.
I thought I was doing lowish enough carbs (100g/day) but how low do you really have to go? Also, how much fat is too much (I've tried as much as 50%F, 30%P, 20%C)?
I can't imagine the ketogenic diet being truly sustainable or healthy for most people.
I'm just so confused with all this... trying desperately to do the right things and it feels like a constantly moving target.
Jesikabeth I've added you - you're my first Myfitnesspal friend!
I've found that most of the calculators that tell you what your basal metabolic rate should be (number of calories needed to maintain current weight) over-estimate it. There are several formulas and I've found the most accurate for me is the Mifflin St. Jeor. Here's a calculator that uses it:
http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html
Also, everything I see online seems to grossly over-estimate the number of calories burned by various activities. Even though I tend to exercise about five days a week, the formulas really work for me only if I tell the calculator I do light exercise 3 times a week and then, when I do exercise, I don't account for those calories as having been burned when I'm doing my own personal calculation of calories in v. calories out.
Have you had your thyroid checked? This can often be an overlooked culprit as an under functioning thyroid gland will slow your metabolism and cause weight gain. Not uncommon in diabetics and as one grows older.
hello, ketogenic is helpful. This is 30-50 g carb which should mostly be from nonstarchy veges. moderate protein, in my case about 100g/day,and as much fat as i like. i combine this with intermittent fasting I eat between 2 pm and about 8 pm daily) and i am doing hit training approach a few times a week. i am hypothyroid and use insulin. losing weight is enormously hard for me, but together this is working. Slowly. i still manage a glass of wine most nights.
Thank you for your thoughtful response :)
Dee, I'm with ya... we'll get this! I hope, especially since I'm getting married in less than a year! BTW, added ya back on mfp :)
I have done WW before and it did work. Unfortunately, I can't afford it right now as I am going through Cancer treatments and all of our finances are exhausted. So for now, myfitnesspal it is :)
Thank you for your respose!