I’m not insulin resistant. I’m currently dropping a FBG from 120 to 90-ish with 1.5 units of Lantus a day.I use 2-3 units of Novolog at a meal and that keeps me under 120. Without novolog, the same meal will put me into the mid 200s.
Metformin is the only thing that keeps me from gaining. It does very little for my blood sugar. When I went off it, I was using a total of 10 units of insulin a day and getting near perfect blood sugars. Now that I’m back on Metformin, I’m using about 7 units a day. But when I was off metformin for several months, I packed on 5 lbs in one month with blood sugars that never rose over 120 mg/dl.
I suspect that older Type 1s might do very well on Metformin. It does something interesting to the liver which seems to make it much harder for the body to turn glucose into fat. Whatever it is, I maintained a 30 lb low carb weight loss for almost 5 years with Metformin and as soon as I was off it for more than a month, wham. Weight gain!
The other factor is estrogen. When I stopped my estrogen for a few months, I started putting on abdominal and breast fat. Eventually I went back on ERT and that stopped. My FBG blood sugar went up about 20 mg/dl too, but what was interesting was that without ERT insulin seemed much less effective—the timing was off for some reason.
I’ve also found I can only lose weight if I low carb now. But until my 40s I could lose weight just by eating less and cutting out the obvious carbs–bread, potatoes, dessert. Nothing fancy. I didn’t realize there were carbs in all the rest of the food.
So I think it is something menopausal going on. I used to think it made us more insulin resistant, but given the tiny doses of insulin I use, it’s hard to know. A friend said maybe since I’ve got this odd genetic diabetes a tiny bit of insulin acts like a huge bit would in someone else so a change of one unit is like 20. Who knows.
Whatever it is, talking to your doc about metformin might be worth a try. It does great things to trigycerides too.
Since a Type 1 does not have any beta cells, you do not produce a hormone called Amylin (in addition to not making any insulin). This hormone helps to regulate the rate at which your stomach empties its food. Thus, Type 1s have a tendancy to not be as satiated and therefore eat more…and yes, gain weight. You may want to look into a drug called Symlin. As a Type 1 myself, I hope to begin taking it in the near future to maintain better BG levels. This has nothing to do with a diet but merely replinish a hormone that all non-type 1 diabetics already produce.
I am having the opposite problem, I am trying to gain weight back from too many years of being too high and am finally under control, so hopefully it will happen shortly to where I am at a good weight/height ratio…Good luck to you
Hi Danielle,
I have found regular exercise to be the key to losing weight for me, as it makes me extremely sensitive to insulin. I started doing a lot of cycling last year and the fat I’d been trying to ditch since high school started melting off as I gradually lowered my basal rates and ratios - and I was eating everything in sight! I have found that insulin makes me put on weight like crazy, and if my basals are even a little bit too high it makes a huge difference. Using a CGMS has also really helped me, as seeing the trends helps me avoid overbolusing.
I went through a lazy period this past December and had to dial up my basals and ratios again - and I gained about 15 pounds in no time. As soon as I started working out regularly again my insulin needs went right back down, and so did my weight. My weight tends to stick right around 135 when I’m in good shape - my basals range from 0.8-1.3 units, my correction ratio is 1:60, and my carb ratio is 1:50. After a strenuous workout I typically need to reduce my correction boluses a little more, and I often reduce my carb boluses by about half or skip them altogether. My TDD is usually about 28-40 units depending on activity level.
When I’m not working out regularly, my basals run around 1.0-1.5 units, correction ratio 1:50, and carbs 1:12.
Sorry to inundate you with info - Hope this helps!
i am trying to losse about 10 to 15 pounds in a healthy way. i was just dia about 6months ago with type 1. it hard to work out and then go and have to eat again!!! ( so i know what you mean danielle)it drives me crazy but that when i was on shots. i just got on the omnipod and getting used to this basel lingo stuff. hope the pump is better!
Jenny,
That’s really interesting about the Metformin. My doctor just suggested that I try using Metformin to reduce the amount of insulin I take and therefore help me to lose weight. I’ve been Type 1 for 29 years and this is the first time anyone’s mentioned Metformin as a possible helper when trying to lose weight. I’ll let you know if it works!
I do not have an answer for you, but share the same problem. but my basal rate is much lowere,ranging from .4 to .7U/hr…
I was told by a friend of mine who is also t1 to cut back on the other exercise and just walk more–so I am going to give that a try–she said her endo gave her a very complicated reasoning that walking was better than more strenous forms of exercise for losing–but she didn’t remember that, just that the walking only (and some stretching) helped her loose
Walking is my favorite, too. I find I can lower my bg by almost 100 with a brisk 30-40 min walk. If my bg is normal before a walk, I lower my basal by 70% for 2 hours, and that seems to work for me. My basal during the day is .9, and much lower overnight. My ratio is 1:10 for breakfast and lunch, and 1:20 for dinner
I am new to this forum! Thanks for all your helpful ideas.
I just started on the Dexcom Seven CGM three weeks ago and have been really watching my diet, exercising and dosing insulin to reduce my average blood sugars from 280 to 117. In the process, however, I have gained almost 15 lbs! And I am a small-framed, lean-muscled guy. This added weight really shows on me and I have tried everything to reduce it. I am trying to eat almost no carbs except in raw vegetables and carb-control yogurt (3g per serving). What am I doing wrong?
I realize that I was actually losing weight before when my blood sugars were so high, but the sudden weight gain is frightening. Before I started on the CGM, I had just done a 100-mile bike (in a day) as a fundraiser for JDRF (a wonderful organization…www.jdrf.org). This past weekend, I attempted to compete in a triathlon and experienced a bad low blood sugar during the race.
Is there anyone who has had success with a diet that allows you to reduce your insulin dosage but not get so many low blood sugars?
I have tons of lows. My endo states with tighter control comes more lows, but I am not liking it. It is a constant juggling act. I think with less carbs you have to relook at your basal rates, something I need to do as I have been eating less as well. I can hit the two hour mark with a good bgs, but then go low later, since I am eating less food, I willl have to revisit my basal rates (lower them) since I don’t have as much food to hold me.
I think that your doctor should consider revising your basal rates. My pump (Animas 2020) has the option of programming different basal rates during the day and it works well. During the night my basal rates are lower, just because I am not eating, actually fasting for obvious reasons, but during the morning my basal rate is higher because I eat a higher carb breakfast; most of the time I eat wheat toasts or cereal, juice , and a piece of fruit. Then in the afternoon I eat mostly protein and a little carb, usually in the form of a fruit.
Also, with having an insulin pump comes the blood glucose testing, which also helps me better monitor my blood sugar.
Basal rates do not cover food! They cover glucose released by the liver. Boluses cover food. You should be able to skip any meal and stay flat.
However, general food intake does affect basals and insulin sensitivity. The less food you eat, the less gets stored, and the less is released later.
I started cutting back carbs and adding protein and fat on July 10. I simply set lower total daily insulin targets. I was averageing over 90 units a day and I simply set a goal of less than 70. By one week I had to drop my basals by about 15%. I’m now averaging about 60 units a day. Interestingly, my basals have jumped back up to normal the last week or so.
Hi Danielle, here are a few of my suggestions for losing weight. I don’t really think I need to lose weight but wasn’t happy that my pants were getting incredibly tight on me. It took awhile but I slowly introduced reular exercise and healthier foods. I won’t say I eat incredibly heathly but I’m not horrible. I love cycling and recently picked up running but regular exercise can be as simple as talking a daily walk around the block, neighorhood or park. Anything that gets your heart rate up and keeps it elevated is burning the calories. Like other people have mentioned you have to work it into your lifestyle or you’ll never stay with it.
Foodswise, I won’t tell you how many months it took to get to this point but I’ve cut back on my soda consumption. Yes, there are no calories and carbs in soda but it does seem to do something to my body that puts on and keeps on weight. Check out my posts on Diet Soda: Addicted! I had to stuff my fridge with other drinks and even get some sparkling water with fruit flavor (calorie and carb free :)) to drink when I really wanted a pop. Other things to watch out for: processed foods - stick to the outside of the grocery store, trans fats and saturated fat. Hope I’ve helped some!
BTW I use a temp basal rate of 50% when cycling and 60% when running. My carb ration changes through the day to anywhere from 1:10-1:18 grams.
Everybody is different in regard to bolus and basal insulin requirements. Hormones released at night for some people drive up blood sugar, for others it does not. A lot of people (both type 1 & type 2) develop insulin resistance and consequently have higher insulin requirements. My opinion is that if you are having a lot of lows through the day you need to adjust your basil insulin rates. That extra snacking and eating adds up tremendously; And when you do treat your hypoglycemia eat a glucose tab (0 fat grams). Theoretically if your basil rates are perfect, you can eat next to nothing in any given day. The amount of insulin your body requires has little impact on weight gain. Your daily caloric intake does. An 1800 calorie a day diet will cause almost any adult to lose weight. Check with your dietician after you stabilize your basal rates.
Gary Taubes (“Good Calories, Bad Calories”) and others are arguing, and have actually argued for many decades, that insulin does cause fat gain. I’ve tried dieting many times, and the only success I’ve had is limiting carbs. The correlation between mass produced, highly refined carbs and obesity is too much for me to discount.
I found the opposite. When I began taking avandemet four months ago, I began to loose. My doc. says it hyped up my hormones or something like that. I have been fighting fat since i was 12. Now at 43 I have finally found myself loosing without trying. I also have little or no appitite. I was given Blood pressure med, anxiety med., and My sugar med. Looks like I should have had this yrs ago. I just didnt know all the factors that contrubute to sugar problems or at least cause problems with it.
With insulin are bodies are able to do something it couldn’t do before,use glucose .This could mean that you are now also now have more spare calories to be stored as fat.
The best approach is to build muscles .Hit the weights. Muscles burn sugar better.Look at inches not weight. Your jeans are more of a better gage than your bathroom scales.
You are correct in the whole insulin/weight ratio, also your insulin is also factored by your body’s ability to use the insulin and also by your body’s need.
I am insulin resistant, which can make things more difficult.
Each person is different and so are they’re bodies.
It’s individual.
Thanks for all the info. Each piece of information people share, and each bit of advice helps me alot.
Too much insulin in the body stores as fat. When you have lows you liver kicks out glucose to combat the low. I had lost a ton of weight with a temporary break from insulin. The nurse said I would gain all the weight back when I was put back on insulin. Sure enough I gained it all back. I am heavier now then I ever was when I was first diagnosed.
