I haven't been around on here too much (I think because I hate to think about this 24/7 too much because it gets too depressing).
So I finally gained a bit of weight - I was 100 for quite a while and I am now 105! For the most part my BG is OK (well, I only can afford to test once in the morning but I almost always test at 80 and 90s even after eating a late carby din) but I have been eating more (I mean, why should I starve to death to have too tight control on BGs). I figure that it is a bit high than it is high and sometimes you have to wait for it go down. I hardly eat anything as it and I am tired of being hungry (that and I still have no job so I can hardly afford any food)).
I was reading that almost all diabetics have a problem with weight gain in the stomach area and having that flab there is because of insulin resistence. Are any of you Thins who are able to gain some weight gaining it mostly in the stomach?
I think a BIT of it did go to my butt (yeah!) but I don't like the fact that if I want to gain a bit of weight I have no control over where it goes and I have no choice but to accept that it will go on my tummy. Plus that is the worst place to have fat if you are diabetic. It seems we are doomed! I don't exercise too much I don't want to LOSE any more weight but than I can't gain it right!!! And I know the only way to lose fat on the stomach is to exercise - well, I can't do that and gain some weight!
Us thins are like on the starvation diet or something. :(
Even though I am over 2 years of diagnosed - it is still hard to believe I will have to think about this for the rest of my life. Can't they just invent something that helps us with this problem of the fat on the stomach?
Kimkat, I can TOTALLY relate. But I know darn well that we can't CHOOSE where to gain weight, because it's genetic. Insulin resistance is also genetic, and IR is a spectrum. It's not only diabetics who gain weight in the belly -- many if not most people do, because the spectrum is a bell-shaped curve skewed to the right -- the insulin resistant side. Lots and lots of non-diabetics are insulin resistant, but don't have the genes for diabetes, and can get as fat as they want and NEVER get diabetes, because their pancreases merrily churn out as much insulin as necessary. Don't blame yourself for having a belly, and don't starve yourself (I'm working on that myself right now) but accept that for most of us, carrying our weight in our bellies is totally normal. And NOT unhealthy. Statistics show that mortality is increased ONLY in the morbidly obese (BMI>40) AND in the severely underweight (BMI<18). So the media has made a big ugly deal about something which is NOT the problem they make it out to be. You ONLY concern needs to be to eat nutritiously and enjoy your food. And not to be obsessed over a false notion that doesn't even apply to you (and when I say that, I'm talking to myself, too)! I'm holding you in my thoughts.
I was thin to begin with when I was diagnosed nearly three years ago, and when I began a very low-carb diet as part of dealing with it, I unintentionally ended up underweight (much to my surprise because I eat like a horse). I'm still underweight but not as much (around 105-109 instead of 100), but what fat there is is still in the same places it was before all this started. Go figure. In other words, I wouldn't sweat it. AND there's no reason to starve yourself--you just have to figure out the right proportions of protein/fiber vs carbohydrate per meal, which is not hard to do. As the musical Oliver put it, "Food, glorious food!," even for us! I highly recommend checking out Jennifer Ruhle's website Blood Sugar 101. It's got a lot of practical information and debunks a lot of myths out there (everything is footnoted with the scientific studies she bases her information on, in case you want to check them out).
Hello! I can kind of relate. It hasn't quite been a year since my diagnosis yet. I was hovering at 100 for awhile and in the last few months I've loosened up my control a bit and gained a few pounds. Now I'm 104lbs. My stomach is pretty flat, although it bloats right up and looks big if I do eat something carby. I'm a full-time dental hygiene student with no job. Many times I go for foods that I shouldn't eat because they are cheaper and more convenient. It hasn't really affected my A1c.
My weight seems to go first to my thighs and hips. I'm a pear-shape. At my heaviest when I started putting weight on right before my diagnosis, I was seeing some weight gain in my stomach. For me, low-carb helps keep the fat off...not just the stomach, but everywhere. I'm sure I'd lose the extra 4lbs in a week or less if I went back to strict low-carb, I'm just not motivated to do that right now!
I didn't know that there were people who are insulin resistant but never get diabetes. So is that insulin resistance is what causing the weight gain in the belly than? I know there are tons of fat people walking around that don't have diabetes - I am big believe in that diet doesn't cause diabetes - but I figured those people didn't have the genes but also had bodies that worked properly and could handle sugar. My dad has a belly but no diabetes, my has doesn't really have belly but gains in her thighs (I used to gain in my thighs more when I ate meat), my brother no stomach - none of them have diabetes nor are really over weight but eat crap! Here I eat healthy and I get the crap genes. ugh. (not that they don't have other health problems but they are due to old age mostly). Really wish that there would be more media stories on the genetics of diabetes (don't we all) and less about the diet because we know for a fact that is not true - it is just a coincidence. I know we are all tired of hearing about it too! :) Well, at aleast I DID gain some butt weight so my butt looks a little more like a normal butt! haha! I guess I should be glad I don't have problems with a too big butt or thighs - neither one look good on anyone though. It is one or the other.
I remember reading somewhere that diabetic will have a hard time than non-ones to get rid of and keeping weight off the abs area and I was guessing it was because of the special fat around the ab area.
Foxmeister - that is pretty much what happened to me too. I was never overweight to begin with though - I weighted 130 at 5'4" - for me, I just was scared to eat anything because no one explained to me what I needed to do. They just hand you the pills or whatever (met in my case). I actually figured out how to do my diet on here! And at one free diabetes class I went too. I didn't even know how carbs worked! I am a vegan so my diet is mostly carbs so I had to drop alot of things I ate normally plsu all the fruit I ate! I dropped 30 pounds in like 4 months (I can't remember exactly now) but I wasn't even trying to lose weight. It just came right off (yep, sure fire way to lose the weight but too fast for me!) I wasn't hardly eating ANYTHING - I always ate like bird anyhow so I wasn't really hungry I was just freaked! I really miss fruit - I snuck some grapes the other - yum! I do eat some fruit but I can't have my favorites anymore.
I am wondering if the secret for us is that we just need to exercise more so we can eat more. I know it is usually the oppoiste because most diabetic need to lose weight - we are definately the minority. So it is hard to figure out the best way and not have BGs that are too high. I am definately able to eat more than I could at the beginning. I have checked out Jennifer's site. I have been on here for a few years just not so much lately.
Funny how I never gained any weight in my stomach until I reached a certain - so I think age has something to do with it too.
Same here Azurah - no money for the stuff I really should be eating (and want to too!). I have to be careful what I buy and I try to buy stuff that will last - either frozen or canned mostly so I can't really afford alot of salads etc. Plus I need something to fill me up so I am not hungry and I can eat little of (to save money and to watch BG).
I think diabetics who have no jobs should get extra money for their special diets - it is really is more expensive - all the cheap stuff is bad for us! I still can't eat potatoes which I love - I can only have a little bit I have to have a fat with it. I can at least eat some bread though. But yes I often forgo many things because I just can't afford them. :(
Yes, I don't think any of us in this group need strict low carb! That is how I lost TOO much weight to fast in the beginning. (and it didn't come off my stomach either -everywhere but there! argh) I don't want to be strict low carb either - I have no energy when I do that. I always felt starved and exhausted. I like to feel filled up (even if the tum gets a bit bloated) because than I feel better.
Funny for me I have naturally wide hips because of my bones. I lost all that weight but my hips stayed the same size - I do have some fat on those though - they aren'nt all skinny but I need some on there otherwise I will look like a boy!
Well, there are a lot of hormones that tend to cause weight gain to occur in the belly, including male hormones, which is why the vast majority of men who gain weight get beer bellies, not thunder thighs. And that's mostly why belly obesity used to be (and often still is) called android in the medical literature, whereas big butt and thighs is called gynecoid. But it's a misleading idea, because there are PLENTY of women who carry their weight in their bellies. ALL the women on both sides of my family were belly carriers, and it's common in Eastern Europe, where my family came from. No one really knows why the difference in women, because it's usually NOT excess androgens (except possibly in PCOS).
I've personally met clearly diagnosed T1 women (developed it in childhood with classical DKA presentation) who carried their weight in their bellies, were NOT thin, and developed increased insulin resistance as they got older. The reason I use the word "increased" is because I simply mean that they moved toward the right on the insulin resistance spectrum.
In my own view, insulin resistance is a dirty word, because people use it in an either/or context, which is simply not true. If one chooses to think rigidly, and decide that all T1s are insulin-sensitive (to the left on the spectrum) and antibody positive, and all T2s are fat, insulin-resistant (to the right on the spectrum) and antibody negative, you're leaving out a whole lot of people that just don't fit in the box. As I said before, the clinical reality is that diabetes is a spectrum disease, and it's much more useful to treat people as individuals, and tailor treatment to their specific needs without regard to type, and drop the guilt trip. Because yes, you got the crap genes, and you need to be treated with respect, ESPECIALLY because you don't fit in the box. I don't want the negative thoughts about gaining belly fat to develop into an eating disorder. What I DO want is for you to be comfortable and healthy.
