Since being diagnosed with type1 diabetes 2 years ago, I have gained about 50lbs. Ick.
I have read a lot about insulin and weight gain, and the difficulties in losing weight when diabetic. I can tell by all the comments and posts that I have found on online discussion boards that there are many, many diabetics who are having difficulty losing weight.
In the past month, I have been counting my calories and exercising (playing Dance Dance Revolution) 30mins/day. I have managed to lose 6lbs. I wasn’t sure if calorie counting would work, because as diabetics, our bodies don’t function the same way - but it seems to be working so far, and here’s why:
I am relying mainly on fruits/veggies for breakfast, lunch and snacks and eating a balanced supper.
I have been able to cut my insulin intake in half, and am not having to ‘feed’ the insulin.
I have also been following weight loss vlogs on youtube, and they have been very motivational. If you’re interested in calorie counting, but not really sure how it works or how many calories you need, I recommend watching this:
I’m trying to run/workout at least 5x a week, and those days I’m usually watching what I’m eating anyway (you don’t wanna run or lift when you’re high from Cheetos or muffins or something), so for at least 5 days of the week, I see a net loss in calories. I think you lose a pound for every 3500? calories loss? Not to mention, gaining a little muscle contributes to BMR fat loss.
Yeah, and if I need to “feed” the insulin to treat a low, I usually use glucose tabs. 15 calories, boom!
I’m struggling with this too. I think the cardinal rule for type I diabetics needs to be that even if you aren’t overweight, you still need to get to the gym to workout to keep it that way. Personally, I had a lot of success a couple of years ago using an orbital trainer for about 45 minutes 4-5 times per week in connection with Metabolife 356. (Flame away at me here for that.) Too bad they don’t sell it anymore, because it really did work. I haven’t found ANYTHING that’s really helped since then, save becoming a total gym rat.
