My first diet :) - MediFast and Type1 diabetes on pump

straykatze

Well, kind of my first diet. I have had T1DM since 1987. It was rough then, conventional therapy and very restricted unhealthy diet prescribed to a 16 yo girl that was meant for T2 diabetics - within a few months, I gained 40 pounds, and was developing an eating disorder. I decided that overstrict 'Diet' was at the root of these things, and found another way to control my diabetes.
I started researching and put myself on an intensified conventional therapy - NIS. My small town doctor was no help, but wrote prescriptions, and I know how to research and I strongly believe that decision to do what made sense and showed results saved my life, and is a main reason why after almost 25 years I have no complications related to DM. I also left home for university and found better medical care.

I have had an insulin pump since 1991, and I have worn it every day. Also use the continuous blood glucose monitor "sensor".

Anyways, work has me sitting in an office, and I am over 40 now, and for a variety of reasons my diet has become more of the standard American diet (high fat, more carbs, less green) than what i grew up with in Europe. So I found myself weighing 182 pounds last time at the doctor's and not liking my reflection in the mirror. I am 5' 8". My husband has also gained weight in the last 4 years and we decided to go on a diet! Friends have been successful with MediFast, and the convenience does address one of the reasons we are eating poorly - too much time between meals, then a rush because of ravenous hunger. so I thought it through - remember "diet" tried to kill me before, and decided I can do this one for a limited amount of time. I would like to weigh under 140 lbs again, so that is my goal as I set out, but at a minimum, under 160 lbs.

Today is the first day!
Plan: to avoid 'flying too low' I will start out with a reduced basal rate by 20%, and observe whether the carb ratios need adjustment. Keeping an eye on sensor readings, keep the glucose tabs close by as always and see what happens.

I will keep a diary of sorts, and keep you posted.

And you, insulin pump wearing type 1, what are your experiences with this kind of adventure?

CallMeCupcakeDammit

Hi! I don't have diabetes, but I did start Medifast in June. I just wanted to tell you about a thread on their message boards called Things I Wish I'd Known When Starting Medifast. You might want to head over there and read the suggestions. It will help you get through the first few days and beyond, trust me! Lots of recipe ideas for foods you don't like. Good luck! I'm sure you'll get rid of those extra pounds in no time!

straykatze

Thank you, I will. I might have been there already .
First meals were not so bad, the oatmeal was totally acceptable , bar and soup too. I do have spices, and I use them. No extra salt, but pepper, cayenne, and other.

straykatze

Good thread indeed. Thank you! Based on advice i found there, I premixed a couple of soups after today's soups were both crunchy
And, wow, congratulations on loosing so much weight. Good work!

conlucmom

I am also type 1 diabeteic. I just signed up with myfitness.com earlier this week, so if I am doing this wrong I apologize. I have been diabetic since 1988 at the age of 14. I also have a pump which I have used for 12 years. I have always been "big" (I am so close to being 6 feet tall I go ahead and say that I am, and to say the least I have big bones). I have 2 children and since they were born I have just been packing on the weight. I am a little embarressed about how bad it has gotten. I have not tried medfast, and really don't even know what it is.
My last apointment with the endocronlogist showed I had an A1c of 6.9 which is down from the last 2 ones I have had. I think his machine was broken though. I work in a lab at a hospital and ran it there and got 7.9, which is the highest it has ever been since I got on the pump.
I am scared to even think about how I am going to do this holiday season. I have a few diet pitfalls that I have to try to avoid. My main problem is thinking that with the pump I don't have to watch what I eat.
Right now I weight close to 235 and I put my goal as 200, but according to the weight charts at the doctor's office, 180 is how much I should weigh. I would love to weigh 180, but I am not going to put that as my goal. I wanted to choose something reasonable that I could reach in 6 months or less.

straykatze

Hello! I have to say, the iPhone app of this myfitnesspal website is fascinating for me - by just tracking everything I ate for about 2 weeks I lost weight, because I paid more attention. I absolutely love te scanner function - it pulls any packaged food with a bar code out of the database including all nutrition info - you just need to check it to make sure it does not look wrong, and of course figure out the number of servings/weight of your portion. I liked the trader joes portioned 'just a handful of' nuts and such - it helped me get limited food at inconvenient times, like at work. Strongly recommend this.
I will keep posting about the MediFast adventure from the the Point of view of the insulin pump-wielding Type 1 diabetic.
As for that, both my husband and I started today, and ate 5 MediFast meals with a total of around 500 kcal throughout the day, and a "lean and green" meal as the last meal of the day. I had a glass of red wine with it - which is not recommended, but I did it anyway, as I believe red wine is healthful, and I did not mind the extra 110 kcal. My total caloric intake was 980 kcal today, and I did not feel hungry, but pleasantly sated. I had a mild hypo after going for a walk with the dog. The hypo was a result of starting out high this morning, and was a result of correction. Apparently my basal rate is a bit high, maybe relative due to the low intake of carbs (under 90 g all day), or just in general. We recently upped it because I had gained weight an the slightly lower basal rate did not seem to cut it. The sensor is a godsend, it was beautiful to watch my bg hover at around 100 all day after I took 1 tab o glucose and a MediFast meal with only half of the calculated insulin to lift the BG out of 60s territory. Promising start! And not painful at all.
More later. Good luck you. Holidays are rough. Maybe try and disconnect food wise, by actually preparing something healthy and lean for yourself? We had arugula, 3 olives, and a 5.5 oz piece of ahi tuna for late dinner, and it tasted heavenly after eating weird premade food all day .

LilMissFoodie

Hi there,

I was wondering if you are doing this with any kind of supervision? A low carbohydrate diet is not usually suitable for a type 1 diabetic and I was a bit concerned to hear that you lowered your basal insulin (as insulin is important for other roles in the body, not just for the regulation of carbohydrates). I think it would be best if you checked your approach with a diabetes specialist nurse or whoever normally advises you on your medication (although not just a general doctor as they may not know either).

Good luck to you!

straykatze

Hello, thank you for your concern. You are correct with the job of the basal rate, however it is always a good idea the follow the indications of the bg readings. Also i am not turning it OFF, still running more than 16 units per day . As I am using a sensor I get continuous readings, and with the low carb intake there was very little interference from meals. By lowering basal, it is a safer approach - and in this case of mine, correct, by the way - I had a completely straight line 100 mg/dl night with a 20% reduction of basal. ( proof is in the putting, with more basal, the bg would have dropped over night. This way I woke with 99 mg/dl.
My basal was recent increased during the day, because due to weight gain my sensitivity was down. My suspicion was that a very low carb diet will affect both the sensitivity and the other reasons why we upped the basal rate.

I am very used to using basal reduction or increase to deal with extended exercise or sickness.
Ad, when I am running 100 mg/dl stable WITH a sensor, I can easily correct of the bg starts trending up, because I notice within half hour or so. My personal protocol is to observe and correct very lightly if I reach 170 (for now) on a steady incline, and think it through, to figure out the reason (was it bolus or basal-related, or: food or exercise, or other. ANY incline will be considered, and any decline. The beauty of the low carb diet is that the bolus does not blare out the basal all the time, and that the amounts are fixed, so it is a very controlled good intake. This is not what I usually get .
When going stable fairly low, it is not as safe to potentially overdose the basal, because it is only a small step to hypo with all its stress hormones, extra glucose and injury risks.

As far as 'supervision' goes - I have my diabetes team to call when needed. Supervision would not be the word i would use, as it implicate that the medical specialist are in charge. This is not the case. I also know after 25 years of type 1 diabetes and 20 years o unsulin pump use, that no doctor or nurse can replace my own common sense, and experience - only i am with me at all times. My team are my advisors, not supervisors - as I am the person in charge of my life, survival and well being, something that diabetics should think on. The medical professionals are limited in advise to do something "off label" due the the liability concerns if something goes wrong. With the continuous bg readings I get a large amount of data to consider. So far, so excellent. Metabolic changes resulting from mild acidosis once fat burning state is reached will be visible in the bg readings and will be addressed as warranted.
FYI, due to using the sensing I know that my insulin is used up only 3 hours (instead of 6) as everyone had assumed for many years) hours after injection. I was using the Novolog for 10 years until this became clear within a week on the FDA approval study for the sensor, because we were able to watch what happens Real time (almost).
Cheers and thank you, and to you good luck also.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

Thanks! And yes, soaking is key for the soups, and probably a good idea for the fruit oatmeal, if those are allowed on the diabetic menu. I used to be a fan of the oatmeal, but after a while it started to get on my nerves. They're discontinuing the scrambled eggs, which I really like, and swapping it with the original style, which somehow made it into my order one month. Everyone in the office complained about the smell. They don't smell at all like eggs. :huh: I like making the pancakes in a mug, that's my favorite breakfast. :happy:

straykatze

Ah, yes.
So, to recap: today is day 6 of our MediFast adventure. Both of us (my husband is doing this - his idea, in fact) are feeling quite well on it. Yesterday was a little it more challenging than the days before, and we had one or two stalks of celery to munch on. Also, to reward and motivate us, we had a real nice dinner: broiled tenderloin steak (5.5 oz each) rare, and a green salad with celery and green onions. A small glass of watered red wine. Soooo good!

Diabetes management: I have now reduced the basal rate of my pump to 70%, and the bolus wizard's carb ratio from 12 to 14. This is working well.

A check with a keton stick confirmed that a mild fat-burning state has been achieved: trace amounts of ketons in the urin. This is good and safe, and has nothing to do with "insulin-deficiency", but rather is a result of low carb/low calorie diet. So far I have not noticed a need for more insulin due to the metabolic shift, only for less insulin. (hence the 70% basal).
Taking a potassium supplement, and some vitamins, aside from the Pacific NW obligatory Vitamin D in winter

Blood sugar levels are great, and very stable. I have been reducing the basal rate over the last 6 days - there is a reason for that:
My BG has had a downward tendency (mild). I carefully correct low areas (70-60) by giving less insulin for the next meal, and below that, by taking one or two glucose tabs. Unless I am about to drive a car, which has not happened h yet (that I was low before/during) driving. In that case I will correct more aggressively and not take off until over 100. You know the deal.

We'll see if the 70% basal and the carb ratio change is where it's at right now. Definitely not more basal than that.

Oh, and my weight this morning was 171.8. That is at least 7 lbs less than I weighed when I first stepped on my own scale a few weeks ago. Yay! I am also thinking about keeping a blog, and will move this thread into it.

cheers!

CallMeCupcakeDammit

That's great! I'm glad you're doing well! I had to start taking a Vitamin D supplement, which I'd never needed before Medifast. It showed up in my blood work recently, and when I told my doctor I'd been waking up with leg and foot cramps every day, he said that would do it. They stopped the first night I started taking the supplement! I hope you have a great rest of your week/weekend!

Tamzos

Not sure if you are still on line, but I'm just starting MF, also have IDDM and a pump and a sensor, and I'm a physician. It's tricky, but we have the tools, and I'm grateful to read your experiences. Thank you!

thenutritionpath

how did it go?
i have a client who is type 1

Kar3n84

Please be careful when on the Medifast diet. While there is no doubt the weight will come off (they restrict you to 600-800 calories/per day and <80g-100g of carbs/day). I dropped 120lbs on that diet in less than a year and I had to pay the consequences for the next few years following. Because I lost weight so fast, I lost more than fat, I lost muscle. It hurt to sit longer than 15 minutes at a time without my tailbone aching in pain because I had no more "cushion". I became very weak and lost strength in lifting everyday things. Worst, I was losing hair rapidly. Slightly touching my hair would allow for several strands to fall out. It was horrible. My hair took about 2 years to stop falling out in large clumps. I gained the weight back quick. The Medifast diet just wasn't sustainable for me and just wasn't worth the results I got, even if it did make the number smaller on the scale.

If possible, I'd look into just changing your eating habits at home with REAL food. It will not only taste better, but you would have gained the necessary skills to make it a lifestyle change, versus a temporary one that you'll have to learn later with maintenance in Medifast.

Good luck on your journey, whichever way you decide to go!

yvelt123

my name is yvelt i was wondering if you could give me some advise i am about start the insanity i am not sure if afford the meal plan please give a feedback

mksoto28

Hi, Kar3n84 . Quick question, are you a T1D also? and when you did the medifast did you do any muscle strength exercises?.
I'm thinking on going on the medifast diet, my endocrinologist recommended it. I am just concerned, as a diabetic type 1 is been so challenging losing weight. I work out a lot and exercise my muscles a lot, so even though I weight around 167 lbs right now I probably look like I weight around 150 lb (I guess I have a lot of muscle mass?) Im also 5 ft tall so I still don't look how I want to, I would love to hear some more stories! I am also a college student so I really want to find a way to fit it all into my very busy life.

I hope everyone's weight lost journey keeps progressing well!