Diabetics

Becky5pal

I'm 62 year old female living near Phoenix. I have type 2 diabetes. I tried for years to lose weight on my own. Recently my DR. put me on an 800 calorie a day diet. With the help of Phentermine. (the good one) In 6 weeks I have lost and gained and lost 19 lbs. I thought on this low calorie diet I would have lost more. I do Zumba once a week. Will be twice next month. I walk up to 1 1/2 hrs a several days a week. Anyone have any idea what I can do to kick it up? I am going to start with my hand weights today. Thanks

Robin052

Hi Becky5Pal.. I live in Phoenix as well. Howdy neighbor. I, too, have Type 2 Diabetes and Hypothyroidism on top of that. I gained 40 lbs in ONE year. My primary doctor was clueless until I yelled at her, "I gained all this weight and you never say anything. What the hell???". So I went to see an endocrinologist who diagnosed me with Hypothyroid. Now it's very difficult to lose weigh and I am fatigued from low thyroid activity so I haven't exercised in a long time. I know once I start, I will be hooked. Zumba is awesome. I did a class 1 1/2 years ago. Made it through the class but my muscles in my lower back tightened up very quickly. I am on disability for my back problems and I am 60 years old. Sounds like you are plateauing for some reason. I am trying to keep a handle on my diabetes through diet and exercise. Five months ago my A1C was 5.7. I saw him 3 weeks ago and it was 7.5. He was not happy. It was the holidays and I was depressed so I didn't care and stopped using this tool. I don't want to go on Metformin, so I am working pretty hard to eat right. Here is a question for you. What kind of fruits do you eat? I eat citrus which I thought was a good fruit. I eat navel oranges and little cuties mandarins. I am over on my sugars on here even with just a few cuties. What gives with that? In answer to your question, I think once you start doing some weight training, it will kick in. The more muscle you have it will burn fat faster. That's what I believe. Let's stay connected so I can see how you are doing, okay?

Robin

Becky5pal

I have been on Thyroid meds since my kids were small. The 2 combined (low Thyroid and T2) are hell to deal with. Last week my MD started having me take B-12 2500mcg sublingual. For energy, metabolism and nervous system health. (well, that is what the bottle says)
I have been on Metformin 500mg x 4. and 2 insulins. I'm hoping I can lose enough weight to go off some of the meds.
Do you take any cinnamon supplements? I take 600mg of alpha lipoic acid daily also. To stave off neuropathy.
I have lost 19 lbs with the help of this site and the pills. I haven't weighed this in at least 15 years. I just hope I can keep it up!
Thank you for your reply. Nice to have another neighbor! LOL

billiegirl17

Hi.... I am also diabetic, however, I have controlled it without medication for over 10 years. When originally diagnosed, I lost 65 lbs - but slowly but surely, I managed to put 35-40 of it back on. That's why I joined MFP - because I really want to keep my diabetes under control. Since mid- January, I have lost 15 lbs.
I was really shocked to read that your doctor put you on an 800 calorie diet. When I first went to see a nutritionist, the first thing she told me was that "you have to eat to lose weight". I said "huh?" :-) then she explained to me about what happens when your body goes into starvation mode. It literally starts holding on to the fat you have and also weakens your muscles. You can google it and read a lot more about it. That's also why MFP recommends no lower than 1200 calories a day. You could finally find some blogs on here about it.
I actually found 1200 calories to be too low and upped mine to 1350.
You should definitely find out what your BMR is (Basic Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories you will burn in a day if you did absolutely nothing. There are a lot of web sites for that.
I hope I don't sound too pushy. I don't really know your health situation and I am not a doctor - but I do know that I would pass out if I was only eating 800 calories a day. Add me as a friend if you would like - I love to chat.

Becky5pal

Thanks for the post. Congratulations on controling your diabetes with no meds. That is something to be proud of.
I lost 40 lbs when I found out. But that was 12 years ago. With Low Thyroid and T2 it is almost impossible to lose any weight. I understand the BMI ratio. The low caloric diet is just short of stomach stapling. My A1C went from 6.9 down to 5.9 in one month. I do much more cardio exercises, that helps the BMI too.
Good job losing the 15 lbs.
I will add you to my friends list if I can figure it out!
Thanks