Losing weight & insulin changes
la_tortuga
Posts: 6 Member
Hi everyone - this is my first post - have been on MFP since January, and have lost 17lbs so far (SW 206, GW ~160), am 5'10" and have been Type 1 since age 12, for 24 years, have been on Animas Pump for maybe 7 years?
I found that using MFP alone with mild exercise helped me lose weight steadily and quickly, until I had lost 15 pounds. Then it seems like my *entire metabolism* just freaked out. Has anyone else hit a certain threshold at which their insulin needs completely changed? I'd been lowering my basal bit by bit, but suddenly at the 15 pound mark it all went out the window and I was running low all the time, so eating all the time, so not losing weight.
I have decided to take the long view, and recognize that I can't lose weight the way non-diabetics do, and stuck with it and finally after about a month got my sugars stable again and finally this morning had lost one more pound to hit 189! Now that I'm over the hump, I'm guessing I'll be able to cruise along just counting calories the way MFP tells me to until I hit the next threshold, whenever that is!
My question is - has this happened to anybody else? Any tips on sorting it out without losing a month of healthy progress? (I know that losing insulin needs is also healthy progress, but I want to lose weight consistently, too!) Have purposely kept my exercise fairly minimal, but have been ramping that up lately, too, so I can eat more
but that seems to have a more straightforward impact on my sugars.
Sorry this first post is so long - but I'd be really curious to know if any others out there have had this threshold issue.
Thanks for reading and replying!
Anne in London
I found that using MFP alone with mild exercise helped me lose weight steadily and quickly, until I had lost 15 pounds. Then it seems like my *entire metabolism* just freaked out. Has anyone else hit a certain threshold at which their insulin needs completely changed? I'd been lowering my basal bit by bit, but suddenly at the 15 pound mark it all went out the window and I was running low all the time, so eating all the time, so not losing weight.
I have decided to take the long view, and recognize that I can't lose weight the way non-diabetics do, and stuck with it and finally after about a month got my sugars stable again and finally this morning had lost one more pound to hit 189! Now that I'm over the hump, I'm guessing I'll be able to cruise along just counting calories the way MFP tells me to until I hit the next threshold, whenever that is!
My question is - has this happened to anybody else? Any tips on sorting it out without losing a month of healthy progress? (I know that losing insulin needs is also healthy progress, but I want to lose weight consistently, too!) Have purposely kept my exercise fairly minimal, but have been ramping that up lately, too, so I can eat more
but that seems to have a more straightforward impact on my sugars.Sorry this first post is so long - but I'd be really curious to know if any others out there have had this threshold issue.
Thanks for reading and replying!
Anne in London
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Replies
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Hi Anne!
The minute I started trying to be "healthy" which included eating less (and making better choices) and exercise, my blood sugars started to go way down. I didn't hit a threshold, they just went down right away.
I am also on an Animas pump so I started adjusting my basal AND my insulin to carb ratios. I called my doctor's office as well to see if they had any suggestions beyond what I was doing. They said I was doing OK on my own.
So, I've just steadily lowered both my basal and my insulin to carb ratios. I do have to jump them back up occasionally if I'm out of the exercise loop (like last week when we only went to the gym 2 times).
Remember that when you lose weight, the insulin you take become more effective and that means you need less as well.
I am having some issues with lows after exercising now which I've not had before. I've never lowered my basal during exercise so I'm going to go down 50% now during my workouts to see if that helps.
Don't give up on exercise or eating healthy!! If your doctor is comforatable with you doing your own adjustments, go for it. Mine always suggests going down a bit further then I think I need to (as being a bit higher is better than too many lows) and then adjust back up.
Good luck!!0 -
Hello ladies,
I just joined MFP today! I am also a type 1 diabetic (have been for almost 8 years) and anytime I start a "healthy eating plan" my sugars go low. I am learning about the ketogenic lifestyle (hence my username... couldn't think of anything else at the time) and I am constantly having to lower the basal rate on my medtronic pump. With any program (weight watchers, beachbody ultimate reset) I have lows and have to adjust with food which makes me either go over my points, or calorie intake etc. Can be frustrating but we can find strategies to get through it, right?0 -
Hey Anne,
The last couple of weeks I've hit a threshold too. I started MFP seriously in March and lost a pound or more consistently every week for 12 weeks. A little over 2 weeks ago my progress stopped. I came down with a wicked chest cold, then went out of town and while I never went over my recommended calorie limit, progress ground to a halt. This week I'm kicking it hard to see if I can get some downward momentum started again.
During the first 4 weeks I had to adjust my basal rate downward twice. My insulin to carb ratio has remained the same, but this may be due to the fact that my exercise has been light, consisting of playing golf in the backyard, walking, mowing and gardening. This week I'm starting the C25K program and I'm interested to see how that is going to affect my outcomes.
So to answer your question, I think I'm at some sort of plateau as well. I know that I lost a lot of my initial weight because I reigned in my dinner time eating. Before MFP I had let it get out of control and was taking large correction boluses (sometimes two) almost every evening. When I quit eating like that the weight pretty much fell off. I hope by increasing my exercise I can lose the rest of my weight by the end of the summer.
HTH and best wishes,
-Keith0 -
Thanks for all the feedback, everybody! I guess as T1s we just have a more complicated weight loss cycle than most. I figure as long as I'm making positive progress on some front, weight isn't the only measure - and right now my insulin needs are decreasing, my weight is decreasing, and my blood pressure is decreasing, just taking turns rather than all at the same time!0
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My endo tells me all the time:
"Weight loss, as a diabetic, is like a race with no finish line. You just have to keep going and keep getting healither even though it can be frustrating!"
It's actually a great thing to need less insulin (especially since it is a fat storing hormone) but it's frustrating to try to figure out how and what to adjust to fix lows!!
Just remember - WE CAN DO IT!!! :-)0 -
My endo tells me all the time:
"Weight loss, as a diabetic, is like a race with no finish line. You just have to keep going and keep getting healither even though it can be frustrating!"
It's actually a great thing to need less insulin (especially since it is a fat storing hormone) but it's frustrating to try to figure out how and what to adjust to fix lows!!
Just remember - WE CAN DO IT!!! :-)
I really needed to see this. I have been getting very frustrated...the harder I work out...the more I eat to correct lows. Often I end up eating more to fix low bs than I burned in my workout. Ugh!0 -
change yoru basal rate this will help lots. I have issues losing to my body holds on to it I was diagnosed at 12 too and am now 31. It is a life long struggle where we never seem to win. We often feel like falures becasue of it but keep in mind that anything that will make you healthier is winning. Stay focused and keep a protien snak with you in your purse to help when it does lower.0
