Margaret, I'm on metformin as well and have been for a couple years and never noticed it caused or helped with weight loss. I had to cut calories and move more...the old tried and true method...before I lost weight. I've also been able to cut back a bit on my Metformin and hoping to improve even more and reduce it again.

About the weight loss, I stalled for 8 months until I changed my exercise some. But I had been happy to just maintain and thought that might be the weight my body wanted me at. I was also happy since I'd lost a good amount and looked and felt so much better. But I kept eating the same and tried 30 Day Shred that a lot of people on MFP wrote about and within that month began dropping weight again. It kind of kick started my loss, and since then (March) I've dropped another 20 lbs.

I think sometimes we increase muscle and therefore the pounds stay the same, but eventually you begin dropping again. So just stay on track and know that what you're doing is benefitting you, even thought the scale may not indicate it as much as you'd like. Keep up the good work!

Barb

I doubt it is the diabetes, though I have read that certain medication makes it tougher to lose, I am not aware of metformin being one of them.

I took the liberty of taking a quick look at your food diary.

I only looked at a few days from this week. Sorry if this seems a blunt question, but, are you being honest with your logging? Based on your calorie intake you should be losing weight.

I found that whenever I hit a plateau and I have a couple of times, it was for one of two reasons: i) I was underestimating how much I was eating - I went back to weighting everything or ii) It was my crazy travel schedule so I wasn't training as often.

Another word of caution if you are using MFP estimates of calories burned (and "eating back"), in my experience they over estimate hugely. I use a heart rate monitor when training - on a typical fast 1hr bike ride I burn about 500 calories, MFP will say almost 1000!!

Don't get discouraged, we all hit plateaus, the worst thing you can do is give up.

One additional thought: while it is frustrating, plateaus are really normal. We are so hard on ourselves and expect weight loss to be linear and consistent. I sure wish it was! I've lost 74 pounds, and have had 4 plateaus that lasted more than 4 weeks. Drove me nuts! But... they pass every time, and then sometimes you'll lose more rapidly on the other side. Be kind and patient with yourself.

One additional thought: while it is frustrating, plateaus are really normal. We are so hard on ourselves and expect weight loss to be linear and consistent. I sure wish it was! I've lost 74 pounds, and have had 4 plateaus that lasted more than 4 weeks. Drove me nuts! But... they pass every time, and then sometimes you'll lose more rapidly on the other side. Be kind and patient with yourself.

I have had a similar experience. I am at 76lbs lost and I have hit a few plateaus and come through with the weight coming off again.

Stick at it, it will come off.

Hello. Just started using MFP a few days ago mostly just as a tracking tool. Reading this thread got me to thinking about some of the things which I've learned about T2 which worked for me. I was diagnosed about five years ago and for a while, I had my BG and weight under very good control. I think that what made it work for me was logging EVERYTHING I was doing so I could see the effects of my efforts. More on that in a different thread. After a lot of success, initially, I went back to school and slowly began to lose control. I'm now working to get back on track but that is yet another post to come!

One of the most important things I've learned is that everyone is different and that requires us T2's to be our own guinea pig, scientist, and in many cases, our own doctors. As long as we can test our BG like we should, we can accomplish all of those things to some extent.

Please understand, I'm just doing a brain dump here, not trying to say that it's all gospel truth. For what it's worth, it's been a while since I did the serious study I once did so what I "knew" may very well be outdated and may no longer apply (assuming it ever did!).

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Note: this went on a lot longer than I originally intended but I have an apparent case of diarrhea of the keyboard! Short version: training with heavy weights combined with aerobics in a balanced fashion will reduce the effects of insulin resistance AND give better control of BG which leads to effective weight loss for Type II diabetics.

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Understanding T2 is a critical component to controlling it so here are some thoughts on what it is and the differences between T1 and T2. Just to reiterate, I'm no expert, just blowing off what I think I know.

As we all know T1 is when someone can't produce insulin due to damage to the pancreas. T2 is actually insulin resistance wherein your body is producing insulin but for whatever reason, your body's cells don't allow it to work like it's supposed to work. T1 and T2 are, therefore, quite different and are, in fact, completely unrelated. That said, some T2's will ultimately lose the function of the pancreas and, for all intents and purposes, end up with the effective problems of both T1 and T2 at the same time. I know folks with that double whammy and I wouldn't wish those difficulties on anyone.

Both of these metabolic disorders are hereditary, in my never-to-be-humble opinion. Everything I've read points to a hereditary factor which is to say we have been cursed with it before birth. Also, diabetes is what causes diabetics to be overweight. Being overweight does not cause T2 diabetes, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, based on a ton of reading I've done on the subject. In short, don't despair; it ain't your fault, I assure you!

When the glucose in your blood can't get into the cells of your body, they starve. When they starve, they send out hormones which cause your liver to dump glucose into your blood and simultaneously, to dump insulin into your blood along with it (for T2). As the cells continue to starve, the cycle continues. At the same time, other hormones are released to stimulate your hunger and all but forces you to eat, no matter what. Furthermore, the compulsion is to eat sugary foods in order to get that quick sugar into your blood stream. Of course, none of this feeds your cells and they continue to scream for glucose and to send out hormones that work in concert to push your blood sugar ever higher in a continually fruitless effort to get fed.

When the cells starve long enough, the body starts to consume muscle tissue in an effort to feed the body but that causes ketosis which, if I understand correctly, is when the body (mistakenly) believes it is out of fat reserves AND glucose and begins to convert muscles into the glucose it needs. During this process, the body has to use massive amounts of water to flush the waste products of ketosis out of the body through the kidneys. This causes excessive urination and the resulting water loss causes raging thirst. The "digestion" of muscle tissue in this environment causes a degree weight loss. The individual doesn't usually understood it at first and many people are then compelled to seek advice from a doctor resulting in first diagnosis of T2.

T1 or "juvenile diabetes" is now being diagnosed in adults. It's critical for adults who are diagnosed with high BG to be correclty diagnosed. Treating T1 with T2 techniques will only make the problem worse in very short order.

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I'm way off track here, obviously!

The original question is, Does metformin help with weight loss? Sorta. What it's does, primarily, is reduce insulin resistance. In other words, to allow your cells to be fed and not starve. The collateral effects of this could easily cause some degree of weight loss because appetite should be curbed as cells get what they need, etc. The problem with metformin is that its effectiveness is quite limited in the first place but over time, it will start to lose its effectiveness. Maximum dosage is 850mg per day, three times a day. Using metformin to help feed your cells could, in a roundabout way, cause weight loss but I believe that such weight loss will be more or less minimal.

That begs the question, then, How DO you lose weight as a T2 diabetic? We've all been preached at by our doctors: diet and exercise. Let's tackle exercise first as it's probably the least controversial of the two. I'll mention diet in another post somewhere.

As I first started to work to control my T2, I learned very quickly that aerobic exercise did absolutely nothing to help control my BG levels and my weight and BG would NEVER go down. It wasn't until I added weight training that I got my blood sugar back to normal. I say "normal" because it was simply a question of getting a meter read below 100 a couple of times a day every day for several weeks in a row.

When I did weight training it was for the purpose of building muscle tissue. The best way to do that is to lift VERY heavy weights using proper technique. Light weight training is the same as aerobic training in most respects. If you talk to a trainer, they know how to build muscle mass with weights. I'll try to get around to posting more detail on this in another thread. One comment for the ladies. Well, everyone, for that matter. You CANNOT build up a physique like the body builders you see on T.V. unless you are taking steroids to do it. I recommend you don't use steroids for the purpose of building muscle. It just ain't healthy and can cause all sorts of problems for you, even death. Just lift the very heavy weights, hard and heavy, using proper technique and you're never going to burst the seams on your t-shirts, I guarantee it! :-) Note the "proper technique" clause. Heavy lifting can hurt you if you don't do it right so get the right information on the right way to do it and practice for a couple of weeks with much lighter weights.

Do aerobics, too. I was (and will be) doing heavy lifting for an hour, then 10 minutes on the elliptical on a pretty easy setting. After that 10 minutes, I was pretty well done. Over a period of about three months, I dropped from 260 pounds to 228. (I'm 6'4" in case you are interested in knowing.)

Heavy weight training builds muscle tissue, but it's hard on the cardiovascular system. When you do a cardio routine for 20 minutes, it alleviates that cardiovascular stress caused by the heavy weights. As with all things in life, balance is the order of the day. Each individual will find their locus where balance is acheived between intensity, duration and types of exercise.

With any exercise, you MUST fuel your workout. For me, I would eat a handful of bell pepper slices, a few cucumber slices and a cheese stick and it kept me going through the weight training and the cardio. You don't want to over eat or put too many carbs in up front. If you have to snack in the middle of your workout, it shouldn't be a problem but as always, don't overdo it.

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So, how does all of this help us as T2 patients? It builds muscle. Muscle is the factory where fuel is burned in your body. The only fuel your body can use is glucose and muscle is what burns it best. It never shuts down, and it is always running, even when you sleep. Aerobic exercise is necessary but know that it ONLY burns fuel while you're doing the workout. When you stop running or stop using the elliptical machine or stop swimming, etc., the fuel burning effect of the exercise ends very shortly thereafter. As mentioned above, we still need to do aerobic exercise because there are various other reasons it is necessary. However, the more muscle tissue you have, the easier it becomes to control blood glucose and weight. By the way, just the simple effect of cutting fat in my body seems to reduce insulin resistance (among other things) so the effort to exercise and lose weight is well worth it from several fronts. Of course, the additional benefits only add to the value of all of this effort!

Nevertheless, I'm convinced that more than anything else, it is exercise that tears down insulin resistance. Whenever I work out, I have the best BG control. As a comparitive observation, I always take Saturday and Sunday off from the workouts and my BG gradually creeps back up during that time off. That said, you do need a break. Again, more on this in another post.

During my study of my own disorder, I've never encountered any single article or research project which explains these effects of exercise on insulin resistance. However, after reading countless studies, I do have a simple theory about it. It's more of a visualization so I picture this as an animated cartoon and I'm hoping my description here is "good enough."

Insulin is a sort of a key that plugs into the cell wall into a keyhole. It then funnels the glucose molecule into the cell. Basically, insulin is the key but for whatever reason, resistance occurs when the shape of the keyhole is distorted or if it becomes plugged. Sorta like filling up the lock on your front door with clay.

When you do a heavy, hard workout, the keyhole in the cell wall actually opens wide in order to accept any and all insulin keys which, in turn, grabs sugar molecules and stuffs them into the cells at a high rate so you can continue to fuel the workout. In short, overcoming insulin resistance. After you're done working out, the resistance gradually returns.

Very oversimplified, of course. Obviously, the actual chemistry behind it all is far more complex. Nevertheless, as I worked out in the early days after diagnosis and read everything I could get my hands on, it seems that there is substantial evidence that working out with heavy weights combined with aerobic exercise will reduce insulin resistance on a daily basis and give T2's a greater degree of control over the BG levels.

One very critical thing to be aware of is this: Do not work out if your BG is very high (over 300). By itself, it is significantly dangerous for your BG to be that high but combined with a workout, you'll significantly increase the damage to your muscle tissue and other organs.

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This went on overly long but more to be said. All criticisms and questions are welcome. That's how I learn more going forward!

--Wag--

P.S. I haven't made any real reference for how this translates to T1's. Again, T1 is radically different than T2 so the obvious caution is to T1's: Very little of this applies to you because your problem is not the insulin resistance that is the focus of the above diatribe. :-)

Cheryl, thanks for your correction. I have been working with a Diabetes Educator/nutritionist who said it is the spikes after we eat that make our bodies hold on to the weight (Type II). I believe that she has been correct with that. I'm using Bydureon and Metformin and having 2 hr. post numbers in the 90s and low 100s. And I have lost 79 lbs in the last year. My BG is now under control so I've been able to lose weight for the first time in forever.

There might be some science behind it too. When B.G. is high, typically you lose more or more easily. That's why losing weight without reason is such a huge red flag for Diabetes.

I have to say I disagree with this. Type 1 diabetics will lose weight when the body stops producing insulin and this is often how it is discovered. However, Type 2 Diabetes is completely different. In Type 2 Diabetes, your body is insulin resistant and doesn't effectively use the carbs you eat. When your body doesn't use them, it converts them to fat. This leads to the misconception that obesity causes diabetes when, in fact, obesity is often a result or symptom of Type 2 Diabetes in the same way that weight loss is a symptom of Type 1. I have been a Type 2 for over 15 years and when my BG is high it's obvious by the concurrent weight gain. Controlling your blood sugars allows your body to work more efficiently and thus helps with weight loss, even though it may still be difficult.

Everyone is different and what you need to figure out is how many carbs your body will tolerate. There are a number of different reasons that you could be not losing weight, such as eating more carbs than your body can process, eating more protein than your body can use, age, metabolism, etc. It could be one or any number of those reasons (and others) combined. Finding the right way of eating for your Type 2 Diabetes is a path of trial and error. Find something different to try and mix it up and see how it works for you. Some people, like myself, need to keep their carbs very low in order to control their Type 2 and lose weight. Keep trying new ways, be patient and good luck!

This here post... soo much :laugh:
I know this is an old thread but I've found the above, to be more true now than ever for me.

OP: how about an update?

Increase the fitness! My dr said that is just as important as working out!