Jealousy
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T1DCarnivoreRunner
Posts: 11,502 Member
Does anyone else have weight loss jealousy of normal people who do not have medical issues standing in the way of weight loss?
I see normal people without health issues losing weight. The ones who are really putting forth an effort lose weight really fast. I was doing that at one time, but quickly started having to treat lows and realized that I cannot do that because I have diabetes.
Then there are other "normal" people who do not lose weight as quickly, but are not trying as hard. Many of those people also complain about how difficult it is to lose weight (even though they are not putting in the same effort as I am because of the constant re-adjustments to insulin to fight lows, yet they are getting the same results - with less effort).
I am sure I'm not the only one, but sometimes I just want to switch bodies for a month with a normal person who is whining about how they are losing so little and they are trying sooooo hard (but are not really), just so they can see what it is really like. Ugh.
I see normal people without health issues losing weight. The ones who are really putting forth an effort lose weight really fast. I was doing that at one time, but quickly started having to treat lows and realized that I cannot do that because I have diabetes.
Then there are other "normal" people who do not lose weight as quickly, but are not trying as hard. Many of those people also complain about how difficult it is to lose weight (even though they are not putting in the same effort as I am because of the constant re-adjustments to insulin to fight lows, yet they are getting the same results - with less effort).
I am sure I'm not the only one, but sometimes I just want to switch bodies for a month with a normal person who is whining about how they are losing so little and they are trying sooooo hard (but are not really), just so they can see what it is really like. Ugh.
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Yep I feel like this all the time. I also realize though that I am one of the ones who is whiny. I work my butt off when I work out. I always try my best. However I am always hungry. I watch my food intake but I am really struggling to eat less. I don't always make good choices. I have been told that diabetic are always hungry but I know other type 1 diabetics who aren't. I think for everyone its very individual. I take it day by day and if I mess up one day I just try to do better the next. And yes treating lows is also frustrating. I do this way too much (walking makes me go low).0
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http://www.tudiabetes.org/video/live-interview-the-athletic-diabetic-with-gary-scheiner-cde
Have you seen this yet? It helped me work out how to exercise with out the crash and burn. I don't need to chase my workout with extra carbs/calories to cover lows any more. I am back to hiking with out the 55 double arrow down on my CGM after the first hard up. It took some experimenting but Gary's suggestions made a huge difference. What I had been told to do before did not work and was just the opposite of his suggestions.
As for the constantly hungry feeling, have you looked at adding symlin? Beta cells normally produce both insulin and amylin, and in T1s is decreased or absent. Amylin slows digestion so the glucose spike is lower, and tells your brain that you are full. It does require attention to your numbers and does require a reduction in your insulin doses to prevent lows, but less insulin usually makes easier to lose weight. For T1s it has been associated with weight loss. Might be something to talk to you endo about.
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=d2262f20-bedb-43d9-b274-6ce275b0a69e#nlm34090-10 -
My lows are not so much an issue with exercise. I work FT, am a FT student, do a lot of political volunteering, and exercise when I have time... which doesn't happen. My lows are an issue with sensitivity changes as I lose weight, from eating less.
Years ago, before I was trying to lose weight, I tried Symlin. I understand how it works and had considered trying it again as a way to feel fuller longer. Then I remembered one of the reasons I stopped taking it in the first place: How I felt. serious nausea was one of the the factors. Then there was the inconvenience of having to take shots as icing on the cake, so to speak. I'm not going there again.0 -
Nausea is reported to happen with symlin if the dose is too high or if it is advanced too quickly. Starting at the lowest dose the pen will dispense and then waiting a week before stepping up to the next lowest level has helped prevent the nausea for many users. Not the way the dose escalation is listed in the package insert, but has worked. Might be worth trying if you can afford it and have the patience to go extremely slow.
Can't deny the fact that it is another shot to take before each meal, as it does not replace either your basal or your bolus requirements, although it can decrease them and will require a good understanding of how to monitor and adjust both basal and bolus dose.
If you can accept an extended slow trial of something that may reduce both your basal and bolus insulin and help with felling full as well as assisting in weight loss, then go for it. For some it might be worth the cost of the initial prescription to see if it is a useful tool to add to their arsenal.
If you decide to trial it, just be aware that it is a tool you can add in for a while to help on your journey and then taper off if you reach your goal or if it no longer works/fits your needs or your situation.0 -
2hobbit1 - thanks for the link! I have been meaning to read his stuff for some time now and just never do it. Am watching the video right now!!
As far as jealousy goes, I figure everyone has their own unique challenges and/or conditions - dieting is different if you have to eat gluten or dairy free or if you have a physical injury or an eating disorder. I don't believe losing weight is easy for the majority of the population, but we each have our own battles to fight and overcome. And I would bet that the people who you see lbs rolling off of also have challenges and/or maybe have a large amount to lose - it just typically comes off faster if so. Absolutely, diabetes can be frustrating as hell, but it is manageable and I'm thankful to have all the advantages today that I did not have when I was younger to hat my G'pa who was a Type I never got to benefit from.
What I found was if I could work out 3-4 days a week consistently, my insulin needs stayed the same after I figured them out. It was when I would have 'no exercise' time periods for longer than a few days that my needs started to change. And I don't do the same workout or workout at the same time every day, but just make sure I get at least 3-4 workouts in per week. Best of luck! Do you have an endo or a CDE that might be able to help you figure things out?0 -
I do have an endo, but he is not that great. After that day in April that scared me so much (I ate around 600-700g of carbs to treat lows without bolusing and while running lower temp basal rates during part of that time - I was as low as 20 and just couldn't keep my blood sugar up for very long without having to eat again), and made me give up for awhile, I asked him for advice on how to lose weight successfully with the issue of lows. His response was nothing I didn't already know... he said I should re-adjust as I lose weight and try to maintain a calorie deficit.
This endo comes from 90 min. away monthly to visit my local hospital (which is actually a regional hospital) and see patients in this area. I see him every 3-4 months, but to switch endos would require traveling 90 min. - 2 hours to more populated areas where there are others available. That would be alright on a weekend, but I don't want to take off from work that often, as it would take at least a half-day vacation.
Now that I've figured out how to safely lose weight, I can keep on doing that... it just bothers me that it is sooo much more difficult and slower than it is for "normal" people.0 -
Ahh, I forgot about your 'ruralness'
That does make it a lot more difficult I'm sure. They should have online doctor consults - it's not like you really NEED to be in front of them.
Stick with it - you'll get there and you'll be stronger for it.0 -
Gary Scheiner (CDE) was voted diabetes educator of the year and does offer online appointments. He's a type 1 himself and also has written a few books. http://integrateddiabetes.com/
Type1 University also has good courses for how to better manage diabetes. https://www.type1university.com/ They are online courses but cover topics like weight loss, fine tuning basal rates, sports, etc...0 -
I had a LOT to lose and found I lost weight easily. Thankful for the pump and I don't have crash and burn issues. I also workout around a snack time and eat the snack without a bolus and blood sugars do great. NOW, I used to roll my eyes at people who whined about needing to lose 10 pounds. I would think, "try losing the 100 I need to lose." Well, 110 pounds was easy for me to lose. The last 10 I want off won't budge and now I get it.0
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Even with the pump, I've had trouble, but that is because I have both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For that reason, I take a whole lot of insulin. When I started out to lose weight, I was taking 150-200 units daily (combined bolus and basal). Now, I'm taking about 80 units daily. You can see that I've only lost 18 lbs... so I've adjusted basal more times than I can remember, and bolus rates a few times also over 18 lbs. of weight loss. Obviously having to feed lows and re-adjust insulin rates has slowed me down significantly. The reality is that when I lose a few pounds, I have to re-set everything, which slows me way down.0
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Can you get tablets along with the insulin? Surely you should both inject and increase your sensitivity (though do ask the doc before ordering anything online duh...)
I had the same issues before starting on the pump, and still now (as the UK health system doesn't cover the glucose sensors) it's a lot of testing, as anything from happiness to stress to hormones to exercise to weekday vs weekend can influence stuff, but it's become much better. Still 80 units sounds like a lot to me, how many grams of carbs are you eating?
But back to your op. Yes. Yesyesyes. I did mention to a friend recently that I find it so hard to eat less, and she said "oh yes, that's why I do marathon hillwalking", and I was just like "yeah........ that'd be 200 grams of carbs or death for me, but thanks for the suggestion" On the other hand, you know, everyone's got their problems, and I try not to get angry with the jealousy. Just because someone doesn't have an illness doesn't mean they don't find it just as hard to motivate themselves, or don't have a metabolism from hell. Find those who'll understand you (illness or not) and stick with them 0 -
Can you get tablets along with the insulin? Surely you should both inject and increase your sensitivity (though do ask the doc before ordering anything online duh...)
Yes, I've been taking Metformin for years, which is by prescription here.0 -
I thought you might, but always better to ask... sorry you need so many units, it's a pain in the backside But still, 150-200 down to 80 is a HUGE step, so fingers crossed it will continue to decrease. I sometimes tell myself that slowly losing weight is healthier anyway when I have similar "lose weight, reset, do more exercise, reset" episodes. 0
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Even with the pump, I've had trouble, but that is because I have both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For that reason, I take a whole lot of insulin. When I started out to lose weight, I was taking 150-200 units daily (combined bolus and basal). Now, I'm taking about 80 units daily. You can see that I've only lost 18 lbs... so I've adjusted basal more times than I can remember, and bolus rates a few times also over 18 lbs. of weight loss. Obviously having to feed lows and re-adjust insulin rates has slowed me down significantly. The reality is that when I lose a few pounds, I have to re-set everything, which slows me way down.
I was taking 150 units plus a day when I started to lose weight. I'm down to 25 units a day. If you're feeding lows then you need to lower your rates, basal and possible carb ratio, etc. It's a pain, but keep dropping until you stop having those lows. Use juice or glucose tabs to keep cals low when you have a low. Turn off the pump or turn down the rates an hour before exercise to ward off lows. Incorporate snack time around a workout and use no insulin for the snack. I've been in your shoes and this is doable.0 -
Even with the pump, I've had trouble, but that is because I have both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For that reason, I take a whole lot of insulin. When I started out to lose weight, I was taking 150-200 units daily (combined bolus and basal). Now, I'm taking about 80 units daily. You can see that I've only lost 18 lbs... so I've adjusted basal more times than I can remember, and bolus rates a few times also over 18 lbs. of weight loss. Obviously having to feed lows and re-adjust insulin rates has slowed me down significantly. The reality is that when I lose a few pounds, I have to re-set everything, which slows me way down.
I was taking 150 units plus a day when I started to lose weight. I'm down to 25 units a day. If you're feeding lows then you need to lower your rates, basal and possible carb ratio, etc. It's a pain, but keep dropping until you stop having those lows. Use juice or glucose tabs to keep cals low when you have a low. Turn off the pump or turn down the rates an hour before exercise to ward off lows. Incorporate snack time around a workout and use no insulin for the snack. I've been in your shoes and this is doable.
I do all of these things, but I find that rates change way too fast to manage if I lose weight too fast... so I end up going way over my calories due to lows.
What really freaked me out was that, in April after struggling with lows and gaining back weight for several weeks already, I started to see some progress again. Soon after, I had a really bad day... for about 10-13 hours, I was low and could not do anything to keep my blood sugar up. I did a low temp. basal, ate around 600-700 grams of carbs without a bolus over this time. I would get it up a little bit, and then it would drop again. It was as low as 20, and never higher than 110... and then not for more than an hour.0 -
Even with the pump, I've had trouble, but that is because I have both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For that reason, I take a whole lot of insulin. When I started out to lose weight, I was taking 150-200 units daily (combined bolus and basal). Now, I'm taking about 80 units daily. You can see that I've only lost 18 lbs... so I've adjusted basal more times than I can remember, and bolus rates a few times also over 18 lbs. of weight loss. Obviously having to feed lows and re-adjust insulin rates has slowed me down significantly. The reality is that when I lose a few pounds, I have to re-set everything, which slows me way down.
I was taking 150 units plus a day when I started to lose weight. I'm down to 25 units a day. If you're feeding lows then you need to lower your rates, basal and possible carb ratio, etc. It's a pain, but keep dropping until you stop having those lows. Use juice or glucose tabs to keep cals low when you have a low. Turn off the pump or turn down the rates an hour before exercise to ward off lows. Incorporate snack time around a workout and use no insulin for the snack. I've been in your shoes and this is doable.
I do all of these things, but I find that rates change way too fast to manage if I lose weight too fast... so I end up going way over my calories due to lows.
What really freaked me out was that, in April after struggling with lows and gaining back weight for several weeks already, I started to see some progress again. Soon after, I had a really bad day... for about 10-13 hours, I was low and could not do anything to keep my blood sugar up. I did a low temp. basal, ate around 600-700 grams of carbs without a bolus over this time. I would get it up a little bit, and then it would drop again. It was as low as 20, and never higher than 110... and then not for more than an hour before it was low again and I had to eat something.
Anyway, I got completely scared at that point and gave up. In June, I started again and decided to lose very slowly to avoid that again.0 -
Maybe in your case it's safe to keep sugars on the higher side while losing. Much safer to run a1c's in the seven range than risk those lows. At least while you're losing weight. Once you're at your goal weight then you can dial in tighter sugars.0
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Maybe in your case it's safe to keep sugars on the higher side while losing. Much safer to run a1c's in the seven range than risk those lows. At least while you're losing weight. Once you're at your goal weight then you can dial in tighter sugars.
Yes, you are right. To be honest, I've never been below 7 in the 19 years I've had type 1. I have always had way too much of a struggle. Another year of higher A1C's in order to get to a point where I can maybe finally be capable of lower A1C's isn't something I should worry about.0
