What am I doing wrong?

lgreenich
lgreenich Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
Let me preface this by saying, I am a Type 1 Diabetic. I have been for 10 years. Up until June of 2013, I didn't take care of my Diabetes like I should have. I finally decided to take care of myself, being very strict with what I ate & checking my blood sugars very frequently. My a1c came down 5.5 whole points in 3 months and I had never felt better! A strange thing happened, too. For some reason weight just started to fall off of me. I had always been skinny as a rail pre-diabetes diagnoses, but over the years I gained pretty steadily. Once my blood sugars evened out and my body 'stabilized' to normal blood sugars, I lost about 25 pounds and felt great. Well fast forward to April of 2014 and things started to go downhill. From April 2014 to September 2014, I have had Shingles, Strep, Mono, Wisdom teeth removal, an abscess on my tonsils, a tonsillectomy, and minor foot surgery. Needless to say, the constant sicknesses and stress of all that shot my blood sugars to Hell. It became SO difficult to try and keep them at good levels, so I gave up. By the end of 1 and 1/2 months of bad blood sugar control, I put about 18 pounds BACK on. My endocrinologist thinks the reason I lost all of the weight in the first place was my body becoming healthy again; that my body had gotten used to running on high blood sugars for all the years I didn't care for it, and that absolutely wrecked my metabolism. So once my body was healthy again, my metabolism was able to function as it should.

So here I am today, on week 3 of great blood sugars. Like I said, I've put a lot of my weight back on and I want it OFF. I feel absolutely crappy, and I want to feel as good as I did at the beginning of this year. I currently follow a relatively low carb diet- lots of healthy fats and TRYING to add in more and more vegetables. I stay away from most fruits because of the sugar (even if it is natural)- it just shoots my blood sugar through the roof. My question is, I don't know what 'diet' or 'way of eating' to follow. I've tried Keto, I'm doing 'low carb' at the moment, I feel like I restrict calories and don't see any results. But I don't know if that's me expecting too much while my body is yet again 'healing' from the 5/6 months of bad blood sugars and nothing in my body being able to function right. I don't know if eating too FEW calories will keep me from losing, I've heard that too. ANY help is appreciated. Thanks!

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    as a type 1 diabetic too few calories is not good, it's not good period.

    Talk to your doctor.

    My brother is a type 1 diabetic and if I remember correctly him being in ketosis wasn't a good thing...

    My brother eats whatever he wants within reason but he's been well controlled for years.

    He does avoid things like icing on a cake but really does eat whatever he wants. He maintains his weight but he is also very actie.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    You could get a referral from your doctor to see a qualified dietitian to help you create a weight loss plan that works with your condition and medication.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Most people don't need to follow a 'diet'. You need to pay particular to what you eat based on how it affects your blood sugar. The bottom-line key to losing weight is to create a calorie deficit: by consuming fewer calories than your body uses in day. Its also important to have realistic expectations. I gather from your post you're looking to lose 20 pounds or so? That would mean .5-1 pound per week goal, or 2-4 per month.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    You should get a referral to a dietician.

    The ADA website has lots of good info for diabetics.

    It is wonderful that you're trying to take care of yourself. Good luck!!
  • thefoodaddict
    thefoodaddict Posts: 93 Member
    edited October 2014
    Have you calculated your tdee? If not, type in tdee in google & a website called iifym.com will pop up. Read the directions after you put in your stats & find out your tdee.
  • lgreenich
    lgreenich Posts: 10
    Thanks for all the replies!

    @SezxyStef, I wouldn't say I get too few calories most days, I just wasn't sure about the amount I SHOULD be eating, or the amount that I shouldn't go below to make sure my body doesn't think it's starving. My endocrinologist team knew I was doing a Ketogenic diet; a Ketogenic diet WITH controlled blood sugars will not put you in Ketoacidosis, which is what we Diabetics have to watch out for. A ketogenic diet is actually very good for blood sugar levels as it eliminates most carbohydrates and sugars, which prevents blood sugar spikes.
  • lgreenich
    lgreenich Posts: 10
    @Branstin & @Kalikel, thank you! I do have a dietician on my Diabetes management team; they are more help when it comes to nutrition, not so much weight loss. They don't think I look like I need to lose weight, and I don't need to lose much. Maybe 10-15 pounds. I just FELT better with a little less weight on.
  • lgreenich
    lgreenich Posts: 10
    thefoodaddict wrote: »
    Have you calculated your tdee? If not, type in tdee in google & a website called iifym.com will pop up. Read the directions after you put in your stats & find out your tdee.

    I googled it- very helpful! Thank you!

  • lgreenich
    lgreenich Posts: 10
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    Most people don't need to follow a 'diet'. You need to pay particular to what you eat based on how it affects your blood sugar. The bottom-line key to losing weight is to create a calorie deficit: by consuming fewer calories than your body uses in day. Its also important to have realistic expectations. I gather from your post you're looking to lose 20 pounds or so? That would mean .5-1 pound per week goal, or 2-4 per month.

    Not even 20, as I didn't like losing that much... if I could get 10-15 pounds off I'd be thrilled! It doesn't help that my most recent health problem was with my foot, which kept me VERY sedentary for two months. I think your point about being realistic is what I need to realize also... I am just now getting my body back to being completely healthy, and am just this week able to start any type of exercise again. So I just need to be patient with myself. If the weight came off before with healthy eating and good blood sugars and moderate exercise, there's no reason to think it won't again. Thank you!

  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
    edited October 2014
    Keto is a fun, but very strict diet, and if you can stick with its proportions, it has many health benefits. It has been shown to CURE diabetes, but you have to monitor the diet proportions closely, and eat enough fat while keeping your protein down (because of gluconeogenesis, which is a complex process that turns amino acids into glucose if protein is consumed in excess).

    I do not know of your successes, but I am reading the book "Keto Clarity" by Jimmy Moore and a panel of Doctors of different fields. I have no idea (nor do any other people) about why you are not losing the weight. But a ketogenic diet is one that you need to follow to a T for it to be successful. I would suggest getting ketone strips, and monitoring those in comparison with your blood glucose. Their production is usually inversely related to each other, so if you are producing a high amount of ketones from your fat cells, your insulin levels will usually be where you want to see them. I am pretty sure you have heard of Ketoacidosis, but that state is very hard to attain, as your ketone level would have to be over 15mmol/L (nutritional ketosis is 0.6-3.0 mmol/L). The ketone strips are about $2 per strip, so they can get a lot more pricey than the glucose strips, but some meters measure both. Also, just for reference, ketone bodies are what your body produces from fat cells when the glycogen and readily available carbs are depleted. It has to use energy, and when it is in a ketogenic state, it produces those ketone bodies at a higher rate, and will prefer to use fat for energy rather than carbohydrates. Ere go, if your body is using fat for energy, you won't need carbohydrates.

    One more thing....while in ketosis, you wont have to particularly restrict calories. Your body naturally will restrict how much you consume, as fat satiates hunger. For instance, I ate lunch at 2:15 pm today, and it is now 10:18 pm. I have not had a bite of anything since then, nor have I felt hungry in that time. Maybe that would help you. My diary is open if you would like to take a look at my daily food intake. It is all true to counts.

    I am going to befriend you, because I would like to know how you do. I can understand your frustration, even though I am not a diabetic.

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