any type one diabetics trying to lose weight?

katelynneelswick
katelynneelswick Posts: 16 Member
edited November 23 in Health and Weight Loss
For me dieting and exercise is hard when you are diabetic. You work out, then your sugar drops and you have to eat something carby or sugary to bring it up. Then to top it off insulin causes you to hang on to fat.
Any tips or tricks when it comes to diabetes and weight loss ?
By the way I will be on the pump soon and was told to expect a good bit of weight gain from it.
Also feel free to send me a friend request !
:)

Replies

  • juliebowling1
    juliebowling1 Posts: 36 Member
    I hope you don't mind me chiming in. I'm not Type 1 but my son is and he is on a pump and continuous glucose monitor. If you get on a pump and CGM I highly suggest you read Sugar Surfing by Dr, Michael Ponder. Being on a pump will allow you to really manage your insulin and carb dosing to a careful degree . With my son exercise of course made him use his insulin more efficiently he'd have to reduce his doses. But also, exercise also releases adrenaline and his BG could spike high. Be careful not to treat those adrenaline highs the way you do a high from carbs. You can drop rreqlly fast that way as we learned the hard way. My son plays football and is super active. On those days he always makes sure to add a protein and fat to his carb meal. Delays the spike in BG and helps him not go low.
    If you count your carbs and dose appropriately for you, and don't use the fact that it's easier to eat more carbs with out a needle stick ( the beauty of a pump) you should do fine. You don't HAVE to gain a lot of weight. You've got this!!!!!!!!
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    I am type 1 and went on the pump and Dexcom a year ago and did not gain any weight. (My son and mom are also type 1). The pump is super helpful but a lot of work to get your basals set correctly (which is very important). I spent about a month this summer doing extensive basal testing. If your rates are set correctly, you have a much lower risk of lows and then do not have to eat extra to get your sugar up. They tell you that you may gain weight on the pump because you may have lows more often until you get your rates set correctly. So you have to eat more, which causes weight gain.

    I have run a 5 1/2 marathons and two marathons while being diabetic. The key is to time my workouts around my meals. I usually eat breakfast with no insulin and then go work out. Working out between meals is the most difficult because I have to eat extra to cover the workouts. So I pretty much only work out immediately after a high carb low protein meal. I'll eat my protein after the workout. Good luck! I hope the pump works out for you.
  • katelynneelswick
    katelynneelswick Posts: 16 Member
    Thanks for the advice guys I'll keep all this in mind, super helpful. I'm really excited about getting on the pump (t:slim) ans I'm hoping to get a CGM as well.
    Brendak76, have you had any issues with your feet as far as running? I want to start training for a 5k but im scared what could happen to my feet. (Foot ulcers, blisters ect..) I have mild neuropathy in my feet unfortunately.
    Also what kind of shoes do you recommend and what are some precautions I can take to avoid damage or injury?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    The amount of carbs required to overcome a hypo is quite small. If exercise inevitably results in eating carbs and covering with insulin then it probably isn't achieving a whole lot.

    Resources at http://www.diabetes-book.com/ may be helpful.
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    katelynneelswick wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice guys I'll keep all this in mind, super helpful. I'm really excited about getting on the pump (t:slim) ans I'm hoping to get a CGM as well.
    Brendak76, have you had any issues with your feet as far as running? I want to start training for a 5k but im scared what could happen to my feet. (Foot ulcers, blisters ect..) I have mild neuropathy in my feet unfortunately.
    Also what kind of shoes do you recommend and what are some precautions I can take to avoid damage or injury?

    I did have some mild issues due to using the wrong type of shoes for my foot. The best advice I have would be to get fitted for a shoe by a running store. I also ended up getting custom orthotics from a foot dr. For blisters I use aquiphor (like Vaseline) on my feet and it works great. But I don't have neuropathy so definitely work with your dr. Btw, my son and I both have the tslim. Love it! I don't run as much now. Foot issues aren't a problem unless I'm doing marathon training. For regular fitness there are no issues.
  • jamie_lee80
    jamie_lee80 Posts: 176 Member
    Hello! I am also a T1D and am on the medtronic pump and cgm. I can tell you that the pump was a total game changer for me. I've been diabetic since I was 10 years old (34 now) and have been pumping for about a year now. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long. As far as weight loss, I have around 70-80 lbs left to lose and its been a slow process. I started counting calories and exercising last September. I lost 30 lbs in 5 months, in February my weight loss completely stalled even while sticking to 1200-1500 calories a day and exercising 5 days a week. I found myself chasing a lot of lows, which then lead to treating a lot of highs. It is very frustrating. Last month I read, "The Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Bernstein. He is an 80 year old T1D who was diagnosed at the age of 12 and believes in blood sugar normalization. I implemented his plan and lost 11 lbs the first week. I lost 3 more last week so I am thrilled, but more importantly my blood sugars have been holding steady. I haven't gone low once, but i've also cut way back on my cardio and started lifting weights. I'm sending you a friend request!
  • katelynneelswick
    katelynneelswick Posts: 16 Member
    jamie_lee80 wrote: »
    Hello! I am also a T1D and am on the medtronic pump and cgm. I can tell you that the pump was a total game changer for me. I've been diabetic since I was 10 years old (34 now) and have been pumping for about a year now. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long. As far as weight loss, I have around 70-80 lbs left to lose and its been a slow process. I started counting calories and exercising last September. I lost 30 lbs in 5 months, in February my weight loss completely stalled even while sticking to 1200-1500 calories a day and exercising 5 days a week. I found myself chasing a lot of lows, which then lead to treating a lot of highs. It is very frustrating. Last month I read, "The Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Bernstein. He is an 80 year old T1D who was diagnosed at the age of 12 and believes in blood sugar normalization. I implemented his plan and lost 11 lbs the first week. I lost 3 more last week so I am thrilled, but more importantly my blood sugars have been holding steady. I haven't gone low once, but i've also cut way back on my cardio and started lifting weights. I'm sending you a friend request!

    That is awesome , congratulations on the weight loss ! I will definitely have a look into that book. If you ever get a chance check out think like a pancreas! It's another book that I always recommend to my diabetic friends.
  • katelynneelswick
    katelynneelswick Posts: 16 Member
    brendak76 wrote: »
    katelynneelswick wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice guys I'll keep all this in mind, super helpful. I'm really excited about getting on the pump (t:slim) ans I'm hoping to get a CGM as well.
    Brendak76, have you had any issues with your feet as far as running? I want to start training for a 5k but im scared what could happen to my feet. (Foot ulcers, blisters ect..) I have mild neuropathy in my feet unfortunately.
    Also what kind of shoes do you recommend and what are some precautions I can take to avoid damage or injury?

    I did have some mild issues due to using the wrong type of shoes for my foot. The best advice I have would be to get fitted for a shoe by a running store. I also ended up getting custom orthotics from a foot dr. For blisters I use aquiphor (like Vaseline) on my feet and it works great. But I don't have neuropathy so definitely work with your dr. Btw, my son and I both have the tslim. Love it! I don't run as much now. Foot issues aren't a problem unless I'm doing marathon training. For regular fitness there are no issues.
    I'll definitely have to get my shoes fitted.
    I have an appointment on the 21st of this month to meet with my endo to get the script for my pump! I am so excited. I've been working really hard to lower my a1c to get it. This will be my first pump ever
  • jamie_lee80
    jamie_lee80 Posts: 176 Member
    katelynneelswick wrote: »
    jamie_lee80 wrote: »
    Hello! I am also a T1D and am on the medtronic pump and cgm. I can tell you that the pump was a total game changer for me. I've been diabetic since I was 10 years old (34 now) and have been pumping for about a year now. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long. As far as weight loss, I have around 70-80 lbs left to lose and its been a slow process. I started counting calories and exercising last September. I lost 30 lbs in 5 months, in February my weight loss completely stalled even while sticking to 1200-1500 calories a day and exercising 5 days a week. I found myself chasing a lot of lows, which then lead to treating a lot of highs. It is very frustrating. Last month I read, "The Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Bernstein. He is an 80 year old T1D who was diagnosed at the age of 12 and believes in blood sugar normalization. I implemented his plan and lost 11 lbs the first week. I lost 3 more last week so I am thrilled, but more importantly my blood sugars have been holding steady. I haven't gone low once, but i've also cut way back on my cardio and started lifting weights. I'm sending you a friend request!

    That is awesome , congratulations on the weight loss ! I will definitely have a look into that book. If you ever get a chance check out think like a pancreas! It's another book that I always recommend to my diabetic friends.

    I read that one when I first got my pump. That is another good book to reference. There is a group on here for Type 1's if you want to check it out. I've found a lot of good information in that group.
  • katelynneelswick
    katelynneelswick Posts: 16 Member
    jamie_lee80 wrote: »
    katelynneelswick wrote: »
    jamie_lee80 wrote: »
    Hello! I am also a T1D and am on the medtronic pump and cgm. I can tell you that the pump was a total game changer for me. I've been diabetic since I was 10 years old (34 now) and have been pumping for about a year now. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long. As far as weight loss, I have around 70-80 lbs left to lose and its been a slow process. I started counting calories and exercising last September. I lost 30 lbs in 5 months, in February my weight loss completely stalled even while sticking to 1200-1500 calories a day and exercising 5 days a week. I found myself chasing a lot of lows, which then lead to treating a lot of highs. It is very frustrating. Last month I read, "The Diabetes Solution" by Dr. Bernstein. He is an 80 year old T1D who was diagnosed at the age of 12 and believes in blood sugar normalization. I implemented his plan and lost 11 lbs the first week. I lost 3 more last week so I am thrilled, but more importantly my blood sugars have been holding steady. I haven't gone low once, but i've also cut way back on my cardio and started lifting weights. I'm sending you a friend request!

    That is awesome , congratulations on the weight loss ! I will definitely have a look into that book. If you ever get a chance check out think like a pancreas! It's another book that I always recommend to my diabetic friends.

    I read that one when I first got my pump. That is another good book to reference. There is a group on here for Type 1's if you want to check it out. I've found a lot of good information in that group.
    I would definitely be interested in checking it out !
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