Is it all about losing weight? I don't have any to lose!

X

Xela

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Afternoon all

Everything I read from people's experiences to dietary advice, seems to be about losing weight. I only weigh about 7 stone 10. Underweight for me at my height and build would be less than 7 stone 9.

I don't think that losing a 1lb would do much for my situation.

Should I just concentrate on eating less carbohydrates? Not sure that I really eat much of that group anyway really, I feel at a bit of a loss...
 
Hi @Xela
For some of us T2 Diabetics yes it can be about cutting down on carbs and loosing some weight can help,
what was your Hba1c score were you told ?

I see you say you’re actually underweight, so for you that probably won’t be the case.
 
My reading was 47. I eat well but I was unwell for some months last year and had to rely on others getting food for me, so lots of it was not healthy food, this pushed my levels up from 41 to 47.
 
I see you first posted in March about your prediabetes diagnosis. Was that from an HbA1c test? And has that now been repeated and come back the same, or higher than before?
There are a few things to bear in mind about the HbA1c before you rush off to change your diet etc. Firstly, if you are anaemic, it can show a falsely high result, as it measure ps how much glucose has stuck to the red blood cells over the past three months or so, and if you have a low red blood count, there are fewer red blood cells for the glucose to stick to. Also, as we age (not suggesting you're old, you’re 2 years younger than I am, I don’t consider myself old) red blood cells get replenished less often, so they are around longer for glucose to stick to them, so can give a falsely high result.
Edit Ah, you’ve answered some of my questions while I was typing! Illness can certainly send your results out of whack.

Other things to bear in mind is that there are a lot more 'types' of diabetes than the classic Type 2 insulin resistance, for which losing weight can help. You can develop Type 1, which is autoimmune, at any age, so watch out for the classic symptoms of thirst, unexpected weight loss, etc, also there are sometimes people who get unexpected diagnoses of diabetes that doesn’t really fit any pattern.
 
Ah I see, I do tend towards anaemia and have to go on iron every so often. My red cell count is always near the edge.

Yes HbA1c was 41 some time ago and I was very surprised to get a 47 a few weeks ago!
 
Xela said:
Ah I see, I do tend towards anaemia and have to go on iron every so often. My red cell count is always near the edge.

Yes HbA1c was 41 some time ago and I was very surprised to get a 47 a few weeks ago!
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Doctors usually do a full blood count at the same time as an HbA1c so they can see if this may have affected the results. There are alternative tests that can be done, (one is a fructosamine test) if it’s thought that the HbA1c is skewed.
 
Xela said:
Afternoon all

Everything I read from people's experiences to dietary advice, seems to be about losing weight. I only weigh about 7 stone 10. Underweight for me at my height and build would be less than 7 stone 9.

I don't think that losing a 1lb would do much for my situation.

Should I just concentrate on eating less carbohydrates? Not sure that I really eat much of that group anyway really, I feel at a bit of a loss...
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Hi, I am exactly on the same boat. Type 2 diagnosed 10 years ago, age 37. 7stone 8. I went on LCHF diet straight away for few years then fell off the wagon. I thought I would just follow the doctors but pills and even insulin didn't work well, high glucose after the meals and hypo when in bed. I always been eating well and healthy anyway. but I guess my insulin just so resistant, everything I had would set me to high glucose. last time A1C was 75 in April. ( started insulin in jan)
now just turned 48. back on track on the diet, stopped insulin ( using CGM) and keep tracking my weight, starting intermittent fasting and resistant training to build muscles.
for me, its to up my insulin sensitivities and keep my insulin production lower is the goal.
 
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It sounds like you have found an answer. I get vertigo if I get hungry so fasting is probably not an option for me. I am considering more movement though.
 
Hi @Xela Like you I'm slim, but have a diagnosis of Type 2 (though I see you are classed as pre-diabetic - good for you!). I also have a low red cell count, but am not anaemic. For many years I found it sufficient just to remove foods with added sugar from my diet, and to maintain a good exercise regime. Then I found it necessary to reduce carbohydrates - replacing those calories from protein and good fats (thankfully my cholesterol is OK)...so that I didn't just fade away! Some others have had success with low carb diets, but that doesn't work for me, but might for you, I just have to regulate portion sizes. I am now also on some medication (Sitagliptin) which prolongs the time that the body produces insulin during/after digestion, which has been a great help, but this may not be relevant to you, but it's not always necessary for Type " diabetics to be on medication. I hope this helps. Nick
 
One of my parents had diabetes and my genetic test shows that I have the gene too. I spoke with a GP who said that the condition may be unavoidable as I am already the right weight.
 
Xela said:
It sounds like you have found an answer. I get vertigo if I get hungry so fasting is probably not an option for me. I am considering more movement though.
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unfortunately, I am still long way to go.
 
Hi @Xela - Like you and quite a lot others I am of normal weight but my system struggles to control my blood glucose. Quite what is going on with the likes of you and me gets lost amongst all the noise made about the undoubted relationship between obesity and poor blood glucose control.

For me, I keep my blood glucose under reasonable control, by a mix of medication and low carb intake without which I would be giving my GP cause for concern with Hba1C's up in the 60's. It is currently around 50 which everybody, including me, is happy with.

It's likely that age has something to do with it for me, when you get towards 80 you find that lots of things do not work as well as they used to.

Have you noticed.... up to now i have not mentioned the D word in this post.
 
Xela said:
One of my parents had diabetes and my genetic test shows that I have the gene too. I spoke with a GP who said that the condition may be unavoidable as I am already the right weight.
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Hi @Xela that's really interesting. Owing to family history, I was DNA tested for the presence of genes which cause an abnormally high background blood sugar level (as I understood it), and the hospital specialist was a bit disappointed when it proved negative. My understanding was that, had I had the gene, I would not be considered a "diabetic", and thus not put on regular medication for that condition. I wonder if this is your situation - although science will have moved on since 2010 and maybe there is now a genetic test for Type 2?
 
Docb said:
Hi @Xela - Like you and quite a lot others I am of normal weight but my system struggles to control my blood glucose. Quite what is going on with the likes of you and me gets lost amongst all the noise made about the undoubted relationship between obesity and poor blood glucose control.

For me, I keep my blood glucose under reasonable control, by a mix of medication and low carb intake without which I would be giving my GP cause for concern with Hba1C's up in the 60's. It is currently around 50 which everybody, including me, is happy with.

It's likely that age has something to do with it for me, when you get towards 80 you find that lots of things do not work as well as they used to.

Have you noticed.... up to now i have not mentioned the D word in this post.
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I am low carb too, not by design, just because once I have the vegetables and protein on my plate, there isn't much room for anything else.
 
Nick Cliff said:
Hi @Xela that's really interesting. Owing to family history, I was DNA tested for the presence of genes which cause an abnormally high background blood sugar level (as I understood it), and the hospital specialist was a bit disappointed when it proved negative. My understanding was that, had I had the gene, I would not be considered a "diabetic", and thus not put on regular medication for that condition. I wonder if this is your situation - although science will have moved on since 2010 and maybe there is now a genetic test for Type 2?
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I hadn't really thought about research and new developments, now that does give me some hope
 
Weight often gets mentioned as it generally comports with weight, and is pretty much the only metric we have to work with when at home. However, this association isn't always there. It's possible to be 'ideal' weight, while still being over-fat (Often referred to as 'skinny fat).

The real issue when it comes to insulin resistance seems to be fat accumulating ectopically i.e where it shouldn't normally be - in the liver etc. What it takes for fat to start spilling over into these areas is what Roy Taylor refers to as a personal fat threshold, with the "personal" aspect referring to it being individual and different for everyone. So while it's possible to find morbidly obese individuals without diabetes, it seems reasonable to assume the diametric opposite is also the case i.e those who are string-bean slim may still have passed their personal threshold.

I'm not going to make any assumptions about your current physical state, but without knowing how much of your weight is from lean mass, water and/or fat, it's really impossible to say. And unfortunately, access to the kind of tech that can determine this is not so easy or cheap to get.

This is how I understand it, anyway. I might be wrong.

As for blood-sugar 'control'? That's a different conversation entirely, and it's own minefield 😉
 
beating_my_betes said:
Weight often gets mentioned as it generally comports with weight, and is pretty much the only metric we have to work with when at home. However, this association isn't always there. It's possible to be 'ideal' weight, while still being over-fat (Often referred to as 'skinny fat).

The real issue when it comes to insulin resistance seems to be fat accumulating ectopically i.e where it shouldn't normally be - in the liver etc. What it takes for fat to start spilling over into these areas is what Roy Taylor refers to as a personal fat threshold, with the "personal" aspect referring to it being individual and different for everyone. So while it's possible to find morbidly obese individuals without diabetes, it seems reasonable to assume the diametric opposite is also the case i.e those who are string-bean slim may still have passed their personal threshold.

I'm not going to make any assumptions about your current physical state, but without knowing how much of your weight is from lean mass, water and/or fat, it's really impossible to say. And unfortunately, access to the kind of tech that can determine this is not so easy or cheap to get.

This is how I understand it, anyway. I might be wrong.

As for blood-sugar 'control'? That's a different conversation entirely, and it's own minefield 😉
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Thank you for your reply. I am definitely heavier as an older lady than when I was a young mother!

I wonder what my personal threshold is? I have made some slight adjustments to my eating pattern, simply because my taste has changed, I wonder if my body has let me know that it is starting to struggle?

The digital scales fascinate me but I see them as useful in showing trends rather than completely accurate. The scales do not seem to be worried about my visceral fat so I maybe need to look in the mirror and do a bit of pinching!
 
No, it's not always all about losing weight.

There's a small subset of people who become diabetic without any insulin resistance of visceral fat. This may be due to early beta cell failure. I believe it was initially linked to malnutrition (It was seen a lot in Jamaica, so was given the name Jamaican diabetes) but that is no longer the case.
 
harbottle said:
No, it's not always all about losing weight.

There's a small subset of people who become diabetic without any insulin resistance of visceral fat. This may be due to early beta cell failure. I believe it was initially linked to malnutrition (It was seen a lot in Jamaica, so was given the name Jamaican diabetes) but that is no longer the case.
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Childhood malnutrition?

This condition is complex.
 
Xela said:
Thank you for your reply. I am definitely heavier as an older lady than when I was a young mother!

I wonder what my personal threshold is? I have made some slight adjustments to my eating pattern, simply because my taste has changed, I wonder if my body has let me know that it is starting to struggle?

The digital scales fascinate me but I see them as useful in showing trends rather than completely accurate. The scales do not seem to be worried about my visceral fat so I maybe need to look in the mirror and do a bit of pinching!
Click to expand...
Well, while you're pinching, I need to be grabbing 😉
 
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