Weight gain

[Deleted member 33898]

Hi

So it's been over a year since diagnosed with type 1. I lost alot of weight before diagnosis ( I know this is typical ) Ive got to the point we're im pretty fed up with no gains. I look and feel underweight to what I was before. Used to hover between 12 .5 to 13.5 stone. I do exercise including two strength routines a week for muscle but that hasn't really done anything.(though I suspect it's stopping me from gaining weight with the calories burned) It makes me feel pretty low most days thinking about it. I constantly compare myself to others. Im down 2 waist sizes and most of my clothes are baggy. I've also had friends, family and work colleagues comment on my weight. Haven't bought much to replace because I figured I'd eventually gain weight. I've added plenty of fat and protein to meals to a point im comfortable with but carbs I'm reluctant to increase because I'm wary of raising post meal spikes.(already on about 250g a day) Just wondering about the experience of other type 1s who wanted or needed to gain weight .

Thanks

 

[Inka]

Could you add some snacks @phil90 ? When I was first diagnosed, I had carby snacks between meals and that helped put the weight back. You have to eat them regularly to get the weight on. I know you said you didn’t want to increase carbs but maybe adding some away from meals might help? You could also have full fat milk, peanut butter (calorie/fat dense), avocados, oily fish, etc.

 

[Deleted member 33898]

@Inka did you dose for the carby snacks ? I do have small carb snacks when I need to top up my glucose if I'm busy but nothing major. I know with steady glucose if I was to have 15g carbs I'd go up about 3 or 4 mmol which I don't like doing if it's not a meal. Is it a case of put up with it for a while until I get the weight back?

Yeah I have tried increasing carbs for meals but there seems to be a threshold. It's not great when I sit in an office 9 to 5 everyday. I do eat a bit more for dinner because I exercise around then. Suppose I could switch the milk . Already eating peanut butter, nuts and cheese etc.

 

[Inka]

Hi @phil90 Yes, I bolus for snacks if needed. If I’m active, I just eat them and the activity will bring my blood sugar down, but if, say, I’m sitting on the sofa and have a flapjack, I’ll bolus for it. It’s a case of fitting in some regular snacks mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon. I tend to keep my snacks under 30g but I’m very petite and female so you might be able to have more.

Flapjacks, cereal bars, biscuits, crackers, fruit, etc make good snacks. I tend to stick to a few that I know the carbs for and that I know work. To put weight on, you do have to have them regularly for weeks.

You could also use something like MyFitnessPal. I used that to gain weight a few years ago. You give it your info and it recommends a calorie level to put weight on. I then made sure I ate those calories at a minimum each and every day.

 

[JACK123456789]

@Inka did you dose for the carby snacks ? I do have small carb snacks when I need to top up my glucose if I'm busy but nothing major. I know with steady glucose if I was to have 15g carbs I'd go up about 3 or 4 mmol which I don't like doing if it's not a meal. Is it a case of put up with it for a while until I get the weight back?

Yeah I have tried increasing carbs for meals but there seems to be a threshold. It's not great when I sit in an office 9 to 5 everyday. I do eat a bit more for dinner because I exercise around then. Suppose I could switch the milk . Already eating peanut butter, nuts and cheese etc.

Hi Phil,

i also lost all my size and muscle i went from 15.5 stone of muscle to under 10 stone at one point and i was still training hard. after i started on insulin i found a good protein shake that was low carbs but high in protein and a ok fat content 2 shakes a day while training and i started to pile the size back on (not Fat) i am not back up to 84 kg. this might be worth a go. if you like i can send you i like to the one that i use.

 

[Deleted member 33898]

@Inka See I thought about the snacking and bolusing ( which I've never done) but I'd still have my previous meal bolus on board. Normally the gap is about 4 to 5 hours between meals but suppose I could see how it goes and adjust my meal insulin following a snack and bolus. I use lifesum to track what I'm eating and it has recommended 3000 calories to gian weight, I'm currently on 2200 on average. I think once I hit my target I'm not 100% what happens then, reduce to the previous intake or just some at a time. I guess I've just been hesitant because of the diabetes and wondering how others handled it.

@JACK123456789 Wow that's a big loss, that's great to hear you gained soo much back. I went from 13.5 to 11. I do take a protein shake with almond or soya milk before my strength routine. I think I'm taking enough protein overall but I'm probably just not taking enough calories for the energy being burned. Possibly not doing enough in my routine though I'm not looking to be massive. Do you reckon even just having the protein shakes on top of everything on non training days will help? Please do send a link. I'm taking myprotein whey at the moment

 

[Inka]

@phil90 That’s no problem to have a snack less than 4 hours after your meal. It’s similar to if you’re out for a restaurant meal and take separate injections for your first course which arrives at 7pm and you dessert which arrives at 8pm. All you do is remember that you’ve eaten recently so don’t correct a higher blood sugar (because your meal insulin should bring that down just like normal).

Try it with a small snack at first if you prefer. Something like a digestive or hobnob is around 10g carbs. Choose something simple like that and you’ll see that you can incorporate snacks fine. You could even try a 10g snack without a bolus first as you’re fairly recently diagnosed so might be able to deal with that with your own remaining insulin production. Like everything with Type 1, it’s all a matter of careful experimentation.

 

[pawprint91]

@phil90 I am feeling like this too, so sorry to hear that you are as I know it's not nice. I only dropped about a stone overall but it was very noticable as I am quite petite generally. I have gained a couple of pounds since starting on insulin but don't seem to find myself as hungry (when pre-diagnosis the weight was falling off yet I was constantly starving and basically eating meals as snacks) and am also mindful of spikes when eating bigger meals (hoping that might be changing now though as I may increase insulin). I find it hard when people comment on it and like you, my clothes don't fit properly anymore, which can make you feel not great about yourself! Hopefully we will both get there, and the advice above is a great starting point, just wanted to say that you are not alone!

 

[JACK123456789]

it has taken me the best part of 4 months hard work to put it back on. i used myprotein for a while but stop useing it for a few reasons. i now use USN when i get home i will find the link and post it for you. as to your question about takeing your shake when not training i can only give you the answer as a fittness freak, yes you should still have it on day of not training as you muscle still need the fule to recover and grow typically you need 1.4g of protein per 1 kg of you body weight to sustain your size so anything over that will help you grow so it may pay to up what you have. i hope this helps you

 

[Deleted member 33898]

@Inka Ah of course I never thought! I've been doing that with eating out for multiple courses and splitting doses for takeaways. I can tolerate anything up to 10g as you mentioned but depends what I'm doing at the time , levels might rise too much. Though whole point I guess is to not have to walk or burn it off all the time , maybe bolus for most of a snack with my 1 to 15 ratio, have 20g to 25g and see how i go. Thanks again

@pawprint91 I initially put on about 5 pounds but then lost it again. I think it was because I started doing more exercise other than walking the dog. But I saw improvements with my levels so was put off by eating outside of meals too much. Just got into such a way of thinking with what to eat and how much. It is sad that people comment on it. But I beat myself about it more than I should. Looking for old photos I just see a much healthier person and now I look like a skeleton in comparison. Thanks for the support.

@JACK123456789 thanks I'll try having shakes on rest days too. I imagine extra calories are needed in general to fuel any workout.

 

[Inka]

But I saw improvements with my levels so was put off by eating outside of meals too much.

That’s an understandable danger - limiting food intake to try to control the Type 1. Of course, we can’t throw caution to the wind and eat two whole pizzas, garlic bread, and half a chocolate fudge cake very easily, but we do need to get enough food in even if our blood sugar rises temporarily. Each change - like having a snack - means a bit of experimentation, but it’s possible to eat snacks and keep good control. If you stick to similar snacks at similar times, you’ll find it easier. It’s small increases sustained over time that will do it 🙂

 

[Deleted member 33898]

@Inka Thanks again. I think I'm gonna attempt adding more in once the heatwave is over. Found levels to be going up a lot more rather than down which I thought was the case for diabetics on insulin.

 

[Inka]

@Inka Thanks again. I think I'm gonna attempt adding more in once the heatwave is over. Found levels to be going up a lot more rather than down which I thought was the case for diabetics on insulin.

Heat sends my levels mad - both up and down 🙄 Yes, hopefully once the weather settles you’ll be able to start making changes.