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Weight loss help

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JayBay

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I was diagnosed type 2 about three months ago after going to the doctors with unexplained weight loss and general tiredness. I have done an on line course and read a load of stuff and seem to be doing everything right as my recent HBA1c and cholesterol test was better. However I continue to drop the weight and that worries me but the doctor does not seem concerned and has offered no advice. I am eating fewer carbs and have reduced my fat intake and stopped eating sweets and chocolate. I am vegi and exercise and I think have a very healthy lifestyle. But I need the weight loss to stop. Any advise would be much appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum, JayBay.

Tricky to know what's happening, but if you are eating fewer calories than you are using, then obviously your weight will decrease. What is your weight and height now? Are you taking any medication?
 
If you are eating a lot and still losing weight, you might want to pester your doctor with the thought that you might be type 1, not type 2. A lot of people are initially misdiagnosed.
 
If you are eating a lot and still losing weight, you might want to pester your doctor with the thought that you might be type 1, not type 2. A lot of people are initially misdiagnosed.

This is what I was thinking also, as it sounds similar to me in the months prior to my diagnosis. I would say I had the symptoms you describe for about 18 months prior to diagnosis, and had I gone to the GP during that time I would have probably been diagnosed Type 2. I also had a healthy lifestyle (was about to run a marathon, having completed a half marathon three months prior to diagnosis), but although not overweight to start with I lost around 20 pounds over that 18 months for no apparent reason. In my case I caught a virus that just overwhelmed my system and I ended up in A&E.

Do you test you levels at home? Can I ask how old you are? Elevated levels with the diet and lifestyle you describe suggest your body may not be making enough insulin and therefore using body fat and muscle to provide your brain with energy, causing weight loss. I would also recommend going back to your GP and asking about the possibility of being a slow-onset Type 1 (sometimes called LADA - Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood, or Type 1.5).
 
Hi,
I am 5ft 1 and currently weigh 6st 11lb. I was 7st 7lb 6 months ago. I have just started stanins but not on any meds for diabetes. I am 58 go to the gym three times a week and walk a lot.
 
I don't test at home. My doctor suggested I wait and have another blood test in three months but not test at home as the changes I have made seem to be working with regard to the HBa1c.
 
Hi,
I am 5ft 1 and currently weigh 6st 11lb. I was 7st 7lb 6 months ago. I have just started stanins but not on any meds for diabetes. I am 58 go to the gym three times a week and walk a lot.

I would definitely return to the GP in that case, for it would appear that the chief reason a Type 2 diagnosis has been given is your age. Many of our members, particularly older ones, have been misdiagnosed purely based on their age, partly due to an assumption that Type 1 only strikes in childhood or young adulthood. It's important to get a correct diagnosis so you can receive the appropriate treatment - most Type 2 treatments will have little or no effect if you are slow-onset Type 1.
 
Thanks. I will read what I can find about type 1.5 and return to my doctor.
 
I would certainly be going back to the Doc, in your shoes.

But, I would also make further comment:

If you went to the Doc, having lost weight then modified your carb and fat intakes, what did you do to replace those calories? Even if your weight had been holding steady, dropping carbs and fat is likely to result in a calorie deficit, if you aren't eating plain old mounds of what you continue to eat.

I am 5'2" and weight 47kg, so pretty much as you did 6 months ago. I am pretty slight, so you must be very slight indeed.

When diagnosed, I concentrated on regulating my bloods by reducing carbs and no longer eating low fat products. I didn't try to reduce fats (despite having higher than ideal cholesterol), but nor did I increase the fats I ate. The weight fell off me! So, I can imagine your dietary strategy could be having an impact on your predicament.

When I wanted and began to need to stabilise my weight, I firstly started consciously eating a bit more of everything I was eating, but that wasn't enough. Cutting to the chase, I ended up having increase my fats a little.

But, the fab news is that it is becoming understood that cholesterol isn't governed by fats, but by carbohydrate, so if you are trying to reduce your cholesterol (and maybe get back off the statins), then it's carbs you need to concentrate on.

In your shoes, if my appetite was satisfied by the volume of food I was eating, then I would suggest just adding a knob of butter to your vegetables, or having a few nuts. I used to have a few nuts at the end of my lunch, as I was experimenting.

It can be a real juggling act to begin with. See the doc again, but please do think about whether you are actually eating enough.

Good luck with it all.
 
Thank you for this. At the end of a day where I started to feel down about my situation this has picked me up. Perhaps I have gone to far with the reduction of carbs and fat as the cholesterol was high. Anyway I am going to give it a go and start eating a bit more and re introduce some fat. Thanks again I really appreciate your comments.
 
Have a look at some of the videos this guy has loaded onto YouTube.

He's an Aussie academic and has a really very clear way of explaining things. Not everything will apply to you, but he does talk quite a bit about cholesterol and diabetes.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aRUWTWsIAXI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://youtu.be/aRUWTWsIAXI
 
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