Weight loss

[pippin]

I don't know if anyone can help but ever since dad was diagnosed he has been loosing weight. We have just been out to buy new clothes and they will still need to be altered at the waist. He was never fat but was a normal 34" waist now 32" is dropping off him.

He has x3 meals a day, we have been watching his bread and potato portions due to the carbs so many have problems with. The only snack time is coffee in the mornings although occasionally pre-diabetes he would have enjoyed a muffin if we went to a favourite coffee shop he hasn't anything like this now.
Coffee out is just coffee - coffee at home maybe an oatcake or ryvita but mainly a few nuts which I think are allowed as they don't affect his BG as much as other things would.

He has toast and cereal for breakfast which I know some would find too much in the way of carbs although he might leave a bit of the one slice he has whereas before he had two slices with marmalade.

He has dinner at night with nothing at all later on which is what he has been used to pre DX. Normal dinners seem to work best for dad as we have found higher BG levels with rice and pasta although not hitting the sky!

I cook everything, no ready meals or take aways (he doesn't like them) last night was roast beef with new potatoes and brussel sprouts followed by homemade natural yoghurt with blackcurrants and a small portion of sugar free jelly. If anything it is dinner dad really LOVEs.

We walked for about 1hr after he had his dinner.

Today he had homemade soup with lots of pulses and some bread (I know bread isn't the best but he really needs it and it has seeds) he also had a small pot of yoghurt with a few nuts.

He has been active all afternoon in the garage/garden so doesn't eat again until I make dinner. He loves cheese but we know we have to limit this due to the fat content. He would enjoy ham which I have read others do eat but has to watch pig meat due to gout we are going to try and introduce this occasionally as it is savoury snacks he would prefer.

Dietician can only shout eat bread and potatoes insisting on more carbs he can no longer shout at me for being skinny as he is starting to look underweight now himself

I don't know if it is best to fill him up more at lunch and dinner or eat more snacks so as not to overload his body with carbs all in 2 meals. I think he could eat more bread but then we worry about what this would do to his levels

 

[Northerner]

Hi Pippin, I moved this as it may be seen by more people 🙂 Have you done any recording of how many calories your dad is consuming? Fat is much higher in calories than carbs, so if he can increase his intake of food containing good fats (like nuts, for example) this might help and having small, regular snacks sounds like a good idea too, especially at times when he is being very active. How is his BMI (Body Mass Index)? You've managed to get good control of blood sugar levels between you which discounts that as a possible cause of weight loss (higher than normal blood sugars can result in weight loss as the energy is not used properly and fat is burned instead).

It is difficult, especially when you have more than one condition to manage, as your dad does. Hope others have some good suggestions! 🙂

 

[Natalie123]

Do you know how much his sugar levels rise after eating a normal meal? If it doesn't rise too much it might be worth increasing the carbs a little and see what happens. I know it is not ideal, but he needs the energy by the sounds of it as he is very active. Perhaps more snacks would be helpful especially if he is exercising.

 

[grufflybear]

Need to check out his BMI and try to work out how many calories he should be eating to maintain ideal BMI for his height. I am still trying to lose a little more weight so I eat around 1700 a day and shed about a pound week, but I am over 6 foot and still 35 ish waist The complication of keeping carbs low GI does sometimes mean I have very satisfying meals and don't want anymore. I add calories with nuts and avocados, oily fish like mackerel is quite high in calories normally considered fattening of course but healthy food and one baby avocado will add around 160 extra calories. Sometimes feels weird wanting to add calories while aiming to keep weight under control but the BMI is important to bear in mind.

It might seem a bit of a bore but actually counting calories for a while gives a good sense of exactly what is in each type of meal and can be surprising, although its usually much more than you thought rather than less !

 

[Robster65]

Hi Pippin. Can only echo what's been said already. Add up the calories for a few days and see if you need to up them a bit.

If hes feeling fit and healthy and isn't undernourished, then it may just be that he's fighting fit and isn't carrying any excess fat.🙂

Rob

 

[Northerner]

...
If hes feeling fit and healthy and isn't undernourished, then it may just be that he's fighting fit and isn't carrying any excess fat.🙂

Rob

It's a good point - I ran my first marathon when I weighed 8st, and when I ran the Great South Run first time after diagnosis I weighed 9st - just didn't have any body fat to speak of. At the moment I'm 11.5 st, so need to lose a bit!

 

[pippin]

Thank you everyone these points are going to be really helpful. I'm late back as I went a walk with dad up hills and down again! He has extra effort when walking as his knee is still bad so he does the same walk with a crutch (possibly expending extra energy)
The nurse didn't write his BMI down this time but the first time it was 22 then 20.8 so it would be less now as she told us he had lost more weight. I know he has lost inches of his waist.

The nurse can't believe how much it takes to fill him up plus he has always been trim. Oh he has just told mr his waist was 28" when he got married and he always maintained a stable weight never had issues with being over weight.

I wish be could eat more oily fish as he loves that sort of fish. We have to be careful as oily fish affects his gout I add avocados in various things at lunch time which seem to be fine for him. He is really keen to keep exercise up although we will need a variety as there is only x no of times to walk about without getting bored. He will be trimming trees again (even with his crutch he climbs!) I will really have to make sure he snacks more then although he wouldn't be fat we have to make up a little of the weight he has lost.

We were chatting and maybe it's because dad didn't have an excess of sweet food or take away type meals in his diet to start with anything he isn't eating now like marmalade extra bread, fruit loaf & rice pudding were the things which kept him more solid!

I will take note of all points mentioned only on my phone now so can't read and type. Will reply to bits I've missed and will also think about calories for dad. He normally looked healthy but recently he has looked a bit drawn. Might invest in extra test strips above the ones we get to monitor his BG when he is very active with gardening & work out snacks for this. He normally goes up 1-2 after meals. Unfortnately we stopped the midday tests but may have to GP back to them. I have the figures but would need to check them incase my memory serves me wrong just now.

Many, many thanks eveyone is so very kind and helpful. I should be online later tomorrow. Busy week with Drs & dentists (I am sure I've made mistakes typing here on a rush if I preview I can't fix on my phone)

 

[Robster65]

Apparently normal BMI is 18.5 to 25, so he's still ok before being considered underweight. Whether this applies to all ages I'm not sure.

I would imagine in cases such as your father's, there are special considerations due to the dietary restrictions and as long as he levels out somewhere on the healthy side he'll not be sent any food parcels.🙂

Just keep an eye on him up those trees. He won't bounce as easily as he did !

Rob

 

[pippin]

Rob we have laughed at your comment about bouncing! Dad really enjoyed that one 🙂

I have read all the points again and will put them into practise and the main thing is dad is on board with me I am not 'nagging' at him 😉 although he can stop complaining about me being too skinny now!

Took time in a shop this morning to look through their GI type cookbooks some very interesting ideas in one of them which would add the variety dad is looking for especially with snack/lunch type food. One thing which is helping I am leaving it to dad to tell me if he needs more or setting a side dish which he can choose if he eats or not. My idea of portion sizes would be to the minuscule end of the scale which is why I find it difficult to serve a plate full to him! Definitely needs to keep check when doing the garden as he forgets to stop and never has a symptom of low BG apart from when he comes in he is hungry! He has gone for his afternoon walk and will walk again after dinner as he hasn't been gardening today or decorating.

If we can keep his weight stable in not loosing any more and watch his BG/exercise hopefully this will soon balance out his weight and he will start to look healthy again & the nurse wouldn't think I am starving him 😉

Once again thank you for all your support I have learned yet more about diabetes. To think when dad was told he had this I just thought ok we don't have too much sugar things to exclude now we know it's not just sugar and this forum has been the place I have learned so much more about carbs etc