I mentioned in my post about camping over New Year that I am no Brad Pitt and that little thought spurred another which then spurred a conversation with my friend about weight and T1 diabetes.
We are all well too aware of the hazards of eating crappy food and putting weight on for no other reason than being a little over indulgent but my friend and I were talking about how us T1’s have got a little more than the average person to factor in if we want to be the belle of the ball. If I exercise I tend to go low and gobble some glucose, if I aren’t paying attention then I have hypos, since going on the pump I’ve had more hypos because I’m getting lower overall levels and all of these see me eating a fair bit of garbage!
What I hadn’t paid too much attention to though (until my twin brother mentioned it at Christmas) was that the injections themselves must contribute a fair bit to the old waistline too. He isn’t a diabetic and is a good 10KG lighter than me at the best of times so it kinda smacked me in the face that he was dead right! Of course, in reality I’ve known that to be the case for some time having had heaps of doctors telling me for the last 20 years to vary my injection sites and now my cannula sites to stop those horrible fatty deposits developing but I never put two and two together. I’m sure you guys had though and that I am just stating the obvious but that wasn’t the point of this post which was, in fact, to name this unwelcome companion in our lives as “The Type 1 Tyre”.
One of my NY resolutions – let some air out of my Type 1 Tyre and get some muscle tone back!
- Aaron
P.S. It also makes a convenient excuse for being a little plump if you so wish if you are that way inclined.
Posted in Exercise, Food, Hypos & Hypers, Insulin Pumps, Slice of Life
Tagged as Animas, diabetes, fat, motivation, weight loss
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10 comments have been made on this post
Nic wrote
You lazy, fat diabetics
. I’d like to state for the record for those of you who’ve not met Aaron that he is a very slender guy and I find it very hard to believe that he is carrying an extra 10kg. When he and I hang out we are a bit like Patsy and Eddy (him being the blonde, slim one, not because he’s in womens’ clothing I hasten to add).
Anyway – my own personal experience is similar (although I def can’t blame it all the diabetes that’s for sure, food and I are pretty fond of each other). For my wedding I was determined to lose weight and be ultra slim but at times in my six month lead-up it felt like two steps forward, one step back because with all the extra exercise I was feeling pretty good, but often undoing all the work I’d done at the gym in the morning with eating my way out of mid morning hypos. Frustrating, and hard to fine tune really.
Ali wrote
I feel your anguish! Over the last year I’ve worked really hard to get my HBA1C down to a reasonable level and am proud to say it’s now at 6.5%. But all the extra insulin (MDI) and corresponding hypos has seen my weight creep up and up. It’s incredibly frustrating having to stop halfway through an exercise class to gobble some food, misjudging your insulin needs and going low shortly after having a meal and having to stuff your face when you’re already full, or needing an extra snack just before bed when you know you have no chance of burning off the extra calories
Bob Fenton wrote
What you are experiencing is common to T2’s on insulin also. As such, being on insulin does make weight control a major issue. I see it with many (but not all) of my T1 friends and T2 friends that are on insulin (myself included). We need to work harder to maintain weight and reduce our weight.
So rest assured that we hear what you are saying and can empathize with you.
Best of luck, Bob
EmmaJ wrote
And insulin is actually a growth hormone, too, hence the big babies of diabetic women who have poor control of their BG’s during pregnancy
Aaron wrote
Hi Bob,
That’s really interesting. To be totally honest, I hadn’t thought about that side of things as I don’t know any T2s on insulin. Of course it would be the same though wouldn’t it.
I’m actually very lucky weight wise (good genes) as Nic mentioned but it did still strike me in relation to my twin and our comparative weights so I thought I would post it knowing that there would be plenty of us in the same boat.
Sarah wrote
What also sucks about being on insulin is that I have no idea what my true appetite is – it is entirely governed by how much insulin there is sloshing around inside me. So if I’m low I’m hungry, and of course it’s good to be lowish. I hate the way I have to be intellectual about what I eat and not rely on my instincts – my instincts have been completely done over. I have always been a bit fatter than my non-diabetic sister and it’s driven me crazy! My mother told me I had to go on a diet when I was 11 but of course it was the hypos that that gave me that extra bit of tummy. It’s all too hard – it’s a wonder we don’t all have terrible eating disorders – or maybe we do!
Saffy wrote
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I’d never made the connection. Until now. It makes perfect sense. But WHY don’t they point it out as part of the ‘T1 101′ boot camp so you know?
Aaron wrote
So many revelations! I think that we overlook a lot of things like this as diabetics because what is the point in dwelling anway right? It’s not like we can do much about it so we just get on with getting on.
Go us.
Ali wrote
I just heard a radio advert for Celebrity Slim which got me thinking about this thread. I know they’re probably not the best answer for anyone (diabetic or not) but just wondered if any of you had tried/investigated using meal replacement products or any other specific diet plans in the quest to control weight
Aaron wrote
I’ve never tried anything except reducing my fat content and light exercise like walking over a period of time. I don’t trust diets at all when really, the best option is just to reduce you portion size, eat less fat and get some activity in there.
I’ve also heard bad things about diets where you lose lots of fat because when body fat breaks down (I don’t know if this is actually true) acetone is created and if too much fat goes too fast then the body can’t cope with it. Acetone is the primary ingredient in nail polish remover and is what causes ketoacidosis from my understanding. When the glucose can’t get into the cells to be used your body breaks down your body fat to use instead – same process right? Not good news for your kidneys and as a consequence, I don’t diet.