trying to lose weight whilst training hard

[Lizzie G]

Hello...Im hoping someone out there can give me some much needed advice. I was diagnosed type 1 in september 2007 and since then have struggled with my weight. I do a LOT of exercise (swim 4 times a week at 2-3 km per session and run between 5 and 10 on each of about 3 sessions per week). The trouble is i am constantly hungry, and even with a huge calorie burn i am bulking out in muscle and fat. i have tried so many different ways of blood sugar control through exercise from porridge without insulin 2 hours before, same with peanut butter sandwiches (so starting out with sugar of about 12-14 in UK units), to starting out around 7 and taking loads of glucotabs (both methods i can finish up anywhere between 4 and 6). but i just CANT seem to be able to get onto fat burn. when i speak to the medical profession they tell me that either a)i shouldnt try to lose weight at my intensity of exercise or b)the amounts of food they recommend to eat just dont sustain 1.5 hour work outs and always that i cant hope to lose more than 2 pounds per month....is there anyone out there thats a very active type 1 diabetic that has successfully lost weight?? please help me its making me so unhappy.

[Lizzie G]

ps not sure why this thing says im a junior member and how to get rid of, but im 31....

[ant hill]

Hello Liz, And welcome to DF. I too am fat!! :( and I would have to look at ways to loose weight and everyday I see my gut and cry :bawling: and would have to learn to carb count and bolus properly. Seems that we eat to cover our insulins and that a trap that we face.
Many years ago we had to measure everything in order to eat and that was the 1970's then the '80s arrived that has been thrown out the window. :eek: So now we have to start again. :confused:

[deansreef]

Lizzy,

you are a junior member because your posts count(2) are low. Once the post count is above (100) your name will change from junior member to memeber .

keep exercising and eat better and the weight will come off.

[Evermont]

Hi Lizzie. This article on aerobic exercise (link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise)) helped me understand some useful things.

It says that you wan to get to between 60% and 70% of max heart rate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate) for fat burning. More than then and you're not burning as much as you can. Also, in the criticism of aerobic exercise it mentions the benefit of strength training to build muscle - which burns fat throughout the day. The key is to use BOTH strength and aerobic training. Muscle weighs more than fat, and you want to build lean muscle to burn fat - so body weight is a funky thing to be measuring. You are measuring good weight (muscle) plus bad weight (fat). Many people overestimate how quickly muscle builds too - it can tak a while. So, don't sweat the scale. Just keep up the hard work but don't over or under do the aerobic, don't skip the strength training. If a heart monitor is too expensive then learn how to monitor your heart rate the cheap way - count your pulse for 6 seconds and multiply by 10.

[Scratch]

Probably the most apt thing I've ever seen said is this -- "Exercise for fitness, eat smartly to lose the weight."

In a sense, there really is no advantage for weight loss purposes by exercising in the so called fat burning aerobic zone. Sure at lower heart rates you'll tend to burn more fat than at higher intensity exercise, but you'll burn fewer calories. And if you burn fewer calories with low intensity exercise with the same level of food ingestion as with high intensity exercise, the body will form more fat from the extra calories.

[sugardumplin]

so what u are saying evermont is that over doing an exercise like lets say the elyptical trainer- u arent really losing weight. sheesh, no wonder i work out and am not losing anything. everytime i am on there, my heart rate thing says i am above....hmmm- im taking it easy from here on out.

[Scratch]

so what u are saying evermont is that over doing an exercise like lets say the elyptical trainer- u arent really losing weight. sheesh, no wonder i work out and am not losing anything. everytime i am on there, my heart rate thing says i am above....hmmm- im taking it easy from here on out.
See what I said. It's not about the fat burning zone or anything like that. The body will preferentially burn glucose at higher heart rates but fat will still be burned. And the fact is that higher intensity exercise will burn more calories per hour than lower intensity exercise. But you may be able to exercise longer at lower intensity.

The real point is that it's not just about fat burning. The other side of the question is about fat formation. The body will convert excess calories into fat tissue to store it for energy.

Exercise alone won't make a person lose weight.

[Evermont]

See what I said. It's not about the fat burning zone or anything like that. The body will preferentially burn glucose at higher heart rates but fat will still be burned. And the fact is that higher intensity exercise will burn more calories per hour than lower intensity exercise. But you may be able to exercise longer at lower intensity.

The real point is that it's not just about fat burning. The other side of the question is about fat formation. The body will convert excess calories into fat tissue to store it for energy.

Exercise alone won't make a person lose weight.

That's helpful Scratch - thanks. You should consider updating the wiki I pointed to! I totally agree too about exercise being only one side of the coin. She did say 1.5 hour workouts - that seems pretty good to me. I'm not a T1 though so I'll just be quiet now.

[tanyatype1]

Hi there Lizzie! I lost 43 pounds the year before I was diagnosed with type 1. I followed the Weight Watchers program very strictly (I was so proud of myself! I would literally be sitting in the mini-van with my whole family eating McDonalds food and I'd be sipping my coffee.) I also bought a treadmill and burned 660 calories every day of the week for about 18 weeks. Some days it would take me longer to burn that many calories, other days I'd go as hard as I could to burn the calories ASAP. (I had just turned 34 btw) I always knew that I'd have to diet and exercise ~ not just one or the other! In my opinion, the bottom line is, calories in versus calories out. You're exercising well, so maybe you should try to focus now on calorie counting also. (add it to the carb counting that we already have to do eh?!) You're on the right path ~ keep up the good work and you'll be successful!

[tanyatype1]

I just noticed how slim you are in your picture ~ how much weight are you trying to lose? It definately gets harder as you get closer to your goal weight.

[DISCODIABETIC]

my two pennies...

hire a personal trainer, particularly one who has experience in working with diabetics. I found a super trainer, one who is patient, knowledgeable and fun. He or she can evaluate your your routines, pinpoint problem areas and give you direction on diet to maximize your wieght loss.

I've been working out with my fantastic trainer this past year and i have lost 20 kilos, I still have a long way to go but the best part is knowing that there is one person on my team who is there to kick my butt when i need it, but in a nice way. Yes, and he's cute too and I'd date him in a heartbeat (lol).

[Lizzie G]

Hi tanya and all.....thanks for all your advice.....i spoke to a trainer today telling him what i did and to make a long story short he said im exercising too hard for too long, and cutting the intensity running slower and longer at higher incline will keep me in the fat burn zone, reduce the need for glucose fuelling (which i hate with a passion) and most of all, decrease the appetite. i gave it a go today, ran 8km at a really gentle pace, took no glucose, and didnt spend the rest of the day feeling famished. Im also going to be really strict and stick to my low GI oatmeal, lots of wholegrains and pulses and so on so that im doing all i can to keep the appetite down, prevent the up and downs (which the exercise go a long way to controlling luckily) and moreover enable me to reduce my bolus dose (apparently this has a double whammy effect as one of it's hormonal effects is to inhibit tryglyceride breakdown in fat tissue, and also high background levels of the stuff makes us hungry...)....we're certainly up against it arent we!!! im about 5'5 and weigh 152, i was 145 when diagnosed, id be happy with that, as you say though, its feeding the insulin which piles on the pounds, that happened to me very early on when i didnt know what doses, took too much and had to keep eating....

[Lizzie G]

ps re personal trainers. you are not the first to mention that this is an excellent way of keeping motivated, losing the weight, and talking to cute guys that otherwise wouldnt look twice....but so far i have tried one and he wasnt great, he said he had a bsc in sports science, his basic knowledge of physiology and biochemistry was non existent (my degree, many moons ago now, was in chemistry)...

[gambi]

my two pennies...

hire a personal trainer, particularly one who has experience in working with diabetics. I found a super trainer, one who is patient, knowledgeable and fun. He or she can evaluate your your routines, pinpoint problem areas and give you direction on diet to maximize your wieght loss.

I've been working out with my fantastic trainer this past year and i have lost 20 kilos, I still have a long way to go but the best part is knowing that there is one person on my team who is there to kick my butt when i need it, but in a nice way. Yes, and he's cute too and I'd date him in a heartbeat (lol).


Wow what a great idea, I never thought of finding a trainer who had experience with working with diabetes. I worked out with a trainer who was really good and taught me a lot but did not know much about the disease, how did you find this specialized trainer?

[xMenace]

Welcome Lizzie,

Can you consider pumping? It is a more efficient use of insulin and CAN help you lose weight. People on MDI typically have to eat when exercising to keep from going low. I know you skip doses at times, but pumping offers even finer control over basals.