How to lose weight with type 1 diabetes?

Losing weight can be difficult: add type 1 diabetes to the combination with your daily control demands, and it is an even bigger challenge.

Internet is saturated with tips on how to lose weight with or without type 1 diabetes, so it is difficult to know what is worth it and what will simply make you waste your time, or what is worse, which can negatively affect your health.

I am not going to declare war on carbohydrates, or to tell you if you can or cannot take your calories in the form of olive oil, or give yourself a banquet or fast with peppers of Cayena and Arce syrup.

No, the real learning in synthesis of my years of consulting and data analysis shows that a balanced and low insulin diet and nutrition and activity schedules is the best way to lose weight with type 1 diabetes. It also helps you maintain functionsThe brain and body, as well as energy levels.

If you are reading this, you probably have already thought about it a bit and you know why it is important to lose weight or fat, but I maintain that it is the performance!

To render means living a longer or healthier life or if you are an athlete, you can also see how to overcome your competition.

Things that affect weight loss for people with type 1 diabetes

- Quantities and schedules of basal indexes and boluses
- Active insulin
- Change of nutrients and schedules (meal planning)
- Total grease ingestion daily and calories
- Total activity level
- Sleep quality and duration
- Amount of sugar in the diet
- Alcohol consumption
- Stress levels

Why do carbohydrate diets alone do not work

Let's start with our protein hormone insulin (the center of the subject).Insulin is a hormone in the body that allows glucose absorption in cells for energy metabolism and blood sugar balance.(For those who have type 1 diabetes, their bodies do not produce insulin and take insulin supplements through injections or insulin pumps).The highest doses of insulin in the body, whether they have type 1 diabetes or not, will help develop the muscles and help store adipose tissues (also known as fat).

If you have type 1 diabetes this may seem quite obvious, as you increase carbohydrates in your diet, this also causes this variability in blood sugar.Consuming 55 % or more of your total calorie needs of carbohydrates dramatically increases the insulin you should take.

The increase in daily doses and "active insulin" (insulin acting in the body) twenty -four hours a day can make more carbohydrates of the food you eat and glycogen stored in your muscles.These higher levels of insulin throughout the day leave a little time for the body to burn and metabolize.

Keep in mind that insulin tells the body to "store" fat and "burn" glucose or glycogen of the muscles (that absorbs blood sugar).

This situation will not be ideal for the person with type 1 diabetes, nor for active people looking for a thinner body composition.The consumption of carbohydrates, especially before being active, can cause an increase in insulin levels that burns carbohydrates more exclusively and does a mediocre job to get rid of the stored fats that we all have.

Sometimes, a high diet in carbohydrates will provide a lot of energy, however, blood sugar is chopped due to insulin peaks, it also perpetuates a feeling of hunger, due to rapid absorption versus slow.This means that this nutrient alone is not holy remedy.So what is the correct amount of carbohydrates?The human body moves very similar to your car and carbohydrates are the gas tank.Your tank can only contain about 16 gallons (carbohydrates) of gas and try to put 17 gallons to a 16 gallon tank will only increase weight.

The trick is to find the right balance to fill the tank.For people with type 1 diabetes who use a pump or who carry a record of their total daily dose, this analogy of the gas tank is equivalent to the total daily dose of insulin.

That is, the average total daily dose (assuming that the blood sugar level is relatively stable and there is no weight gain) is the basis to know if your body is full to 16 gallons or half that would be 8 gallons (near "emptiness").People who do not have diabetes need to control the total grams of carbohydrates through an application or other monitoring method to do the same.

In my experience with our athletes with type 1 diabetes, it is rare that they once have problems, since most will learn with coaching how to keep a record of their total daily doses and make sure they have enough “gas” in the tank to drivearound the city.Total carbohydrates should rise in the most active days and decrease in the inactive ones, so to speak.

Note: For those who are very active (more than 8 hours per week of activity) carbohydrates can rise even more dramatically and with a greater approach and emphasis on lean proteins (20 to 30 % of daily calorie needs) andmodest amounts of good fats (15 to 25 % of daily calorie needs).

Why do high fats alone do not work

The high diet in fat and carbohydrates has its positive and negative aspects, but as an independent source of nutrients it does not support.These are two great points in favor for this diet strategy:

The lowest insulin levels in general are excellent to balance blood sugar and maintain energy.When you consume mainly fat, these are very slowly absorbed and can take up to 8 hours so that very high fat foods are completely absorbed.During this time, these fats can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and create a slow drip of energy where the need for insulin is relatively lower.

Increase in metabolism to burn fat due to lower levels of total daily insulin.With a smaller amount of insulin circulating through the body, fat is allowed to burn more easily.Think that the lower the amount of insulin in your system, the greater the contribution to burn fat.

So why not give free rein to fat?

These are two points against even greater for the unique approach of only fat consumption:

Fat has nine calories per gram versus carbohydrates and proteins.If the objective is to lose weight and fat, then total calories should be considered.

This is more than double when things are compared side by side, gram per gram.In addition to having more calories, these are slowly absorbed over time and can have a sustained need for insulin or take effect for many hours.This is true especially if consumed with carbohydrates and faster combustion or absorption proteins.Nobody wins with a diet rich in fat and high in carbohydrates!

High fat diets drowns energy levels.When you consume good fats, due to how slowly they absorb, you may not receive that energy in the blood for many hours.This can let you tired, irritable, yawn and exhausted enoughYou can be so active or that you are not active at all.Using the analogy of the car, it is as if the car only received a small gas injection while driving and stops from time to time.

In addition, fat can quench and mask hunger, which is great, however, at some point the body must receive enough calories and many times this occurs in fast energy when we go hungry and crave sweets and sugar.Not having enough energy from carbohydrates in time leaves you fatigued enough to not be so active and, therefore, do not burn calories as much as you could, which is also critical for weight loss.

Why a balanced diet, low in insulin with nutrition and activity schedules is the best

Since there are positive aspects of both a high diet in carbohydrates and fat high, the appearance of the combination and schedules gathers the best of these two approaches and, in addition, it is improved when the activity is introduced.The key is to use insulin schedules, which are the same as carbohydrate, fat and protein schedules.Insulin has an leveraged effect at various times of our day and especially around the activity.Let's look at an example:

You plan to do an activity early in the morning, be it a walk, a race or a bicycle ride.How much do you eat? What do you eat?

For any activity of less than 60 minutes, it is perfectly good not to eat anything.The reason for this is that your body has a amount of glucose stored (glycogen) that you can access for about an hour.

This means that you do not have to consume carbohydrates immediately to carry out this activity and also means that you will not need insulin before or during that time, which means that you can burn more fat.(Insulin tells the body to store fat and burn carbohydrates, a resource that you already have stored in the muscles).

If in fact you are hungry and you need to eat before the activity, you must consume a small amount of good fats (for example, almonds or sliced ​​avocado) to satisfy yourself to the first meal of the day.Good lean proteins also work well in this way;However, for people with type 1 diabetes, a certain amount of insulin may be necessary, which can make the session to burn fat is less successful.

The key is to exercise a little fasting and with as little food as necessary to satisfy and stay.For people with type 1 diabetes the most important factor to consider before being active is the amount of insulin that is active in the body from the basal index and the Bolus.If there is active insulin, it will be necessary to consume a certain amount of glucose to prevent a low level of blood sugar.Due to the fact that synthetic insulin lasts insulin action from 3.5 to 4.5 hours, food schedule and when you are going to be active, you can take some planning.

When you finish being active, you can already take carbohydrates and proteins into account.Carbohydrates to replace the muscle glycogen that is lost and proteins to balance blood sugars and, repair and develop lean muscles.After the activity you are highly sensitized to insulin and its effects of "absorbing" glucose for use.The amount of insulin that your body needs to absorb glucose before exercise can be 50 % more versus 50 % less (and up to 70 % less) when consumed after exercise.

This is a good sign to try to reduce the total daily dose of floating free insulin and lose fat.At this moment it is also when you will want to reject the fatsGood to give priority to proteins and carbohydrates due to insulin schedule.Outside this recovery window, you can make a transition back to a greater balance of all macronutrients, including good fats.

If the activity is of a very easy nature (defined on an effort scale perceived from 1 to 10, where 10 is a maximum type of effort, less than 3 would be considered very easy) then it is not necessary to have copious amounts of carbohydrates but moreWell, a greater proportion of proteins and some good fats after the activity with only a modest amount of carbohydrates that are slowly burned.(To see an example of nutrient coaching for low to moderate activity, it is still here.).

If you are very active or slightly active, the balanced approach must mix the macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) as follows.

Total percentage of daily calorie needs for less active people (30 minutes at 2 hours per week of total activity)

30 to 40 % carbohydrates
Protein 15 to 30 %
Fat 25 to 40 %
Basal: 45 to 50 %

Bolus: 45 to 50 %

Total percentage of daily calorie needs for highly active people (8 hours or more per week of total activity)

Carbohydrates 50 to 60 %
Protein 20 to 30 %
Fat 15 to 30 %
Basal: 40 to 45 %

Bolus: 55 to 60 %

That everything fits in place is not easy, but who said it was going to be?!

Life will occur rapidly and put schedules for insulin and nutrition will be difficult since you will be blocking insulin for many hours of the day with varied meals.

Only practice with repeated steps and planning can make success greater.Ultimately, choosing the balanced strategy of little insulin by means of schedules for nutrients will lead to a longer period for weight loss and with improved blood.

With DM 1 a food with a 50-60 p hundred HC, I do not know how to control, it is my experience, impossible to control the glycemic variability, to have a curve as flat as possible and a glying as close to normal.

Well, with that, what this person does is take weight and more weight.
The only option is to burn fat to lose weight, which accumulates insulin in the body and for this we must enter ketosis.
Reduce hydrates and eat proteins with little fat.Of course drink water and exercise.

I indicate 4 options.
Go to medical consultation with a health professional: before starting any weight loss plan, it is important that you talk to your doctor or a nutritionist to determine an adequate plan for your specific condition.

Set realistic goals: Setting attainable goals will help you maintain motivation and avoid frustration.It is important to establish specific, measurable and realistic goals.

Control your carbohydrate intake: carbohydrates can increase the level of blood blood glucose, so it is important to control your intake.Quality carbohydrates such as whole fruits, vegetables and grains are ideal for a healthy diet and can help weight loss.

Performs physical activity regularly: regular exercise is important for weight loss and can help improve insulin sensitivity, which can improve blood blood glucose control.

I have been very old trying to lower my 6 or 7 kg that I have left over.I have done everything, with the traditional endocrine and with its 60 %HC, then with a nutritionist supposedly specializing in diabetes, that in addition, she was DM type 1 too, and the only thing that varied with respect to the above was that it went down a littleThe HC (but very little), increased the consumption of legumes and stews (that I don't know ...), and I took the calories a lot, there, and even more exercise (which I already have an hour a day 6 days 6 daysa week).Obviously I did not lose a gram, and my glycemia were a roller coaster.When you eat, if you are not diabetic, your pancreas produces a first insulin peak over 15 minutes, in a super and efficient way, and another at two hours when digestion has already finished.Well, the first response, in our case, is very difficult to imitate if you eat a lot of hydrates, impossible to have normoglycemia, and there is also a huge peak and then a descent.The second response is perhaps easier because the effect of the rapid lasts about two or three hours although there are people who do not arrive either.
In addition, if you eat that amount of HC that they have always told us, you have to get a lot of insulin, insulin is an anabolic hormone that puts glucose into the cells and stores fat.Hyperinsulinemia accumulates more fat and is a vicious circle, more weight, more need for insulin, more fat accumulation.
I have been with low HC food for a year and a half, no more than 40 g per day, and it has been the only thing that has allowed me to download 4 kg (I still have to download another 4 but that costs more), it has allowed me to lower the gycy of 6.9A 5.4 and have a lot of less glucemic variability, flatten the curve without so much peak.
So, what do you want to tell you, that that of many hydrates is not worth us, not at least for the DM 1, and more and more sanitary, nurses, doctors specialized in DM1, advocate for it.And it is logical, if our problem is the HC, we will have to reduce them, no ?, It is common sense.

@meginer
A question.
There is always talk that the insulin we get stored fat and fattens.But I do not understand the difference with a non -diabetic, since the latter generates insulin, with what in the end, external or internal, there is insulin working.Also a non -diabetic generates more insulin if you eat more hydrates just like we have to click more if we eat more.
Why then do you get fat with diabetes?

@isabelBota, well, I am not a diabetic and that of getting fat, I also do very well as soon as I neglect.
And my daughter quickly lost with low hydrates diet and using half fast.

I believe that it is years. What makes it more difficult to lose weight. Although there are people who never fattening everything, that is a mystery.

@Regina
Well, I say that, I don't think fattening depends on diabetes because insulin we use all (endogenous healthy, exogenous diabetics)

@isabelbota is not how it seems.

A non -diabetic person when he does not eat, or needed his body, his body uses the abdomen's fat reserves and other parts, his pancreas orders the generation of glycogen from fats because it does not detect circulating insulin.

A diabetic has a failure in the pancreas when there is no energy, but there is basal circulating insulin, then demands and enter hypoglycemia and eat, fat stays there.

The only way to lose weight into cetosis with a low hydrates diet, so that due to lack of carbohydrates, the body is able to use fats to get glycogen and the amount of insulin used is much lower.

It's as @meginer says, a vicious circle: more hydrates, more insulin, more weight, and they have explained it to my various endocrine.

I have lost 9 kg if, I still have 6kg with low protein -based hydrates and minimum fat.Water and exercise, of course.

Isabelbota said:
@regina
Well, I say that, I don't think fattening depends on diabetes because insulin we use all (endogenous healthy, exogenous diabetics)

Of course, not only depends on diabetes, as long as you are well controlled.It depends on the excess of insulin that there are (among many other things, of course, but attending to what concerns us).A Persine can have obesity for example and if he eats many hydrates, his pancreas will naturally produce the insulin necessary to eliminate that glucose and the rest that the cells do not need, it will accumulate in the form of fat.If that persists in time, that person has all ballots to develop a DM 2 with insulin resistance.It does not matter if it is exogenous or endogena, the story is an excess of insulin conditioned by the amount of HC, so we reduce the consumption of HC, we will also reduce the insulin that we have to put and reduce fat and weight.It costs us more because we have also controlled many more variables than non -diabetic does not have: physical exercise and adapt insulin to it, avoid hypos (you have to reduce the dose of insulin a lot, CDOs are reduced by HC, better to make it guidedBy a professional who knows the subject), because if you have many hypos, you have to take HC of fast action and al.final you do not lose weight, and that without counting on the hormonal theme in women.

I think the DC.bernstein talked about small numbers regarding the treatment of diabets.I have proven that maintaining a low diet (without extremisms) in HC and with enough physical exercise, exogenous insulin needs are significantly reduced.Until now, any endocrine told you to eat everything as if you were not diabnetic and supply you insulin according to it.Everything you need to be in rank.I agree with many of you when you indicate that a diet with HC as if you are not diabetic is uncontrollable for the effects of glycemic variability.The ups and downs with a roller coaster.A more HC more needs to inject.This is a true truth.However, if your HC consumption, especially fast action, are drastically reduced, curve control becomes much more predictable.And that causes me much less emotional restlessness and more mental stability.That said, each body and each head are a world and none, fortunately, we are the same.

My endocrine is one of those who recommend eating the hydrates you want and calculate insulin to manage them.From the barrier it is a very simple advice, of drawer.Another thing is to apply it;You have to succeed with the amount of insulin and with the moment of inoculation so as not to be all day with a graphic in saw teeth.A planetary conjunction ...
The logical thing is that if your disease prevents you from managing carbohydrates, take the least possible and avoid or withdraw from your diet completely those of very high glycemic index (except to rescue you from a hiccup).
I have read that insulin is anabolic, not only stores fat, also helps create muscle if you exercise strength.In fact, bodybuilders used to use insulin until other anabolizers appeared.
I practice the following: I make the "limited in hydrates" diet, about 8 rations, a lot of walking, two or three strength training sessions a week.
I am in Normopese in the upper part, I would like to take away a couple of kilos more, that I cannot even get.Of course, I'm getting "very little", I think I could work in a moving company, hehehe.And the glycemia curves are reasonable.

salad said:
my endocrine is one of those who recommend eating the hydrates you want and calculate insulin to manage them.From the barrier it is a very simple advice, of drawer.Another thing is to apply it;You have to succeed with the amount of insulin and with the moment of inoculation so as not to be all day with a graphic in saw teeth.A planetary conjunction ...
The logical thing is that if your disease prevents you from managing carbohydrates, take the least possible and avoid or withdraw from your diet completely those of very high glycemic index (except to rescue you from a hiccup).
I have read that insulin is anabolic, not only stores fat, also helps create muscle if you exercise strength.In fact, bodybuilders used to use insulin until other anabolizers appeared.
I practice the following: I make the "limited in hydrates" diet, about 8 rations, a lot of walking, two or three strength training sessions a week.
I am in Normopese in the upper part, I would like to take away a couple of kilos more, that I cannot even get.Of course, I'm getting "very little", I think I could work in a moving company, hehehe.And glycemia curves are reasonable.

If you are doing very great, but the studies show that the complications over the years, they begin from 6 of gycy, with what you have to try to be less than 6, you have to see so so much what is considered a reasonable curve

@ENSALADA I already tell you that you get strong, and what your muscles occupy!I have narrow twin pants that do not enter me.In addition the muscle weighs too.

I made the diet with an endocrine specialized in weight reduction and diabetics.

Lately, despite continuing to do a lot of exercise of strength and background, I have risen in a year and a half 4 kg.I went from 64 to 68. And I am not able to take off those bruises accumulated in the belly.Yes, it is true that from the head I put a lot of effort, but from breakfast (7h 30) to food (14 h) I arrive canine and all my purposes fader.The problem is not the food ration, it is the nutPotato tortilla portion previously, something is something.

Luckily at 9pm when I usually have a light dinner, only some nuts previously enter, than if not to know where it would come ... I say that if it will be insulin ... :) :)

@Siere I started and at 6 years of diabetes, 9kg more.They take slowly, but they don't go down.
The endocrine of regime nothing while blood glucose is perfect.
I had to go for insurance.

meginer said:

salad said:
my endocrine is one of those who recommend eating the hydrates you want and calculate the insulin to manage them.From the barrier it is a very simple advice, of drawer.Another thing is to apply it;You have to succeed with the amount of insulin and with the moment of inoculation so as not to be all day with a graphic in saw teeth.A planetary conjunction ...
The logical thing is that if your disease prevents you from managing carbohydrates, take the least possible and avoid or withdraw from your diet completely those of very high glycemic index (except to rescue you from a hiccup).
I have read that insulin is anabolic, not only stores fat, also helps create muscle if you exercise strength.In fact, bodybuilders used to use insulin until other anabolizers appeared.
I practice the following: I make the "limited in hydrates" diet, about 8 rations, a lot of walking, two or three strength training sessions a week.
I am in Normopese in the upper part, I would like to take away a couple of kilos more, that I cannot even get.Of course, I'm getting "very little", I think I could work in a moving company, hehehe.And glycemia curves are reasonable.

If you are doing very great, but the studies show that the complications over the years, they begin from 6 of gycy, with what you have to try to be less than 6, you have to see so so much what is considered a reasonable curve

Last summer I managed to be 5.8 and the endocrine told me that "he didn't like it was so low."As is.That implied having hypoglycemia (it was not the case).
The last revision had a mediocre 6.4 (in November and December I had two catarrazos that uncontrolled me for weeks the glycems) and it seemed great.In the end.
Now the LibreLink estimates 6.2.Of course my goal is to be as much in 6. The "reasonable" glycemias said it because normally it does not pass 20% of variability.

salad said:

meginer said:

salad said:
salad said:
my endocrine is one of those who recommend eating the hydrates thatYou want and calculate insulin to manage them.From the barrier it is a very simple advice, of drawer.Another thing is to apply it;You have to succeed with the amount of insulin and with the moment of inoculation so as not to be all day with a graphic in saw teeth.A planetary conjunction ...
The logical thing is that if your disease prevents you from managing carbohydrates, take the least possible and avoid or withdraw from your diet completely those of very high glycemic index (except to rescue you from a hiccup).
I have read that insulin is anabolic, not only stores fat, also helps create muscle if you exercise strength.In fact, bodybuilders used to use insulin until other anabolizers appeared.
I practice the following: I make the "limited in hydrates" diet, about 8 rations, a lot of walking, two or three strength training sessions a week.
I am in Normopese in the upper part, I would like to take away a couple of kilos more, that I cannot even get.Of course, I'm getting "very little", I think I could work in a moving company, hehehe.And glycemia curves are reasonable.

If you are doing very great, but the studies show that the complications over the years, they begin from 6 of gycy, with what you have to try to be less than 6, you have to see so so much what is considered a reasonable curve

Last summer I managed to be 5.8 and the endocrine told me that "he didn't like it was so low."As is.That implied having hypoglycemia (it was not the case).
The last revision had a mediocre 6.4 (in November and December I had two catarrazos that uncontrolled me for weeks the glycems) and it seemed great.In the end.
Now the LibreLink estimates 6.2.Of course my goal is to be as much in 6. The "reasonable" glycemias said it because it normally did not pass 20% of variability.

Well, that endocrine is quite outdated, we have no right to have normal glycemia for having diabetes?Do we have to resign ourselves to have high glys and that's it and endure what comes?I do not agree, you have to aspire to have glys of a non -diabetic, another thing is to get it but you can.And it doesn't have to be based on hypos.
If you make a basal blood glucose to a child or a non-obese young adult, it can have a glucose of 60-65 and that does not consider it hiccup, and in us yes?.
The normal thing is 65 to 100.
And for many strict theme, 5.8 is still high that look.I am less than 6 and little glymatical variability would be happy, and if I lose a few kilos too

I also aspire to have those values ​​and I have to look for information in other places, such as this forum.The endocrine does not offer me personalized attention.You are not interested in the exercise that I do or the hydrates I take.He limits himself to applying his protocol, dedicates me 10 minutes every 6 months and Chimpún.
However, the nurse gives me very interesting guidelines.
I have to find out if other endocrine of that hospital are somewhat more "modern" and ask for change.
Another option is to look for one for private insurance and go to the SEG.Soc. As a process to continue in the sensor program.
In March I will see the nurse and make a decision.

As I said a few days ago, it occurred to me to compare the level of blood glucose with my brother one day that we both ate the same amount of rice.My brother gave about 80 and I around 140. It served as a reference and made me think that this "below 140 is well in postprandial" perhaps it is generous in according to what cases and that maybe not everyone should settle for thatreference.

I believe that there is a lot of margin of improvement and as you comment, above 6 it begins to increase the probability of presenting problems.Eye ... the probability increases, it does not mean that the one that is above will have them nor that the one below is 100% safe.

Actually I have come to read that it would be 5.5 glycosilada that equals the risk of a non -diabetic, but we already talk about a very complicated figure to reach if you do not virtually eliminate carbohydrates.

I take this opportunity to clarify that I of type 1 diabetes are very little, I have type 2 and I have obviously focused on looking for information on the 2. If I say something that is not possible in type 1 or that does not apply for type 1 that nobody bothersplease !!