# Trouble Balancing Exercise and Diet



## Mike175 (Apr 29, 2020)

I'm reaching out for thoughts suggestions and to see if anyone else has a similar issue.
I'm a type 1 diabetic and have been trying to slim down for the past couple of years, the issue is that from my understanding the best way of tackling excess fat, particularly belly fat, is through a low-calorie diet - this is hard for me because I eat a lot of relatively high-calorie snacks throughout the day. I have had periods where I have had more control over my diet but I find that when I experience a hypo I get really bad food cravings and can easily eat through a couple of days' allowance of calories before I stop and come to my senses, so these patches of good dieting are generally limited to less than a week before something undoes all the work.
My other approach was to do lots of exercise, I am quite an active person - in a normal week I cycle to and from my university, I train with various sports teams and work out at the gym regularly. Obviously, with the lockdown I've had to adapt what I do to keep fit and now I have taken to doing a rather taxing mountain bike route daily to try and increase the amount of cardio I get along with home workouts.
But I still am not burning fat and I still feel guilty every time I eat something and so I'm hoping to find some sort of solution because in honesty I'm finding it all a bit stressful.


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## silentsquirrel (Apr 30, 2020)

Welcome to the forum, Mike!
Giving your post a bump up.
Have you considered trying a lower carb/higher fat approach rather than looking at calories?


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## rebrascora (Apr 30, 2020)

I would agree with @silentsquirrel. 
The problem with carbs is that the more you eat, the more you want. It is not the same with fat because it is slower to digest and is rich so you feel satisfied after eating it and it provides slow release energy over a longer period, so can help to stabilise BG levels. I follow a low carb high fat way of eating, which means that I need minimal bolus insulin, hypos tend to be mild and my body shape has changed, so that I now have an obvious waist. Yes, it could do with some sit ups etc to tone it but I am not that bothered about having a six pack. 
Fat has been given a bad reputation over the past 70 years due to some dubious research long ago and it may even be that the low fat advice we have been following since then has in part lead to the obesity and diabetes epidemic we are now seeing. Fat keeps you feeling full for 8-10 hours whereas carbs hit your blood stream pretty quickly and you get a sudden rise in BG and then a drop, leading to you wanting more, hence people tend to snack between meals on a biscuit or crisps. I can sometimes quite happily get by on just one meal a day but more often just two and not feel hungry in between, so whilst I eat a lot of fat in the form of cheese and nuts and olives and fatty meat and fish and eggs and butter and olive oil and cream in my coffee on a morning and creamy Greek natural yoghurt and avocados and occasionally pork scratchings, I don't eat nearly as much food as when I ate mostly carbohydrates.... and I no longer crave the carbs. You do have to cut your carb intake quite significantly though to prevent the carb cravings.... It takes a bit of getting used to not eating bread and pasta and rice and potatoes and breakfast cereals as well as avoiding cakes and biscuits etc but once you have it cracked, you really enjoy what you eat. It is not for everyone but the idea that fat is bad and makes you fat and gives you high cholesterol is not holding true for me and many other people find the same.... providing of course that you don't combine it with lots of carbs. Many people on a low carb, high fat diet even find that their cholesterol reduces.

Something for you to consider.


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## everydayupsanddowns (May 1, 2020)

Welcome to the forum @Mike175

Reading between the lines it sounds like you have a tricky relationship with your food and your diabetes.

If you are trying to get in shape, I think avoiding snacks is going to be an important piece of the puzzle. A lot of snacking is habitual and self sustaining because you feel hungry at points where you often eat. Distraction is very useful to push through those times. As is not having snack foods readily available. 

Some things are going to be unavoidable (like hypo treatments), so it is important to look for patterns and try to reduce hypoglycaemia as much as you possibly can. 

The calories in / calories out model is beguilingly simple, but from what I can tell, it’s a bit more complex than that, unless you opt for significant calorie restriction, which has its own potential problems. 

Reducing carb intake can be a powerful way of prompting the body to look for alternative energy sources (breaking down fat is far less efficient than breaking down carbs, so if there are carbs available they will get used first). But I think it’s also important to recognise the need for nutritional completeness, and that calories alone can be a fairly blunt measuring tool. The body won’t instantly start burning fat if you don’t eat one packet of crisps to make up the ‘snack deficit’.

The whole approach needs to be well balanced, and involve the right mix of macro and micronutrients, trace elements, fatty acids etc, alongside a tailored exercise programme that will help put your body into the fat burning zone.


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## Mike175 (May 1, 2020)

@silentsquirrel @rebrascora and @everydayupsanddowns thank you so much for your replies, I really appreciate the insight they have provided.
I have not considered trying to substitute the high carb foods I eat for foods with a higher fat content and lower carbs, I will certainly look into what foods I can add and remove from my diet to achieve this. Due to a range of food allergies, including wheat, certain foods have become staple parts of my diet so it may be hard to find something that works as an exact substitute but I'm sure with the internet's vast amount of information there'll be something out there. The suggestion that a higher fat diet would reduce my need for snacks throughout the day is definitely something I could do with as snacking is definitely a problem.
I've been developing my exercise routine over the weeks in lockdown and intend to try and push for a higher daily amount of cardio although this does depend on my levels.
I'll do a bit of further reading into what amount of macro and micronutrients I need in my diet to keep everything balanced and hopefully, I'll start seeing some positive changes.


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## trophywench (May 1, 2020)

May I strongly suggest nuts, Mike?  Not peanuts - proper nuts.  Obviously shelled ones - low carb, contain fat and other nutrients and also last longer than eg sweets to consume.  NBG if you're hypo whatsoever, but quite satisfying to consume at other times.


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## Mike175 (May 1, 2020)

trophywench said:


> May I strongly suggest nuts, Mike?  Not peanuts - proper nuts.  Obviously shelled ones - low carb, contain fat and other nutrients and also last longer than eg sweets to consume.  NBG if you're hypo whatsoever, but quite satisfying to consume at other times.


Thanks for the suggestion, nuts are a bit hit and miss for me due to my food allergies - as far as I know, the only nuts I can tolerate are almonds and cashews, are they the type of nuts you'd recommend?


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## SB2015 (May 1, 2020)

Mike175 said:


> Thanks for the suggestion, nuts are a bit hit and miss for me due to my food allergies - as far as I know, the only nuts I can tolerate are almonds and cashews, are they the type of nuts you'd recommend?


Those sound good to me @Mike175 .
Worth a try, along with a bit of testing to see what happens.

Welcome to the forum and keep the questions coming.


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## rebrascora (May 1, 2020)

Cashews are one of the higher carb nuts so not ideal. Hazelnuts brazils and walnuts are the lowest carb, 
What are you like with eggs and cheese and veggie sticks with a sour cream and chive dip or precooked high meat content sausages, or roasted chicken thighs or drumsticks or olives or pork scratchings.

Your wheat allergy shouldn't be a problem with a low carb diet as wheat is a high carb food and one that those of us following a low carb high fat way of eating, usually avoid.


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## TinaP (May 1, 2020)

Hi Mike
You might like to have a look at Dr Michael Mosley books for Diet and exercise the one I bought was The Fast 800. I lost three stone and managed to reduce my glucose to a normal level. Good luck


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## Mike175 (May 2, 2020)

rebrascora said:


> Cashews are one of the higher carb nuts so not ideal. Hazelnuts brazils and walnuts are the lowest carb,
> What are you like with eggs and cheese and veggie sticks with a sour cream and chive dip or precooked high meat content sausages, or roasted chicken thighs or drumsticks or olives or pork scratchings.
> 
> Your wheat allergy shouldn't be a problem with a low carb diet as wheat is a high carb food and one that those of us following a low carb high fat way of eating, usually avoid.



Right, I'll watch out for the cashews then. With regards to the other nuts you mentioned, I'm afraid it is unlikely I'll be able to eat them, my allergic reactions can be anaphylactic and so I think I'd have to try them in a safe environment once the pandemic has subsided if I do try them. I'm also allergic to dairy products so mainly use soya substitutes, I'm not sure what the fat to carb content of the dairy alternatives is like but I would assume they are less fatty in general. The rest of the food suggestions sound good though and I will definitely look into incorporating them into my diet.


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## Mike175 (May 2, 2020)

TinaP said:


> Hi Mike
> You might like to have a look at Dr Michael Mosley books for Diet and exercise the one I bought was The Fast 800. I lost three stone and managed to reduce my glucose to a normal level. Good luck



Thanks for the recommendation, sounds like something that's definitely worth a look!


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