# Insulin and weight gain



## jane66.jcc (Sep 24, 2015)

Hi I have been type 2 for 21 years and this week I began insulin therapy I am worried about weight gain does everyone gain when injecting insulin?


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## KookyCat (Sep 24, 2015)

Hi Jane66
I'm not sure if it's exactly the same for folk with type 2 because of the insulin resistance and the potential link to increased weight, but I didn't gain weight when starting insulin.  In just under two years I've managed to bump on 5kg but that was with a lot of effort . It depends I suppose on how high your blood sugar has been and how stable your weight has been.  Not having enough insulin prevents your body from using the energy you take in as food, so if you were eating 2200 calories a day, but only had enough insulin to deal with 2000 calories then putting extra insulin in will give your body access to an extra 1400 calories a week.  If you were losing weight before the insulin it's likely your body needed those 1400 calories so when you get the insulin in it will use them, you'll probably gain a few pounds you lost and then stabilise.  If they were excess calories though, your body will start storing them as fat.  Essentially you need to see what happens weight wise don't panic and then see if you need to reduce your intake.  Insulin won't make you gain weight, it just lets your body use what you eat.  Good luck with the insulin


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## HOBIE (Sep 30, 2015)

All my life I have been a skinny type !  I used to race catamarans & had to carry bricks on my boat to be min weight. Since getting a pump my body is running a lot better & I am now putting on weight  Another difference between T1 & T2


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## TheClockworkDodo (Sep 30, 2015)

I was originally tested for type 1 because I had lost about a stone in weight and was underweight, and I really struggled to put the weight back on again after I was put onto insulin.  I am still lighter now than I was before I developed diabetes, and I'd have to make a big effort if I wanted to put on weight.  So no, everyone doesn't automatically gain weight if they use insulin!


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## silentsquirrel (Oct 1, 2015)

jane66.jcc said:


> Hi I have been type 2 for 21 years and this week I began insulin therapy I am worried about weight gain does everyone gain when injecting insulin?



Hi Jane66, welcome to the forum!

What insulin are you taking?

I think it may well be different for Type 2s from Type 1s - but may depend more on what type of insulin you are taking.  I spent some years on a mixed insulin, and did put on weight, found I was often eating when I didn't really want to, just to match the insulin.  Once I was changed to basal/bolus (Lantus and Novorapid) I was able to lose weight, and much preferred the flexibility of being able to be less predictable with what, when and how much, I could eat.


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