# insulin weight gain



## tracy1 (Jun 8, 2021)

hi all I'm on insulin and my sugars are still unstable but the problem i have is i cant loose weight so I'm thinking of changing my diet but unsure as to what. my stomach lately balloons after eating a couple of slices of wholemeal bread i haven't had any today and its not so bad i was thinking of going on a vegetarian diet but reading into it it has increased carbs. i have raised my concerns with my DN and she is looking into something to help me loose weight which will probably mean more drugs. can anyone help me please


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## Inka (Jun 8, 2021)

@tracy1 Are you Type 2 on insulin? Your profile doesn’t say. If your Type has somehow disappeared, you can add it by clicking on your name at the top right of this page, then click Account Details, scroll down and choose the Type   It can make a difference to the advice you get.

To answer your question, vegetarian diets don’t have to be higher carb. You could still choose a lower carb amount and eat a vegetarian diet.

Which insulin(s) are you on and when do you take it/them? If you want to reduce the amount of carbs you eat, your insulin doses will probably need adjusting. How long have you been on insulin? When you say your sugars are unstable, how low/high do they go? How many carbs are you eating currently?


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## tracy1 (Jun 8, 2021)

Inka said:


> @tracy1 Are you Type 2 on insulin? Your profile doesn’t say. If your Type has somehow disappeared, you can add it by clicking on your name at the top right of this page, then click Account Details, scroll down and choose the Type   It can make a difference to the advice you get.
> 
> To answer your question, vegetarian diets don’t have to be higher carb. You could still choose a lower carb amount and eat a vegetarian diet.
> 
> Which insulin(s) are you on and when do you take it/them? If you want to reduce the amount of carbs you eat, your insulin doses will probably need adjusting. How long have you been on insulin? When you say your sugars are unstable, how low/high do they go? How many carbs are you eating currently?


I thought about low carb but it scares me I’m on insuman and novorapid morning and night


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## Inka (Jun 8, 2021)

tracy1 said:


> I thought about low carb but it scares me I’m on insuman and novorapid morning and night



Ok. Well, you don’t have to go low carb. I wrote “lower carb” because you mentioned a vegetarian diet being higher carb, which it doesn’t have to be. You can still eat a vegetarian diet and choose the amount of carbs that works for you as an individual.

Have you been told an amount of carbs to eat for each meal? You should have been told that if you’re on Novorapid. If you’re having to eat ‘extra’ to stop your blood sugar going low, you could see if your diabetes nurse can help you gradually reduce your Novorapid and carbs. You could also maybe look at using an app like MyFitnessPal that can keep count of the calories you’re eating a well because that can help too.

@Lucyr is Type 2 and on insulin and very knowledgable so I’ll tag her as she might have some good advice for you.


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## Lucyr (Jun 8, 2021)

Hello, sorry i probably need to ask more questions to understand what suggestions to give. What kind of blood sugars are you seeing? Do you adjust the doses of insulin or are they set by someone else? 

If bread makes you uncomfortable then that is probably not a good food for you personally, but you will be able to find what foods work for weight loss and blood sugars with some experimentation. Some find reducing carbs helps, others like me find counting calories is more effective. I was vegetarian for 21 years but currently eat some meat.


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## tracy1 (Jun 9, 2021)

Lucyr said:


> Hello, sorry i probably need to ask more questions to understand what suggestions to give. What kind of blood sugars are you seeing? Do you adjust the doses of insulin or are they set by someone else?
> 
> If bread makes you uncomfortable then that is probably not a good food for you personally, but you will be able to find what foods work for weight loss and blood sugars with some experimentation. Some find reducing carbs helps, others like me find counting calories is more effective. I was vegetarian for 21 years but currently eat some meat.


hi thats ok i can range from 7 to over 20. the insulin is set by my diabetic nurse. i dont know if im clasping at straws as to why im feeling like i do but there must be a reason for the weight gain. i dont think its just bread that makes me balloon cereal is having the same effect


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## tracy1 (Jun 9, 2021)

tracy1 said:


> hi thats ok i can range from 7 to over 20. the insulin is set by my diabetic nurse. i dont know if im clasping at straws as to why im feeling like i do but there must be a reason for the weight gain. i dont think its just bread that makes me balloon cereal is having the same effect


im on 17-22 units of insumman and 4-6 units of novorapid depending if its morning or night the higher dose of novorapid is if meal contains a lot of carbs. im currently waiting for a hospital appointment but the hospital and my dn are having a conference call to discuss me on the 22nd june then the appointment might appear then apparently they are still trying to decide if im type 1 or type 2 my hba1c has gone from 117 to 87


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## Inka (Jun 9, 2021)

Have you had a coeliac test? That’s one possible cause of bloating. Anyone can get it but Type 1s are at an increased risk (you said they were wondering if you’re Type 1).


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## Lucyr (Jun 9, 2021)

A good place to start then could be keeping a track of your weight and finding out what calories and carbs you’re eating now, to check if this is okay or if things are adding up to more than you expect, and to spot any patterns with food/weight/blood sugar.

You can find out calories through packaging or apps. There is the carbs and cals app which has pictures, my fitness pal is free but can be more US based, nutracheck is UK based and costs but easy to use and usually has a 5 day free trial.

Keeping an honest diary of what you’re eating now and the blood sugar levels and other effects you see like the bloating will be a good starting point to have some data to discuss at the appointments and start finding some changes to help.


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## tracy1 (Jun 9, 2021)

Inka said:


> Have you had a coeliac test? That’s one possible cause of bloating. Anyone can get it but Type 1s are at an increased risk (you said they were wondering if you’re Type 1).


no i havent had a test yet. i progressed on to insulin really quickly after being diet controlled for a year the tablets. i was hospitlised for three days on a sliding scale for really high blood sugar after a short high dose of steroids in 2019 and things have spiralled since then


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## Inka (Jun 9, 2021)

It’s worth ruling out @tracy1 There are also thyroid issues that can affect Type 1s. If you’re going to be having extra blood tests, then you could ask if they could add in those maybe.


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## tracy1 (Jun 9, 2021)

Inka said:


> It’s worth ruling out @tracy1 There are also thyroid issues that can affect Type 1s. If you’re going to be having extra blood tests, then you could ask if they could add in those maybe.


i dont have issues with my thyroid they are testing me for anaemia as my nails are half white from the cuticle upwards


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## trophywench (Jun 9, 2021)

Err, well, both bread and cereal are packed with carbohydrate (plus the added carb in the milk usually with breakfast cereals) so of course they both cause your blood glucose to increase - and if your body can no longer deal with that increase without  medication, then it won't.

Plus if you are severely anaemic then ordinary blood glucose tests aren't likely to be precisely accurate, think they used to test serum fructosamine for people with D and anaemia - but we're not your doctor, just throwing ideas out for you to try to help you.

Going back to my first sentence - do you understand that ALL carbohydrate in *any*food affects our blood glucose level - not *only* sugar?


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