Newbie Type 1

Exercise
1

 

Hi there,

Hope everyone is going well with there goals.

I've had Type 1 for just over year now, but am still trying to figure it out.

One of the changes has been weight gain, which was never an issue prior to being T1, so I'm a little clueless about the right way to tackle it.

I've also noticed that I seem to be storing fat wherever I inject & am running out of new places to inject.

Wondering if anyone knows which insulin would be most likely causing weight gain - The RapidActing or BackGround insulin ?

And also wanting to know if anyone has been successful in eliminating excess fat caused from injecting in a particular area?

Thank you kindly for your help!

Sandii K.

2

Hey Sandii -- there was a thread under "forums" a while back -- some people felt that insulin does cause weight gain and others didn't. I've found it does for me -- I'm assuming both of the types of insulin. I also have "lumps" where I inject. I'm guessing it relates to each person's underlying metabolism or something.

From what I understand, you need to stop injecting in a particular areas for months before the place looks "flat" again. I'll be honest that after all these years with D, I've just accepted that my body won't look perfect and is somewhat lumpy. (; But, I still try to keep my overall weight down.

When you exercise it has the double benefit of burning calories AND reducing your insulin needs. I try to work out for 30 minutes at the same time each day so that my insulin needs are consistent at each time from day to day. I'm sure I'd loose more weight if I worked out longer, but it's just not in the cards for me as a busy Mom right now...

Some T1's also try to limit their carbs. This leads to fewer calories if you're careful and also reduced insulin needs. I'd never go really low carb myself b/c I like eating out w/ friends, eating ice cream, etc. But, I do try to cut my carbs slightly at each meal when I can. (e.g. skip the rice with a meal or something)

Good luck!

3

i assume you're on shots?

i noticed this when i was on shots also, but I also felt it's a little more irritation then actual weight gain because i wasn't rotating the way I should have been. Don't forget to rotate! I'm on a pump, but I band-aids on the spot i last used so i know to leave it alone for awhile. I recently started a cgm, which forces me to use other places like my thighs and the backs of my arms.

how are your sugars? having good control is key. getting too low will cause you to, usually, eat extra calories and its harder to make smarter decisions when you're reaching for ANYTHING to fix a low. highs don't allow your body to break food down the way it needs to. this can cause you to store fat. it also makes it hard to be more active since it makes you feel so terrible.

i'd suggest talking to a nutritionist.. keep an honest food diary for a couple of weeks to show them so they have an idea of what you like/dont like and keep your blood sugars in this book as well, that way you can work out how certain foods affected your glucose levels. its tedious, but this information will help the nutritionist design a plan for you, but also let them incorporate things you actually like to eat and have in your pantry, so it will be livable.

build muscle! you dont have to bulk up, but muscle will raise your resting metabolic rate, so rather then spending 45 grueling minutes on an elliptical, take 15 minutes on the elliptical to warm up, and spend the next 30 minutes toning a muscle group, like arms, chest and back, legs, core, etc. bodybuilding.com has a lot of really helpful videos and an app for cell phones that have examples of beginner+++ workouts to tone up to burn more cals! plus, you'll be leaner!

like i said, i did experience this a little, but i do believe it was more from inflammation from constant injections then from the insulin itself.

have you considered trying the insulin pump? it's not for everyone, but it seriously rocked my world. i would never go back to shots unless i absolutely had to.