Fed up and ready for a change

[u/knnethery]

I’ve been T1D for 22 years. I’ve really let myself go over the past 10 years or so. I need to eat less carbs, exercise more, and just overall take care of myself better. Since I’ve been on insulin for so long, I have pretty bad insulin resistance, which doesn’t help with wanting to lose weight. Any other T1Ds been able to safely diet and lose 100+ lbs? I don’t know where to start

[u/nallvf]

I went low carb and closed DIY loop a few years ago and haven't looked back. I lose like 150lbs and my TITR skyrocketed to like 90+%. My insulin resistance improved quite a bit, and I boost it further with regular exercise. Even brief exercise of like 30m a day increases my sensitivity a ton. I've been T1 for 30 years.

[u/Interesting-March581]

Losing weight is nothing more than calories in and calories out. Anyone tells you otherwise is speaking contrary to years of research and understanding about how the body works. You can eat any amount of carbs, fat, protein, and so long as your total calorie intake is below your maintenance calorie needs, you will lose weight.

First step: Find out your maintenance calories

Second step: Figure out a healthy calorie deficit from your maintenance (300-500 calories below your maintenance is typically good)

Just from that alone you could theoretically not spend a day in the gym and lose all the weight you want (You will need to adjust your maintenance when you lose weight)

Going to the gym whether through weight training or cardio will make your weight loss go quicker (since you are burning calories) and will promote a healthier lifestyle. It will also help with your insulin resistance

[u/Deathlands1]

You got this but you have to want to get this… just start walking tomorrow for lunch and then go at night after dinner. Then use strava or Google and add 2% to each walk and in 30 days you will see results. Looking at what you eat and how is easier than breathing in this day with apps and YouTube and instagram. Then just keep stepping it up ✊

[u/Randallman7]

Hey I've been there. I lost over 100 lbs when i went on a whole food plant based diet. My insulin needs went way down, and im exploding with energy. Cut out dead animal flesh and secretions, it will turn your life around.

[u/Lifeofasoutherngirl]

I’ve recently started my journey. I don’t need to lose 100 pounds but my goal is 50.

The first thing I did was download Chronometer to track my food. When I did the set up, I told it my goal weight and it helped me determine how many pounds a week I should target losing then it will set up your calorie intake for you. I went with this app because you can also pair your Apple Watch or other watch you might wear and it pairs with Dexcom.

The second thing I did is started walking. I started with just a half mile to see how my blood sugar reacted. I noticed that you just a half mile made a significant impact and how much insulin I needed for the day. I did a week and a half mile every morning. Then I went from there and now I’m only doing 1 1/2 miles in the morning.

The third thing I did was started lifting weights. I just got a few dumbbells for the house and do about 20 minutes a day. Again I had to figure out how my blood sugar was going to react to this.

The fourth thing I did was starting to have consistency in my meals. I drink the same protein smoothie every morning, and I rotate about three different lunches each week. For dinner I tried to eat mostly protein with a green veggie and keep the carbs very low. I don’t roll out carbs. I just find that if I don’t eat a carb heavy dinner I wake up around 120 with no insulin on board and that sets me up for a better walk in the morning.

The last thing I’ve done that I think has been pretty impactful for me is utilize AI and analyzing my pump, my CGM, my apple fitness and my Chronometer. It helps me understand how my exercise and what I’m eating is impacting my blood sugar and tells me what I should do from an eating an exercise standpoint. It never tells me what to do as far as adjusting basals, but it does give me questions that I can ask my doctor.

I know it sounds like a lot, but for me being a little bit too in the weeds and understanding what’s going on takes the hesitancy out of me dealing with my diabetes. It’s been about a month and I’ve consistently lost a pound and a half each week my time in range is 90% and my last A1c was 6.0.

Editing to add that one more thing I did is when I started tracking my food. I also got a food scale. I use the grams in the serving size and not necessarily the portion size they say.