Episode 10: Losing Weight as a T1D

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Losing weight as a type 1 diabetic is frustratingly difficult. Because insulin is a growth hormone, it’s directly responsible for the body hanging on to more fat than it should. My journey to lose weight as a T1D has been fraught with desperation, frustration, and confusion.

The goal of this episode is to clear up just how to lose weight as a type 1 diabetic.

Losing weight as a type 1 diabetic has more to do with the foods we eat and the amount of insulin we use than it does anything else. There are other conditions that make it harder to lose weight, such as PCOS, thyroid problems, and even gluten issues (though low-carb usually avoids most gluten products anyway).

That being said, both of us have noticed that low-carb had two main effects: we lost weight, and our blood sugars got better.

We gear the advice on losing weight in this episode toward using a low-carb lifestyle.

Wins & Fails

Colleen’s Win: I remembered to bring extra diabetes supplies with me to a work conference just in case something went wrong.

Jessie’s Fail: She went to school with a failed sensor and just one test strip left to last the whole day. Jessie ended up doing quite a bit of guessing with her corrections.

Hack of the Week

Store diabetes supplies, low snacks, and water wherever you spend a lot of time: work, school, car, home. Make it easy to access the things you need when you need them.

Diabetes in the News

New Center to Research Stem Cell Cures for Type 1 Diabetes

“JDRF just announced a new partnership with Stanford and the University of California San Francisco […] to create the JDRF Northern California Center of Excellence. The goal of the Center is to research and develop cures for type 1 diabetes that use stem cells to produce insulin. Stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the human body – like the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas!”

I love research like this because they’re focusing on avoiding the necessity of immunosuppressive drugs.

Answering a Listener Question: What Tips Do We Have For Dealing With Sickness?

Angie wants to know if we have any tips for dealing with sick days as type 1 diabetics.

You’ll probably need more insulin
Stay hydrated
Check ketones if your number is over 250 for more than 2 hours
Don’t force yourself to eat, but if you’re hungry stick with foods you can keep down. The blander the better.
Sleep!