Weight

Has anyone found their weight has gone up since following DAFNE? Spoke to my GP who specialises in Diabetes and he told me people often find their weight increases due to better control and CP's being equal to Insulin doses! Great start to the New Year!

Yes, I was told this as well and I have found that I am slightly heavier than I was pre-DAFNE but luckily, I know that my regime hasn't changed too much in terms what I do around my diabetes - just what my doses are. My control has tightened and we're now seeing the 'truer picture'.

I think that if any one has any concerns about the weight gain, once they know their 'resting' insulin, they can apply the DAFNE exercise rules to work at losing weight. Obviously, what you eat can be an effect on your weight as well - I think this is why my body's weight changed slightly, because even though I don't excessively eat unhealthy, I'm certainly not strict!

I was told the reason why you may gain weight is if you have tighter control (which DAFNE should do) your BG's will be more in range - whereas like most diabetics from time to time the BG's may go up to 15+ from time to time and this is when the ketones are passed out in your urine (even if you feel well) and this creates weight loss. So by improving your BG you are also reducing Ketone production and therefore weight might increase slightly.

Yes, I am a big fatty, not really that bad, but overwieght, hell yeah, and its went up since DAFNE, but not everyone does..

I have never had as good control as now, so in a way its a good price to pay.....

with regards to vickyrees on ketones, ketones appear as a bi product of the burning of muscle and fat for energy as there is not enough insulin to pass the glucose in the blood to the cells of the body.......so not having ketones cant really be blamed for weight gain as does topping up your ketones being a good way to maintain a steady weight.....

For a year or two I was on 2 injection, not really eating and therefore missing injections, I was skin and bone and so when I changed my ways to DAFNE and had 3 square meals everyday I think my body was shocked and decided to store all the excess glusoce as fat in a panic I would starve it again....

Thats my excuse anyway..........I may just be lasy........lol

Ketones suppress appetite.
People on Very Low Carb diets (Shakes) are intentionally put into and maintained in mild ketoacidosis to help suppress appetite.
Helen

I have also found that my weight has increased, though I do intend to eat a lot of salads and fat free foods. Though I am concerned about my weight as is my consultant. My controls are much better since starting Dafne. And I would much rather be overweight than have poor control again.
I think what it has increased my weight, is knowing I can eat carbs and adjust my insulin accordingly. I have stopped eating so many carbs, and my weight is slowly coming off. I'm no longer raiding the biscuit barrel and saying to myself its only so many units of insulin. lol

My HCP told me that the best way to lose weight is to eat less. Obviously, if your intake of carbs goes down, then so should your insulin dose. This might not work for everybody, I accept, but it also seems obvious that if you eat more than you need to, the body will store the excess as fat. Eating less certainly worked for me, anyway.

Hi Alan Constable, I agree if you eat less food your weight should go down but if i ate any less i would eat nothing!!! Lol

I have been watching my weight for years and years and have (at times become very depressed about it) I have even been put onto a protein sparing fast (in hospital for a week eating <600 calories!). i did not lose any measureable weight...the nursing staff suggested I was eating Mars bars or something but as they held all my insulin that would have resulted in interesting BG's. The explanation from the endo was that weight/insulin/insulin sensitivity was a very complex issue not simply food in. I was basically told to limit carbs to 10 CP a day and to eat a lot of salads and fat free where possible. Since that advice I have not put on weight but neither have I lost any. I have not put on any weight since Dafne! Basically my diet did not change although my HbA1c went down nearly 1%. Complex issue.