How to get rid of this belly!?

[Fatandfedup01]

As per the title.

I am overweight by about 5 stone. I feel like shit all the time and even when I eat well I cannot shift weight. My belly is really bothering me, it’s like a double belly with an extra shelf under my boobs!

I am type 1 diabetic and struggle so much with my weight.

I am 5’3 and weigh 16.7stone.

@Fatandfedup01 I hear you, I am similar.

Low carb eating used to help me lose weight & control my blood sugar, but not any more for some reason.

How is your blood sugar control? Mine isn't great, so my diabetes team tell me to inject more insulin, but then my gp tells me that's making me insulin resistant & putting on weight .

Unfortunately there's a phenomenon called "double diabetes", where people with type 1 develop insulin resistance - do you think this might be a possibility? If so it may be worth a chat with your diabetes team to see if you could try metformin to help.

Fwiw I'm trying to exercise more (easily said than done) & eat better. I'm told that the Mediterranean diet is good and getting rid of ultra processed foods is key (there's a thread on this somewhere) so that might be a good place to start.

It’s really not quite that simple actually but thanks for your reply.

No it’s not that simple, if it was no one would be overweight.

I found a weighted hula hoop helped me shift a fair bit of fat around my waist and belly. Obviously you need to maintain a good balanced diet and other exercise but I found the hoop really targeted the old muffin top and knicker ‘overspill’. I did 5 mins twice a day. It’s actually more strenuous than it sounds!

Thank you for this reply! That’s almost spot on. I think as I’m getting older the low carb doesn’t seem to be cutting it anymore. My control is good, HBA1C is 46 but i have struggled with spiking even on low carb and my DSN kept saying to take more insulin which like you say is making me insulin resistant so on goes the weight!!

People on here are great and so helpful mostly but I feel like some people don’t read the medical info as it’s really not as simple as cals in/out.

if I do alot of walking it makes my blood sugar drop so I end up eating glucose or jelly babies with some carbs which cancels out any cals burnt by the exercise- or if I do something aerobic or strength training I spike which means I have to take insulin to bring my blood sugar down….

So it’s a bloody vicious circle…

@Fatandfedup01 it really is a vicious circle and definitely not as easy as calorie deficit!

Fwiw I saw a video with Tim Spectre (from Zoe study fame) arguing against the calorie deficit argument recently, so maybe more people will acknowledge that eventually...

I hope they do..

If it was only as easy as being in a calorie deficit then nobody would be overweight and life would be lovely and simple!

Look at TeamRH on Facebook. You need to be in a calorie deficit, and the weight will come off at a sustainable rate. Good luck!

@Fatandfedup01 could you speak to your practice nurse and see if they are able to refer you to a diabetic dietitian for weight management? Lots of areas have them now, or weight management programmes directed at diabetics (though those are usually more for type 2) and they may be able to support you with you this in a way that is more manageable for you and doesn't mess with your Diabetes. Because it's all well and good people saying eat less, move more, yes in theory it should help. But it's not always that simple for you is it? Cutting something here, can mess with sugars and insulin later? I think your practice nurse would be an excellent place to start.

It beggars belief how many people still do t u fees rand that their own body / experience is not the same as everyone else's. The range of variables is bewildering, how can anyone still think it's just eat less / move more. The ignorance is painful.

*still don't understand ( I meant)

Type 1 here and I hear you
Are you pump or pens?

I would re check your thyroid, ask for antibodies test (for autoimmune hypothyroidism) and also for coeliac blood test (bloating). Both of those are autoimmune and often occur together with type 1 diabetes.

If it was only as easy as being in a calorie deficit then nobody would be overweight and life would be lovely and simple!

But that's not true. You only have to read the threads on here to see that's not true. People simply aren't willing to eat less and move more, permanently. You see countless threads where people are walking half an hour a day, eating what they reckon is 1500 calories, drinking wine, and wondering why they're not losing - because they believe that should be a calorie deficit.

I should know, I was overweight for years and ricocheted from one "diet" to the next before I finally realised that a complete lifestyle overhaul was the only way. And then I wondered what had taken me so long.

I would bet you any money that if you did: *C25k for cardio - working up to a place where you're running decent distances at least 3x a week
*Weight training or cross training on the other days
*At least 10k steps a day
*No alcohol
*No crisps/cakes/takeaways
*Three balanced, small, healthy meals a day...
You would lose 1lb to 2lb a week. And maintain it.
But people don't want to do this, generally - because it takes a while to get fit, and takes a lot of willpower at first to give up crutches such as cakes and booze.

T1 here.
That looks really uncomfortable.
I always found the best for me was eating really low carb, together with taking less insulin for a meal than should be needed, then taking a brisk walk immediately after eating to "use up" the extra carbs. Even a ten minute walk is helpful, though longer is better.
You'd have to experiment to find the amount of less insulin that works for you.

You wrote what you eat when low carbing. Is that what you're eating now? If not, what does a typical day's worth of food look like? How much insulin do you need in a typical day?

Food is fuel. Managing the insulin as a T1 diabetic is undoubtedly an added complication for the OP but the need for energy in to be less than energy out to lose weight still applies. You can achieve that by eating less, moving more, or some combination of the two.

To answer the original question, many women have this “double” or B shaped belly. It’s just genetics affecting where you store fat and will be less prominent if you lose some. If you still feel it is too noticeable at your goal weight you could get liposuction, but I think that would be a drastic measure so it depends on how much the shape bothers you.

@ProfessionalTeaDrinker I was under the dietitian but there advice was to use the Eatwell plate and didn’t feel there was much I needed to change with my diet… I said I was concerned about my weight and she just said ‘ yes it is difficult but keep going’ 🤷🏻‍♀️

@DeadbeatYoda Thanks for understanding 😊

@wheresmyradio pens - my consultant said I am too well controlled for a pump.

@LiveintheNow i have raised the thyroid issue many times with my GP and they will not run further test or investigate anymore as they said it’s under their threshold.

@trailrunner85 I don’t drink or eat crisps and takeaways as I am Type 1. I have plenty of willpower thank you.

@ohdrearydrearyme Yes! Walking after meals really helps with my blood sugar. I have a treadmill at home so always do that after eating.

@iBrows Yes it could be down to my natural body shape.

Thank you for all the replies. It’s great to hear from other Type 1s as I don’t know any irl and it can be quite difficult for people to understand how shit it is sometimes! Never getting a day off from managing your blood sugar and not being able to just be spontaneous- checking your levels before you eat pretty much anything and realising you’re too high so you have to inject and wait before eating can be so tedious, especially if your out with people and they are all eating normally.

I’m not complaining and I accept that I can’t change my condition but fuck me, if I’ve struggled with blood sugar for the day and I’m feeling burnt out I just want to sit in the sofa with a cup of tea and relax…

Walking more love. Eating protein drinking 2 litres of water. Eating less moving more, I wouldn’t say it’s easy it’s bloody hard, if it was easy everyone would be slim good luck love

I wouldn’t say it’s easy it’s bloody hard

It really is hard. If it was easy to exercise regularly and eat well then everyone would do it, as you say. Do I want to get up at 5.30am to go for a long run because it's the only time I'll fit it in that day? No, not really. I'd rather be in bed - but I know I'll feel great when I get back an hour later.

You choose your hard, though. Being overweight is hard, especially in this heat, and with small kids. I remember struggling with my breathing when I was overweight. And I was so sweaty as well, especially at night. That's not easy.

80% of weight loss is diet.

I think you know how to lose weight- what you need to sort out is your will power and self-control. Easier said than done. Quickest way to lose weight is do Paleo or Atkins- Paleo is much healthier and on both you start to lose appetite if you can get through those early, difficult days.

Can you start to focus on something else rather than food? Yoga, walking for example?

Also, if there is bloating I would make a GP appointment to rule out anything serious. It’s a symptom of Ovarian cancer- and I’m not saying this to scare monger but I do think it’s best to be on the safe side.

If it was only as easy as being in a calorie deficit then nobody would be overweight and life would be lovely and simple!

‘Easy’ and ‘simple’ are not the same thing. Less calories than you need = weight loss. It really is that simple. People do not stay the same weight or gain weight if they don’t eat enough. It’s very simple science. If someone through the OP into an archaic prison where she only ate bread and water once a day, the belly would very quickly disappear, no doubt about it. That’s without exercise…

No one is saying it is easy though. Eating less is hard and frustrating, and often there is misinformation and misconceptions about portion sizes and how many calories are really in certain foods. It’s not easy at all - losing weight is about being informed, being honest with yourself and having will power. Not easy at all - but it is that simple.

So when someone with the OPs issue starts talking about just eating salad and chicken and getting carbs from only veg - there is either an extreme issue with portion size, copious amounts of salad cream that the OP isn’t aware will make a significant difference, or denial about alcohol and snacks.

Can I ask if you have any health issues that would prevent or make a difference to how long/much you can excerise?

It probably is though, have you tried accurately tracking calories? It's ok saying "I follow a healthy diet" but if you eat too much of even the healthy stuff you will still gain weight. You need to be tracking calories (by weighing everything you eat) to ensure you're in a net calorie deficit. If you do that accurately for 3 months and still don't loose any weight then I'd be going back to your GP.

People build fat in different places, and the only way to get it off the first place it appears (and the last place it leaves) is to lower fat levels overall.

This is of course really hard to do, and to be successful you are going to need to find a way that works for you which increases your activity level and also reduces your calorie intake. There are any number of different plans, diets, schemes and so on, and most aren’t going to be right for you,

The key is finding one that is manageable enough to stick to.

Yes, I do. But my health issues, particularly my severe asthma, improved significantly when I lost the weight and started exercising regularly.
I used to use the asthma as an excuse for why I couldn't run, but as I've got fitter I've been able to decrease the amount of steroids I'm on.
I'll never be an Olympic athlete, but being fit and healthy is enough.