Keeping The Pounds On: Strategies For Gaining Weight
If one of your goals is to gain weight, it helps to have a game plan in mind. Just as there are smart, sensible ways to lose weight, there are strategies for gaining weight in a healthful way. Loading up on sugary, fatty foods may certainly put the pounds on, but common sense tells us that scarfing down bowls of ice cream every day won’t win you the dietitian seal of approval. The key, as always, is to focus on nutrient-rich (and in this case, higher-calorie) foods, whether you’re trying to gain, lose, or maintain your weight. The other consideration, of course, is your diabetes. You need to consider the effect of increased food intake on your blood glucose control. Calories count While it’s usually not necessary to count calories, it does help to have an understanding of A) how many calories you need (approximately) to gain (or lose) weight and B) how many calories are in the foods you eat. While somewhat simplistic and not entirely accurate, one guideline you can keep in mind is that it takes approximately 3500 calories to gain one pound. It follows, then, that to put on one pound in a week, you must increase your daily food intake by 500 calories. There are a number of online calorie calculators that can give you a sense of how many calories you need, based on factors such as your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level. A few to check out are the Mayo Clinic calculator, the My-calorie-counter.com calculator, and the FreeDieting.com calculator. Once you have a sense of where you stand with your calorie needs, you can find nutrition information from any number of Web sites, including CalorieKing and SelfNutritionData, for example. You can also purchase a food counts book and, of course, don’t forget to read food labels for calories, carb grams, and fat Continue reading >>
How To Gain Weight And Maintain Blood Glucose
How to Gain Weight and Maintain Blood Glucose Yes, you read the title correctlythere are people with diabetes that are actually trying to gain weight. These people are underweight and need to put on a few pounds without creating extremely high blood sugar levels . Note: If you have diabetes and are losing weight or having difficulty gaining weight, your first step is making sure the issue isnt due to high blood glucose levels. Uncontrolled hyperglycemia, which is typical with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes (or misdiagnosed type 2), can lead to weight loss and is a dangerous state for your body. If your weight loss or inability to gain weight is unexpected, make sure to discuss it right away with your doctor. It may be that your medication needs to be adjusted for better glycemic control. If, on the other hand, your blood glucose levels are controlled, here are few tips to help you gain weight without spiking your sugar . Dontskip meals. If you are trying to gain weight, you need to increase your daily caloric intake. If you skip breakfast (or any meal), you could be missing out on an extra 400 to 500 calories per day, which if done consistently could lead to a one-pound weight loss per week. So, even if you are not a breakfast person, find some foods that you can eat for breakfast, such as a fruit-vegetable smoothie (you can add flax seed and coconut oil to increase calories, fiber, and satiety). A quick smoothie could be a few handfuls of spinach, 1 cup frozen berries, banana, 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil, 1 tablespoon ground flax seed and -1 cup coconut milk. Serve the smoothie with a side of egg and chicken sausage. You might also try an egg, cheese, and avocado sandwich on a low-carb wrap or tortilla. Snacks and small meals are another way to help increase your caloric Continue reading >>
How To Put On Weight When You Have Diabetes
Not everybody with diabetes needs to lose weight. Some people have the opposite problem; the pounds just won’t stay on. Although certainly a great source of calories, filling up on hot fudge sundaes isn’t the best way to fill out your frame if you have diabetes. Before we talk about some healthful strategies for weight gain, it is important to make sure your efforts to add a few pounds are not sabotaged by out of control blood glucose numbers. If your glucose level is very high, all the extra calories in the world won’t have the desired effect. When the body perceives it is starving –that is essentially what occurs when it can’t use all the glucose building up in the blood stream– glucose (energy or calories) spills into the urine. So instead of keeping those precious calories to add muscle and some fat you will end up losing weight. If you are losing weight and your glucose levels are in good control then a visit to your health care provider is in order to look for other causes of weight loss. The old adage says; to gain a pound a week, add 500 calories a day to your current calorie level. Now new research tells us that this isn’t entirely accurate, but it is still a good place to start. You can find out about how many calories you are eating now by using any one of a hundreds of nutrition management websites on the internet: Caloriecount.com, Myfitnesspal.com and Fitday.com are three options. One of the first things to look at when you are trying to gain weight is low calorie foods to eliminate. Plain beverages such as black coffee or tea, broth soups, low calorie salads all fill you up without providing much in the way of calories. All of your food chooses should be as calorie dense as possible. If you like salads for example, keep the lettuce to a mini Continue reading >>
5 Foods That Can Help In Diabetic Weight Gain
5 Foods That Can Help In Diabetic Weight Gain 5 Foods That Can Help In Diabetic Weight Gain Maanasi Radhakrishnan Most of us associate weight gain to diabetes but weight loss? Yes! Though, it may come as a surprise to many, but weight loss drastic weight loss is one of the earliest signs of a person suffering from diabetes, mostly type 2. Diabetes leads to low levels of insulin, below the minimum required levels in the human body. This propels the body cells to start breaking down fat and muscle in the body for energy, since lack of insulin means that the cells are not able to store glucose. The body feels it is starving and starts to consume all available fat and also muscle which leads to weight loss. The weight loss can be anywhere between 3-4.5 kilograms in a month and is not healthy at all. This also leads to frequent trips to the bathroom as the body is pumping and recycling the blood faster. While many who are diagnosed with diabetes need to watch their diet and daily food intake to maintain their optimum body weight, others can go on to take insulin injections to keep weight loss under check. However, there are many diabetic weight gain supplements that are now accessible to diabetic people to help them maintain their body weight. It is important that you dont act in half knowledge and binge on sweets like doughnuts, candies and confectionery items. They will cause an increase in blood sugar levels and cause complications in the body. What else can a diabetic person do to stay at a healthy weight? Well they can: Since the body is unable to store what a diabetic person eats, it is important to fuel the body regularly by eating several small meals in a day. It is also important to make healthier food choices. Avoid extra oily and sugary foods and chose foods that Continue reading >>
Losing Weight With Diabetes: What Prevents It And Causes Weight Gain
I recently was included in a discussion on a Facebook group for athletes with diabetes about how hard it can be to lose weight through exercise. While I would never claim to have all the answers on this topic, here are some ideas about what can make you gain weight or keep you from losing weight with diabetes, based on my decades of professional and personal experience with diabetes and weight management, and what you can do about it. Insulin My former graduate student with type 1 diabetes went on an insulin pump and promptly gained about 10 pounds, even though his blood glucose control improved only marginally. Why did this happen to him (and why does it happen to so many other insulin users)? As a naturally occurring anabolic hormone, insulin promotes the uptake and storage of glucose, amino acids, and fat into insulin-sensitive cells around your body (mainly muscle and fat cells). It doesn’t matter whether it’s released naturally, injected, or pumped—all insulin and insulin analogues have these same effects. Going on intensive insulin therapy is associated with fat weight gain (1), for people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Some of the weight gain comes from that if you’re using insulin to keep your blood glucose in control, you’ll be keeping and storing all of the calories that you’re eating instead of losing some glucose through urine (during hyperglycemia). Unfortunately, this realization has led some people to try skipping or limiting their insulin use to help them lose weight (2), but that is a dangerous practice that can lead to loss of excess muscle mass and life-threatening conditions like DKA. The best way to balance your insulin use and your body weight, in my opinion, is to be physically active to keep your overall insulin levels lower. I Continue reading >>
Weight And Diabetes
A balanced diet and an active lifestyle can help all kids maintain a healthy weight. For kids with diabetes, diet and exercise are even more important because weight can affect diabetes and diabetes can affect weight. This is true for kids and teens with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. In diabetes, the body doesn't use glucose properly. Glucose, a sugar, is the main source of energy for the body. Glucose levels are controlled by a hormone called insulin , which is made in the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes , the pancreas does not make enough insulin. Undiagnosed or untreated type 1 diabetes can cause weight loss. Glucose builds up in the bloodstream if insulin isn't available to move it into the body's cells. When glucose levels become high, the kidneys work to get rid of unused sugar through urine (pee). This causes weight loss due to dehydration and loss of calories from the sugar that wasn't used as energy. Kids who develop type 1 diabetes often lose weight even though they have a normal or increased appetite. Once kids are diagnosed and treated for type 1 diabetes, weight usually returns to normal. Developing type 1 diabetes isn't related to being overweight, but keeping a healthy weight is important. Too much fat tissue can make it hard for insulin to work properly, leading to both higher insulin needs and trouble controlling blood sugar. In type 2 diabetes , the pancreas still makes insulin, but the insulin doesn't work in the body like it should and blood sugar levels get too high. Most kids and teens are overweight when they're diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Being overweight or obese increases a person's risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Also, weight gain in people with type 2 diabetes makes blood sugar levels even harder to control. People with type 2 di Continue reading >>
11 Ways To Gain Weight If You Have Diabetes
Although diabetes is often associated with being overweight, especially type 2 diabetes, it’s a myth that everyone with diabetes has a high body mass index (BMI). Some people have trouble gaining weight. In fact, unexplained or unintentional weight loss can be a symptom of undiagnosed diabetes. Issues with weight management center around insulin, a hormone produced by your pancreas. People with diabetes are unable to use or produce enough insulin to transport excess sugar out of their blood and into their cells, where it can be used as energy. This can cause your body to burn its existing fat stores and muscle tissue in order to supply your cells with energy. If your sugar levels are constantly in flux, your body will continue to chip away at its fat stores, resulting in weight loss. Diabetes food plans are often geared toward helping people lose, rather than gain, weight. This can make it harder to figure out how to gain weight in a healthy way. Before trying the tips below, talk with your doctor or dietician. They can help you set the right diet and exercise goals for you, as well as answer any questions you may have. There are many apps available to help you manage your condition and make the right food choices. Look for apps that help you track blood sugar and BMI. Some options include: GlucOracle: This glucose forecasting app uses crowdsourcing to analyze the estimated amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat, calories, and fiber in each meal. It also predicts what your glucose level will be after eating. SuperTracker: This app helps you gain weight by providing comprehensive nutritional information on over 8,000 food items. It also tracks your nutritional targets, diet, and activity levels against your goals. If these don’t appeal to you, we’ve also rounded up Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes: How To Lose Weight
Weight loss is a common recommendation for treatment for type 2 diabetes. Many people are overweight when they’re first diagnosed, and that extra fat actually increases their insulin resistance (when their bodies can’t properly use the hormone insulin). By losing weight, people with type 2 diabetes can become less insulin resistant, and they’re able to use insulin better. (To learn more about how the hormone insulin works, read our article on how insulin regulates blood glucose levels.) If you’ve recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and you're overweight, you should get started as soon as possible on a weight loss plan. It is important to work with a registered dietitian to help you figure out a plan that will work for you—a healthy meal plan, physical activity, and realistic goals will help you reach a healthy weight. There are many advantages to losing weight (and not just diabetes-related ones): Boost your energy level Lower your cholesterol levels (especially important for people with type 2 diabetes) Protect your heart (also important for people with diabetes, since heart-related complications are very common) Make it easier to control your blood glucose level As you may already know, losing weight can be a challenge, but don’t let that stop you. Do whatever you need to in order to stay motivated. It is the amount of calories we eat that contributes to weight gain. Make small changes. Learn portion sizes and reduce the amount of snacks in your day to reduce the total amount of calories you consume each day. Find cookbooks with healthier recipes using low-fat options. For a little fun, take our carb counting quiz to see how well you know the carb content of certain foods; this can help you make healthier choices. Work with a registered dietitian Continue reading >>
I Am Underweight, How Do I Gain Weight When I Have Diabetes?
You may have lost weight because your blood sugar has been running high. This can cause much of the carbohydrate food that you eat to pass into your urine and not be absorbed into your body. Alternately, you may have been slim to begin with, and then as you got older your pancreas may not be making as much insulin, so you got diabetes. Regardless of the cause, once you have diabetes and are underweight, eating can be a challenge. Restricting carbohydrate foods that increase your blood sugar, also restricts calories, so you need to rely more on proteins and fats to get your needed calories. I have a 6-page section in The Complete Diabetes Guide devoted to this topic. The first thing to do is to see your doctor, to find out if you need more diabetes medications, or a change in medications. The right diabetes medication can help you gain weight by improving absorption of sugar. Next step, look at what you are eating. It is best to spread your intake out into three small meals and three small snacks. This spreads out your carbohydrates and also means you will not feel so full at each meal. Here are a few simple ideas to boost calories: spread peanut butter on an apple or banana, to add protein slice up avocado and have it in sandwiches or salads add ¼ cup of skim milk powder to each cup of milk to double the protein add extra oil such as olive, canola, corn or soya oil, margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressings to recipes and foods such as mashed potatoes, rice or pasta, oatmeal, scrambled eggs or casseroles add chopped nuts or roasted sunflower seeds on top of yogurt or cereal add sliced or shredded cheese to soups and casseroles. In addition to boosting calories, it is important to rebuild lost muscles. To build muscle strength, a walk is good, and so is doing some weigh Continue reading >>
Should I Worry About Weight Gain With Insulin?
I am almost 20 years old, have had type 1 diabetes for eight years, and use insulin glargine (Lantus). Should I try to lower the need for insulin to prevent weight gain? I haven't been gaining weight, but I am concerned that I'll get into a cycle of increased insulin dosages and weight gain. Continue reading >>
Lose Weight With Type 1 Diabetes
WRITTEN BY: Cliff Scherb Editor’s Note: Cliff Scherb, Founder of Glucose Advisors and TriStar Athletes LLC, is a nutrition and fitness expert. He consults through virtually teaching his decision support system – Engine1 the app and its methodologies to aspiring T1 individuals and athletes. Cliff also creates custom training programs and insulin plans for endurance athletes, using Training Stress Modeling and real-time coaching. To inquire about coaching openings, FB LIVE sessions, and general questions please email [email protected] Losing weight can be difficult — add Type 1 diabetes to the mix with its daily management demands — and it’s even more of a challenge. I know, because I’ve been a Type 1 diabetic for 29 years and I’m also an endurance athlete. The internet is saturated in advice on how to lose weight with or without Type 1, so it’s hard to know what is worth while and what will just waste your time — or worse, can negatively impact your health. I’m not going to declare all out war on carbohydrates, or tell you can or can’t drink your calories in the form of olive oil, or feast and fast with cayenne peppers and maple syrup. No, the real distilled learning from my years of consulting and data analysis shows that a balanced, low-insulin diet with nutrient timing and activity is the best way to lose weight with Type 1 diabetes. It also helps you maintain brain and body function as well as energy levels. If you are reading this you’ve probably already given this some thought and know why it’s important to lose weight and/or lean out, but I maintain it’s all about performance! Performing means living a longer or healthier life or if you’re an athlete, it can also translate to beating out your competition. Things that Impact w Continue reading >>
Tips To Gain Weight
Save for later If you have diabetes and you’re underweight or struggling with your appetite, it’s important to eat the foods you like rather than being too restrictive with your diet. This may mean eating foods that are higher in fat and calories. Speak with your diabetes team to review your medications and talk to a dietitian to help you make any changes. Do you want to put on weight? These are some of the things your dietitian may suggest to help you gain/maintain your weight. Eat smaller meals, more often. You’ll find this easier than eating three large meals and it will also help increase your appetite. Use full-fat dairy products like milk, cream, cheese and yogurt. Add unsaturated fats to your food where you can in foods such as avocados, nuts and seeds, and spreads and oils, including olive, rapeseed, sunflower and peanut. Unsaturated fats are still high in calories, but better for your heart than saturated fats. Serve vegetables with melted butter, spread or grated cheese. Add cream or full-fat milk to foods like mashed potato or soups. Have nourishing drinks like smoothies and milky drinks. Add powdered milk to cereals. Nutritional supplements, in the form of food or drink, can be useful for some people who are finding it hard to gain weight or who have a poor appetite. They are available on prescription. Continue reading >>
How Can I Gain Weight With Type 1 Diabetes?
You can reverse and control your diabetes. what makes you worried about it. there are two types of diabetes, both are different diseases, but they share same common sign and symptoms.but the cause is 180 degree opposite. Type 1 Diabetes : NO INSULIN PRODUCTION People with type 1 diabetes cannot make insulin because the beta cells in their pancreas are damaged or destroyed. Therefore, these people will need insulin injections to allow their body to process glucose and avoid complications from hyperglycemia Type 2 Diabetes : OVER INSULIN PRODUCTION People with type 2 diabetes do not respond well or are resistant to insulin. Pancreas produce same, or sometimes more insulin than normal body produces can you saw that difference in cause of type 1 & 2 diabetes. And between these two diabetes is Type 1.5 Diabetes Type 1.5 Diabetes: LESS PRODUCTION OF INSULIN Pancreas are producing enough insulin to stay well, but that insulin are very small in quantity and unable to maintain normal blood sugar of body. i will share in detail about diabetes and how medical industries trying you to chew their medication to make them rich.choice is yours DRUG VS DIET hello friends if you want to reverse your Diabetes, drop a mail at [email protected] , i helped many people to reverse their diabetes, every where around you is a conspiracy to sell Medication & Drug. and these drug can only cure your symptoms not your actual cause of your diabetes. with healthy diet plan you can throw diabetes completely from your body. stay away from all drug. they are silent killer. i help people to reverse their diabetes and live drug free healthy life. my name alok kumar , i am Diet & Diabetes educator. mail me at [email protected] so that i can assist you best to reverse your diabetes completely. good d Continue reading >>
Meals To Help Diabetics Gain Weight
Gaining weight while controlling your blood sugar can be very difficult for those with diabetes. The key to a healthy weight gain is to recognize which foods affect your blood sugar and which do not. For weight gain that also allows consistent blood sugar control, add more healthy fats to your diet. Video of the Day The first step to a healthy diabetic diet is consistent carbohydrate intake at each meal. The American Diabetes Association generally recommends about 45 to 60 grams of total carbohydrates per meal, but this may vary for each individual. Foods that contain carbohydrates include, but are not limited to, grains, starchy vegetables, fruits, milk products, snack foods and sweets. Portion control of these foods is very important because too many high-carbohydrate foods will spike your blood sugar. Nonstarchy vegetables such as leafy greens, broccoli, eggplant, peppers and cabbage have fewer carbohydrates per serving and will not spike your blood sugar as much as starchy ones. The American Diabetes Association recommends at least three to five servings of nonstarchy vegetables per day. Fats and Weight Gain Fats can be categorized as "unhealthy" or "healthy." According to the American Heart Association, unhealthy fats include saturated and trans fats, which can contribute to increased cholesterol and should be avoided. These include high-fat cuts of meat and high-fat dairy products. Trans fats are not naturally occurring and are added to foods by the manufacturer. Fats contain 9 calories per gram, whereas protein and carbohydrates only contain 4 calories per gram.To gain weight, consume more calories than you are expending. Healthy Fats: Monounsaturated and Omega-3 Healthy fats can assist you in gaining weight, while controlling your blood sugar and cholesterol lev Continue reading >>
How To Gain Weight If You Have Diabetes
Expert Reviewed Weight loss can be a symptom of diabetes. Because your body is unable to make use of sugar in the blood, those calories that would normally be utilized are lost. Even though you might be eating a normal amount of food, this loss of sugar and calories due to diabetes will still cause you to lose weight.[1] However, you can still work with your diabetes and maintain a healthy weight. Continue reading >>
