Question:
Does insulin slow your loss down?

I had read that people who take insulin lose weight much slower, I have only loss 63lbs in nine months and only about 15 since the first of the year. I read that the window for weight loss is 18-24 instead of the 12-18 for non insulin dependents. I cannot find where I read this and was wondering if anyone else heard of this or knows where I can find any information about it. I have a fairly low cal diet and starting to eat more just out of fustration. Can anyone help?    — Linda R. (posted on June 2, 2003)

June 2, 2003
Hi, I'm a type 1 diabetic and am hoping to have surgery in a month or so. In answer to your question, yes, insulin slows weight loss, especially because the no carb, all protein diet sends a person into ketoacidosis - good for weight loss, but not good for diabetics. So we have to adjust our insulin carefully and not go into full blown ketoacidosis. Insulin is like a key that allows the glucose created by digestion or weight loss to be used by the cells. For non-diabetics, if they don't need the insulin at the moment, their body just doesn't make any. We, on the other hand, have to have insulin at a prescribed amount everyday. As we lose weight, we will need less insulin. But perhaps as we are adjusting our dose, we have a bit too much insulin. Not only does it cause low blood sugar, but it causes our body to hold on to every bit of glucose it can to counteract the low bloodsugar. Work closely with a diabetic educator or your PCP to adjust your insulin as you lose. Your PCP may choose to allow you to have higher than "normal" bloodsugars while losing (we lose weight when the blood sugar is high, because that means the glucose can't get into the cells). DO NOT ATTEMPT HIGH BLOOD SUGARS ON YOUR OWN! You don't want to trade one problem (obesity) for another (out of control diabetes). Good luck.
   — Liz R.