TIFU by most likely having diabetes for years without knowing

Submitted by Cutecat42 t3_10q7ad7 in tifu

So I'm obese. Typical American, right? I blame childhood trauma and PTSD. But for the past 5 years or so, I've been trying to heal myself, so I don't turn to comfort food as much. I've also been trying to lose weight.

I've been trying to lose weight for most of my life. I try diets and when I don't get anywhere after a few months (or I get really bad depression because of a flareup), I stop caring and the few pounds I managed to lose come back (along with a few more).

This latest round of trying to lose weight, I'm doing it with my boyfriend. We've been going to the gym 4 times a week (every now and then we skip), and I'm eating 1900 calories a day (which should make me lose 2 pounds a week according to all the different articles about calorie deficits). He's lost 30 pounds while I've lost 10. I know men are different and I shouldn't compare, but I was getting extremely unmotivated because the scale hasn't moved for over a month and a half.

He suggested I go see a doctor, and when I did so, they had me take a blood test after fasting for 12-ish hours. I just got the results back. My Glucose is 138 and Insulin is 43. (I also have a high Bun and regular Creatinine, which according to Google means I'm dehydrated.)

Google is my God (jk), so I looked at quite a few articles about glucose/insulin, and what normal numbers are. Apparently if glucose is over 126, that means diabetes (between 100 and 125 is pre-diabetes). And normal insulin is 2-20. High insulin can mean quite a few things, including insulin resistance, obesity, and Type 2 Diabetes. One thing I know for sure about high insulin, though, it increases weight gain.

I haven't yet talked to my doctor about the results, so it's possible Google has steered me wrong. But I highly doubt it. I don't really have any symptoms of diabetes, so it's kinda blowing my mind.

TL:DR; I've been trying to lose weight for years without success. Recent test results show I'm diabetic and have high insulin (which causes weight gain).

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Dfndr612 t1_j6oavc3 wrote

The good news is high glucose/pre-diabetes is often reversible by changing your diet.

Learn about the glycemic index and see a registered dietician for guidance.

By changing how and what you eat you can turn it around. I wish you the best of luck.

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CubisticSloth t1_j6ogydi wrote

Hi, I’m diabetic, and had this problem especially with loosing weight. Changing the way I eat helped me loose weight more then going to the gym. There was a point I stopped going tot he gym all together because of outside circumstances and I was still loosing weight.

I did a version of keto where you add a lot of fiber via veggies, berries, etc in with everything else. I’m not doing keto anymore but it really helped me avoid carbs like bread, pasta, rice, etc. never had a sweet tooth, so cake, cookies, candy were never a problem with me. At this point I’m still diabetic but I have it under control where my A1C is completely normal, and has been for a long time now.

Of course this isn’t for everyone and you have to do right by you, no matter what.

Wishing you the best!

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Gunslinger_327 t1_j6oeoop wrote

I got slapped with the diabetes diagnosis when being tested after a night of BBQ and beer. Blood sugar was crazy high in the 300's. A1C was like 14. I cut out all carbs and 3 months later I was in pre diabetes range. Now I just stopped eating gummis and drinking soda, and I fluctuate low pre-diabetes to normal. Current A1C is 5.7. I'm 6'1 207lbs for reference.

Moral of the story, its diet.

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blahbleh112233 t1_j6oey5j wrote

You can gain insulin resistance by overwhelming your body with food and drinks, which is likely what happened if you have been overweight for a while. That's not fully permanent and can go down through general weight loss and watching sugar intake.

This may come off as harsh but as someone who went through the same thing you did, I have to ask if you are taking account your BMR when you are doing calorie deficit calculations. What are you doing at the gym? Weight training is good but fat loss is also largely a cardio game too at the end of the day and that means putting some effort into it.

Also, are you sure you're eating healthy and/or actually at 1900 calories? Unless you are weighing/cooking everything yourself, there's a decent chance you are undercounting the calories you eat since basic sauces can be hundreds of calories.

​

Keep it up!

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Cutecat42 OP t1_j6ohnom wrote

I'm doing the treadmill at the gym. I put in my weight every time to get an accurate calorie count. I do at least 200 calories burned, but have been trying to get to 400 calories burned by the end of each session.

My boyfriend and I cook most of our meals (recipes from Hello Fresh, but getting our own ingredients). I have a calorie tracker app, and count almost everything to a T. Every now and then we go out for a meal, and if the place has calorie counts we use that. Otherwise, we try to stay reasonable. For example, we go to a Pho place with amazing Pho. They don't have calories listed, but we end up taking half of our Pho home and eating it for another meal.

As for 1900 calories being what I need to lose weight, I'm pretty sure that's correct. I've checked like 5 or so different "calculators" (inputting my correct age, weight, height, activity level, etc). Some say have more, some say less (the ones that say less still have 1900 calories for like losing 1 pound a week).

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Sea-Slip598 t1_j6pf52y wrote

Please dont listen to the comment above you. Weight training is ESSENTIAL for losing weight and I really helps with endorphins too. You don’t need to lift super heavy either. The easiest way to explain it is if you burn 200 calories on the treadmill doing cardio that is all you’ll burn. If you weight train for 30 mins you’ll burn 150 calories but then you’re going to keep burning calories into the next day while your body is repairing the muscles that your used to lift. So combining cardio and weight training is great for weight loss. I’m not a genius with this stuff but I’ve been working out for a long time and this is pretty basic stuff. Feel free to dm me if you ever have any questions regarding working out or dieting.

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TsuZaki969 t1_j6ph94t wrote

You're both not wrong.

Swimming has been touted as one of the best exervises for awhile now because of the resistance.

That being said, it won't make you stronger. It depends what your goals are as well. If it's purely weight loss, either works. Weight lifting is important to incorporate as muscles end up using more calories to maintain. But most of all you want to have a decently strong body just for your future. There's benefits to all of these things. It's whatever you enjoy most.

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Sea-Slip598 t1_j6phnlg wrote

Sorry I support the pool training. I was referring to the comment that OP replied to that suggested that cardio is more important for fat loss. But after rereading the comment it’s not as bad as I thought. But I still stand by my comment for a combo cardio weight training.

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TsuZaki969 t1_j6pif4v wrote

Oh for sure. I was in OP's shoes with a T2 diagnosis. Although mine was official. Doctor offered medicine and I said can I just change my diet + exercise to put it into remission. He said yeah your young enough to try. Honestly as a dude that spent most of his early life playing rougher contact sports, I put cardio to the side and just pumped. It helped my fat loss but not at the rate I wanted. I was getting and am hella strong now. But I've added more cardio time and the combination is doing wonders.

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FillThisEmptyCup t1_j6pjyfk wrote

> Weight training is ESSENTIAL for losing weight

I lost 250lbs without weight training or a gym.

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MsGorteck t1_j6owgjf wrote

Talk to your doctor and a dietician. You might also try exercising in a pool. Swimming, water walking, aerobics; water holds 15% of your body and at the same time cools you, this translates into your body not being strained as much, yet you work harder. Bouncy takes weight off your joints, your heart works easier, and you stay cooler, yet because water is thicker than air you work harder in a better way than those rubber band things, weights, etc.

Good luck!

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twohedwlf t1_j6oawpa wrote

I don't think google has steered you wrong in this case, you have the symptoms and the risk factors.

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LongDistRider t1_j6ofniv wrote

Check your A1C for a definitive answer.

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Cutecat42 OP t1_j6oibmh wrote

Would that been a part of the blood test? I'm not seeing one labeled as A1C.

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LongDistRider t1_j6oklbe wrote

If the doctor ordered it. I am surprised that your doctor would make a definitive diagnosis without that information since it is a key indicator of diabetes.

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Cutecat42 OP t1_j6olxdm wrote

Oh, no, she didn't diagnose me. Google did, lol. I got a copy of the blood work where it said my Glucose was high. So I looked for info on it, and that's where I found out my numbers mean I'm in the diabetes range. Once I saw that, I saw that my insulin was checked (which I know is for diabetes), so I looked for info on that.

I just made an appointment with her for this Friday. She very well might say that I don't have it, but according to basically everything on Google, I do.

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LongDistRider t1_j6omkvg wrote

Don't get overly excited until you speak to your doctor then. Google and WebMD are not board certified licensed doctors. Ask her what your A1C values are. It is an invaluable key indicator that is used to definitively mark diabetes.

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bros402 t1_j6oyk5n wrote

Okay, Dr. Google is not your doctor. Your doctor is going to do more testing

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leigh094 t1_j6oce98 wrote

So you’ve probably for some insulin resistance going on at the very least but maybe not full diabetes yet. I’m in a similar boat and my doctor put me on Saxenda. It’s technically for weight loss but is suppose to help my body do the insulin thing better. The side effects are hell at first AND I keep hearing concerning things about it in the news so idk if it was the right choice or not.

There are other options to deal with insulin resistance which is also help you lose weight because your body will be using the food you eat more effectively. Or that’s how I understood it.

Although not the best results, this isn’t a bad thing. Now you have some clue about what’s been holding you back and you can work with your doctor to counter it.

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Teaseyouverymuch t1_j6p3ov3 wrote

There is a lot of confusing info on diabetes out there. Look up Dr. Neal Barnard who is part of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. He has a book about preventing(all) and reversing(type 2) diabetes. A lot of people don't know about how fat stops your insulin from working properly and how fat stays in the blood stream for hours after consuming it, meaning high fat diets are bad for and the cause of insulin resistance when paired with processed foods. Fat and sugar on a processed food diet is the worst combo. Sugar cannot be escorted out of the bloodstream and into the cells for energy when eating high fat, causing high blood sugar levels, and causing your pancreas to keep pumping out insulin to exhaustion. Just a piece of info everyone should know.

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dreballin3x t1_j6pcg4p wrote

At least you know about this potential diabetes. I kinda just went to an urgent care one day after having to pee a lot for a while (my mom had diabetes so I was kind of aware of the signs). My blood sugar was over 800 when I got tested. Like I really should have been dead.

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lucky_ducker t1_j6p8h6n wrote

You need to know your A1C number. The glucose and insulin numbers are snapshots at a given point in time, but the A1C number is a much more meaningful "over time" number. Below 6 is normal, 6 - 6.5 is "prediabetic," and higher than 6.5 is actual diabetes.

After hovering in prediabetic range for years, I topped out at 6.7. "Congratulations, you are now diabetic!" With an uptick in exercise, dietary improvement, and Metformin I'm down to 6.1 and holding.

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