The insuleoin Podcast - Redefining Diabetes
#231: 8 Ways To Lose Body Fat With Type 1 Diabetes Without Tracking Calories
In today’s episode Eoin talks about some lifestyle and fitness facts (surprise surprise).
He outlines a conversation that he had recently with one of his Type 1% clients, and how they want to lose body fat without tracking calories daily.
So in this episode, Eoin goes through “8 ways you can lose body fat / lose weight without tracking calories.”
As always, be sure to rate, comment, subscribe and share. Your interaction and feedback really helps the podcast. The more Diabetics that we reach, the bigger impact we can make!
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- Broadcast on:
- 02 Oct 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
Before we get into this episode, I want to ask you a quick question that I want you to answer. And the question is, do you want to have a direct impact on the future of type 1 diabetes management and care? I'm guessing the answer to that would be yes. And if it is yes, I have a very simple and convenient way for you to do that within 10 to 15 minutes, which is actually less than your average pre bolus time, 10 to 15 minutes. And basically, it comes from the T1D exchange registry. So if you don't know what that is, the T1D exchange registry is a research study designed to capture the experiences and ultimately challenges of people like me and you who live with type 1 diabetes. It tracks condition progress over time and includes over 18,000 participants affected by and living with type 1 diabetes in the US. So the T1D exchange registry gathers information directly from these people, i.e. me, i.e. you, including data on diabetes management, CGM data and self-reported outcomes. So you might be thinking to yourself, why would you want to fill out at 10 to 15 minutes questionnaire about diabetes? And I'll tell you why. So the T1D exchange research has led to a number of advancements and improvements for people living with type 1 diabetes, including insurance coverage, including changes in the American Diabetes Association guidelines for pediatric A1C goals and targets, including FDA expansion of Dexcom CGM labeling, and also including Medicare coverage of CGM devices from much more people. If you live in the US, you can relate to the challenges that insurance can bring. So the reality of it is you and I can actually make an impact on the future of diabetes health care, treatments and technology by participating in the T1D exchange registry. It's a really simple online survey about your life with type 1 diabetes. As I said, it takes 10 to 15 minutes. This might be quite literally the easiest way that you can contribute to improving life with type 1 diabetes for people now and also for people in the future. So get involved with type 1 diabetes research in, as I said, the simplest way possible. You fill out the survey, you make a difference with type 1 diabetes research that impacts the future health care treatments and more for other people living with type 1 diabetes. So get involved with type 1 diabetes research in quite literally the simplest way possible by going to the link in the description of this episode. Click my link tree and then you will see a link to the registry 10 or 15 minutes less time than your average pre bolus and you're actually making an impact with diabetes management. And that's what it's about. That's what even this podcast is about. So you can also play your part and we can do it together. So check out the link, fill out your 10 or 15 minute questionnaire, and also enjoy this episode. This is the Insilon podcast where I own Kosovo try to redefine diabetes in this week's episode, particularly when you live with type 1 diabetes, the food that we eat has such a drastic influence and impact on our health, on our blood sugar, on how we feel. So it should be a priority each day to eat good quality food. But before we get into that, everything you hear on the Insilon podcast is from my own personal experience. And if you have any worries or issues regarding your diabetes, please contact a medical professional. Now let's get stuck into this episode. What's happening? I hope you're good, hope you are having a fantastic day and a week, whatever you've been up to. And today I'm going to do a solo episode. Graham isn't here. He's off gallivanting again, as usual. So I'm picking up the pieces. I'm the one holding this podcast together, unlike Graham. Anyway, so yesterday I had a call with a client inside our type 1% program and we were talking about a goal that they have in terms of body composition and a goal that they have in terms of losing body fat. And we were talking about this in depth because obviously that is a goal that a lot of people inside our program have is they want to lose body fat with type 1 diabetes. And maybe you are somebody who has tried to do that or maybe you are somebody who has been thinking about doing that and is considering how to do it or what challenges you may face while doing it. So on this call with this client, we spoke in depth about how much body fat they wanted to lose, why they wanted to lose the body fat, and then ultimately what are the next steps for them to actually make that happen. What is the goal specifically and then ultimately, what do we need to focus on on a daily or weekly basis to make that happen. Also, what's really important when you're setting a goal body comp wise or actually a goal in general. It's really important that you set a deadline or you have a time frame to it because otherwise there's no end or there's no finish line to it and not that there necessarily needs to be a finish line with your health and your fitness because you always want to be fit and healthy. But if you are specifically just for this example, trying to lose body fat consistently, you don't want to just indefinitely lose body fat. Having an end point or having a finish line or an end date is really beneficial because you can say to yourself, okay, this is my expectation for this amount of time. And also, it can actually help with motivation and consistency a lot of the time because if you're struggling, but you know, I'm only doing this for three more weeks. I'm only doing this for two more months, whatever else, if you're going through a difficult period with us or going through a challenge. It can be easier to see that finish line. Let's put it that way. Anyway, going back to this conversation that I was having with this client and we were going through it and they specifically said they didn't want to track calories for this period, which is perfectly fine. And we all have different, let's call it different relationships with food, we all eat in different ways. And particularly with type one, I'm sure you probably know, but we are more susceptible to having a challenging relationship with food because the food that we eat inevitably has such an impact on our health on a daily basis. And the highs and lows that we potentially will see. So this client basically said, look, I don't really want to track calories for this period of time. We said, perfect. That's, that's fine. We don't have to. And the thing about tracking calories and the thing about tracking food is it's a, it's a really, really beneficial tool. But it's only a tool. It's not an absolute necessity. When it comes to losing body fat or losing weight or build a muscle or obviously tracking calories in general and counting your carbs for your insulin doses, et cetera, et cetera. Tracking calories is an amazing tool because it gives you clarity around what you're actually consuming. And when you have clarity around what you're consuming, then it's easier to know if you're on the right track or gone in the direction that you want or not. I always look at it as if somebody's having issues with money or somebody feels as if God, but he ended every month. I, I've no money left. I'm just, I'm in a deficit by the end of the month every month, or I'm, I'm spending away to which money and I don't know where it's gone. You need to analyze and actually look at where your money is spent for you to adjust or change that so that you're not getting to the end of the month and you feel as if you've spent more than you need to. So you may have heard this, this expression before, but it's like what gets tracked gets improved or what gets tracked. You can improve. I think I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point. Like, if, if we're oblivious to what we're consuming or for the money example, what we're spending money on, it's very difficult to make an adjustment to that. Whereas if you know where your money is going, or you know where your calories are going, it's easier to make an adjustment because you have clarity around what's actually going on. So with that, I would always recommend it. If you're somebody who doesn't necessarily understand how many calories you're consuming, how much food you typically eat, how many calories are in the types of meals that you make consume on a regular basis, et cetera, et cetera. Give calorie tracking a goal. Give it a goal for a week, five days, two weeks, whatever. Give yourself a bit of clarity around what you're actually consuming. Now, going back to this conversation, because this client said they specifically at this point do not want to track calories, we're not going to do us. Simple as that. And the thing about losing weight and losing body fast is, although tracking calories is a hugely beneficial tool to use, it's not absolutely, it's not an absolute necessity. It doesn't mean that if you don't track your calories, or you don't track the overall food that you consume, you can't lose weight, or you can't lose body fat. Of course you can. And basically, this leads me into what I want to briefly go through in this episode, and it's eight ways that you can lose body fat and lose weight without actually tracking your calories. So we'll keep it relatively simple. Okay. So if you are somebody who feels, look, I want to lose weight, I want to lose body fat, but I really don't want to track calories for whatever reason. Or I really can't find the time throughout the week to track the food that ate, whatever. Here are eight ways you can lose body fat without tracking your calories. You don't need to do every single one every day perfectly. These are just action steps you can be mindful of so that you're benefiting your health overall, and ultimately losing weight or losing body fat over time. Okay, number one, eat protein at every meal. Actually, I'm going to combine number one and number two, eat protein at every meal, eat vegetables, also at every meal. Really simple. We actually spoke about this on one of our group calls inside the program recently, and well, actually yesterday, and we talked about how everybody in the program, everybody in my type 1% program is an adult. We should eat like adults. If you may, if you have kids, I'm sure you tell them drink water, eat your vegetables, et cetera. We are all adults where you are probably an adult. Eat like an adult, eat protein, eat vegetables, drink water. But why we want to eat more protein and eat more vegetables, specifically in relation to losing body fat or losing weight, is because both types of foods, protein and fiber from vegetables, they're very satiating types of foods, which basically means that they keep us more full for longer. So what we can do is if we look at portion sizes in terms of what we're prioritizing while we eat, we can actually eat more food in volume while consuming less calories because we're choosing foods that are much less calorie dense. So, for example, I can eat a big, big, big bowl of salad that's much higher in volume, much higher in fiber, and will keep me nice and full. That's relatively low calories. And then I can also eat a Mars bar. That's the first bar that came to my mind. I could eat a Mars bar or a Snickers or whatever chocolate you like. This is just the example that I'm using. Or else I could eat a Mars bar. That's much lower in volume. It's much smaller, but it's much, much, much, much more calorie dense. And because it doesn't really have much protein, it doesn't really have much fiber at all, I'd imagine. You eat it and it's very satisfying, but then you're kind of hungry pretty soon after. And then also we don't even need to touch on eating a Mars bar is going to be more difficult to manage blood sugar wise than eating a salad. So, eat protein at every meal, eat vegetables at every meal. I always try and get at least 25, 30-ish grams of protein per meal with every meal. It's easier than you think. You're already consuming protein. One of the most common things I get asked is, "How do I increase my protein? How do I eat more protein?" You're already eating protein. Whether it be chicken, eggs, beef, tofu, beans, whatever. Greek yogurt. Just increase the portion size that you're already consuming. And you'll easily get 20, 25, 30-plus grams of protein per meal. The best way visually to look at it is if you're not tracking your calories or you're not tracking your food, if you have a round plate, half of your plate should be vegetables, a quarter of your plate should be protein, and a quarter of your plate, the remainder should be carbohydrate and/or fat. It's that simple. Next one. Really simple. These are simple steps, and these are things that you're probably doing already, but bringing awareness to the importance of them and how you can increase them is obviously going to be beneficial. So number three. Walk more. Nice and simple. Well, easier said than done. I know you probably have a busy life, but the vast majority of people are frighteningly sedentary, and it's actually concerning sometimes if you look at your steps or your overall movement on a day, and it's very, very, very low. Much lower than it used to be when probably we were kids. We're playing sport, we're out playing on the park, whatever else. We're much more active when we're younger. But if we can bring attention to, you know what? I actually consciously need to try and move a bit more. Where can I fit in a couple of walks throughout the day? It doesn't mean that you need to go from zero to 10,000 steps overnight. But it does mean that I guarantee you have a bit more free time throughout the day than you think you do. And if we substitute scrolling on our phone for 30 minutes for a 30 minute walk and do that consistently, we will lose more body fat. We will lose more weight because we're expending more energy throughout the day. Something I really like to do quite consistently in between work blocks, in between calls, etc. Is what I call my micro exercise breaks, which basically means that if I have a spare 5, 10, 15 minutes between a work block or a call, I will quite literally go out and get a couple of hundred steps around the block. Instead of just aimlessly scrolling on my phone. When you come back from your steps, you've been active, you've cleared the head, you've got fresh air, you feel much better. Which actually helps with insulin sensitivity, helps with mood, helps with energy. So try and get more steps in when you can. Number four, lift weights. It doesn't mean you need to pump the gym six days a week, it doesn't mean you need to pump the gym seven days a week, but lift weights. Or do weights at home, go to the gym, do a bodyweight workout at home. If you do two or three bodyweight workouts, two or three gym workouts, two or three dumbbell workouts, whatever you can, a week. You can drastically change how you look and feel. You can drastically change your muscle, your muscle mass and your body fat percentage. Let alone the benefit that it has on blood sugar. You've probably heard me saying the podcast plenty of times before. In my opinion, it's never going to happen, obviously, but in my opinion, when someone is diagnosed, they should be given a blood sugar monitor. They should be given their insulin and they should be given a dumbbell. Because that's how beneficial resistance training is on your overall diabetes management. And I know we're specifically talking about fat loss and weight loss. It's invaluable to all of those things. So try and lift weights if you can. Number five, again, easier said than done, sleep more. If you're consistently getting terrible night's sleep, that's impacting your energy the next day. It's impacting your mood the next day. It's impacting your insulin resistance the next day. It's also impacting your hunger hormones the next day. Which basically means that it's more difficult for you to understand, well, am I actually hungry? Are my craving this thing? Are my full? Because our hunger hormones are influenced by sleep and the amount of sleep and the quality of sleep that we get. Now, I know to say sleep more is easier to say than do. But again, it's about bringing awareness and being more conscious of what you're doing around your bedtime so that maybe you can get better sleep. Are you going to bed too late? Are you scrolling your phone too much? Are you doing things that you don't even need to do in the couple hours before you go to bed? Why not get an extra hour of sleep? Why not turn off your phone an hour earlier and try to get that hour of sleep? Why not substitute scrolling on Instagram for reading a book because you'll fall asleep better? You can also learn something while you're at it. So sleep more if and when you can. Number six, again, I know these sounds simple. But the reality of it is improving your diabetes management and improving body composition or losing weight or losing body fat is a relatively simple process. The hard part is actually implementing the things that you need to do quite consistently. Not perfectly, but quite consistently. So number six is drink more water. I can guarantee you you're not drinking enough water. So aim to drink two to four-ish liters a day if you can. And if you can't carry a big two-liter bottle of water around with you, try and just drink glasses of water consistently throughout the day. When you wake up, drink a glass of water. Every time you eat, drink a glass of water. If you're out for a walk or at the gym, when you come back, drink some water. So you should consistently be drinking more water throughout the day. That's it. I don't need to elaborate more on that one. Number seven, drink fewer calories. So if losing body fat and if losing weight fundamentally comes down to the amount of calories that we're consuming, which it does, drink less calories. In my opinion, drinking calories is such a waste of calories. I could drink a bottle of Coke or I could drink one of those frappuccino, latte, whatever you get from Starbucks, things that are easily two, three, four, five hundred calories. That could essentially equate to a good quality meal that's going to fill me up much more and going to be much healthier for me in general. So drink less calories if you're drinking calories. If you can change your coffee to a black coffee, it's a simple hundred hundred fifty calories, depending on how much milk, et cetera, that you add. But again, drink less calories. You'll save yourself a lot more and you can eat a lot more while also losing weight and losing body fat and ultimately being more energized because you're eating more food. And lastly, number eight, eat slower, eat more slowly. I actually said this to our group last night. I'm somebody, I obviously eat a lot of food and sometimes I'm guilty of just shoveling food into my mouth. I'm like shoveling, barely even chewing at times because I enjoy my food so much, but eat slower so your body can actually catch up with the fact that you're fueling yourself, the fact that you're not hungry anymore, the fact that you're being satisfied with the food that you're eating, eat slower, chew more, don't just shovel the food into your mouth. And again, all under the umbrella of eating like an adult, that's one of my favorite expressions, as we all should eat like adults. Particularly when you live with type one diabetes, the food that we eat has such a drastic influence and impact on our health, on our blood sugar, on how we feel. So it should be a priority each day to eat good quality food. It should be a priority each day to drink plenty of water. So focus on the simple things and do the simple things consistently. Like I said, consistency doesn't mean perfection. It doesn't mean you need to do all of those eight things perfectly every single day. I don't and you won't either. So a couple of these stood out here that you feel like, Oh, you know what? I actually could do that or I could do more of that. Or I actually haven't done that before. Test out one, two or three a day and see how you feel, see the impact. But again, keep it simple. The world that we live in now with with social media, et cetera, et cetera. Losing body fat, losing weight, building muscle, yada, yada, yada. It's frighteningly over complicated. It's made to seem so much more complicated than it actually is. The complicated part is knowing what to do, knowing what to do for you and knowing how to be consistent with the things that you need to do. But keep it simple. That's the most important thing. Okay. Also, if you're listening to this podcast and or you follow me on Instagram where you've seen what we do inside our program in terms of helping people lose body fats, increase time and range, lose weight, build muscle, lower the A1C, et cetera, et cetera. And you feel like, you know, I actually do need a bit of help with that. Or I'd love to know a bit more about the program or how we could work together. Don't hesitate to send me a message, send me an email, send me a message on Instagram. I'll chat to you about it to see what you want to achieve, what you're struggling with. If we can help with the thing that you want to achieve. So please don't hesitate to reach out. It's what we do. It's what we love and hope this podcast was helpful. But if you want to even see more results of obviously what people do inside the program, you can go to my Instagram page and you can look at my highlights, which is the like the small circular, I suppose, story highlights that are above the images on an Instagram profile. So you'll see like literally hundreds of messages, results, testimonials, et cetera, et cetera, if you're interested in it. Okay. So keep it simple. If you don't want to track calories, you don't necessarily have to. It is a massively beneficial tool. I do it. I would recommend this. But if it's something you can't do or you really don't want to do, or you've had a challenging relationship with food, you don't have to. There are ways around these things by focusing on your daily actions, your daily behaviors, and ultimately your daily decisions. Okay. So hope you enjoyed this. Look after yourself. Have a good day. Have a good week. Mind your blood sugars. And I will chat to you soon. Take it easy. Also, another quick one before you go, don't forget to fill out your 10 or 15 minute questionnaire for the T1D exchange registry. As I said, you and I can actually make an impact on the future diabetes healthcare treatments and technology by participating in this exchange. It's a 10 or 15 minute questionnaire and you actually make a difference. You actually have an impact on the future care of diabetics worldwide. So get involved, follow the link in the description of this episode, which is a link to my link tree. That's what the link is called. Click the link and then you will see the next link to the registry. 10 or 15 minutes. Get it done.