Concept2 Forum

Hi guys,

I've owned my concept2 model d for about 8 years, i'm a type1 diabetic (of a slightly odd type), quite overweight at 230lbs in your money, have lost 1/2 of my left foot in a bike crash, and have cycled (MTB) and rowed (machine) reasonably reguarly across the time i've owned the machine

For this year, i had some challenges on the biking so i thought id formalise my rowing a bit more

I set myself a target of a million metres in a year, and i'm on track to hit that on December 15th if all goes according to plan, i've reduced insulin dependence to diet only and today I finally achieved 5k in under 20 minutes (i know thats not fast for most people , but as the best time over the last 9 years is 20:07 and today i did a 19:37 i'm pretty pleased.) I feel fitter with the regular rowing, and am definitely noticing benefit, but previously i lost a lot of weight in the summer (when i cycled over 100 miles a week) and put it back on in the winter (weather wuss here ) but i'm not losing weight in the summer (and haven't gained any in the winter so far)

Diet hasn't changed (i'm quite strict low GI and <2500 calories a day) i'm just a bit perplexed as to why my weight hasn't changed (i don't need reassurance, i'm pretty happy the insulin has dissapeared, but just wondered whether you fine people had any ideas?

cheers

Rob

If your diet hasn't changed, and your exercise hasn't changed, and you lost weight down to a certain number and then stopped losing, then you have found your equilibrium weight for that amount of input vs output. ie, your base metabolism from body mass and type plus your activities are burning pretty much the same as what you're consuming. Three options to lose weight:
1) Reduce calories by some specific amount - this will cause weight loss until you find the next equilibrium point
2) Increase activity level - same as above
3) Lift weights and get stronger - this will cause an increase in muscle mass, which will increase your base metabolism and cause fat loss.

Adding #3 in counts as doing #2 as well. Doing all three is of course the most effective, but it can be very difficult from a recovery perspective. Strength training doesn't really have the equilibrium point effect for body weight like the other two; assuming the other two factors are constant, as your strength and muscle mass continue to increase, your base metabolism will as well, and your body fat will continue to go down until you're basically at only essential body fat. If your strength and muscle mass continued to increase past that point (theoretically possible, but unlikely unless you're specifically training for this effect), your weight would actually start to go up despite having very low fat, and you'd need to increase your caloric intake to avoid starvation.

As one who has lost over 50Lbs since Jan I would recommend you consider lowering your carb intake. Low GI does not necessarily mean low carb. I have been on the Atkins diet since Jan. and started rowing in June. It might just jump start your desire to again lose some weight. Another poster in a thread I started suggested to me http://www.EatingAcademy.com which I have found very helpful in explaining nutritional ketosis. Like you I am also diabetic and have dropped my A1c from 8.6 to 6.4 on this regiment.

I am quite puzzled though by you stating you were a Type 1 diabetic and were able to get off insulin. My understanding of Type 1 was that due to autoimmune response the beta cells in the pancreas no longer made insulin. This as opposed to a Type 2 were insulin resistance caused the pancreas to exceed its capacity to produce enough insulin and eventually "wears out" requiring insulin as a supplement towards the end stages of the disease.

Hi,

thanks for all the replies, just to clear off on the diabetes question.

my diabetes is odd, i'm officially a type 1, but i'm actually somewhere between type 1 and some kind of viral diabetes, whenever i get ill, my pancreas shuts down completely (i've been DKA twice, which type 2's don't do) and i require insulin, but as i recover it can be "nursed" and "encouraged" back into life. The first time was after a chest infection (i was diagnosed at 16) it took 9 years by gradual reduction of insulin to stop taking it, and i was heavily tested as theoretically not possible.....but in my head i was cured (not even type 2 requirements or symptoms, blood sugars rock solid) the second time was after a serious infection following a bike crash, but at some point i figured out what was happening and was on insulin for a year before stopping it, now i can tell if i'm getting sick as my bs rises (not unusual) but what is unusual is if i dont start to take insulin then my body goes into some kind of thermal runaway where sugar goes up, pancrease stops, sugar goes up etc etc.

I'd be happy to lose more weight, but thats not really my question, i guess i'm interested in whether the areas i'm targeting with rowing as opposed to cycling keep my weight more stable rather than the fluctuations around season i've had previously.

no matter - just curious if anyone else had seen anything similar - thanks!

Hi,

I've had Type1 diabetes for 39 years (I got it right before I started rowing heavyweight 8's in college) and have been C2 rowing on and off ever since. I think Duffy is right that you can't have Type1 diabetes, as it is defined as "a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin" or more concisely as "insulin-dependent diabetic". If you are able to achieve normal blood sugar without taking any external insulin, then by definition you can't be Type 1.

By the way it is common for any diabetic (Type 1 or Type 2) to have increased insulin resistance when sick, so needing extra insulin when sick is not diagnostic of Type 1, but also Type 2, which is what it sounds like you have. And Type 2's can go into DKA, though it is not as common as for Type 1's - see this link http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/co ... 4/198.full

As to your question about weight loss, I agree with brianh that it really is a simple matter of calories-in/calories-out. And calories-in is much more significant than calories out - you have to row on a C2 for a LONG time to burn off the calories in a single fast food meal. I'm not sure I understand your question, but if you are exercising and eating a consistent amount of food year round, it is not surprising that your weight won't change much with the season.

Monitor you body fat percentage instead with a pair of scales that measure it for you. These are not accurate in terms of an absolute value but do provide a relative value for when you begin an exercise program and you see the number falling. Depending on your body you may not loose weight but may instead drop in body fat percentage which will make you happier. Also you cannot just say 230lbs is overweight as it's all relative to your performance and height etc so don't worry about that and just keep up the exercise.