A guide to gaining weight with diabetes

People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes should maintain a moderate weight to ensure adequate nutrition and energy levels.

If you need to gain weight, you might have to strike a balance between eating foods that give you enough calories and foods that do not spike your blood sugar levels. Choosing high protein food and complex carbohydrates can be one way to gain weight with diabetes safely.

Why is it difficult to gain weight?

Losing weight without trying can be a symptom of untreated diabetes. When the body doesn’t have enough insulin, it can’t get glucose out of the blood to use as energy. The body starts to burn fat and muscle instead, which may result in significant weight loss.

While type 2 diabetes is mostly associated with overweight and obesity, it is possible to be underweight with both type 1 and type 2, and a 2023 research review found that having underweight carries a higher risk of dying from type 1 diabetes.

You might also want to gain weight if you are getting better after an illness or recovering from surgery. There are several ways to safely gain weight if you have diabetes.

Increase complex carbohydrates

You can adjust your insulin according to your carbohydrate intake if you have type 1 diabetes. If you have type 2, try to limit carbohydrates to a fist-sized portion per meal. 

Your diabetes medications can also impact the amount of carbohydrates you can eat. Some require you to have carbohydrates at meal times, while with others, you can’t have carbohydrates at all. Before you change your eating habits, you might want to discuss your current medications with your doctor.

If you do eat carbohydrates and want to gain weight safely, consider high fiber carbohydrates that work slowly in your system, avoiding sudden blood sugar spikes, like:

• rye bread
• brown or basmati rice
• sweet potatoes
• boiled potatoes with skin
• oats
• grains such as quinoa and couscous

Increase protein intake

Try to increase the amount of foods with protein and energy. High protein foods include:

• meat, fish, and chicken
• nuts and legumes
• eggs, cheese, and full-fat dairy foods
• tofu, seitan, and tempeh

Your body also needs energy. You can choose foods that don’t cause a big increase in glucose levels, such as:

• nut butter
• avocado
• oil
• margarine

You can add calories to meals and snacks by combining foods such as:

• adding oil, butter, or cheese to vegetables, meats, and potatoes
• adding nuts, seeds, avocado, or yogurt to other foods
• adding cream to soups and sauces

You can increase the calorie and protein content in milk by adding skimmed milk powder. Try drinking fortified milk with tea or coffee, eating it with cereal, or adding it to sauce and soup recipes.

It would be best if you discussed any changes to your diet with your doctor or nutritionist to ensure you’re making the correct choices for your circumstances.

Supplements

Over-the-counter nutritional supplements might also form part of your plan to gain weight with diabetes. Common options include whey protein supplements, which can help you gain weight in the form of muscle mass rather than increasing fat, which might worsen your diabetes.

Some 2022 research in both young and older men also found that protein supplements, including whey supplements, may be helpful to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes and reduce carbohydrate-related blood sugar spikes, or hyperglycemia, in this population.

It’s a good idea to review the ingredients before adding supplements to your diet, even if the product labels say they are for people with diabetes.

Diabetes treatments 

People with type 1 diabetes have to take insulin regularly, usually with a needle, syringe, pen, or pump.

Common examples include:

• insulin aspart (Novolog), a rapid-acting insulin
• Humulin R, a short-acting insulin
• insulin glargine (Lantus), a long-acting insulin

People with type 2 diabetes might take oral medications to help manage the condition. Most people with type 2 start with metformin (Riomet), which reduces sugar production and helps your body use sugar effectively.

Each group of type 2 diabetes treatments works a bit differently.

Thiazolidinediones help your body’s cells use glucose. Examples include:

• pioglitazone (Actos)

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors help your body release insulin.

Examples include:

• sitagliptin (Januvia)
• alogliptin (Nesina)

Sulfonylureas help your body make insulin. Examples include:

• glimepiride (Amaryl)
• glipizide (Glucotrol)

Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors prevent the kidney from reabsorbing glucose, increasing the amount of sugar released into urine. Examples include:

• dapagliflozin (Farxiga)
• empagliflozin (Jardiance)

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists help the body make more insulin, reduce sugar production in the liver, and slow down food digestion. Examples include:

• semaglutide (Ozempic)
• dulaglutide (Trulicity)

Amylin analogs slow food digestion after a meal. Examples include:

• pramlintide acetate (Symlipen)

You might also take combination medications for diabetes, such as:

• dapagliflozin and metformin (Xigduo XR)
• saxagliptin and metformin (Kombiglyze)

If you need help covering the cost of medications, Optum Perks’ free Discount Card could help you save up to 80% on prescription drugs. Follow the links on drug names for savings on that medication, or search for a specific drug here.

Summary

Gaining weight with diabetes often means keeping a balance between getting enough calories and not spiking your glucose levels. Foods that are high in protein but also provide energy and high fiber carbohydrates can be part of a balanced eating plan.

You can also consider supplements to aid in weight gain, particularly protein supplements that help gain muscle mass while avoiding fat gain.

If you take diabetes medications, consider consulting with your doctor before changing your diet.

Download the free Optum Perks Discount Card to save up to 80% on some prescription medications.