To think that most health care professionals are hopeless at advising on weight

Why do we have specialists if GPs know it all?

And that wasn't the solution for me as advised by my dietician.

If an overweight person refuses to eat less, how are they going to lose weight?

If an alcoholic refuses to stop drinking alcohol, how are they going to get sober?

No-one's saying it's simple but it has to be done and if the person refuses, they'll always remain the same.

If you eat less calories than you consume, consistently, you will lose weight. Psychological, hormonal and other factors may make this harder to stick to, but if you consume less than you use, the weight will come off. You don’t see overweight people in starving populations, being protected by their hormones, or by being perimenopausal etc.

I read that one of the difficulties was accurately recording what is consumed and what is used (devices are inaccurate and the body can burn differing amounts of cals depending on certain situations). Sorry, I don’t have time to look for citations now.

Having lost a lot of weight via intermittent fasting, and endless walking, I believe it to be true that weight loss is, for most people, theoretically ‘simple’. It’s just boring, sometimes miserable, and bloody hard to stick to (which is why I didn’t successfully lose weight for a long time, as I didn’t stay at it consistently).

I dont know what some people are expecting TBH...obesity is such a complicated issue with so many causes and most HCPs get minimal training in diet and nutrition.
Of course they are going to give you a very basic spiel. Maybe most people will already know everything but it could help somebody who isnt so sure about what to do.
At least it never bothered me when I sat in the Drs at 17st listening to a nurse explain to me how I was prediabetic and how to eat healthy. I also didnt feel the need to point out that as a gastroenterology nurse with 25 yrs experience I kinda knew what I should be doing!!LOL😆

I can still only laugh at the people here saying to eat less is decent advice. Say this to an alcoholic or drug addict. 'well, don't drink then and you'll no longer be an alcoholic'. It doesn't work like that.

@missmollygreen - but what are the basics of weight loss? On this thread alone there have been so many conflicting theories. Many people insist that carbs are the devil, yet the NHS website says, "Starchy food should make up just over a third of the food we eat." Equally, I have always thought that dried fruit and fruit juice were full of sugar, and to be avoided, yet the NHS website says, "Aim to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg each day. Choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced."

There is so much conflicting information out there, and it's difficult for ordinary people, who don't have a nutrition degree, to know what is best for your health, and what works for weight loss. Eat less and exercise more is another (although I admit that works for me!) - I have a friend undergoing chemo - she is putting on weight every week, yet is eating less and less. If only there were clear "basics".

But as the OP says, they know how to lose weight. Knowledge/ignorance is not the issue.
The issue is far bigger than can ever be handled but a HCP in a 5 minute chat. all they can do is lay out the basics of weight loss.

I am Asian. I have a BMI of around 24 in my fifties. I have diabetes in the family, as do most Asians. I was advised by my GP to get my BMI below 23 if possible. This is very, very hard, especially as my natural Asian diet has a lot of carbs though zero UPF. The GP did direct me towards diabetes information, but I am doing it mostly on my own.

I am not offended, patronised or humiliated. I am grateful the GP cautioned me. It's unfair that I have to stay below 23, but it is what it is and nobody's fault or problem. It's my own problem to solve.

I feel strongly about this. I've battled with an eating disorder since the age of 13 ( now mid sixties). I recently had a medical appointment during which I was advised to lose weight in order to help with a health condition that I have. Like I didn't know and haven't been trying! My BMI is 27.1 and I genuinely don't think BMI works for me. Felt completely humiliated and because my ED is linked to emotional issues, I've now put weight on 😳
I really don't know what the answer is, but I do feel that training for medical professionals around weight issues could be better. Even some acknowledgement of the issues involved would help.

'Advising an overweight person to eat healthily and take more exercise will never make anything worse.'

Exactly but people really do not like to hear it. It's the meds, it's stress, it's addiction, it's this and that. Yes many things cause hunger therefore folk overeat but the solutions are always the same. Eat less.

Who knew GPs now aren't qualified to give health advice! We had someone upthread with an obese 12yr old. If someone doesn't speak plainly, clearly (obviously kindly) then the obesity problem will continue to be enabled by the 'it's not me it's a condition' excuses. I've every sympathy for overweight people it isn't easy to eat less but it must be done for long term health risks.

Of course it will!

I was given that advice (well to eat healthily and actually exercise less as I was already exercising more than the recommended amount.) and it just made me feel hopeless. Because I was asking for help and noone could help me. It affected my mental health. It made things much worse.

Yes, absolutely for many people they need psychological help. For me I needed a dietician because my weight gain was caused by medication. My point is when people who aren't trained in this (i.e GPs) start trying to give out advice they very often make it worse. And that's the last thing we need.

Advising an overweight person to eat healthily and take more exercise will never make anything worse.

But do you not understand that when someone is not trained to give the right advice their 'advice' will very often make the problem worse.

She hasn’t twisted anything 🤦‍♀️

Thank fuck for that.

Well, you are twisting what was said now to suit your narrative. I'm not going to engage with you further.

@Riversideandrelax there needs to be an understanding why each individual is obese. A minority need to be shown how to eat correctly, but many already know this but don't manage because food is a coping mechanism. The healthcare system does not address this however.

People have many unhealthy coping mechanisms and unfortunately eating too much is one of the most visible ones and people are so quick to judge.

I sincerely hope future generations receive better help. I believe help would be mostly psychological.

Do I feel better about myself for pointing out that a doctor does have business advising overweight patients to lose weight, without being specialised in weight management or eating disorders?

I don't feel one way or the other, just as I'm sure most people replying on this chat forum don't 🤷‍♂️

What exactly is your experience with disordered eating and the psychological aspects of it? Or did you just want to come and disagree and berate others' experience by saying 'are you seriously suggesting that we need to see a different doctor for absolutely everyting'? Your statement does not show you are open to ideas. You just wanted to make a point how ridiculous this all is.

Do you feel better about yourself now?

I have found that it was only the dietician that had the knowledge to help me lose weight. Most GPs have no real training in weight loss so can just make the situation worse.

It's just unhelpful if you are already doing that as many overweight people are.

That's why they should refer to a professional (dietician) who is able to give individual advice. (Obviously that would mean we would need more dieticians.) Otherwise it's meaningless.

I had this with the 'health coach.' I told her I went to the gym 3 or 4 times a week - did Zumba, yoga, weights, cardio, swimming and badminton. I also told her I walked 40 minutes a day on the school run. She suggested I try a 30 minute walk everyday.

Her advice amounted to 'do less exercise and eat more' 😂

My dietician was great about exercise too. Really listened and looked for tweaks based on my actual circumstances. Wish I'd been referred to him straight away.