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

There are so many women on mumsnet with weight trauma issues that I wonder why they don’t band together and form some sort of private weight therapy group ? Genuine suggestion. The constant slagging off of healthcare professionals who are only trying to do their jobs is getting tiresome.

Offering to signpost her to the relevant services, she would probably benefit from more specific advice from a dietician/physio/mental health professional.
Asking OP if she agreed to be referred would take less than 30 seconds.

Also, I see you were seeing a Dr for a non-weight related issue.

It's standard.

My smoking is yet to impact my health, so it's standard when I see a health professional and they ask if I smoke, when I say yes, they give the usual spiel about smoking cessation.

Likewise, if you go and see a health professional, they will give you the weight talk.

If I went the GP and because I wanted to and was struggling to give up smoking they would offer much more in depth and specific help.

If you went to the GP to address your weight I'm sure you would be directed and referred in a more appropriate way.

Ultimately, it's up to us though to address our bad habits. Should we chose.

Re smoking, that's pretty much what they do tell you!

Yes, nicotine replacement therapies are available, but if you don't stop putting a cigarette in your mouth and lighting it, you're not going to give up smoking, are you?

As a smoker I think YABU, healthcare professionals often tell me to stop smoking, hand me some leaflets, signpost me to smoking cessation, etc etc.

But ultimately, it's up to me to do the work, it's my job to get my head round giving up smoking (which I love and am quite emotionally attached to).

I'm fully aware of the potential consequences of not giving up smoking. I know.

What should they be advising me to do?

What do you want that you don't already know?

I was at the GP for another reason but I mentioned how much my weight was distressing me. Hitting 50 with 40 years of being overweight behind me, peri menopausal, ND teenagers, challenging job, depressed husband, widowed mother, feeling at breaking point. She told me it took three weeks to form new habits so I would get used to not eating biscuits. After I told her I had disordered eating due to anxiety for 40 years.

Anyway she wasn’t remotely concerned about my health (I am very fit and healthy) and I’m not fat enough for any intervention other than a health trainer teaching me how to make salad. I’ve spent a fortune on therapy.

Now back at SW until my clothes fit again feeling hungry and miserable, until the cycle begins again.

But I am just lacking will power.

Oh, I thought it was just me who thought like that.

Taking responsibility for your own life seems to be an old fashioned concept that no-one understands any more.

He advised OP to lose weight? What more did you expect him to do? I'm overweight, I know how to lose weight, when I make the effort it happens. I don't need a doctor to provide some magic cure. People need to take some sort of responsibilty for their own health when they can do so.

Obviously there are some exceptions, but for most people there is only one way to lose weight - but people seem to think they shouldn't need to put in the work and want an instant quick fix.

Exactly. What did you expect him to do - wave a wand, or give you a magic potion? If it was that easy no-one would be overweight. If you can't be bothered actually talking to them they can't help. Maybe visit a dietician?

It's just ticking a box.. sadly the gov make them do it and think it will help, which is rubbish.

No one believes it takes a health professional to point out the obvious

How hard is it to say: this is my situation - can you signpost me to something that might help?

Off MN many ( most?) people don't know they should avoid UPF or even what UPF is.

Right but that's a low bar isn't it? Being healthier than a slim binge drinker who lives off bacon sandwiches? That isn't someone most people would hold up as any kind of health standard and I would imagine the Dr would also talk to them about diet and their drinking. If you are carrying around an extra 5 stones that will be taking a huge toll on your body whether you can see that right now or not, to say it isn't impacting your health because you can't see it on tests just yet isn't really reality.

I think that your anger is misdirected. He’s doing his job, which is giving you some basic advice about a good diet. How is he to know your 30 year attempts at weight loss history? It sounds like you (and I mean it nicely) need a therapist.

My BMI hovers around 29/30 - yes, higher than I'd like it to be, but the diabetes nurse is way larger than I am.
I mentioned the UCL research that was published last week on the impact of semaglutide - she denied that there was any research on the subject.
She suggested I take statins to reduce my cholesterol - my cholesterol is well within the normal range.
She then asked me to check my prescription on my phone - she was sitting in front of her screen with my medical records open.

Thick in more ways than one.

Weight is complex. There are many reasons why people overeat and are compelled to eat more calorific food than others. However, most things can be overcome. But no one can do it for you.

Have you had an ultrasound of your liver to rule out non alcoholic fatty liver disease?

How do you think things will look in 5, 10, 15 years?

What do you want HCPs to do? Do you think you need therapy to suppprt your weight loss journey?

A good starting place is to give up:
Flour
Refined carbs
Refined sugars
Saturated fat
Red meat

Up fruit, veg, lean protein, avocado, nuts, olive oil, oily fish. All things that will full you up and once the carbs have gone, the spikes will go. Sensibly, you will.probably lose two to three stone a year.

It isn't a diet, it's eating differently. You have to want it and to follow through.

Incidentally my weight isn't impacting my health

Not yet, but I'm guessing he's advising you that it probably will catch up sooner or later.

At a certain point in a nation's overstretched health system your life, you have to take responsibility for yourself. We are at that point. Not the HCPs fault.

This is what I think about the vast majority of threads on MN.

Yes it obviously isn’t going to help, fair enough if they need to bring it up, but trite obvious advice is just disheartening. It reminds me of going to see a male dr with the latest in a neverending succession of UTIs that had nearly landed me in hospital, gone on for years, caused me huge amounts of pain, upset, lost nights of sleep and days of work. And he told me to ‘wipe front to back’ and I really had to just clench my fists and jaw to not scream at him, I have never wanted to hit someone so much!

They don't need in depth knowledge, they just need to signpost instead of trying to do a job they're not trained in.

I would have signposted them to a service that may be able to help.

Good questions for HCPs to start with
what are you currently doing?
what have you tried in the past?
Is there anything that has worked before?

with those three questions they can get a good idea of the knowledge someone has, the level of wanting to change and what barriers there are to change.