I weigh 17 stone and I am looking for some advice

[Heybarbie1028]

As the title says… I weigh 17 stone, 5”7. I am obese and I know it’s time to change.

I joined the gym last week and I’ve been considering getting a personal trainer for a while. Well I had a taster session today and I honestly think I am too unfit for any personal training right now. The trainer also wasn’t that encouraging either even though I was visibly struggling. They just sort of just told me what to do and watched me.

I feel like I can’t walk now and I don’t know if it’s best I shed a few stone first by going to the gym and eating well before paying more money to tone up.

What are your thoughts? Anyone been in the same position?

I’ve been in this position OP and lost 25kg. Start small, I cannot stress this enough.

For now just go for some walks and focus on cleaning up your food. At first, don’t even worry about your walks being brisk. Maybe for the first week you just do 10 minutes, and work your way up as you start to enjoy your walks.

What you start with food wise will depend on what you feel is going to be easiest. So for example, maybe you just want to start by changing one meal or transition away from calorific drinks. For me, I started by reducing carbs in the evening, and switching to calorie free drinks. Make sure you are drinking enough and getting enough sleep. If I’m not getting at least seven hours of sleep per day, I don’t lose weight.

Don’t be afraid of PT in the future, the experience is wildly different, depending on who you have but it might not be what you need right now. Now some people don’t like them, but I found it helpful to have a dietician because if I don’t have somebody to be accountable to I struggle. It’s nice to have someone encouraging in your corner. Also, don’t be afraid to see your GP, an endocrinologist or bariatric specialist if that’s what you want. Once you get to a certain size, there might be underlying problems which impact weight loss. There are lots of methods to lose weight don’t be afraid to experiment with different ways of eating and don’t be afraid to explore any and all available help.

Loosing weight is mostly diet.

However there’s good evidence that building an exercise habit really helps you keep weight off, because it means you’ve made a lifestyle change.

If you aren’t bothered about the gym, leave it for now and just build your walking up.

If you think you’d enjoy it though weighttraining can be really good and your weight is no barrier. Trainers in the average gym are pretty useless though, unless you are young and fit and just want to be pushed a bit.

If you have a bit of money to spend Google for a PT near you who works with a physio clinic or who seems to specialise in older less fit people. Or if you don’t, look for a weights class.

I’m the world’s worst for rubbishing motivational speakers and things like that but I did actually join a session last week about health and the speaker was really good. She said to focus on one tiny habit to start with. That might be adding a portion of veg to your dinner or drinking a glass of water rather than a fizzy drink. You then need to do that tiny habit consistently before adding in anything else.

My possibly not so tiny new habit is no UPF. So far in two weeks I’ve lost nearly half a stone. When I’m consistently doing that then I’ll add in some exercise.

It might be your PT and not anything to do with your fitness. I was 16 stone after my first child who is now 9 and down to 12 now, at one point I managed to get down to 11 and a half and felt so much better, but couldn't maintain that and it crept back up, though trying to get back down there! So it's been a long slog but the pp here saying change a few things at a time are correct. It's a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Slow and steady. Keep walking, but the main thing is food. Then try again with a different PT. The bloke PTs at my gym are terrible, for example, I've seen them with beginner women and they just show them how the machines work and then stare or mess on their phones. With the beginner men they barely talk and look stand-offish. With the buffer, more muscled weightlifter type girls and guys they act all laddish like 'bros'. It's cringe to see! There's also 1 female PT and I've only seen her working with women and she seems to listen, take her time and stay engaged. Your gym probably has a few different PTs, so I'd say keep going just to walk on the treadmill and keep looking out if there's a PT there who seems to be more engaged with their clients, then use them when you are ready to tone. But don't give up, you've taken a really great step and keep focussed on what's motivating you.

Well done in taking the first step towards being healthier. What is you daily food intake looking like @Heybarbie1028? Do you have a meal plan or need ideas for healthy, filling snacks?

3 weeks ago I was 16st 1lb, today I'm 15st 6lb. I'm sticking to 1700 or less calories a day with reduced carbs and increased protein/fat, 2lts water and 2 aqua aerobics sessions a week. The aqua aerobics is mainly to help with flexibility, mobility and to help with building lean muscle which helps boost metabolism. Diet and water are the key factors for weight loss.

Do a TdEE calculator which will tell you how many calories to eat to maintain your weight, then cut 500 from that number to get your target daily calorie allowance. I use MyFitnessPal free version to track all my food and drink.

I was in your position and agree with PP that the gym is going to be tricky at the moment .

Contrary to popular belief - exercise doesn't really assist in weight loss. The sheer amount of exercise required for a lb of weight loss is just not easily sustainable and it's why people give up the gym when their hard work doesn't move fast enough. If at all .

The trick with weight loss is to eat fewer calorie dense foods and fill yourself up on lower calorie protein dense foods until you get to about 14 ish stone . Then start some resistance/weight work.. Building muscle will burn fat faster.

Don't get me wrong . Exercise is fabulous for your health. It just isn't the silver bullet when very overweight as you need something that keeps you motivated with ongoing results.

As I said , I was where you are and did Zoe to find the foods that suited me. Then when I got to 14.5 I went to the gym and also had a personal trainer for 5 months to get me on the right track. Now I'm at 13.2 and the gym is much easier and actually enjoyable.. good luck !

Sounds like a rubbish trainer - please keep trying and find a decent one

Exercise because you should, and because it's good for you, but don't use exercise as an excuse to consume more calories.

Look upon it as a completely different thing to the weight loss. (for which I recommend surgery anyway as the weight will come off very quick after surgery and make exercise easier and more enjoyable anyway - they kind of compliment each other)

I would just build up to 10’000 steps a day, try to get 100g protein in a day and sounds odd but does help, chew your food properly, I’m doing paul mckennas app and chewing my food 20 times really does help it just slows eating right down and gives you a chance to notice when you are no longer hungry.

Yeah its going to be diet that shifts the weight. Exercise will make you feel better mind.

I think the simplest way is to get over not eating. Three meals no snacks. Food as part of a routine not a treat. Find something you like eating and just eat that for one meal. And before anyone says eating disorder, the Op is 17 stone.

I found endless thinking about food groups and calories meant I just obsessed about my next meal. My best diet was really about not eating. I do like veg and not particularly sweet toothed so what I did eat was healthy.

I'd second the advice about gentle exercise. It needs to be something you enjoy if you're going to stick at it. That might be walking, or swimming, or dancing around the kitchen. Find a fun way to move more. Get friends involved to motivate you when you can't be arsed.

Food is so important but please don't go on a fad diet. Fasting and keto and all that stuff is naff. Use MyFitnessPal to track what you're eating, and I mean everything you're eating. Aim for high protein, low fat foods. Educate yourself about food. Fill up on salads and vegetables. Try to cut down on processed foods.

Finally, throw your bathroom scales away. If you are building muscle whilst losing fat, your weight might look the same but your shape will change. You'll see it in the mirror and how your clothes feel.

If you'd like some suggestion meal plans and recipes, feel free to drop me a DM. I've got a few good downloads from different sources which I'm happy to share.

I weighed 17 stone in the summer and I’m 11.5 now. You’ve got this 👍🏻

Weightloss is 80pc diet, do that first. I lost 5 stone last year, still the same to go I haven't started exercising yet.

Hey, I've been in a similar situation.

I gave up with the gym and bought a relatively cheap folding treadmill. 10k steps a day was way too much to start with, so I aimed for 5k and then increased it as it became easier. Time seems to speed up with headphones in/TV on during.

Lots of water too. I enjoyed my meals 3x a day and drank a large glass of water if I got hungry in between. Found sugar free sweet to suck on during films instead of my usual chocolate (but be careful as this once resulted in me sitting on the toilet for the night).
If you don't like water much then you could add water drops (they do bulk buys in various flavours on amazon) to it or invest in an air up bottle.

You can also buy portion plates on amazon to help you eat more of the good stuff and less of the not so good stuff. I haven't tried them myself but they're in my basket so I'm halfway there! 😅

It's great that you want to make changes and really sorry that your first gym session wasn't helpful.

Would agree with looking at Weight Watchers or Slimming World?

Could also try the Couch to 5k app

Low carb first

Take short daily walks

I came here to tell you I have been you! I am 5ft 7 and weighed 17st 11. I also struggled with exercise at that size but found swimming much easier on joints. My goal was to get to a size 14 but when I reached that I found the gym was so much easier. Overall, I dropped to a size 8-10. My top tips are calorie counting (using my fitness pal app), drink plenty of water and exercise at least 3x per week- more if you can. Plus make sure you have one treat meal a week- I had a Big Mac meal every Sunday! I wish you every success on your journey to a happy and healthy life x

Hi I was in your shoes 4 years ago 1 stone heavier actually. Now at 12 stone. I started with adjusting what I was eating by counting calories which helped me understand the amount I was actually eating! Definitely start eating more protein and whole foods it does really fill you up. I never used a personal trainer just did research and watched loads of YouTube videos to help understand what exercises were best.
slow and steady you’ve got this 🤛

Any others have said it, but walking will be your best way to exercise and stick to it. I find fresh air is great for my mood. But you have to be prepared to go out in any weather - don't be out off by rain/cold/snow. Just go. If you want a bit of structure I've used the walking workouts on the WithU app. They guide you through, listen on headphones as you walk. Free membership has over 30 walking workouts to choose from.

What do you eat and drink over the course of a normal day? Firstly I’d look at this. Drink water, eat cleanly, no processed food.

Secondly, do whatever is most straightforward and enjoyable to fit more movement into your day. You don’t need a gym membership and personal trainer. Can you walk? Start short and slow and build up gradually to longer, faster walks. Can you swim? Can you use the stairs instead of the lift? Can you walk on the spot while watching tv? Small adaptations to your day to day life is what I’d recommend to begin with.

1600 calories are not enough for a 17 stone person. All that's going to do is make them feel starving after a few days and they'll binge eat a tonne of calories and ruin any deficit.

Sort your diet first - exercise will be much easier and effective once you’ve lost some weight. Slimming World worked for me and many others I know. I’ve been at my target weight for nearly a year now and there are several people in my group who have lost more than 6 stone. Good luck!

That's interesting, I'm 17st1 and have just started dieting and 1600 calories is what My Fitness Pal has recommended?

Learner to use a kettle bell (6kg to start, then 8, maybe 10). Do the regular kettle bell exercises for 10 mins at your own pace, then as you get fitter, increase the intensity.

when you’ve done that, get on the treadmill and walk at a 4-6% gradient at 3.5mph for 20 mins.

Eat high protein lean whole foods along with lots of green veg. A little carb won’t hurt. Circa 2000cals a day.

zero alcohol. No added sugar or silly sweeteners.

Dont kid yourself.

It’ll drop off you.