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?

My mind is wired to count calories though or to count something in order to lose weight

Try Slimming World.

So much easier than calorie counting ime but there are still rules to follow and syns to count.

I've done 3 full weeks so far and lost 9lbs. And there's no need to ever feel hungry brcause there are so many free foods.

I can't eat breakfast cereal as it spikes my sugar and makes me starving .

You just need to eat less but it doesn't need to be 1200 because if your weight you can eat more like 1800 and still lose weight.

You need to find a personal way to satisfy your appetite with alternatives to the things you eat too much of .

So I haven’t read the whole thread but I weigh more than you and your weight is probably my goal weight. I’ve yo-yoed my whole life but the biggest thing I’ve learned is you won’t be successful in losing the weight initially until you really want to. You sound like you need a lot of redirection so I would definitely recommend weight watchers. It helped me in 2020 when I lost a few stone. It stopped eventually but it got me into the right mindset for weight loss and it showed me what was healthier for my body. After a few months if you need to you can switch to calorie counting with MyFitnessPal. Do not give the gym membership up. Ditch the personal trainer. But if you have 1.5 hrs spare a few times a week. Get yourself on the treadmill, you can do a speedy walk up an incline and increase your incline/speed as you improve. I used to burn 900 calories off doing this for an hour. Then use the remaining half hour for weights.

If you don’t want to do weight watchers then I’d definitely recommend calorie counting. Weigh everything and be honest with yourself and what you’re logging. Even the condiments!!!

I have lost a substantial amount of weight through diet and exercise over the last 2 years and there’s no way I could have joined a gym at the beginning. I found exercise really hard work because of my weight and got out of breath easily.

I started walking a lot and got a Fitbit to count my steps, working from 5,000 up to 10,000 a day. I also ditched alcohol which was empty calories and started making healthy food swaps. So instead of a bowl of cereal I would have porridge and having more protein with each meal to keep me fuller for longer. These smaller changes really helped shift a stone over 6 months. Then I joined a gym and started strength training in group (coached) classes while continuing to walk every day. This has helped me shift another 3 stone over 1.5 years.

Small changes added up to big changes over time but it was a slow process. Consistency is really important.

I’ve spoken to a lot of different people about their weight loss journey and getting fitter, all of them (without exception) made substantial changes to their diet and ate in a calorie deficit. Something like Noom might help you make healthy food swaps. My diet now looks like:

Breakfast: Protein yogurt with small handful of muesli and blueberries or scrambled egg on whole grain toast.

Mid-Morning/post workout: Piece of fruit or protein bar or small handful of nuts/trail mix.

Lunch: Chicken or tuna salad. Sometimes a small baked potato with salad.

Dinner: Shepherds pie with veg or bolognaise with wholewheat pasta etc.

Good luck. I do understand it feels daunting but it really does take time and making small changes and sticking to them consistently.

I know it can seem very overwhelming, there's so much advice out there that sometimes contradicts itself.
I have tried just about every system or diet in the world. But what is working for me is calorie counting. Food logging everything I eat or drink helps me see what I consume / what I have left, as I find it very easy to overeat even on "healthy" foods. I do not cut out any foods or classify them as good or bad.
Typically my diet would be :
Breakfast
Porridge made with water and a dash of milk, raisins, chopped banana and sweetener. Coffee
Lunch: sandwich on thin bread or bagel thin, chicken ( I like the spicy chicken pieces) or turkey, lots of salad ( tomato, lettuce, cucumber,...) and either a small pack of crisps ( like quavers from a multi pack) or protein pudding or low calorie bar.
Dinner I generally batch cook so that I can just grab and zap during the week. So low fat meatballs and pasta, chicken curry, fajita filling that I can just stuff,.... it helps with having to decide when I am tired and the meals are already measured out and calories calculated.

For an alternative to sweet breakfast I like turkey bacon and egg fried in oil spray brow sauce, thin bread toast. Coffee.

Anyone else think some times that if we were all prescribed Ozempic to help shift the weight, session or three with a dietician then once the weight is gone, you go it alone with diet and exercise to maintain. I think that would suit me! 😂

I'm 5'2" and 15st, so also obese.

I've started intermittent fasting and have been doing the 30 Day Flow yoga with Adrienne on YouTube. I obviously can't perform all the moves properly, but it does raise my heartrate and I feel energised enough after a session (they're only half an hour, if that) to do 15 minutes on the treadmill.

Hi op so dh lost four stone in the last few years. He went to the extremes, the healthiest food, only two slices on brown bread, no eating after 8, no sugar.

Even before this though, when he first started losing, his first thing was water. Cut down the fizzy drinks and drink fizzy water/ still and eat an apple or orange or something that gives you a nice kick. He said he truly believes it was cutting out white bread by halfing how much he had, then again when he was able. He said the first few weeks is the hardest and there were times he just went to bed so he wouldn’t eat (as did I, I was trying to lose weight too, lost coming up to a stone, now back on but I didn’t do what he did!)
Small steps. ANYTHING you do is something x

My advice would be to ditch the Diet Coke.

Eat a large breakfast that involves eggs.

Lunch- a really big portion of salad and any protein such a chicken breast.

Dinner- a big plate of any protein with as much veg as you want.

Snacks- a packet of ham, tiny cubes of cheese.

I think if you followed this plan for a month you would lose about 18lbs.

Don’t think about exercising until you’ve got the hang of eating less junk.

it strikes me that your diet is mostly highly processed food and you eat very little veg or fruit, you don’t eat enough protein.

i think calorie counting, meal plans or restricted diets with no sugar at all for example are just very difficult to stick to. Food swops and adding more fruit and veg will make small and sustainable changes that you can keep up for the rest of your life.

like using 100% nut butter and adding a banana to your breakfast.
frying up some spinach, mushrooms and garlic to have with your eggs
and making a home made bolognaise or even just Turkey mince to your bolognaise sauce because you aren’t getting enough protein in. Start there and deal with the chocolates and treats you eat another month. At least if you get a few healthy easy meals in your repertoire you will be in a better place. Think of adding fruit and veg and lean protein rather than taking away the things you love right now.

also if you find an exercise you enjoy it is easier to do. If it is hard to do strenuous exercise then stink with gentle exercise - like aqua aerobics, yoga and walking. It will be easier to make small changes that you can build on and stick to.

OP, you've had lots of advice and some good ideas. There is lots of conflicting info out there though, and fashions change.

What rarely changes is the NHS advice which is simple, clear and has some evidence behind it (which is one reason it doesn't change much).

eg https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/eating-a-balanced-diet/

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercise-guidelines/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/

So that might be a place to start - lots of the advice here about heating more fruit and veg etc will fit well with it.

And for exercise, as per the NHS guidelines, your first goal could be five brisk walks a week of at least 30 mins, and two Pilates or yoga classes (there are lots of recommendations on other threads for online versions of those or your gym may have good ones; and there are some eg beginner Pilates videos here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/ )- or strength training when you feel ready and you find a PT who knows what they are doing and encourages you, but that can wait.

Hi all. It has been over a month since I last posted on this thread.

Unfortunately I just keep putting on weight... I am now hitting the scales at 17 stone, 8 pounds which I am ashamed of. My BMI is 39.

I have decided that I need to follow some sort of structure and that I am going to start slimming world next week. If anyone else is on a similar journey or has had success with SW then please do post on here!

The only way to lose weight is to eat significantly less. The only plan that has worked for me is IF. I eat between 1-6 pm. And try to eat healthily too. But I've then 19 hours to burn it off. I've dropped a stone in a few months.

Break your weight loss goal down into small, manageable targets. So you're 17st8lbs - you could aim to lose the 8lbs by Easter (4 weeks) which would give you a sense of achievement in a short timeframe.

Write down everything you eat. Be honest. I use the WW app for this, I'm sure SW has something similar. Try to record the food and calories before you eat it - sometimes it will make you think twice about eating it.

Walk as much as possible. Try to walk more each week than the week before.

Good luck!

I have lost two stone since October - still another two stone to go but I already feel much better. Weight loss doesn’t happen overnight - but take it a honest look at what you eat every day and cutting out the highest calorie foods and controlling portions makes a big difference.

I realised I was eating two portions of most things rather than one. I still eat all the foods I love - just in smaller portions and I have treats less frequently. I was going to marks and Spencer’s, buying lively food for my dinner, eating two slices of cheese cake for desert and buying chocolate cashew nuts to eat on the car in the way home! No wonder I was obese.

fill the fruit bowl - buy nice crunchy vegetables to snack on. Don’t have lots and lots of high calorie snacks in hand. Walk a bit more. Don’t go on crazy crash diets or ban certain foods - that isn’t sustainable.

Look into the ketogenic diet this will shift the weight off really easily and quickly and instill habits for life.

Hi,

I would start by having an adjustment period where you just get yourself into the routine.

Eg for 2 weeks you aim to log all your foods in my fitness pal (stick to say 2000 calories per day which isn't massively restrictive.you might even find because your eating the right things (high protein foods, high volume foods eg lots of veggies, being more conscious of high fat/carb foods which will be higher calories for much smaller amounts) you don't even hit the 2000. And do 10k steps per day.

Then you can see how you feel and start to reduce the calories.

I think for now just walking would be enough until you feel a bit more comfortable to do slightly more intense exercise.

I think at 17 stone you'd roughly burn around 1900 calories a day just keeping your body running so if you done your steps and stuck to 2000 or less per day you should loose some weight over the 2 weeks.

Slimming world is also good if you like something to keep you accountable and help to know what to eat. I prefer calorie counting because I can have pretty much whatever I want as long as it's within my calories and I don't feel guilty about "sins" etc.

I would get a divided plate.

I will photograph mine tomorrow. The largest partition is for vegetables, the middle one is for protein and the two smaller ones are for guy microbe boosting and carbs.

It well worth spending the 1.25 (Poundland) on it.

Increase your water, and how is your sleep?

Here is my day (today).

Breakfast: savoury egg muffins with kale and broccoli, warmed up left over veg, kimchi and a nut butter smoothie.

Morning Snack: vegetable sticks and Humous (homemade with dried chickpeas for cost)

Lunch: Edame pasta (protein) salad and dressing, roast veg sauce (homemade), side of pickled veg.

(no afternoon snack)

Early dinner: salmon, steamed veg, sweet potato and a kefir milk.

I do have a small snack before bed - it was leftover brown rice with berries and cinnamon and milk tonight (I’ll find the recipe as it sounds rancid but it’s lush!)

Also wanted to say I’ve found personal trainers attached to gyms awful.

The ones I’ve really found great are the individual ones who do sessions outside

I use a cheap version of TRX, a boss ball and a dumbbell - and then use apps or YouTube.

Sorry if I’ve overwhelmed you and for the multiple posts.

@Heybarbie1028 i lost over 7 stone on slimming world, it works 🙌🏻 good luck!

You will get so much advice - mine is keep it simple.

you don’t have to eat kale if you don’t like it. You don’t have to prepare silly elaborate salads if that’s not your thing. I don’t have time to cook - I just look at calories, fat and protein and have a rough idea of my daily goals and limits.

there are lots of healthy, sensible, non trendy foods that will help you lose weight.

exercise is good for your health- but food is what delivers weight loss.

you know this. Cut out the evening treats infront if the tv. Any non diet sodas have to stop. Cut down your portion sizes. You can still eat bread, chocolate and potatoes - just smaller portions. Simple, easy changes will make a big difference. But only eat foods you enjoy or it won’t last.

I will never, ever eat kale😂

Just keep it simple, log all your food into any of the free apps available and be 100% honest, otherwise there’s really no
point.

I lost three stone eating everything I did before but just smaller portions (apart from alcohol, I gave that up
completely as just empty calories). I ate chocolate, sweets, biscuits, bread and potatoes but just less of them. I moved about 2 hours a day (still do - we can all fit something in!)

I didn’t restrict my calories massively as this would have made it unsustainable long term, but slowly over about 9 months the lbs came off - about the same rate they went on!

I’ve kept it off for over 2 years for the first time in my life.