To think I'm overweight (refused access to an NHS funded diet program + pic included)

[user1485442361]

I used to be a svelte size 10. Put on weight after having my Son. My main issue is my stomach. It sticks out. I think this is because I have a small waist so the fat has a smaller area to cover (if that makes sense). In the morning it can look pretty flat but by the evening after I've eaten a meal it does stick out in tight clothes.

Anyway, I don't know what I weigh. But I have always considered myself considerably overweight. At least two stone overweight. I am 5ft7 and should be no more than 11 stone and around 10stone to me a very healthy weight. I suspect I'm about 13 stone. People do often tell me I am fine the way I am but my parents tell me I need to lose two stone.

Anyway, signed up for an NHS funded diet programme. I arrive and they tell me my BMI is not high enough to qualify. You have to be at least two stone overweight. But I am sure I am I said. They didn't even weigh me and said I was too slim to join.

I've just signed up to slimming world but I'm really annoyed. I know I should be flattered but I really wanted to go on the course and do genuinely think I'm overweight by around two stone and should have been allowed participate. I have struggled to lose the baby weight but I know I have to make an effort. AIBU?

Sorry for the poor quality of pics. I'm not in my own home and took them just now. They're not designed to be in any way flattering. I want genuine opinions and I'm ready for them!

MESSAGE FROM MNHQ - IMAGES REMOVED AFTER PRIVACY CONCERNS

Having said that, I'm not sure that NHS funds should be spent on weight loss programmes for slightly podgy people.

What would be more effective would be for the food that is available to us to be healthier and not designed to make us fatter, ie:

Smaller portion sizes in restaurants, takeaways and cafes.
Ready made food to contain less sugar and weird processed ingredients
Free water fountains or jugs of water provided in restaurants to be available 'everywhere' - less pushing of sweetened soft drinks whether sugared or artificial
No sugar in any ready made savoury food.

I could go on, but it can be quite hard to eat healthily when food providers seem hell bent on pushing food designed to make people fat.

you know why this kind of thread pisses me off?

When people who AREN'T overweight claim they are, they take some of the conversation about what its like to be overweight and what we have to deal with.

You claim something for yourself to gain attention and sympathy.

When someone who is NOT overweight claims themselves to be 'fat' you further push those of us who actually ARE overweight further into the realms of disgusting/abnormal.

You have NO idea what its like to be as big as people like STDG and I are, you haven't got a fucking clue how it affects us, our self esteem and the way we live our lives.

You don't get to stick yourself in our category and belittle who and what we are and how we have to live just because you've got a bit of baby fat left over.

You don't get to take our help, our funding and our support because you can't be arsed to get your self in hand.

Sorry is it weight Top Trumps now? The op is clearly (slightly) overweight. I'm sure there are more overweight people than the posters on here. Maybe people getting craned out of their bedrooms in America don't think you have any right to talk about being overweight?
Even being slightly overweight brings health risks and if the op meets the weight/bmi criteria for this intervention then she is entitled to help.
The issue is that she walked into the place asking for help with no idea what she weighed.

she doesn't meet the criteria.

Has she weighed herself because when I last looked she was guessing her weight to the nearest couple of stone!

She did weigh herself, and she weighed significantly less than she imagined.

The issue is that she walked into the place asking for help with no idea what she weighed.

Yes in part, and also that she thought that the NHS has a magic wand that makes fat disappear and also that she could have made all sorts of efforts that are free and some that she could afford to pay without automatically assuming that she could get "treatment" for "free" on the NHS.

Barbara* I too am 5 7 and at 13 st fit into a H&M 14 and was a 12 in other places. Am now 12 st and am a size smaller. BMI is still overweight. I'm still fat. I just have a forties style shape with a small waist because I'm so active.

yes she has, she weighed in at 11.4st.

YAB Stunningly U in case no one said.

I still don't agree with the principle that people who are slightly overweight should just sort it out themselves and only very overweight people should receive help though. People who are slightly overweight still may have real psychological issues with food and they are still at an increased risk of a lot of diseases.

People who are slightly overweight still may have real psychological issues with food and they are still at an increased risk of a lot of diseases.

Yes they may, unfortunately the NHS has a finite amount of resource and it must be focussed on the most severe cases and on those for whom intervention will save costs further down the line.

People need to start taking responsibility for the things they can do themselves. Slimming classes can provide moral and psychological support as well as a being a weigh in centre. OP can afford to pay for that herself.

We as a nation are becoming over reliant on finding someone else to make our decisions for us and controlling our lives. It is possible to both think and do things for yourself and then maybe the NHS and other services will be able to continue to support those in real need.

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that.

CherrySkull at my heaviest I was medically obese. You have made assumptions you know nothing about.

I have worked very very hard to get down to what I thought was around 13 stone. Turns out I have lost almost 6 stone but that has taken me almost 4 years so it's very slow progress.

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that.

I myself am very heavy and dieting has never worked for me. I think SW has helped some people but I think people who overeat because they are bored is a MH issue not a diet one

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that.

I myself am very heavy and dieting has never worked for me. I think SW has helped some people but I think people who overeat because they are bored is a MH issue not a diet one

Yes for me I eat when bored. I have tried very hard to cut down and have lost a lot of weight to be at the weight I am now. I thought I was heavier than I am but do try and avoid weighing myself as it makes me disheartened normally.

I'm lonely so eat for comfort but I feel it's almost under control now. It's hard to fill the day without company so my mind thinks of food a lot and cooking it sometimes just for something to do!!!

I've found having lots of drinks around helps as I can have a drink of tea or sugar free fizzy drink to keep my hands busy.

Also, watching TV makes me want to snack but being at my computer doesn't. So I stay busy on the internet.

When I'm working I'm so much happier but I'm unemployed at thew moment after recently graduating in my chosen profession. So life's pretty boring right now. I do busy myself with my job search though and have been on quite a few job interviews.

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that.

I myself am very heavy and dieting has never worked for me. I think SW has helped some people but I think people who overeat because they are bored is a MH issue not a diet one

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that.

I myself am very heavy and dieting has never worked for me. I think SW has helped some people but I think people who overeat because they are bored is a MH issue not a diet one

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that.

I myself am very heavy and dieting has never worked for me. I think SW has helped some people but I think people who overeat because they are bored is a MH issue not a diet one

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that

bumsexatthebingo yes! I agree. Anyone can have a psychological issue with food at any weight. The OP mentioned eating when bored. That is called Emotional Overeating. It is like a binge eating disorder or food addiction type thing, only it does not always have to be as extreme as that or need to meet a criteria for a full blown ED. I know someone who finds boredom a major trigger for eating grazes or binges and she ende dup joining a 12 Step Group called Overeaters Anonymous. She also accessed a charity called Beat and went to support meetings in her area and joined an online forum of theirs for people with emotional overeating. She has found it very helpful. In her case she was clinically obese (22 stone) and had tried diets etc and was treated for PCOS with no success. She says OA meetings are for people of all sizes, there are no membership fees, and it is not NHS funded, so if you went OP, you wouldn't be taking away anyone's resources. My friend says she has seen skinny people at the meetings too. The only requireme nt you need is to be someone who has a difficult relationship with food and Emotional Overeating is a form of that

At "just" a stone overweight, I was getting out of breath walking uphill and my already knackered flat feet were crackling like popcorn all the time and really grumbling. Being slightly overweight is definitely not without problems for some of us.

But, of course, as hammered home in this thread, the breathlessness on a 1km uphill walk I'd been doing for 10 years was the warning I needed to tell me I needed to take charge and get rid of the excess weight. I do want to lose about half a stone more, when I feel ready, but it is mostly aesthetics, now. DH has put on a fair bit of the weight he lost by slipping back into his grazing habits, so we're going to both get back on mfp when it's a bit less blooming cold.

My friend went from a size 24 to a size 8 and she looks amazing! She said she realised one day that it was only her who was putting food in her mouth and only her to blame and only her that could do something about it.

She didn't join a gym or even exercise. The only exercise she did was to walk 10 mins to walk each day. But she cut down her calories to 1500 a day and within two years she looked incredible.

She said it was the moment she realise she needed to stop eating and stop making excuses. So she stopped eating junk that exact second. Not waiting for after christmas, or her birthday or after her holiday. She just stopped and she has kept it off.

It is possible to stop. But the willpower has to be huge!