To expect some help from my GP in losing weight?

[Chubbychubchub]

I am a fatty. Properly overweight. About 8 stone over normal weight range (about 19st, I should be 11st at most according to BMI).

Last year I had some health issues. My GP said I'd benefit from losing weight. Just eat less and move more were her words.

I have tried. However I struggle to control what I eat, and have zero willpower.

I did go to a well known slimming group previously. It made me ill, though I did get down to 13st. But it wasn't sustainable.

I asked my GP for help. I was told 'all they could do was refer me to the nurse, but she would tell me the same. That was all they could do and there was no other help available.

I have heard of people locally being referred to a dietician, or sent to slimming group for free etc. Aibu to expect something similar, or certainly some kind of help beyond trite advice?

As someone who has struggled with my weight for years but lost over 2 stone in the last year ( with slippage and re-loss for holiday and Christmas) I would suggest Slimming World - to begin with. Almost everyone who does this who is more than a little over weight has good losses for quite a while. The portions are really very generous and although I found that the group element grated after a while it does work. I lost most of my weight on the Blood Sugar Diet but I think this is far easier in the summer when the weather is nice and eating vegetables and salads is more attractive. As a vegetarian who is also prone to gall stone attacks if I eat too much fat I can say it is doable. I tend to eat quite a lot of pulses and roasted veg with tofu or quorn.
I tend to exercise for the feel good effect and the fact that it does get through to my feeble brain somehow that the exertion of the exercise is best not spoiled by a pig out later in the day - it sort of keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Mintychoc would your surgery support a patient led weight loss support group though? (By support I mean suggesting or providing premises on say a fortnightly or monthly basis, pointing patients towards the right resources, maybe asking a practice nurse to give a talk?) I think it is well documented that people who have group support do better overall?

Bluntness you tell me where I've said my diet is fine? Where exactly? In which post?

You can't because I haven't said it. Nor did I belatedly admit I eat chocolate. Will you and other smug posters stop having a go and making stuff up as though I've said it when you know full well I haven't?

My diet isn't massively high fat because I can't eat fat. But do I eat too much and too many calories? Of course I fucking do. Stop with your nasty bullshit. I had enough of my abusive ex gaslighting me and making out I'd said stuff I haven't. I've said how much I ate when I was a normal weight and what I eat now. I know I eat too much. I try to eat less, or differently, and fail. I have admitted that.

Op. I will be blunt. At 19 stone you are not fit. You do not present as fit. Your gp does not think you're fit. You struggle to walk long distances. You can no longer run. I'm sorry but you will present as morbidly obese and very unfit. I'm not being harsh but you're kidding yourself to think you present as generally fit.

Your gp is being dismissive probably for the same reason everyone on here is giving up. It's not because they think you're fit.its because of your negative attitude.

Op, cross posted, I've also been overweight, I'm not being smug. You've stated your diet and how low fat it is repeatedly on here. Several posters have called you out on it.

Chubby - At least you are honest in listing out the food you are eating. I have never been overweight and realistically I LOVE bread. Currently 8st 12 but now in my 50's I truly believe that some people DO put on weight more easily than others but that isn't the whole story.

I understand when we are struggling to lose weight we underestimate by about 30% what we are actually eating. We have take aways 2-3 times a week. We very rarely have them because of the expense and the ability to over order

I am not sure I believe you were running 10-15 miles a week. At your weight it must have been almost impossible. Why did you stop btw.

My DSIS is prone to being overweight. She tucks into biscuits and beers and then claims she hardly eats at all. She and her partner have take ways 3-4 times a week.

Well done for coming back on some of the PP but realistically only YOU can change your body. Its not owned to you to provide something for free on the NHS.

I was told off on another thread for judging a fat family (sorry but they were!) on a train. They passed around jaffa cakes crisps and sweets washed down by Diet Coke. This was all before 1100. Some people claimed maybe that was all they ate all day but honestly - I felt sorry for the children. The girl in particular who looked about 11 will have all sorts of issues going forward and all because her parents couldn't be arsed to teach her about food.

I have found that not having biscuits, sweets and nice bread around really helps about 11.00 and then about 1600 when hunger starts again.

If it was me and I weighed nearly 20 stone I would literally list out every single day how much I was eating for 1 week. Don't miss ANYTHING out. The list will be for your eyes only. Then at the end of the week have a good hard look at you ate. I strongly suspect you will see exactly what is going wrong.

I have an acquaintance who was morbidly obese when I first knew her. She has lost an amazing amount and kept it off by weight training. You can find her before/after pictures and page on Facebook.

thisgrannycan

Ignore the dreadful haircut on some of the pics. She had her head shaved for charity!

She is very inspirational and I look at her page when I'm feeling sofa bound and eating too much rubbish food.

You need a referral to the IAPT mental health service , and I'm sure your GP will be able to do this.

My Doctor has done this for me, and has also put me forward for an ' exercise prescription' which is basically a gym membership and a tailored exercise programme.

I think mental health is at the core of every obese person. I refuse to believe that there is anything but a small percentage of obese people that don't know about healthy foods and exercise.

Lack of will power isn't really a thing..but putting the pleasure of eating shit above your health is a serious issue and can only be resolved by getting the same boost from elsewhere .

To paraphrase a quote " nothing tastes as good as healthy feels and looks " . That's a mental state all us fatties would like to get to.

OP you could google IAPT in your local area but you may find a long waiting list for one to one Therapy and a lot of services are offering groups as a first line intervention and it’s not for everyone. Have you approached your local branch of MIND? Also if you have a university nearby they might have trainee counsellors or therapists you could access low cost. Online there are cbt based programmes like Mood Gym. A private CBT therapist would cost about £50-100 a session depending on your location but most are prepared to have a conversation about fees and are often flexible. A private counsellor might be a little cheaper per hour (but whoever you choose make sure they’re accredited). There is a chap called Dr Christopher Fairburn who has written about emotional eating and binge eating and wrote a book called www.guilford.com/books/Overcoming-Binge-Eating/Christopher-Fairburn/9781572305618/reviews. I’m not suggesting BE is your problem but the book looks at thoughts and behaviours and is designed as a self help book.

@ChubbyChubChub look at what StuntNun has said. May have been lost amongst the haranguing

Talkin, if I ate nothing my shopping bill would still be about £60. If I eat more fruit and veg, more brown rice or whatever that will match the cost of whatever chocolate or other snacks I buy now. So where am I going to find £100s for therapy exactly? Where is that saving in my shopping budget?!

And Minty where did I say I was indignant? I hoped for help. I take very little from the NHS. Before the last 3-4 years I'd not seen a Dr in a decade. Indeed from my early teens to 30s I probably went to the GP less than 5 times in total. I have read lots of people saying their GP or nurse helped them lose weight, access other services etc. My GP told me to lose weight. I asked for help. It's that simple. I know now that nhs help isn't available and I will need to self fund some kind of counselling.

Dinner I make pasta, shepherds pie, lasagne, sausage casserole, curry etc. I have a large portion of that. Maybe bread too, either before that or with dinner.

You could keep some of the usual dinner portion and have it for lunch the following day? That will help with portion control.

steamcloud the OP has said she doesn't want to go to a group.

A classic example is coming home from work, tired and hungry, and being able to reach for the one portion home made veg soup in the freezer, as opposed to reaching for the crisp packet. I agree that you will have needed to have had the willpower to batch cook at the we in the first place, but the decision to do that is a considered one ifysim, one not made on the spur of the moment when one is hangry after work, if that makes sense.

But you still have to have the willpower to reheat and eat the healthier options that you batch-cooked rather than thinking screw it I'm having a takeaway. You still need to be able to make the right choices, which can be really really difficult. There were times that dinner for me would be a 6 pack of crisps, regardless of the fridge being full of salad and veg, because I was 'stressed' or felt I deserved to treat myself because reasons.

You can self refer to IAPT OP, your GP doesn’t have to ok it

Chubby
YABU
You do not want help -you just want to winge.

You eat too much.
If you eat less you will save money.
How hard is that to understand?

Your OP suggested indignation, and disappointment, at the lack of support offered.

If the NHS resources were limitless, what would you actually want?

Your practice may not agree to spend their budget this way.

That said I was told by the head practice nurse that I could be offered ww or sl vouchers for 6 weeks not much moreand I would have to prove I could lose at least a stone first and I could also see a trainer once a week for an hour. I wasn’t offered dietician but as a child I saw them frequently. I think dietitians are used for those with various food allergies or medical things like chromes disease etc nowadays.

I am sympathetic but you need to direct your obvious anger in to getting your steps up and food intake lowered. You know what you have to do as you’ve done it before.

Pills don’t work or we’d all be on them. Bands and sleeves are expensive.

Get a plan, stick to the plan and head over to the weighloss boards for some lovely advice from people in the same situation. Good luck

I agree Blunt no one that weights 19 stone is fit. You are at high risk of a heart attack and many health conditions.

Do not calorie count, you will be hungry if you cut back too quickly, plus it will drive you crazy (made me think about food all the time, same as SW).

Just cook from scratch so you know what you are eating, most diets are no good, they lack in things you need or you starve yourself only to go back to your normal diet once you have lost weight, you then pile the weight back on and fast. You need a life style change. Shop online for food so your not tempted by offers (most are bad foods), write a meal plan before you shop then you only have the food you need in the house so you can’t binge. Eat loads of veg and fruit, stick to lean meats and fish (I eat a lot of fish and chicken, rarely red meat), cut out bread and eat poridge for breakfast. Do not keep chocolate, crisps or cake in the house. Stick to this all week and then treat yourself to a take away at the weekend (obviously don’t go OTT and order loads). Drink loads of water. Walk more and find distractions when you are hungry rather than snacking.

I agree that your diet doesn't sound good for someone wanting to lose a lot of weight, and the ONLY way to lose weight and keep it off is to completely change your way of eating. You have to want to lose weight more than you want to eat. You have to consume less calories than you expend.

Not saying it's easy when you have such an emotional attachment to food, but that is where you need to start.

You also need to stop flailing around looking for help, support, blame etc. You're the one who buys the food; prepares the food; eats the food. There is enough information out there about nutrition, calorie content, fat content, carb content to stock a library and it's all available online.

First step is to get your head straight and stop with the whole "I have no will power" nonsense. What matters more to you - eating or sorting your weight out?

Try SW again - maybe a different consultant? Lots has changed
Not dissimilar to What you already have:

• Breakfast - 3 slices of kingsmill wholemeal crustless with dairylea light (Healthy b and half of healthy A)

• Lunch - salad from home with cold potatoes too to fill you up (free and speed)

• Tea - pasta with tomato based sauce and salad (free and speed)

• snack - supper - wispa for 9 Syns

• drinks: tea with the rest of your milk allowance. Green tea. Water.

I'm 2.5 stone down since September.

Dinner I make pasta, shepherds pie, lasagne, sausage casserole

Hardly foods to help you lose weight.

You say you are expecting some help from the NHS which is already terribly overstretched, yet having just rft, you have been offered loads of great tips and advice from a plethora of different people and you’ve poo poo’d every word of encouragement and help that the 11 pages have offered.
I feel you don’t want to actually do anything to change your lifestyle, you’d just appreciate a magic wand to make you thin with zero effort on your behalf. You’re being rude to people, dismissing every lifestyle change as impossible in your situation and blaming Everyman and his dog for your lack of willpower and tendency to gorge on biscuits.
What help do you really want?

Hi OP. I'm the poster who previously mentioned a specific diet for helping to break down gallstones. When my Mum had them, the GP advice was pitiful. GP's do not give dietary advice for specific conditions, only drugs/operations. I did all the research myself on the internet, which costs only your time and effort.

When my Mum came round from her gallstones removal operation she was thirsty, so asked for a glass of milk (like you, she doesn't like water). THE NURSE GAVE IT TO HER. That is how little regard the medical profession has for 'food as medicine'.

You have also mentioned wanting therapy several times, but that you cannot afford it. As I said in my first post, please look up CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) techniques. I really think you would benefit hugely from applying these to change your mindset.

Start with your mindset/attitude and everything else will fall into place