Just eat less and move more?

[fattygettingthin]

I'm very overweight. Have about 9 stone to lose, I'm so ashamed. I got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes yesterday. The dr who was also overweight told me all the things I'm now likely to get, and how I should lose weight as a matter of urgency. They even offered to refer me for weight loss surgery right there. I asked for some advice on losin weight alone and they suggested weight watchers and swapping coke for Diet Coke .

So my aibu is; how the fuck am I to lose 9 stone without surgery? I have a gym membership but I don't think I use it well. I 'workout' for an hour or so 4 times a week but really it's just playing at using my membership and I know I need to be better. But how? How do you learn how to workout properly?

All the workouts I see online are for like mega body building men! And suggestions of eating protein and working out for 4 hours a day. I need help. I know I need to do this. Is it unreasonable to want to see little workout cards near the machines in the gym?

What do you eat for breakfast when you so 'low carb'? Is weight watchers worth it? I have a 12 week membership now but I don't want to eat 'lite' yogurts full of sugar and sweeteners. It feels like a mammoth task that I can't do.

If you got to the end well done!

I personally know a bed bound quadriplegic person who lost >6st with diet alone.
It can be done.

PerfectlyDone It's a poor excuse to say 'I don't have time to exercise so I can't lose weight', isn't it?

I've lost weight without exercising before and you can lose weight even if you're almost entirely sedentary. We all have a basal metabolic rate and amount of calories needed to sustain us each day: discover that and eat less. It'll come off.

Sorry if you've answered this, OP, but have you got a meter? Test, test, test after everything you eat. That's the best way to minimise blood sugar spikes, and it's those spikes that are bad for your health and can also lead to weight gain.

Be wary of anyone saying you can "reverse" diabetes. Sadly this is not yet possible. What you can do it "control" it with diet and exercise so that you get normal numbers with a low carb diet (how low carb, your body and meter will dictate), but if you go back to eating high carb, the numbers will go back up

I would also suggest trying to take it in chunks. If you have to eat an elephant (and they are low carb!), take small bites. 9 stone might sound overwhelming, but everything you lose will help and is a big achievement, so break it into chunks 🤞🏻

I saw a meme once about the "I don't have time" excuse (and I'm not having a pop; i exercise a fraction of the amount I ought to because of time!). It basically said, "how about dying? Would that give you enough time?"

Made me think!

It’s great to exercise but personally have started cycling as hitting my steps took 1.5 hours

Another game changer for me was buying a treadmill. If I can’t be bothered with the gym it’s right there so there’s no excuse. The calories counter also made me much more accountable for what goes in my mouth! Is that piece of cake really worth 40 minutes jogging?!

You can 'reverse' diabetes (or at least the increased cardiovascular risks which is really what matters) by losing significant amounts of weight.
It makes what insulin you still produce go further because there is less of you and also increases insulin sensitivity which makes what insulin is produced more effective.

The key words here are 'significant weight loss'. That is then maintained. And controlling carb intake quite tightly - nobody can eat NO carbs as every vegetable we eat has some.

I made up a chart with incremental targets for weight, BMI and waist size over a period of time and then made a big effort to follow the chart. Smaller targets seem more reachable than having 9 stone in your mind.

It may be a good idea to see a nutritionist/dietician at your local hospital to find out what to eat, what not to eat. You need to cut down on snacks inbetween meals as well as cutting down your portion sizes.

I walk about 4 miles every day. Also funding lots of jobs around the house helps me keep active and to lose weight.

Good look. You can do this!

"how about dying? Would that give you enough time?"

In the same vein "Where there's a will, there's a way; where there's no will, there's an excuse". And that is totally my opus moderandi: I'm too busy usually but find time to stuff my face

High OP :) sorry if I am repeating anything

A good weight loss forum is the Lose It reddit. It’s very motivating and has a great active community.

As per diets, there is no magic to be had. The only thing is as a diabetic you will want to avoid things that spike your blood sugar, so yes that may mean no sugar but I am lot diabetic so I would look at the website for diabetes (there is a dedicate one).

In terms of “eat less, move more”, well the reality is, yes. Weight Loss is solely dependent on calories in, calories out -CICO.

It is a myth that you need to do a lot of exercise to lose weight, especially if you are already over weight. All you need to do is make sure that the total calories you take in each day are in deficit compared to your TDEE, which is your total daily energy expenditure. There are calculators online which can help you estimate this. It is much easier to eat less than it is to try and burn off calories to make up for how much your are eating, even though the heavier you are the more calories you burn.

I know I have already mentioned it but I do highly recommend the Reddit weight loss community. If you pop on there they will have a guide for complete beginners and help you get a slow and gradual but life long handle on your weight.

It does help and in some cases is essential to also address the reasons behind your weight gain - emotional pain and self loathing are not conducive to a healthy lifestyle and lots of people use food as an emotional crutch. Have you considered counselling?

Reddit diabetes is good too - lots of knowledgeable people on there and ideas for the newly diagnosed.

Ditto diabetes.co.uk forums

Sorry just to really emphasise this as I’ve seen a lot of people talking about exercise, not enough time to exercise etc, you really do not need to be active to lose weight at all, especially if you are at a high starting weight. I would even go as far as to say, if you are 9 stone overweight, to be careful with exercise and make sure if you do take up anything, to go for low impact stuff like swimming.

What exercise can do though, as well as burning a couple hundred calories, is to improve your all round health and well being. I have given birth twice in 2 years and I have weight to lose. I was also far too comfortable at a higher weight because I held it well and I’m now a size 18, due to complacency (and pregnancy). If I’m not active, then my then goals fall by the wayside. When I am active, I feel good and not even motivated, just naturally inclined to eat better. As in it’s not a burden or a difficult choice to make to eat reasonably.

You really can do this, you just need to take it one day at a time but also have the perspective to know that health is an overall goal and you are bound to slip up sometimes. Good luck :)

Thank you all so so much! I'm going to do this! So much to look at over the weekend!

You can definitely do this!!!

Break down into manageable chunks - half a stone at a time. Keep track in an app or spreadsheet so you can see how well you're doing.

So much advice here on dieting options, stick to those who understand diabetes. I have lost 4 stone in the last year. I started with 5:2, and found the fast days really helpful in understanding my hunger. Turns out I didn't need to eat all the time after all. I struggled with the 5 nonfast days, so I changed to 7 day/800 cal version which has worked for me.

As well as food and exercise, the other thing that has really made a difference to me was reading 'Brain over Binge' by Kathryn Hansen. I realised I was in control of the food and not the other way around, it's made it so much easier to keep the momentum and stay in control.

Remember it will get easier the more that you lose too!

Haven't had time to read all 10 pages so not sure if anyone has mentioned it but [https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/get-started Diet Doctor]] is amazing.

It literally walks you through every day, with recipes and tips on what to expect in terms of physical sensations to expect, plus lots of links to the theory behind the diet (low carb) and how it works.

Wonderful website if you're not sure how to get started.

Diet Doctor

Hopefully working clicky link.

I was a bit overweight and lost about 1.5 stone gradually by making small changes - swapping white for brown carbs,
Cutting volume of carbs (not cutting them out)
Increasing volume of veg
Stopping eating low fat food
Reducing sugar
Eating a proper breakfast
Eating slower and stopping when I feel full and not feeling guilty about throwing food away if I don't want to finish it
Not giving myself the same portion sizes as my husband
Meal planning and online shopping so not being tempted by snacks

For example if I'm eating a stir fry I now pack in loads more veg and just have a couple of tbsp of brown rice and swapped a sweet sauce like sweet and sour for a home made version eg satay

I have eggs a lot for breakfast or if I'm at work I have full fat Greek yoghurt, berries, walnuts, a drizzle if honey, and a tbsp of granola. It fills me up and stops me snacking

I don't really exercise much other than walking (I will tend to walk rather than drive short distances)

I still have treats just not as often. For example now I'll buy some expensive chocolate and have a couple of bits rather than a whole dairy milk.

I don't believe in counting calories as some high calorie food is really nutritious. Or in cutting out whole food groups or types, I'm not sure it's healthy and can lead to cravings

Sure there are plenty of tips on the Internet but you can pick and choose what you fancy trying first

Good luck!!

One woman in my WW meeting has lost ten stone. Another has lost six stone. Loads have lost five.

It's completely doable if you follow the programme.

Is their any particular reason why you have dismissed the doctors advice to consider Bariatric surgery?
To date, Bariatric surgery is the ONLY scientifically proven , successful longterm and sustainable method of weight loss. Despite the hundreds of threads on hear about one or other diet, - surgery is the only one to work in the long term.

Your doctor has recommended it because the cold hard fact is that for women with a starting BMI over 40 (which I guess you have if 9 stone to lose) the chance of getting to healthy BMI through Diet and exercise is 1:677 and then over 85% gain back all and more within five years (even if you are that lucky '1'.

Here is the paper from Imperial college , centre for the study of obesity.

Methods. We drew a sample of individuals aged 20 years and older from the United Kingdom’s Clinical Practice Research Datalink from 2004 to 2014. We analyzed data for 76 704 obese men and 99 791 obese women. We excluded participants who received bariatric surgery. We estimated the probability of attaining normal weight or 5% reduction in body weight.
Results. During a maximum of 9 years’ follow-up, 1283 men and 2245 women attained normal body weight. In simple obesity (body mass index = 30.0–34.9 kg/m2), the annual probability of attaining normal weight was 1 in 210 for men and 1 in 124 for women, increasing to 1 in 1290 for men and 1 in 677 for women with morbid obesity (body mass index = 40.0–44.9 kg/m2). The annual probability of achieving a 5% weight reduction was 1 in 8 for men and 1 in 7 for women with morbid obesity.

Sorry about the diabetes diagnosis.

Agree to small steps. I try and have more fat and protein and less carbs although struggling with the latter since the baby arrived. It definitely helped though, I lost four stone last year (still need to lose at least the same again) but have maintained for a while.

I’m trying to get out of my “all or nothing” mindset (I am autistic so can be very black and white in my thinking) - so doing little things like making ONE good decision about food, or getting off one stop earlier on the bus, I am pleased with myself rather than thinking there’s no point because it’s such a tiny change. It all adds up.

I’m not actually giving up anything completely. I just rebel against that kind of thing. So things like fizzy drinks, I now no longer buy them from shops, I have them occasionally in a pub and reeeeeally enjoy it. On the odd occasion I ‘slip’ and buy a can as I’m craving caffeine, I regret it as it makes me feel unwell after.

Google Sally Wilkinson. She's this funny, northern, down to earth woman who is massively inspiring and just so normal. She was 4 stone heavier a couple of years ago. She's struck a cord with me and in the last 6 weeks I've lost over half a stone and am feeling mentally great too. Either way, keep looking, you'll find the thing that you really click with, as I recently have

I had 5st to lose.

I tried doing MyFitnessPal but I knew how to cheat. So after 6 months I joined Slimming World. I cook from scratch. There's so many meals out there that are healthy but yummy.

I sometimes have porridge on work mornings or I love scrambled egg or omelettes.

Lunches are soups/salads/pasta/sandwich (if I haven't had porridge)

Dinners are things like paprika pork, cheeseburger pasta, a roast dinner.

I broke it down into 7lb targets and got myself a wee treat when I reached each goal. Usually a recipe book or a kitchen utensil.

You can do it but it's hard. It took me nearly 21 months from being told my bmi would deny me medical treatment.

Do you drink a lot of fizzy drink? I always notice 'larger' people holding diet cokes when I'm out...the thing is, either high sugar or artificially sweet drinks are now shown to 'trick' your liver into storing far, as it believes there is an excess of nutrition in your body. You could try something like ginger tea or liquorice tea, which both have a naturally sweet taste without any actual sugar.

This.