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!

The Dukan Diet is good although you would need to check with your doctor. Going it alone you need to severely restrict your calories to 1200-1300 a day and up your cardio exercise. I once lost 6 stone doing that.

Firstly, good luck OP. You can do this. A woman at work lost 8 1/2 stone, so seen it done.

Her eating was the issue, not the lack of exercise thinking it’s 80/20 diet v exercise. The two work in tandem when you nail the food bit

My problem with dieting clubs is you're paying however much to stand in a line, get weighed, get a sticker or two.

You are also paying for accountability. That really helped me.

OP, I liked SW, but each to their own. My colleague has lost 7 stone on the Cambridge Diet, and has 4 to go. So far she has been dieting a year and 9 months!! Fair play to her for persistence. The Cambridge Diet is all shakes and bars; she breaks her diet occasionally for a holiday. I have no idea if this appeals to you, but I just thought not might be encouraging to share this story.

Low carb/high protein has worked for me (though I'm not saying this will work or be for everyone). I've lost 10lb in 8 days. No 'low fat' yoghurts for me! Lovely full fat, creamy Greek yoghurts for breakfast 😊 There is lots of help and advice online...try the MN low carb bootcamp in the Weight Loss section. It's really supportive and has lots of great low carb/high protein recipes which are suitable for diabetics. 💐

Many years ago I lost almost 4 stone in weight with weight watchers. Recently I have gained a lot of that back. However, despite repeated attempts at various diets it just didn't work. A few months ago I had a light bulb moment realising that I did WW when I was living on my own whereas now I live with my DH and it just isn't practical to follow a 'diet' when you cook together and eat out etc unless they follow it as well (which he doesn't want to and I totally understand that).

So what I did was to change one thing at a time. First I started to take in porridge to work rather than be tempted by the canteen fry ups. Then once I had established that I decided to cut out snacks such as crisps and chocolate but I could eat as much fruit as I wanted. Then I decided I would not drink any alcohol unless it was an evening out except for the weekends. Then I decided I would cook healthy meals for three days a week which involved veg and no chips. Then I extended this to involving cutting down the portions for the other meals such as no second portions. Then I decided to cut fruit snacks to when hungry only.

When I did WW the weight fell off quickly but then plateaued but with these slow changes it has been the opposite. The scales didn't show much at first but quickly my clothes stopped cutting me in half. Because I focused on just one simple to follow change at a time and one that was achievable for my lifestyle it hasn't felt like I have had to restrict myself and there is no complicated formulae of what I can and cannot eat. I always made sure I didn't cut out anything so alcohol is ok at the weekends, Saturday is take away night. My appetite is reducing as now I simply don't want to eat as much which is great.

I think I will never follow a diet plan ever again as this time it feels like it might be sustainable in that if any weight creeps back then I will just change one thing first etc.

MyFitnessPal has been amazing for me, you can focus on CICO (Calories in vs Calories out). I lost over a stone in 6 weeks WITHOUT excercise, so imagine how much more you could lose if you throw exercise into the mix!

Losing just over a stone for me has been incredible - I can't tell you how much more energy I have now I'm not lugging that extra stone around all day.

I used to tell myself, EVERY morning - I will never weigh this weight again, today I am the heaviest I will ever be. Made me feel motivated to do well throughout the day.

Check and log the calories of everything you eat. On a low cal diet you notice how foods you sometimes binge on can very quickly add up. Chocolate digestives, for example, are I think around 86 cals, I'd have thought nothing about tucking into 5 before bed - that's a staggering extra 430 calories, I could have a whole meal for that!

I have only got 3stone to lose op and it's very hard. I'm trying a combi of low carbs and better eating generally.

I think half the battle with weigh loss is the mental side. You need focus and self constraint. I, personally, am very much an emotional eater and so I really struggle to maintain diets as can't maintain a positive mood. I think SW or WW help on that as there are other people to chat to in the same boat and also if you are not feeling motivated, the fear of the scales in front of the leader helps.

If you are doing 4 hours at the gym that is great. Do what other people say and ask the gym for a plan or join classes. It's the diet that will make the most difference though.

Also do you have any family or friends around to support you and hold you to account?

Just seen that @Mummyoflittledragon has added a link to the week 1 of bootcamp. There's a 'part 2 - The Sequel' now as that thread is full, which shows how great this is after just a week! I'm not even kidding when I say how much I've lost either (stood on scales this morning...it's just falling off me!)

My fitpalnesspal is good!

I'm in a similar boat, but don't go to the gym though I do walk my dog.

I'm finding the dirty diet plan very helpful. I've introduced it gradually, I can't cope with the pressure of a 'do or die' approach. I am losing weight, though!

It’s 90% diet and 10% exercise.

I used to go to tbe gym then reward myself with food.

The biggest help for me was giving up bread 6 days a week.

I now have new potatoes (even for breakfast!) with everything instead.

You can do it just get started dont eat anything out of a packet then there is only one rule to follow!

I feel for you, OP, it’s so easy to get fat. I’ve lost three stone through a combination of diet changes and exercise.

I recommend

• use MyFitness Pal to log everything you eat, it scans barcodes and you can meal plan so it’s not as tedious as you might think.
• start going to classes at the gym for cardio and functional strength, try aerobics, Body Pump and Pilates or yoga for balance and getting in touch with your body.
• Get a Fitbit to measure the calories you burn through life and exercise, it syncs with MyFitnessPal
• Take a ‘before’ photo now, front and side. As you lose weight take more. Rejoice in the changing numbers in the apps, your increasing ability and your changing body.

Remember that food is not a reward and exercise isn’t a punishment. You’ll appreciate both more when you’re working hard to build a better you.

Forgive yourself for getting fat, it’s so easy to do. Concentrate on the work ahead of you.

You can do this.

One stone at a time is the way to this. I would go back to your GP and see about a dietician referral and possibly get referred for weight loss surgery to take advantage of the support that is given, you don’t have to have the surgery.

Given you have type 2 diabetes I think ultimately I’d be looking to try the Blood sugar diet but think that would be too much to start cold so to speak so I’d work up to that. Accept this will take a long time as in a good couple of years. Yes you could do it faster but you need to change habits and mind set along the way and vitally be living in a way that means you will be able to maintain your loss when you’ve lost it.

To start I’d use My Fitness Pal for a week and write everything you eat and drink down , then look at the data and work out a plan from there, making sure that you cut sugar down immediately as the current priority. Get a Fitbit, download some running music as it will help you keep a decent pace and get outside. Over time you can build your fitness up and things will become mush easier , then you can decide how you want to go ahead with your exercise.

Sounds silly but the have a smaller plate or bowl does work, Asda do plain white plates that are a good size for £1. Be utterly selfish about this in that you have to put yourself and your health first. It may upset friendship dynamics at first but everyone will get used to it. Just for now aim to get today done, then that’s one out of the day. There will be days when it all goes pear shaped but the most important thing is to Keep On Keeping On. One meal or day or two days etc does not negate all the other good days and you have not ‘blown it’.

Please feel free to come over to the lose 100lb thread in the weight loss section, we’re all at various stages but understand that moment when reality bites you up the backside hard and you’re there thinking how on earth am I ever going to do this. For a bit of inspiration have a read through My Fitness Pal success forum, there are some very inspiring losses over there. You’re no different to any of those people and absolutely can do it.

With so much to lose I would not go for anything too drastic to start - rapid weightloss can affect your heart, gut, gall bladder - do not swap one problem for another.

Portion control would be my start point. Simply because to maintain that weight you must be eating too much... all the time... As a PP said, if you get a smaller plate, your eyes are tricked into thinking it is the same.

Another vote for Team RH. It's great - I've been using MFP for donkeys years and thought I knew about macros and nutrition but this really is a sensible, sustainable game changer.

I think you need to flip your thinking first and foremost.

You are about to embark on a journey that will bring you so much freedom. This is an exciting time because you are going to become a healthy human being bursting with energy.

You are going to feed and nourish your body and give it the love and care it needs.

Eat whole foods. An array of fruits and vegetables in all the colours of the rainbow. Chicken, fish, seafood, lentils, beans, chickpeas to name a few. Herbs! Spices!

Eat for health, physical and mental and the weight loss will come as a natural consequence.

Walk, walk, walk. Preferably outside not on a treadmill. Incorporate it into your everyday life and walk just for pleasure too.

Start connecting with yourself, find some guidance on Youtube. Meditate, some gentle yoga.

Stop beating yourself up.

You CAN change your life. You WILL do it.

Eat less move more worked for me! As they have suggested weight watchers I would think they don't have a nurse led programme like counterweight but it's worth an ask. Weight wise is based on the plan the nurse gave me in 2012 and I am 5 stone lighter and still follow it.
On the move more side of it I do exercise classes, if I go into the gym I tend to wander or chat and end up getting not much done, and I also run.

Disagree with the 90% food 10% exercise line. I've lost nearly 3 stone and I'd say it's 50:50 for me. What are you doing at the gym? Are you using it as an excuse to eat? Have you cut out all snacks? I replaced snacks with fruit initially but now rarely even bother with that.
Switching from normal Coke to diet Coke made eff all difference to my weight. I do think it reduced my craving for sugar though.
Overall I made lasting changes based mostly on doubling the amount of exercise I do, cutting out snacks, reducing portion size and always skipping breakfast. I've also reduced carbs and that's a really good barometer of how much difference it makes as when I start slipping in that respect then my weight starts creeping up again. The other changes I've made are now pretty permanent, I don't have to make any effort to keep them up.

My wife lost over 10 stone on slimming world and has kept it off for over 3 years. One of the other ladies at her group has lost 6 stone and is no longer diabetic. It's definitely worth a try. The support at group is very important.

I lost 8 stone without exercise. All diet.

Calories in calories out is dead science and needs to be stopped from making people hungry and miserable. Google what happened to Biggest Loser contestants to see what eat less move more does to your body.

I'm 3 years a ketogenic diet OP and I lost 90% of the weight the first year. I'm maintaining the last 2 years. You can do this without feeling hungry or spending hours in the gym.

Read "The Diet Myth" by Tim Spector. It's a very interesting and convincing take on weight issues.

And forget about torturing yourself in the gym! Being overweight is far more closely associated with a diet that lacks variety and nourishment than anything else.

You could try calorie counting and daily exercise. If you consume less calories than you burn you should lose weight. I bought a fit bit to track this. I have lost a stone just doing this.

have a look at the blood sugar diet and/or intermitted fasting (5:2).

there are some threads under the fasting section www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet

Another for the Blood Sugar diet. I am on the 2 week mark and have lost a stone. I know weigbt liss will drop dramatically now for my next 6 weeks but that first stone so quickly, has been like a lottery win for my motivation. The book is so easy to read - no diet yoghurt or processed food.

Good luck OP

No need to pay for diet clubs!!

Go to the low carb bootcamp that BIWI runs here (in the low carb section). She’s just started one which you can join and it works so well plus there is loads of inspiration and support on the threads. It’s a ten week programme and works very very well for weight loss plus you get loads of other improvements to your health. Then you can just continue it on your own once the prigramme is over (there is always a chat thread running in between boot camps).

It’s especially good for diabetes. I got myself out of diabetes with low carbing, losing three stone in three months. I know you have more to lose which can seem overwhelming and impossible, but it’s really not. You can do it, and feel well and happy too, with little to no blood sugar swings (which is what causes the cravings for the kinds of foods that will make you fatter). You will be amazed how well you feel after a couple of weeks of doing it.

Have a little look on the threads and see what you think! And good luck with getting healthy!