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 lost 5 stone - don't think about your target weight, just concentrate on a little at a time.

I put it back on again and a bit more after quitting smoking but that's another story.

Buy the Michael Mosley blood sugar book - follow it TO THE LETTER.

DH did - restested after 12 weeks and T2 diabetes reversed!

Good luck - it can be done!

op, I've lost 4stone in 5months and how i did it lower my carbs, eat protein rich and smash the cardio (1 hr a day) and weights (30mins) 6days a week, 1 day a week I rest and eat treats.

I went on a very good course offered through the NHS to people who are morbidly obese, or who are obese and have additional issues which make weight loss difficult. It was really good, focusing on the science of weight loss and especially psychology. I felt this course gave me the tools to add to my toolbox and gradually changed some of my attitudes. It's still a struggle but I just feel better equipped to tackle it overall.

Different people face different psychological challenges and need different approaches. There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.

As I say, most of what we learned was psychology. However, physically I will echo what some others have said: While exercise has lots of benefits in terms of fitness and lifting your mood, it is not a good way to lose weight. The number of calories you burn in a workout is quite modest - shockingly, discouragingly so if you are relying on exercise as a means of losing weight. In fact, regarding exercise as a way to lose weight can backfire. People often feel entitled to eat a bit more because they've worked so hard, and your appetite may increase slightly too.

I would suggest thinking of exercise as unrelated to weight loss. By all means, exercise to help you get healthy and to cheer you up. That will help you with weight loss indirectly. For nearly everyone, the best way to lose weight is to concentrate on strategies for reducing food intake.

Good luck!!! ((Hugs))

Try the simple things like walking a lot. If you can't get out of the house walk up and down stairs repeatedly. Buy a skipping rope or do star jumps. Never sit down except to eat, stand up and use hand weights while watching TV. Give up alcohol, all fizzy drinks, sugar in tea etc. Eat loads of lowcal foods if you snack, eg celery sticks, cucumber etc etc. In the end only you can do it but it sounds like you've had the wake up call you need to motivate yourself.

I understand completely, OP. I need to lose 10 stone. I'm in awe of you for exercising for four hours a week.

I second all the suggestions to come over to @BIWI 's Bootcamp - or to check out the blood sugar diet as PP have suggested.

I've previously lost 6 stone on Slimming World - 12 years ago. Put it all back on and more. Stuck rigourously to WW and lost 4lbs in three months. I know the LCHF of Bootcamp works, despite the initial sceptism I had when I first did it. I've lost two and a half stone in the last 10 months. Plenty of people on the thread have lost that in the ten weeks of Bootcamp.

People who just tell you to eat less and move more clearly haven't ever really struggled with their weight, as if it was that straightforward, you'd be doing it already. There also tends to be the assumption that when you're grossly overweight, it's because you're eating five takeaways every day and fifteen chocolate bars for breakfast. If that's the case, it's a few tweaks that will make a huge difference. When you're already cooking only from scratch and have never owned a deep fat fryer, it's less quick to make a fix. But you can, OP.

I also really rate Overeaters Anonymous: when I've been somewhere there's groups, it's been hugely beneficial, and I've kept loosing weight without dieting. In the last city I lived in, I tried over a dozen different therapists who claimed to have expertise in weight issues, but none of them were right for me. If you also have struggled to find the right one, I also recommend Brain Over Binge: it hasn't solved my issues, but it has been beneficial.

You can do it, OP - in fact, we can do it

Oops. "Losing"

There are loads of options. I think I recall that Sandi Toksvig put what had been a normal portion on her dinner plate - then halved it. Could this be an option? Then eat slowly, and always at the table, not a 'tv' dinner. Wash up straight afterwards and clean your teeth. Could you go for a brisk walk round the block after lunch? When you're waiting for the kettle to boil do a few exercises. No sugar in tea, use skimmed milk. Ditch the coke, diet or otherwise. No treats between meals. It's grim but you must stick to it. Try and focus on other things as a reward, such as a new lipstick or nail polish. Willpower is very important. If you fall off the wagon don't punish yourself, just pick yourself up and re-focus. Good luck.

Sorry but if you've been offered a surgery referral it sounds quite serious- have you got time to lose this weight without risking your health? If your doctor thinks it's appropriate for you is there a reason you've declined?

Download the My Fitness Pal app and start counting the calories. Walk for 30 mins every day. Get yourself, if you can afford it, a personal trainer who will make a fitness routine for you. Your gym probably has one that you can work with. Discipline is the key.

Coming from a family with a lot of type 2 diabetes- please take it seriously- make today the first day of your life - I say this as someone who has spent a lot of time I. And out of hospital with a parent who knew better things that the doctor and carried on drinking eating etc so sugar wasn't controlled.

The best thing is you can reverse it if you lose weight - and it doesn't have to be the whole 9stone just enough be help. You will feel so much better losing just a couple of stones. If your are like me just losing a couple of stones so I stopped getting g out of breath and feeling so hot and bothered all the time.

Also weight loss surgery is an option to consider , having spoken to a few surgeons apparently it can really help.

Having helped my parents diet recently and trying to stick to healthy eating - SlimmingWorld is great but try to eat as little processed food and that is more natural and will help your diet

PS good luck you can do this !

Oh and OP, do try and give yourself a treat day once a week or once every 2weeks, its what gets me through the gruel of cutting back. it gives you something to look forward to.

My cheat and rest day is a friday (healthy-ish take away, I'm on a tandoori mixed grill tonight! frozen yogurt or a Ice cream) . Its so important to have those days as your less likely to give up

Then i'm back to it tomorrow and back to the gym.

NRTFT - in response to whoever said it was too late to join BIWIs thread...it’s not too late to join BIWIs thread! Not at all. Come on over, they are great ladies. A very supportive and informative thread.

Do classes instead of going in the gym. Get a personal trainer. Just use them once a month to give you a routine to follow then they can adjust it for your strengthening body each month. Go to the gym when you know the PT is there, they cannot help giving a bit of guidance if they see you there! (Most of them anyway)

You don’t have to eat no added sugar things, but buy natural full fat yoghurt and add fruit and granola to it or a little bit of honey (honey not only reduces the risk of cardiovascular disorders, it also does not increase the body weight.) Full fat foods are better for you that low fat just eat less. I eat less calories during the week and have slightly more at the weekend so it feels like I’m having a normal weekend. Kind of like the 5:2 diet but the other way round and having way more than 500 two days a week!

First I would keep an honest diary of EVERYTHING you eat in a normal week, add up the calories you have consumed and then work out what you can cut out of your diet. Cut the calories by a quarter. Do keep a daily treat, whatever your go to treat is and have a small one at the end of the day.

Find a friend/s and do it together, so much easier when you’ve got some motivation on days you want to give up. Walk more. Get a fit bit type thing. Have a goal. I walk 16,000 steps a day, it’s so rewarding to actually get there, even if I have to walk round the block in the evenings to finish. I started off at 6,000 and moved it up monthly at first then when the weight loss stops.

Don’t weigh, measure! Do 10 measurements in cams, bust, under bust, waist, hips, thighs, calf, upper arm. Measure each week, add up all 10 numbers, you’ll be surprised at how quickly th numbers go down.

Good luck. It’s tough, you’ll have bad days but get over it, move on, start again as soon as possible.

That should be measure in cms in the second to last paragraph.

Blood Sugar Diet
Blood Sugar Diet
Blood Sugar Diet

Seriously. It is designed precisely for people in your situation. It has been scientifically researched and is proven to be effective in reversing Type 2 diabetes. Weight loss is rapid AND sustainable. Get the book and read it. In eight weeks, your life will have changed.

Did I mention, Blood Sugar Diet?

Moving more is a good thing but the main focus should be on what you are eating. I know nothing about the blood sugar diet but I think it might be what you are looking for.

I've lost 3 and half stone just counting calories and increasing exercise but I am sure there are many ways to do it when you have a fair bit to lose. I am getting closer to my target and it's hard now as I don't want to drop my calories every day to below the 1200 daily minimum suggested. Just this week I am trying to restrict my eating to an 8 hour window as this is meant to be better for your system and hopefully will help boost weight loss again.

You need to know you can do this. It might be a long haul, but once you start you will start to notice changes quite quickly and this will hopefully boost you on to keep going. I am sure there is a regular thread somewhere of people who have a lot to lose, might be worth tracking that down and joining for some moral support :)

I wish you the best of luck OP.

Just to back up bridgetreilly
BLOOD SUGAR DIET
Honestly buy the book.

I'm watching this with interest as I am getting blood tests today to check my thyroid and blood sugar.

I'd say I'm about 5 or 6 stone heavier than I'd like to be.

I looked at that RH Fitness and I'm dubious, especially as there is very little on their website about the foods you'd have to eat, the exercises you'd have to do, how often etc. It does seem at first glance, another secretive "we are amazing" gym club that turn out to be just after your money for much of the same as others claim to do.

I also suspect some people here work for these diet companies.

Where is the actual important information rather than the sales talk?

What do you do when you workout and what does a typical day of eating look like?

To start shifting bit of weight I'd recommend upping the steps you do in a day first, so building in exercise that doesn't feel like exercise, just to start burning some more calories. Do you have a job or sit a lot? Try simply standing up and walking around if you're on the phone or using a laptop on the kitchen counter standing up. You can track steps with most phones in your pocket or get a basic tracker like the Mi-Band for around £20.

Resistance training will not make you bulky, and it is great for weightloss that is sustainable. Muscle doesn't weigh less than fat a pp said, it's more dense so the same volume of muscle actually weighs more, but requires more calories than fat does even when you're resting - maybe consider making the goal less focused on weightloss and more on getting yourself back to health and having a functional body that can do more.

You can find various TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and BMR (basal metabolic rate - how many calories your body needs just to do exist without moving) calculators online that will give you an idea of how much you should be eating but be really honest when you enter your activity levels!

You can use an app like Lifesum (I find this has more UK foods linked that MyFitnessPal) to scan the barcodes of things you eat and that will do all the working out of calorie intake and macros (carbs/fat/protein) once you enter the weight of each food. If you're really strict about tracking even just for a week with or so you'll get an idea of how much you're really eating and what split of macros.

It would take years of work to build any serious muscle so you really don't need to think that you'll end up looking like a bodybuilder, that's no easy feat! If you can afford it, get a fully qualified trainer (do some research because this is important to get right) to develop a training programme for your goals with a mixture of cardio (not too much though), dynamic bodyweight movements and resistance. If you improve your balance, strength and flexibility, exercise will feel easier.

I lost 90lbs in 6 months from walking and eating less but I lost so much muscle mass along with the fat and my body really suffered because of it. I now train 5 times a week with heavy weights and have seen my body composition change massively despite staying around the same weight. My original goal was 'toning' but that's not actually a thing, you have to build muscle and then reveal the definition through losing fat but if there's no muscle there you'll just end up a smaller version of the same shape. My goal was weight loss but now I'm so motivated by how much stronger I am that my relationship with food has completely changed.

Good luck!

Sorry for the essay

Hi,

To get to the top of the ‘healthy’ weight range I need to lose over 7 stone from my heaviest weight ever last autumn. I’ve piddled about and procrastinated - when life is busy there’s always next week, isn’t there? I’d managed to lose a couple of kg over the months since Christmas but about a month ago something just clicked, I don’t want to spend another summer hiding from cameras and feeling rubbish - I think dealing with the loss of my mum last summer has been a part of this.

First I don’t think about the total. On a BMI chart they class a BMI of 30 as the top of overweight and the bottom of obese. I worked out what I need to weigh to have a BMI of 30, it gives me a weight loss of 4st10, which sounds more achievable than 7st. I’d still be overweight, but to lose the label of ‘obese’ would feel pretty good.

I got a Fitbit a while back, so I pulled it out of the drawer and started wearing it. I have a (rarely used and expensive) gym membership too, so I now do 10,000 steps a day on my Fitbit. I do half an hour of treadmill walking most days - it’s boring but I stick a property or auction programme on the tv, put my headphones on and walk. And walk outside for half an hour or so every day. I actually really enjoy this, even when the weather is rubbish. I decided when my BMI gets to 35 (the Fitbit works it out) I’m going to get a gym programme - targets really motivate me. I’m at 39 (from nearly 42) at the moment.

Food, I add up calories on the Fitbit app as I’m a geek and I like all the graphs it gives me! I have 1700-1800 calories a day plus a bottle of wine at the weekend that I don’t count in this. I tend to eat a bit lower during the week and higher at weekend, but aim for my average by the end of Sunday to be in this range. It doesn’t feel too restrictive and I can eat the same as my family, still go for a costa etc. It’s msking me make different choices, like fruit instead of biscuits, crackers instead of chocolate, but it works for me - i know that I would crave any ‘forbidden’ food, so this way there aren’t any. In the last 4 weeks I’ve lost 4.5kg. My bra doesn’t dig in and my gym leggings don’t roll down as much. I’ve got about 10kg to go until I book that gym programme appointment

Good Luck xxx

Speak to the gym, some will offer a fitness programme and will work with you to make sure you are getting the most out of your membership. The local council run gym in our area do this for free. The private ones with charge a fucking fourtune and class it as a personal trainer. If you can afford a Personal Trainer look into it. They might cost about £200 a month, although completely dependent on the area you live. Our local drs can refere people to the gym for free gym sessions, and you can do swim classes there. Maybe see if your drs do the same.

30 day shred (Gillian michaels) is good.... bloody hard work, but she does get good results

See if your dr can refer you to a nutritionalist/or something simular.. They should be able to help guide you with the right food choices. I think my mum got referred to something similar when she was diagnosed as diabetic. She's lost about 6/7 stone and the only exercise she does is a weekly swim.

You will need to address both exercise and eating, don't bother just doing exercise if your eating badly, it just doesn't work.

Good luck OP.