To not even know how to start losing weight

[Catminder901]

To start with, I will admit that I am overweight - like, very overweight. Like BMI of 47 overweight.

I've always been quite fat, but piled on weight during both my pregnancies and never really managed to lose it. I'm Type 2 diabetic (surprise, surprise) and also have high blood pressure.

A pro pro of high blood pressure, my GP said I really need to lose weight and has referred me to see a dietitian. I'm just genuinely struggling to get my head round how I will actually start losing weight.

I have a lot of weight round my tummy and hips and thighs, so I waddle when I walk, plus I get out of breath and sweat and wheeze. It does not make exercise easy or appealing.

I don't actually massively overeat. I've tried diets and I can stick to them, but the second I lapse, all the weight goes on again and I feel like, why bother with this one?

I am sure a lot of people are going to think: just have some self control. But I honestly feel like, it would be so much easier to lose weight if I wasn't starting from quite such a bad point!

And I do want to change. I know that I'm at risk of health problems. I don't feel attractive. I can't do things which I'd like to do. And worst of all, I feel like once my kids are a bit older, I am going to be an embarrassment to them. I am THAT person who is so fat that people stare.

If anyone has any helpful hints (even along the lines of, you will be fat forever, just try to accept it) I would be so grateful.

You’ve had some good advice about the diet from PPs.

I will say last year, at 18 stone and only 5foot I had similar worries about swimming. I wanted to improve my fitness. I have awful anxiety and it took months to build up to going. I was on the verge of a panic attack that first time. But I walked onto poolside wrapped in my towel, flung it on the side and got into the water. I was in the pool for 45 minutes and honestly it was the most invigorating and freeing 45minutes. I got out, wrapped my towel around me and walked out feeling good. Going back more and more I noticed, no one was actually looking at me, no was was paying attention. This idea that everyone would stop and stare seemed silly, everyone was too busy either swimming lengths or playing with their children. Even the teenagers I dreaded the most were too busy splashing each other and messing around with each other. The whole experience helped with my general anxiety by realising I’m not that important lol.

I’d certainly recommended swimming. Exercise has so many benefits outside of the weight loss aspect, I slept better, it made me want to eat healthier, I felt leas achey and stiff all the time, I was happier!
I’d definitely recommend going swimming alongside diet changes.

I've been there OP. My fitness pal worked for me- my advice is to download it, read through some of the forums with before and after photos to get yourself motivated and realise that you are not alone.

Then use the app to help you calculate how many calories per day you should be eating to lose weight steadily.

Start recording everything you eat in the app. This will make you see where you are going wrong and what you can easily cut out to make a difference.

My advice is to forget about exercise for now. Get yourself used to lower calorie eating and get into good eating habits. THEN you can think about introducing some extra walking etc.

@HaddawayAndShite good to hear about your positive experiences, thank you for sharing! I've heard that swimming is good for tummy fat in particular and that's one reason I want to try it. I carry so much weight round my middle Apart from the associated health risks, I HATE the way it looks and it makes it so hard to find clothes. A few weeks ago, somebody asked me when the baby was due - urgh, it makes me come over all hot and embarrassed just remembering...!

Sliming World worked for me. Lost 2.5 stone last year and am keeping it off. I seem to have reeducated myself. People will wail that its a cult and there's this daft thing about bananas (they're 'free' if fresh but not if cooked). Just go with it though. It works. You don't have to get heavily involved in groups. Mostly I ran in and out for my weigh in, and didn't stay for the chat and motivation stuff. I think the evidence shows though that if you stay for group you'll have more success. I'm happy with my results, and feel I also met some pretty amazing people who had to lose loads of weight and cheerfully got on with it

The big thing I did which really helped me get back to swimming and made it a very enjoyable experience was to buy these waterproof mp3/headphones.

www.argos.co.uk/product/5555495

I've loaded it with my favourite rock music, stuff with an energetic beat and play it loud while I (very slowly) swim up and down. I can completely block out the rest of the swimmers and just be in my own world.

If you find that you enjoy swimming and can incorporate it as a regular activity then it's a good investment,

Fitness blender videos on YouTube are good. I used to do the 10 minute arms, standing abs and 100 squats ones. Each video was no longer than 10 mins and easy to do at home.

Up your water and do 10 or 20 squats or lunges every time you have a wee. Don't worry about leaking in the pool, that's what chlorine is for.

Start an accountability thread in weight loss chat.

Look at couch to 5k for the future. I think there is a walking one to start off with actually.

I once combined an eating window of 12-8 with every other day fasting with a calorie limit (500 calories one day, 1200 the next) and low carb which really worked for me. I lost a stone in 2 weeks.

Re: incontinence, blood sugars that are too high can cause you to wet yourself through not being able to hold it apparently.

Yeah exercise thrown into the mix really helps. SW calls it Body Magic which personally I find a bit twee. But it really helps. I have started working big muscle groups with squats and weights and body-weight exercises. And it's really helping me.

@Catminder901

Do you know how many carbs are in your fruit smoothies ? I assume you have worked that out as you are injecting insulin.

@Double3xposure Yes, I know And they are supposed to be a treat thing, but j should cut them out totally!

@OlaEliza I might have to get in slightly better shape before attending squats and lunges!! Re the incontinence, it's a mix of stress and urge. Partly because of the weight, high blood sugar does make it worse (especially at night) but I also have a bit of nerve damage which apparently basically means the signals get mixed up. My GP says it's not a good idea to do botox injections, which would help, while I'm so overweight.

*attempting

I do get the feeling OP that you are focusing in the wrong place and in slight denial about what T2 is.

To be drinking high sugar smoothies when you have T2 tells me you haven’t researched what causes it.

Pretty much everyone who starts off the journey of understanding obesity, T2 and other autoimmune disorders start with Gary Taubes as recommended by a pp. He makes a complicated topic really accessible. I really would try and look at his work.

I’m trying not to discourage you but swimming will not sort out belly fat. It will definitely make you feel better and more energised but it won’t change much weight wise.

You are unfortunate in not having insulin sensitivity and some of that may be genetic, but mostly it is lifestyle and once you start to educate yourself as to what your body is currently doing, you can start to take control.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8084971/NHS-expert-DR-DAVID-UNWIN-shares-revolutionary-plan.html

This is one of the articles that the Daily Mail are doing with Dr David Unwin. Despite all the fails faults, at least they are publishing this stuff, and for him at least he is getting the word out to the masses.

This is not bullshit. You have a very serious metabolic disease and you must inform yourself about how to halt its progression.

Top tip: stop putting yourself down!

You went for a walk! You did that. It doesn't matter what you think other people might be able to do. That is just a way to beat yourself up. Stop it.

See this as the starting point, a positive day to take your next steps (literally) towards a healthier life. Do not feel failure or defeated. You absolutely can do it, sometimes you might just need to stop getting in the way of yourself.

So you are over weight and others aren't. Whatever.

You have the tools from the nutritionist and some external motivation (this thread) to get you started.

You will find days tough but you will also start to see benefits and you will begin to get used to walking more and eating smaller portions and not grazing.

You CAN do this.

By the "whatever" I mean that it has nothing to do with you how other people look or what they eat. You are you - and it doesn't matter what other people think or even what you think they think. What matters is that you have decided you need to make changes.

Follow the nutritionist and GP advice to make sure you are approaching it correctly from a T2 perspective and you will be able to do it.

For me I go on the chicken salad diet, skip breakfast and have chicken salad for lunch and then dinner. Loads of coffee.

Best thing about dieting is that everything tastes delicious when you're very hungry.

Try not to worry too much about exercise at first as it can make you more hungry, just keep your blood sugar down as low as possible and drink plenty fluids,water ideally but I drink a lot of coffee to help suppress appetite. Fruit/herbal tea good too.

Weigh yourself every morning,my fitness pal is good for logging that and honestly as you see the numbers start to decline it will be the best source of motivation for you. Focus on what you've achieved and make small goals, like lose 3 more kilos and you'll treat yourself to a new top or something you'd like. Stay positive,honestly the thing that pulls you off the wagon and keeps you there is beating yourself up about it, feeling rubbish and that it's pointless, don't linger on any negative thoughts like that, just weigh yourself now and aim to be a tiny bit lighter tomorrow, it's a great feeling when you can see your progress building up over time. Tiny goals, you can totally do it.

I’m trying not to discourage you but swimming will not sort out belly fat. It will definitely make you feel better and more energised but it won’t change much weight wise.

Of course it can! Three hundred (or however many) calories burned is better than no calories burned.

Plus another 100 calories or whatever just with getting to the pool/home.

That could be the difference between half a pound off a week vs half a pound on.

I’m so sick of hearing that there’s ‘no point’.

Just sticking my two pennies in. I'm very much like you OP but this swimming costume made such a difference to my confidence https://www.bravissimo.com/products/premiere-ultimate-sports-swimsuit-print-so105prt/. It's pricey but well worth it. It covers everything, including big norks, and the bits I can't see I don't worry about.

I'm starting Fast 800 again because it works and I can do it. I also use My Fitness Pal and I've invested in an Apple Watch 3 as they are currently under £200. I would have got a cheaper fitness tracker but I had a bit of spare money and a voucher so treated myself. It only came yesterday - I'm off for a walk later to try it out

Best tip - just do something.

It really won't @womanaf

It is great - it may help with developing insulin resistance if you are doing lots of it and it will help with MH. But the OP has T2 diabetes and is obese, and this requires an overhaul of food to make any real impact. Of course do swimming because it is part of a lifestyle overhaul, but it is not the thing on its own that will make any real impact.

Your calculations on calories in calories out are also not correct. It is not how it works - especially for someone with a metabolic disease like T2.

Gary Taubes and Jason Fung are on the same page, both their books are worth a read.

I have an apple bodyshape and any weight I gain goes to my tummy. My dad has type 2 so I have increased risk there. I could eat carbs all day long. Intermittent fasting is the only thing I can stick too. I've been doing it for a year now and plan to continue forever. I lost 3 stone of baby weight and am happy with my body. Being hungry sometimes is so much easier than being hungry all the time, which I am on any of the traditional WW / SW / calorie counting plans. Plus I absolutely cannot be arsed with counting calories / syns / points or whatever.

Definitely use My Fitness Pal as a diary, it really helps. And weigh your food, when I was on a mission to lose my baby weight I was giving myself double portions without realising it.
I wouldn't worry about exercise for a while, but in the future think about pilates. You can do it from youtube and it really helped improve my pelvic floor. I also used the squeezy app.

Exercise is great for you and can help but weight loss is mainly what you put in your mouth.

I’ve lost 7kg (so just over a stone) since mid January. I still have a stone to go to get to mid 60s. I put on 25kgs with DD and finally
Realised it wasn’t going to “fall off” when I realised just after Xmas that she was 18 months and I still weighed what I did when she was a week old 😭

I’m doing low carb high fat and logging calories in MFP. I’ve always though low carb sounded miserable because it is unless you add the fat in to keep you full!

A typical day would be
Scrambled eggs (2 eggs & milk) & 2 rashers of bacon with some chutney or relish

Several black coffees

Some sort of meat + vege for lunch - cauliflower rice risotto (from frozen vege aisle) with chicken or salmon, or same meat with veges & goats cheese

Dinner - we get a meal box so meat + vege usually. Tonight was teriyaki chicken with slaw.

Will have some Halo ice cream or half a choc protein bar if I need something sweet.

Have almost totally ditched wine & beer but still
Drink alcohol - vodka and soda.

If I go out to dinner I order whatever I want, life’s too short to be fussing over a menu!

I average about 50g carbs a day - previously I would have been 200+ I reckon - toast for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, a cheese scone, chocolate in the afternoon etc etc

I’ve done almost no exercise - previously when I’ve lost weight I’ve killed myself getting to the gym or going for pre dawn runs. Can honestly say I’ve done a spin class about once every weeks. Have lost about 1 kg every 10 days.

Sorry marathon post but thought it might be useful!!

I also weigh every morning and log it, and can now see where I’m
Ovulating or if I’ve had a very carb heavy meals the day before - weight goes up about 2kgs

And all the weight I’ve lost has been from my belly. A denim skirt that I couldn’t wear at Christmas as so tight and painful is now loose and almost too big. Ok will stop now 😂

You go up a lot of a carb heavy day because carbs hold water. It's only likely to be all weight if you're adding a very large amount of them on one particular day.