Boris declares war on fat

[Weallhavevalidopinions]

Boris has said his being overweight contributed to his problems with Covid-19.
Stories this morning suggest he will wage war on fat...

What type of help do you think might be suggested?

Have you decided to lose weight due to Covid-19 worries?

YABU - no I will not lose weight due to Covid worries
YANBU - I will lose weight due to Covid worries

@ToffeeYoghurt also made these points over on the main thread.

ToffeeYoghurt Fri 15-May-20 00:09:26
As long as he tackles the true causes of obesity it's not a bad idea.

Ensuring people have proper housing with access to proper cooking facilities and storage.

Enough money (be it through employment, pension, or benefits) to afford healthy fresh food (no food banks).

An overhauled NHS so people are no longer (as they were pre pandemic) left waiting months on end for treatment (suffering prolonged mobility issues as a consequence).

Also good mental health provision including help and support for comfort eating, and looking again at the pros and cons of the different mental health drugs.

In some cases, certainly when its long-term use, it's perhaps preferable to prescribe the out of fashion benzodiazepines rather than the modern anti depressants that often cause weight gain.

Oh and we'd need to stop dismissing patients symptoms, especially women, as mental health or hormones. I've seen several posters talk about this sort of experience when they had undiagnosed thyroid conditions (which can lead to weight gain).

Boris- over to you

It’s so rare for medical conditions to cause weight gain - it’s the habit of eating too much - usually of processed food

It’s portion control

Not necessarily.

Yes some people are fat because they eat too much.

For others it is because of so much more.

If you are insulin resistant for instance then it wouldn’t matter what diet you were on you would struggle to lose weight.

A couple of weeks ago I started a diet. Protein shake for breakfast, (192 calories) protein shake for lunch and veggie burger with salad and green veg for dinner.

First day I lost 2lbs (I had 7 hours sleep)

Second day I put on 1lb (only 4 hours sleep)
3rd day the same (only 4 hours sleep)

And so on and so on.

I lose a couple of pounds then I put it on again.
Lowest I have been was 4 days ago when overall I had lost 4 lbs but then a series of bad nights sleep and I am back to where I started.

I am starving hungry when I wake up and starving hungry when I go to bed.

I also go on a 5km route match with dd everyday.

At the size I am I should lose weight

Dd is skinny anyway but has managed to lose 5lbs and she has been eating a line or 2 of chocolate in the evening.

@missperegrinespeculiar

Thank you for not simply ignoring my post

IncrediblySadToo great post, but people will not want to hear it! incidentally, have you thought about increasing your fasting to alternate day fasting or extended fasts (with medical oversight of course given your diabetes), I say this because 16/8 is probably best for maintenance, and one meal a day can easily turn into a caloric deficit diet which can tank your metabolism if you don't manage to eat enough in your window, maybe worth considering?

Maybe (obviously) it wasn't clear the way I wrote it. But I sometimes do 16:8, sometimes OMAD and intermittent fasting.
Mostly 36 or 48 hours but have done a few longer ones. I try not to do OMAD because of the downsides of it.

Fair enough then, Weallhavevalidopinions, it's not your fault that this thread will bring out the gratuitous bosom hoikers from their bridge of choice. They'll be here though, they're already here looking at the previous pages.

ToffeeYoghurt makes really valid points about what government should be doing in place of the finger-waggings that they favour directing at hoi polloi.

Hope your diet/exercise regime goes well.

@Xenia

deny people NHS care or make them pay up front if they are overweight they might start eating less or skipping a meal a day. We have tried too many carrots. Now is the time for sticks to save the NHS and help nurses

Xenia. Fuck off

A couple of weeks ago I started a diet. Protein shake for breakfast, (192 calories) protein shake for lunch and veggie burger with salad and green veg for dinner.

That's absolutely unsustainable. You should go slower but sustainably. Not from extreme to extreme.

Well Xenia i think any overweight low paid key workers should walk out and shield GENERAL STRIKE NOW

@ AmelieTaylor it's not my theory, it's basic physics. You can't make something out of nothing*

Our bodies are not combustion engines. Watch Jason Fungs video & he will explain it to you in terms that anyone can
understand.

Replying to:

"LyingWitchInTheWardrobe Fri 15-May-20 14:49:59
Fair enough then, Weallhavevalidopinions, it's not your fault that this thread will bring out the gratuitous bosom hoikers from their bridge of choice. They'll be here though, they're already here looking at the previous pages."

To be honest there are some pretty negative and nasty people on lots of different threads on a multitude of subjects on Mumsnet.... they cannot help themselves. It we only posted things that negative people wouldn't latch onto then very little would ever be posted! However, I tend to ignore them and concentrate on the helpful and positive and thoughtful informative posts. There are lots of really nice posts on here from lots of people and quite a few posters that I have taken some inspiration and ideas from, so to me it's not all bad.

You’d think someone would have the wit to infect him, wouldn’t you

Well, no. Because murdering anyone is a rather stupid idea, let alone one of the most guarded people in the world.

LemonyCupcake

It’s so rare for medical conditions to cause weight gain - it’s the habit of eating too much - usually of processed food

The above is bullshit, literally thousands of medications cause weight gain and so that's the medical condition or should people not take medication??

I was losing weight before lockdown and have put half of it back on despite my worries that being overweight would not help if I caught Covid.

I think the government could help by making laws about snack food (especially chocolate) a bit like they have for cigarettes. Black and white packaging with health warnings and behind the counter.

It would stop so much mindless eating from me and would alter people’s mindsets.

The problem is that everyone already knows about how good for you it is to be a healthy weight and how to get there but most of us who struggle with this end up yo-yo ing as circumstances change. The government could pay for slimming groups or tax unhealthy food but ultimately there is something more complicated going on with each individual who has to find their own motivation.

I’m high BMI, I’ve lost nearly a stone and started running. Yes it is making me change my ways but not just because Boris says it.

The time for chatting and hypocrisy (like the Thursday night clap for carers some of whom will be overweight like the care worker in Channel 4s news report sharing a kitchen with ten families) Where is the practical help for her.

How about Boris puts things in place so people who we are relying on have better housing and cooking facilities.

Standing outside No. 10 every Thursday night and clapping achieves nothing. But its cheap So are words.

OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow

How slow should I go.

I am the same weight as when I started 2 weeks ago

It takes more than Boris saying it. Our local council have just approved planning permission for 2 new McDonalds to be built - both near schools to catch the lunchtime trade.

poster Oliversmumsarmy

I don’t even know where to start.

You’re in a crash diet and seem surprised that you are hungry ?

You are looking too forensically at tiny increments in sleep and weight day by day. It’s a long term shift not sth that will change in this short timeframe...

Just because the odd person is insulin resistant doesn’t make it incorrect for everyone else!

If you are insulin resistant for instance then it wouldn’t matter what diet you were on you would struggle to lose weight.

I see this so often on mumsnet. Reference made to outliers as justification for rejecting a strategy.

Are you saying you think you are insulin resistant?

@Oliversmumsarmy you should aim for about a kilo a week. That is safe and allows you to alter your diet so it's sustainable long term. You are now on what? 800 cal? That's not safe nor healthy.
And don't weight every day. Once a week is the good one. For some depending on how they hold water during their cycle, 2 weeks can be better.

There is so much info out there about healthy ways to lose weight. None of them will recommend replacement drinks and 1 meal.

Best thing I read on MN "You didn't put the weight on in few months, you can't expect to lose it in few months." Something like that.

True cause of obesity- too many calories in not enough out

I'm losing weight during lockdown. It sounds ridiculous, but while the thought of being higher risk is an incentive, what's really getting me into the headspace of being able to do it is that so many other people are out of work. I've been struggling to find a job for the past 3 years, constant rejections and being ignored, I've been getting so depressed. I've been comfort eating and feeling so unwanted and miserable. Now, everyone's in the same boat! I feel so much less pushed out and happier, I'm actually in the right frame of mind to tackle it. I just hope I can keep it up as normality returns.

I do think the government should do something about obesity, starting in schools, where 'pizza and chips, chocolate pudding and custard' seems to have slipped back into the menu despite Jamie Oliver's work. I think whatever it is they add to crisps and biscuits to make them so morish (is it MSG? It's in Pringles, and Maryland cookies etc) needs to be flat out banned and sugar heavily taxed to the point where it becomes a treat instead of the norm. I'm not an expert, but yes, obesity needs to be tackled.

Starting to think that @Xenia only ever come out to comment about the evil fat people and how they should pay for their care!

Do you smile with glee every time a thread about overweight people comes out?

Get a bloody grip and stop spreading awful hate messages.

When mil was in hospital last year I was surprised at how many nurses and doctors were my size ( overweight)
The canteen for staff and visitors did sell some healthier meals but mostly the ones eating in there were tucking into muffins and snacks and fish and chips and magnums ( no judging from me at all !)

Its across the board and I agree something needs to be done but I guarantee once the fast foods places open up properly it'll be rammed. We didn't have so many takeaways when I was young and I do feel this culture of constant snacking hasn't helped at all. It is too easy to grab fast food on the go.

I agree with most things said here by all and I think that is part if the issue. Weight issues are multifaceted - some of it is just being greedy and lazy, for some it relates to mental issues and for others genetics and some a combination of all. Some people struggle a lot less with their weight than others.

I don’t think fat shaming works if you have mental issues, people need help with this and this is rarely provided as it is expensive. Genetics can’t be changed, but the advice provided by the nhs to manage diet / weight is poor especially for type 2 diabetics. There is a genetic link with diabetes which should be pointed out at diagnosis so that people are aware that their children are more likely to develop it and steps put in place to ensure correct advice be given.

I have been overweight my whole life and it’s been a struggle. A big chunk of it is mental, a big chunk of it is gluttony & laziness and a big chunk is genetic. I have tried many diets and always ended up heavier than last time. It is only now that I am beginning to be able to tackle it and that is with a low carb diet. This contrary to what I have been advised =the NHS Eatwell plate / weight watchers / slimming world.

I am a classic apple shape with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome but I think many of the diets I have been on have made things worse.

I wish I had been advised in my teenage years to eat 2-3 meals each day with large portions of unprocessed foods, reduced carbs and never snack. Instead it was small meals, grazing, low fat, highly processed.... yes I know many of you will scoff and say it’s obvious but it’s not .... there is so much conflicting advice /fads and so much money in the dieting / food industry.