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

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

Actually I did put on weight in a few months.

It was whilst I was pregnant with my youngest.
I put on 6stone with dd but lost it all bar 7lbs within 3 weeks
With Ds I put on 6 stone and didn’t lose it.
And have struggled ever since.

fascinated I don’t know if I am insulin resistant but as a post menopausal woman I know that cortisol levels go up and oestrogen levels go down making it more difficult to lose weight

Leflic Yes I am vegan. The diet plan you are on is far more than I eat normally.
Also I have tried lentil curry and porridge (although I don’t cook). Neither turned out good and made me balloon up.

If it were as simple as calories in versus calories out I would have the figure of a super model,

@flirtygirl - Excuses excuses, why do people think that you need a personal chef and personal trainer to lose weight.

One can cook, healthy and delicious meals for less than a processed meal. Endless amounts of free recipes.

One can do a HIIT routine in their living room, bedroom, box room with nothing other than a chair and their body weight. They can go for a walk / run.

Obviously harder with a disability, but that is the minority. The general hurdle for most people is apathy, it is easier not to do it than to do it.

Many days I do not feel like going for my run, but I do, and after this i feel better.

It is a tough message, and one that appears to be controversial and inflammatory? No idea how we got there, but telling people to eat less and move more is somehow now no PC?

I've lost and gained industrial amounts of weight in the last ten years, thnk 5-6 stones at a time. I was on the way back down again when Covid happened and I can definitely feel myself expanding due to the leisure centres being closed and working in close proximity to the fridge. I'm otherwise healthy, not even had a cold since 2017, and I don't have to leave the house very often as I'm currently WFH, so my priority at the moment is to stay safe. I'll get back on Myfitnesspal and do more exercise once the world feels a little safer, not because that yellow-haired twatwaffle wants me to do it, but because I was planning on it anyway.

@Oliversmumsarmy - Sorry but it is as simple as that. If you burn off more than you put in, over time you will lose weight.

Download my fitness pal and for 1 week enter everything that you eat.
Then calculate your BMR

Think you will be surprised with the outcome

I agree @Lostmyshityear9

Six stone weight loss in three weeks, ah, best joke I’ve heard all day

@missperegrinespeculiar

IncrediblySadToo right, sounds like you are doing it all and correctly, sorry I misunderstood, I really hope it eventually works for you! good luck!

Please don't apologise 🌷the way I write it wasn't very clear & I appreciated your reply

Several years of this and my diabetes is still
'under control' with diet alone. So that's something, but I'm still obese. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think my low B12 & D don't help. Several years of low level & GP who won't help. I think I need to find somewhere that will. Supplements just aren't cutting it!

I will say that to anyone who hates exercise, I usually do too and I've done it for 20 years. I want potter around all afternoon but I'm going to do HIIT in the garden shortly. Occasionally I'll enjoy a nice run with the right music, weather and dog spotting. Not everyone who is active is always on an endorphin high. I don't even relax at yoga. But it keeps illness at bay.

No pint knowing Hiw to cook if you can't be motivates to cook.

And yes healthy food is sometimes cheaper when you have spices and herbs and knowhow, gas, electric, fridge freezer and a cooker or hob to be able to actually cook it.

If you have little or none of that then processed and cheap processed is what you will have.

That should read
No point knowing how to cook if you can't be motivated to cook.

Maybe learning to cook is something else to add to the list?

I can cook perfectly well, and I can manage a diet as one of my children is diabetic and we have to keep him on an even keel. I'm still fat! I eat plenty of fresh food - too much in fact! It is way more complex than 'learn to cook' and 'there are free recipes everywhere'.

Again, you’re talking about a minority of people to reject an idea... y, for some people it’s not feasible but for many many people it needs to become normal to cook, properly and nutritiously.

poster flirtygirl Fri 15-May-20 15:44:01
No pint knowing Hiw to cook if you can't be motivates to cook.

And yes healthy food is sometimes cheaper when you have spices and herbs and knowhow, gas, electric, fridge freezer and a cooker or hob to be able to actually cook it.

If you have little or none of that then processed and cheap processed is what you will have.

I don't think fat shaming should be a thing. It's not shameful to be fat.

It's not a good thing, but it's nothing to be ashamed of.

We really need to detach the value judgements we place, or which we perceive to be placed, on weight.

A doctor saying to you "you're overweight and it would be best if you lost the extra weight" is not fat shaming. It is not a value judgement.

Cancer Research pointing out the (huge, proven) risks is not fat shaming. It is not a value judgement.

Someone insulting you, telling you you're disgusting, and so on, is fat shaming.

We need to be able to have conversations honestly and openly and without judgement.

Growing up in the 60s and 70s there really weren’t that many fat people Maybe where you lived, I grew up in the 50s and 60s got married in the 70s. There were plenty of fat people.

A couple of changes I have seen is that fruit, vegetables and ingredients to make a meal were really cheap and ready meals were really expensive in comparison
Well there weren't many ready meals in the 50s and 60s but food was more expensive relative to what many people were earning.

Growing up people would go to the pub and have a pint or even a 1/2 after work occasionally and a night out would be 3 drinks that would last all evening.* My dad was a publican, I grew up in pubs, plenty of men went to the pub straight from work and staggered out at closing time. The big difference was that in the 50s closing time was 10 pm and then moved to 10.30 pm.

fromdownwest

No excuses were not the point I was making but if someone privileged like Boris is fat and can easily have those things to lose weight then it shows that being fat is far more complex than a lot of people on this thread are making it. I also don't think you need those things to lose weight but of course they help.

I will always be bigger than some women and a size 14 for me is great and I don't consider that fat but some women do. That's fine.

The other point is motivation and mindset is needed which Boris got from a near death experience. Great for him.

Some never have that motivation or mindset. Mental illness accounts for alot and lots of people have low level depression not enough to get help from a gp even when they go see their gp, but enough to make their everyday live extremely tough.

Add in real bad self esteem issues and comfort eating issues, food addiction and eating disorders. Losing weight is not as easy as some on this thread make it sound.

They love to demonise fat people. Some of you need to get over yourselves. Also what works for one, may not work for others and to be a good healthy change then it needs to be something you can do longterm.

Or else you are back to square one and your metabolism would have suffered, making each subsequent time, you try to lose weight far harder. Science backs this up with the research that showed a person whose body had become used to being fat will fight against them and try everything to get back to that weight.

Lots and lots of issues around losing weight.

Yes @Guylan, that's what I said. Medication may slow your metabolism but the medication itself does not cause the weight gain.

@Lockheart, apologies I wrongly replied to you when I had not read your whole comment and have just seen you also wrote: ‘if you burn much fewer calories than someone else, whether through genetics, medication, or other, then that's unfair, but that's how it is. Find out how your body burns energy and adapt to your own unique circumstances’.

This it true and I don’t disagree. I think I just hope people would not immediately assume all people who are overweight have got like that because they have shown zero will power and gorge on takeaways, cake and chocolate. However, as said, I agree we have to try as much as we can to adapt to our individual circumstances, albeit some of those circumstances can be tough.

poster Oliversmumsarmy Fri 15-May-20 15:13:35
fascinated

But if I am on a crash diet then why isn’t the weight falling off?

because your body is getting a shock, thinking, oh crap I’m starving and storing up the energy... it’s a primal response. Food is fuel. Nothing less nothing more. (To the body - not the mind of course!) You need to eat less at the right times of day and move more and you should see results. It’s much harder when post menopausal but your appetite apparently goes down so that should help a bit ( certainly hope this is true - i eat like a horse normally and like my treats and am well aware that it is becoming harder and harder to shift weight.

There’s a lot of excuses on this thread.

There’s a lot of us who went from fat to slim. My dh doesn’t find it easy because of his thyroid but he keeps on trying.

“All foods processed”. Huge difference between a pizza and a can of tinned sardines though isn’t there?.

It is not fat shaming any more than a doctor telling a 20 a day smoker to quit smoking or they will get lung cancer lung shaming.

Fluffy - that’s what I was trying to say earlier...

Half a pizza v a whole one

Choose different drinks

Sardines fill you up and cost pence , you don’t even need to cook them. add potatoes and peas or sth there’s a meal.

I had sardine sandwiches for packed lunch and the other kids laughed at me. That’s what’s wrong with food culture in this country.

Excuses are easy, action is hard.

Sadly, that is the crux of it. It is far easier to find 100 excuses as to why it is not your fault, as opposed to actually acting on it.

I need to lose about 3 stone but as we are shielded I can't even get out for a walk. I used to walk 30 miles a week...

I’m shielded and am using my treadmill and have downloaded Les Mills on demand. There’s always something you can do, skipping ropes aren’t expensive, my daughter is doing HIIT classes online for free....

I looooooove sardines. They are so versatile! Pasta dishes, salads, just on a bread with bit of butter... Soooo good. Big fan. Big fan.
no pun intended. I just love sardines

Why is it “down with the nanny state” when it’s about public health messages on healthy eating, but not when folk want NHS want treatment for obesity related health issues?

Does everyone believe the newspaper headlines ?