To consider fundraising/ go fund me / crowdfunding for weight loss surgery

[lotstolose1]

I imagine this will be a very controversial one and I am opening myself to opinions I potentially won't want to hear. All I ask is please don't be nasty and insulting (I can take harsh & honest)

I am fat, majorly fat, even considered super obese. I've tried everything under the sun, I always manage between a few pounds to a few stone and then fail or stall and put it back on plus more. BMI in the high 50's, almost 23 stone at 5ft 2. I am only in my early 20s.

My GP recently agreed that Bariatric surgery would most likely be the best way forward and agreed to put me forward on the NHS. This could take years, maybe 5.

I have looked into options privately and I just can't afford it. My credit is shot to bits. I've considered selling my car but then I'll just leave myself in a worse position as I'll still have the finance to pay off and then no car to get me about.

I have a few household things I could sell, to get maybe about £500 myself. I'm on very low income and no savings.

AIBU to maybe start a go fund me/ fundraising to raise the rest of the money I'd need. I'd need to raise maybe about £4K.

I am deeply unhappy and the thought of even posting pictures of myself and my weight online for a fundraiser terrifies me and not something I'd do lightly....I'm worried I'm running out of time, I'd like another child but don't want to grow through it while being this massive.

Have you tried LCHF / ketogenic diet?

I did read about your credit but hospital loans can be different - they want you to get the surgery so they do low interest and are much less cautious than normal lenders

It's been fantastic for me - I'm coming up to 9 months now, feel really good.

@Dannn

Have you tried LCHF / ketogenic diet?

I did try keto many many many moons ago. What's LCHF?

the issue is, I don't buy takeaways (don't have the money) I live on not much money at all for my food shop so already do a lot of home cooking. I don't drink fizzy pop anymore nor coffee. I don't have money to waste on junk food. I'm not eating too bad at all really. Don't get me wrong obviously I have overindulged to get me to the point I am now, of course. I just think now I'm this big I just can't get back to where I was. If a dietician was to sit down and look at my diet today I don't think there'd be much wrong actually. I just about manage to scrape together £30 a month for a swimming membership, as that's something I enjoy.
What do you eat each day OP.

Also, if you decide to do calorie counting, it doesn’t really work unless you weigh EVERYTHING (most people are shocked the first time they weigh a serving of cheese), and use the calories and fat on the back of the exact package you ate from (make sure you never miss if a package that looks like one serving is actually “serves 2”), not just try to find the closest equivalent in an app. Watch out for things like teaspoons and tablespoons if something uses them - know exactly how many grams of whatever it is you’re having and count the calories for that.

LCHF is Low Carb High Fat - a form of keto diet with an emphasis on full fat foods and ingredients.

@SwimBaby

Typical day is

Breakfast: usually cereal (rice crispies, crunchy nut or occasionally coco pops) with semi skimmed milk.

Or toast and scrambled eggs if I can be bothered to cook.

Lunch: usually a sandwhich (ham, chicken or cheese), with something on the side like a bag of fridge raiders.

Dinner: favourite meal is chicken (cooked in Peri sauce) pasta with cheese and usually broccoli or aspargus.

It's usually always some form of protein; chicken, pork or beef with pasta/potatoes/rice and I always try to get some vegetables in even though I'm a bit fussy with them.

Typical snacks or desserts would be: a bag of crisps, strawberries with cream, sometimes some tinned fruit, sugar free jelly, low sugar angel delight. (Not All of them in one day btw, just an example of the things I'd sometimes have)

I know this isn't the BEST diet but I do know that I'm not sat stuffing my face all day with cake and I do try my best to include all food groups.

It will prob be approx 2 years via NHS.
The amount you have predicted at 4K would be for surgery abroad - here it would be from 6-14k depending on what you have.
Join the friendliest gastric sleeve/bypass group on Facebook. Very helpful and informative.

[quote lotstolose1]@SwimBaby

Typical day is

Breakfast: usually cereal (rice crispies, crunchy nut or occasionally coco pops) with semi skimmed milk.

Or toast and scrambled eggs if I can be bothered to cook.

Lunch: usually a sandwhich (ham, chicken or cheese), with something on the side like a bag of fridge raiders.

Dinner: favourite meal is chicken (cooked in Peri sauce) pasta with cheese and usually broccoli or aspargus.

It's usually always some form of protein; chicken, pork or beef with pasta/potatoes/rice and I always try to get some vegetables in even though I'm a bit fussy with them.

Typical snacks or desserts would be: a bag of crisps, strawberries with cream, sometimes some tinned fruit, sugar free jelly, low sugar angel delight. (Not All of them in one day btw, just an example of the things I'd sometimes have)

I know this isn't the BEST diet but I do know that I'm not sat stuffing my face all day with cake and I do try my best to include all food groups.[/quote]
Sugary cereal is not your friend. It will make you hungrier. Neither is pasta or potatoes. You need to cut out the junk snacks and switch for fruit or veg etc, tinned fruit in syrup doesn't count. Better yet, aim to cut out the snacking.

Sorry, but I can absolutely see how that food can contribute to weight gain if portions are even just bit wrong. You don't need to stuff your face with cake...

Do you weigh and measure what you eat? I think if you do that you might be surprised how many calories you are consuming. Look at the packets and see what a portion is it’s really surprising. Looking at your diet I would say you’re eating over what you would need for calorie deficit

It's usually about portion size I think... Not necessarily the contents of what you eat. A dinner could be 400 calories or 800. We can't tell without seeing your plate size

I'm sure I won't be the first to critique your diet but I'll have a go based on the Jenkinson principles. In short, you've got some really good healthy food there, but mixed with some highly processed food which won't be doing you any favours.

Breakfast: usually cereal (rice crispies, crunchy nut or occasionally coco pops) with semi skimmed milk

You are better off with a less processed breakfast such as porridge, fruit or eggs. Crunchy Nut and Coco Pops are full of added sugar, so avoid.

Or toast and scrambled eggs if I can be bothered to cook A better option but bread can be full of processed nasties so try to choose a minimally processed type and don't have more than one slice. Or try an omelette/other egg on its own dish

Lunch: usually a sandwhich (ham, chicken or cheese), with something on the side like a bag of fridge raiders.

Sounds like you are having quite a lot of bread here, and you need to be getting some fruit or veg into your lunch. Try a cold meat or pasta salad instead of a sandwich. Cut out the fridge raiders - processed crap you can do without. A small handful of raw nuts would be a better 'nibble' option than fridge raiders.

Dinner: favourite meal is chicken (cooked in Peri sauce) pasta with cheese and usually broccoli or aspargus

This sounds like a really healthy dinner - you might want to add another veg to the side to get your 5 a day.

Typical snacks or desserts would be: a bag of crisps

Avoid crisps - even plain crisps are usually cooked in highly processed types of oil, and flavoured ones have all sorts of rubbish in them.

strawberries with cream Great dessert!

sometimes some tinned fruit Fine if not in syrup.

sugar free jelly, low sugar angel delight Too processed - will be full of artificial sweeteners and flavourings. Perhaps have plain yoghurt and add your own berries instead of this?

In the nicest possible way OP, your diet is shocking. And you know that really.

Swap the cereal for natural yoghurt, or eggs, or even a cooked breakfast is better than cereal or toast.

Swap that sandwich for a salad or soup.

Ditch the pasta, just have chicken and veg.

I'd also recommend Why We Eat Too Much. I said my diet was good before reading this. It really wasn't. Join the thread and make a start in the morning. You will lose a stone, then another, then another and as diets go, it's amazing.

@soreenqueen21

I don't see why anyone would give you any money though? I mean, no offense intended, but if I'm going to contribute to medical expenses to someone it's going to be a kids experimental cancer treatment or something of that ilk, not elective weightloss surgery for someone who will get it on the NHS anyway if they wait a while.

Why not try the hypnotherapy gastric band. It's a lot cheaper.

Yeah, I've donated to a fund for a local child who was having treatment for a brain tumour. But I wouldn't for a non-disabled adult wanting weight loss surgery I'm afraid.

Has your GP commenced you on any medication to help with your weight loss? The initial push needs to come from you no matter how hard it is.

I did a diet called Lipotrim. I lost over 5 stone in just under 3 months, it changed my life.
Willpower required.

I always wonder with these crowdfund appeals whether the person will actually spend the money on what they say they will. Is there any accountability?

Last time I donated to a stranger was for the young British woman raped in Cyprus and treated appallingly by the court.

I just want to say that you can have pasta etc, but make sure it's below recommended portion. I do 150g cooked weight of carbs like potato, rice, pasta. Great for control.
You can also have the processed stuff, but don't have it every day, there I agree with others that it's absolutely no good.
And I snack😂 Contrary to the popular belief you can lose while having healthy (or not sometimes) snacks you ACCOUNT for and it doesn't mean grazing.

I am pretty confident that if you put real amounts into the calculator, you will find out that it's crapload of calories more than you thought. I think we all had that "what the actual fuck" moment. And I think that moment is needed because it is such an eye opener. Ouch, but needed.

@lotstolose1 I've just done a quick rough calculation and based on your breakfast, lunch, dinner with no condiments like Mayo on the sandwich and sticking exactly to recommended portion size so 30g coco-pops and so on, you are having about 1400 calories a day. That does not account for any snacks, drinks or large portions.

IF you wanted to try the diet route then I'd really recommend diligently recording everything you eat for a few days, which does mean weighing it, so that you can get an accurate picture of your current calorie and nutrient intake and can make decisions about what you can and want to change.

Strawberries are only decent for three weeks a year in the UK (enjoy then!) and cream is not exactly low calories - so I struggle to see how that can be a great dessert for someone trying to lose weight. Eat an apple or a banana, or a piece of citrus fruit if you can find something not too heavy on the miles.

Kiddy sugar cereals aren't filling. Muesli or granola are. Porridge really sticks to the ribs.

Fridge raiders are calorie dense crap. Have another sandwich. Eat as much salad veg as you like. Crisps are a bag of fat and air.

I hope you can get help to make changes to your lifestyle ( never diets, they always fail) which mean you won't need surgery and I wish you the very, very best.

Sorry OP, but I suspect your diet is less healthy than you think eg crunchy nut corn flakes, coco pops, fridge raiders, pasta with cheese, crisps, cream, tinned fruit, angel delight

Do you have family or friends you could borrow the money off? I wouldn’t donate to a go fund me type thing, but if it were a close turns who I knew had really tried everything and was trying hard to save the money I would lend it.

You can try anything but I think a scenario where you end up ridiculed online/in the daily mail is pretty likely.

Being obese without any other factor that makes it more of an obvious sob story won't get the sort of sympathy you would need to earn 4k.

Also agree with others, you need to sort your diet out. I’m not a particularly healthy eater and am overweight myself, but that would be a typical bad diet day for me.