Everything is because I’m fat.

[Fbshe]

I went to the doctors today, I keep feeling really faint and going dizzy. My doctor suggested it is because of being overweight (she had taken my weight and height while there). This has really upset me because I don’t believe this is the cause, I’m 5 foot 1 and weigh 10 stone (fluctuate to slightly under sometimes but this is what the scale showed today). I genuinely think it’s my build and can’t be helped, I’m a 30HH bra and naturally have a big bum, when I was 14 I was 7 and a half stone and still had a massive bum while the rest of me was bones.

I cannot lose weight, I ran a marathon 2 weeks ago, I weight train twice a week, I run 3 times a week and I walk the dog for 1-2hours a day, longer on weekends. I have reasonable meals and no snacks, I had 2 slices of toast for breakfast with a small amount of butter, some frittata for lunch with a couple of cherry tomatoes and a 320calorie ready meal for my tea. I’ve had 3 glasses of sugar free squash and will have another before bed.

I asked the doctor for help with weight loss if she thought this was the cause but she suggested smaller meals and increasing activity levels. I don’t know what to do.

I feel like complaining to the surgery because I’m no closer to knowing why I always feel so lightheaded and I’ve been made to feel really self conscious with no real support. Am I being sensitive or is this reasonable?

It's possible to be what is commonly called 'skinny fat'. Medical term is 'normal weight obesity' which is defined as having a high bodyfat percentage at a normal weight.

Image below shows a slim woman with a belly.

1. I am 5'2'' and the same weight and I am very slightly overweight in a way that no doctor has ever commented on. I'm currently undergoing investigations for a chronic health condition that can be affected by weight and nobody has brought it up yet. Honestly. I got on the scales at my booking in appointment when pregnant, came up with a BMI of 25.2, and the midwife took a deep breath, said 'don't worry about it', and marked me down as 'normal weight'.
2. I also do resistance training 2 days a week and run 3 days a week, did a PB 10k on Friday (I'm about to start training for a half marathon) and eat MUCH MUCH more than you. Think, two eggs and toast, maybe half an avocado and some orange juice after a run for breakfast, protein snack mid morning and sometimes mid afternoon (2x baby bells or some nuts), lunch of tofu, noodles and veg, and proper big dinner of protein, carb and veg, or pasta dish, or pizza, or curry and naan, or stew and potatoes or chilli and rice etc. Occasional glass of wine or beer of an evening, M&Ms or ice cream for dessert too. Skyr if I am still hungry...

I would be more concerned that you are under eating and you need a second opinion.

I’ve not read all the replies but running in the summer can contribute to iron deficiency due to all the excess sweating. This would explain the light headedness.

It's possible to be what is commonly called 'skinny fat'.

That doesn't sound like the OP though - if she's got large boobs and bum with her weight then I'd bet she's got quite a small waist.

OP - waist:hip ratio is worth checking. If yours is ok that's worth mentioning if you get more fobbing off re weight.

Yeah that sounds like POTS, or low blood pressure. I have very similar to what you’ve described. Bad news is I have no magic cure for you, other than make sure you stay very well hydrated

I'm half again as heavy as you and NOT half again as tall! My BMI is significantly higher than yours (but not weight loss surgery high) and I definitely need to lose a couple of stone (or 3).

I was at my GP twice last week with various ongoing health issues (including suspected MS and a bloody big bunion on the outside of my right foot) and neither of the GPs I saw mentioned my weight even though we all know that my various ailments would at least improve if I wasn't so fat. I'd complain OP, and definitely get a second opinion.

Ah, that would make sense. I’ve been working on my cardio for weight loss, so perhaps I’ve been helping myself without knowing! 😅

140 is more than me - good work! 😄

Read the post I'm replying to. It's not about the OP. It's another poster. From the quote tree it actually looks like she replied to one of your posts.

She said: 'I am 5'1" and am 8 stone exactly. I am certainly not slim, I have quite a fat tummy which I can't lose.'

We both must have the same vile and patronising GP. Must've skipped the bedside manner, empathy and menopause training.

I cannot fathom why being a bit overweight would make you dizzy

that really is taking the (low fat) biscuit

ask to see another GP

I’d also ask to borrow a BP monitor from the surgery - or just buy one - and check your BP AM and PM. You have to do it twice each time - ask the nurses for instructions.

If you’ve had low BP in the past and you are dizzy you might as well start with the bleeding obvious which is low BP

I had a problem with dizziness when standing up and thought it was low blood pressure. When I mentioned it to my Dr he suggested I start taking liquid with electrolytes. I started taking water, one bottle a day of Smart Water and the results were amazing. There are many brands of water with electrolytes on the market so you should be able to find one. Good luck.

I think muscle is a good thing within the normal physiological range. We always hear how older people should strength train. I think the issue is juiced up guys who get to like <10% bodyfat.

I'm not sure how I'm so good at DLing tbh. It just comes quite naturally to me. I don't compete but when I checked the ExRx deadlift standards I was in the Elite category. I'm not one of those super butch women, I'm quite lean.

Complain to practice manager and tell her you eant an appointment with someone else and you want a full blood count. Particularly for iron or folate deficiency or diabetes 1 or 3 although light headedness sounds like hypo (low blood sugar) maybe?

Might be a bit insensitive but the message is accurate.

No, nothing, the GP just noted that his blood pressure reading dropped as he stood up, which she said is due to dehydration, I didn't 100% buy it at the time, because he had been eating and drinking as normal and it wasn't particularly hot, it was only a couple of days later that he told me he'd had a dodgy stomach, so we came to the conclusion it was dehydration but because of that, rather than not drinking and eating enough, it seemed to correlate. The GP was not interested in the slightest and very dismissive, just told him to drink more water, instead of tea and coffee.

We did read all about it when we got home, and that obviously came up, but although he very occasionally feels light headed, normally when he's not eaten or drank enough, he'd never had a spell as bad as that one, he literally fainted on his way out the door to go to work, but he's been fine since and the blood test didn't show anything.

Apologies, it wasn't the most sensitive example. But it does seem to be true that nobody stays overweight in prolonged calorie deficit.

I'm not medically trained and don't have any other advice, but i do know the sugar-free squash is actually worse for you than the real sugary thing (although neither is good obviously). Its got something to do with the artificial sweetener in it which messes up your blood sugar/glucose levels and could possibly hinder your other weight loss efforts.

Hope you find a doctor that will listen to you instead of fobbing you off x

How old are you? Dizzy and faint spells were my first peri menopause symptom, then came heart palpitations…fun times!

Wow so many replies! I’ve just googled POTS and based on the NHS website I can tick off every symptom, I had never heard of it before.

I will call back and ask to see a different doctor to see if they will listen. I’m hoping it a not menopause because I’m only early 30s.

I was about to say the same. For me it’s particularly bad in the days before before my period and in hot weather. I was about 39 when I first experienced it.

it's hard for me to believe OP has undiagnosed POTS, anemia, chronic fatigue, muscle weakness or any sort of nutritional deficiency if she can run a marathon and do 2-3 hours of exercise every day, about half of which is fairly strenuous (the running & weights).

Asides: how do you run a marathon when only doing 3 training runs a week? I didn't think that would be enough. Am also wondering what bra you'd recommend.

Dehydration was my thought for an explanation.

Err, no. Hth.

I hope this isn’t insensitive, but someone I know found out they were pregnant this way, they kept having weird drops in blood pressure and feeling dizzy, also unable to lose weight.

My Gran used to say the same. She said you could go to the doctor with your arm hanging off and the answer was always "well you should probably stop smoking" or "you should probably lose weight".

Ugh, I hate doctors who are dismissive like this, they are sadly rather numerous. I’ve found the most reliable way to make them listen to me is to bring my older brother to the appointment with me. He’s quite an intense person,doesn’t do small talk, only Big Talk. Which is really annoying when you’ve invited a friend over for a dinner party and instead of making light conversation he decides to interrogate her about her entire life history. But anyway, when I need someone on my side who won’t be satisfied with submitting to a ‘voice of authority’ he’s the best! And he’s a man, which helps too 🙄.
Have you got a friend or relative you could recruit as a wingman? They’ll need to be someone who thinks you’re the final authority on your own health, not some rando doctor who’s spoken to you for 10 mins, no matter how many exams they’ve passed. Being the advice seeker is a vulnerable position, having someone to back you up really helps.
p.s. You’re not fat OP, you may be technically overweight on BMI, but I’ve got a similar figure to you and am more ‘overweight’ than that and doctors have never even mentioned it to me. Your GP is just being lazy/won’t admit to not knowing what’s wrong