Losing weight, weight loss injections or gym?

[undecidedfatty]

I've recently been lucky enough to go up a pay grade. The number one things which gets me down, which has always got me down, is my weight. I've been a size 16 since I was a teenager and I can't seem to change it. It goes up and down a bit but I've never been a healthy weight. I lost quite a bit a few years ago by fasting every day but I can't do it now as I get too shaky and irritated.
I'm a single parent, I have two small children all the time, I work full time out of the house in a healthcare related role and I cannot lose any weight. This is partly circumstantial as often the thought of a few rich tea biscuits is all that gets me through a difficult shift. My DC's don't sleep, one has autism and I honestly can't keep my mind on dieting. I don't overeat but I often make a cheese toastie for tea or pot noodle (I'm veggie) as I'm so busy and worn out, I'm also skint a lot.
I really need to do something and thought I want to lose weight. I'm not looking for a quick fix (and I don't think such a quick fix exists) but I can't carry on trying to reduce calories as it just feels so joyless in an already pretty difficult existence.
Would the weight loss injections be a good investment? Or would a nice gym membership (with pool) be a better investment? I really want to do something to improve my overall well-being, and feel more refreshed outside of work, mum life.
I would really appreciate some advice from mums in similar situations, especially if you have chosen one of these options. I really don't want suggestions on home exercise (tried it, kids don't let me, no room) or complex diets when I'm constantly on the go, running on adrenaline, no time to cook etc. I'm out the house from 7.30am until 7.30 pm and I have no time nor energy when I get back. I don't enjoy cooking and I can't even batch cook as we have a tiny freezer. I don't even get a lunch break.
I have about £150 a month to tackle this and I really need help after 20 years of trying to do this the natural way.

Bitter much?

If only someone could develop a drug that helped them. Oh, wait…

It's a bit sharp, but I think it's pretty insightful!

Exercise isn't just about weight loss though.

People NEED to exercise for overall health.
Especially if you want to have a good old age.

I work out at home whilst my little ones watch cartoons. Sometimes they are under my feet which is annoying but it's important. Or after the children are in bed.

Nutrition is also incredibly important regardless of how much you weigh. You won't feel any health and well being benefits by injecting yourself daily but carrying on living off toasties

I'm on Mounjaro and I absolute love it. Totally life changing. No side effects; I've lost a stone in 3 weeks, I'm feeling full of energy, great mood, and sleeping really well.

I am simply not interested in food whatsoever, and it's so freeing! When I do eat, it's always high protein or fruit and veg, a habit I'll continue when I come off.

Don't knock it til you've tried it. I have tried everything to lose weight, believe me. It is amazing.

Be honest. Are you really genuinely considering a gym membership?

Someone would need to be holding a gun to my head to get me out of bed at 5am to exercise.

I'm actually genuinely eating more on WW than I did before. Even from a caloric perspective (as opposed to perceived volume of food). But the type of food I'm eating has changed.

It will help but you need to burn around 3500 calories to burn 1lb of fat so that's the equivalent of running about 35 miles which is an awfully long time in the gym every week!

@Prenelope that's my worry. I am aware that if I heard myself talking about food, I wouldn't suggest injected something. I would suggest unpicking the reasons why I feel so worthless that I see feeding myself well as an inconvenience and unnecessary cost. But I've been eating this way for ten years. I tried the meal prep boxes as a way of trying to cook more and eat better but I just felt resentful that I was paying £6 for a bean chilli that I could make for pence myself. Plus the plastic waste and environmental cost of delivering it.
However after that I just went back to buying shit bread and eating omelettes every night.

Maybe if the OP used the £150 for a chest freezer in the garage rather than injections she could make some healthy quick meals once a week and won’t need to enjoy it any more than she might enjoy doing the laundry, but it would sort out the issue of not eating proper food.

Ah this all sounds so fucking hard. But the feeding yourself for under a £1 is going to be so awful for your health.

When I was really time poor I would literally do cherry tomatoes, peppers, oninons etc etc in a bowl with olive oil, put on a tray to bake, add to coucous (it takes ten minutes, just couscous hot water cover) add feta or halloumi as a veggie. let the idea that money spent on food is wasteful, it’s really not.

@Prenelope I am seriously considering this gym as it has childcare, as I stated PP. But I wouldn't be waking up at 5am to go, and I think if I woke my kids up to do that they would kill me lol.

I know the freezer sounds like a good idea but I just know myself I wouldn't batch cook. I'm just being honest. I just wouldn't do that on a weekends.
I have a treadmill. As I said before, I get my steps in. I walk miles. No impact on my weight as I stuff myself with biscuits in the ward office.

@undecidedfatty you're doing an amazing job caring for your two children with additional needs and working full time on your own. You are not a poor advocate for the health service at all. You have one issue, which has causes that you've identified, and unfortunately being overweight is one issue that can't be masked in public. Everyone and their auntie will have an opinion on it, as you can see on this thread.

In your position, I would spend some of your higher wages on a new freezer and find a space for it somewhere. Then buy some good quality frozen meals that can be microwaved, and view them as an investment in your health. Ones like from Cook Food for example, no additives and with good nutritional balance.

The gym/spa sounds like a nice idea for a fun time with your children, so if you'd enjoy it and find it not too stressful then go for it. I don't think that it will help directly with weight loss but might help with de-stressing which will help in the long run.

@SilenceInside thank you. Yes the gym is much more about well-being than weight loss. It's about healthy habits, less screen time and something to focus on. Feeling that we as a family need to exercise because it's fun and trying to implement those healthy habits.
The nice ready meals is a good shout too. I'll look them up.

Gym, healthy eating and small portions are the healthy option. I wouldn't even consider injections unless obese with serious health issues caused by excess weight.

I have gone for both - WL injections and a few months in a David Lloyd membership primarily so I can access the pool. You may find that your food bill drops on the jabs so could maybe afford both x

Go cold turkey and quit biscuits completely, they are so high in calories and completely unsatisfying, they will not curb hunger. If you need a 'treat' get corn or rice cakes and drizzle with honey.

@ThatsNotMyTeen good luck! Did you manage to haggle the DL membership at all? I've heard you can but embarrassed to try.

I would go with a weight loss coach personally, I’d be looking for a bit of a mindset shift, structure and someone to keep me on track and there are some great coaches out there that do this within your budget, just do your research to get the right one for you.

Ours don’t haggle
but one is flagship and the others are tier 1
two have wait lists 🙄

I would wait until after Christmas - save the money for the pens and do the pens and family membership in tandem

What on earth makes you assume she has a garage?

I went to the gym for two years and gained weight. It made me hungry, so I ate what I burned off and if I missed the gym due to being busy I was very angry at myself. Mounjaro worked well for me. Lost just over 30lbs. You still have to eat well and diet, but it's just so much easier as you aren't hungry as much and because you are thinking about food less you are able to make better choices.

Being time poor was a huge factor in not being able to diet. I didn't have time to plan and cook alternate meals to the rest of the family. Mounjaro meant i just ate less of it instead. Some might scoff at this statement, but I've got two primary kids and one is severely disabled so requires 1 to 1 care and all the admin that goes with that (and there is a lot) and on top of this I work full time. It pisses me off when people berate the nation for being fat, when it is very hard to diet and exercise when you have very limited time.

I slowly came off the reducing dosages (I went from 8.5 to 2.5 and still lost a few lbs when reducing to below target) and this is my first week fully off and I am noticeably hungrier. I do feel better equipped to ignore the hunger now, which I have been trying to do, but being busy means it's hard to make good choices again. The carbs are coming back because it's quicker to make a slice of toast than cook chicken. I think this is because I'm burnt out more than anything, so I hope my holiday soon will reset this. I have gained a lb this week but I am due on.

I managed to over order and not need one of my pens, so it is sitting in the fridge in case i need it for a winter reset. I still weight train, but I'm so busy it can be as little as once a week due to time constraints. I really would do better if I actually had time for healthy living.

I would personally try the injections, then look at gym to maintain. You can get a cheap set of weights and resistance bands to keep at home to use in the meantime. You will need an exit strategy and need to look at nutrition whilst on the jabs, as it is important to eat the right foods if reducing to low calories. The Mounjaro threads were great on here when I was on them.

Try the injections. Think of them as an investment in your health. Getting your whole family to the gym at the weekend will likely end up as another source of stress and a once weekly swim or gym session won’t make any difference to your weight. It’s great you have a long-term plan to improve your work life balance and in the meantime you can use medical support to reduce your weight to a much healthier level and slash your risk of diabetes, joint damage and a host of diseases. You will also enjoy looking and feeling leaner. It’s not true that most overweight people have mental issues that require counselling or other treatment. Studies show very marginal effects except in people with binge-eating disorders. Most just feel a bit hungrier than people who don’t struggle to stay at a healthy weight. The OP sounds tired, stressed and understandably fed up with her weight. For the vast majority of people, weight loss injections work.