Is it possible to turn your health around with lifestyle changes?

[topsy22]

I haven't been looking after myself over the past few years. My diet is appalling, I regularly go over my alcohol units per week, I don't exercise and I vape.

No excuses but since having my youngest dc life is hard work and there just isn't any time for the gym. I do walk a lot. I'm massively sleep deprived and I've been seeking comfort in caffeine, carbs, booze and vapes. The idea of salads and workouts just feel beyond me right now. As a consequence I'm overweight, my face is bloated and lined and more importantly I'm totally unfit. I realised the other day in a shopping centre that I was breathless from walking up the stairs. I get occasional chest pain and always feel tired, sluggish and bloated.

I know I need to make changes but I guess what I'm wondering is if any damage to my health can be reversed by improving my lifestyle - exercising more. Cutting out booze and junk food. Eating more nutrients and getting my vitamins etc? Has anyone managed to do this and did you feel better? I'm 39.

Of course! But if you're having chest pains I'd be getting to the doctor ASAP.

I did.

I was obese, prediabetic, and had NAFLD and high cholesterol. I turned round those results within 3 months by losing 2lb a week on a Calorie Deficit Diet and Weight Watchers.

ETA I also had 1 PT session and a few group exercise sessions a week with other people like me and dietary wise I focused on upping protein, lowering sugar and UPF.

I known it has been shown that making changes even in your 60s can have a big impact on your health so yes it would be worth it

Probably start small to avoid getting overwhelmed by the problem

Interested in what people think is the best place to start - my guess is alcohol or sugar as both affect sleep and you have more energy to fix other things once you sleep properly

I’m 59. I’ve massively improved my health over the last 2 years by training with a PT, doing more walking, taking up cycling again and eating a diet of whole foods. I’ve last almost 3 stone and everything feels better.

Of course OP - you can do it and you will feel great, start now with one thing a month and by Christmas you will feel much better. Or do my approach and do everything at once and suffer but feel great also 🤣

Start with the booze?

Of course it's possible. What makes you think it isn't?

This may be good advice, but it’s also the most difficult change. I haven’t cracked it yet. I’d say change one is enough water.

It's definitely possible. The good news is that once you start feeling better, it becomes easier to give up the other things. So start with whichever you think would be easiest and go from there. Maybe cut down the alcohol to weekends only, same with sugary stuff, and walk every day.

Agree with PP re sugar.. I always feel so much better when I cut out sugar. All sugar, bread included !

I watch Louise's journey channel on YouTube, and there are plenty of other similar channels with motivational stories of changing lives.

You can definitely do this. I've been in a spiral of bad eating & too much drinking due to family bereavements. I've piled on a stone and a half in 9 months. I feel shit.
I've not had a drink for a week & im eating decent food. Trying to walk more. I've not had a drink at all this weekend which is massive for me
I already feel so much better
As somebody else said. Small steps. When you feel the benefits it will encourage you to continue.
Good luck.

It’s not the most difficult change for everyone. I was drinking a couple of glasses of wine most evenings last year, as well as eating badly and not exercising enough. For me, quitting the wine was the easiest bit. I just stopped buying it. I’ve only drank on 4-5 occasions this year, and not at all in the house.
The food part was the hardest change for me. I could stop buying wine completely, but I can’t stop eating, so it was a more difficult thing to get a grip on. Equally incorporating exercise was difficult because outside of full time work I’m a carer to my disabled child, so time is hard to come by.
Anyway I’ve lost 3 stone this year (now 9 stone 7) so it’s always worth making changes OP!

I suppose I'm just worried about my general health. Have I harmed my liver or my lungs with the drinking and vaping? I mentioned chest pain, it's not constant or severe but I sometimes think I've already done damage to my body now. But there are no concrete symptoms where I think I could go to the doctor and say 'I think this is wrong with me can you check it please' iyswim. It's more a general feeling of meh.

I think small changes are best. I'm going to cut right back on drinking to weekends only as it's slowly crept up to being most nights of the week. Need to adjust my diet too. The vape will be tough as nicotine is a real addiction. And I guess the positive changes like more exercise will have to come in time.

When are you 40? When you reach 40, you are entitled to the NHS Over 40s Health Check (I was entitled to the Enhanced one because of my postal code) and they do bloods, weight, lifestyle check etc - an MOT. Then you get given your risk score, they can refer you for support to lose weight etc. That's how it was all picked up for me.

It is always worth making changes. Start with the easiest- which you’ve identified- and save the hardest to last. FWIW it may be worth looking for the lower-nicotine vape juices in order to wean off gradually when the time comes, but, if you’re buying high quality juices it’s a lot better for you than smoking and can probably go to the bottom of the list.

you can also add steps into life with only minor changes- always take the stairs, walk if it’s a mile or less, and that will also help. Finally, maybe look for a gentle yoga class: some benefits of yoga (which other forms of exercise don’t offer) include reduction in the effects of stress, and greater resilience- which might make it easier to make some of the other changes you want to make.

Good luck! It’s definitely not too late and you are strong enough to do this 💪

Of course it can make a difference! 40 isn't old! My dad changed his diet and started doing weights when he was in his late 60s, after a wake-up call when he was told he was pre-diabetic. As a result, his sleep apnoea disappeared, he came off his statins and blood pressure medication and reversed his diabetes. He'd barely been overweight, but he rgot very slim. He's now a sprightly 80, still playing full rounds of golf and still doing weights.

The worst thing you could do is decide there’s no point making any changes because you think the damage has already been done, and carrying on as you are.

Not only it is possible but it is, in many cases, the only way to drastically improve your health. Even if you have something “wrong” that requires medication, most medication needs to be taken alongside lifestyle changes.

Definitely don’t have the mindset that it has to be salad & workouts OP! I’ve lost 3 stone & have been nowhere near a gym or many lettuce leaves! My main thing was quitting alcohol which has improved my life so so much, not just the weight loss. I sleep way better, I’m calmer & less anxious, I have more money! The only exercise I do is walking, although now that my back is stronger I am considering some classes such as Pilates. I try to do “ clean eating “ some of the time which is foods that are easy to digest & not full of additives eg chicken, salmon, broccoli, Greek yogurt with honey & berries. But honestly, coming off booze was the best decision I ever made.

Yes, of course it's possible. Lots of people turn it around at all ages. Research even suggests elderly people can make changes that have benefits in the longer term.

You need a realistic plan. Forget all the "quick" schemes and fads, etc. Be realistic. If you are drinking too much, don't pretend you can go alcohol free overnight and keep it up. Far better to be honest with how much you drink and just make small reductions, so less becomes the new normal. Same with exercise, just do a little more, then a little more, even if it's just parking at the far end of car parks or walking to the end of the train platform. Every little helps and it becomes the norm. Same with eating, don't cut out all the "treats" as you WILL fail. Better, again, to be honest, and cut things out slowly for the long term.

I used to binge eat in my teens and ended up 22 stones! I went on a crazy diet with lots of exercise and got down to 14 stones in a year. Then I started binge eating again and was back to 23 stones the year later! I was in denial about it. Not just the bingeing but also large meals and eating crap.

It's taken me 20 years, but I've got down from 23 stones to 14 again, very slowly and very gradually, just by "little and often" whether it's been eating slightly less, getting used to smaller meals, stop buying so much crap, walking further, etc. It's reversed my T2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and I feel better now that I did when I was 18! Being more active and eating less and better quality foods (fewer carbs, fewer additives, low sugar, low fat), year after year, makes a massive difference to me.

Because I never made "Big" changes the second time around, the exercise and healthier eating just becomes a habit and you really don't notice the changes over the months and years. What's even better is that when I "fall off the wagon", with either binging (still do very occasionally when stressed) or fancy a treat, I don't feel guilty anymore. I just think "tomorrow's another day" and get back to the fit and healthy way.

A quick and easy way to eat healthier meals is to sign up to simply cook. We've done this in the last couple of months. They send you a very easy recipe and spices. Only a few ingredients but we're cooking fresh every night. Very tasty meals too and pretty healthy.

I'm trying to do it and to be honest, it's absolute fucking bullshit. At our age, changes are soooooo much slower than you expect.

I do feel better for the vegetables but I'm still fat 😭

I feel exactly the same - I don’t drink or vape but I do eat excessive quantities of sugar and fizzy drinks, I constantly feel run down and exhausted and the last two weeks have had a near constant headache. I get out of breath walking up stairs and constantly aching joints. Somehow I’m not hugely overweight but I’m just unfit and unhealthy and it shows in my appearance and health. I’m starting tomorrow to drink more water, walk 8000 steps and try and eat more whole food based meals as otherwise it’s a slippery slope to Christmas and I won’t be arsed because I might as well just wait until new year, so feels like it’s now or never!

Make one realistic change at a time, OP. Then build up your better habits slowly. No need to feel as if it’s a mountain to climb.

I was in a similar situation at the same age. Went low carb high fat, cut out boozing in the week and switched some vaping with nicotine lozenges. I lost a lot of weight and no longer have that bloated look. I still vape and drink too much really but the realistic changes made a huge difference to how I feel and look.