Disabled and Fat - help!

[IntheBenefitTrap]

I'm 5ft and 17 stone, morbidly obese with a BMI in the high 40s. It's time to do something about it because I have severe health anxiety and it's making me more paranoid I'm going to drop dead.

I'm going to join slimming world on Tuesday because I know it works for me. I lost a stone and a half on it before I gave up.

My question is, as someone who is disabled (spinal injury, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia) I can't move much, so the weight has piled on. How do I start exercising without overdoing it? I have a phobia of pulses and if I feel my heart rate increasing it triggers panic. I also get very hot which also makes me panic. I'm terrified if I exercise I'll have a heart attack.

I'm also addicted to junk food and takeaways. I'm depressed and nothing else makes me feel better. In the past I've done a few weeks of a diet and quit because the need for chocolate, Chinese, cake etc is too strong.

How do I get over this? The fear of dropping dead from a heart attack because I'm huge is there all the time, but I'm too scared to exercise in case I die doing that. Can anyone suggest anything?

(I have seen my GP, he said to try harder at SW and gentle walking but I can't leave the house alone as my anxiety won't let me).

I am disabled and wobbly on my feet. I have an exercise bike with a heart rate monitor that I do half an hour on three or four times a week. It took me a while to build up to that level but I definitely feel the benefits. I have more energy andi'm a bit less wobbly.

That's a good idea - I couldn't use a heart monitor as I'd completely freak out, but that sounds like something I could try at home.

Your sw consultant will help you

Do you watch YouTube? I'd recommend following son slimming world people on therefor recipes, motivation and encouragement

A lady I follow was more than your weight.... exactly one year ago she started sw and has now lost ten stone!!!!

Have you ever seen this

It's a yoga program designed by a wrestler who broke his back. People have amazing results...but you can even start doing it sitting down. You download it so can do it all at home.

DDP Yoga is the name of it, and you can get a free trial too.

Pilates was developed as a rehabilitation programme to be used in hospital. I suspect there are many exercises that would help from there if you could find someone (skype maybe) who could help you. Put the equivalent of a few takeaway bills in a pot and you will have enough to pay for a session every couple of weeks maybe?

Giving up sugar and cutting out ftied and processed food is highly likely to be beneficial to your fibromyalgia and likely also your osteoarthritis.

If you have the room, invest in a rowing machine. It's an incredible way to lose weight and tone up.

Can you manage to cycle? You can do a lot of time on the flat and build up your muscles, especially legs and shoulders. Weights are also very good for calorie burn but you'll want to keep them light and do more reps I think. Beat to get a personal trainerbto set the levels.

Good on you OP, I also have a disability Multiple Sclerosis, so I know it's not easy to exercise etc and I have gained weight too.

I go to a yoga group for the less able once a week, and an MS exercise group weekly.

Perhaps you could find out if there are any suitable exercise groups for you locally first port of call disability charities or local leisure centre.

Good luck

Try some gentle, repetitive movements while you're sitting doing something else. Whenever you're watching tv, reading, browsing mumsnet etc, try lifting and lowering one leg at a time, lifting and lowering a tin of beans, rotating your feet clockwise, then anti-clockwise.

I really recommend a beginners aquafit class if you can. You don't get hot and sweaty because the water cools you down, the water gives your joints some support and you can take it a gently as you like to slowly build up your fitness level.

As for food, the only thing that ever works for me is reducing portion sizes, cutting out snacks between meals and drinking only water. I can't calorie count, have fasting days or replace "bad" foods with salad because I just feel deprived and give up out of sheer misery. Better to just focus on breaking one or two bad habits to start with.

Can you get a referral to a dietician? It's much easier to manage dietary changes if you have some support. Hope you find something that works for you.

Actually 80% of weight loss is fewer calories. Exercise is very good if you can do it but if you just want to lose weight then just stick with SW.

Thanks everyone, some great advice - really appreciate it! Lack of support is one of the reasons I keep giving up, as well as food issues. On a bad stomach day, which happens a lot, I end up eating crisps and biscuits as it's all I can keep in. I also let myself get too hungry because I find it hard to make food, blood sugar drops and then I panic stuff chocolate and toast to feel OK again.

I will definitely suggest a dietician referral next time I'm at the GP.

Can't cycle or anything like that unfortunately. I'm bedridden a lot but pilates/yoga at home might be manageable. Maybe I should try losing some weight through diet alone first before taking on exercise although I'm worries about the effect doing nothing has on me.

You might find that a heart rate monitor helps with your fear of dropping dead as you are able to see how hard your heart is working and stay in the safe zone. You will see how your fitness improves over time and understand how your body feels when working hard, but safely.

I always wear mine for exercise and love having all the information about calorie burn, fat burning zones, heart rate etc. Get one with a chest strap as they are much more accurate than the wrist ones.

I do Tai Chi for similar reasons.

I don't even do the full routine, just the warm up exercises and standing meditations, but they build muscle strength - and even 6 minutes' worth is a great deal more than doing nothing.

I set it at a realistically short time so that I'm more likely to do it every day and keep the habit, rather than have to skip it on worse days.

Losing weight is at least 80% diet if not 100% diet - exercise is about being fit. The two are linked but not the same thing.

I had a bed bound patient who decided to go on a diet - secretly I thought she'd get nowhere but she lost loads, kept it off and she couldn't exercise at all.

So I would separate in your head the 2 things. Diet is to get weight off, exercise is to get muscles and heart fit. You need to find an exercise you like whatever it is and do it for enjoyment, rather than stressing about how much of it you are doing or how many calories it might burn.

Personally I have found giving up carbs and sugar gave me a massive energy boost which made me more enthusiastic about doing exercise anyway.

I second what TheBadgers said about gentle, repetitive exercises while sitting (or lying) down.

I've found them a great place to start, and it has to be pretty bad day before I can't do them at all. They help build the muscle strength I need for other moving around - in your case, they may prepare you for future exercise.

I was over 16 stone this time last year and a similar height. I'm now in the 12 stones, and i've only been walking at first. I have fibromyalgia too. Now that I am lighter, I have had the confidence to go to a Burlesque class.

However yesterday I did a lot of walking and having a flare today, so remember to pace yourself.

I would recommend menu planning. It's worked really well for me. Have had meals out but no takeaways since before Christmas. I am making a big effort to cook regardless of how I feel.

Good luck x

Wow well done Groovee, that's an amazing achievement!

I need to not quit. I'm trying to find things that motivate me and I've bought a bracelet that you add tiny beads to every time you lose a pound. I thought seeing it there on my arm when I reach for a snack might help me.

When people say quit sugar, what about fruit? Is that OK to eat?

I'll have to Google exercises I can start doing in bed or on the sofa first then, before I do anything more strenuous. Sticking to it will be an issue, but I really need to wise up. Because of my anxiety and depression I'm really not motivated to do anything at the moment which needs to be worked on too.

Fruit is fine but veg is better.

The science is that fructose is especially difficult for your liver to metabolize and it rapidly gets turned to fat - more so than other calories. So sugar in cake, biscuits, chocolate etc isn't just a waste of calories, it's especially weigth gaining.

Fruit also has fructose but it's all wrapped up with fibre so takes longer to digest and is how our bodies are expecting to deal with it so it's OK - but fruit juice is not as all the fibre has been shredded out and it's basically lots of sugar.

Also if you cut out sugar and carbs your insulin levels drop - insulin is what makes you hungry. On your bad days, it's your high insulin levels that make you fall back on chocolate and high carb/high sugar foods to make you feel good, not your lack of willpower. Insulin also makes you want to curl up in a ball and preserve energy so stops you wanting to exercise.

Once your insulin has dropped, your cravings drop too. Getting through the first week is hard as your body tries to pretend to you that you will starve to death if you don't have a donut, but once the levels have gone down it's like you just don't want those foods anymore. Did wonders for my mood swings as well as I wasn't continually governed by my hormones.

I am a wheelchair user and wanted to lose two stone. I was initially concerned as the only exercise I can do is swimming and it's hard to find the time/need a carer.
I was told exercise only pays a small part weight in lost. Less calories and low fat is far more significant for weight loss.
I cut down to 800- 1000 cals a day and consistently lost 2-3 pounds a week ( more initially).

Thank you Hulder, that makes a lot of sense. I wonder how slimming world works then when you can eat unlimited carbs like pasta and potatoes? That's always seems odd to me. Still, better pasta than chocolate and crisps.

I'm quite lucky in the way that I only ever drink water, so no alcohol, fizz or coffee /tea to cut out. Just food.

Thanks Seven - was it a diet like Cambridge or did you just calorie count? A colleague did Cambridge and lost six stone but as soon as she started eating proper food again, she put it all on again and an extra stone!

Find the video (youtube, BBC) of that 105 yr old Doctor (Ben something), that BBC interviewed recently. The 1 hour of home exercises he does every day. You can do all the things he does.

No specific diet, I just ate porridge with skim milk for breakfast with half a banana. And lots of chicken , fish, salad, veg and soup.

No idea how Slimming World works - never done it.

Increasingly evidence is not to bother doing low fat - fat (as long as it doesn't come with sugar) fills you up so you don't eat too much. A lot of low fat products like yoghurts and spreads are made palatable by having sugar/unhealthy filler added to make up for the fat taken out.

You would be better off having the full-fat version so avoid the processed junk.