Seem to have put on 2 stone...

[Ohmygodthepain]

I'm currently almost 2 stone over my comfortable weight. Combination of sedentary job over the last 3 years, lazy food prep, perimenopause, thyroid stuff and currently 2 chronic pain issues involving one arm and one leg.

The diet stuff I think I can get back under control - just need to plan better and stop relying on shite food. It's the exercise I'm struggling with. Any suggestions as to what I can do with sciatica and a frozen shoulder (both under specialist at hospital) - one leg hurts from my lower back to my foot - and one excruciatingly painful arm/shoulder.

Thanks!

Swimming or yoga? Something low impact. Weight loss is mostly diet though.

Could you try a gentle swim twice a week?

Swimming is great, I love swimming but you won’t lose weight unless you're churning out sub 30s 50m splits. You will struggle with frozen shoulder too.

Yoga was amazing for my frozen shoulder. I can recall having 1 hour painfree affter the first session and I almost cried from relief.

Yeah, I love to swim, we have a pool close to home. But I can't manage it at all due to back issues, and inability to get out of a wet costume after! Boo!!

The muscle that matters the most to weight loss is the biceps that lifts your hand or fork to your mouth. Control that one and you will lose the weight.
The toning up will come in a few months when you are lighter and hopefully by then pain free.
In the mean time?
Are you able to walk with your sciatica? Are you able to cycle? If yes, do those, more for habit building than real impact on calories.

Sadly not very far at the moment, a few hundred steps at most, despite excellent painkillers. I've got an appointment with MSK this week for further investigation, the pain from the sciatica is utterly unbearable and has been going on for months.

I hear what you're saying about diet. Needs to get my brain around that initially, not easy when dosed up to the eyeballs currently on tramadol and not able to stand for long to prep food.

Really? Is it not decent exercise unless you're super fast?

I swim a lot and am fairly fit. But I'm not fast like that.

A close friend of mine found herself in a very similar position after chronic pain left her much less active than she used to be. She said the biggest change came from focusing on small, sustainable habits rather than trying to exercise through the pain. Once her pain was a bit better managed, she slowly built up her activity again. It sounds as though you've already identified what's contributing, which is a really positive first step. Be kind to yourself because you're dealing with a lot all at once.

I don't think it's wise to exercise with a frozen shoulder and sciatica- physiotherapy, yes- and maybe gentle stretches to keep the rest of you supple. See a physio and also ask what they would recommend.
Exercise, while great for health, is also fairly negligible for weight loss. I swim hard for 50 minutes and it works off the equivalent of 1.5 digestive biscuits. You're better off putting your energy/ effort into reducing your calorie intake.

I’d try Pilates in your situation I think.

As others have said though, exercise is important for health but diet is the best way to achieve weight loss.