18 month weight gain.... not sure I want the effort of slimming.

[JessicaC1992]

Hi all forumites, I've moved to a separate username for this question ....
With being more sedentary and snacking in the house - Covid time in the house (18 months), my bodyshape has changed slightly.
My DH doesn't mind at all .... and I'm reasonably comfortable with it, however going out socialising again last week with my friends (pic of me in white), I realised how much I'd changed, I was the same size as my friends pre covid.
the thing is, I'm not actually sure I want to change back, I'm comfortable ... but not sure this is the right attitude .... any thoughts fellow forumites?

Pic here:
ibb.co/McQrrSS

It’s really unhealthy to carry weight around your middle like that - raises risk of type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, as well as heart issues. If you have children, isn’t that enough to motivate you to lose weight - stay healthy for them?

I suppose it depends. Its healthier to be slimmer, but my concern would be what are you going to do to stop gaining? It's OK to be any size so long as your are happy but you might be fine now but if you continue with the new sedentary life would you keep gaining and end up at a a weight you aren't happy with and it'll be harder to lose

Honest opinion.... Maybe try to slowly lose some weight around the middle as carrying weight here could cause problems. But if you are happy as you are and don't want to lose weight then you need to be doing regular exercise.

Also, based off of above picture I'm not sure I would say you were the "same size" as friends. Just going off the picture though.

Your body your choice....but if you carry on as you have been then you won’t stay as you are but gain more weight......what’s your BMI?
My friend once said to me ‘ I’m not fat enough yet to be bothered about losing weight’ .....when her BMI was 29 that tipped her into ‘ being bothered’ ..... the thought of being overweight was fine.....the thought of being obese was not fine.
Me personally my tipping point would be a BMI of 24 ..... but you know yourself best

Are you actually overweight?

If not, you’re happy, then why give it another thought?

If you are, look into potential consequences for your general heath and assess. If you decide you would like to loose a bit, it doesn’t have to be quick and painful. Slowly but surely usually stays off. Rapid loss generally goes back on.

Actually, missed the pictures. Having seen them, if I were you I would want to lose the weight around the middle, doesn’t bode well for future health.

Again though, slowly but surely.

I really think it’s a slippery slope and sounds like you don’t have a plan to maintain where you are now. In a few years you don’t want to be struggling with daily life and wishing you’d maintained at this point.

Agree re where you’re carrying the weight too but not sure there’s much you can do about where you naturally carry fat.

@WhiteKinderBueno

Honest opinion.... Maybe try to slowly lose some weight around the middle as carrying weight here could cause problems. But if you are happy as you are and don't want to lose weight then you need to be doing regular exercise.

Also, based off of above picture I'm not sure I would say you were the "same size" as friends. Just going off the picture though.

Hi WhiteKinderBueno, yeah I was the same size as my friends 2 yrs ago, like here: 2 years ago: ibb.co/qF7T68x The pic in post number 1 is from 6 months ago.

@WakeUpLockie

I really think it’s a slippery slope and sounds like you don’t have a plan to maintain where you are now. In a few years you don’t want to be struggling with daily life and wishing you’d maintained at this point.

Agree re where you’re carrying the weight too but not sure there’s much you can do about where you naturally carry fat.

As a few of you have said, I think at the moment I am not maintaining, I am gaining more and more, and your right, maybe thats what I need to stop. It's weird how big you can actually get without noticing.

@Kitkat151

Your body your choice....but if you carry on as you have been then you won’t stay as you are but gain more weight......what’s your BMI? My friend once said to me ‘ I’m not fat enough yet to be bothered about losing weight’ .....when her BMI was 29 that tipped her into ‘ being bothered’ ..... the thought of being overweight was fine.....the thought of being obese was not fine. Me personally my tipping point would be a BMI of 24 ..... but you know yourself best

BMI, is at 33 ish I think.

If it's genuinely not bothering you then you obviously lack motivation to do anything about it. Personally I have a weight bracket I'm comfortable being in (size 12) and when I go over that weight (usually when my favourite jeans start getting tight) which has happened over Christmas, I get right back on the healthy eating and exercising.

For me it's about my mental health as much as anything - I feel really shit when I'm not exercising a bit or eating well.

But having a BMI of 33 should really motivate you to do something, as it's classed as obese. Have a look into the health problems being obese can cause you.

You do need to lose the weight but you need to be in the right head space to make a success of it.

At the very least you need to stop the gain. Doing something like no S might help you with that. Wean yourself off the snacking habit. Eat good, nutritious food at meal times (just ordinary healthy food, not soul destroying low fat guff)

Don’t know op, three years ago I was upset because I’d put on 3 stone

Now it’s 5.

It goes up if you don’t sort it out

Whatever your weight, a sedentary life is not a healthy one either physically or mentally. Being sedentary catches up with you more and more the older you get, and weight only gets harder to shift.

So yes, I would take action.

I've gained weight during lockdowns too. Too much.

I let myself enjoy Christmas & now I'm using my fitness pal, have restarted weight training and yoga to lose a bit.

As PPs have said, you might feel comfortable but it isn't healthy to have too much around the middle. Think of it like that.

Not easy but the key is to find a way to lose it that is sustainable for a long-ish period of time and permanently change your habits so it doesn't come back. Also find a weight which is reasonable for you. If you have put weight on but are still a healthy weight and feel good - what of it? Also look at things like waist to height ratio, diabetes risk, where you carry fat, as well as BMI. If you don't feel good then try and lose it.

OP, having looked at your pictures I would recommend you lose some weight, just as the weight is on your middle.

My mum is type two diabetic and while she manages it quite well, it carries a good deal of other health risks. I really couldn't be doing with jabbing myself with insulin every day if I could prevent it.

I've gained a stone I don't need over lockdown. I am doing something about it before it turns into 2st, 3st etc. Best nipping it in the bud early.

That's a lot of weight in a short amount of time . goven it's in your middle I would definitely start getting healthier.

@ZoeTheThornyDevil

Whatever your weight, a sedentary life is not a healthy one either physically or mentally. Being sedentary catches up with you more and more the older you get, and weight only gets harder to shift.

So yes, I would take action.

I see this happenning to be honest ..... I need to slow the gain and maintain first.

@ZoeTheThornyDevil

Whatever your weight, a sedentary life is not a healthy one either physically or mentally. Being sedentary catches up with you more and more the older you get, and weight only gets harder to shift.

So yes, I would take action.

I do find it very difficult and awkward to be active. As a smoker aswell, I get out of breath easily, so probably need to build up slowly. As you can see in the pic, I have a large tummy, so its awkward to do excercise.