Rock bottom at 17st 13lb

[rocket74]

Hi I signed up for my fitness pal last night after lurking on this board which I had been avoiding doing. I am 5ft 9in just hit 40 and massively overweight. I feel so hideous.
I keep thinking of Stephen Frys description of himself as a bin bag full of yogurt and that's exactly how I feel

I have had two children in last 5 years and haven't lost anything. I work full time and try to exercise in my lunch break but it's not enough and I get no other time. I'd be happy to get to 13 st but it seems a huge task. Guess I'm just trying to say hello and trying to get some tip and inspiration!!

You can!
I was over 17 stone. I did get down to 12 but put a stone on due to illness.
I did exercise (shred etc). I swapped crisps and sandwich for a salad. (I'm loving the book salad love at the mo!)
I cut out the chocolate etc that was sending my blood sugar all over the place.
I feel do much better. I'm 41 and life is looking good!!

You can do it!

It's much easier to lose weight via diet than exercise though - so the fact you haven't got long to exercise in your lunch break shouldn't be an issue.

Have you tried eating low carb? Although if you're used to overdoing the carbs the first few days can be hell, it really works to change your mindset and your body and mind's assumptions as to what you really 'need'.

Have you kept a food diary? Writing down what you actually eat and drink and trying to see where you could make positive changes could also help.

Thanks - i have done food logging ages ago on weight loss resources but I found it like a full time job - I did manage to lose about two stone and I felt great but then babies came along. That was before apps were available so hoping it's quicker process this time around. I know I sat here this time last year and pledged to myself I would do this .. Yet here I am another year and another stone heavier. The only exercise I fit in isa half hour power plate class and MFP doesn't give any suggestions for it. Do I really need to log exercise?

Exercise burns much fewer calories than you would think (sorry!) - I don't think you can lose weight by exercise alone, well you probably can, but it would be incredibly slow.

Just try walking a bit more if you can. You have lost two stone before, you can do it again. Don't think of it as two stone or four stone to lose, think of losing (say) 2lbs by this time next week! Keep the goals small. Remember a journey begins with but a single step. Good luck!

You can absolutely do it, I joined WW at 17st 4lbs and lost 7.5 stone. Unfortunately I put it all back on (apart from 1st) but joined again, lost 7st and have now been maintaining a healthy weight for 1.5 years :)

I have done ww both online and as part of a meeting and I lose much more quickly when I am part of a meeting (1 year 2 months vs 3.5 years when I just did it from home)

Sometimes hitting rock bottom is really helpful.

Hi rocket I'm about to turn 40 in 2 months and it's been a kick up the bum to ditch the baby weight because I don't want to be fat and 40!
I agree with the others that the 'time to exercise' is a red herring. The sort of exercise that most of us do (walking, jogging, aerobics class, swim etc) doesn't burn enough calories to make up for poor eating habits. It will improve your muscle tone, make you feel better and help your heart, so it's well worth doing, but it's not the key to losing weight.
I tried MFP but as I home cook I found it very laborious to input ingredients for everything, it seemed more geared to processed foods I'm following SW at the moment though not going to classes. Different strokes for different folks, what can you personally stick to?

exercise has been the main inspiration and biggest part of my weight loss

even so,i lost most of the weight (5 stone ) through diet alone.....for me,low carbing. but I randomly joined a bootcamp class locally at the same time,and fell in love with sport

I now run....up to half marathon level
cross train
watch sport
take the dc to spectate sport
shop sport related
read sports books

its kind of caught my imagination a bit 9i'm 46!)

my eldest dd went off to uni and immediately joined a gym and found a running route....so I'm proud she's following my lifestyle. it can have a knock on effect if you 'get into' it.

good luck!

It's always been exercise in the past that has motivated me and not having that is hard to come to terms with. I used to do ash tanga and hot yoga 4x a week and there were some poses that would be easier if I didn't have a belly and that motivated me a lot! And signing up for swim for life and race for life events. I don't want be left with a baggy she'll and think it's really important to tone up as I go along. Also I get more calories to play with??

It the endorphins too - I had some PND and still easily get depressed and upset so think would help. I am working on finding the time!!

This is what works for me : it will take you about a week to start cutting your calorie intake right down ( it's very hard to go cold turkey), your target is to get your calories down to 1500 a day ( three meals of 500 is a easier way around it and quite filling). When I get down to 1500 a day I lose weight every single day . Maybe this could be something to think about . I do walk twice aday a mild mile each walk. Water, tea, coffee, apples and veg all take the edge off your cravings .

It can be done - I was 16st 3lbs when I got pregnant with DC1, and I am shorter than you.
I found that going cold turkey on sugar (without going low-calorie) for about a week helped a lot - the first three days are terrible but after that, most cravings are gone.

Yay! One week on MFP and I've lost 6lb taking me to 17st 8lb. I can tell a bit my belly doesn't feel so bloated and massive. Thank you for all your encouragements. I know it's down to 1-2 loss from now on but feeling positive and in control.

Hi rocket, what's you MFP nickname and I will add you as a friend. Likes and comments on your weight loss I find really motivating :)
There's a thread called "so that's why I am fat" that's MFP mumsnetters supporting each other, have a gander.

OMG! I totally, totally understand. I have had two babies in the last 22 months and seem to manage about four days of being 'good' before something changes our routine and I fall off the wagon.

I would be really interested in being pm buddies to help each other on our way, if you fancy it?

I need to set up a profile I think as only using on phone and it's my full RL name! Will sort out

Hi, I was over 18 stone at one point - same height as you. The weight started coming off when I did very short bursts of very high intensity exercise (and I mean full pelt) - only about 10 minutes, 3 times per week. Doesn't sound much but it really helped.

Combined with a fairly sensible diet (treated myself every weekend) it came off. Good luck - the first part of this journey is the hardest.

How are you doing rocket. I hope it's all looking good ;-)