22 stone. I'll never lose this weight, will I?

[Radox75]

I've gained 6 stone in 3 years... yet apparently I was trying to diet during that time. I'm so miserable and depressed. I'm calling in sick to work because of how I feel but then I feel worse and binge eat. I really just want this weight gone. I feel too fat to exercise, I hurt after walking up the stairs so I don't know how I'd cope with anything else.

Have you seen your gp? I suspect it would be worth them running blood tests on you, to check thyroid, vitamin b12, iron, etc levels.

Hi Radox,
Weight loss can seem over whelming.
If think about it differently tho it is achievable.
For instance 1lb weight loss per week is doable and will result in an almost four stone weight loss in a year.
0.5lb per week is even more doable and will result in an almost two stone weight loss in a year.

I understand a year seems like a long time but think about it, how quickly did this year go?
So instead of thinking 'I need this weight off and I need it off now' think Christmas 2019 I could be 4 stone lighter.

hi Radox yes, you can lose the weight. You just need the right tools to help you develop a different mindset towards food and exercise.

Support from a health professional can really help at the start. I went into a treatment program for alcohol addiction earlier this year and I attended group therapy classes and everything (some inspiring some totally boring). Even though I was there for the alcohol, it also helped me change my mindset to want to take care of myself.

One thing I've learned is that you have to love yourself (or at least accept who you are right now) enough to want to take care of yourself otherwise you won't be able to sustain a complete change of lifestyle. So many times in the past I have lost weight but it was driven by self-hatred so it never lasted long and i piled the weight on more than when I started.

Consistency and gradual tiny tiny changes to your lifestyle (maybe cut out one glass of soft drink a week) will help to retrain your mind to what is a 'normal' amount of junk food. I've been there. Nine months ago my diet was 99% rubbish (the 1% was mashed potato). I lived off frozen ready meals, takeaways, alcohol and soft drinks. I thought I would never be able to eat normally again and would just get bigger and bigger and it would never end. It was so horrible to be stuck thinking like that.

Cutting out the crap slowly helped me a lot and now I have a much more balanced diet but without the angst of feeling deprived because the changes were so slow that my brain and body could adjust without bingeing later.

Regarding exercise, I know it can be really scary and distressing when you haven't done it for a while but you just have to be brave and try. One 10 minute walk will turn into 15 then 20 then 30 mins.

If you can, try as many different classes (most are discounted or free for new people) because once you find an exercise you love it makes losing weight fun. I have to admit it took three months of actively hating and dreading class to start liking exercise and now I go as much as I can if I have the time. Start with one class a week then build up as you go.

Sorry for going on and on but I remember what it's like to feel stuck and like you are trapped in your body. I have also called in sick for the same reasons.

At your weight, strangely enough, starting off with a drastic weight loss plan and then moving to a more sustainable one after a bit of initial weight loss works. Ask your GP for advice.

You definitely can. Come join us on the 100lbs + thread. Most of weight loss is diet, don't worry about exercise at the moment.

You absolutely can OP, absolutely. And because 6 stone of it was only a relatively recent gain, that will come off relatively easy. I would recommend getting the help of someone that does body transformation, where they will help you with your diet as well as your exercise. Sorting your diet out is the most important step and the thing that will make the biggest difference, so don't get hung up on how much exercise you can do. Exercise will help you with your goals, but at this stage sorting out your food should be your biggest priority anyway.

If you were dieting and didn't lose weight you were probably still eating the wrong things or, most likely, not eating enough. How did you change your diet when you were dieting?
Where are you based? Maybe we could help you find some assistance.

I've been your size OP. Then I lost a shit load. Then I put most of it back on. Now I'm somewhere in between.

What worked for me was finding my reason. All the good-meaning hints and ideas from other people didn't make a jot of difference probably made me eat more but one day I decided and when you find the thing that resonates with you, you will the way and means to break the back of it. And after that, you will get on a roll with it.

I’d really recommend reading up about the ketogenic diet. It’s not a fad diet. It looks at how our bodies are designed to deal with the food you consume, and if you over consume carbohydrate you will get stuck in an awful cycle of cravings and obesity.

I know you’ll hear a million pieces of advice about losing weight and it’s hard to sift through it all

But if you want some real people who use this way of eating to fix their obesity / health go over to reddit r:keto

And for an explanation of what it is, please see dietdoctor.com