Do I go radical or sensible

[JupiterFalling]

I feel I know a little about nutrition and I feed my kids health meals. I am however massively overweight. Massively obese. I think I have a bmi if 39. Lots of weight piled on last 5 years since having children though I didn’t gain anything during pregnancy itself. Totally unfit to point I feel I’m letting my children down. Fat to point I’m embarrassed to join social events.

So do I go it alone and just eat health well balanced meals cut out all junk and really monitor what I’m doing? Or do I go with something like the Cambridge or Herbalife plan? Fundamentally I don’t think I’m
in agreement with those as so unhealthy but would it be worth it for the short term?! It can’t be more unhealthy that I am now surely?

There there is question of what exercise? I do basically nothing and get out of breath shockingly quickly. I use to love yoga but it’s not for significant weight lose is it really. I have access to a bike. I don’t finish settling children to sleep until gone 830/9pm so feel exhausted by then for exercise. Weights appeal but no idea where to start. Want to avoid saggy baggy skin obviously. Any ideas? Or just say fat and frumpy?

i'd say get help/support. not sure which group would be best. i would think if you could do this alone, you would have done it long ago.
sensible is best as this will be a long slow process. and you need to maintain your health.
right now i'm doing fitness walking on youtube. walk with leslie sansone.
from the comfort of my living room.

Hi OP
I'd suggest a few smaller life changes over radical. People I know who have had diets like Cambridge have just put weight back on when returning to 'normal'
Check portion sizes, eat correct percentages of veg, carb, meat etc - perhaps buy one of those plates for a visual reference.

Exercise is really important too. Find something you like though. I used to like Body Punp so that worked well for me but now I'm
Older I prefer swimming and cycling - it's the sort of thing I look forward to doing, swimming is rewarded with a sauna, and biking I try to fit into my day, so lunch times at the moment in lockdown but outside of lockdown I'd cycle to work when possible. It's really lovely exercise during the warm days on my lunch time cycles
Find somethings you enjoy and work that into your life - good luck!

I’d recommend that if you are in this for the long haul then the sensible approach is the best.

Start with small manageable changes, the two easiest ones are drink more water and always have a healthy nutritious breakfast.
Remove yourself from a mentality of good and bad foods, food is food! There is only everyday and sometimes foods. If you fancy a bit of cake have it just don’t eat the whole damn thing(unless it’s an individual serve of course).

Good fats- nuts, seeds, avocado, oils are not the enemy but you do need to be mindful of portion size as they are calorie dense. Allergies notwithstanding nuts and seeds are a fantastic snack, and don’t require refrigeration.
See if your GP can refer you to a dietician. I’m not sure where you are and if self referral is an option available where you are.

In terms of exercise cycling, swimming and walking are my default recommendations. With the pandemic, the swimming will need to wait. The reason I suggest the above is the low impact nature of them on your joints. Running will burn more calories but if you are obese at present your joints will not thank you for it. Although, in saying that many believe that the overall picture of weight loss negates the initial impact of running with the excess weight.

You can start to increase muscle strength by doing squats at home, but look up the correct technique online. Bottles of water or tinned food in each hand and you have yourself free weights.You can do arm exercises with them.

One of my DC was complaining about not having looked after themselves today. In the warmer weather at bedtime they realised how little they had drunk. Their wellbeing goal for tomorrow(well today now) is to drink the age appropriate amount of water for the day.

Oh and if you feel at any point you have fallen off the wagon all is not lost, you have not undone all your hard work. You have merely had a temporary setback. We are all human we don’t need to get things right 100% of the time we just need to keep heading in the right direction.

I am losing weight by reducing my portion sizes and choosing healthier food options. Intermittent Fasting has also helped me. I’ve tried slimming clubs in the past but they haven’t suited me as I’ve felt too pressured, have you tried them? They have suited some of my friends and colleagues.

Like the PP I also enjoy Leslie Sansone’s workouts, another person whose videos I absolutely love on YouTube is Lucy Wyndham-Read. She has over 900 workouts available and some are as short as 4 minutes long, she has videos for various abilities and even ones you can do seated. She has a huge following, if you type in her name or Lucy’s Squad in on Youtube her videos and channel will come up x

Get back into doing yoga. Exercising wont stop you getting loose skin if its in your genes.
Keto works fast and there is medical evidence its good for you.

I think you know what the answer is there. With so much to lose, it wouldn’t be short term on Cambridge etc, it would be months without food. You’d be likely to regain the weight as soon as you started eating again with the bonus of screwing your metabolism, possibly permanently, and risking malnutrition. If you want relatively quick weight loss try the blood sugar diet by Michael Mosley where you still eat real food.