In Desperation

[labazsisgoingmad]

I am 5'4 and weight 17st 4 lbs size 22 I did SW for 5 years and lost a stone then put on 3 it just doesn't work for me got issues with food don't eat meat don't like spicy food and I am always hungry. Saw GP other day and he said he was referring me to Bariatric surgeons for a stomach sleeve. I cried my eyes out when I got home as I do not want that but my weight is getting me down so in desperation today I ordered Slimfast powder pretzels meal bars and snack bars. I have an apt to see the surgeons soon so wanted to lose weight before I go,
I am ashamed how much I have spent on the stuff and as I am always hungry am thinking how the hell with I managed i understand you have two shakes and 3 snacks which are under 100 calories each fruit or their snacks and a 500 cal meal at night. I take that to be a salad perhaps with Quorn meat or eggs.
I just wonder how on earth I can then go back to eating and how you keep the weight off I don't want to be twiggy i have never been that used to be size 12 or 14 probably 20 years ago I would be happy at 14 ideally or 16 I don't want to end up with strokes or heart attacks etc
as you can tell I am very miserable and would be very glad of some advice please where I go from the shakes and how to cope when I am on them thank you

Op I'm not very knowledgeable in this area but I really feel for you so didn't want to read and run.

First, no one can force you to have surgery.
Second, if you haven't resolved your issues with food then my understanding is that bariatric surgery won't work long term as its still possible to consume large amounts of calories. You should research this though to check im not mistaken.

What is, in all honesty, your normal diet?

There are other weight loss techniques from counseling to hypnotherapy, have you explored these at all?

Your post does suggest you overeat so do you know why this is? Is it because you're genuinely hungry all the time or is there a psychological root?

Are you eating high calorie foods that don't fill you up?

Is it boredom related? Or are you really thirsty?

Could there be any medical conditions that cause feelings of perpetual hunger?

The shakes are a substitute for healthy meals, to stop you being tempted to eat too much and being quick and easy to prepare. In the long term you'll need to swap the shakes for meals providing similar nutrition - which you can do one meal at a time if you are having two shakes as part of your weight loss plan.

I take that to be a salad perhaps with Quorn meat or eggs

Have a look for healthy 500 calories meals online - there are many more options than quorn and eggs. If you are a meat eater, lean meat is fine. Slow-cooked meals, home made soup etc. can all be made in healthy ways.

I struggle with hunger - I am trying to lose 3 stone, it is difficult especially in lockdown and awful weather so stuck indoors most of the time. I am trying to make a point of getting my 5 a day which helps me choose healthy snacks such as fruit.

There's a long-running thread here for Slimfast and other meal-replacement plans which you might find helpful

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/4121137-Cambridge-Exante-Slimfast-2021

... forgot to say, wishing you success, OP

Diet Doctor website has good recipe ideas. OP, you say you are always hungry, do eat a lot of carbs? How would you feel if you had a 3 egg omelette for breakfast with cheese, mushrooms and tomato in it, followed by roast chicken and Mediterranean roast veg for lunch? Would you still be hungry if you ate only protein, good fat and veg every day?

I also wanted to say that a Renpho body analysis scale can be very motivating. On the days when the overall weight doesn't go down but body fat does. Yay! Around £30. Good luck.

I have long term issues with food goes back to childhood abuse mainly. this is a typical days food btw I do tend to feel safe with one tea meal and eat that for a while. Once I ate one type of food for 6 years

Porridge with banana
apple grapes sometimes cake for lunch
Quorn sausages I don't eat meat instant potato and baked beans
yoghurt

that is honestly all I eat on average day sometimes I may have chocolate or crisps

It sounds as though unhealthy snacks might be your downfall - the cake at lunchtime, the crisps and chocolate. At the same time, minus the cake, your lunch is not very filling.

Obviously you are going to be using shakes for a while, but what about home made vegetable soup for lunch? I've recently bought a soup-maker and it's so quick and easy to make a healthy soup with veg you enjoy.

Instant potato - I love instant potato myself but it's not very nutritious/filling so I have cut it out - what about swapping for a jacket potato? Or real mashed potato?

Baked beans - the low-sugar ones are an easy swap which loses none of the nutrition from the beans.

Yoghurt - is it a so-called 'low fat' one? If so, swap it for full-fat plain yoghurt. Low fat yoghurts are full of rubbish and do you no favours at all.

If you like to stick to the same meals, have you thought about batch cooking at the weekend and freezing them?

That's not an excessive diet. Has your doctor checked for medical conditions that lead to weight gain, such as thyroid issues or PCOS?

What's your activity level like?

Also, how many routes have you tried before to bring your weight down? If you've only tried one type of diet before then i think surgery seems quite an extreme solution, what was your GPs reasoning for it?

I'm really sorry you went through such appalling experiences that have left you with food related issues. I heard an expert say recently, I can't remember on what, that the majority of obese people experienced abuse as children so you're not alone.

Again, I'm not expert, but I would think you need a mutli-pronged approach to managing your weight that would include:

• Diet and nutritional choices
• Exercises
• Therapy to address the psychological route and change any behavioural habits that sabotage attempts to lose weigh

There is much support for you, op, please don't despair. It might take a while but you can find a way through this

Ps. You could try a calorie monitoring app such as nutracheck to start with.

Weigh and measure everything you consume for a month. It'll give you a much clearer idea of what your intake actually is, as this can sometimes be very different from what we believe. And it doesn't actually take much effort to do.

Nutracheck links to UK database of barcodes which is really helpful when logging food and drinks.

Everything you are eating is high in sugar, fruit, baked beans, lots of sugar. This messes up your insulin and makes you even hungrier. Try eating less carbs, no sugar but upping your protein and fat. You will much fuller and the hunger pangs and cravings will go. Also drink lots of water.

You can do this xx

Aw OP, your doctor can NOT force you to get a sleeve done. He can suggest it but the decision is ultimately yours. I've never done slimfasst but I know it's not sustainable. I'm following SW and I love it but I know it's a lot harder when you're veggie but you've lost a lot of weight with it before would you consider trying it again? Happy to be a SW bud as I keep falling off the wagon ( currently having a glass of wine 🤦🏽‍♀️) but I'm normally on it and happy to help if you do want a hand with it xx

unfortunately, I have done WW SW you name it I have done it. Most of my life seems to be on diets. I obviously have to have this Slimfast now I have ordered it. I am with my partner who is overweight but it does not bother him. I just feel so awful and am so lethargic. I do have a few health issues but I try to go for a good walk 3 or 4 times a week I hope to increase that. I never have any idea what to eat all the websites confuse me seem to say different I am not stupid but these days it is really full of conflicting advice.

Perhaps you could ask your GP to refer you to a dietician instead?

If you can see one regularly they could work with you to find meals and foods that are both healthier and easy to keep to.

One of thr things I like about nutracheck is you can say if you're looking to reduce sugar or fat, etc, and then it will help track those things to make it easier to manage.

You could also look at personal training - I believe the NHS has a prescription referral for ppl on low incomes if you can't afford the usual prices.

Diet culture IS very confusing tbf. Maybe you could just start reading nutrition books and try to learn from that in your own time rather than always trying to get your head around the latest diet trend.

P.s. the NHS website might help
www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/

Im stunned you are being referred against your will OP... for a gastric sleeve .. People have been struggling for years for this on the NHS... I have a friend who fought for nearly 8 years and eventually got the surgery...

So I'm pretty stunned to hear this ....

either way OP.... you must do what is right for you.. do not be bullied into surgery you do not want my lovely 🌺

Op, I feel for you and have similar food issues.
I have been doing IF for most of a year, tough in lockdown! Loosing weight slowly and surely.
It’s not a diet it’s a life choice. I fast from 6pm to 2 pm and eat from 2-6. That’s 20/4. Most common is 16/8 or 18/6, I snack at night so cutting that out is tough. Can only drink water/black coffee during fasting period.

But during eating time anything is available- obs try and eat healthy! But the idea is to give your body chance to feel hungry/ fast .

Lots of threads / books etc about it.

I like that no food is banned, it’s the time that is controlled. I can eat chocolate as long as it’s in my eating window. I try not to but had Kitkat today 😬

@Ilovethewild

Op, I feel for you and have similar food issues. I have been doing IF for most of a year, tough in lockdown! Loosing weight slowly and surely. It’s not a diet it’s a life choice. I fast from 6pm to 2 pm and eat from 2-6. That’s 20/4. Most common is 16/8 or 18/6, I snack at night so cutting that out is tough. Can only drink water/black coffee during fasting period.

But during eating time anything is available- obs try and eat healthy! But the idea is to give your body chance to feel hungry/ fast .

Lots of threads / books etc about it.

I like that no food is banned, it’s the time that is controlled. I can eat chocolate as long as it’s in my eating window. I try not to but had Kitkat today 😬

sounds interesting... 🌺

Can I recommend the book 'Why we eat (too much)' by Dr Andrew Jenkinson? It's not a diet book, but it explains why some of us seem to be pre-programmed to gain weight and steps you can take to try to reset your body's cravings. I found it very motivational as it helped me to stop blaming myself for weight gain (I am the sort of person who gains slowly but steadily from modest over-eating rather than a person who eats a lot of fast-food etc. and from your typical diet I think you might be similar OP). The recommendation is to steer away from highly processed foods and cook from scratch. That includes very processed fats such as vegetable oil, and using virgin olive oil or butter instead.

Have a look on Ebay or similar for the Louise Parker Lean for Life. Serious, this book is a game changer, she has 3 books out and I now have them all as so many good recipes. As you don't like meat actually the one called The 6 Week Programme might be a better bet as lots of veggie recipes in it. But its about changing your whole outlook to a positive one, making changes that work for life, ie are not just a diet, with a 6-12 week kick start to get the weight shifting in the right direction. I am 4 weeks in and I have to say it's making a huge difference to my moods, tiredness etc as well as I'm losing weight. And importantly, I'm not being left hungry and I look forward to the meals because they are so tasty. (Again with the not a diet but habits to keep bit.) Worth taking a look xx

hello @labazsisgoingmad, I have read your post very quickly but had to reply as its an awful story :( Your GP sounds very unsympathetic and unreasonable, and I am not trying to minimise obesity but I just don't think you are in surgery territory at all (imagine you are around size 22/24?)

You CAN lose weight healthfully without surgery, and one thing that you really have going for you is that you are REALISTIC to say, a 14/16 would do you. Some of us are just 'naturally' a bit bigger, and a bit hungrier! Speaking for myself I cycle from size 14 (which I am happy with) to 18 (which I don't like) and I'm not worried about heart attacks etc as when my weight goes up I tackle it quickly

I think Slimfast etc will leave you starving. I would suggest you look into 'ways of eating' that work with your body, & your hunger... so finding ways to fill up on fewer calories, which will help you lose weight. So eating lots of veg, lots of water (soup as well as drinking water), watching portions on high cal items (carbs), minimising sugar, eating the right amount of protein/fat to keep you satisfied

Try googling 'volumetrics diet' to explain some of these ideas, or look into 'nutritarian diet' (that is vegan, and you might not want to do that but implement some of the ideas).

My whole family are 'hungry' people and eat a lot: my sister has had enormous success with slimming world, and gets to eat a lot but has lost 4 stone to get to a healthy weight

There are other options vs surgery or fake food, and lots of support on this board x

PS - I'm veggie too, some filling options would be:

• beans, ryvita & hummus/light soft cheese, salads with protein, bean soups/stews, small amounts of oats/ brown rice/sweet potato/boiled or baked normal potato, small serves of bread (eg wraps, thins, pittas etc), eggs, greek yogurt, few nuts and seeds with meals...
• then loads of veggie sausages/burgers or similar are not very calorific but filling
• low fat versions or smaller serves of cheese/milk/butter
• these things give staying powder to veg which wil fill you up

Play with your carbs, OP. Don't try to eat less food, but change what it is. The smaller proportion of your food is carb, the less hungry you will be, and the less you'll have those horrible moments where you absolutely have to eat something and you can't control it. That's addiction behaviour. Carbs are addictive; protein and fat are not, and will help you find your shut-off mechanism with regard to appetite.

Please please look up RH Fitness on Facebook. You don’t need to pay anything but watch the videos. They talk a lot of sense about why slimming world doesn’t work but also why an extreme low cal diet will not work for someone who is 17st or even 10st. Richie is a bit sweary so it might not be for you but worth watching to understand. There is no food off limits but it’s about eating food at a calorie deficit appropriate to your height, weight and level of exercise.

OP I know it feels like it, but you absolutely DO NOT have to have surgery if you don't want it. NO-ONE can make you do that.

I'm 5.5 ans was once 21 stone and the GP wouldn't send me down that path as he thought it would do more harm in the long term. No offence to anyone who has had it, but he was right because it wouldn't have addressed the issues I had with food. Maybe ask your GP about counselling rather than just having an op.

I am noe down to 15 stone because I understand now what makes me eat and have addressed that. I will never to SW or WW cos IMO they mess with your metabolism - I know they work for some, but everyone I know ended up putting weight back on and more.

I am currently doing Team RH and finding it really helpful. I have a huge calorie allowance every day and am losing weight steadily. I've also started couch 2 5k but that was my choice.

There are so many different opinions and you will get loads of info, but sorting my head out, logging what I've eaten on MFP and signing up with RH to follow their cals in cals out approach had absolutely worked for me. Pls feel free to PM me if you want a chat or more information.

Good luck x