45, 16 stone, 5’8, thyroid, peri, all day at computer, can anyone relate?

[Tummytoobig]

Am starting Cambridge diet today for all of the reasons in title.

need to exercise too. But getting going with diet first.

cried at weigh in yesterday.

can anyone relate, has anyone gotten to a healthier place from a similar start? Feel so depressed this morning 😓

Me! I'm 46, about 16 stone, 5ft 8, all day at computer.
I've also got a knackered ankle which means I can only walk about 30 mins a day.
Keep trying slim fast but I like food. Its so hard.

I'm 5'8, 41, thyroid issues, and too scared to weigh myself but probably around that weight or more!
I'm getting night sweats and struggling to sleep a bit so thinking I'm pre meno. Also work at desk!

Diet wise, the only thing that has helped me lose weight is keto/low carb. I did it quite religiously for a few years and lost a lot of weight, but stopped and the weights all back on. Trying to bring myself to do low carb again. Very hard tho!

Good morning both

i love food and wine to the point I view them as my hobbies! This has to change.

im going to check in here for accountability of how i do, feel and weight. Join me if you are looking to do something similar :-)

That sounds like a good idea.
My downfall is junk food. My dh says I have a nibbly face and then I get chocolate or crisps. Fruit doesn't quite hit the same spot.
I did Cambridge years ago and lost about 2 stone but I was starving and it's expensive.

Yes me (well nearly, no thyroid issues) Exactly that weight three years ago but shorter so a higher starting BMI.
I decided to make some changes to reduce my chances of developing diabetes. Decided on moderate low carb (less than 100g a day) Feel so much better and have lost 22kg.
Have a read of “life without diabetes” by Prof Roy Taylor the researcher behind the Newcastle diet that also used shakes/soups. Really well written account of the role fat has to play in development of diabetes - very inspiring.
GOOD LUCK 👍

Little bit older, weight a tiny bit less but same issue.

a few years ago I did low carb - that worked really well. I am trying that again.
I tend to mash up carrot and parsnip for example or make chips with them so I feel like I am eating carbs!

I am making sure I do my 10k steps a day - I find going out in the morning before work is a lot easier as by the evening I’m tired. I manage it 5-6/7 now when before it was probably 2-3 days a week.

yesterday I went for walk at lunch in my office day so actually I didn’t need to do an evening walk as I (just) made my steps without it.

You don’t sound heavy enough for something as extreme as the Cambridge diet. I’m 6ft and heavier than you and I’m athletic and fit. Can you concentrate on the exercise part and see what happens? I do a dance class, go to the gym, and walk a couple of miles to work each day.

I'm 44, thyroid issues, was 15st 10, now 14st 12 (ish) and it's been a bloody hard struggle getting that far! I do around 16k steps a day, run twice a week, and do a pt session. I've even totally given up alcohol for the last 7 weeks.

Yes, I am a few years younger and my starting weight slightly lower ( but I'm also 5'7 ish), but I went from a size 18/20 to a size 10/12 now. This has been over a year or so, which might seem like a long time but you see and feel the benefits right away, not after a year.

It started with walking for about 45 minutes -1 hour per day, including uphill to break into a sweat.

Then I cut out sugar, biscuits, chocolate, cake, crisps, pizza, UPFs etc. completely. I don't drink alcohol anyway so that part was easy. I wasn't dieting, though, just eating healthy food, as much as I wanted. Snacks are fruit and nuts. Not sugar in drinks or milky drinks (I used to drink lattés). Home cooked, healthy meals.

Then, a couple of months in, I started swimming a few times a week which really moved things on, I don't care what anyone says about not outrunning your fork! In fact, I think this was the biggest change I made, the most impactful.

I then started running (or trying to run!), first running and then walking alternating, building up to longer stretches. Less of this than swimming, though. Just once a week or sometimes twice.

I carried all this on until I was about a size 14, when I actually started a "diet", as in controlling portions and feeling hungry etc.

Then finally to get to a (large) 10 I used intermittent fasting (16-8). Actually I was happy at a 12 but decided to lose more because of my diabetes risk. I'm on the border between them, just working on being a proper size 10 now.

I typed all that out because I started all this about a year ago(maybe the walking was longer ago) so it reminded me of my situation and I feel this has all worked well for me, so maybe it could for you? 🤔

You can do this! I'm a few years younger (41) but I started at 16st+ at 5.7. I'm down almost 3st and still going. I'm doing OMAD and it's doing great things for me.

@waistchallenge really inspired thank you. I went swimming last night for 30 mins but absolutely shattered today think due to not eating much.

totally get this diet isn’t for everyone but I need something extreme to give me a kick up the bum into action.

no wine all week too, although have craved it so much. Obvs now on the diet not allowed anyway!

Amazing results!!

I think walking is going to help me a lot. Really helpful to hear your story

I’m on week 6 of the blood sugar diet. I’m 5’5’’, started at 16st 2lbs, and am now 14st 7lbs. My DF was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes this summer and I saw my future. I need to lose another couple of stone probably to be a size 14, and then a couple more to be at a healthy BMI, but I can feel things going in the right direction.

Walking does help, just don’t then think, great I’ve exercised let’s snack.

ive started in a small group exercise class 3 times a week. Which is good for me, it’s mostly weights. There’s all shapes and sizes.

but the biggest change is I’m eating normally, 3 meals a day. But I’ve cut out the crap and any random alcohol. So going out for dinner tonight with friends I’ll have wine. But not a random glass in the week.

cut out crisps, biscuits at work etc. I’ve lost half a stone easily over 8 weeks, and am heading close to losing a stone.

I went swimming last night for 30 mins but absolutely shattered today think due to not eating much.

Amazing to just go out and start like that! So have you started swimming at the same time as the restrictive diet? I don't know how well they will combine as swimming takes a lot of energy. Perhaps someone with experience can comment. When I started swimming regularly I was actually eating a fair amount, but just healthy foods. Also, I suppose it's going to depend on your lifestyle and time, and what suits that.

I am in a similar position. I believe that VLC diets are not recommended if you have hypothyroidism. If it worsens your thyroid profile then it’s not going to help weight loss longer term.

Just had a quick look on Thyroid UK. You'll find more on there about diet and can post your own situation:

healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk/posts/138379696/has-anyone-improved-symptoms-with-vlcd-diet

Are you taking levothyroxine? I'm convinced that changing how I took this really helped me lose weight - I make sure I take it as soon as I wake and wait at least an hour before eating or drinking anything against water. If your thyroid medication isn't right, you will struggle to lose weight. My GP recommended doing low carb (not no carb) for 8 weeks and this did seem to work.

Yes 👍 totally get it.
peri menopause and new on HRT. Underactive thyroid that won’t be treated until I’ve had another test at the end of October. Work from home.

I ache all over, I have a very low heart rate (probably from my underactive, untreated, thyroid), rib pain, I just feel bloody knackered all the time. I do exercise, every single day, but I’m doing less and less and lower intensity. 18 months ago I was running half marathons for fun.

I’ve rejoined slimming world, and I’ve lost 5lbs in 2 weeks which I’m pleased with, i am taking vitamin d and b12 and magnesium, I’m sticking with my HRT for another few weeks but I just feel so tired and old. I cried this morning just because I hate how exhausted I feel. I don’t actually have much weight to lose, a stone maybe, but it is such a slow old slog with all these things in the background holding me back

How's it going, @Tummytoobig ? Are you continuing with the Cambridge diet? Is that the one where you pay for pre-made shakes?

Similar age, weight here and totally depressed. I don't recognise myself in the mirror and hate seeing old photos of my younger slimmer self.

It's really inspiring to read your success stories but I find losing weight so much harder than it was in my 20s and 30s.

I don't know where to start. I am trying to calorie count, meal plan, and exercise, none with much success - my willpower has disappeared!

Very similar to you, OP. Struggling to work out what to do about it, definitely finding as I get older, my overall energy has declined (plus had an accident earlier this year which means problematic knee and harder to do certain sorts of exercise). Need a kick up my own backside to try to get my willpower going !