I have hit rock bottom

[AgualusasL0ver]

• I'm 45.
• I am 17 stone/roughly 100kg.
• I am 5ft 2.
• I have badly frozen shoulders (previously had steriod injections which were wonderful but now back.
• Due to said shoulder issue I have cut two dresses off me when it was impossible to get my arms up to get them off.
• I have arthritis in my ankles, caused by an underlying condition from childhood, but obviously made worse by my weight.
• My ankles are almost permanently swollen no matter what I do.
• I eat emotionally - happy eat, not happy eat.
• I cannot put socks on without lifting my feet onto a chair.
• I am glad it is summer as tights are an absolute nightmare.
• I cannot wear sandals and buckle them because it hurts to twist my - feet/legs to get the right angle.
• I cannot sit on the floor/grass because I cannot get up.
• I only have a bath and as of last week I have been washing standing up with a jug because I usually turn on my front and push myself up by my elbows (because I cannot just get up from sitting) and my shoulders were so painful I couldn't push myself up.
• On the weekend an old lady asked me how I was handling the weather and then proceeded to ask me about my big day etc, yes she thought I was pregnant - and I just ran with it.
• I have intolerable sleep apnoea, diagnosed but not treated as I changed job and now need to go to NHS to get it treated and I just haven't prioritised it.

I know what I am doing wrong: I snack and my portions are large. I am almost totally inactive.

I have a leisure centre on my road with a pool, I like swimming, I am slow and get very out of breath. I don't care about being a bigger swimmer in a costume, I almost feel more comfortable than when dressed. I have a lido 7 mins walk away which has a drop in morning session.

I have a vast open space I could walk in with hills (but not hiking) that I could walk. I get very out of breath but when I did this during Covid I got better at it, so I know I can do it - I lost weight doing this every single day and people noticed.

I had a Les Mills sub and I loved it. But that is tricky as we have a smallish flat and there is ALWAYS someone at home.

I lost 3 stone after the birth of my second DC - 18 years ago with WW.

I spent my 20s a rough size 8, between 8-9 stone.

I have 3 DCs - 20, 18 and 15, so that shouldn't stop me.
I have a fussy DH, but he would happily start eating more grills and things I think.
I have elderly parents with needs, but I even take two buses to their place when it is a 20 min (maybe 30 min for me) walk.

I have a busy job and don't get home until about 7.30-8pm and am tired.

I KNOW, cutting snacks, less and better carbs (not no carbs), moving more intentionally would help my sleep, my arthritis, my general Peri-Menopausalness, and just be better but even when I am better it makes no real difference. Honest me would say I have no tried very hard, but I do try to load up veggies at work rather than the carbs etc. I know I need to do so much more.

Obviously my OP lists a lot of horrible consequences of my weight but actual last health check was quite positive. I literally take no meds for anything, other than occasionally triptans for migraine.

I am aware that this doesn’t mean I remain healthy with all this excess weight.

I am looking 7-8st loss so I do need to be serious and focussed and whether that focus comes from WW, SW, intermittent fasting or meds I just need to move forward, so am making the two small changes I mentioned then will make another whilst I work out the rest.

I didn't want to do Mounjaro so I did slimming world and lost 4 stone. I love my local group and still attend as a target member.

Diet is more important than exercise for losing weight.

@joopyhow did you maintain it?

A Weight Loss Coach may be helpful. Check Boots Chemist website out for more details. It’s £46pm and you get a weekly 15min 1-1 online video appointment where you can discuss diet, nutrition, exercise etc. Being accountable and having a professional to guide you might just help.
For the overhang rash try Bepanthen cream, it really helps.

I second this OP. Get some private blood tests done and speak to your GP about WLIs. Please ignore the Slimming World recommendations, unless of course you want to write another thread like this next year, in which case join up and start counting those syns.

@Bohema I had a full health check including bloods in the Autumn.

I’ll get a GP appointment as well to at the very least get back on the sleep apnoea but it is all clearly connected as well. First step is having the conversation.

@Bohema for a Wegovy prescription you’d have to be referred to the specialist weight loss service Tier 3, and not all areas offer Wegovy at that tier of support. The OP might be able to access the Oviva Tier 3 scheme and be eligible for Wegovy via that after working through the levels of support first depending on her NHS area. But she wouldn’t meet the criteria for Mounjaro as it’s unlikely she has 2 more of the qualifying criteria without being aware of those health issues already.

Getting a health check and bloods done is a good starting point and there’s no harm in asking your GP about what weight loss support there may be available.

@AgualusasL0ver a lot of your opening post resonates with me. 18 months ago I was 5ft4 and 18 stone. I had been obesely overweight since 2012 and was 41 years old with a bmi that matched my age. I was getting joint pain, inflamation, couldn't bemd to tie my shoes but on paper had no major medical issues and no prescriptions. My husband had a major health scare which meant we needed to massively improve our diet and reduce salt and saturated fat intake. Like you I had the knowledge and skills to eat well but ate when happy or sad and i felt like my problem was willpower. I went down the mountjaro route and reframed it as medication to support me making healthier decisions and changes despite a busy and stressful lifestyle with a heavy mental load and its been brilliant.

Ive never needed to go above the 7.5mg dose and if I could have a do over I'd stay on 2.5 and 5mg for longer. Im now 11stone 10lb. My initial weight loss at its fastest was 7lb I month and is slowing down as I head towards maintenance. The meds have supported me to make the dietary and activity changes I needed to.
after the first 3 stone was off I really got into the gym and strength training and have been running as well for the last 3 months. The feeling of being able to move freely unencumbered by excess weight is amazing. Huge satisfaction tracking all the improvements on fitbit. Stopped snoring in month 3 as well. Am following a high protein high fruit and veg diet low UPFs and feel great and am maintaing muscle mass.

All the joint inflammation is gone and my mobility has hugely improved. Please see it as an investment to support you to build good habits and make changes. Happy to answer any questions you have if its helpful!

Have you had a fasting blood test lately and HBA1C? Because I had a frozen shoulder ended up getting Naproxen for it but didn't realise I was prediabetic and my GP said its linked to prediabetes/insulin resistance.
I started doing Joe Wicks body coach, lost 5lbs in 6 weeks and I was exhausted from a 11-12hr work day and then exercising HIIT 5 days a week and eating in a deficit. Tried intermittent fasting and actually gained weight. Then started mounjaro in oct 24 and have lost 4st 5lbs, now at bmi 22 and my prediabetes has been reversed as well as my high bp from 145/92 to 110/60 and high cholesterol. Some of us just need meds to treat the metabolic issues. High protein low carb also works well.

I have seen a specialist about the shoulders and there is some wear and tear, some trauma (I had fallen a broken my ankle but also damaged my shoulder) and he said it was common in peri women, lack of one hormone or another if I remember correctly. The steroid injections did work but I wasn’t able to keep up with the physio prescribed having already taken some significant time out for the ankle and I (stupidly) prioritised work and it’s slowly crept back in.

All that said, I am going to bring up everything so we have a full picture and see what the GP says whilst starting small changes tomorrow and this week and then coming to conclusions post GP about how to move forward more strategically.

You’ve all given me a great deal to think about.

If you’re unlucky enough to suffer side effects. Yes, but 80 percent have none. I didn’t, and for those who do it is mainly minor gastro,

and you don’t need to come off, I’m not, I’m staying on a low maintenance dose,

slimjing world doesn’t teach you healthy habits, that’s the whole point, it’s why 97 percent of people can’t maintain it. It encourages volume eating, fat free, sugar free, that tastes like shite, and no one can live like that, people end up craving decent food. They don’t want to live off muller light, ryvita and light laughing cow.

on weight loss injections yes you you need to be educated yourself in terms of how to eat a balanced healthy diet, but it’s not like the internet doesn’t exist and the info isn’t out there, and most pharmacies email and provide you with dietary info, if you really are that clueless.

Most people are not, they know how to do it, they just can’t do it, they want the crap food, or the big portions. The meds enable you to kill those cravings and eat a healthy portion only. Thus allowing you to implement a healthy diet.

id understand your position if it worked for you. But it doesn’t, and you’re damaging your body, so I can’t grasp your position, at all. As you head towards your third time at losing 3 stone.

No, the ops bmi is high enough at 44, but you need 4 weight related health conditions. The nhs is rolling out the injections at a pace where they will have 220k people on them by 2028,

there are 30 million or so eligible, and 7 million on privately,

op, you can be referred to the nhs weight management clinic, but they will make you follow a program for a year or so, then prob at the two year mark offer bariatric surgery before they offer the drugs. Howver it maybe worth getting on it now, if you really can’t afford.

so if you do it, I’m afraid it will be private I think. There’s no money in the nhs to offer it more widely.

id really be hesitant to do a 90 min walk on Saturday, I would recommended you start walking to your parents house. The 20 mins. Maybe don’t take two buses, take one, if that splits the journey and build up slowly. And daily.

ss I think you could end up in some pain if you attempt to walk for 90 mins,

Mounjaro will change your life.

Are you sure? I have read on the NHS site and on the Gov.uk site that only ONE condition is necessary for Wegovy and not even if BMI is over 30. This is from Gov.uk "Alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, the semaglutide (Wegovy) tablet may now be prescribed to adults in the UK with obesity, who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above, or who are overweight with a BMI between 27 and 30 and at least one weight-related comorbidity."

I’m not sure why you’re so insistent on convincing me injecting yourself with drugs you don’t need is healthy. And I don’t live off ryvita and muller lights. Laughing cow is actually really nice. I’m going now as you’re really wrecking my mental health going on about this. I wish you well
op I hope you get what you need x

You’re so young - you deserve a life free of such physical limitations. I hope you get there whichever way you decide - but start today!

@Bohema123 what you are quoting there is the MHRA approval for the new Wegovy tablet, which are the general prescribing criteria for both private and NHS prescribers. That approval is what has made the Wegovy tablets available to private patients via online clinics and so on. The NHS has its own further criteria for eligibility, and that is totally separate to the MHRA approval criteria. Those NHS criteria are to do with cost, resources, availability and are about managing the practicality of roll out and what the NHS considers to be value for money.

I do need them, as does nearly everyone who uses them. If we could lose the weight and maintain without we would. No one takes them as a first resort.

it is not unhealthy to take a medication to cure a health problem. Obesity is the biggest killer in society, it leads to so so many health problems that are life limiting or life ending, it is not just an appearance issue.

you put the statement out, you can’t do that and expect not to be challenged if it’s erroneous. No one asked you if it was healthy or not, you proactively came on line to grandly announce it.

if it wrecks your mental health to be told that yo yo dieting is deeply unhealthy for your body and that slimming world has a 97 percent failure/regain weight, then there is little I can do about this. Both are factually correct. As is the fact you’re heading to your third round of dropping and gaining 3 stone.

Stop being personal towards me. You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself now 😆. All you’ve achieved is making me more determined to lose weight healthily and keep it off

Try Slimpod, it retrains your brain. It can be used alongside any of the other methods of weight loss, but I find it works fine by itself. It's more like hypnotherapy and getting your body to respond appropriately to its natural signals, instead of overriding them. I'm pretty sure it costs for life about what you would pay for one month of injections and they usually do a free trial first.

For what it’s worth I’m in the 3% of people who lost weight on SW and kept it off. I’ve never eaten a MullerLight!
I wasn’t interested in just chasing a number on the scales, I wanted to eat healthier, so the advice I took from SW was load up on fruit and vegetables and lean meat and fish.
Someone who only wants to lose weight to reach a scale target and doesn’t really care about changing eating habits long-term is most probably going to regain their weight. It doesn’t matter if it’s SW or WLI.

If you’re on WLI and just relying on appetite suppression then you’re going to have to keep taking them. Personally I wouldn’t want to keep paying out for medication long term without addressing the underlying issues but I wouldn’t judge anyone who was happy doing that. Type 2 diabetes alone takes up 10% of the total NHS budget, if we can bring that down through weight loss via WLI that’s got to be better for everyone.

do both

once you’re five stone down, exercise will be much easier

I don’t think many people would be happy to keep paying and not change their eating habits.

Firstly I think the meds force you to change your eating habits, too much sugar or fat and you will have gastro issues, secondly, they allow you to start recognising a healthy portion, thirdly, they don’t melt the fat off, you need to go on a diet. Just like any other weight loss method.

i think it’s a misconception fat people just sit on the sofa eating junk and being lazy, your post intimates that’s what’s going on with your comment about not changing eating habits, ie they had to be bad to get fat, but for many it’s simply bad portion size. As such, the meds are perfect, no?

anecdotally if you look at the threads on here and Reddit. You can see most people, not all, do change their eating habits, I did, very few can get away with not.

it also seems the sheer scale of the financial commitment involved, also drives a lot of people to do it correctly.

The only part of your post I don’t understand is that you say you don’t want to use Mounjaro. It makes no sense to me at all. Why would you not use medication that could change your life?

I do understand the cost can be prohibitive but in your position I would prioritise this and start asap. You are worth investing in. Your life and your health can be vastly different. Take the opportunity.