High weight is destroying my life

[Depressedanddesperate1]

It's my first time posting please go Easy on me , basically as the title says my weight is destroying my life , I have gained 6 stone since having my daughter, I'm a mess , my body aches , I can hardly walk as even 5 or 6 steps leaves me with lower back pain and breathlessness , every bone in my body ache and I constantly feel tired and run down
For context I finally bit the bullet and weighed myself at the GP on Friday , I am 29 stones in weight I am disgusted to say
My life is a misery , I cannot run round after my child , can't go anywhere without thinking about the seating, recently went to a concert , I always have to book the Isle seats or its a no go
The main issue for me at the moment is My Job , I work full time and worked at home all through covid in an office Job , the last two months we have been back office based and its hell (I work for NHS)
I cannot park my vehicle anywhere near the building I work in meaning even the relatively short walk from my car to the office is is leaving me dizzy and sick, I'm tired all the time , even if a colleague suggests going the shop at lunch time for a walk or fresh air I always make an excuse as I can't face going because I know I can't manage it, there is some suggestion at work also that we will be taking on responsibilities that involve a 30 min walk each day , due to my sheer size I simply cannot do this , I don't know what to do , I can't afford not to work
Days out with family I'm constantly having to sit down , DH Is always the one running round after our child at the park
It's getting to the point that I can't physically manage at all , I'm joining slimming world , DH thinks I should go off sick at work for 6 months and get myself better and fitter , luckily I do get sick pay , would a GP sign me off for this? I feel like I'd be better off dead than living like this and only have myself to blame , my mood is rock bottom.
I spoke to the GP about weight loss surgery

But if the Op could do moderation she wouldn’t be 29 stone.
Its like telling an alcoholic to only have one glass. Of course there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with a takeaway. However if you have 20 stone to lose then it’s better to not order one until you can trust yourself to just have a small portion of veg and protein.

When I lost weight it was a bit shock to realise how little food I needed to stay well, happy and not feel hungry. I did fast 800 and actually it was a relief to have the information that I could just stop eating between meals. It wasn’t going to make my metabolism go crazy and I wouldn’t get an eating disorder.

Slimming world is brilliant and despite what ppl may think is actually very supportive of those members who decide on weight loss surgery if that is something you go for. As once you have the surgery you can't eat the same so sw can help you retrain your mind on what to eat.
Why don't you join sw ( I think you said you did) and pop yourself on the NHS waiting list rather than go to Turkey. So many horror stories and I've heard so many ppl have such issues with their surgery when they get back.

As a PP said exercise is such a small part of weight loss at the beginning it's more about what you eat

Sw you can have chips curry, Chinese, dessert, alcohol etc it's all about eating in moderation and in a balanced way and you should never be hungry.

I'm a Sw consultant BTW just a member who have seen so many ppl lose weight I'm talking about 10, 15 stone in cases. My sister lost 8 stone.

It's a medication prescribed for diabetics but used also for weight loss

Not approved by NHS yet but available on private prescription- multiple companies- Health express/ Boots / Private Doc etc

Saxenda is the daily injection
Ozempic is the weekly injection

@lightisnotwhite

Yes so how is cutting out pasta and bread going to ever help?

It won't. Because she will crave it and become fixated and more likely to binge

I've just looked and it's £240 for 5, does that mean it's £48 a day??? Saxenda I mean

Hi @CatGrins no , I've never used it but I think one sax pen lasts a week or just a little longer
The Ozempic pen is around 140 and lasts 4-6 weeks , there are some tweaks you can do to make the dose last longer
Expensive but affective for some ?
I've considered it many times and probably waste more than that on junk food in the month

Just to add - a tier 3 obesity consultant could actually prescribe this on the NHS but not your local Gp
It would be a hard slog , most people just have an online consultation and pay privately

Thank you @Donepaying that's very useful.

I'm getting some more this week ( sax)

I really put thought into what I eat because I can't manage much on it at all

I count calories whilst on it for max effect . Now I'm on a break I'm still eating that way though the hunger has come back a little.

There are some specific threads here for both
And Facebook groups

Just please don't buy from any unregistered provider , you can't guarantee it's safe storage ( needs to be refrigerated)

Hi OP

I lost about 7.5 stone 8/9 years ago and it was tough but once you start seeing the results it gives you such a boost to go on. I joined Weight Watchers and went to the meetings every week. It scared me to death to start with but it kept me on track and was nice to be surrounded by people that understood and didn’t judge.
I had a tummy tuck nearly 2 years ago as I had a lot of excess skin on my tummy and that made me feel much more confident too.

My top tip would be break the weight down in to small chunks. Don’t focus on how much you need to lose altogether, break it in to 7lb chunks - it seems far more doable like that.

Good luck and I hope you start feeling better in yourself soon 💐

@ThatGirlInACountrySong Wouldnypu be happy to share more about using it? What you can and do eat? Are the injection easy to do? Etc thanks

@Depressedanddesperate1 oh OP I feel for you, I am in exactly the same boat and need morale boosting and motivation. I lost a lot of weight 6 years ago and levelled at 13st which I felt great at (still classed as overweight but I was fit happy and healthy)
My son will be 5 in jan and I have weighed in now at 20st.
I'm also in the nhs and have two flights of stairs to my office which honestly almost kills me and I am up and down a few times for day.
I am looking to start helping myself in my mindset and lifestyle if you want a support buddy I'm here and we might help each other!

@GoodnightJude1 I love the idea of breaking into 7lbs looses seem so much much achievable

@fastandthecurious1

It certainly helped me! I also used to put a £1 coin in a jar for every 1lb I lost….it was good to be able to see the money building up and to know eventually it would go towards some new clothes ☺️

Diet will help you more than exercise at the moment, although obviously exercise is important, it just isn’t as effective a method for weight loss. Having been in your shoes I would say you really need 2 things: therapy and weight loss surgery. Get yourself on the NHS waiting list - you might be able to find a private option in the meantime, or you might find a way of eating/medication that works for you, but at least speak to the GP about getting on the list. Therapy is more important, and is definitely necessary. You need to get to the root of why you overeat, why you sabotage with takeaways etc - you need to solve this for any weight loss to be sustainable long term. Speak to your GP about this too, maybe they can refer you to an eating disorder therapist? Not that you necessarily have an eating disorder, but you certainly have disordered eating. Paying privately would get you longer/sooner therapy, but I appreciate that’s not affordable for everyone.

I also agree with the pp that suggested an OH referral. I work in the NHS - they will really try and keep you working as much as they can. So explain your difficulties and see what they can put in place. It will be a long road losing weight and then maintaining - your whole life - so you need to learn to do it alongside work rather than going off sick, imho. Also agree that distraction is helpful.

This sounds no way to live op.

You do need to take some control over this, no one else can fix this for you

Worth googling traits of inattentive adhd - it’s under-diagnosed in women and if you have it can explain why you might find it harder than others to diet. But just think of your daughter and do the best you can. Good luck.

I'd get a blood test to check if you are prediabetic a lot of the tiredness you are feeling could be caused by that. You can be prescribed metaformin. Loosing weight as a doctor told me was easy its putting it into practice which is hard! I've lost 14 kg to try and get my type 2 diabetes under control. But what helped was thinking 'I'm doing this for my health'. It also helped that I worked out a really simple diet whcih was easy to prepare. I've been more honest about what I've been eating. Ie If Ive eaten some biscuits I'll cut back on dinner. I've also allowed myself endless cups of tea when I'm hungry and loads of yarn to keep myself occupied. And once a week when I see my parents for lunch I don't diet. If you do get diagnosed with type 2 read Professor Roy Taylors book which is based on his research and is very helpful.

Just want to send you positive vibes and support - I can feel the pain in your posts.
can also recommend and echo the saxenda posts - boots to it 5 pens off about 250 I think, code Welcome10 gives you a discount.
I started 6 weeks ago and am 20 pounds down, just making sure I drink 2 litres of water and log my cals, it does wonders suppressing my appetite, get signed off (I am currently) and take the time to start the journey with this, maybe the surgery is the answer but deffo try this first.

@catgrins

Sure. Needle is tiny, very thin and barely feel it. I inject into stomach. You get a sharps bin for safe needle disposal

I typically eat 1 slice toast as opposed to 2 before. Or a protein yogurt with few berries

Crackers or 4 breadsticks with salad and 1 Oz cheese. Fruit and water for lunch. Or soup now it's colder. Half a can opposed to full.

Dinner. Whatever everyone else has but a small portion....prefer fish or omelette type meals. dp was amazed i couldn't finish my food. Too full for pudding .

I did hear you Asda offers it on Klarna but not sure. I'm also on hrt and am early 50's so struggled to lose due to those factors. Sax has been a godsend

Thank you!

Hi OP, please try to show yourself some kindness. You are your daughters world and she loves you dearly regards of how much you weigh. You’ve taken a huge a step here to say how you are feeling.

Please talk to your employer. I previously managed a colleague who was very obese and I so wish we could of talked through some work associates risks. Once our lift broke down - we were on the 7th floor. it was so difficult and very hard to bring up her size but if she had there would of been more we could of worked out together.

I feel your pain, I too put on lots of weight in lockdown and even though not as heavy as you, my frame is petite and just turning over in bed was a struggle.

I had a wake up call as during a routine blood test I was diagnosed as diabetic.

I eat less than 130g of carbs a day and stick to 1200 calories using nutra app, and have lost over 3 stone since 1st July, as the weight came off, I slowly added some exercise, walks etc and my diabetes level has dropped from 80 to 50 (over 48 is diabetic, so now just slightly over) I also discovered my cholesterol was 9.4 (should be 3 in diabetics) I have got it down to 7 and hoping to lower it further.

I belong to Diabetes UK and the type 2 like myself have all had success with losing weight following the recipes and supporting each other.

There are also a few on saxenda or ozempic and there loss is amazing, I still want to lose another 3 stone but if you want any support, message me and I will be there for you. You can do this, just make little changes. I would also suggest having your bloods tested as you could well be diabetic with such a fast weight gain, and then you will get free prescriptions

xxx

I'm very sorry that you're feeling so horrible. And I totally understand how awful you must be feeling.

But why are you looking for medication or surgery to sort this for you?

The first thing you really have to do for yourself is deal with your diet.

You don't need to worry about exercise - weight loss is 95% about your diet.

You can make small changes very quickly. And that will see results on the scales too.

Why not post a typical day's food, and let's see if we can help you to tweak it to help you?