Really need to lose some weight

Folara

Right I am overweight, I know I am and I know I need to do something about it as its not helping me. Trouble is I have always had problems with losing weight by just a diet and usually I had to exercise like mad to lose anything.

Unfortunately I really can't do much in the way of proper exercising so I need a diet that will work without a lot of huffing and puffing (I'm one of the 3 little pigs).

Was thinking of trying slim fast for a month but I hate the milkshakes. Any ideas will be gratefully received.

Fols x

stickywicket

I know Colin is on the slimfast diet and it’s going well for him. Personally, whenever I’ve felt I needed to lose a bit, I’ve tried to do stuff I can keep up permanently and I have to say, it gets harder as we get older and less mobile.

Crisps, any sort of fizzy pop and chocolate went by the board years ago except for parties and special occasions. Biscuits with cuppas or after lunch also disappeared except when we’ve visitors. Then puddings became a couple of plain biscuits. Finally, a few months ago, it became a choice between the latter or the wine. This was where it got deadly serious :roll: . The biscuits had to go . No way were we running a dry house. Basically, I find if things aren’t there I can’t eat them so the only willpower required is at the supermarket.

I do think that even a bit of exercise helps though. I do my quads every day and I’ve adapted an ‘all body workout for people who need to sit’ so that I can do it on my ijoy ride exercise ‘horse’. I find if I don’t exercise I get very grumpy. (Which is not to say that I'm all sweetness and light when I do exercise .

Good luck with whatever you try.

emsjane

Hi Folara,

I am in exactly the same boat as you! I want to lose about 3 stones!!

My weight has yo-yo'd all my life, but i am now at the biggest ive ever been and its very depressing and certainly isn't helping with my arthritis pain!

I have been good over the last week, just trying to eat normally, which means a normal breakfast ie cereal or toast, a normal lunch, ie sandwich and a packet of low cal crisps, and a normal dinner with a sensible portion size. Ive had fruit as snacks and go ahead bars.

I did this once before without doing any exercise and i managed to lose about 2 stones. So i know it can be done without worrying about exercising. My problem is always the maintenance, i lose the weight, feel great about myself, i start to relax my eating and it slowly creeps back on again over time!

So, ive come to the realisation that the sensible eating diet does work really, really well, its just what goes on in ours heads that is the problem!

Anyway, good luck with the diet and let us all know how you get on.

Folara

I was thinking that what I might do is replace my dinner plate with a side plate and maybe use sweeteners (yuck) instead of sugar as a start. My problem is if I say 'right I'm not eating such and such' I end up eating it more as a 'just this last time' sort of thing.

iamme

...........as do I! 2 stone would be great, but as you say, you need exercise and it hurts........

I suppose this is where the swimming pool comes in handy...? I keep meaning to go, but find an excuse not to go.... What I need is a friend to go with, who will metaphorically drag me there!

Joking aside, I have found that as you have said, replacing big plate for slightly smaller one (Ikea do some good ones) sweetener (also agree YUK) in tea, and plenty of salad is working. I do eat a biscuit or two, as I think if you say no completely then this is when you rebel and eat too many. A good breakfast is fab, I am currently having a wet muesli made the night before and allowed to rest in fridge overnight. This is made of jumbo oats, half milk, half water, dried fruit, seeds and nuts. It's really yummy, healthy and keeps you going.

We ought to start a new link on here for dieting!

Keep going

J x

hileena111

Hi
I need to get half a stone off to get back to my target weight {slimming world} finding it hard at the minute....putting on and losing the same pound each week
I dont agree with cutting out chocolate {or whatever} completely.....I end up bingng.....i have to try and ration myself ....I'm a real chocoholic.
It has to be something you can keep up when you lose the weight.....not a crash diet....been there done that got the tee shirt
I cant exercise either.
Hate swimming
Good luck with whatever you try
Love
Hileena

SandyH

Hi Folara

I also need to lose weight desperately, it doesn't help that some of the meds I'm on increase appetite and I can't exercise at all. I would love to go swimming or to a hydrotherapy pool and buy healthier food but my finances won't allow it as I am having to live on the basic rate of ESA until my appeal is heard, also waiting for DLA appeal. I shall be watching this topic for useful hints. Good luck with your attempt hun x

Folara

Oh Sandy I ow what you mean. I'm also only getting ESA so I have no spare cash, in fact I'm having to sell stuff on eBay to pay some bills at the moment.

I think I am going to just do like everyone says and eat a little more healthy and eat a little less each day so I don't notice it. I want to lose a little at least before I see my consultant again in 4 months as I really want to get my knee replaced now before I'm completely wheelchair bound.

I hope you get your Appeal sorted soon. I'm also in the process of appealing as I should be in the Support Group not WRAG.

Fols x

emsjane

Oh Folara, im pleased to hear someone else is selling stuff on Ebay just to survive!!! My partner has sold his fishing gear recently and now im selling my craft stuff as we need to money!! It's a sad state of affairs and i spend my whole life worrying about money nowadays, it's horrible

Nixxy

Im in the same boat as am desperate to lose weight, I've out on so much in last year due to limited mobility and high dose steroids (and over eating of course). It's all such a vicious circle as my weight balloons when Im feeling low and comfort eat and being so overweight and feeling disgusting makes me feel so low!

I've just finished a course of weight loss hypnotherapy and have definitely been eating less but no weight loss unfortunately. Ive recently tried swimming but was in such pain the next day that I don't dare do it again while Im in such an active flare.

Saw rheumy today and about to start anti-TNF for first time so hope to be off the steroids soon and be more mobile. I am crossing my fingers for some relief and then some weightloss.

Would be good to have an ongoing topic on here to offer each other moral support and weight loss tips! Be great to hear other people's experiences.

Good luck all!!

SandyH

It's a good idea selling stuff, but I don't have anything to sell . Going to ask my GP if he can swap my meds for ones that don't increase appetite and hopefully that will give me a kick start, then I will try really hard to buy healthier food options. Gonna have to do something cos hardly any of my clothes fit and I certainly can't afford to replace them :oops: :roll:
We all deserve a bloody medal putting up with ESA stuff x

Folara

I wonder if we should do a 'let's lose a little weight' thread. We could put up a weekly weigh in and support each other with how the week went etc.

I'm happy to start this if peeps want it. Don't want to do it and be a billy no mates lol

Fols x

jan50ish

I was a serial dieter, tried them all. But then decided enough was enough and joined a slimming club and have managed to lose over three stone , I went the scenic route, most I lost in a week was two pounds but with the help and support of the group I chipped(haha) at it and now am at the target I decided to aim for. It cost about a fiver a week and to me it was money well spent and I still go to the meetings for the social side(free now for me) Have you thought about going to a group, I know money is a bit tight perhaps you have friends or relatives and could have your own little group, then you could support and encourage each other. What ever you decide to do ,good luck!

jan50ish

Folara

Just read your latest post and think that is a good idea. Athough I am really at the weight I want to be I would be more that happy to tag along,for tips and support but I am sure you will not be billy no mates

Jan

Folara

Thanks Jan

It's really hard for me to get out and about unless I have someone with me plus I really am broke. I currently have 43p to last me till Monday! This was why I thought a few of us could do it here and have our own weigh ins etc.

Be lovely to have you with us, especially as you must have lots of invaluable tips and advice to share.

Well done on doing so well, that's brilliant.

Fols x

Nixxy

Folara wrote:

I wonder if we should do a 'let's lose a little weight' thread. We could put up a weekly weigh in and support each other with how the week went etc.

I'm happy to start this if peeps want it. Don't want to do it and be a billy no mates lol

Fols x

Count me in!

doodledame

Have you looked at the Dukan diet?
It's the only diet that has worked for me & I've tried loads! I lost 1 1/2 stones in 6 months.
I tend to do gluten free but would eat a lot of fruit thinking that it's the healthy option.
The Dukan diet is mainly protein & oatmeal bran.
You do 5 days of just only protein & the oatmeal bran made as porridge.
I lost 6lbs in the first few days & kept on losing.
You then introduce some vegetables but no carbs.
I didn't find it that hard to do and have never felt hungry.
I have dropped two sizes & feel so much better!
I have days off but know that I can lose the weight again by doing the diet.

YellowFish

I'm in! Getting married in August and want to be trim. In the old days I would've just jumped on my bike or gone for a run but that's not an option right now! And the steroids don't help in the slimming department . . .

emsjane

Count me in! I can't afford to go to a slimming club either, so having one on here would be great

jan50ish

Folara
I had a thought last night, we have had a couple of people who have come to club and have got vouchers from there GPs to pay for a block of sessions, I have also heard some say that there are also schemes to help you going to a gym. I may have got this completely wrong but it may be worth you looking into. I know you said money was tight and it was hard for you to get out and about but if the money bit was sorted it you may be able to find a way to get to a group. Of course that would depend on a group being close to you.

However if this can't happen I would be happy to support you from a distance. So you need to decide when you are going to start, I check in here a couple of times a week but can do more if you want!

Jan

stickywicket

Folara wrote:

I wonder if we should do a 'let's lose a little weight' thread. We could put up a weekly weigh in and support each other with how the week went etc.

I'm happy to start this if peeps want it. Don't want to do it and be a billy no mates lol

Fols x

I'm sure this idea has been suggested more than once but never quite got off the ground. Maybe you would be the right person to take the bull by the horns. Maybe people don't want to be quite so open about their triumphs and failures and would respond better to a sort of 'Weekly PM Group'. Why not start by fixing a 'Start Date' and asking people to metaphorically sign up, say whether they'd like it public or private, fix a 'weekly weigh in date' etc etc. I'd love to see it happen because so many people here do seem to struggle with weight issues that impact on their arthritis.

Folara

Thanks sticky. I think I will do a weekly weigh in thread on a Monday night. See how many people respond to it.

Not sure how I do a big PM post tbh. I'm not really very used to forums (this is only the 2nd time I've used one).

Could do a 'this is what I ate today' type thing or something. Need some ideas to make it interesting. Had a rough few days so brain hasn't been working too well to think of things.

Fols x

stickywicket

Just a few thoughts.

1. I’m not sure I’d ask people to put their current weight on a forum. Some might find it easier to put up what they’ve lost/gained over the week.

2. Maybe everyone could put up their own Diet Plan at the outset so others could decide if it sounded like something they’d like to try.

3. I think a warning about ensuring good nutrition might help some.

4. ‘Slimmer of the week’? OK, you’d have to take people’s word for what they’ve lost. :roll: S of the W might be asked to say what they attribute their success to.

5. If you wanted to go down the ‘group PM’ route, whenever I’ve wanted to send a PM to more than one person I just put all the different names in the ‘To’ box.

6. If it was public, rather than a PM, and it took off, you could ask for it to become a ‘Sticky’ – easier to find each week.

I’m sure you’ve a few more ideas of your own. For a start, your idea of simply using a smaller plate is apparently a solution with a very high success rate. Good luck!

Starburst

My advice for losing weight is no faddy diets. They're expensive, not always very good for you and don't address the psychological issues you have with food. I tried Slimming World which doesn't involve much counting, hardly any weighing of food and is a slow weight loss plan. Even that didn't help because as soon as I reached my target, I thought "diet over!" and went back to scoffing crips. I'm now using some of Slimming World's ideas e.g. 1/3 of my plate is vegetables but not exactly following a plan. I'm trying to change my habits as well my attitude towards food, my weight and my body. It's really hard! In our current society, we are very focused on food and weight. I've battled with my weight my whole life. I suffered from anorexia for many years and my so-called recovery led me swinging the other way. I'm now trying to find a happy balance (happy being the operative word! ).

I'm happy to have a healthy eating/weight loss thread, although I'm not too comfortable with posting my weight

I wish everyone lots of good luck with their journies to a healthier, happier body.

Folara

Hi Starburst,

What if we have a Healthy Eating thread as you say and post a kind of what we have done each week diary so we can get tips from each other. Those who want to post their weight loss can but it's not by any means compulsory. That would be a nicer way of doing it as I totally agree, healthy eating is what everyone should aim for. We need support to stick to a new lifestyle.

How about we have one item of clothing that we want to fit into comfortably and use that as a goal?

Some good thoughts sticky, I think I would prefer to do it public but if ppl wanted to post privately to me they can. I could then perhaps post on the open thread that some ppl were struggling/doing excellently so we can support as appropriate but not name names.

Fols x

Nixxy

I think that's a great idea fols!