Hi everyone, my first post on here, I am now desperate to lose weight, I saw my GP and his only offer of help was to employ a personal nutritionis! Yeh right, I'm not on your sort of wages, agreed to test my thyroid levels but the rest is down to me, I've lost 3 and a half stone a few years ago but I'm ashamed to say, it returned! I do have arthritis in my knees and have had one replaced which has been a great success, I need help from someone who is also struggling, any takers?
Well done for taking the first step and seeking some help! What a shame that your gp was unable to point you towards more useful information... There are lots of different approaches to weight loss and I agree it is hard to decide what to do. Personally I've tried lots of fad diets and though I lose weight it's always returns, and bring some extra lb friends back with it! It is only my first week of the 12week NHS diet so I can't vouch for it yet but lots of people on here have had amazing success!
I've also done some research about low carb high fat (lchf) diets, the idea of which is to reduce carbs and increase fat to replace it. There are people on here who are far more knowledgeable about it than me though as I'm a newbie!
I am trying to combine the 2 by sticking to the 1400 calorie allowance, getting my carbs from veg only and using milk/yoghurt/cream (not low fat stuff!) in cooking etc.
My fitness pal is a free app that I am using to log my calories and it also gives you a nutritional breakdown of the foods you enter.
I hope you manage to find something that works for you!
Best of luck and looking forward to hearing how you get on! Anna 🌸
Hey welcome to the group you have found the right place for help and support the nhs 12 week plan is a great place to start, you can fit it around your lifestyle quite nicely, i personally find calorie counting the easiest way to lose weight, i use an app called myfitnesspal which i track all my food on. In regards to exercise could you take up a low impact type of exercise that you can increase as you feel fitter such as walking or swimming. Good luck to you and all the best
Okay you don't need a personal nutritionist... wouldn't it be great if we could all get one of those on the NHS! To lose weight consistently and keep it off you will have to make some lifestyle changes. I don't know what your diet is like at the moment but you have to ensure you are eating fewer calories than you are burning every day and following the 12 week plan and calorie count. This doesn't mean you have to starve yourself it simply means you have to make healthy choices when it comes to eating.
Follow a few simple rules and you can make great losses. You don't want to take on too much too soon so ease yourself into it. If you have sugar in your tea or coffee try and have it without, cut out fizzy drinks unless it is sparkling water or soda water. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Avoid starchy carbohydrate wherever you can and replace them with high fibre alternatives, fruit and vegetables are your be friend!
I know you have just had a knee replacement so your mobility might not be great at the moment. Be as active as you can if you can walk a brisk walk is great for burning calories. If the impact from walking is too much you might want to start swimming if you don't already. No impact on your joints and it is a great cardio work out.
I needed to lose a stone but instead put on nearly 20lbs last year and am amazed I let myself do that. What was I thinking? I wouldn't call it greed but stupidity. Just got carried away thinking food was an answer to all my problems. All it did was make an extra big problem but I've woken up now and am doing something about it. When I'm feeling tempted to have a naughty treat I'll read the posts and that takes my mind off the craving. Keep in touch as you aren't on the journey alone. You know you can do it as you've done it before even without us. x
I have had sore joints for years, took all sort of medication now and again for arthritis, then decided to cut out sugar and eat more fish. Whatever it was, those pains have disappeared. I was told sugar act as an acid and creates painful joints. Worth thinking about it. I have underactive thyroid which used to make me tired. Thyroxine controls it. So now I am on the 12 week plan and I am on top of the world. A completely different woman. And it feels sooooo good when people mention you lost weight, look good, fit and happy. And you do. So go for it. It is the first day of your new life!
Thank you, I have cut down on my sugar intake and as from Monday will cut it out completely in tea and coffee but there are so many other things that contain sugar it's hard, thanks for the support here's to the first day of the rest of my life x x
I check the content of everything. Even bread has sugar. I opt for the minimum sugar in wholemeal bread and have very little anyway. Maybe one or two slices a week. I eat Cruskits instead. I use a natural product called Natvia for sugar. It needs just one third of a teaspoon instead of two teaspoons of sugar for the same sweetness. I also drink a lot of green tea which does not use sugar. Keep looking for 0 sugar content or 0.3/4/5... per 100g. this is what I do. I may have access to different brand as I am in a different country but the same type of products would be available everywhere. I also use blue potatoes instead of the standard ones.
Brilliant response! I have terrible joint pain too. Not just weight bearing joints. Nothing helps. Recently, in a bid to shift the visceral fast that I have swaddled myself in i have given up my evening tipples of dark rum and coke (I seriously beleive I was/am addicted to the sugar content). I am eating an avocado daily, usually for breakfast, and I am now wondering whether my joints will get a new lease of life. Wouldn't that be an amazing added bonus to weight loss? (I need to shift about 5 stone). Incidentally, I have lost 7 lb in the last 2 weeks without any exercise, just cutting out the alcohol and fizz and the bad carbs. I feel elated, hope the joints respond now! 😆
Good move to cut out alcohol and sweet drinks. Think of the calories you are loosing! Wow. As for pains, I am not too sure of the time frame, but I think my joints got better after maybe six Months? One day out of the blue, I realised I did not have any pains. Could also be that I have been eating one small can of tuna every day for breakfast. I just love it. addicted to it really.
I'm going to add tuna to my half avocado in the morning now. I'm dribbling already! Thanks for your kind words, I'll let you know if my joints ease......we could be on to something here!!
I've got painful joints. Did you ever find out what it was? Was sugar the only thing you changed? I'm sick of pill popping & scared of getting addicted to codeine!
Hi SM04. Years ago I was told I had arthritis. Over time I did find out that some food or drinks made it worse. Last year Sugar was the big thing I cut out but I also increased my fish intake. Instead of once a week, I have a small can of tuna for breakfast every day and as a main course fish twice a week. We eat a lot of Tuna, Barramundi and Salmon. Loosing all the extra weight would help as well.
Might be worth investigating what the practice nurses at the surgery have to offer - it sounds as though this particular individual had a bit of an attitude problem. Or any local schemes - local authorities sometimes have some good programmes with cheaper access to swimming etc.
Hi Polly56. This is also my first post. I am in a similar position to you. I have a false hip and mine was also successful. I had decided that 2015 was going to be the year to lose my excess weight unfortunately I developed leg ulcers which stopped me exercising. Hopefully, they have nearly gone so I can get stuck in now. Just like to wish you best of luck for the future.
It is ridiculous that the NHS can't even recommend people looking at its own website for help & advice.
There is so much information out there about dieting- so much it gets confusing- and often contradict each other. So, do what works for you, and what you feel you can maintain. It is about a new lifestyle, not dropping weight to return to old habits once again.
A large part of weight loss is the right mindset, so think about what you want in terms of being slim. Try to keep a positive mind, never say I musn`t .....I don`t.. I can`t... I musn`t.... and so forth. Instead I prefer to be slim, I want to fit into a smaller size clothes, I want to feel comfortable in my skin.....whatever resonates with you. After a while your mind will be more tuned in to a healthier outlook and you won`t focus on food as much.
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Great advice. There is no such thing as a "bad" food, just bad "eaters"!
I am on this journey too and mobility problems big time I have lost 3st sins June last year I had free vouchers for weight watchers and I eat off a small plate so it cuts down on portion control it is hard but but not impossabe good luck
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