Newbie

[Red1969]

Hi all. Very new to this. I'm lost in the wilderness of healthy eating/diet plans. Having badly broken my knee 18 months ago things have gone downhill without exercising. Looking forward to getting back on track once & for all & getting a new knee 👍

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, Red1969

Sorry to hear about your knee, I hope it will be sorted soon.

Follow this link to our chat thread and a list of all the activities we run. We've found active participation to be key to success, especially with our weigh-ins and Daily Diary.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

To make navigating the forum easier, we've put all the information you'll need in a newbie pack and here's the link

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Please take the time to read it carefully, so that you're able to enjoy everything that we have on offer.

We ask that you also read this important information about internet privacy and security.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Wishing you all the best

[S11m]

Hi, Red1969 , welcome.

I lost weight when I was disabled.

They say that doctors learn 20,000 new words at medical school - but it is possible to lose weight and get healthy without expanding our vocabulary tooo much, or even counting anything.

Weight loss is not all about motivation and masochism - if you "slim smart" it is not so hard!

Many of us here find that what works is a combination of The Low Carbohydrate, High-Fat (LCHF) diet (see the forum here on Health Unlocked) and Not Snacking All Day AKA Intermittent Fasting (IF). See:

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

[Pineapple27]

Welcome Red1969

You will find this a great supportive environment to lose that weight.

When I started my weight loss over 7 years ago (aged 49), I had 4.5 stone to lose. I lost most of my weigh using a website: weightlossresources.co.uk (which I still use to this day!) but I enjoy the support and posts on here alongside using the other site.

I have a disability that I was born with (shortening of all four limbs as a result of the drug Thalidomide my mum took when pregnant with me). As a result my mobility is minimal - and was further reduced following a serious head on car crash in 2002 when I broke my ankle. I went on to have my ankle joint fused and am still in constant pain with it.

I started my weight loss journey at 14 stone - over 7 years ago. I am just 4ft 8” tall and so was classed clinically obese.

I had been trying to lose weight all of my life since the age of 9. I had used Weight Watchers and Slimming World at various points. I would lose about a stone, then get fed up and go back to old ways of eating - the weight would return - plus a bit more. I realise with hindsight that the lack of awareness of "portion size" meant that these ways of attempting to lose weight were never going to work for me.

My disability makes exercise difficult (I am very sedentary and use a wheelchair outside of the house).

The one thing that I realised very early on in my journey was that I was just eating FAR TOO MUCH! I was a short, middle aged, sedentary female and I was eating the same as 5ft 9" active man (my now husband!). No wonder I was piling on the weight!

I also realised that whilst my lack of physical activity contributed to the weight issue, it didn't need to prevent me losing weight - I just needed to be really strict with my food logging and sticking to a calorie limit that would allow me to feel full and to eat less. I wouldn't have believed that was true at the start, but I managed to prove it to myself!

It is entirely possible to lose weight without moving at all! Of course though, there are lots of advantages to moving a bit more - but it doesn't have to be as formal as going to a gym or out for a five mile run. A good session of house work, mowing the lawn (when the weather permits!) or even a cooking session will all burn calories and have the advantage of making you feel much better emotionally too. I find just making myself get up earlier means that I move more during the day. It's good to find something that you LIKE doing, that is enjoyable and that you are likely to sustain on a regular basis.

I started my journey at the end of February 2012, and managed to lose 4.5 stone in 2 and a half years through calorie counting and logging/weighing all of my food. That works out at 130 weeks, so on average my weight loss was less than half a pound a week - of course some weeks I lost more, others I gained... but I am trying to impress upon you the importance of just keeping on going, even though the weight may not come off as quickly as you would like it to.


I cannot stress enough how important this part of the weight loss journey is - being able to recognise just how much we are eating and address that. It is not about cutting out any foods but about being able to make informed choices about the foods we eat Also about learning how to behave differently around food. Just because food is in front of us does not mean to say that we have to eat it! Being able to exercise control and moderate intake is paramount.

I re-gained some of the weight I lost, then lost it again and have now managed to more or less maintain for the past 18 months at around 10/10.5 stone. Still considered "over weight".

Ideally I would love to drop another stone to 9 stone and maintain there.

My weight loss journey (like this post) has been long, but I am still learning new tips and tricks to help me along the way and what's more, still enjoying the challenge. I would say that my behaviour around food has changed massively - I have learned to respect food, to "break" it's control over me, and to be able to modify how I behave with food. Just because food is within sight doesn't mean I have to eat it! I don't see eating the way I do as meaning that I am missing out any more - in fact I am now able to enjoy my life and have regained the ability to do things that I struggled to do or even found impossible to do.
Eating the way that I do now means that nothing is forbidden - everything in moderation, treats little and often. I've ditched takeaways and fast food and only eat out now for special occasions rather than a couple of times a week. To start with, I resented that I had to do this, but over time I have come to accept that this is my "new way of life". I'd rather cut back but have all the benefits I enjoy with improves mobility, less pain, the ability to do things I once couldn't and knowing that my health is as good as I can make it.

Here are a few of my past posts which I hope you will find helpful and inspiring. I won't try and tell you that my journey was easy - and you'll see that there were many blips along the way, but now over 7 years down the line, I feel about 20 years younger than I did when I was lugging around 4 stone more.

Please do pop back to the forums and share your journey with us - we are here for you, day and night and happy to share your success or support you when you need it.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[Stella5]

Just wanted to say that I relate totally to your post. I’ve relied on running my whole life to maintain my weight but an injury 18 months ago means I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to run again. I’m finding it extremely hard to manage my weight without the crutch of exercise so feel I need to relearn how to eat but am totally confused by all the different dietary advice so end up mixing and matching and meanwhile the scales keep going in the wrong direction. At the same time I absolutely don’t want to end up weighing food and obsessing over calorie. spreadsheets.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Stella5]

Hi and welcome, Stella5

I agree with you entirely about weighing and calories. You may, as I did, find these helpful for you healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...

Follow this link to our chat thread and a list of all the activities we run. We've found active participation to be key to success, especially with our weigh-ins and Daily Diary.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

To make navigating the forum easier, we've put all the information you'll need in a newbie pack and here's the link

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Please take the time to read it carefully, so that you're able to enjoy everything that we have on offer.

We ask that you also read this important information about internet privacy and security.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Wishing you all the best

[PippiRuns 6kg Restart Nov 2023 in reply to Stella5]

Hi Stella5 and Red1969 , That’s me you’re describing. I ran 25 km every week and had to stop because of osteoarthritis in the hip. Therefore gained around 15 kg over the last couple of years. I have now lost half of it again and have reached a healthy BMI. At the moment, I’m focusing on learning how to maintain my weight at its current level but I will probably continue losing after Christmas.

I am tracking calories and eating a balanced diet where nothing is forbidden, but refined carbs are restricted. To me, it doesn’t work to cut out a food group, but many on this forum enjoy a LCHF diet.

Don’t give up. You will find a way that’s sustainable for you. 🤗