Struggling

[Swanseaqueen]

Just joined. Have to lose weight for surgery to my knee. Struggling to exercise because of said knee. Fed up (pardon the pun) with weight loss programmes, so I’m hoping things will be different this time.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Hello and welcome, Swanseaqueen 😊

This is a great place for information and support. People follow different plans and they'll be happy to discuss them so jump right in (taking care of your knee ) and join in forum activities and chats.

As for exercise, just think in terms of whatever activity you can safely do: it's the food choices that affect our weight far more than exercise.

You'll find all our groups and activities in Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... , plus a Welcome message. A good place to start is with a weekly weigh-in on the day of your choice, and the Daily Diary, where members share their meal plans.

This gives you a tour of the forum healthunlocked.com/?tour=true and, along with Pinned Posts, will show you how things work. Active participation can be a great boost to your own efforts so I hope you'll become an active member and we will see you joining in around the forum 😊

PS the app doesn’t give access to all parts of the forum so we advise everyone to get rid of the app and log on to the full website using the browser on their phone

[Tall1732 Restart June 2023 Maintainer]

Hope the knee is ok. I had knee surgery myself last October ACL reconstruct and hence why put weight on. I gradually managed to exercise the increase my exercise was 102kg in January now 83.4 kg. Don’t over do the exercise to early just gentle walks if can and exercise at the gym helped me. I got a fitness for health from my doctor which gives me 3 months use of local gym for £59 usually £29 a month. Stay positive the weight will drop once your fully active.

[Swanseaqueen in reply to Tall1732]

Thank you for your kind words. Mine is the MCL to be reconstructed,and also need the Tibia to be moved as other issues. I’m a bit daunted as my mobility is restricted. At the beginning of lockdown I was told don’t do anything and now they’re telling me go mad! I’m up to 15 minutes a day on the exercise bike, and other strengthening exercises, but the weight thing I’m struggling with.

[mazscho]

Exactly the same! Got to lose weight to get knee replacement but can't exercise much due to the arthritis. 😥

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to mazscho]

Hi and welcome, mazscho

I hope you'll follow the links that BridgeGirl has provided Swanseaqueen and will also become an active member of our community.

Wishing you all the best

[mazscho in reply to moreless]

Thank you.

[katieoxo60 Visitor in reply to mazscho]

Me too snap, losing weight is a problem with no exercise. But I at least stay stable no increase due to lockdown.

[mazscho in reply to katieoxo60]

That's good!

[Aginghippy 1st 7lbs in reply to mazscho]

Me too. A bit of a vicious circle but there are inspiring stories on here.

[mazscho in reply to Aginghippy]

I know! Brilliant@

[trewollack]

I'had both knees replaced within 6 months, both times I did aquarobics (tell the instructor) and it was brillliant; low intensity, well supported, it truly was the answer. I did all the physio exercises too. but The aqua was so good I was off on six day cycling trip down the Loire within 10 weeks of the op. (I was 65 at the time). It is truly worth the cost.

Best of luck.

[Swanseaqueen in reply to trewollack]

Wow! That’s fantastic. I’m moving to the Swansea area in 3-4 weeks, hence my moniker. I’m kind of in limbo at the moment so I haven’t packed my exercise bike away and am doing the physios exercises and that’s it. A bit afraid of doing anything other than that as the knee has no mpfl to support it.

But I like the sound of the aquacise!

Hopefully when we move, I’ll get some help nearby and can get sorted out!

[trewollack in reply to Swanseaqueen]

Yes aquasise was the best; they even had a hoist to get the 'disabled' in and out of the water. I didn't need it but for the odd one or two who diid it was a godsend and there was no stigma about any infirmities. Just a good idea to forewarn the instructor and lifeguards.

Lost of supporting replies I see.

Good luck

[mazscho in reply to trewollack]

Wow!

[Aginghippy 1st 7lbs]

Join the club literally. I've got two bad knees and been told I must lose weight before any operations. Good luck.

[ScoutyPat]

Hi Swanseaqueen.

Know where you are coming from. I was diagnosed with arthritis back in the 1980s when 15 which I was told was due to having been born with hyper mobile joints and wonky leg. Since then I have had acl and mcl ops, medial and lateral realignments, and Sept 2019 has a TKR for left knee. Right TKR is due any day.

If you haven't seen the 'escape pain' app, then it is worth down loading and the exercises there are very good. Swimming has been my saviour when the joint is bad, although currently that isnt possible as no pools open locally. Gentle walking and the exercise bike you say you have is good for keeping up the mobility.

I find tracking what I eat, going for a healthy balance of food and not eating between meals and after 6pm has been my key to losing weight.

The guys here are very supportive, so welcome and hope everything works out.

[Swanseaqueen in reply to ScoutyPat]

Thanks for your helpful message! The not eating after 6pm is key for me as is tracking everything. Your knee issues sound similar to mine, tho apparently I have a shallow trochlear where the knee sits. It explains a lot! Good luck with your TKR

I will have a look at the ‘escape pain ‘ app too! Thank you Pat.

[Swanseaqueen in reply to ScoutyPat]

Could you tell me where I could find the escape pain app please?

[ScoutyPat in reply to Swanseaqueen]

In the app shop on your tablet or phone search "escape pain" it is the salaso health solutions app

[PandQs Maintainer 3st 7lbs]

Hi Swanseaqueen and also mazscho and katieoxo60 who also mentioned exercise was a problem. I had to lose weight to go on a waiting list for hernia op. When I came here, someone told me to watch a video series by Dr Robert Lustig called The Skinny on Obesity in particular, episode 3. It made me totally rethink my usual low fat diet approach which involved high carbs. You’d need to assess for yourself, but by going lower carbs and reintroducing fats which Id previously avoided, I lost the weight. No additional exercise contributed to the weight loss - although I maintained my routine for fitness. The weight loss meant that I no longer needed the hernia op as it had corrected and also my knees and hips ache less too. Good luck!