Sick of the size of me….. 🤪

[Stuart Davis AO - Devon Cornwall & Somerset]

Excuse the slight play on words, but I’ve decided enough is enough. Despite some kind words from the Derbyshire crew to the contrary, I am living up to my nickname too much, even more so after a gluttony sprint over Christmas.
 

At one point, whilst loading my plate up again on Christmas Day, my little eight year old muttered the immortal words ‘Daddy, if you carry on like that you will end up eating the hot plate as well!’ 🤣

 

Weight peaked at a horrifying level, well it began with a ‘2’ in stone if that gives an idea. Prior to the pandemic, I reached a similar point and embarked on a two year fitness campaign which got me down to around 14st, where I should be. Unfortunately lockdown was my undoing, particularly spending months ‘working from the kitchen’, about three feet from the fridge 😬

 

My biggest weakness is chocolate, and all things sweet (don’t mention cake please!), but so far I have managed to get my cravings under control and have been chocolate free for four days. Hopefully that’s all I need to get on the right track. My plan is to do what I did before, start walking everyday and build it up to a decent level. I was walking over 50km a week I guess, and there are some nice walks from where we are now in Crewkerne, so no excuses!

 

Non Westfield related benefits:

Health; avoiding diabetes!

Energy levels; keeping up with said eight year old

Happiness; I’m much less grumpy when exercising

Sleep; Mrs Stu does not enjoy the snoring which comes along with the weight!

 

More important (🤪) Westfield related benefits

Should fit in my narrow bodied SEi more easily

Might even be able to refit the seat

Approx 40kg weight loss should improve acceleration without spending any cash on tuning!

So, if anyone is in a similar boat, please feel free to post up here and we can give moral support to each other. Otherwise any encouragement along the lines of ‘You can do it chubby’ will be appreciated.
 

Pictures of cake should be avoided, but if you must, you must, it will build up my resistance to temptation! 🤣. Coffee and Walnut pictures for me please 🤪

 

I’m back under the big 2 0 already, so next stop is something with an 18 at the beginning, target 14 by the end of the year ish 💪

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

Well done @fatblokestu much cheaper to lighten you than lighten the car!

 

[Kit Car Electronics]

Well done, you can do it. I'm carrying 2 stone more than I should and trying to shift at least half of it 🙂 

[corsechris]

I once attained the giddy heights of 1lb short of 19 stone. I embarked on a change of lifestyle and managed to get down to just over 13st. Still overweight, but acceptable. Inevitably though, that has crept (and occasionally galloped) back up over the years. Currently 2 stone over where I want to be and 3 over where I'd like to be. I did manage to drop a stone last year just before going on holiday and thanks to catching Covid while away, I didn't put on much weight while away as I normally do, but as always, the Xmas gluttony has taken its usual toll.

 

I'll get back on the horse and beat it back down again. As long as I get a grip the Xmas excess usually comes off pretty quickly. Sadly, it's been a life-long battle for me. The main thing is to accept it is really, really simple - eat less, do more. Never mistake simple for easy though.

 

One thing I do is 2 days a week of very reduced intake, the 5-2 thing. That apparently has additional health benefits as well as the simple reduction in calories. Trick is not to binge afterward!

 

The other is regular exercise. We both do a cardio routine at home 3 or 4 times a week and I do a bunch of callisthenics as well, and we walk regularly too.

[jaykay42]

Good evening, all!

It is really refreshing to read such honest and to the point comments.

I'll be equally honest:

I am lucky and not personally affected by that dilemma and I understand and believe that there are a variety of natural body shapes out there. Not all of them are similar to a Greek god. Trying to go against your natural shape/build is a hugely difficult uphill battle.

However, clearly there is a difference between a naturally broader body shape and obesity.

So, what helps with my "luck" is that I do and enjoy exercise and even eating quite healthy.

 

What I would like to add in way of encouragement is:

Once you have weaned yourself off the excessive amount of sugar that most people usually eat, your sensation of taste changes. Most, if not all, commercially available "treats" taste so, so sweet to me now that I genuinely do not like the taste any more. The very same taste that makes most people want to have even more actually is repelling to me. Just too much!

 

So, in a (very) long winded way. Keep up the good work - it will become natural and thereby sustainable to you.

 

[jeff oakley]

My name is Jeff and I am Fat.  Mine has been a life long struggle I was first put on a diet when at 14 years old I was 14 stone. 

In my defence I was a good rugby player at the time, but still fat.

 

Over the years I tried every diet going and some worked a bit but never lasted. I have two wardrobes, to my wife's one with clothes that are all sizes.

 

I did have a thyroid problem, no honest, which I now take tablets for but that is really a side issue.

 

I worked away from home a lot so the Premier inn breakfast is more calories in a meal than you need for the day. This was inevitably followed by feasting from the garage buffet and I too have a sweet tooth.

 

At my heaviest I was 25 stone, or 159 kilo for those youngsters among us. When lockdown came I worked from home and as my wife was also home and doing all the shopping and cooking, I got down to just under 16 stone, 100kg.

 

As soon as I was back working away it crept back up to where it is today at 19 stone, or 122 kilo. I now have a real motivation to sort this out once and for all.

 

I had blood tests for my Thyroid and they found I was pre diabetic which is not nice to be told but realistically not surprising. I also have some joint issues which are weight related as it was pointed out to me I basically carrying an average weight 12 year old boy around all day, so again not surprising.

 

I have now retired and the warden, sorry wife, is now back in charge and will help. I was also referred to an NHS programme to help, first one is Saturday, so not sure what to expect really at this stage.

 

In my previous attempts what helped was setting realistic goals, getting weighed just once a week and making time to walk and exercise, which is harder the bigger you are. The bigger issue is keeping it off

 

There are lots of us out there and I make no excuses I am ultimately to blame but it has taken years to get here 65 of them, so it is not going to be a quick fix however I am determined.  Good luck to all who are trying

[corsechris]

I was a 14 @ 14 as well. Not a happy place to be. I was swimming at lot around age 12-13 and despite my weight had been offered a place on the county swimming team….which I sadly/stupidly declined. Often wonder how my life might have turned out had I accepted that offer. I had a minor illness around then which provided an excuse to stop a lot of physical activity, hence my 14@14. At 16 I took up Martial Arts and turned into something quite different! I felt fantastic and was properly fit for the first and last time of my life. 12 stone of muscle and confidence. My downfall came when I went to college and started driving everywhere instead of running everywhere. I also quit the Kung Fu and that was it. A slow decline followed. I did try to get back into the Kung Fu again but was working shifts at the time, and neither work nor the school could accommodate that, so it didn’t happen. If it helps, I still have the book   Have to say, nearly 50 years on and I still have vivid and happy memories of those times.

 

Somehow, I’ve avoided any health issues related to weight (so far). Only thing is slightly raised cholesterol. Blood pressure is ‘perfect’, resting heart rate is low normal. I think the regular exercise has to take credit for that.  Well, except perhaps some back issues, but they are as likely from years of bad practice as anything else.

 

 

As far as ‘baring it all goes’, well, mirrors don’t lie, nor do scales, so I’ve never felt the need to try and hide the blatantly obvious. I usually highlight in fact, as some sort of half-arsed self-flagellation. Like most issues we deal with, it’s likely 90% or more mental I’m sure. I know my body can do the right thing given half a chance, so I can’t blame that. Yes, there are folk dealt a bad hand that makes this issue harder but ultimately, as I said before, it really is simple, eat less, do more. Decades of research bears this out but it isn’t palatable(!) for many, sadly, and yes, I understand why.

 

As for the whole food-toxic environment we live in these days….that's a whole other issue and one we will never control given how loudly money talks (sugar lobby for example) and just how dirty a trick evolution has played on us fatties (famine species).

 

Forgot to mention before, as well as the 5-2 thing, we typically do the ‘intermittent fasting’ thing of early evening meal and late breakfast. Typically 16 hours between those meals which allegedly helps.

 

 

 

[Stuart Davis AO - Devon Cornwall & Somerset]

16 hours ago, corsechris said:

Sadly, it's been a life-long battle for me. The main thing is to accept it is really, really simple - eat less, do more. Never mistake simple for easy though.

Same here. At University I was rowing and training ten times a week, and eating 4000+ calories a day. Trouble is when you stop training and continue eating the weight just piles on.

 

I’m a serial yo-yo dieter. Once I’m ‘on it’ I’m very good at focusing and losing the weight via exercise and cutting out bad stuff. Trouble is, once I get to my goal I find maintaining boring, and it always tends to creep back on. That’s the thing I need to crack.

[Stuart Davis AO - Devon Cornwall & Somerset]

Great posts @jeff oakleyand @corsechris, thanks.

 

My recent max was 20 st 4, previous ‘record’ 20st 9, always just after Christmas. Ultimately it’s is all mental, and fairly complex at that I’m sure. There is a whole piece around whether you accept ‘fatness’ so as to maintain self esteem and avoid depression driven eating, or adopt a harder approach and show how unhealthy being over weight is.

 

Personally I have always accepted that I’m fat because I eat too much, simples, and that I need to do something about it. The harder approach on myself motivates me to lose the weight, but I know that doesn’t work for everyone.

 

Absolutely right about mirrors not lying! The hardest test is being in hotel rooms with multiple mirrors which really do show you what’s going on! That’s certainly a motivator.

 

My brother was diagnosed with diabetes recently, and being a very driven character he immediately embarked on a healthy diet campaign and within about 6 months had lost his weight and the diabetes went away! It’s all possible. Regardless of politics, Tom Watson very successfully lost his weight after years of obesity and talks a lot of sense on the topic if you read his books or blogs.

 

I find exercise is key to all for me. It makes me feel better and brighter (endorphins and all that), and once I’ve exercised I’m much more likely to eat healthily or at least in reduced quantities. I’m aiming for 2lbs a week, and weighing myself everyday works for me in terms of keeping focused and on track.

 

Thanks again for the input. It’s good to share and success is made much more likely by being open and having some support. Good luck chaps 👍

 

 

[corsechris]

@fatblokestu that sounds like a good target. Certainly attainable at your current weight although of course it gets harder as it comes down, and as you build muscle. I tend to weigh daily as well, if only to try to keep myself honest.

 

Being busy works well for me. I can go a day without any urge to eat if I'm sufficiently occupied. Sitting around doing nowt is bad news on many levels. Sadly, that's pretty much my life these days, which makes it harder.

 

To speak to what @jaykay42 says about perceptions etc, at 17, I was indeed a Greek God physique, but I've concluded that isn't the shape my brain wants my body wants to be, even though it can     It was weird, I couldn't understand why I was suddenly popular with the girls. Who knew they don't go for fat kids???  

 

I'm back on the wagon again now after Xmas, and my latest back issue subsiding (that didn't help, it hit me in September and stopped all activity for 2 weeks, although I did get back into the routine before our holiday...then Xmas of course, so it's been a bad few months), just finished the morning exercise session, today is a 'normal' food day but I'm going to focus on not pigging out on the few remaining treats left in the 'Xmas Naughty Box'   Speaking of that, I think that's a tradition that needs some serious consideration - it needs to become less naughty.

[jaykay42]

Very good points from corsechris...

Especially that last bit:

 

Speaking of that, I think that's a tradition that needs some serious consideration - it needs to become less naughty.

 

Ultimately, the only thing that will work in the battle with weight is something that will become a "tradition", i.e. something that you do all the time. That may include the occasional pigging out, but anything that is only a temporary effort will lead to yo-yoing back up once the effort stops. Sorry, no silver bullet available in my limited experience.

 

[corsechris]

Indeed, we need to make habits & routines out of the good things, not the bad. I know exactly what the problem is and exactly how to solve it. Knowing is only half the answer though, sad to say. If I hadn’t made some permanent changes, I’d still be 19 stone or likely more. 
 

I suppose it’s pertinent, given we are discussing behaviours. I smoked from age 12. I stopped during my brief fit period but restarted. I always knew it was bad for me. I carried on until my 26th birthday. I was driving home from work and it suddenly hit me that I no longer enjoyed the habit. I extinguished that cigarette and never smoked again. Clearly, given my weight, I don’t have superhuman willpower. I believe I quit smoking simply because I wanted to. Nobody told me to, I wasn’t giving up for any of the many good reasons. I simply wanted to. Equally clearly, I have never had that attitude to eating and drinking or I’d be back to my optimum weight. I’m always going to be a reluctant abstainer which, of course, makes it harder.   

[jaykay42]

1 hour ago, corsechris said:

Indeed, we need to make habits & routines out of the good things, not the bad. I know exactly what the problem is and exactly how to solve it. Knowing is only half the answer though, sad to say. If I hadn’t made some permanent changes, I’d still be 19 stone or likely more. 
 

I suppose it’s pertinent, given we are discussing behaviours. I smoked from age 12. I stopped during my brief fit period but restarted. I always knew it was bad for me. I carried on until my 26th birthday. I was driving home from work and it suddenly hit me that I no longer enjoyed the habit. I extinguished that cigarette and never smoked again. Clearly, given my weight, I don’t have superhuman willpower. I believe I quit smoking simply because I wanted to. Nobody told me to, I wasn’t giving up for any of the many good reasons. I simply wanted to. Equally clearly, I have never had that attitude to eating and drinking or I’d be back to my optimum weight. I’m always going to be a reluctant abstainer which, of course, makes it harder.   

You are spot on! I am readying my flak vest for the comments I may be inviting... but I agree with you. It comes down to whether one wants to do something or not. I'm no superhuman either: I don't want to eat sweet stuff because I genuinely don't like it.

I do drink (something, but I don't end drunk) most days of the week + the weekend. I enjoy the flavour of many types of drink. It probably comes with a bill to pay later, but I don't care. I want to keep enjoying my drink.

[corsechris]

2 hours ago, jaykay42 said:

You are spot on! I am readying my flak vest for the comments I may be inviting... but I agree with you. It comes down to whether one wants to do something or not. I'm no superhuman either: I don't want to eat sweet stuff because I genuinely don't like it.

I do drink (something, but I don't end drunk) most days of the week + the weekend. I enjoy the flavour of many types of drink. It probably comes with a bill to pay later, but I don't care. I want to keep enjoying my drink.

FWIW, I didn't take your comments as in any way negative. No flak jacket required I don't think.

 

I'm not a huge fan of sweet stuff either, although there are some things in that category I do like. I just eat (and drink) too much of everything.

 

Drink for sure is bad in many ways. Very calorific, alcohol is bad for us of course. Sadly, I like a drink from time to time(!) I don't get drunk often, but I do drink too much. Nothing to brag about, but I can drink quite a lot of spirits with little immediate effect. Interestingly though, of late, I find if I have more than one or two drinks in the evening, I will wake up at typically 2am with a pounding heart. Not racing, pounding. Clearly a sign to cut down.

 

Funny enough, I didn't used to drink all that much and never had any alcohol in the house. I could blame the missus for bringing booze into the house, but that would be unjust as she doesn't make me drink it! Ironically, her problem is being underweight. She has slowly lost weight over the years.

[jaykay42]

1 hour ago, corsechris said:

FWIW, I didn't take your comments as in any way negative. No flak jacket required I don't think.

 

I'm not a huge fan of sweet stuff either, although there are some things in that category I do like. I just eat (and drink) too much of everything.

 

Drink for sure is bad in many ways. Very calorific, alcohol is bad for us of course. Sadly, I like a drink from time to time(!) I don't get drunk often, but I do drink too much. Nothing to brag about, but I can drink quite a lot of spirits with little immediate effect. Interestingly though, of late, I find if I have more than one or two drinks in the evening, I will wake up at typically 2am with a pounding heart. Not racing, pounding. Clearly a sign to cut down.

 

Funny enough, I didn't used to drink all that much and never had any alcohol in the house. I could blame the missus for bringing booze into the house, but that would be unjust as she doesn't make me drink it! Ironically, her problem is being underweight. She has slowly lost weight over the years.

No, I wasn't expecting any flack from you... I'm just not sure everyone else out there agrees with us regarding the reasons for weight troubles.

I'm sure some people will teach us that there are a myriad of reasons, certainly nothing to do with a lack of willpower.

Who am I to judge who is actually right, all I know is that rarely do folks appreciate having to take a close look in the mirror.

Just to add: I have more faults than there are grains of sand in the universe - I'm not trying to sit on a high horse. 

And there are plenty of faults of mine I'm more than happy to gloss over.