tall, fat & depressed

zarafa

Full Member
i turned 22 about 2 months ago. growing up, I've always been chubby - but this is beyond.

my clothes don't fit, i get out of breath really easily, and i'm thirsty all the time, so i'm scared it's a sign of diabetes [which runs in my family]. im also 6'' so im taller than everyone i know [including my parents], so just feel like the focus of everyone's attention.

i saw a doctor a while ago, and she prescribed anti-depressants, and exercise.
I lost about a stone, but then put it all back.

i'm sick of yo-yoing. my younger sister's getting engaged in january, and i have to lose weight to fit into a nice dress. i met a guy who was very sweet, but because im paranoid, and didn't believe he could actually like me, i dropped contact.

so, suggestions i guess. im joining a gym on monday, but other than going to the gym? weight watchers / cambridge diet didn't work for me. i'm at uni most days, and other days i'm tired all the time and really can't be arsed to cook.
 
Zarafa

I would get checked out for diabetes / insulin resistance - I was so tired and depressed for most of this year, getting out of breath, sweating for no reason, generally ill - I finally had 2 black outs in September which persuaded me to go to the doctor. Since then I have been on a low carb diet for insulin resistance, have dropped 21 pounds, and feel much happier. I have a lot of weight to lose, but seeing the difference it has made to my metabolism makes it worth it. I monitor my blood sugar with a pin prick test, so take everything a meal at a time. You might want to leave off exercise until you've been checked out, as I've been told to limit exercise to long walks while they are deciding if I need to go on medication or not.
 
When you go to the gym there may be someone able to advise you on a suitable diet. Do you want to count calories? Write everything down you have and see if there are ways you can cut back

Good luck
Irene xx
 
thank you for the support. I've decided testing out my diet for a week, drink more water and see if i still feel thirsty all the time.
I've made an appointment to see the doctor next week.
Day 1 had to be postponed till tommorow. we didn't go grocery shopping over the weekend, so there wasnt anything healthy at home :/
 
I'm also (close to) 6ft tall, and have also always been quite, ah, portly.

You say thirsty all the time. How much do you drink? You need to be getting through about two litres of water a day (more on hot days or days when you exercise). If you drink more than that on cool or inactive days, see your doctor - particularly if you happen to be *ahem* itchy in the ladies' area (diabetics' tiddle has a high sugar content, so smells fairly sweet).

At your weight and age, yes, it's possible you may have developed Type 2 Diabetes. Best to get bloods done ASAP just to be sure.

No matter how the results come back, you're going to have to make a concerted effort to stop being lazy about your food. Being morbidly obese is enough in itself to make people tired all the time (hell, I'd take afternoon naps over and above my 8-9 hours each night), and the only way around it is to get up, start exercising, and force yourself to take care of yourself.

It isn't easy. But if diabetes runs in your family you're at increased risk, and you sure as hell don't want to loose a foot, your eyesight, or die in twenty years' time do you?

So, suggestions:
1: Don't be afraid to talk to the instructors at your gym. It's their job to help you. Tell them you need to lose weight and they should work with you to create a training regimen.
2: Use an online calculator to figure out how many calories your body requires a day. For example, this one: Calorie Calculator
3: Eat fewer calories than this per day. Don't go crazy and try to get by on an apple a day. Just shoot for 500 fewer per day until you're used to eating less, then you can vary it (I aim for about 800 fewer per day). This leads to a nice sustainable weight loss.
4: Be prepared for the fact that there is no quick solution. You will be eating less than you require for about two years to reach your target weight, and you will regularly have to re-calculate your calorific requirements as your weight comes off and your fitness level increases. I suggest re-doing the calculator every two months.
5: Never weigh yourself more than once a week, but do keep track of your weight loss. Do your best never to skip a weigh-in, as it keeps you focussed and accountable.
6: Cut out refined cane sugar. It forces your body to fake diabetes by messing with your insulin levels. A sugary food will make your body produce insulin, then the sugar fizzles out and you're left with insulin, which makes you crave sugar... so you eat sugar, and the craving goes, but more insulin is made... See where this is going? Once you are totally in control of your sugar craving (it only took me about a month), you can have a small chocolate without feeling the need to devour the whole pack.
7: Cut out alcohol. Yes, I'm evil. No chocolate, and now no booze.
8: Don't buy anything which will not help you lose weight. Allow no crisps or chocolate in your kitchen. Buy fruit and vegetables to ensure something good is on hand if you get the urge.

Lots of people (particularly people who want to sell you diet food) will tell you that you don't have to "give up the foods you love". Sure. You don't have to. But the foods you love got you where you are, just as all that pizza, chocolate, KFC and lasagne got me where I am. And believe me, the more you keep having something "naughty" now and then, the more you crave it. "Saving up your allowance" also kids you into maintaining your taste for unhealthy food.

The first couple of weeks will be hard. Your stomach is large, and it wants to be filled before it'll tell you it's not hungry any more. But you're in control, and you need to shrink it. Eat fruit. Eat vegetables. Go hungry if you reach your daily calorie limit. Your stomach'll get the idea very quickly and start shrinking back down to where it needs to be. A month in and you'll find that far smaller meals are actually very satisfying, and that even if you do get cravings, you can distract yourself from them.

You can do this. Do not doubt that :D
 
Crazybrit- you are the awesomeness. thank you for the advice.
Cakeless - thank you for the well wishes - it's tommorow. fingers crossed.

I can't find my scales, so will weigh myself at doctors tomorrow.
 
2: Use an online calculator to figure out how many calories your body requires a day. For example, this one: Calorie Calculator

That calculator is genius!

Sorry, i was just mooching around the forum and came across this thread!

Good luck with your weight loss :)
 
I weighed myself at the gym today....and...I lost 6lbs! :dances:

I'm so happy :D
 
6lbs is brilliant!!! Well done :)
 
um. so i finally found my home scales today. the 6lb loss is completely due to scale inaccuracies [the gym scales are manual], i'm exactly where i was last week.
so after finding that out, i felt like sh*t, and binged like a pig.
:break_diet:
 
i'm exactly where i was last week.

Don't think like that hun, you might feel exactly the same but it takes time to see real changes so don't get down about it,going to the gym is taking the first step forward.

just think about where you want to be next week and the week after and what you're going to do to get there. It's hard yeah but you have to keep going!

Oh and i read your tumblr post and your binge isn't anything you can't come back from, one bad day doesn't break a diet its what you do the day after and the one after that...
 
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Crazybrit - you have been blessed with so much sense. I know you speak sense. Taking it in is just a problem at the mo :p

Little miss Mosh - thank you <3

I had a good day as far as food goes. I had porridge oats [212 cal] for breakfast, and then jacket potato with cottage cheese [im guessing around 300 cal?] for lunch, and loads of water, and lemon tea [with splenda]. I'm mentally preparing myself to go make something for dinner and not pick at anything my mum made.
 
Taking it in's always the problem. My mum always told me that if I ate twenty Chicken McNuggets for a meal then went home to have dinner I'd get fat, but did I listen? Noooo :D
 
Hey Zarafa, I know what you mean about the tall and being very "noticeable". I was trying to figure out the other day, and when I started wanting to do something about my weight I was like 386 pounds :eek::eek::eek::eek:

And I was always trying to see who was looking at me and pointing or wanted to make fun. I didn't even believe my then BF now husband (very average weight) even liked me... boy I put him through some serious head stuff, anyway, the point is, the only person I had to blame was me and I just couldn't accept it.

As the saying goes "I wish I had known then...", well don't do like me, you're young and you can turn things around before you develop regrets about youth and most importantly, health complications.
Wrap your head around why you want to change, chose a plan that works for you (might take some trial and error to find it), set mini-goals, come online everytime you want to binge, anything to take your mind off eating junk and don't give up.

Do this for you hun!!:)
 
Hay CrazyBrit

Great advise! It is sooo refreshing to read sensible advise - you have your head screwed on!!

Good Luck Everyone!
 
Hey everyone
thanks enlightenme, crazybrit & linzpinz :D
I've had a bit of a busy week, loads of assignments due in. Got some next week too, but taking a day break.
Haven't been to the gym, but I've been fasting since Wednesday, so no food during the day, and not much in the evening either :D The lack of water's a killer though. I'll be done on Thursday, so will go back to gym then.
I made another appointment with my doctor - going to take my food diary, hopefully a record of a loss and ask for xenical.
Fingers crossed! x
 
I take Xenical and Reductil (Brit name),Meridia(North American name) together.The second is an appetite suppressant. It has really helped me with my appetite. I have been able to stick to a diet b/c of it and have lost 20 pds so far. Perhaps you should ask your Dr. about it, it may help you.
 
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