Ok, at the risk of getting dogs abuse from all and sundry I am going to ask for advice. I know I am opening myself up to p*ss taking from some, but hey ho, would rather have the p*ss taken out of me for trying than have the p*ss taken out of me for doing nowt about the situation.
I am overweight, have been since I had my first bairn 10 years ago, got worse when I left my violent husband and is now just something I live with. But I would like to lose weight, as I have been diagnosed with diabetes recently (my diabetic nurse is fairly s*** though, and apart from seeing me when I was first diagnosed in October last year hasn't seen me since) and I am sick of others taking the p*ss if I am honest. I eat fairly healthily (although I could do better), I drink a bit too much on a matchday (but am countering that one by taking the car to the metro station (10 miles away from home) and then a metro to the city centre, about 6 stops I think. I know I need to eat healthily and exercise more (and that is my biggest problem). I am scared of going to a gym, and I couldn't run the state I am in. I also have 3 kids, am a single parent and am doing a degree so have loads on in my life.
So does anyone have some REAL advice on how to lose the weight. How do I motivate myself when things get tough. How do I stop myself from getting down? Am wondering if a weightloss group like Weightwatchers or Slimming World would be any good (just for a bit of group support)? Would walking be enough exercise to start off with? If anyone could offer me some genuine advice about how to get going, and keep going then I would appreciate it.
Now to be honest, at first sight, your personal circumstances don't make you a recipe for success - diabetes, alone with three kids and in work (of sorts - at least a degree is fairly flexible). Not an easy life in itself. That said, it can conceivably be done. I'm under the impression (wrongly?) that you don't have to lose
that much (when I say that I mean it's only 2-4 stone - not 10).
The single biggest piece of advice I could offer you is to replace as much of what you now drink with water. Probably the most difficult part of this is dropping alcohol, but that's also one of the worst things you can have (I'm not an expert on dealing with this stuff while having diabetes, but have to say I was under the impression its also particularly bad for that, too). Putting aside social implications, its one of the simplest things you can do, potentially cutting loads of calories and generally bad stuff out your diet (just because diet coke has no calories, it doesn't mean it isn't filled with s***). It means all the calories you will intake will come from food - something more necessary, something more easily gauged, something more consistent (you don't need to eat more on a hot day as a rule). I'd put a sum of money on you feeling better generally for being better hydrated, too.
Walking is excellent exercise. The more you can fit in your day the better.
Re: groups... I'm not naturally a fan of those kinds of things, but it's up to you; you'll know better than me. I suspect they'd just magnify your feelings towards the results you receive - people to notice you succeed or fail. There's a gamble there, and it's questionable whether you need them in the first place. Ultimately, motivation will come from within. That you're starting a thread like this is in itself a good sign. If you start and stick with the water and walking, hopefully you'll get somewhere and see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Edit: Oh yeah, another thing - half a stone a month is a good rate to ultimately aim for. Expect nothing particularly good to happen for a couple of months, though and just stick at it.
Another thing - gyms; the less commercial the better. If you're gonna find a bad one, I'd bank on it being branded.
