# weight loss



## keith4 (Feb 19, 2011)

i have type two diabetese on metformin (500 mgs) my diabetese is under control but my doctor keeps on about my weight, i find dieting very hard i start diets only to give up after a couple of weeks
   i cant do any hard excersising due to knee operations i walk each morning which helps but for loosing weight (?) any suggestions:


----------



## Northerner (Feb 19, 2011)

Hi Keith, the best thing to do is to think of your food not as a 'diet' so that you can lose weight - I think that often puts too much pressure on people and makes them feel as though they are having to give things up all the time. That isn't sustainable long-term, so what you really need to do is to re-educate yourself about food and learn how to eat healthily rather than specifically to lose weight. If you can do that you will enjoy your food more and the weight will come off, I'm sure.

A good way to start is with a food diary. Record everything you eat - and I mean everything! Include the breakdown if you can, like how much carbohydrate, fat and calories are in the food. This will give you an excellent picture of what you are actually eating - studies have shown that if we don't write it down and are asked later we 'forget' quite a lot of what we have actually consumed. One area that a lot of people find benefits them is by paying attention to portion size - it might be something as simple as eating from a smaller plate that can show results!

Once you have your food diary, you can ask your GP to refer you to a dietician, who will then be armed with all the information they need to suggest changes that will improve your chances of losing weight.

As for exercise, again  your GP might be able to refer you to a gym or physiotherapist who can help you with exercises that won't involve problems with your knees.

Hope this helps, do come back to us if you have any other questions.


----------



## Andy HB (Feb 19, 2011)

Hello Keith, I can't agree more with what Northey has suggested. That's pretty much what I've been doing for over a year now since diagnosis.

I didn't keep a food diary for all that time, just the periods when I needed to get the new lifestyle started and when adjustments were needed for when things stopped happening.

For me, I decided on a long term approach and set a weekly weight loss target of <1lb. This meant that I rarely got demotivated because of lack of progress.

Andy


----------



## MargB (Feb 20, 2011)

Hi Keith, Northey has given a very good outline and I say I am not on a diet but have changed my lifestyle as far as food goes.  I cook much more than I used to and it is a long, long time since I bought any ready-meals or cooked anything in the microwave.  I have been surprised at how much food I can eat as long as it is the good food, no additives, no preservatives.  I now eat loads of fruit and enjoy it.  I don't need all the sweet things I used to eat and now only eat biscuits when I am out.  No more eating a whole packet of biscuits in an evening because they were there, I liked them and I could!!!  It can seem like a lot of hard work and faffing about but when the weight starts to drop off and you find you actually enjoy the meals you have made - you are on your way.

Quite a few of us struggle with our weight and this board has helped so many of us just in the short time it has existed.  The more the merrier!!


----------

