# Looking for motivation to lose weight?



## Stan the Baron (Sep 27, 2017)

Hi All, Losing weight is never easy, I know that, but how to get motivated seems to be just as difficult for many. So let me give you my experience of this, I don't know what my A1c was when I was diagnosed, but at a guess maybe 8 or even 9. something, I'll ask next time I'm in the surgery. Whatever at almost 16 stone at the time, I had been 17+ some years before, my doctor asked me if I could lose a stone in the coming year, well it didn't happen, maybe 7 or 8 pounds no more. There are reasons why, mainly to do with a family bereavement a couple of years earlier, a daughter aged just 47, my wife had long been overweight, and kept trying to lose some, so we tried together, she kept falling of the wagon, and as we were in it together, I gave it up as well. Then we'd say right, Monday we'll start again, and we would and the same thing would have, over and over. When I saw the doctor after the first year, I just said I was sorry I hadn't lost what she'd asked, she then tried to say she knew how difficult it was, I stopped her and explained what I just have about our daughter, which as she knew about this quite understood. I added that however, the coming year is mine, I will be losing weight for me, no-one else, and it will happen. She commented that this sounded a little rash and asked how can you be so sure? My answer was one that many if not all of you will understand. When we visit the surgery, we sit in the waiting area, surrounded by people of whose problems we mostly have no knowledge. But when it comes to the annual or even biannual retinal photography, whether with the mobile service at you surgery or at the hospital, we all know what everyone is there for. We see people maybe older and younger, and some of each are in quite a bad way, many still vastly overweight, with mobility and breathing problems, some not mobile at all, even the odd amputee. And that I told her is not where I intend to finish, with all or any of the problems if I can possibly avoid it. So over the next year I lost 3 stone give or take, and the following few months a further one and a half stone, by now I had begun to build up my exercise, got a dog and we walk quite fast, over 3 mph most of the time for about 2 hours a day, all in one go. This left me from taking 4 x500 mg Metformin + 2 x Gliclazide maybe 80mg, not sure now, down to nothing at all apart from a statin, now not to lower cholesterol, but for the other benefits, and a very low dose blood pressure tablet, and an A1c of 6.0 %. Six months ago, I told the doctor I was not against losing some more weight, even though my bmi was normal, if nearer the top than bottom, so I have lost another 7/8 pounds since and my recent blood lest cam,e back as 5.8%. I shall lose a little more before my next blood test, and will post the results here, whatever they are.

So motivation, surely the will to live a longer and healthier life than those you see, who , for whatever reason, have done nothing but keep taking the pills is quite enough is all the motivation you need. Actually achieving the weight loss is of course still difficult, but if anyone wants to know what I did food wise, ask and I'll pass my experience of this on as well.

Good luck all those who want to succeed!


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## Ditto (Sep 27, 2017)

I have motivation, lots of it, but it's still hard. I also have addiction and screaming habdabs when I get hungry which happened mid afternoon today. I was in despair. Why me? Nobody else gets like that? I need to be in a nut house!  I was in my usual mindless panic. Surely this is not normal? Fed-up isn't in it. Glad you've found your way forward and thank you for the good luck. I surely need it.


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## Wirrallass (Sep 28, 2017)

Stan the Baron said:


> Hi All, Losing weight is never easy, I know that, but how to get motivated seems to be just as difficult for many. So let me give you my experience of this, I don't know what my A1c was when I was diagnosed, but at a guess maybe 8 or even 9. something, I'll ask next time I'm in the surgery. Whatever at almost 16 stone at the time, I had been 17+ some years before, my doctor asked me if I could lose a stone in the coming year, well it didn't happen, maybe 7 or 8 pounds no more. There are reasons why, mainly to do with a family bereavement a couple of years earlier, a daughter aged just 47, my wife had long been overweight, and kept trying to lose some, so we tried together, she kept falling of the wagon, and as we were in it together, I gave it up as well. Then we'd say right, Monday we'll start again, and we would and the same thing would have, over and over. When I saw the doctor after the first year, I just said I was sorry I hadn't lost what she'd asked, she then tried to say she knew how difficult it was, I stopped her and explained what I just have about our daughter, which as she knew about this quite understood. I added that however, the coming year is mine, I will be losing weight for me, no-one else, and it will happen. She commented that this sounded a little rash and asked how can you be so sure? My answer was one that many if not all of you will understand. When we visit the surgery, we sit in the waiting area, surrounded by people of whose problems we mostly have no knowledge. But when it comes to the annual or even biannual retinal photography, whether with the mobile service at you surgery or at the hospital, we all know what everyone is there for. We see people maybe older and younger, and some of each are in quite a bad way, many still vastly overweight, with mobility and breathing problems, some not mobile at all, even the odd amputee. And that I told her is not where I intend to finish, with all or any of the problems if I can possibly avoid it. So over the next year I lost 3 stone give or take, and the following few months a further one and a half stone, by now I had begun to build up my exercise, got a dog and we walk quite fast, over 3 mph most of the time for about 2 hours a day, all in one go. This left me from taking 4 x500 mg Metformin + 2 x Gliclazide maybe 80mg, not sure now, down to nothing at all apart from a statin, now not to lower cholesterol, but for the other benefits, and a very low dose blood pressure tablet, and an A1c of 6.0 %. Six months ago, I told the doctor I was not against losing some more weight, even though my bmi was normal, if nearer the top than bottom, so I have lost another 7/8 pounds since and my recent blood lest cam,e back as 5.8%. I shall lose a little more before my next blood test, and will post the results here, whatever they are.
> 
> So motivation, surely the will to live a longer and healthier life than those you see, who , for whatever reason, have done nothing but keep taking the pills is quite enough is all the motivation you need. Actually achieving the weight loss is of course still difficult, but if anyone wants to know what I did food wise, ask and I'll pass my experience of this on as well.
> 
> Good luck all those who want to succeed!


Thank you for sharing the latest chapter of your life with us Stan ~ in part, I surmise it couldn't have been easy for you. I applaud your efforts to lose the weight you have already and your motivation to shed even more for you to continue to lead a healthier life. I guesstimate your beloved late daughter would be proud of what you have achieved to date.

An HbA1c of 6% (42mmol) and 5.8% (39.9mmol) are excellent numbers Stan ~ both these levels put you in the non diabetic range so very well done. Perhaps if you maintain these low levels for the next 12 months your GP should take you off the diabetic register Good luck and take care.


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## HOBIE (Sep 28, 2017)

Keep at it Stan the Baron !


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## Stan the Baron (Sep 28, 2017)

wirralass said:


> Thank you for sharing the latest chapter of your life with us Stan ~ in part, I surmise it couldn't have been easy for you. I applaud your efforts to lose the weight you have already and your motivation to shed even more for you to continue to lead a healthier life. I guesstimate your beloved late daughter would be proud of what you have achieved to date.
> 
> An HbA1c of 6% (42mmol) and 5.8% (39.9mmol) are excellent numbers Stan ~ both these levels put you in the non diabetic range so very well done. Perhaps if you maintain these low levels for the next 12 months your GP should take you off the diabetic register Good luck and take care.


Thanks for your reply, you have mentioned something that I was wondering about, being abandoned by my GP because my numbers are getting too good, all to save money of course!  But somehow I don't think she will,as she did let slip to my wife that I was here star patient and may want to help make sure I don't slide, though I do think that you, and her realise that unless something untoward happens, I won't.

The daughter I talked of was actually my step daughter, not that it makes any difference, we were pretty much soul mates in a father/daughter kind of way. A couple of years before she died she said she was worried about me as she thought my fatty weight was all around my heart, and I should lose some weight, so to please her i did, around a stone by the next time I saw her, maybe 9 months later. She noticed straight away, just as I had noticed she'd put more on, not that it was totally her fault, as she'd been on steroids for some time in attempting to control her own problem, her immune system was attacking her liver. She died in Kings College London, in the same ward that George Best was in for his transplant. We learnt and saw a lot concerning liver transplants in the weeks she was there, we saw people, come, go, and die. But the biggest realisation was that only the drinkers who'd destroyed their own livers that had any real chance of surviving a transplant, as they were otherwise quite healthy. All those with a liver problem caused by other longer term health problems were already in a weakened state, and it was those we saw die, either before a transplant or soon after. Our Sue was in this category, and as a result she can now not look after me in my old age as she promised, and wheel me around in a wheel chair and tip me in the river at the first opportunity, and that was the kind of relationship we had. So yes , she would have been proud of me, in fact I think she would have broadcast it to the world. Strange really, she was a difficult and unreasonable girl, with good reason that I won't go into, but with me it was always the simple things that pleased her, and it showed.I'll let you know how my nest GP visit goes, around March next year at a guess, take care yourself


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## Amigo (Sep 28, 2017)

Stan the Baron said:


> Thanks for your reply, you have mentioned something that I was wondering about, being abandoned by my GP because my numbers are getting too good, all to save money of course!  But somehow I don't think she will,as she did let slip to my wife that I was here star patient and may want to help make sure I don't slide, though I do think that you, and her realise that unless something untoward happens, I won't.
> 
> The daughter I talked of was actually my step daughter, not that it makes any difference, we were pretty much soul mates in a father/daughter kind of way. A couple of years before she died she said she was worried about me as she thought my fatty weight was all around my heart, and I should lose some weight, so to please her i did, around a stone by the next time I saw her, maybe 9 months later. She noticed straight away, just as I had noticed she'd put more on, not that it was totally her fault, as she'd been on steroids for some time in attempting to control her own problem, her immune system was attacking her liver. She died in Kings College London, in the same ward that George Best was in for his transplant. We learnt and saw a lot concerning liver transplants in the weeks she was there, we saw people, come, go, and die. But the biggest realisation was that only the drinkers who'd destroyed their own livers that had any real chance of surviving a transplant, as they were otherwise quite healthy. All those with a liver problem caused by other longer term health problems were already in a weakened state, and it was those we saw die, either before a transplant or soon after. Our Sue was in this category, and as a result she can now not look after me in my old age as she promised, and wheel me around in a wheel chair and tip me in the river at the first opportunity, and that was the kind of relationship we had. So yes , she would have been proud of me, in fact I think she would have broadcast it to the world. Strange really, she was a difficult and unreasonable girl, with good reason that I won't go into, but with me it was always the simple things that pleased her, and it showed.I'll let you know how my nest GP visit goes, around March next year at a guess, take care yourself



Inspirational story Stan and she would have been very proud of you just as your fellow diabetics are!


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