Obesity(bariatric) surgery

I don't think you can assess a diet from just one meal Whitewave or even what you eat over one day.

The meal you've just described doesn't seem to me to have very much protein in it and wouldn't be very filling - is that all you're going to eat between now and breakfast tomorrow morning?
You could do worse than google Zoe Harcombe as Mamie suggests.

Yes jane as you say it is only an example and probably a poor one. I generally eat a lot of fish, but what I am trying to say is that following a calorie control using GH recipes hasn't worked for me up to now

I know quite a bit about nutrition, having been educated in the days when it was taught at school, and having had a weight problem all my adult life. However, it does not stop me eating the wrong things quite frequently. I know all about portion control, empty calories etc etc. I have lost count of the times I have lost weight and put it all on again plus some more. So why can't I keep the weight off? It's a mind thing. Yes , it's my responsibility to look after my weight and my health, I know that !!!!!! If I could afford it I would seek the help,of a psychiatrist to,discover why I have this toxic relationship with food.
BTW I am not obese at the moment having lost weight with WW yet again, but I am still struggling .

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/13/overweight-people-help-malice-gastric-bands-nhs

In the past people lived far more active lives than we do now, no cars, so people walked and cycled a lot. Before school buses my uncle cycled 10 miles to school each day and back in the evening in all weathers in Yorkshire. Many men's work involved hard manual labour, women had no labour saving devices to help with the housework so also spent much of their time doing hard manual labour at home. Homes were much colder and there was no central heating. Portions were smaller and many people were under nourished.

The other thing is that it does get a lot harder to lose weight as you get older. We need to eat much less. I have a good diet so have not needed to change my eating patterns but I only eat about half the amount of food I did before the menopause. Before the menopause my weight was nearly always within the accepted range and if it started going up I just cut back my food a bit and walked more for a couple of weeks until I got back to normal. Since the menopause I have put on a stone and a half and I am struggling to lose it, despite the fact that I am much more active than I was when I worked and normally now eat much less.

For the last few weeks I have been on the Fast Beach Diet, a more stringent version of the Fast diet, on which I lost no weight at all and my weight is now coming down, but it is hard work.

I notice that there is already a private clinic called 'The Bariatric Group' up and running who are offering gastric bands FROM £4995. They have a 'recommended' finance provider for you too called 'First Medical Loans'. It all looks suspect to me. Surely a sensible and determined diet would be a lot cheaper.

It is all well and good having gastric band surgery, but most people who need it at present have to prove that they can lose some weight which shows commitment and also for health reasons when going under the knife.

The other downside to this is that it is a very drastic operation. You will never be able to eat and drink like you did before. This can cause untold mental anguish, depression and the like. So many people do not realise the impact of not being able to eat normally will do to them emotionally.

It is very rare for someone to have obesity problems due to hereditary factors or even 'big bones'. The usual thing that can cause this is by being in an obese family to start with due only to the fact that portion sizes and the wrong types of food e.g. fast food, sugary drinks etc in large quantities are the norm along with lack of exercise.

There is no right or wrong way to try to stop the spread of type 2 diabetes, but if something is self inflicted then they should not get priority for operations to the detriment of others who are waiting for more urgent operations through no fault of their own that are being cut back due to costs.

Mamie for a long time I used myfitnespal.com and entered absolutely everything I ate or drank and it usually ended up averaging about 800 calories. It always told me I wasn't eating enough.

Today I have eaten a 49 calorie yogurt for breakfast, a banana and another yogurt for lunch. 2 small nectarines and we are having salad for dinner which will not include eggs, cheese, bread or potatoes. It will be salad, veg and a slice of ham.

I must stress that this is because I am hypothyroid and have learnt over the years that I need a lot less fuel than most people. I would expect everyone else to eat more than me.

That sounds really difficult for you, Nonnie.

I'm used to it Mamie been a long time. I'm not a martyr though, when we go out to eat I have what I like, trouble is we go out rather a lot so I workout as well.

Perhaps if the GP's surgeries offered free weight loss classes, similar to Weight Watchers and Slimmer's World, people would go to them and lose weight without having to resort to surgery. A lot of people don't go to slimming classes because they are too expensive.

I shall be 88 years old in a month. I realised I was gaining weight when the scales said 11 stone 8 pounds... I am not very good on diets, usually it is just too much trouble.
I decided to just cut my food down to half......It works,, A Ryvita with my morning cup of tea and juice, then just water until about 3 o'clock, when I would have my coffee and a little salad, then about 6/7o'clock I have a cooked meal......
Usually meat or fish with mixed veg, I was hungry at first but soon managed to just enjoy the food I had.
I did not loose it quickly, but now four weeks later I am down to just under 11 stone. Hooray.
I am sure I can get down to 10 stone, slowly, but I will get there..

Bett, you are amazing, what will power and determination. I started just a few pounds less than you and after nine weeks I have managed to lose a stone with another stone to go but, as I said in a previous post, loosing weight seems to be much harder after the menopause, even if you are still physically fit and very active - and I am 17 years your junior.

Margk, some GPs will refer people to Weightwatchers and to exercise classes at local leisure centres.

Well done Bett, I agree that over time you do get used to eating less, but it's not easy!

This is an interesting article, especially the bit about the initiative in Croydon and Lambeth.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/18/food-is-a-drug-and-we-have-to-learn-to-say-no
I suspect that the sad truth is that this multi-faceted problem does need sustained action on all fronts.
I remember reading about the Finnish approach and the success that they had at the time in changing eating habits.

Thanks for the link, Mamie. I'm sure Rosie Boycott writes from the heart, and I agree with her.

Good link Mamie

Soooo pleased after all advise and taking on board what other people do (mamie ) I have lost 3lbs this week seems to be turbo charged!! Finding it easy to I was eating too much carbohydrate so have simply cut that down and bingo. Yesterday for e.g. I had a huge salmon nicoise with an egg and anchovies but with only the equivalent of 1 new potato, whereas normally I would have had perhaps 3 potatoes.

So hopefully that and walking for at least 1hr 20mins a day puffing on to the downs will do it - watch this space!

Bett & whitewave well done! I think you have lost it quickly, too quick and you will simply put it on again very quickly. I read somewhere that ideally you should lose 1 lb a week.

I agree with you both about just cutting back and not eating the wrong things. The trouble with 'diets' is that you eventually stop them and go back to old habits. Much better to simply change what you eat and stick to it. I think we all have to find our own way depending on our own circumstances but think that the more we eat home made the easier it is to understand exactly what we are eating. I also think that a rule about sticking carefully to it at home and at work is good but then when we go out we should simply enjoy whatever we want.

So pleased to hear that whitewave
I stalled for a week when we were visiting England, but have now continued to lose weight steadily.
The other thing I did at the beginning was to try a bit of high intensity bursts of exercise. So in the middle of my normal daily walk I did two lots of 20 seconds uphill as fast as I possibly could and then increased to thirty seconds and eventually forty. Unscientifically it seemed to kick start my metabolism iyswim.

Yes what has done it is to stick to the 150gm rule with regard to carbs. Everything else is really as normal so hopefully the hand rule of palm fish, meat etc, 4 fingers carbs and hand veg, fruit etc. so easy to visualize.

I agree that it is coming off too quickly and 1lb a week is the aim really but never look a gift horse!!

Don't worry about it coming off too quickly in week 1, that often happens especially if you have quite a bit to lose. It will soon settle down to a steady 1-2lbs a week.

To avoid losing more muscle to fat ratio, keep up the exercise, but not just walking. Throw in 10 mins of hand weights for your upper body most mornings and/or some yoga or Pilates, the Sun Salutation is a good one.

PS I've just fallen totally off the wagon with a BLT for tea washed down with a G&T.

Funnily enough we do the plank at Keep Fit (la gym douce) and I can hold it for so much longer now my power to weight ratio is improved. It is also because the instructor makes me do the counting in English as he says the class keeps going longer that way.... We are up to fortee now.