Disability

Mounjaro Journey – 15 weeks 7.5mg

flidfit Disability, Eating Out, Eating Out, Exercise, Mounjaro, Pain, Travel

Ever since I started taking Tirzepatide, many of those whom I’ve told ask me the very same question.  “What happens when you stop taking it?”

The short answer is, I don’t know.  Taking Mounjaro long-term at a reduced dose may enable me to maintain my weight in the future.

What I do know is that the extra boost I get from the drug in terms of appetite suppression and switching off my “food noise” has really made a massive difference.

The use of Mounjaro to assist my weight loss journey is just one small step or strategy helping me to stay on track with my weight loss journey.  A journey that has been over 13 years long.

13 years is a long time to be diligently logging food, weighing every item that one eats and drinks, keeping within a daily calorie limit and never really taking one’s eye off the ball.  Social occasions, days out and holidays present a challenge.  I need to stay on track and continue as best I can with my journey.  One bad day or a week’s holiday cannot derail me.

Of course, I do relax a little when I’m on holiday, but I soon realised that I can’t really ever take my eye off the ball…. I used to, but then I came to recognise that it’s very easy to gain weight that has taken me a great deal of time and effort to lose.
Inevitably, I am eating and drinking more when I’m away from home.  I’m unable to weigh my food portions.  I am also moving less.  Without my gym ball, my daily exercise routine doesn’t happen.   I am much more reliant upon my wheelchair.  At home, although I’m not particularly mobile, I still move about when doing housework, walking from room to room, preparing meals, etc.  Each day starts with my exercise, about 45 minutes of stretching and bouncing.

The other thing I have recognised this week is the huge wealth of valuable knowledge and experience I have around losing weight when you have a physical disability that severely impacts on your activity levels.  It’s time to share that with – whoever wants to hear about it – and I am sure that there are many out there who (like me!) have used their impairment / illness / lack of mobility as an excuse as to why they are overweight and why they can’t lose their additional weight.

When I started on my weight loss journey, the road ahead was long, and of course I wanted to lose that weight quickly and without effort.  Once I accepted that it would take time and I could reap the benefit of my effort and see regular small weight losses, things became much easier.  I just accepted that I needed to do my best every day and to keep on keeping on, things became easier.

That was my starting point.  A severely obese (BMI of 44), very short, disabled woman who ate to excess and didn’t move at all.  I sat in front of my computer or in front of the TV.  Then went to bed to sleep.
If anyone had told me in 2012 that I’d lose 4½ stone in 18 months and would be exercising daily, I’d never have believed you.  Of course, written like that, it seems an incredible achievement.  I never set myself a specific goal.  I didn’t go from zero to one hundred in days or even weeks and months.  I began slowly – doing what I was able to do and gradually increasing the amount I moved.  My confidence grew in my ability to set and achieve weight loss and fitness targets.
A little corner of our garage provided me with my own gym
I have covered my introduction to exercise in the very early days of my blog.  I had a few sessions with a personal trainer from the Physio clinic I attended to explore cardiovascular exercise that I could manage.

From there, I progressed to strength training and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) in my own home gym equipped with a treadmill and other small items of gym equipment.  A little corner of the garage provided me with the perfect gym – just a few steps from my front door.

During 2014, we cared for a terminally ill relative who lived with us for the final 14 months of their life.  The garage gym provided me with a welcome respite from the situation.  Whatever the weather, I could be “at the gym”.  I didn’t have to worry about traffic, suitable weather or finding a parking spot.  I could fully immerse myself in my exercise session.

This was to stand me in good stead for dealing with the period of the two Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020.

I started to run!  I gradually built up my stamina to walk for sustained periods initially (on the treadmill, whilst holding on to a support bar.  Later I began to walk faster and then run using the Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill, which was available at a private hospital just a 10-minute drive from my home.  Running was something I had never done.  The last time I ran was at secondary school, not wishing to end up too far back in the very long lunch hall queue….

This week, I’ve started vlogging…. I am aiming to share aspects of my weight loss journey with those who may be looking for inspiration or ideas.  I’m using CapCut and YouTube, but – be warned – I’m learning new skills along the way.  Rather like this Blog, it will be a bit rough and ready as I get to grips with how to achieve what I want and the capabilities of the software, which is streets ahead of my own video-making capabilities!
Weight loss this week:
Last week’s weight:  62.7kg, this week 62.0kg
This week’s loss: 0.7kg (1½lb)
Total loss since starting Mounjaro, 2nd June 2025: 9.4kg (1½ stone)
Total loss in 13 years and 7 months:  – 27kg – down to 62kg from 89kg (4st 3½lb)

 

 

 

 

 

Mounjaro Journey – 12 weeks in, 7.5mg

flidfit Disability, Eating Out, Eating Out, Mounjaro

This week has been much quieter from the point of view of having fewer social activities planned.  Enjoyed a coffee in the garden in 24 degrees this morning – on a Bank Holiday Monday too!

I have some support to assist me in doing the sort of everyday things that most people can do without any difficulties – my disability affects my dexterity, limits my mobility and my reach.  As I get older (63 next month!) I am slowing down more and more.  If only my ageing body were able to achieve all the things I plan in my head!  That’s where the valuable practical support provided by my wonderful PA Sam (Samantha) comes in handy.

Two mornings a week, I spend three hours working alongside Sam, who is a human whirlwind.  She helps me cook, clean, do the laundry, recycling… and this week also some sewing repairs and a trip to get my car cleaned inside and out.  I find myself feeling exhausted after she’s been, but in a very fulfilled way.  Sam came to work for me shortly after the Covid lockdown in July 2020. We work well together.

My sister also works to support me and spends a day with me every other week.  This is wonderful, because as well as having support for more time-consuming tasks (pruning roses, trip to the recycling centre with a car load of rubbish…), we get to exchange news and have a proper chat, putting the world to rights.

I love spending time with my sisters.  I have two of them.  We have come to recognise in recent years that the close relationship we enjoy as sisters isn’t what most families have.  We are very close in age (three years between oldest and youngest), all of us have quite different personalities, and each has very different strengths and weaknesses.  The most important thing we share is solidarity and honesty.  I would do anything for my sisters, and they would do the same for me.  We acknowledge and celebrate our differences.  Together, we create a formidable team that works well together, working collaboratively to support our Mum, who is 90 and has dementia but still lives in her own home.  More importantly, we support one another.

Back to Mounjaro.  Side effects…. I’d be interested to hear whether anyone else using Mounjaro has vivid dreams?  My dreams are wild and wacky and often involve traumatic events!  I’m always glad to wake up to the fact that it was all just a dream.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve been waking at around 4-5 am, and then drift back into a restless REM sleep.  My dreams involve total strangers, but I can see these people in vivid detail.  This may well be down to the medication.  Thankfully, they don’t leave me too traumatised, and I do wake up feeling refreshed.

One social event this week – a trip to a local venue, Park House, which is close by on the University of Reading campus.  A lovely old house with plenty of outdoor seating.  It’s always busy, but mostly university staff and members of the public, rather than students (and often large social groups).

My choice of food was a puy lentil, quinoa, lemon & sumac salad with seared rump steak.  Although the description sounded good, the food sadly didn’t match up.  Thankfully the company was excellent! I drank 2 pints of stout which made up for the disappointing meal!

There were around 12 of us altogether and the conversation was good – gardening, travel, food loves (and hates).  Bees and bee propolis.  I was given a jar of honey by one lady who has bee hives, and some propolis was delivered the following day to allow my partner to make a propolis tincture.  Propolis has anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.  In return for the propolis, she’ll get a bottle of the tincture he makes.

My final week on 7.5mg, my 10g pen is in the fridge; I’ll be taking my first dose today.

Weight loss progress – a week ago I was 65.6kg (10 stone 3lbs) and today at weigh-in I was 64.1kg (10st 1b), so a loss of 1.5kg.  Total loss of 7.2kg and over halfway to my goal weight of 57kg.

Mounjaro weight loss chart. I weigh myself every morning (when at home)

 

This is the entire 13+ years of my weight loss journey. The start of taking Mounjaro is the sharp decline at the end (June 2025)

 

 

Mounjaro Journey – 11 weeks in, 7.5mg

flidfit Disability, Eating Out, Mounjaro, Travel

I’ve not got as many images to share this week as I ate out a lot…. I feel it a little anti-social to start photographing one’s food.  But it was all delicious.

This will be my last week on the 7.5ml dosage, and we’ve been hit with the news that there will be substantial price increases for Mounjaro sometime in September.  Some reports are suggesting as much as 170% with the cost for the highest dose rising from £122 to £330.

My next injection pen will wing it’s way to me this week, increasing from 7.5ml to 10ml.  I am fortunate not to have experienced any side effects so far and am hoping this will continue.  So… depending on the hike in cost, it may be time to switch to Wegovy?  I’ll cross that bridge once I need to.

One thing for sure is that weight loss medication is making a difference to me. Mounjaro mimics the GLP-1 hormone (glucagon-like peptide-1), which tells your brain to let you know you’re full and slows down how quickly you digest your food. It helps me feel fuller for longer and reducing cravings.

Wegovy only works on GLP-1, whereas Mounjaro works on GLP-1 and the GIP hormone (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide).

The price increase is not something to concern myself with just yet!

I reported last week that I had two big social weekends, one immediately after the other, and this weekend was my second such weekend!  I was responsible for organising a weekend for 14 friends visiting Reading from Canada, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and… Oxford.

Myself and my partner stayed at the hotel with everyone else so that we could fully participate in the programme of events that I’d planned.

I was a little apprehensive about everything going according to plan and without any mishaps or emergencies.  I’d done everything in my power to ensure this!  Most of the group are damaged as a consequence of the drug Thalidomide, which is how my own impairments were caused.  Six of us are wheelchair users!  So getting everything right was imperative.

Terry Dixon, Terry’s Walkabouts explains how locks work and describes the route of the Kennet and Avon Canal.

It all went brilliantly – from start to finish.  We had a brilliant private walking tour of Reading, which took in Reading Abbey, the Harris Arcade, and we heard all about Huntley and Palmers Biscuit factory production, learned about the Kennet and Avon Canal which runs through the centre of Reading and how locks operate.

I ate breakfast in the hotel each morning, drank alcohol, ate lunch and enjoyed dinner in restaurants.  I most definitely was eating far less than pre-Mounjaro – I even left food on my plate.  Even though it was all very delicious, I just felt full long before my plate was empty.  I enjoyed a Beetroot and rose syrup iced latte (sounds interesting I thought… must give it a try!)

Beetroot and rose syrup latte. Matcha latte.

And my weight??? I’m 65.2kg so slightly down from last weeks 65.9kg. Earlier in the week the scales gave me a 64.9kg reading – given all the socialising, I am very happy with a small loss!

This week things are back to normal so I can crack on with eating well, eating less and shifting some more weight!

 

 

Mounjaro Journey – 10 weeks in

flidfit Disability, Eating Out, Eating Out, Mounjaro, Travel

Wow, this was a social week!  I’m not used to eating out very often, but the next couple of weeks are quite full-on in terms of being away from home and eating meals out.

On Friday evening, I was invited to join a friend and his wife, who were visiting from Germany and were passing through Reading on their way from London to Exeter.

As a wheelchair user, I prefer to use venues that I know work well for me, in terms of travelling into the centre of town (by wheelchair, a 20-minute “run”) and which have plenty of space around tables and a decent accessible loo.

I settled on Cote Brasserie, which also offers great value for money.  I’ve never had a bad dining experience, and the food is “good enough”.  I settled on the “Prix Fixe” menu (two courses for £21.50).  My choices were the “Poulet au Bacon”, a marinated chicken breast in garlic, thyme & smoked paprika, with a smoked bacon velouté and salad vierge served with frites.  Not bad for 625 calories.  Then I chose two scoops of ice cream for around 200 calories.  Other desserts sounded more appealing, but in my view, just not worth 400-600 calories!  I drank two Blood Orange & Grapefruit sodas (around 100 calories each).

Saturday to Monday, I travelled to Bedford, two nights away with a group of amazing women.  These are disabled women whom I got to know when all of our children were just a few years old – they are now all approaching or already in their 30s (the children that is….!). Bedford was lovely (a market town on the banks of the River Ouse).  The weather was fab.

Together with others, we established a national organisation (charity) to support disabled people who were or who were planning to be parents.  That’s not “parents of disabled children” but where the parents themselves face challenges and barriers because of their impairments. Being a new parent is challenging enough without the added complication of an impairment.

Now I could devote a whole blog post to just how invaluable this organisation was to disabled parents who might otherwise have been isolated and alone in working out how to overcome the many barriers they faced – not just the physical, but almost more importantly, the attitudinal attitudes towards anyone who may need support to be the parent(s) they want to be.  BUT…. that’s not what this Blog is all about…  these women I count amongst the strongest, most capable and supportive bunch of people you will ever meet, and I love catching up with them all.

So…. food was enjoyed, alcohol was consumed.  The sun shone brightly and we talked (a lot!)  I travelled home to my next Mounjaro injection.

Scores on the doors……. weight is 65.9kg today, so up from 65.4kg (500g) last Monday.  I’d have been surprised to see a loss, to be honest.  This will likely be mostly food in transit.  Usually, following a weekend of eating more calories and moving less, the damage is worse!

Weight loss injections – Mounjaro

flidfit Disability, Emotional well being, Mounjaro, Pain

It’s been a little quiet around these parts lately.  I’ve been struggling.

The weight loss has plateaued at about 70kg – 14kg (2 stone) more than I’d like it to be (my goal weight).  Which is 57kg.

The additional weight isn’t particularly noticeable to others, but I can feel it.  It impacts my mobility, and it probably increases my pain.

I had three holidays in a row (December 24, January 25, and February 25) – my weight jumped from 69kg to 75kg!  I have managed to shift some of that (currently 71kg), but it’s becoming a slog.  My measly calorie allowance for weight loss (1,100 calories a day) leaves me feeling hungry, and I turn to snacks.  I am still meticulously weighing and logging all of my food and drinks.

A couple of small snacks (usually afternoon and evening) are enough to push me over the upper limit.  It’s quite depressing…

I began to research weight loss injections – which do seem all over the news at the moment…  I found articles about the psychological process of turning to medication to assist with weight loss and to accounts from those who are already using the medication.  I also booked a call with the Thalidomide Trust’s GP, who alongside her role working for the Thalidomide Trust, works for the NHS in Tier 3 weight loss services, working with dieticians, nurse prescribers and others offering weight loss services and care to the NHS.  Whilst it is likely that weight loss injections may become more widely available via the NHS in the Summer – and that I’d be eligible (with a BMI 30+), I just feel I can’t afford to wait any longer for the weight to continue to (potentially) creep up any further.

I’ve been very happy that I have never returned anywhere near to my start weight (88kg in 2012) but my age and likely deterioration in mobility and fitness are working against me.  Food and calorie counting have taken over my every waking moment!

It was after a lot of research and discussion with others that I have made the decision to try out Mounjaro and see whether it can help me in the way that it’s helping many others.

“Patients could achieve at least 20% weight loss after using tirzepatide for 72 weeks (18 months) when combined with healthy lifestyle changes”

– which, should I achieve – will take me to my goal weight.  I have already made the healthy lifestyle changes, my head is in the right place…. I now just need that little boost!

It is possible to pick up weight loss injections via on-line pharmacists, but I have opted to sign up with Voy, which alongside sending out the prescribed medication provides me with a network of support and further advice should I need it.

My first delivery arrived over the weekend (posted out in a refrigerated/insulated package) and yesterday was my selected day to take my first dose.  You take one dose each week, for four weeks starting at 2.5mg – which is gradually increased each month  (so 2.5mg, 5mg, then 7.5mg, then 10mg, then 12.5mg and finally 15mg) depending on how well your body tolerates the dose and the body’s response.  There can be side effects – however, there are resources on the website to help you in managing and dealing with these.

So the first injection went into my system, yesterday – so far, so good.  I don’t feel any differently yet, but it’s expected that you start to feel the effects after about a week.  I’m looking forward to the “food noise being switched off” that so many report!

In the meantime, I am making full use of the Voy App to monitor my meals and try and tweak the balance of those meals.  I’ve already identified that I have probably not been eating enough protein each day to keep me feeling satiated and full (to prevent between meal snacking)

Join me on this journey and message me here via the Blog – or privately if you’d prefer.

Oh, and if you feel inclined to give Voy a try, let me know.  this will take you to a link for 25% off your first order (and I’ll get 30% off my next order in return….)

Back to exercise

flidfit Disability, Exercise, Pain

I’ve been exercising more or less every single day since before the COVID-19 pandemic.  My exercise regime involves bouncing vigorously sitting on a gym ball whilst swinging my arms for about an hour and a half.  This is great for increasing my heart rate as well as keeping me moving, flexible and pain-free.

However, whilst on holiday in January, I began to experience an excruciating shooting / burning pain in my right knee.  Anytime I needed to move from being seated to standing, I had to brace myself for the pain that this would cause.  I’d spent a lot of time on that holiday sat in my wheelchair and I believed this to be the cause.  Once I’d managed to get from having my knee bent to straight, the pain would subside.  But it didn’t really vanish.  At night time it was quite unbearable and would often wake me at night.  I’d then find it really difficult to get back to sleep.  By the start of May I was relying on Paracetamol to get me through the night.

My daily exercise regime had to stop.  It was just too painful.  I was really missing my exercise – not just the physical side of it, but the emotional escape too – time for myself. As there was no other non-weight-bearing exercise that I could do, I was planning to go back to swimming and see whether that would be a suitable alternative way to keep myself moving.  The difficulty with swimming is that I need support from another person to go swimming, in terms of getting myself changed and dried.  Plus it wouldn’t be something that I could do daily.

The thing I most love about my bouncing is that it is something that I can do alone, in the comfort of my home, and it doesn’t matter what the weather is doing.  I don’t have to worry about travelling to a venue and parking or getting my wheelchair in and out of the car.  Once the exercise is finished, I can just continue with my day.

X-rays arranged by my GP revealed “advanced osteoarthritis” – much to my surprise.  I’d not had any sort of pain in this knee before.  I was referred to a consultant specialising in knees.  I was reassured by the fact that he had seen and treated other Thalidomiders.

So on Tuesday 4th June, I travelled to the Spire Bushey Hospital, just over an hour’s drive from where I live.  The consultant showed me the x-ray and said that although a knee replacement would be needed at some point, this wasn’t something he’d want to do immediately.  I must admit I was pleased to hear that, as the thought of being immobile following the surgery isn’t something I’d relish – plus, of course, there is always the risk that the surgery isn’t a success.

One of his suggestions was an ultrasound-guided steroid injection (Hydrocortisone) into the joint.  I’ve had steroid injections before into my hip for bursitis.  The first was very successful, and I was pain-free for about six months.  But the following two didn’t seem to make any difference.

I was told that if I chose to go down this path, I could have the injection that day.  I quickly made up my mind to take this option.  The pain was increasing and starting to interfere with other aspects of my life and emotional well-being.

A lovely member of staff gave me the injection, and the pain was reduced almost immediately.  Mind you, I’d had local anaesthetic injected into the site at the same time.

Three days later, the pain was noticeably reduced.  In fact, I could feel pain in my other knee – which I’d never noticed before.

Five days later, I felt confident to try to get back to my exercise.

I’m pleased to report that I’ve been able to resume my exercise – I’m back to my daily 1.5 hours of bouncing!

Let’s hope that the steroid continues to do its job.  I am limited on how frequently these injections can be administered, and, from previous experience, follow-up injections may not be as effective.

But in the meantime, I’ll just enjoy my bouncing.

And getting a good night’s sleep….

Seated stretches for anyone who can’t stand or weight bear

flidfit Disability, Exercise

Thought I’d share what’s been keeping me busy today!

I’ve been making a film to share some of my stretching exercises with other disabled folk or indeed anyone who is unable to do weight bearing exercises.

It’s really crucial that I maintain my flexibility and address the pain I get in my neck, shoulders and back. Because of my arm length discrepancy, I spend a lot of time with my arms extended forward and my head bowed (reading, typing, cooking, eating, etc).

It’s vital for me to remain independent and continue my self care for as long as I am able to.

This is just a small part of the routine, but may hopefully inspire anyone who has problems standing or weight bearing for long periods. I also do some stretches using resistance bands – will film those another time!

Excuse the odd expressions and belly flab flashing… 🙂

Enjoy! Feedback and questions welcome.

High-intensity interval training

flidfit Disability, Exercise

Wowweeee!!!  I have learned all about High-intensity interval training today!

I am not a gym bunny – in fact I haven’t been into a gym ever!  But this is exciting and interesting stuff….

Read on….

Those of you who know me will have been part of my journey from a size 24, 14 stone couch potato (two and a half years ago) to where I am now, a size 16, 9 stone 10lb much more “energetic” person.

My exercise journey started in February 2013 with a free assessment from a personal trainer at the Physio I attend on a regular basis.  I didn’t do any exercise at all then, and because of my disability, was very sedentary.  I kitted out my garage with some bits of equipment (“borrowed” treadmill, wobble board, stepper, elastic resistance bands, floor matting) bought myself a heart rate monitor and began to slowly but surely build up a little exercise regime for myself.

Back in the early days, exercise was really hard work.  I puffed and panted after 5 minutes of slow walking on the treadmill and needed to rest often.  But as time wore on, I worked up the amount of exercise I was doing, the walking speed got quicker and I can now walk for 3 x 15 minutes at a time, 2.7mph (for me, with short legs, that’s power walking speed!)

There is no doubt that my fitness levels have improved and my physical capabilities have grown.  Alongside this, so has my confidence in myself to exercise and move.   This has had a massive impact on many other aspects of my life and I now enjoy some of the physical activities that were previously denied to me.  I now enjoy gardening in the Summer (and lots of leaf raking in the Winter!).

But recently I felt the need to re-energize my exercise routine – which had kind of fallen by the wayside over the Summer, due to the heat and having caring responsibilities.  Having said that, I was spending a lot of time doing things in the garden, many of which I wore my Heart Rate Monitor for.

I booked for a personal trainer to come to visit me today for a 2 hour session.  Two days ago, I went back to the treadmill and garage gym just to reassure myself that I’d not embarrass myself when he came!

He’s just left, and whilst most of the session was me demonstrating my previous warm up and exercise regime and planning the exercise I’ll be building up to before his next visit (in a month) I am totally AMAZED with what I have achieved!

I have always worn an HRM (heart rate monitor), and realised that I was burning a lot of calories during my exercise sessions (about 1,500 in two hours, including 30 mins warm ups) but I do nothing more vigorously than the walking on my treadmill which doesn’t even get me out of breath.  I was keen that he could advise me on just what I should be aiming for in terms of my heart rate.

Apparently, when I am walking at 2.7mph, my heart rate of around 120 – 130 bpm is working at 75% of it’s maximum!  Therefore, as shown by the calorie burn, I am definitely giving myself a good workout.  The other great news is that I shouldn’t need to exercise as long during each session (1.5 hours max) or as often (I was doing 4-5 times a week for 2-2.5 hours).

What I will now be aiming for is so give myself a 2-3  times a week HIIT session (High-intensity interval training) of only 15 minutes.  This is a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods.  So one minute of walking at 3.7mph which gets my heart working to 95% of it’s capacity.  Now 3.7mph wouldn’t get most peoples heart to that kind of level, but for because of my disability and body shape, the amount of energy I need to put in to moving clearly is over and above that of the “average” person.

So….. less time spent exercising, exercising less times a week – but changing the TYPE of exercise I do, which should all have positive consequences.

Best of all, I feel enthused, motivated and ready to go!  My mojo is back!

My message to anyone starting on their weight loss journey – especially those who have yet to discover the benefits and joys of regular exercise…..  ANYTHING is possible… moving even a little to start with is better than not moving at all.  Time spent exercising can replace the rime spent eating and thinking about food.

It may take time, it most definitely takes effort, but the end result is just so worth it!

The barriers in our heads

flidfit Disability, Emotional well being, Uncategorized

 

 

Sometimes… our biggest barriers to doing something we need to do (but perhaps aren’t keen to do) are the excuses we find as to why we can’t do them, rather than finding the solutions to overcoming those barriers so that we can succeed.

Because of my disability, this is something I’ve had to do all my life – attending mainstream school, training as a secretary, working, getting married, living on my own, having a baby, etc, etc. So you would have thought that I would have this skill mastered by now!!

But on this particular issue (reducing the amount I ate and increasing my exercise), the barrier was somehow bigger than anything else I had had to deal with before. It had developed over many, many years to become the size of a small skyscraper.

As determined as I am to achieve things in life, I can also be as determined to IGNORE things that I don’t want to do or tackle…. or face. Fear of the unknow,n perhaps, and a real belief that I might fail.

So here is my message to all of you struggling out there.

You have to know from those of us who have lost weight successfully that it works. It does. But you have to want it to work, and you have to make it work. For this journey to succeed, you have to give it your all. Give it your all and you will be rewarded.

My WLR journey has so far lasted two years and three months. I started by logging and weighing food religiously. Just as the site prescribes. Slowly and surely, I realised that I had been eating way too many calories and that my portion sizes were far too large for a small person of 4ft 9 inches who doesn’t move much at all.

Once this realisation had dawned on me and the weight started to drop, I was determined to complete this journey.

I lost 2 stone in a year. I then started (slowly and begrudgingly) to exercise. First, swimming for an hour a week, and then kitting out my garage with some cheap bits of equipment and using them. My routine consists of treadmill walking, using a stepper, and using the gym ball to do stretches and twists. Nothing that is too strenuous, but it gets my heart rate up, it gets me sweating, and I am MOVING MORE whilst I am doing it. I started with 30 minutes (including warm-up). Now I sometimes exercise for 2 hours, three or four times a week.

I have just been speaking to a journalist and am going to be recording a Podcast for the BBC’s Disability “Ouch” website in London tomorrow: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/abou t.shtml

I am being asked to talk about disabled people and diet/exercise. Because we disabled people find it hard to lose weight and exercise, don’t we??? Grin

I was telling him about my journey and the various tools I have used to make it a successful journey (this website, logging food, portion control, calorie counting, 5:2 fasting, exercising, support from other people, recipe database, forum). These tools combine to help me along the way. But it is I who make them work for me, and there is a little more to add to the mix.

But I realised that my best tool by far has been my willpower, which has slowly and steadily improved and increased. I have stopped finding excuses as to why I am overweight and why I can’t lose weight. I’m disabled, aren’t I? I can’t exercise, can I? I’m in too much pain, I don’t have the time, and getting washed and dressed is exhausting enough.

ENOUGH!!! Enough of those excuses, enough of the pain. I have broken through the barrier of allowing these excuses to stop me. Because they were just that. They were excuses.

It is harder for some of us for whatever reason. We’re busy, old, in pain, unable to exercise, have children, too short, have an illness, work too many hours……. BUT, if we have additional barriers, we just have to work at it harder than most.

It’s not impossible. I have proved that to myself. People who have known me for years have no choice but to believe it, too. They’ve seen me go from 14 stone to under 10 stone. Reduce from a size 24 to a size 16.

It works.

BUT you have to work too. You just have to keep on working, keep on plodding along, not let one bad day or one calorific meal stop you in your tracks. Pick yourself up and just keep on plodding along.

You will get there. It will take months, it may take years. You may fall off the wagon completely for a time. And you will realise one day that this is a never-ending journey. You will need to do what you learn to do differently FOREVER.

It will get easier. You will experience changes in the way you think about food, the way you deal with food. Food is a temptation; it will always be EVERYWHERE. You will need to learn a different way to act around food and a different way to think about the food you eat. You need to learn about mindful eating.

Stop making excuses for why you can’t do this. You can do it if you want to. But you need to identify and overcome those barriers inside your head.

 

Is obesity a disability?

flidfit Disability, Uncategorized

The BBC today reports on the case of Karsten Kaltoft who weighs about 160kg (25 stone; 350 pounds) – a Danish childminder who says he was sacked for being too fat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27819129

 So now, the EU’s top court is considering a test case which could oblige employers to treat obesity as a disability.

As a disabled person who has managed to lose four stone and is reaping the benefits – the reduction in pain, the improved mobility, the improved level of fitness I find this a difficult case to have a particular view on.

But I know from the Forums on the website I use to assist me in my journey (www.weightlossresources.co.uk) I know that for many, over eating is often to combat depression, anxiety and a number of other psychological conditions.

I am blessed with huge amounts of determination, as are both of my sisters.  So it is in my genes rather than being a “disabled” thing.

There is so much support for those people who want to stop smoking – smoking cessation programmes, medication, etc. 

We are seeing a huge increase in the number of clinically obese individuals.  In fact, in May 2014, the BBC reported that international groups Consumers International and the World Obesity Federation are calling for the food industry to be regulated like the tobacco industry, as obesity poses a greater global health risk than cigarettes.  This includes things like pictures on food packaging of damage caused by obesity, similar to those on cigarette packets.

The National Obesity Forum believes there is a “serious risk” from the current projection – that half of adults will be obese by 2050 – could be exceeded.

Something has to be done about the obesity crisis, but I’m not so sure that encouraging people to view being overweight as a “disability” is going to help those affected by obesity.

Chart showing rise in obesity and morbid obesity among adults