Weight change & associated health problems

June: I do think society has changed and speeded up an awful lot. And people have jobs that have, you know, perhaps not as physically demanding, obviously, but mentally very demanding, a lot more stress in life. And I think all of that is another major contributor to overweight people not having the time to cook, to think about the shopping before they do it.

Lina: I also was fit, went to the gym three times a week, I was running, I was swimming, and then I got sick and then I started being on all these medications and a lot of them, give you -, make you put on weight.

Lesley: 50 years ago, a lot of work was manual. And you'd come home, you’d have done the manual work you want, or you've walked to work, you've walked to school, you've done all this so they could eat a larger dinner. Nowadays you drive to work, you drive to school. Everyone sits down all day and you still have your large dinner.

David: As I got more wealthy I exercised less, I ate more and more rich foods. And by the time I was middle aged I was eating too much and not exercising enough. And by the time I was late middle aged, I was paying for it. And that's  basically it. So it was lifestyle.

June X: Like getting up off a chair, cutting your toenails, going to the loo and wiping your bottom. And whatever you do that can become almost impossible. In order to stretch your body far enough to be able to get past all the mountains of fat. You end up with interesting lumps and bumps of knotted muscle and all kinds of things. It's very, very difficult. Not ever being able to get through any spaces, being terrified if you go out to meet a friend for coffee or anything like that, when you get up, you're going to clear tables, just moving. Just the day and daily parts of living your life.

Liz: They need to know that however happy fat people come across us that’s not all that. It eats you up inside. That's how bad it makes you feel ashamed, sad, worthless.

Lesley:  I think the thing is every time you see a health professional, if you are overweight, they'll always tell you you've got to lose weight and that's it. And then they'll say, the five-, it's like a mantra of you've got to lose weight, eat more veg and more fruit, less carbs, less fat. And which is what I do. And if you say, “well, I do that already” and then they say “well you're not doing it enough”, there's no alternatives. Perhaps I’m not trying as hard as I can do but then this other bit of me says, well, if the rest of my life is just eating salad, leaves, and water, then I'm not interested.

Do you know it's finding that balance. And that's why I think I keep saying I am trying I am eating healthier.

Paul X: So, yes, health professionals, you listen and you, you,  you don't just go through the motions with somebody because you do more harm than good.  If you can't help them don't give them false hope, ‘we'll do this and we'll do that. And in X months time, you'll be this’ because you set people up, you know.

David: You've got to realize that changing a habit is difficult. If it was easy, everybody would do it. It's difficult. You've really got to work at it but the longer you work at it, the easier it gets.

June: If you've spent 30 or 40 years getting bad habits and being overweight, you need prolonged support. You need it to go on and on, whether it's a group or whatever. You can't undo any eight good sessions, no matter how excellent they were, you can't undo all the habits. So I think it's a reason to keep going back and the availability of something that you can keep going back to. I think it's a useful thing about slimming groups is that these days the little tips like that that you can build up over time. You might already know them but sometimes I think we need to be reminded of things like that.

Shirley: I hated how big I'd become. I don't want to go back to that because I was unhappy and I'm one of these that can put on a happy front even when I am big, but I knew it wasn't true, it wasn't me. I am a lot happier and I think, yeah, I know I've just got to stick with it and also now I've also learned not like say I said just now, don't beat yourself up. It is a lifestyle change and you are going to slip every now and again. You're going to come off the, the road and just have a little blip. It's not the end of the world. Finding the right plan for yourself is key. Not making it's too restricted. You've got to find the thing that suits you best.

Tommy: I know that is the main thing you must watch what you eat, and then the amount you’ll eat and all that. But I do think if I've got to choose between the two, I would say exercise. I would encourage people to exercise, even if it’s only chair based. I couldn't swim more at first, a couple of lengths and that sort of thing, but like the jogging it develops and develops or develops.

Jane: I  have more energy, you know what I mean. And losing the weight, I can actually, you know, sit down, I, I can do my laces and I feel like I can run to get the train, you know, I feel, you know, much more energetic, you know, like that. I mean, yeah, I'm, I mean, I feel very proud and happy, you know, I was okay I'm on the right track, you know what I mean. I can I can do more, and it will be great for me, you know if I, if I would be able to, to run faster having the, you know, the strength to do more things, you know, I feel great about it.

June X: Stay as positive and as optimistic as you can. And know that it's possible to make an improvement in your life. That is probably an absolute fact. There's a great deal all of us can't change about lives. One thing you can do is to take a few positive steps towards your own health. And my experience, and I'm still obviously working on it on a daily basis, is that you can improve life and you can improve your experience of life. That if you're within a safe environment and you can become more active, absolutely do it. Get more fresh air, get more of the blood circulating around your veins. You'll feel better. And whatever positive steps you make towards your own health, you'll feel better. You can have less indigestion, less in the way of aches and pains and it's worth the effort, immensely worth the effort.