Losing weight

[Tigers Fan]

Having been found guilty as charged of trying to engineer my way out of OSA and having found Les' 7 kg newly hanging around my waist, my balance has tipped and I know and accept I have to do something about my weight.

In the past I've tried and failed with calorie counts, rabbit food, et al.

I have recently become aware that two people on my periphery have very successfully lost a lot of weight with a programme called "Slim Sure". One of them reached target weight and has maintained it for several months; the other is still busy losing weight at the expected 10 lb per month. The programme is 'scientifically' based and involves one-to-one support, both of which appeal to me.

Does anyone have knowledge or experience of this company/programme? I'd greatly appreciate your feedback. It costs £450-ish so I'd like to feel more certain than I do now that it works. Mind, two out of two is a pretty good recommendation.

Tigers Fan

[wytco0]

Hi Tiger Fan, I hope that it works for you but I don't think it would for me.

I am a 50 year old male and my weight had gone up ever since I was about 19, I now weigh about 100KG and I need to lose about 30KG.

I have never managed to lose any weight by dieting and I am absolutely convinced that the key is to get the right mental attitude. I have just bough a book by a well know hypnotherapist and even if it does not provide the answer its only cost me a few quid and reading it has made me feel much more in control of what I need to do and how to succeed.

My recent diagnosis has strengthened by resolve to lose weight.

The thing I find strange is that I managed to quit a 50 per day smoking habit 25 years ago overnight, I just decided that I would give up after News at Ten on 29/2/1984 and I have never smoked since. So why do I have such problems with losing weight? I have no idea.

Maybe we can try and offer some mutual support for OSA sufferers in loding weight?

[leswaller]

Hi Tigers Fan
As someone who works in the NHS I would suggest your £450 would be better spent on a personal training programme in your local gym or leisure centre. They will tailor it your needs and help to keep you motivated without feeling embarrased. My problem was that in spite of regular excercise the lack of ssleep was making me eat more than I could burn off unless I ran a marathon every day which is a total non starter when you are almost 65 yrs of age.

[James @ Intus]

On this topic, I was just reading this:

http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/3712124.Essex__university_and_hospital_join_for_pioneering_research/

Their new ideas also include using exercise to help overweight people who suffer from sleep apnoea – a condition where the airways close while the person is asleep.

“Sleep apnoea is also a problem which can affect people who are overweight.

“You can get a machine which helps to keep the airways open at night but by getting them to exercise you might be able to cure them, rather than just treat the symptoms.”

Many of the CPAP users we know have tried and quite a few have succeeded to loose at least some weight but to say there's one sure-fire way to achieve it, no! It has ranged from 7 day fasts, slimming clubs, diets, mild to extreme exercise, a programme with their local nutritionist, mental 'self-help', NLP/Hyponotherapy etc. etc. There's dozens of ways to go about it and which one is the right one depends per person.

We personally work with nutritional therapist as we find a balanced diet which ensures you'll keep getting all the nutrients is more sustainable than a diet which cuts out a certain food group which you ultimately need (and often want).

Then again, one person just did brisk walking for a few miles a day and made it happen. Getting a dog may help!

[Tigers Fan]

Encouraging

Thanks for your replies, folks.

"Sure Slim" is about devising a client specific diet, full of all the things you suggest, James - the stuff that is good for you, the individual client - whilst avoiding all the foods that upset your metabolism. This goes alongside some exercise.

I tried gyms in the past - the last time I paid a subscription for a year and didn't go once. Thus I know the financial investment is not a motivator for me.

Climbing the stairs just now tells me everything I need to know about why I must lose weight.

I guess my reticence is about seeing beyond the American sales pitch and just plain old making the effort to change. This last is why one-on-one support is so attractive to me.

But at £450-ish I'm looking for more evidence that it works - always provided that one puts in the effort!

With my past failure rate at losing weight, I feel strung out by this one. I also stopped smoking with relative ease, having got my head around the 'why' of my smoking - similarly for other behaviours that were not doing me any good. But my weight? I have a mental and emotional block about that - not the most effective starting point for a change of lifestyle.

Tigers Fan

[wytco0]

Tigers Fan, your descriptions of how you feel and how you have failed with diets and exercise is exactly like mine.

James post about CPAP being a treatment that avoids the real issue is also part of my thinking, when I am being honest with myself its clear that my OSA must be related to my obesity, my consultant almost sad so as well although he was kind enough to say that getting the CPAP would probably make me feel much more like doing some exercise and would help me lose weight.

I don't want to over state the affect of a book but its so cheap that I really do recommend that you have a read of:

"I Can Make You Thin" by Paul McKenna http://www.amazon.co.uk/Can-Make-You...2933977&sr=8-1

You can read it in a day or two and although I have not yet started using the ideas in the book I feel much more in control of what I need to do.

It could be that this book would save you £440 !!! in which case you can buy me a pint, well you can when we have both got down to respectable weights

Good luck.

[Tigers Fan]

You got it!

Hi wytco0

Let's give it a go! At £7 delivered it can do no harm! (apart from encouraging him, anyway).

The Amazon reviews all suggest to me that readers gained psychological insight about their feeding habits - and that is something I badly need right now.

I appreciate your support - knowing I'm not alone as well as the book.

Tigers Fan

[James @ Intus]

Remember Joe did a post on the blog related to this topic:

http://blog.cpap.co.uk/2007/09/nutritional-advice-for-sleep-apnoea-patients

JMcM: Many of us are overweight, contributing to the causes of OSA. What are your best tips on weight management?

CJ: Keeping you blood sugar balanced, so that the body knows it has a steady supply of energy, encourages it to let go of excess weight, so simply not eating very much may be bad for losing weight in the long run. Eat 3 small meals per day and two healthy snacks. Eat plenty of vegetables & fruit as these are low calorie but high fibre, so keep you satisfied for longer than cakes & biscuits! As a general rule, try to avoid large portions of carbohydrate (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta) with your evening meal and have them at lunch time instead.

JMcM: Finally, not necessarily related to OSA, what is your favourite nutrient-rich food and why?

CJ: That’s hard as there are so many, but certainly oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, kippers, anchovies) cannot be underestimated. These oils help protect the heart from damage, be keeping the blood vessels supple, they protect the brain in a similar way. As heart attacks & stroke are more common in those with OSA, I think they are particularly important. But they do lots more not related to sleep apnoea, such as reduce inflammation so helpful in arthritis, they help the body balance weight and regulate hormones. A real super food!

[Tigers Fan]

Oh Yeah!

Hi James

and thanks to Joe!

Now that really does sound like the nutrition part of 'Slim Sure'!

I'm warming to them even as I feel my resistance to change gathering strength!

Tigers Fan

[leswaller]

Hi Tigers Fan

The only problem with having a pint is that it tends to put weight on rather than take it off. I have now lost 8k since being on CPAP (says he with smug grin on his face) and I am not doing anything different or eating anything different, I just seem to have a lot more energy and be a lot more active and don't want to snack all the time

[wytco0]

Any updates?

Hi Tigers Fan, just wondered if you got the book and what your thoughts on it are?

I have been on holiday for 2 weeks and I am due to get my CPAP stuff on Monday. I intend to re read the book and try and moderate my unhealthy eating at the same time (doing it while I was on holiday didn't seem like a good idea).

I have just been skipping through the book and I certainly feel as though I am ready to make some changes.

[Tigers Fan]

To do lists

Hey! wytco0

Yes - I bought the book. I even put the CD onto my iPod. I took both away with me.

I brought both home again with me.

Definately - on my To Do List! My GP has given me three months to lose the weight I put on while sciatica was giving me the run around - hm! - not an appropriate phrase. While I was hobbling around, then - and comfort eating, of course.

Action! Now is the time!

Mind, I deserve a medal for resisting all those goodies in Vienna!

Action!
Now!

Tigers Fan

[puffin]

Long term diets simply do not work, as there are many factors that influence a persons weight, from genetics to environment. But because of natural selection, our bodies are preprogrammed to react as you reduce food intake. The body reacts with rapid fluid loss, (approx. 10lbs), then fat loss before going into long term famine mode. When you stop the diet the body naturally replaces the lost weight quickly plus some to prepare for the next famine/diet. This cycle just keeps going around until you get too big to match food intake with energy burnt via exercises, so the weight gain then runs out of control. A side effect of excess body fat is OSA, which in turn leads to excess body fat because of the lack of sleep, a no win situation.

The only way I could get out of these diet/weight gain cycles was Major Weight Loss Surgery. Gastric Bypass is no "light weight" lose fat quickly programme, its an enforced life long diet. Really a tool for permanent weight loss by restricting amounts eaten with a nutrient/fat malabsorbtion factor.

As a result in about 5 1/2 months I've dropped 5 1/2 stone. I'm now very much more active, getting myself a mountain bike soon. I've just spent two days camping without my CPAP. The wife said I did not snore at all and I did not feel like death warmed up after two days of sleeping normally. I have a OSA review at my clinic on the 4th November, hopefully I will not need CPAP again.

By all means attempt to lose weight, but be aware that many of these so called weight loss programmes are just fades created by someone to cash in on the over weight guilt trip laid on us by the media. There has yet to be created a one stop "diet" that will guarantee permanent weight control for life other then surgery.

[wytco0]

Long term diets simply do not work.....

Hi Puffin, firstly I would like to say congratulations on your weight loss, even though you have had to take the fairly major step of surgery its a great achievment that must have taken a lot of bravery and you shoudl be proud of what you have done.

Secondly I agree with you regarding diets, they do not work. I am completely convinced that for many people (including me) the secret is getting in the correct mental state.

The book that I have been referring to dismisses diets and make no recomendations about what you should eat, it suggests a small number of rules to be followed which just seem right (e.g. eat only when you are hungry) and it gives some advice but thats it.

Last night was my first night on CPAP and today I am going to read the book and start to follow its guidance. For the first time in many years I feel that I am in a position to sort out my weight and I realize that the only person thats going to do that for me is ......... me!

[Tigers Fan]

Definitions

Hey! wytco0

Sounds like you are in a good place! Long may it last!

You are totally right about who is going to cause weight to be lost - its a b****r, innit?! I want someone to do it for me!!!!

Whilst I agree in broad terms about "diets" not working, I'm not sure I can agree in the specific. It comes down to what you call a "diet". I'm eating from a smaller plate and leaving the chocolate alone - is that a diet? I'm losing weight, anyway.

Is eating less and moving more a diet? It works fine for losing weight. Seems to me the problem is about maintaining the new ways of living and eating after we've achieved our desired weight, rather than reverting to old ways and putting weight on again.

I realise I have a huge block about diets not working - well reinforced for me by my earlier "failures" - and until I can get through that I seriously, if not totally, undermine myself and my motivation.

The Book is before me!

Tigers Fan