Help me lose weight for my horse.

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AntxGeorgiax

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Okay, some of you may have read a few of my comments from posts and have gathered I am a bit insecure about my weight,
I will be totally honest with you about how much I weigh ( believe me it's soul destroying to admit it) but because I can't see any of you it's not as hard.
I don't want this to turn into a 'you're so fat haha' type scenario as I've had that pretty much all my life and had nasty comments from girls at my old yard.
Obviously yes you can say I'm fat and stuff, but please try not to be too nasty about it.
A little about me- I'm 15 years old, five foot 8. I've always been a 'big person' and have big bones( I'll never fit into a size 8 or 10) :( and have quite a thick coverage of fat on me.
I eat 1-2 times a day, never have breakfast unless school has a banana which I cannot say when purely because it's here and there.
For lunch, I have a hot meal so sometimes will be fish, chicken or a bowl of soup with a bread roll.
At home my mum cooks all home made foods ( shepherds pie in winter, roast dinner, we do our own stir fry a lot of the time) and don't tend to eat huge sums of carbohydrate, our diet is mostly meat fish and vegetables. Only bad foods I really snack on are about 3 packets of crisps a week, I'm not a sweet or chocolate person.
I weigh about 14 and a half stone, I think that is around 95 kilos but I only know stone.
I have a 16.2 warmblood (very fine) mare.
She happily carries me around and has never complained about weight.
I fell off on Monday and cannot walk at the moment, so I haven't really been eating.
Hopefully I will be able to walk next week and exercise will have to be built up slowly.
If any of you want to help me with tips or motivate me/encourage me I would be very very grateful. I've been unsuccessfully trying to lose weight all my life,
My ideal weight would be around 11 stone, but if I was a muscly toned 12 stone I would be very happy.

Can someone also please explain how to update pics and Iwill put some up of me riding and my progress .

Thanks :)
 
Well, AntxGeorgiax you're a tall girl, so can't expect to weigh as little as a 5.3 little un ;):D

My own view of health and diet is that if you eat well, and have plenty of good quality exercise then you body will be the weight it needs to be naturally.

You should always eat breakfast - it's the most important meal of the day. And my preference is muesli and some fruit.

And then a healthy option lunch and dinner.

Snacking is fine - provided it is good snacking - so fruit, nuts etc.

Any type of sugary drink is out (even the 'diet' stuff).

I tend to drink water, or green tea (not something a 15 year old is going to be interested in I know).

Being a horse owner it's hard to imagine that you're not getting enough physical exercise - but why not think about doing something like swimming or cycling to up the cardio aspect of your life??
 
1) have breakfast
2) only have one hot meal a day
3) The other meal should be lighter, such as salad, or jacket potato or a sandwich
4) exercise- try to do your 10,000 steps a day, and try to get your half hour of exercise 5 times week- can be anything from cleaning the house to cycling to work/ the yard or riding.

You have to be the correct weight for your body shape and your height- try to ignore calories, they're just a guide and low fat and diet food is just a myth, portion control works best.

I wouldn't let things like weight and body shape dwell on your mind too much- try to live a healthy lifestyle and you will settle at the best weight and shape for your genetics and activities.

ETA- breakfast can be anything from porridge to beans on brown bread toast, or a cereal and fruit. If i am not in the mood for brekkie I like a banana and a yoghurt to nibble on.
 
* forgot to add. I don't drink fizzy drinks, tea or coffee, I drink a lot of not from concentrate juice and just plain water.
I had a bad experience as a child with cereal and cannot physically bring myself to eat it because of the various issues I have with cereal/Musili and milk. So I will try and eat a banana everyday. Sadly can't eat apples or carrots because of my braces.
:(
 
AntxGeorgiax said:
* forgot to add. I don't drink fizzy drinks, tea or coffee, I drink a lot of not from concentrate juice and just plain water.
I had a bad experience as a child with cereal and cannot physically bring myself to eat it because of the various issues I have with cereal/Musili and milk. So I will try and eat a banana everyday. Sadly can't eat apples or carrots because of my braces.
:(
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I use yoghurt on my cereal in the mornings. Branflakes and yoghurt is delish! Just get the big pot and pour on about a quarter/ third of it. Super tasty and good for your hind gut...!!
 
AG, would it be possible for you to incorporate another sport into your lifestyle? I took up running a few years ago and while I don't think you should go out and run 10k tomorrow, I think it is a wonderful thing to become involved in because it gives you definite aims. If you have a race coming up you have a training plan to stick to.

I really wouldn't get so hung up on dietary things at your age, because it's very easy for it to become an unhealthy obsession and make you even more unhappy. However, getting involved in running or cycling races is a very positive thing to do and instead of making you unhappy and depressed and obsessive, it gets those endorphins going and gets you out and about and enjoying yourself. Plus I find that the camarederie around races and training is amazing - everybody is just out to hit their own targets - there is no nasty competitiveness (at least not at the level that I am at.).

I would really encourage you to try it (starting very gradually obviously). I just could not believe the friendliness and amazing atmosphere at my first race. People are hugely encouraging.
 
Well for a start I dont think you are very overweight... and at 15 please dont let people bully you or call you fat.

I agree with others that say have breakfast, even if it's a banana it will keep you going. I assume you have dinner in your school canteen, if they have salady type stuff tuck into some of that.

Running can be great fun, and doesnt need to cost anything. You can go on the BUPA wesbite and download some simple training plans.
 
Try writing down everything you eat in a week, write it down pref a few times a day so you know it's accurate

I weigh over 20 stone and at face value my lifestyle looks good - up at 5am to look after my animals, always in the go, salads, balanced meals etc BUT I know deep down that I snack on bad things and nip to mcdonalds between meals

I'm not saying this is what you do but do sit down and be really honest with yourself, you don't have to give us the ins and outs but it really helps if you are aware of them yourself

If your lifestyle seems to be ok then it's worth a visit to a doctor to see if there may be an underlying reason

Good luck with it x
 
I wish I was as tall as you! I'm a shrimp, 5'4 at 20! :(

Right!

BREAKFAST! I know everyone bangs on about it but it's so important.

I have a bowl of porridge with a whole banana in it and it fills me up until lunch. You can get packs from the supermarket which will control your portion, it's really yummy and gets you going for the day :) (it's especially welcomed in the winter!)

What fruit/veg can you eat? If you get hungry, have a piece of fruit during break at school.

Lunch-Make sure you eat enough. If you have school dinners really think about what sauce is in it. Alot of school dinners aren't totally fresh so there may be extra calories hidden in it. Go for a small jacket potato with beans & salad or alike, will fill you up but you don't want to be so full you are stuffed!

Dinner-You sound the same as me, eat whatever is made for you, good girl! :D You can always ask your mum to give you a slightly smaller portion, it makes all the difference. No sauce, one less roast potato etc :)

Also, try not to eat after dinner. This is my biggest downfall ever, I loveee sweet things after tea!

Water is always good, avoid squash etc. Do as much walking as you can (really march when you're poo-picking etc!)

Good luck :)
 
As others have said, the first thing to do is make yourself eat breakfast! This is the meal that gets your metabolism going and, if you can speed up your metabolism this helps burn off the food you eat.

For your age you actually don't sound like you're eating enough to be honest so either you're not being truly honest with yourself about your snacking or you are maybe just not doing quite enough exercise to burn any extra calories off.

For breakfast, have something decdent like porridge, scarmbled egg on toast etc. I have been told to avoid bananas for breakfast as apparently they make you crave sweet stuff shortly after.

Try other exercise - walking further and faster, try a DVD at home etc. I would also suggest keeping a food diary or loggiing on to My Fitness Pal online where you can track your food intake and exercise.

To be honest, for your height you don't sound particularly overweight. Everyone's different - after all a fit rugby player is technically obese if you go by weight/BMI etc! :)
 
Oh and also (it's easy for me as I'm veggie :) ). have you tried replacing the meat in meals sometimes with quorn?

You shoudl be starving yourself either or forcing yourself to eat foods you don't like as you should see it as dieting but an actual whole change of your eating habits - no point doing any type of crash diet cos they don't work! I don't like fruit very much but i do like veg and I eat a lot of quorn and cous cous type meals to try and keep the calories/fat down.

I love my pasta and cheese though - that's my downfall - therefore I only now have pasta once a week so as to not overdo it.
 
Well if what you say you're eating is right your body is in starvation mode so when you have those packets of crisps it stores the whole lot as fuel. Its too easy to be over kind to yourself over what you DO actually eat so write it down or use an app to keep track of it.

Breakfast should be protein based, 2 scrambled eggs and a 2 rashers of bacon would be good?

School food sucks, so just do your best to keep it healthy (ie not a plate of chips/pasta) and try and have your tea by 5.30 - 6 and then nothing after.

To lose weight basic formula is eat less move more. I highly recommend kettlebells, you can do them at home or find a class near you. Its ballistic resistance training and far more effective than steady state cardio for fat loss - also low impact on joints whereas running is a killer. You can also start a simple weight routine, things like squats, deadlifts, bench press, lunges, step ups all big muscle movements - the more muscle you have the more fat you burn even when you've finished exercising. You will not turn into Arnie as you are a girl and dont have the testosterone to do so!

Some reading

http://jillfit.com/2012/09/20/6-reasons-you-arent-losing-fat/

http://m.shape.com/celebrities/star-trainers/ask-celebrity-trainer-top-3-fitness-mistakes-women-make

http://blog.metaboliceffect.com/2010/05/28/healthy-food-to-fat-loss-food/

http://www.schwarzenegger.com/fitness/post/ladies-and-lifting-how-serious-strength-can-build-a-sexy-physique
 
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How far away is your horses field? I used to run to the field to get him in saved me time and helped me get fit as it is a fair way.
 
Try substituting food for their healthier equivalent.

E.g. brown roll instead of a white one

Skimmed milk instead of whole/semi

brown pasta instead of white

lean/extra lean (less than 12% or 5% fat) mince beef instead of regular (less than 20%)

If you like pizza as a treat, then instead of a whole one, eat half and just add veggies or salad.

Take a litre bottle of water to school with you and try to drink all of it before hometime (I do this at work)

Probably the most important thing though, is to be more active. Even just something simple like buying a skipping rope and doing 10, 15, 20 or even 30 mins non-stop each evening in the garden will really help you.
 
Yes, your body is in starvation mode, and as such it is grabbing every possible calorie and making the most of it.
You HAVE to have breakfast. You really must. Otherwise, since dinnertime the day before, to whenever you have lunch, you are starving yourself for, say 12-15 hours? No wonder your body is in 'we are going to STARVE to DEATH here' mode. ;) ;)
Ideally for breakfast, eggs. I have 4 boiled eggs for breakfast most days and am losing weight. They keep me feeling full till 1-2pm. If you can't face those in the morning, what about a few pieces of wholemeal toast with whatever you want on it. This is energy to get you going in the morning, raise your blood sugars (good) and convince your body that you won't starve. What about soup, ready-made before, just heat up and eat? Veg soup, carrot soup (delish), whatever. Or, yoghurt, maybe with a handful of nuts in it? I'm a bit addicted to Onken low-fat Strawberry yoghurts, the big ones, 1 for breakfast with nuts is really good. The protein in the nuts is v good for you.
Bananas are the carbiest fruit of all so I'd only have 1 if I was about to do hard exercise, really, and burn it all off immediately.
Lots of water, tea etc, great, good for you.
No fizzy drinks, also great, good for you. They're empty calories and not good for anyone.
Have a proper lunch, if possible go light on the really carby bits, have extra veggies instead.
Ignore the taunts, horrible people with nothing better to do, they can **** right off. ;) ;) One day they'll be ashamed of how they behaved.
If you get hungry between meals, EAT SOMETHING. Convince your body that you aren't starving it. A handful of nuts, a yoghurt, a bit of protein, veggies, whatever. Crisps - umm, not great, really. Just for a while, try to avoid. Or, try the veggie crisps instead?
Dinner/supper - again, try to go light in the carb dept, have more veggies instead (not incl potato).
Hope that helps. It will come down, and the first thing is to get out of famine mode.
Have a look at my explanation of H.I.T. on the other thread... it makes sense and it works...
Good Luck, and good for you for making the effort... but remember, you need to eat MORE (and I know that is totally counter-intuitive) and more regularly, to sort out your metabolism. xxx
 
I'm gonna be different and say if im trying to cut down - don't eat breakfast! It makes me starving all morning and more likely to snack. But always have a good lunch. regardless of breakfast if i don't eat a proper lunch by 5pm im desperate for sugar!
If i have breakfast its usualy special k. Avoiding much bread/pasta/potato, eat more veg!! I don't think calorie counting is particularly healthy but if you do you'll see how much you actually eat- I didn't realise just how many calories i pack a day, its a lot more than recommended!!
 
I will try to be honest as I can here as it is my job as a personal trainer to help people lose weight.

Ok, Don't get hung up on whether you can or cannot get in to a size 10. Big boned or not, there is always a possibility!

Make sure you eat a good healthy, energy sustaining breakfast (porridge etc), drink water with it or if you struggle to eat early, at the very least make a fruit smoothie to give your body something to churn on.

(FACT: your body enters a form of starvation over night, which results in the use of muscle tissue to fuel the necessary energy to keep your organs functioning. If you skip breakfast, you are just "eating" your own muscle to survive!)

Snack often on healthy foods, fruits, unsalted nuts, salads etc. Keeping your body in a constant metabolism will help you to burn off more fat cells.

Make sure you eat a decent lunch. Protein, fats and carbs (but go for a healthier carb not a pack of crisps/choccie bar/can of cola etc).

Drink plenty of water!!!!!!!

Have another healthy snack mid afternoon, again fruits, nuts etc. DRINK!!

And dinner should always contain a balance of all three elements, 30% fat, 30% protein & 40% carbs (good carbs).

DRINK DRINK DRINK!

If you feel peckish have a small healthy snack again in the evening.

If you are going to reduce anything from your diet, make it sugar, as this is the main cause of weight gain (not fat). You can do this by looking at food packaging and there is two columns Carbohydrates, and then usually just below "of which sugars" pay attention to the latter. Even those sneaky fat free foods are packed full of sugar!

If you are exercising, (which horse riding is a form of) then do not reduce your calories too much, if at all, as this will NOT help you! You are using extra calories on top of your basal metabolic rate to fulfil yard duties, riding etc.

I have worked with over 130 people to lose weight, and I would guesstimate 85% of them have not lost weight in the past as they simply haven't been eating ENOUGH!
Starvation diets do not work.

Exercise is key, and even if this is going for a walk for 30minutes a day it all helps!

hope that helps a little
 
The first thing is not to put yourself under pressure. If you are anything like me the second anyone mentions the word diet I crave chocolate, cakes and anything bad I can stuff in my mouth!

Why not try calling it healthy eating instead! Try to cut down the portion size of bread, pasta, rice and potatos and increase the veggies on your plate. Also try soup for lunch and drink a glass of water before sitting down to eat. Then, if poss, increase your exercise. Even if it's just going for a walk.

Good luck. :)
 
3 meals a day are very important, if you are not eating enough it can actually stop your body from losing weight because it clings onto every last calorie it gets!

Other ideas for breakfast that dont involve cereal are: scrambled eggs on toast, in fact any kind of eggs are good (low calorie high protein) - poached, omelettes etc. Sausage (low fat ones) and tomatoes on toast (that's my favourite at the moment!), beans....try and find things that you like to eat that you can have in the morning that are not high in carbs. Cereals are really bad for you, if you research losing weight most nutritionists and personal trainers tell you to avoid cereals as they all have some sort of sugar in them, and they are mostly carbs. Fruit is great, just beware iof the amount of sugar in fruit - yes it is natural sugar but sugar is still sugar and is not the best thing to be eating. Try and limit yourself to one piece of fruit per day, and stick to those lower in sugar (berries are good for this).

Ask your mum to help you with losing weight - while you might think you are just eating meat and veg, if you are eating things like shephards pie etc a lot then you are piling in the potatoes which isnt good! Maybe she could swap normal potatoes for sweet potatoes? And ask her to stop cooking with oil or fats - that is a simple change to make that saves on a lot of fat and calories. Most food doesnt need oil or fat to cook, meat holds a lot of fat inside it so it releases as it cooks, eliminating the need for oil.

Stay away from fruit juice! Not only does it cause acid erosion on your teeth (bad!), it is also FULL of sugar. Yes it is natural sugar, but fruit juice is basically concentrated sugar in a glass. It might say 'no added sugar' on the label, but that doesnt mean there isnt loads of sugar in there already. Stick to water, and if you need a bit of flavour no-added sugar cordials are ok.

The easiest way I have found to lose some weight is to go back to the good old tried and tested calorie counting - its boring but it works. Set yourself a limit of around 1500 calories per day, and add up the calories in everything you eat. Get your mum to keep the packets of the food she uses in meals so you can work it out.

And lastly, you are not that overweight for your height. Dont worry too much, some people are just naturally bigger and there is not a lot you can do about it. As long as you know you are eating well and are exercising frequently, then you will be healthy inside so you dont need to worry too much about what you look like on the outside. I'm only 5"3 and 11 stone, thankfully my IDXTB is a bit of a fatty so he doesnt mind lugging me around when I'm so heavy! Thankfully I'm still a size 12-14 despite being so heavy, so I dont look awful, but I would love to lose more weight but it takes ages for me to even lose a pound! There are plenty of us out there who would love to be thinner, you are not alone - just dont let it rule your life, enjoy your horse and try not to worry too much about your weight.
 
Thanks for your comments- I have taken them into consideration!
Yes, I LOVE my fitness pal, and they always tell me I have about 600 cals left in my food intake. I have done countless amounts of food diary's for doctors and they don't understand how I am not thin/losing weight,
As a person, I am not fit in the sense I can run a mile, but when I'm not hurt (like now) I'm walking my dogs for an hour every evening, walking around my school ( longest corridor in England-1 mile) my horse is in a 28 acre field so I walk round there and do lots and lots of walking uphill.
Plus p.e at school twice a week. At this moment in time I cannot walk for more than a few metres due to hurting my back.
I can't drink milk, another one of my food issues so drink soya milk :) I haven't seen a skimmed version of it so will look out. Sometimes, I will drink the full fat milk, however, I do not see this as a huge problem, because it is less than 5% fat and has a good lot of calcium in it too( can't eat cheese or cream or any stuff like that) I like greek yoghurt too.
I do know in myself that if I eat a jacket potato I will smother it in butter, so I have avoided eating them for years.
Surprisingly, for such a fatty I do actually have quite a lot of issues with food.
We never eat fast food, and will have a KFC as a treat every do often, just like normal.
I can honestly say I do not see anything wrong with my diet, I tend to eat lots of fresh veg and not as much fruit because of my braces (extremely paranoid about food getting stuck) and I keep going up and up.
For September, I stopped eating crisps and lost 5 pounds in a week, however according to my scales had put on 15 lbs in 10 days, so put on the five again and an extra ten.
As a younger child I did eat a lot more and very unhealthily. My dad has always said ' think thin act thin' and would take me to McDonald's and let me eat 1 chicken nugget, that's all. Then the next day would feed me a huge bowl of pasta and I wasn't allowed to leave the table until it was all gone.
At school I try and eat the vegetarian meals -vegetarian fajita's or sometimes if it's beef instead of chicken breast for roast, I'll have roasted mixed vegetables.
I think most of my problem is as I have grown up I have accumulated weight that I did not need, and when bullied about it I would go and comfort eat.
Sounds silly to think being called fat made me eat more, but it did and still does if im very sad.
I'm one of the 'girls who eat their feelings' type! :p
So I'm really just looking to lose weight by eating less and exercising, with the help of some people motivating me :)
I'm not a fat hairy cob , I survive on fresh air and can put on weight from the smell of food!
 
So I'm really just looking to lose weight by eating less and exercising, with the help of some people motivating me
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NO, NO, NO.

If what you have told us about your diet is absolutely true - then increase your exercise, not reduce your food.
 
littleme said:
I'm gonna be different and say if im trying to cut down - don't eat breakfast! It makes me starving all morning and more likely to snack. But always have a good lunch. regardless of breakfast if i don't eat a proper lunch by 5pm im desperate for sugar!
If i have breakfast its usualy special k. Avoiding much bread/pasta/potato, eat more veg!! I don't think calorie counting is particularly healthy but if you do you'll see how much you actually eat- I didn't realise just how many calories i pack a day, its a lot more than recommended!!
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I must admit that I'm with you on this (though only recently). I'm up at 5.30 with new Weimy and tended to have breakfast at 6.30am. Always starving by the time I arrived at work at 8am. Always ate something. Now I have breakfast at 8am at work and so much better - easy last till lunch time and in the weekly office weigh in (very competitive) I had lost 3lbs this week and have done nothing else different - in fact less than usual as horse lame.
 
kc100 said:
3 meals a day are very important, if you are not eating enough it can actually stop your body from losing weight because it clings onto every last calorie it gets!
.

Ask your mum to help you with losing weight - while you might think you are just eating meat and veg, if you are eating things like shephards pie etc a lot then you are piling in the potatoes which isnt good! Maybe she could swap normal potatoes for sweet potatoes? And ask her to stop cooking with oil or fats - that is a simple change to make that saves on a lot of fat and calories. Most food doesnt need oil or fat to cook, meat holds a lot of fat inside it so it releases as it cooks, eliminating the need for oil.

Stay away from fruit juice! Not only does it cause acid erosion on your teeth (bad!), it is also FULL of sugar. Yes it is natural sugar, but fruit juice is basically concentrated sugar in a glass. It might say 'no added sugar' on the label, but that doesnt mean there isnt loads of sugar in there already. Stick to water, and if you need a bit of flavour no-added sugar cordials are ok.

The easiest way I have found to lose some weight is to go back to the good old tried and tested calorie counting - its boring but it works. Set yourself a limit of around 1500 calories per day, and add up the calories in everything you eat. Get your mum to keep the packets of the food she uses in meals so you can work it out.

.
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My mum doesn't cook with oil or butter and always drains the oily fat stuff. Another issue I have!
Shepherds pie is only for winter when it's cold outside :)

Just out of interest, does anyone know how many cals you would burn just from natural body functions? Like breathing, stomachs digesting food, heat beating, keeping warm etc?
Xxx
 
scarymare said:
I must admit that I'm with you on this (though only recently). I'm up at 5.30 with new Weimy and tended to have breakfast at 6.30am. Always starving by the time I arrived at work at 8am. Always ate something. Now I have breakfast at 8am at work and so much better - easy last till lunch time and in the weekly office weigh in (very competitive) I had lost 3lbs this week and have done nothing else different - in fact less than usual as horse lame.
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Completely agree! Eating breakfast leads me and temps me into stuffing my fat gob! I can easily go until lunch, but breakfast is like a starter, I then want my main course! Ah dear, one day I'll be thin! Mwahahah! :p
 
AntxGeorgiax said:
My mum doesn't cook with oil or butter and always drains the oily fat stuff. Another issue I have!
Shepherds pie is only for winter when it's cold outside :)

Just out of interest, does anyone know how many cals you would burn just from natural body functions? Like breathing, stomachs digesting food, heat beating, keeping warm etc?
Xxx
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That's called your BMR, basal metabolic rate and everyone's is different. you can get checked at local gym. Have you asked for a thyroid function test at your doctors? Are the rest of your family overweight?
 
Bruce Lee said eat little and often and I mean...look at him! He certainly knew how to keep fit.

Taken from an article

"Smaller portions of food more frequently can prevent your metabolism slowing and in turn help prevent the body from turning those calories into fat. Eating large amounts of food at a time cause the bodies metabolism to slow down and this results in the excess calories being stored as fat. Eating portions of lower volume means that the excess calories per meal are less and it also means that you can eat more often. Eating more often will train the body into knowing that it does not need to store the calories, again preventing fat depositation. However it is important that you combine eating more often with less portions, otherwise benefits gained will be minimised. Linda Lee stated that "he would eat up to 5 meals a day but didn't eat large portions" - this would also help him fit in his workouts without having a heavy stomach."

ETA: Good luck with your weight loss! You can do it :D
 
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Yes- my dad is fat, my mum used to be very very thin, but when she started having her chemo she went right up to 13 stone (she used to be about 6 or 7) and is now about 11. My dad, although he is fat he weighs 13 stone. Which is mortifying considering I weigh more than my parents! And in some cases, I weigh double that of my friends.
 
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