@distel I have to try and lose /some/ weight because (like most people of Asian ancestry approaching middle age) I am at risk for type 2 diabetes and it is a genuine problem in my family (several uncles in Malaysia and my mum suffered from it), but currently I am healthy and I'm not going to torture myself with gym, excessive diets etc..

@vfrmedia but do you have to approach that problem via weight loss or could you improve your health/reduce the diabetes risk directly by taking care of your body/fitness?

a friend of mine got told by a doctor she would have to lose weight to get rid of her joint pain.

she went to the gym and the exercises helped with the joint problems so much, that she realizes she didn't have to lose the weight after all.

@distel all the advice sites suggest weight loss (as other factors like family history and ethnicity can't change); although I did stop myself buying another bottle of cheap wine today, and also no longer smoke cigarettes since this year. Otherwise I *am* fairly physically active - maybe because I've been working remotely more I've put on weight but now weather is better I am out on my bike more often..

@vfrmedia I think it's pretty usual that you come across lots of weight loss advice here.. but there are a lot of other factors that you can change as well, like being more active, quit smoking (yay , congrats to you!!) and eating better (without weight loss as a goal), trying to reduce stress, get more sleep... etc etc.

@vfrmedia @distel As someone also at high risk of type 2 diabetes I've looked into this a lot, and it seems to me that a lot of the weight loss isn't causative of reduced risk: it's a result of doing *other* things that reduce risk, like eating vegetables and getting enough exercise and sleep.

If this weren't the case they could offer us all liposuction. The fat would be gone!

@vfrmedia @distel In my particular case: my relatives that tried to control their type 2 diabetes by restrictive dieting and losing weight mostly failed (and gained more weight). The ones who decided to basically eat what they wanted and get loads of exercise recovered and didn't even need medication.

There's a possibility that the particular genetics in my family mean we respond much better to exercise than to diet, of course. Or my sample could be too small!

@vfrmedia @distel In my own case, when I was younger I did try dieting, and it was n't good for me at all and didn't work very well.

But one of the things that happens when I get sufficient exercise -- one of the ways I can tell I've hit 'enough' -- is that my apetite changes without my trying. I suspect this was also true for my relatives that kept a vegetable garden and exercised a lot.

@artsyhonker @vfrmedia It's also likely that the same living conditions (stress, pollution, lack of activity, needing medication, being unable to afford good food) that cause weight gain also cause health risks and so it's generally assumed that the health problems stem from the weight, when these two things are really less causally connected than most people think.

@vfrmedia @distel If you're really worried about T2 diabetes, you could buy yourself a glucose meter and some strips and learn how *your* blood glucose levels respond to different foods and activities. There are probably people who respond more to diet, or sleep, or whatever; and almost nobody develops T2 diabetes overnight. If you know what your numbers usually are, you can check every six months or so and see what the trajectory is like.

@vfrmedia @distel I think I got my glucose meter for under £20. Boots has them. Test strips cost a fair bit though.

@vfrmedia @distel (I wish the NHS would just... tell people to do this, rather than yelling at everyone to lose weight.

Also IIRC some of the latest research shows that it isn't the high blood glucose levels that are the whole of the problem, a lot of the damage and the trigger for the high insulin levels that lead to insulin resistance is from glycated substances that would ordinarily be removed by the body but aren't removed well with poor diet.)

@vfrmedia @distel (I am super-interested in this, but i don't understand it well enough to explain properly.)

@artsyhonker @distel I've been tested with these before (and nothing bad found so far) but have a great dislike of needles (I am like a cat at the vet when it comes to any medical stuff as it is!).

There do now seem to be non invasive ones too, my sister had one when she got gestational diabetes, will investigate those (at least my work means I have access to reliable info from trained nurses and other professionals..)

@vfrmedia @distel
The thing I like about testing myself is gthat I'm not just taking fasting glucose in the morning, I can eat a typical-for-me meal and test every 20 minutes thereafter and catch any spikes.

There is a reason I do this for a couple of days every six months or so rather than more often! Though my meter broke a while ago and I haven't replaced it, so who knows what my numbers are doing now.

@vfrmedia @distel I think the non-invasive ones are more expensive, but if you really hate needles and you're really worried about T2 diabetes, it might well be worth looking into.

@distel
Also your amazing body just took you on a long and beautiful journey! That adventure, all body-powered, was so cool! I am sure you have a lot of muscle and fitness, whatever the scale says

@compostablespork yes! that's also a huge factor in resisting societies' messages. it's like having a treasure chest of positive experiences that can fend off fatshaming messages.

@distel
By the look of it it's all muscle anyway.

@skylos aaaw thanks but i became also a bit fluffy in the middle 😂