Motivation to lose weight

[Slartibartfast]

My kids are playing Pokemon Go and I walk around with them.

 

I have lost 15 lbs doing Pokemon Go. :lol:

[KungFuPanda]

Do you have an activity you enjoy that doesn't involve sitting in a chair? Try to do that more often. If you don't have an interest that gets you moving, FIND one. I never make it to the gym or exercise on my own, but I rarely miss a dance class because I'm a social exerciser. DH, on the other hand enjoys long walks in solitude. Find something you like where exercise is just a happy side effect. I know one lady who placed her computer so that she'd HAVE to stand to use it. Another who only watcher her favorite show from the treadmill.

 

I know food is more important, but muscles matter too. I'm not talking a real exercise program. I just mean adding more movement to each day so you're sitting less even if you're just walking around the block while your kid takes a karate class.

 

On the food front, having an easy, healthy, emergency meal on hand is a lifesaver. Knowing there's a soup you love and a bag of salad ready to go in minutes can keep you out of the fast food line. Upping your water intake helps too.

Edited October 26, 2016 by KungFuPanda

[BooksandBoys]

Is that the thread about large weight loss? Do you have a link? I thought it was a great thread and have been unable to find it.

 

Wanted to say my scale was 199.6 today! I have not been under 200 in over 16 years.

 

To OP, I will post later on my thoughts on this since it has been a journey for me.

Yay!! 🎉🎉

[KungFuPanda]

This is part of my goal. One excuse is that we're out of the house at least three night at dinner time. Instead of having it as an excuse, I could at least bring along a healthier option or snacks. I struggle with cooking in general and have little motivation in that area. So I am pencilling it into my schedule to meal plan too. :) I can't rely on coming up with a quick/healthy menu spontaneously. This will take time as I don't like to make the same foods often for dinner. But to cook something new too often is also overwhelming.

Keep in mind that you have to keep people fed, not happy. It can be a liberating philosophy if you're struggling to find meals that nobody will whine about. If they're not hungry at the end you win. It's OK to have chicken "too often." It's OK to plan on having something two nights in a row. It's OK to have the big meal at lunch and bring a lunchbox with a sandwich for dinner later. If they complain, but eat it anyway, it's a keeper. Some people just complain more when they're hungry and are human again once they're fed. Make your life easier and tune it out.

[Greta]

Oh don't worry, this thread is about all peoples' experiences, not any one right way to do anything!

 

I have been paleo (with exceptions for special occasions) for about a year now, and that really has been great, but had no effect on weight or headaches.  Cutting out coke was great for me, but it was also my best "medicine" for migraines because too much excedrin kills my stomach.  But I decided to try to get these last few baby pounds off and address some PCOS issues, and started keto... and poof... headaches are gone.  I can tell there is something weird happening in my brain, as it has also totally changed my quality of sleep and vividness of dreams.  

 

 

That's really impressive - I'm glad you've had such great results with it!  Keto improved my sleep as well, though I don't remember noticing a difference with my dreams.  It also allowed me to put on a little muscle tone, something I'd never been able to do before, and it dramatically improved my immunity.  I'm definitely a believer!  

[hornblower]

A number of the posts have veered into method ... in which case I'll put in my plug for pbwh: plant based, whole foods.  Forks Over Knives is a good place to start. There's a documentary & a book.
If you want an actual meal planning service, one which generates shopping lists & recipes, the Happy Herbivore's Meal Mentor is good. You can get a free sample on her site ... https://happyherbivore.com/


if we're talking motivation, mine is simple. I want to live long (& prosper lol)

There is no doubt that maintaining healthy weight, exercising, not smoking, not drinking are all heavily associated with health and longevity. I love life & I want it to be a healthy, long one.

I'm a small person & when I hit my 40s it didn't take much for my weight to start creeping to the border of normal/overweight bmi. I made a number of changes to my diet (went from vegetarian to vegan), committed to regular exercise, & more than that, committed to monitoring & maintaining my health.

My daily allowed calorie count is low because I'm pretty small.  That sucks. But *premature* death would suck more. There are so many things we can't control - accidents, weird tumors, serious illnesses that come out of nowhere. But  those 4 factors I listed above are in my control so I do them. You need that thing you say to yourself when you don't want to go to exercise class, even when you'd  rather have 3 pieces of cake & a bowl of pretzels in front of the tv. For me, it's I wanna live long. 

I want to be like her when I grow up :)  So I eat my coleslaw with light vinaigrette and my bean soup and do my workouts and play with my dogs.....

 

[Joyofsixreboot]

The biggest thing for me was making it easier to eat healthy than not.

 

I learned a few specific ready-meals that I could have on the table immediately. I prepped protein that I knew I was ok with and I'd cook a few day's worth at once. If necessary, I did stuff like buy the steam-in-bag vegetables -- yes, ok, they're expensive, but they're less expensive than fast food. Basically, I made it so that I could have a healthy meal on the table with 5 minutes of actual work and possibly some sitting around time when I was exhausted after a rough day.

 

Then I (temporarily) got rid of the things at home that I would default to instead of eating healthy. I'd go with cereal, toast, chips, popcorn, nuts -- basically anything that was already prepared and fast and easy, and mostly carbs with some fats. I have most of those back in the kitchen now, but removing them as an option forced me to go beyond my default.

 

When on-plan is easy and off-plan requires a trip out, staying on-plan becomes easier.

I agree. I make things super simple. I also read health magazines, sites, etc to stay focused. I like the book Mindless Eating https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553804340/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=borborygmi-20 for ideas to make eating well a default. Maybe join an virtual group for accountability vs WW. Edited October 26, 2016 by joyofsix

[Janeway]

Put mirrors up...full length. I think our lack of mirrors has contributed to weight gain here.

[Soror]

None of us know what will motivate you. 

 

Personally having thyroid disease kick me down was a big wake up call that our health is a blessing. I'm active and take care of myself because I enjoy it and I want to be able to continue being active as long as possible. If you don't take care of yourself it will catch up to you, some people have better luck than others but there is no doubt we will all be better off the better we take care of ourselves (and that isn't just food and exercise but sleep, relationships and stress)

[BooksandBoys]

I agree. I make things super simple. I also read health magazines, sites, etc to stay focused. I like https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553804340/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=borborygmi-20 for ideas to make eating well a default. Maybe join an virtual group for accountability vs WW.

I'm another person who finds great motivation in reading about health and fitness. I also love to plan my running schedule when I'm training for a race. Love! I enjoyed that when I was doing Couch to 5K and I still love it now that I'm training (again) for my first half marathon.

 

I get less excited about food, but food isn't all that interesting to me in general (unless I'm extremely stressed...then I battle stress eating). I like to not be hungry and I choose to eat lower carb and dairy/gluten free to keep me not hungry (when I eat high carb, I'm starving all the time no matter how much I eat), but I'll eat the same things over and over with little frustration. My family, naturally, demands variety. :-)

 

I found the book, "The Spark" to be highly motivating when I was trying to reestablish an exercise habit after my son's accident.

[Sarah CB]

 

My dd got mad at me because I told her something that often ran through my head while I was losing. She said it was unhealthy, but it worked for me. I'd tell myself that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. I guess that could be unhealthy but it sure worked for me. It affected some of my choices. Like do I really want that 120 calories of pepsi or would unsweet tea be just as good. I have a healthy respect for food now. I know how to make the good choices. I know my triggers.

 

I say that to myself all the time! I also tell myself that being skinny is way more fun than eating whatever it is that I shouldn't eat. 

 

I'm seven pounds away from my ultimate goal weight and I honestly never ever thought I'd see these numbers on the scale again. I weigh myself first thing every morning and I love seeing those numbers on the scale. 

[marbel]

I think "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" is attributed to Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers.

 

I've struggled with weight most of my life. Recently a blood test put me in the pre-diabetic camp. It's now or never for me. I started walking more seriously and am tracking my carbs. Thanks to the OP who linked to The Obesity Code. I bought it today. (The two copies in my library system are weeks overdue and I don't want to wait.)

[Guest]

I don't kno w if you've seen the recent articles on keto and migraines, but it has definitely reduced mine from several times a week to... not at all. I chose it for the PCOS related benefits, but this one is actually way better.

I hadn't heard that but I'm not surprised - my own migraines and skin issues seem to improve within about a week of ketogenic low carb. For me it seems to be hormonal though, and unfortunately tension headaches remain unchanged.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Also my anecdote is running decreased my migraines (or just weighing less leading to less estrogen decreased my headaches) or it was a happy accident. My brief experiment with low carb increased them 😦

[Guest]

I wonder if a specific food was exacerbating them? For me, when my migraines initially kicked up with low carb it turned out it was because I was eating more cooked mushrooms and those are a major migraine trigger for me. It took a food diary to figure it out though.

 

I wish running made me feel like anything better than poo - I'm only good for short sprints like soccer.

[Soror]

I think "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" is attributed to Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers.

 

I've struggled with weight most of my life. Recently a blood test put me in the pre-diabetic camp. It's now or never for me. I started walking more seriously and am tracking my carbs. Thanks to the OP who linked to The Obesity Code. I bought it today. (The two copies in my library system are weeks overdue and I don't want to wait.)

Personally I prefer, "Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels."

 

Good luck to you on your journey.

[SproutMamaK]

Just as an FYI, the saying "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" is kind of a motto/support phrase in the pro-eating disorder/anorexia community. Hopefully it's not an issue here, but I know a number of young women who heard this refrain often in their minds while they were starving themselves (in two cases, sadly, literally to death).

I'm not saying it's not an okay motto for yourself to help you lose weight... but please be VERY careful if you mention it real life, especially around young women. In the current culture, it comes with a lot of psychological baggage that you may not realize you're bringing back up. Just want everyone to be aware of some of the implications of this phrase that they may not otherwise have known. :)  Hope no one takes this as criticism, the motto is fine; it's just been abused.

Edited October 26, 2016 by SproutMamaK

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I struggle with maintaining motivation too. I would love to lose 30lb although I would be happy with 20-25. I'm pretty short and a 5lb difference means a different pants size. That's great when I have the motivation because I can see results fairly quickly. Unfortunately, I keep losing and regaining the same 15 pounds over and over. 😟

 

I ended up back at my top weight by the end of summer (sooo frustrating to find that the jeans that were too big in May were too tight in September). I've only been semi-motivated to get the extra weight off so it's taken me since the beginning of September to lose 4 pounds. Yesterday I ended up in the front row at karate class which meant I had a crystal clear view of myself in the mirrors for most of the class. Boy was my uniform tight! I came home pretty motivated to get back to healthy eating and exercise. Partly because of the view in the mirror and partly because I was getting far too out of breath, my strength and flexibility weren't as good as they should have been, and the extra weight was messing up my kicks. I'm really enjoying karate right now and I'm hoping my desire to improve my skills (and look good doing it 😉) will be the motivation I need to do what I need to do at home.

[lamppost]

 

Another thought is to see my doctor for weight checks as a motivator.

 

 

This might help: http://www.weighandwin.com/

 

Also, for me the best thing is having a buddy to check in with- report exercise & eating to.

[Slartibartfast]

I think "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" is attributed to Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers.

 

I've struggled with weight most of my life. Recently a blood test put me in the pre-diabetic camp. It's now or never for me. I started walking more seriously and am tracking my carbs. Thanks to the OP who linked to The Obesity Code. I bought it today. (The two copies in my library system are weeks overdue and I don't want to wait.)

 

 

Kate Moss said, "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

[TammyS]

I just saw this http://mashable.com/2016/10/18/motivated-bride-weight-loss/?linkId=30338539#Jm79Q7NP.Oqs

 

Lots of motivational stuff there.