What motivated you to get into shape?

[Anon20201]

Really at low point. Start diet every Monday and by mid week break it. What motivated you? I have zero willpower and break quite easily. How did you break the cycle?

[wholelottahistory]

What sort of diet?
Not sure if I'm in shape, but I am relatively ok. If I think I'm going up, I cut back on chocolate, curry, crisps, pizza, bread and dont eat after 8pm.

[MrsL2016]

For me it was when I saw pictures of myself at a friend's wedding. I looked awful imo. I ordered a book to follow the dylan diet, bought all the food in and followed it for 3 months and lost 2 stone. That was 2012 and I had never really dieted before. Kept it off until I had a baby in 2018. Could do to lose a stone again but no motivation at the moment. All my brain power is focused on getting through lockdown WFH with a 2 year old. Pass the chocolate.

[chickadeee]

Can you meal plan? This is the easiest way to not snack and over eat. You know what you're having for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's weighed out and measured out for 3-4 days in advance. Think of your calories on a week by week basis. So if you have more in one day, ease up the next. Track everything. Weigh everything. It's tedious to begin with but it really makes you realise how much you're underestimating. Get out and start with one walk a day, then build up. YOU CAN DO THIS. Joining a group or other people on the same journey can really help too. The Sweat app was my first step. It was a 12 week challenge and I just kept going. It has a food plan too.

[Goggle1968]

Turning 40, feeling awful as over the last couple of years I put on 2 stone. My lovely friend and I lost weight at the same time and she managed to keeps hers off and looks amazing so she inspired me and helped me. Once I got in the zone and was down my first 7lb it got easier. I also used lockdown as the time to max it out as we obviously aren’t socialising. I’ve lost the 2 stone now and taken up running. This week I’ve been a bit more lax but tomorrow I’m going to get stricter again with myself. I’m not putting that 2st on again. I’ve got a realistic weight now where I feel better, look healthy and can still enjoy occasional treats

[Anon20201]

I do best by balanced diet -well if you count 3 days being “best!” I can’t do Atkins as I can’t feed whole family on it and it makes me feel sick consuming so much meat. I just try to include fruit n veg in every meal, but I end up eating kids left over dinners and then binge on weekends. Husband works all week still so weekends I feel I need an extra treat and mid week I just get tired n need a treat

[OhioOhioOhio]

I'm gearing up to it. I just feel so unfit, because I am. But I recently stopped drinking so know that my well being is improving.

[Anon20201]

Thank you everyone for the replies! Some amazing ideas. I’ve tried googling “Dylan diet” but nothing found. Do you mean “Dukan diet” @MrsL2016?

[PhoneLock]

I can’t do Atkins as I can’t feed whole family on it and it makes me feel sick consuming so much meat

You could try intermittent fasting. You don't need to buy or prepare anything that you wouldn't normally do, you just eat nothing two days a week.

[Anon20201]

What do you all think of slim fast or another meal replacement? Thing is I’m quite healthy eating but choices give me more room to eat extra things so maybe meal replacement might help?

[Waitingforboristoletusfree]

I’ve spent this whole year trying to lose weight, first by cutting things out, chocolate, mayo, etc no weight loss but healthier, for the past month I’ve counted calories 1200 a day and have lost 6lbs so far 😁 I’m so used to doing it now it’s habit. My breaking point was when I realised I don’t feel like me any more and i know I shouldn’t feel like this but I didn’t want my husband to have a lump of a wife compared to others wives with good bodies 🤣

[Tigger85]

I was always into fitness but didn't always have the best diet when younger, after having my son things slid for awhile due to exhaustion. My mum had a heart attack last year and the maternal side of my family have alot of heart disease, cancer is prevelant on my dad's side. I want to be alive for as long as possible in the healthiest way as possible for my son. I am also currently pregnant with my second and last child so it's important to eat well. I have an obsession with kale salads atm and I'm doing workouts with resistance bands to try to maintain muscle tone during pregnancy, along with prenatal yoga and dog walking. My partner is making a home gym in the garage, I have asked him to install some anchor points for resistance bands and if we can get a rowing machine that can fold up. Healthy food doesn't have to be tasteless and exercise is easier when you find something you enjoy.

[BluebellBrigade]

I'd really recommend really Brain over Binge, or listening to the podcast. It helped me break away from the binge/restrict mindset and healed my relationship with food.

[Bluntness100]

Going to buy some clothes and a size 16 was going to be too tight. I walked out the shop and went on an immediate diet and refused to buy an eighteen.

I’ve maintained a size ten to twelve pretty much since, I do it with low carb and exercise.

I tend to binge on sugar or carbs and it doesn’t really fill me, so reducing those things removes any cravings completely and stops the over eating in its tracks.

Exercise because I like the way it makes my body look. It’s pure vanity. Exercise makes everything look toned and tighter.

The bottom line is you have got to reach a point where you’d rather loose Weight than eat the food. Right now, deep down you’d rather eat the food. So you’re not there yet.

[1stMrsF]

It was the realisation that is likely become diabetic and focussing on becoming more healthy rather than just looking better IYSWIM. Read the Obesity Code by Jason Fung. What helped me lose the weight was Low Carb Bootcamp here on MN. I lost two stone, stuck to the diet and kept off the weight for almost a whole year (lockdown knocked me back a bit!)

[LlamaofDrama]

I like Slim Fast for that reason. If you give me choices I make bad choices . I found Slim Fast pretty easy to stick to, partly because I got results quickly. I tweaked the shake recipes to get something I really enjoy, focus on high protein, delicious snacks that I enjoy so that I don't feel deprived. Can't be doing with the bars! A 600kcal evening meal is easy, if you don't overload carbs and fat. I'm vegetarian, so lots of meals with beans and pulses and vegetables and keep the cheese to not every day! I have a treat at the weekend which helps to stop me feeling deprived, and try to balance it within the calories for the day. Basically SF is just a lazy way of calorie counting where lots of the work is done for you. Works for me.


I had around a stone to lose. I lost about 3/4, maintained happily but now (I'm blaming HRT) some of that has gone back on and I'm not shifting it. And I'm not motivated... which is probably connected.

[Bluntness100]

I feel I need an extra treat and mid week I just get tired n need a treat

This is a fundamental mind set issue. Seeing food as a “treat” and generally people mean crap food when they mean treat.

No food is a treat, all food is fine in moderation. You need to stop thinking you’re going to treat yourself, because it’s not a treat, it’s the opposite, you’re just over eating and Likely on crap too.

[Bluntness100]

Meal replacements are not good. Sure you loose the weight, but you will gain it back when you start to eat normally again. Because you’ve not remotely given yourself the opportunity to learn how to eat properly.

So when you get the choice again and start eating meals, you’ll simply make the wrong choice again, which means you go straight back to the original weight problem and start a vicious circle.

[TweetUsOnFacebook]

Intermittent fasting works well and is sustainable. I only eat for 8 hours a day, between 12 and 8pm.

I'm perimenopausal and put on 2 stone in a year and it's coming off at 2lbs a week and I don't feel hungry or deprived.

Outside my eating hours I drink water, black tea and coffee and only start to feel hungry at 12pm so my body is adjusting.

I'm on around 1200 calories. 400 for lunch, 600 for dinner and in between I have 200 spare for a milky coffee and a couple of biscuits which I thoroughly enjoy . Carbs are not banned which is why this diet is working for me as I can't live without pasta!

[SallyWD]

I'd spent 30 years yoyo dieting and obsessed with food and weight. I couldn't take it any more!! I also hated being plump. Started doing 16/8 with low expectations and it changed my life. Weight under control, feel great, no longer obsessed with it all, eat what I want, appetite completely changed (lost all the cravings to overeat) , no calorie counting or eating diet foods. Been doing it for years and it's the answer to all my weight related and psychological issues.

[LittlePesto]

I was hanging up the washing and I felt out of breath! That was ridiculous, I'm 34 with 2 pre schoolers.

I started walking the dog for an hour every night and doing one workout each day, sometimes a 15 min hiit sometimes a 30 min boosted walk. Just whatever I could face doing. I also started counting my calories on fitbit and making sure I had 15k steps per day. In the 5 weeks I have lost 5lbs (I was 1 stone overweight to start with) which isn't a lot, but I feel slimmer and lighter and my resting heart rate has come down from 75 bpm to 62 which I'm more focussed on than the scales. I feel 10 times better and tbh still eating too much junk but keeping loosely within my calorie guide so it doesn't feel like a diet.

[tiredanddangerous]

I feel your pain op. I can do brilliantly well during the week and then Friday night comes around At the moment I’m maintaining my weight (which I suppose is better than gaining!) by being strict on weekdays and eating crap all weekend. I wish i knew what the answer was.

[Nottherealslimshady]

I have myfitnesspal on my phone. It tracks calories and how balanced your diet is. I dont eat meat so can easily fall into the trap of having a carb heavy diet.
You need to bulk up meals with fibrous veg. And have healthy snacks available. Carrot sticks, bell pepper sticks, fruit.
And have a target, when I get to 70kg I'm going to an indian restaurant, my goal changes based on my cravings, but stays at 70kg, I might bake a cake, might have a big bag of sweets but I get it when I get to 70kg, so it feeds my desire to diet because how much I want the treat is how much I want to diet to het to my goal weight so I can have it.
Dont make it too hard. My end goal is 60, I'm 78, so I get a treat at 70 to put me on, then a treat at 65.

[GOODCAT]

If you are struggling to get started you may need to decide you are going to have a say a month of healthy living. It is something like that time period to establish a habit. After that extend it to a year.

You then need to avoid your points in the day/week/month when you slip. That might mean eating or drinking bad stuff between meals so swap that for no more than a piece of fruit or water between meals.

It may mean what you are having at meal time so do something easy and calorie count and track using a phone app. Try out some new meals.

Motivate yourself by reading up about healthy stuff. Have a goal by when you want to have lost a couple of pounds then go on from there but in small amounts.

Have a month of saying no to social snacking e.g. if someone offers you cake and a latte just have a plain coffee or tea or better still water.

Then try to build in more activity as that makes you feel better and keeps your motivation higher. Commit to exercise and schedule in when it will happen especially if it is at times of the day when you might otherwise eat between meals.

Ultimately you have to get through the first month, so even if you get out of one bad habit, before you crack on with a diet, you will be in better shape going forward.

[CockCarousel]

My motivation was when I went into the obese category after an injury. At nearly 50 and live alone with 2 cats and a dog, I was terrified I'd not be able to care of myself (or my pets!) in old age.

All I did was cut out most snacking, reduced carbs a little, walked my dog for longer and some daily beginners pilates. I'm now down to a size 12/14 from a size 18/20.

[lemmathelemmin]

Cant believe the recommendations for fad diets.

Eat healthy (and less) and move a bit more. It's that simple. I think the hard part is breaking the bad habit and trying to establish new ones.