Can't motivate myself to lose weight

[blossomt]

I know I've gained a lot of weight in the last year or two. My BMI is approx 32.5 or 33 so that's in the obese category. I had to buy some new clothes because hardly anything else fitted any more.

But I just can't motivate myself. I'm so unhappy in my life, partly because I just am, and admittedly I think I have PMT right now, but also because I have some ongoing medical issues and the stress of dealing with the hospital and constantly having to chase them up for things etc, having a chronic illness can make you worry a lot about your life.

There's really no point in saying have you tried this diet and have you tried that diet. I've always been a comfort eater. I already know which foods I should and shouldn't be eating. There is no point in just saying eat less, move more, because I already know that, I just can't make myself do it. I've ended up in a cycle of comfort eating, putting on weight, feeling even more unhappy with my weight and more comfort eating etc.

How can I pull myself out of this cycle?

You need to break the cycle. Don't think about losing weight, but give yourself the goal of not eating crap for 7 days . Clean your cupboard. Take bin bags and put every snack, ultra processed food, open or unopened in the bin bags. Think of it in the same way an alcoholic would remove all the booze in the house.

Understand that you have no fault in this. IT is the environment, the messaging you see everywhere at bus stops or television that eating a Magnum will bring you pleasure and peace. You have been manipulated, made an addict of foods engineered to activate pleasure brain circuits.

You need to be be mad that junk food is thrown at your face anywhere you go from the pharmacy to the newsagent.

You also need to understand how gut and brain work. By eating certain food, you develop certain bacteria that scream at your brain to buy and eat more of that food. Starve them. Because they are also the cause for your low mood.
For 7 days. You can do 7 days . In these 7 days, you are going to claim your life back. You will eat a new vegetable every day. And a fruit every afternoon. You will not eat in front of the telly.

I am so sorry you are stuck in this loop of sadness-food-more sadness-more food. Realise that you are not eating food, but food-like edible substances. Food is a punnet of strawberries. Slices of sweet melon. A caprese salad with quality extra virgin olive oil. A nice steak and a butter lettuce with some fresh parsley. I know it might sound like madness , but for 7 days, treat yourself to real food. Nothing in a packet, nothing in a jar.

Buy a fancy tea, and prepare yourself a nice cup. Identify your triggers. Is it the television, social media, walking home. It is habit not hunger. In 7 days you can break those.

Every time your hand reaches for a packet on a supermarket shelf, you are giving someone a fat bonus. And getting fat, unhappy and unhealthy in the process.

Clean your cupboards now, no matter how late it is. And come back on this thread for 7 days. The onus is on you. It is hard and unfair, but it is the only way.

You can totally do 7 days.

I don't keep that sort of unhealthy food at home. I just buy it as snack food when I'm out and about.

What is your comfort food then? When and where do you lose control?

Write a list of all the ways in which your life would be better if you were a healthy weight, ie:

I will reverse my type 2 diabetes
My joints won’t ache
I will have energy to play with kids
I will feel confident and attractive
I will feel proud of my ability to lose and then maintain my weight, rather than feeling powerless and a failure

Save it on your phone. Read it twice a day.

Basically you’ve got to find the things that motivate you the most. For me it was the last one and a (different) medical diagnosis that was my wake up call.

@Kaiken @figmaofmyimagination great advice. I’m going to try your 7 day challenge to try and ‘reset ‘ my eating and drinking habits . Also the writing a list sounds a great idea to .

I am so sorry you are stuck in this loop of sadness-food-more sadness-more food. Realise that you are not eating food, but food-like edible substances. Food is a punnet of strawberries. Slices of sweet melon. A caprese salad with quality extra virgin olive oil. A nice steak and a butter lettuce with some fresh parsley. I know it might sound like madness , but for 7 days, treat yourself to real food. Nothing in a packet, nothing in a jar.

This is really good advice.

If anyone is interested, I am running a free weightloss support group on FB. We are going to follow any diet plan that we want and I am reading about the psychology of overeating so hopefully we can encourage each other.
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