What made you finally commit to dieting/exercising?

[Endlessdark]

Just wondering what your turning point was. I’m about 10kg over my ideal weight (60kg) (or 15kg if you consider what I was prechildren). I cannot seem to motivate myself to start. I think summer holidays with two small children (5 yo dd and 1yo dd) on my own makes it really difficult. Although I do walk a lot and am fairly active with them my weight still doesn’t shift due to mostly living off a diet of biscuits and toast. I’ve got an appointment to check my thyroid on Wednesday as it was previously within normal ranges (2.37) however google tells me this can still be symptomatic of hypothyroidism?! I’m seriously suffering with painful joints and lack of energy which I guess could be linked to either the thyroid or weight gain (although I’m just within healthy bmi range of weight for my height!) Just feel so bloody miserably. I’m only 30 and feel so much older! Doesn’t help that I’m up multiple times per night with both DDs still! Please tell me the secret to your motivation!

While I was fit doing weekly Parkruns, and cycling twice a week with my club I was hiding from myself I was overweight. Standard GP Blood tests however showed I was heading to pre diabetes so that was my turning point. Lost 20kg and found the Parkruns and cycling so much easier not lugging all that weight around with me.

Mine was seeing myself on a YouTube video in the audience watching my favourite band. I knew I was big but was definitely in denial and I gained 4 stone over the course of my pregnancies, both of which resulted in a lot of time in hospital due to genetic issues with my babies (cleft lip in one, oesophageal atresia in the second). I'm currently 7 stone down and I feel so much better. It's been a long road and far from linear but I'm very glad to have maintained my weight for the last 2 years. I'm still technically overweight but I've just decided I'm happy as I am now.

My kids are the same age as yours and I exercise when they're in bed. If you want something you find the time. The summer hols only make things 'really difficult' if you think negatively.

I was always big, then that tipped into obesity, and I was approaching fifty.
I live at the coast and walk my dog every day down the beach, I started noticing ladies older than me doing wild swimming and paddle boarding and it looked really good fun. I decided to book a SUP lesson because I was so inspired by these women, but I wasn't looking forward to wearing a wetsuit at all.
Turned out I really liked SUP but I had problems getting back on my board when I fell off, and I knew my huge stomach and lack of upper body strength was part of the issue.

For the first time ever I decided to diet (SlimmingWorld) and got down to a healthy BMI and then lost another 7lbs after that and I've kept it off ever since.
We sometimes go out on a group paddle, with a mix of ages and abilities. I don't mind being the oldest or the slowest at all but if I was still obese I would have found it embarrassing to always be last. In my head I would have been thinking the others were judging me for my size.

So that was my trigger but I'm still annoyed with myself that I didn't lose weight years ago. I feel so much better mentally and emotionally as well as physically.

My DP have history of heart attacks together with my Dad dying of a sudden heart attack in 2022 coupled with me experiencing numbness in my arms- I had lost then put on an awful lot of weight after losing my Dad, which I was fine with (putting on the extra weight) built then experiencing numbness in my arms freaked me out into cutting what I eat and exercising more

Sorry not Dp- parents. DM and DF

If you're fasting because you need to follow rules I really think it needs to be 20/4, you could easily fit in 3 meals and 2 snacks in if you did 16/8!

Or do 16/8 but have additional rule of one snack plus one meal with dessert, not just eating for 8 hours.

My motivation comes from health, specifically from the benefits of fasting eg reduced risk of cancer.

What actually feels good is my clothes fitting better but that doesn't motivate me.

Three friends dying of cancer this year. I am lucky to be healthy but abuse my body by overeating. Time for a change! Diet and intermittent fasting has started .... a few kilos down but want to lose another 15....

Mine was this week. I knew I'd put on weight but I got on the scales and saw I'm the heaviest I've ever been including pregnancy.
I've done slimming world before so I'm back on that

I was conscious I was carrying more weight, but the tipping point was waking up during the night and my stomach was bloated and wobbly - I ended up being determined to make a change.

I do a fair amount of exercise, so made changes to my diet - healthier choices, smaller portions, if I fancied crisps I had them but less, and changed from sandwich, fruit and odd chocolate at lunchtime to things like bread and soup, crackers, cheese and veggie bites and then had something else later if I was really hungry. My weight came off slowly, but I've kept with these changes and actually lost 3lbs over my initial goal. I feel so much better about myself now

It’s happened a couple of times now and the tipping point was when the weight started to show on my face. I think there are ways to disguise it on your body if you choose the right outfits but there’s nothing you can do to hide it on your face!

I was never obese but at one point reached almost 12 stone when my ideal weight is around the 10 stone mark. I saw a photo of myself wearing a beautiful strappy dress and realised the dress was great but I looked fucking dreadful in it, with lumps and bumps and flabby bits all over the place. Say what you like, but the harsh truth is everyone looks better in clothes when they're not overweight.

I was 40 at that point and could see what the future held if I didn't sort myself out before the menopause years kicked in. I shed two stone, started exercising like I meant it and at 55 I feel healthier and fitter than I ever did during my younger years.

Covid and the link between obesity and the mortality rate. My kids were worried I was more likely to die because i
was borderline obese.

I bought an expensive gym membership and calculated that I needed to go 3-4 times a week to get my cost-per-exercise-class down to a justifiable level.