I just don't feel healthy

[QwertyWitch]

Tired, overweight, phone addict.
I need help!
I'm starting tomorrow but I'm not sure I have the discipline. Any ideas, kick up the butt, motivation or inspiration please?

I think I'll start with reducing sugar today. I'd love to go cold Turkey and give it up completely but willpower is lacking!

Cutting down sugar is a good shout. Putting down the phone and doing twenty minutes of gardening, there's stacks to do out there and it gets me outside.
When I was getting over COVID I did the NHS active10, I don't know how active you are but it was a way to get myself moving.

Couch to 5k - or even couch to a couple of weeks - is a good kickstart and it's not as hard as you'd think

There's research to say that starting small, establishing a habit and then increasing the time is more likely to result in permanent change than starting big.

So do five minutes exercise every day and work on fully establishing the habit. Then increae the amount of time. Aim for an unbroken run of days and see how long you can manage.

Also put in desirable things rather than take away undesirable things. So where is the sugar in your diet - what will you put in its place? If you try to use will power to just not have something it can be hard to sustain.

They say that it’s easier to change habits when you add things in rather than take them out. Instead of cutting sugar, why not add in a fruit salad or chopped up vegetables. Or add a salad before lunch and dinner. Or add a short walk at lunch time. Do this everyday for two weeks then add another thing in. Over time, good habits take over and squeeze out the bad ones.

Totally get how you feel, it's really hard starting. I cut one thing out - refined sugar, and dared myself to get to 48 hours no sugar. Then a week. Then two weeks. Finally the cravings stopped. I Then decided I was only going to eat at meal times no snacks. Then I challenged myself to walk round the block, just once a day. It works, and then when you've done each thing you build confidence and determination in yourself. The endorphins from exercise and replacing any sugar with fruity tea sorted me right out and now I feel much better and healthy

At least a 20 mins walk. It's been easy this week as the sun has been glorious. Sunglasses and headphones on, listen to funky playlist or a funny podcast and get outside. Never fails to make me feel fantastic.

Whatever you are eating, make smaller portions. Your stomach is the size of a fist so that's all that's needed. Extra points for eating fruits, veggies and other whole foods.

Can't help with the phone addiction as mine is quite bad but how about getting a book from a library and spending 30 mins chilling and reading a day?

Totally agree with previous poster about putting things in, not taking things out (at first)

Put into your diet lots of greenery, leafy green veg, watery foods like melon and cucumber, bulk out meals with lots of veg, your gut will be happier which will make you more 'light' and energetic and then you can start to look at taking things out that you might want to remove.

I really notice I dont feel as good when I dont have enough cabbagey foods, I try to have brassica veg every day in some format, whether its cauliflower, spicy red cabbage, greens of some description

I find the easiest way is to roast up a massive cauliflower with lots of flavoured oil and keep it in a pot in the fridge and add it to meals or just snack on it

Thw easist and most instanr change for me is to drink more water

Couch to 5k is great. I can’t recommend it enough. Your self esteem will benefit as much as your body will!

Be kind to yourself. Here are a few suggestions that have helped me:

• drink water! If you don’t like plain water, drink weak squash or water with lemon or lime. Drink loads!
• take Berocca. If you buy one tube and take it daily you will feel better and can then move to a normal multivitamin.
• look into other supplements that might help (obviously make sure you don’t take too much of anything that can be dangerous), especially vitamin D.
• buy some fruit and veg you enjoy. Personally I think you can’t go wrong with M&S. Something delicious is always going to be more tempting than trying to make yourself eat ‘healthy’ veg you don’t love. They still have summer fruit - raspberries are delicious and not sugary. But even sugary fruit like grapes and bananas are healthy and might help your palate adapt. Frozen bananas make great ‘ice cream’ too.
• Try to eat food that’s nutritious. So no crappy diet stuff, empty calories or over processed things, but don’t be too afraid of more natural things that are calorific but nutritious (nuts, Greek yogurt, decent cheese, olive oil, dried fruit)
• find a short meditation on your phone and do it daily. Even three minutes is really good.
• make sure you have a pleasant night time routine and work on getting good sleep. If you try couch to 5k you will probably find it helps with this.
• remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Just wanted to let you know you're not alone @QwertyWitch - I feel exactly the same!

Don't try and change everything at once it'll set yourself up for failure, ive been on a bit of a journey this year but it's been slow and iterative.

Firstly, I joined a sport I've always loved, started with a training session, this built my activity up, gives me something to do other than phone and tv and I now play in a team a couple of times a week. It's encouraged me to go to the gym more as I want to be fitter to play better. Gets me out the house too.

I read Ultra Processed People and have dramatically reduced our in take, without any kind of calorie counting I've lost 1 stone in 3 months. I feel SO much better and it's better for the kids.

Next step, phone....

Oh and just to say my sugar intake has dramatically dropped, I used to eat chocolate every day, I don't now, my brain feels completely rewired.

I got kindle because it's more compact than a book and I found myself making excuses to not take a book to the dentist or wherever because of its size.

I only take my kindle to bed and if I do have to take my phone, say if a teenager is out, I don't let myself get into bed until the phone is down and the kindle is ready.

Thank you for the ideas. These are great.
I'm not overdoing it. Just trying to navigate myself back to habits that I know make me feel better.
Stress has made me lose my way.

I think consider the whys first.

Why are you overweight? (Are you addicted to sugar or is that the first thing you thought of)

Why are you tired?

Why are you addicted to your phone?

Once you have worked out the whys look at baby steps. If you start too big your new habits won’t stick.

Consider keeping a diary for four weeks. A sleep, food, exercise or activity level, phone use. Next month do it again but with small changes. Maybe walk for 15 minutes a day or have one less sugar in your coffee etc.

@Dolliesdisasterousdayout
Life generally started overwhelming me. I had a few changes in circumstances (won't go into it here), started snacking too much and being on my phone to just block things out.
I'm in a better place now and things are a bit more under control so now I can devote a bit of energy to myself.

I'm in, my phone use (10 hours +) and diet has been appalling recently.
Long covid and being a carer really hasn't helped, the caring aspect has just come to an end so I feel like I have a fighting chance.

Start small build up don't kick yourself if you "fail" a day.

So drink a bit more water today
Walk a bit further today
Say you will go on phone after you have "put the laundry away", washed up.

Baby steps for long lasting habits

@stayathomegardener do you have a plan?
@SpinningOutWaitingForYa it's rubbish, isn't it?

I'm starting this morning by not not snacking and drinking lots of water.

I'm an embarrassing all or nothing so we've hired a hyperbaric oxygen tank for the next two months, visited a naturopath to look at any deficiencies and I've just finished a three day fast 😂

What I probably should be doing is focusing on more water and less mindless scrolling.

On the up side post fast I'm not craving sugar at all!