To ask what MAKES you choose to eat healthily?

[fatgirlgonerogue]

I’m struggling with motivation to lose weight.

I’ve never been slim and in my adult years have never had a BMI less than 29.
Right now it’s at 37

My motivation for eating healthily used to be socialising, I wanted to look and feel good.
Since that hasn’t been happening for the last year I no longer have that motivation. I don’t get dressed up. I just live in lounge wear.

I start the day well and just eat rubbish come early evening.

I pretty much live on takeaways at the minute.

I ordered it and I know I’m fat and will get fatter, but I just think so what

I’m always really fascinated when I see people out running, eating healthy food.
Why is that? What makes people want to give up a nice big juicy burger (which would bring so much satisfaction) in favour of a salad

I don’t even think about the health implications of my weight. It’s like I just don’t care.

I did go for a walk to my local park a few days ago and saw a friend. I purposely walked in the opposite direction so she didn’t see me and my vert obvious large weight gain.
So it must to an extent bother me. But not enough to do anything about it... 🤷🏻‍♀️

I watched the show with Bradley Walsh and his son the other day and Bradley Walsh had fun trying to paddle board. Mostly falling in the water I think. I have googled Bradley Walsh and he is 60.

I am 41 and have wanted to try paddle boarding for ages but feel too heavy and unfit (sometimes I have a bad back). It's not just paddle boarding but what it represents in my mind - I used to surf now and then (badly for fun) and run and I tried dry slope skiing (it scared me) and I want to get a little bit of that part of myself back. I want to be able to try paddle boarding at 60 (like Bradley) and if I get fatter and fatter and more unfit then that will never happen.

I am trying to approach it by eating "half" what I would normally to see how that goes. But I must point out that this is half of far too much that had seen me gain a stone in the last year. For example a sensible portion for tea rather than a massive portion and seconds and snacks in the evening.

I am motivated by vanity, completely, the thought of coming out of corona lockdown and into spring and summer clothes is motivating me to lose a few kg before that point. I want to wear really nice clothes and feel confident in them, to me that's being trim and looking nice (I will still probably be overweight!)

There are some good side-effects though, since I've been doing a bit of gentle and I mean gentle exercise in the form of walking and moving more at home, my energy levels are better and I feel less sleepy in the afternoons.

Mainly though, I hate the feeling of being solid and unmovable around my waist which is where I put on all my weight as a menopausal woman and so being just that bit slimmer and more mobile makes me feel much better and I do think you lose 5 years looking like that.

If my heart is healthier too, and I'm less at risk of severe Covid-19, even better.

Trying my best to keep away from prescription drugs, that's enough motivation for me.

Eat healthily but not exclusively, I love chocolate, burgers, salads, all food.

I do it mostly because I have health anxiety.
Like others on this thread, I have several family members who have died from heart disease.

Also in the short term junk food makes me feel sort of flat- not to mention constipated...

I enjoy looking attractive, I really, really, really hate looking in the mirror and not liking what I see I think that is mostly it, if you want totally honest answers. I recognise that only I can control that. I have taught myself to love exercise (simply by perserving at it, I used to hate getting sweaty and breathless but now exercise is a buzz). Same with crap food - I love pizza but would now genuinely prefer salad over burger. I stayed in a hotel last night (not in the UK) and years ago I would have had everything on the breakfast buffet the next morning, but these days I hate how fry ups make me feel. Same goes for roast dinners, can totally take or leave them now.

Ultimately the magic formula is self esteem plus self control, I think...

Discipline. I choose not to be overweight therefore I rarely eat takeaways, I don't drink, I eat a balanced diet with occasional treats and love a daily walk. I can't be doing with defeatist, mopey people.

I said elsewhere similar thread -- power of habit is huge. OP as got certain habits there are other habits OP could has. There's nothing morally superior about these habits. So mostly my habits run one way & OP's run another.

There is one thing that is distinctive to me. Nobody else says this so probably no help to anyone else. I still have a child-like appreciation of "Things I can do with my body" like run or climb or jump. I want to keep those abilities as mediocre as they might be compare to anyone else, I still get excited at doing them. I don't want my body deficits to reduce my physical movements more than they have to (say due to an injured foot, as opposed to too much mass).

*And I don't like burgers much. I don't like bland low fibre foods at all. So much there is not there at all. A large simple burger sounds like a very unsatisfying meal unless I was very famished I might not even finish it.

I’ve started to feel really tired
Even if I don’t drink I wake up with a headache sometimes
So I’ve realised that even if I’m home wearing a tracksuit something is off , awry

I would say it's all about balance and finding the healthy foods that are tasty to you. I don't think eating healthily means eating bowls of brown rice and green smoothies all day. Take your burger example - I would still have the burger, but maybe have it as a hamburger (so not the cheese, bacon, etc on top) and then salad, or sweet potato chips, or something a little lighter as a side. Or have a fruit salad for pudding. Having something more nutrient-rich to balance out makes me feel a little fresher.

On eating the healthy foods you actually like, I think fruit is delicious so I eat a lot of it. I'm not so keen on vegetables so tend to either eat them raw (e.g carrots, sugarsnaps, celery etc.), or just have one serving for some colour on the plate rather than forcing myself to eat lots of something I don't like for the sake of "health". That's just joyless to me.

I would try adding something healthy to your plate (adding, not replacing - so e.g. already having fish and chips? Add some boiled peas too. Ice cream? Pop some berries on top) and see what you enjoy and what isn't for you and working from there.

I don't need motivation to eat well I love healthy food. Junk food is great occasionally but eating it all the time makes me feel rubbish.

I don't look at food the way you do. If I see a burger I don't see something nice and juicy. I see something greasy. I don't really like that sort of food. I love sushi and expensive juices though, so I could still spend a fortune on takeaways! But not eating a burger is not a sacrifice, I guess that's what it comes down to, I just don't enjoy that sort of food and you do. I don't know how you change that though, because it is a matter of taste.

Why is that? What makes people want to give up a nice big juicy burger (which would bring so much satisfaction) in favour of a salad

Also, if you like a nice big juicy burger, I would think about how you can have your favourite food, just not the very high fat, salt and calorific one. You can get 5% mince, make your own burger, have it with some homemade (baked) chips and a salad.

I think eating salads if you hate salads is madness. You need to find yummy food which you find good to eat, eat enough filling (including carbs such as a wholemeal bun, brown rice) food, and work out your treats in advance (e.g. I have Coke Zero, berries and yoghurt, small choccy bar once or twice a week, substitute my breakfast for chocolate cake occasionally) so that you don't feel you are living in a horrible food world when you are trying to lose the weight.

If you are eating takeaway and large portions, then some quite simple changes would deliver results reasonably quickly, as would starting to walk more (get a pedometer or use the step setting on your phone).

I had cancer. I decided after the treatment, I wanted to feel better about my body. I decided to lose the excess weight, get fit which involved getting good nutrition but not overeating. People often say cancer is a metabolic disease, whether it is or isn't I thought being as healthy as I could be couldn't hurt.

I hate junk food, but I don't share this hatred for burgers

If you want a burger, go to Ramsay's burger. Once, as a treat. Don't deprive yourself. But make the treat the entire outing, not just the "burger". It's only food.

Crap food doesn’t fill me up, feel sluggish afterwards and my waist got bigger.
I’m not obese or overweight but the donut around my waist got smaller recently- I found it easier to bend and move when I lost a bit of weight.
I don’t have big bone frame so every extra weight I’m carrying is not going to help my joints in the future.

My stepFIL struggled with overeating and being overweight all his life- now is paying the price by having joint replacement op (when it comes,lives in pain every day).I don’t want to end up like this.

I’m in my mid forties and the days that I could eat everything and as much as I wanted without weight repercussions are well and truly over.

Everything in moderation I suppose.

My body does it for me. I just dont fancy masses of unhealthy stuff and I can tell when Ive eaten enough. I enjoy the exercise I do so I dont think of it as a chore. Thats zumba and jump and occasionally yoga.

Lots of reasons.

I used to be really slim, I'm not any longer, although I am finally losing weight. I've lost a stone since Christmas. Being slim felt better because I enjoyed clothes more, my feet & joints hurt less, my back hurt less, & I just preferred the way I looked.

Some of it is because of my skin. It's still not fantastic at nearly 40 & it's definitely worse if I eat crap. Much improved by a diet high in lots of veg, cutting out added sugar, & drinking plenty of water.

There is a strong family tendency for strokes. Most of the people who also had strokes, also had migraines. I have migraines. Excess weight is a risk factor for strokes.

I do actually enjoy healthy food, & a lot of the "unhealthy" types of food i.e. fizzy pop, takeaways, ice cream, bread, shop bought cake etc, triggers either my IBS or my migraines. So it's easier not to eat them as although they may taste good for a little while, I suffer afterwards. They really aren't worth it, for me. My DH sometimes says to me, would I like to have something I wouldn't usually have "as a treat". No... it's not a treat to get a horrific migraine, spend days being sick & unable to see or move or even talk properly & worry that this is the time it's actually a stroke, & end up with brain damage because no-one realised for ages, like I saw happen to my father. Or spend 3 weeks with my belly so bloated & painful that it's painful even to walk, & every time I need a wee I want to cry, let alone doing a pooh.

Honestly, i eat well (ish) and train daily because I love the way it makes me feel. I really enjoy exercise it literally energises me.

Takeaways make me feel really ill, literally hung over the morning after, they are also ridiculously expensive. The only thing I consider is a subway.

Find a sport or activity you enjoy. This is the key. I love Brazilian juijitsu and prior to that CrossFit. I started running in lockdown and have found a love for that too.

Cycling is a lovely activity and not difficult at all - you get a lot of scenery and time outside which also boosts your happiness hormones.

I also know that I am setting an example for my children

I don't have any rules, just some sort of ingrained habit to keep balance on the plate of what I prepare. Last week for example I had a few really excellent dinners. One night was a mix of different bruschetta and rocket salad, another was fish with caper butter on a bed of lemony spinach and smashed, roasted baby potatoes with tomato and garlic. Another day was rice with Japanese seaweed/sesame dried topping, miso marinaded salmon and a side of garlicky Pak choi. Another day linguini with roasted tomatoes and fresh mozerella. I can cook better than any general takeaway which helps I think. But actually good food is way better than unhealthy food in my experience.

Diet effects not only physical health but mental health too. And I notice that I feel better in myself when I've been eating healthily. I think it's important to find foods you enjoy though, a lot of people equate healthy food to mean boring, bland and time consuming to make, but it doesn't have to be.

Really helpful thread thank you.
When I lost weight (sadly have put lots back on but did keep it off for years) it was a few things:

• a very vivid dream where I was in the doctors being diagnosed with diabetes
• breaking a garden chair at my parents house
• a comment by fil that made me realise that most people would over eat if there were no consequences, they just apply willpower. Before that I believed other people saying "oh no I'm full" "oh no I couldn't possibly"
• Realising that my slim and healthy cousins who as far as I could see indulged in the way I did only did that when I saw them - at family events! I realised in between they must eat a healthier diet.

Comments like this
"It isn’t motivation it is just discipline. Motivation will come and go so if you are waiting about for it then it might never happen ."
Will stick in my mind and might just make the difference when I'm struggling with motivation

Like a lot of people on here - I actually really like vegetables, exercise and eating well. I find that when I eat too much crap I get hunger headaches and it’s a vicious circle. I eat more crap to get rid of them. I’ve really stepped up the healthy eating lately and have been following a low carb, low calorie diet and I feel much much better. The first few days are quite shit - I find my body is crying out for some junk because that’s what it is used to - but after that I never really feel hungry, I just look forward to my next meal. Lots of colour on my plate makes me happy!

I also second a PP asking how good a cook you are - buy yourself some vegetarian cook books and read around how to cook vegetables. I slow roasted some tomatoes last week and I truly can’t stop thinking how delicious they were!

I was in your rut this time last year, OP.

I had been boredom/ stress eating at work and home, it crept up, then I saw a photo of myself at an occasion where I really wanted to have nice pics of myself. But for a year, I did nothing about it, just let self hate build.

Then suddenly last may I switched my mindset.

I was hating working from home, sitting alongside a mirror reflecting my seated profile.
The COVID news and stats was all about weight, and I was terrified of getting ill and leaving my family.
We were all at home and only shopping once a fortnight, and i was spending time cooking healthy meals with my (veggie) teen D.C.
It was summer, lockdown, I decided to really walk, not just stroll about.
And finally, a really friendly, motivated thread on MN caught my eye.

Within a week I was used to not snacking, eating modest portions of healthy food. I was enjoying my walks in the sun, then started regular swimming outdoors.

Felt so much better immediately, and have since then lost 2.5 stone, at about 1lb a week. And kept it off as I just adjusted my eating, didn’t go in a ‘diet’.

Every 1lb lost fuelled my desire to reach the next 1lb, I celebrated my success, felt good and kept going.

That’s what happened for me, I think you have to find your own mindset switch.

Summer is coming: the difference shoes and feels pretty quickly!

Join the 1lb a week thread?

Good luck OP.

I realised that if I wanted to be slim I couldn't eat the way I was - sounds ridiculous but in the past I have dieted and put weight back on after by returning to old habits. Now I've realised it is a life long change and slim people aren't just 'really lucky' and able to eat what they want it has really helped me and changed my mind set.

As for my reasons to be slim my main one is I love clothes and want to look and feel good in them. I also have health reasons but the way I look is more important haha.

Money - I really struggle with spending money on things I don’t need - sweets, chocolate, takeaways. Sometimes I will fancy it and then I’ll buy it but I would rather save the money and do nice things.

I feel better too, especially in my mood and energy levels if I exercise. I love seeing new places and trying new things so I like doing that feeling well.

Cooking - I love the feeling of creating a meal that I might not have had before. I feel inspired by new ingredients and seeing what I can create.