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... 🤷🏻‍♀️

@TheAirbender

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,

Honestly, I hate what I see when I look in the mirror.
Physically hate it. I cry and get upset.
You’d think this would stop me ordering take out or eating shit, but it doesn’t. It makes me want to eat shit even more.
It’s like a friend giving me a hug when I eat crap food... 😟

Honestly the answer is listening to my body.

I love unhealthy food as much as anyone. Home-baked pies, smothering butter on my bread, booze, fried things. But if I've been eating comfort food for a few days I find that I get a real craving for vitamin C, so the next few meals will be a big veg stew or something similar. Or salads in the summer. If I've been drinking too much I'll take a week off - not because I think I should but because my body wants to.

Similar with exercise. At no point in the winter do I actively want to drag myself out on a run in single-degree temperatures, I just know that if I sack it off for a week I'll feel much worse. And the post-exercise endorphins are real!

It's not called comfort eating for nothing!
You need to take steps to start liking yourself, losing just a little bit of weight will do this. While you feel like this yiu probably eat as a mixture of comfort and self harm.

[quote fatgirlgonerogue]@georgarina

last night I really wanted a takeaway but I had avocados in the fridge so I made avocado toast, which really didn't sound very exciting...but actually tasted amazing and was way more satisfying than the takeaway would have been.

See, to me, avocado on toast is bad.
I think that’s because I’ve loosely followed slimming world for years and avocado are a high syn food.
If I had that I’d feel as guilty as I would if I ordered the takeaway...[/quote]
I used to see losing weight as a chore, a hard going battle against food that I wanted, an viewing half an avocado on toast as a ‘sun’ promotes that, to my mind.

From last summer I saw healthy food as a joy and a treat, and often had avocado on toast for lunch, while losing weight. Avocado, sea salt, a squeeze of lemon on good sourdough: really gorgeous, with some cherry toms and watercress.

(Just not a huge massive slice of toast and only a tsp of butter).

I didn’t calorie count either, just made myself generally aware of surprisingly high calorie foods.

The thing about exercise is that it raises your endorphins and therefore mood and energy, but you have to find what you enjoy. Dancing along to Spotify, doing an online class, walking, whatever!

I was like you towards end of first lockdown. Gained an extra stone and half on top of my already fat body. Decided enough was enough and I needed to lose weight. I started keto beginning of August last year. Today I am 4st down. Still have a way to go but I'm 2/3 dress sizes down and started to feel better about myself. This keeps me going. My weigh loss has stalled since Xmas but I keep going on it as I feel better in myself and enjoy my keto diet.

I've not read many of the responses so apologise if I'm repeating things others have said.
But clearly you've been very lucky that the healthy choices of others haven't affected you. I've lost people to preventable health concerns. Obesity is preventable by not overeating, and by eating a balanced diet, which of course can contain some takeout food and cakes and things if you moderate this with mostly less calorific choices. After experiencing loss and pregnancy I went up to a BMI of 28 or so. Eating an extra 200kcal daily and drinking too much alcohol. Since lockdown I've lost over 2st because I don't want to die die to obesity and covid. So health is a powerful motivator for me. I still enjoy some cake, just not for breakfast, and we minimise takeout food to reduce unnecessary contacts and set a decent example for the kids. I run because it's an efficient way to exercise outside but also do online classes and walk lots because I want a strong, healthy body. Chronic ill health in older age is fucking devastating and ruins the lives of other people around you too.
People who care about you would want you to care for yourself.

[quote fatgirlgonerogue]@georgarina

last night I really wanted a takeaway but I had avocados in the fridge so I made avocado toast, which really didn't sound very exciting...but actually tasted amazing and was way more satisfying than the takeaway would have been.

See, to me, avocado on toast is bad.
I think that’s because I’ve loosely followed slimming world for years and avocado are a high syn food.
If I had that I’d feel as guilty as I would if I ordered the takeaway...[/quote]
Slimming World disapprove of avocado because they're high in fat. They follow the (old, now largely disproved) model that "fat is unhealthy". What's more sensible to realise is that some fats are unhealthy. Natural fats, eaten in appropriate amounts are not only healthy but helpful & essential for your body. The less processed the fats, generally the better they are for you. An avocado, raw, is one of the healthiest forms of fat you can get. It's got fibre in & vitamins as well as fat.

In any case, if fat makes you fat, does sugar turn you into sugar? Or a high carb diet result in you storing massive amounts of carbs? No, it all gets stored as fat. The difference is, fat (& protein) are a lot more satisfying than carbs. They spike insulin a lot less - fat doesn't spike it at all. So you won't be likely to be hungry again an hour or so later & go looking for a second portion. Unlike with carbs. You know how you do with a big pizza, or chinese takeaway. You always want seconds a while later, even though you probably ate your fill at first.

I guess it's mostly vanity, I just don't like the way I look when I'm fat. I don't want to have to think about dressing in loose clothes to hide my tummy.
A close second is setting a good example to my children, I want them to be slim and healthy.
A close third is my own health. You get one body and I want it to last and be in good condition for as long as possible.

@RainingBatsAndFrogs show me the way please 🙂

I'm a size 8, BMI of 20.

I really enjoy vegetables. A burger doesn't have to be unhealthy - just don't smother it in crap and add chips. A decent burger with quality rare meat, tomatoes, lettuce etc - yum. I also love a salad with decent ingredients - fresh avocado, anchovies, chicken, beetroot etc, so much choice.

Plus I'm sorry but it's true - nothing tastes as being slim and healthy feels. I love being able to run 5km without breaking a sweat and I love being able to wear anything I like knowing it will fit and look as it's designed to. Keeping my body healthy made it easy for me to get back in shape and my pre-pregnancy clothes within a month of giving birth. There are so many benefits - from healthy and worthy ones to vanity - of eating well and keeping in shape.

Take away most nights will kill you.
Healthy home cooked fakeaway is lovely too.
The easiest way is to just stop ordering the lbs will fall off.
The best motivation is keep in mind you'll only get bigger unless you take control.
Eat your dinner by 6.

What makes me want to eat healthily? Probably a combination of:

When I grew up take-aways were a treat and it’s a habit that’s stuck. They’re also relatively expensive so I can’t justify buying them much when I can cook better food at home more cheaply.

I consider cake, biscuits, crisps, etc as treats not foods to eat everyday (a habit from childhood). I’m gobsmacked that there are even supermarket aisles labelled “everyday biscuits”!🙄 I rarely have treats in the house as it’s easier to resist what isn’t there. If I want something I have to walk to the shop and I can’t be bothered.

My Mum taught me to cook as a child, and it’s a habit I’ve taken into adulthood.

I’m passionate about the nutrient content of food and what those nutrients do, so when I eat I think about that, whether it’s healthy food or not so much. I want to help my body work properly, not age unhealthily and end up on medication (I hate medicating).

I hate how I look when I’m carrying surplus weight so I desperately don’t want to get fat (and dieting is horrible so I don’t want to do that). So although I will be tempted to eat crap when I’m bored or a bit fed up, I always think “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”, which usually stops me. Usually the cravings go after a few moments so I’ve found I just need to grit my teeth for a short while until it passes.

Exercise is more difficult for me as I don’t like most of it (tried loads of different things and don’t stick to them long enough to form habits) and I’m fed up of forcing myself out for a walk. So my fitness goes in peaks and troughs to be honest. I’m doing pretty much sod all at the moment because I feel too down, and I’ve never got the endorphin rush even when I was a runner. I need to be distracted into exercise by doing something that just happens to by physical, eg mucking out horses, digging the garden. But I feel and look so much better when I'm fit so will get going again.

The amount of willpower you need to lose weight is massively overrated. In my experience you only need willpower for the first 3 days. After that, the physical effects of eating healthier become so apparent and feel so uplifting that they become a genuine motivation.

After 3 days you feel much less bloated, sluggish and grumpy. Your stomach reduces in size, outside and inside. You sleep better, which gives you more energy and optimism in the day. You feel in control, which is lovely, and not all “oh sod it, who cares” which isn’t.

I always thought WW was crap but I joined it in November 2019 and lost 5 stone. 😳 The app is amazing - there are so many things you could do with those herbs and spices. It’s fun, supportive and easy.

Just try it for 3 days. Three days us all you need.

Have you considered Slimming World, OP? Really works for me. I love my food but have lost 1.5 stones quite easily. Now have a BMI of 27 so still not perfect but getting there.

You still get to eat large meals but it’s a way of being accountable for your eating and you will lose weight quickly if you stick to it, which incentivises you.

My food downfalls have always been savoury things like crisps, chips, burgers, Indian takeaway etc and I still eat them in moderation but, as PPs have said, you start to crave them less and less as your body gets used to eating better.

@StealthPolarBear

While you feel like this yiu probably eat as a mixture of comfort and self harm

I can really, really relate to this.

I just feel better when I eat proper food. If I eat too much junk for too long I end up feeling run down and clogged and yucky. After a few days of crap food I start craving fresh stuff. However I also have a cheese addiction and love a bit of chocolate, everything in moderation! Same with cardio exercise, I feel better if I do it regularly - I find it gives me lots more energy. I’m not at the moment as life is crazy, squeezing in a bit of yoga here and there but mostly not doing anything formal. I have a lot of energy though and a reasonably active job so I’m usually pinging about! No discipline or motivation required really, just natural habits. Have always been a normal weight, low end of healthy BMI.

Phoenixrose said it better than me

I work with older people and I can say that lifestyle really makes a big difference as you get older. I see 90 year olds who are fitter than some 60 year olds and keeping active is a huge factor.

Obesity leads to diabetes and all the complications that brings, higher risk of strokes and heart attacks and certain cancers and joint damage and chronic pain which limits mobility. The only thing that's worse is smoking.

My dad is in his 70s now and can still do everything he wants to do and join in with family walks etc and that's great for him and the whole family.

I do know very well that it's not all within our control because my mum died young and was disabled before that with cancer which was down to just genetics and bad luck. I am very motivated to make the most of my life and health because she couldn't.

Honestly-
Vanity, I want to look a certain way and so I work to maintain that.
Health- I want to live long and well

Cook books
Naturally nourished- great different vege meals. Lots of effort/prep but it’s of things like the dressings keep.

Low carb. I also don’t eat dinner 3/7 nights a week and instead I do a class.

I like healthy food. If vegetables are cooked well they are delicious! I've always eaten load of fruit as well. I love burgers and takeaway but will generally limit it to the weekend as they dont make me feel great.

I have been watching supersize vs superskinny to get me motivated to lose weight. I'm not fat at all but I eat so much junk when I feel bad (lockdown- it really has made me feel like whats the point aswell)
Watching the people on there who have just accidentally slipped. I imagine going into that house and giving someone a chocolate bar, a packet of sweets before spaghetti. I would be so embarrassed if anyone other than dh knew I snuck chocolate while making dinner.

Before I had my last baby I was eating healthily and going on bikerides, walks, doing workouts and I looked lovely and toned, but I felt so amazing. I had tonnes of energy and I had more patience with the kids. in fact I don't remember shouting at them or telling them off at all. So it made me realise that I can handle a tantrum in the shops better when I feel good and healthy. or a sibling fight war without shouting when I'm not aching and feeling sick from 10 chocolate bars.

I'm not even close to being fit again but I had a sandwich with loads of salad rather than a rustlers burger yesterday 😋 and it was so much better.

Tbh shame is what is pushing me to lose weight at the moment. I weighed 15kg after second child born. Couldn't shift it the way I did with the first. Then I've crept up to 7kg more during lockdowns. I feel ashamed of my body- particularly people I haven't seen in ages!
When I was motivated prior to this weight gain it was a 'my body is a temple feeling'

Preparing nourishing food and doing exercise felt like caring for myself.

I'm knackered these days and lacking time to prepare food/exercise. I hope that it will be easier with the kids back at school

Hey OP

I've never loved exercise and didn't grow up doing it. Just a busy life and a decent metabolism meant I wasn't fat (but not thin) for most of my twenties and thirties but have a peak before of putting on loads of weight which I dieted my way out of.

This last year I basically ate my feelings last year and ended up putting on a stone - between a sedentary job and a toddler, I didn't do any exercise at all and basically was rewarding myself with food as 'the only thing I had'. But, I hated my body and how I looked in the mirror and how I felt. I'm also 38 and it made me feel old.

Here's what is working for me - I started couch to 5k and stuck with it to begin with - didn't change anything else about food etc. Got to the 5k mark at the new year and drew a mental line on the 1st or Jan (had totally binged on food and drink over Christmas) - bought a good scale (withings), signed up for a free trial of noom. Weigh myself every day, count calories and exercise for 30-40 mins three times a week (Les mills on demand classes X 2 + a 30min run). So far I've lost 5kg and I feel great. My motivation is to not feel ashamed of putting on a swimsuit this summer. I don't want my body to hold me back from doing what I want. Consistently seeing the weight going down and feeling strong in my body is keeping me going. And exercise has started to feel good. Good luck OP.

I'm doing my best to eat a low fat diet, for two reasons. I've been diagnosed with gallstones and am on the waiting list for surgery. Gallstones causes what is known as biliary colic, which is when a stone is being passed down the bile duct. The pain from this lasts a couple of hours and is off the scale. I've not had kids but have spkiien with mothers who have had gallstones and they've all said they'd rather give birth.

While I'm waiting for the surgery, I've been advised to cut my fat intake, because fatty foods often trigger it.

I'm overweight, and im hoping that reducing my fat intake will also help me reduce calories and maybe lose weight.

The motivation for me was when I had an antenatal appointment and they told me my bmi is 32 and I have to have a gestational diabetes test. But if a kick up the rear for me. Plus I also really miss being slim.