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... 🤷🏻‍♀️

[quote fatgirlgonerogue]@SummerInSun

How well do you cool? The problem may be you aren't able to make tasty healthy food that you really want to eat.

My cooking skills are “ok”...
I wouldn’t say I cook anything fancy.
Chilli, spag Bol, lasagne, stirfry.

I think I do lack the skill to make things tasty, I’m envious of people who can throw a good meal together without following a recipe.
I have a cupboard full of herbs & spices but wouldn’t have a clue what to do with half of them, unless I’m following a recipe.[/quote]
There's absolutely nothing wrong with following a recipe! Why do you think the best cooks have shelves full of recipe books?

First you practice following instructions

then you become more used to thing and you know where you can improvise if you feel like it.

Posters are always laughing at "meal planning", but I do. I search recipes and add a couple of new ones, and plan the week accordingly.
Then I do my food shop online. I am not rigid about it, it depends on mood, but at some point during the week we will eat .xyz.

I get bored with food, I can't eat the same thing over and over again, so I follow new recipe.

Think about a style of food (reasonably healthy), and grab a few recipes online and there you go!

If your health allows, try the Keto diet for a week or two. I’m only on day 13 but I feel amazing on it. I posted a thread recently about is because I’m so amazed. My family have had Pizza Hut (my fav) and I wasn’t even tempted, first time in forever. Here’s my thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/low_carb_diets/4184853-Feeling-amazing-on-Keto

The only reason I'm ever motivated to do anything like that (healthy food, exercise) is that it makes me feel better RIGHT NOW. And it does.
Eating junk and lazing around makes me feel like shit, now, later and tomorrow. The anticipation and pleasure of 'giving' in is far more enjoyable than the actual junk food.

I do think though that the key is to find foods and meals that you genuinely enjoy. It is obviously more complex than that, and often over-eating and craving calorie dense food is intertwined with other things- MH etc, but so many of my friends make salad and stuff they don't particularly enjoy, that it's no wonder they reach for the crap after eating it. It's also common to eat too few cals throughout the day and then binge in the evening, or to choose foods that don't give much bang for your buck cal wise and then go hungry and ultimately go back to old habits.

There are loads of meals that are genuinely full of flavour but packed with veggies and nutrients as well, but have to try them and find what you like. Plenty are quick as well and cheap.

Also I agree that there's nought wrong with following recipes!

Access to a local baker (two minutes away), a butcher (not much further) and a twice weekly market is a great incentive for me.

I used to eat crappy foods all the time and it really did make my mood so much worse. Now I eat much better (I still eat treats but in moderation!), I have a glow to me which wasn't there before. Getting outside and walking or running really has helped every aspect of my life. As a pp mentioned, the homemade burger sounds much more appealing than frozen burgers!

Running is amazing and although it seems scary at first, it's absolutely possible to enjoy it and even become quite addicted

Also just to say, I don't eat salads etc but I eat for example curries, bean chillis, homemade pizzas or salmon with broccoli and mash etc. and i look and feel very different. Cooking your own food really does help :)

I know how you feel OP. I think many people who are overweight tend to give in as soon as they start eating the "wrong" things.

I've mentioned this many times on weight loss boards, but the Feel Better Live More podcasts by Dr Chatterjee are really brilliant. They're not judgy and are easy to understand. This drchatterjee.com/episode-29-amelia-freer-on-what-we-need-to-eat/one with Amelia Freer I think is particuarly good.

She focuses on what you SHOULD eat, rather than what you shouldn't. So her idea is that if you nourish your body properly, you can still eat the junk, but you probably won't be craving it in the same way.

I've listened to lots of the podcasts and lost steadily over the last lockdown. I fell off the wagon a bit over Christmas, but managed to get back on again and feel so much better. It's well worth listening to.

There's also a good documentary on iPlayer called The Truth About Carbs, which really shocked me into eating fewer sugary/carby foods, so that might be worth a watch too.

Just imagine how you'll feel in the mornings if you've eaten well the day before, maybe done a bit of exercise ... I hate the feeling when I wake up that I was crap the day before, because it only seems to lead me to being crap again that day.

Best of luck with it all.

Sorry, incorrect link!

Here drchatterjee.com/episode-29-amelia-freer-on-what-we-need-to-eat/

You sound very like me! I’ve been brainwashed over the years by diets, mainly SW/WW into what’s good and bad and now I just mostly think screw it I’ll eat the bad! Especially what you says earlier about avocados, yet they’re very healthy!

I would suggest looking into intuitive eating, I recommend watching Abby Sharps videos on YouTube. She’s an American dietician but has some fascinating content and talks a lot about fat phobia and diet culture. There’s also a really good book by Evelyn Tribule (that could be spelt very wrong!) that’s another good starting point.

I’ve always had a very bad relationship with food and I feel I’m finally (slowly) starting to undo my bad habits and lose the guilt over ‘bad’ foods!

For me I try to think beyond not becoming obese/ developing comorbidities / living longer and to what these things actually mean to me.

So for me I live for holidays. For the days I don't feel like eating healthily / exercising I watch YouTube videos or look at photos of my favourite places and how I desperately want to be well enough to enjoy these places for as long as possible.

I have also watched the obesity programmes as a motivator in the past but felt a bit wrong using others misery to motivate myself.

If I feel I am in bad habits I try to change one thing a month which is much more achievable than trying to change everything at once

Wow. All these people saying it makes them feel better? It doesn't me. It doesn't do anything for me at all. Exercise doesn't make me feel better either. Hacks me right off.

I lost 5.5st 4 years ago and I exercise and eat healthily because: I feel strong and well, pain in knees, calves, back, neck and shoulders has gone, indigestion, bloating, heartburn and constipation has gone, blood pressure and cholesterol down, I can wear whatever I want, I hardly perspire, it provides a very enjoyable and satisfying hobby/project, whole family are benefitting from healthier meals are learning from me and my mental health and sleep are much improved. Why WOULDN'T everyone do this 🙂

If I eat bad, I feel bad so that is a motivator form me. Waking up feeling energetic and refreshed instead of sluggish and heavy.
I don’t really like meat either which helps.
I used to be like you, op and favoured chocolate and crisps over meals. I had to force myself To eat well in the beginning and kept it up once I felt the benefits

• my exercise is dancing madly, either in my kitchen or out in nearby isolated countryside. Exercise is free.

I think we all need something to look forward to and cheer us up at the moment. Sounds like yours is a takeaway I found this grid helpful for looking at other ways to make me feel better.

You may find ordering a veg and fruit box helpful. Those veg fill your fridge and stare at you until you eat them . It's a challenge to get through them. Our family diet had improved so much since we started having one.
Vegetable soup is an excellent way of having your veg, and if made in advance and reheated provides a healthy lunch. Good luck OP

I lost my grandparents and mum at young ages. The adults in my childhood have all been smokers, not very active, unhealthy eaters, drinkers and then developed illnesses and it came and bit them relatively early in life.

I eat healthily as in a balanced diet ( not a diet or cutting food groups or vegan diet etc) because I want to live a healthy life, it goes hand in hand with exercise and looking after myself in general so I don’t end up sick due to my lifestyle.

I do eat treats and don’t deprive of a bit of junk and a bit of alcohol, we need to enjoy life too. I just try and look after my body so it may last me a healthier longer life.

You're mixing up different things. Don't you mean you want to lose weight rather than eat healthily? They're not the same things.

I have to say that I think socialising is the motivation for looking good. I'm always a bit confused by the threads on Style and Beauty that mention giving up alcohol to look good. What do you want to look good for? I would have thought parties and going out and enjoying a few drinks so I don't really get the vanity motivation for giving up alcohol (I get the health one of course).

After I had my son (2nd child), I told myself I didn't care that I was putting on weight because eating all the things was making me happy. I did care... I just convinced myself that I didn't because it was easier than facing the fact that I'd have to deprive myself of the things I wanted if I wanted to change. It took me about 3 years to change my mindset enough... Last year I started intermittent fasting and tracking my calories on MFP and I've lost the stone I needed to shift. Most importantly, I've changed my attitude to food - I've accepted that I do really like being slim and for that to happen I have to be less indulgent and, yes, deprive myself a bit. I don't deprive myself totally by any means - I still have everything I want, just not all the time and not without limit.

I went through a bit of a grieving process when I started... I just felt so sad that I wasn't able to eat what I wanted when i wanted but this feeling waned pretty quickly. I have to maintain a low level obsession to keep on top of it but that's OK... I'm so pleased I'm slimmer and I'm happy to put in the (frankly, not too onerous, considering the end result) work to maintain it.

I never think so what? I think about sore knees in older age, increased risk of dying young, having my freedom cut short because I can't do things, endlessly having to think about losing weight, not liking my body, feeling guilty after eating.... there are many reasons why I eat healthy foods and run everyday.

Its just avoidance of long term pain though, whereas maybe you are more invested in avoiding short term pain - boredom, hunger, etc?

I had a heart attack aged 53. Focuses the mind somewhat. I eat more healthily now.

I eat healthy because I've no other option, the eating disorders I suffered as a child and teenager have marked me for life I guess. Like others I love the feeling that comes while and after exercising, and enjoy what I eat even though it is limited.
I rarely post on this sort of threads, but something about your post made me want to. You sound like a really lovely person, very honest with yourself but unable to get over this habit of eating more than you need to stay a healthy weight. I sympathise, having lived through the opposite extreme.

I've recently been diagnosed with coeliac disease so had to change my diet. It's somehow easier than eg SlimmingWorld because of the definite health implications (chronic diarrhoea, bloating and anaemia now vs may develop x, y, z later).