To ask what finally motivated you to lose weight?

[PitifulPrincess]

I'm the biggest I've ever been and feel like a big fat blob shoving food in my big fat face

I eat shit, don't exercise and use food as a crutch when I'm stressed which is everyday with 2 kids under 4

I just can't kick myself up the arse and do anything about it!

I'm so sick of looking in the mirror and seeing what I see now, enough has to be enough, I can't get any bigger than this

Please tell me how you motivate yourself to lose weight when it feels like a punishment?!

OP it's very honest that you see losing weight/eating well as a punishment- I felt like that too. My trigger foods (I.e. chocolate and McDonalds) were my friends and when I finally decided to say goodbye to them I felt such a loss. It was like I was grieving.

For me the motivation was osteoarthritis and the best treatment is losing weight. I've lost 2st since Christmas but more importantly I feel bloody brilliant. Less pain but SO much more in terms of energy, confidence, mood etc. No exercise here - just calorie counting. So I promise if you can find a way to do it that's manageable - even in just 2 weeks you will start to feel better and just wish you'd started sooner.

Another motivation for me, but a bit more morbid, is that I'd been thinking about what regrets I'll have when I die. So many I can't control or change, but I realised I wanted to know what it's like to be slim as an adult - I've always been overweight and podgy. So that's motivating me too ☺️. Once I've lost another st I'm going to get a PT and try to tone up 💪

You can do it OP - just start even if you hate it at first.

Went for a smear test and the nurse weighed me and sat me down to show me my weight classification was obese and why it mattered.

I already had knee, hip and back pain and felt unwell, but this conversation shocked me in to doing something about it.

Mobility.
I don't know how old you are, but excess weight in your 20s,30s, even 40s is manageable and you're ok movement wise.
After that it's a slippery slope. Your knees start to hurt, possibly your feet will get plantar fasciitis. If you still do nothing your knees will become a serious problem. Hips are next, and general movement becomes more difficult because as you move less your whole body starts to seize up.
Suddenly you are mid 50s and constantly in pain.

They aren't allowed to tell you to lose weight anymore, and even when they were allowed and said it was down to weight I didn't believe them and just thought they were being sizist, but it sadly is. After years of carrying the extra load your joints will just wear out.

As I've lost weight things have gotten better ( as the final proof) The plantar fasciitis has gone and the knees are improving, and I can walk without pain again.. mostly

If I could tell my younger self one thing it would be to start pilates/yoga and not stop. Consider losing weight part of your pension plan. You will need the benefits when you are older.

My dc worked on the Covid wards and was surrounded by the deaths of overweight patients, they were desperately worried that I would be one of them soon So I lost weight to stop them worrying and I feel so much better for it.

Even though the weight loss doesn’t happen overnight, the mental health benefits of knowing you’ve taken back control of the situation and are caring for yourself happen much faster.

Where I realised I was only 10 years younger than dm when she was diagnosed type 2 diabetic - which has muddied her cancer treatment do much. She also has osteoporosis, so I started a weights class. My main form of exercise is swimming, but needed to add some weight bearing stuff.

Mindset. Any other motivation didnt last long for me. I had to start loving and looking after myself. I recommend YouTube weight loss hypnoses and meditations. The kind ones that make you fall in love with yourself.

My DC has a serious health condition. Eating well and exercising sensibly may improve or lengthen their life. So the whole family is working towards a healthier life style.

A gradual realisation that my size was holding me back, I suppose. I'm autistic, and it took decades to register that comfort eating all the time wasn't a good idea. I have to say that the body positivity movement did me a disservice, because I managed to convince myself it didn't matter and I was fine how I was (about size 16 in my twenties and early thirties). I think Caitlin Moran put it well when she said that, as an adolescent, she didn't feel that she really inhabited her body, and gaining self confidence caused her to lose weight and really enjoy her physicality.

Also, calling yourself names isn't going to get you anywhere OP. You deserve to inhabit a healthy body, enjoy all the great things it can do, and treat it to healthy, nutritious, delicious food.

I found out I had high blood pressure. It scared me that that put me at a higher risk of a stroke and so possible disabilities. I knew I had to reduce it. Since I absolutely hate going to the doctors I decided to try and tackle it by eating more healthily. It wasn't about losing weight so no calorie counting, just eating lots of healthy, unprocessed food, cutting right down on junk. I didn't need to add exercise because I've always done that. I was just fat because I ate a lot of sugary, high fat foods.

I gave it 3 months - if my BP wasn't coming down I'd go to the GP. In fact after three months my BP was consistently in the normal range and I realised I was slimmer. So I carried on with my healthy eating and at the end of 6 months I had lost 17kg (about 2.5 stone), gone from a size 14 bordering on a 16 to an 8/10, had a BMI of 22 and excellent BP.

I've been living this way for nearly two years now and I think I'll be this way for life. I'm in my 60s and I can get into clothes I bought before my 30 yo DD was born! I've got a whole new wardrobe of beautiful things I buy because I love them and they look great on me rather than buying things because they fitted and didn't make me look fat. it's an absolute joy. And my risk rate for a stroke/heart attack in the the next 10 years is just 4%. That's odds I like.

I’m such an emotional eater and over the years have put on weight. I’m not huge but bmi classes me as overweight. I wanted to lose weight for vanity reasons but with health being about 20% of the reason. Wanted to be healthy as I got older as I’ve never been on medication. I had a serious medical incident in November which left me with limited mobility. Because of this and feeling a bit sorry for myself I’ve gained another 10lbs. I’ve started back with SW this weekend as it is now weight loss for health. I feel that being lighter will also help so much with my rehabilitation as well as overall health. I had no control over what happened to me, but I do have control over how much I weigh. By the way, medical issue was not connected to my weight.

None of my clothes fit me and I look actually grim, and about 10 years older than I am. Three weeks in and it's slow progress but I've lost 5 pounds so going in the right direction!

I stopped drinking because I read that I’d lose weight. I didn’t.
I exercise 2/3 times a week. I’ve not lost weight.
Yes, I’d be fatter if I didn’t, but I’ve not lost weight.
I need to change what I eat, but that’s hard when you’ve been eating this way for 50 years, and food is the one thing I really enjoy.

It’s pure vanity for me. Realised I looked like absolute shit, and I hate looking like shit!

I can't even recall where I read or heard this (it might even have been on MN) but I remember someone saying 'Food is not there to be your entertainment, it's there to fuel your body'.

It transformed the way I viewed food and made me analyse my relationship with food and 'treats', I am a recovering bulimic and anorexic and have struggled with it since I was a teen - I wasn't obese but I was overweight and was having a hysterectomy - so I got to grips and since August I have gone from a snug size 14 to a size 10. My head has changed. That has been liberating and I like myself now.

I don’t fit into 90% of my wardrobe if I’m even half a stone overweight, so I have to do something about it as soon as my weight starts creeping up.

As for how to keep weight down, I find intermittent fasting and cutting out/down on sugar, gluten and dairy really effective.

It is so hard, OP.

For me it was hosting a family dinner for a large number of slightly older relatives. Every one of them carried too much weight, and every one of them struggled with mobility and other associated health problems. Over half had type 2 diabetes.

I realised that I was headed down the same road if I didn’t change.

Getting a calorie calculator app really helped, plus twice weekly weighing. Over time I have really changed my eating habits and portion control. It is not easy but calorie counting as I go (looking up the calorie and fat content vs my daily allowance) has really helped me to make better choices. It’s amazing where calories are hidden.

Also- tell people. It keeps you accountable and means they won’t offer you bad food.

I am 6 months in, much lighter and feeling better. It’s worth it.

Good luck x

That's a quality marriage right there

I actually didn't dislike how I looked but when I couldn't get my shoe laces tied without it being an effort and my blood pressure was high, I decided it was time to do something. I've lost 3 stone since Xmas. I'm still fat but my BMI is 31 instead of 36!
I will lose a bit more.

Honestly? It was watching this. This woman was so generous in donating her body so that we could all benefit from watching.

I took Saxenda. So I didn’t need any motivation at all really- i wasn’t hungry so I lost weight easily and painlessly. No counting or extreme tactics required.

Well, I'll probably have to work until I'm 75 with no prospect of retirement, so I better be in shape for it.

You're not going to be motivated every day, but you can be dedicated.

I decided to get in shape, I eat well weightlift 5x a week. Do I always want to go gym no, but I make myself. The same way you shower, brush your teeth, clean the toilet. Not always something you want to do but necessary.

I had serious health issue in my 30s and a life changing op at 40. I felt I’d been given another chance at health and didn’t want to replace that health condition with another which is where I was headed - my tummy was huge I suspect I was pre diabetic.
The focus on health worked for me.
Within days I felt better for eating better. I got from an obese to healthy bmi in 6 months, lost 5 stone in 8 months.
I did it by prioritising me. I took time to walk, cook meals I liked. Bought things like fresh raspberries I’d previously viewed as expensive luxury.
I did it by joining a slimming world group. It gets slated on here but it’s healthy eating - I don’t eat muller lights or mug shots. Basic concept is lots of lean protein, 1/3 plate veg each meal. It’s not plates of just pasta.
I walked for exercise and at 6 week mark added gentle swim a couple of times a week.
SW podcast is good for motivation, there’s a big back catalogue anyone can listen to.
4 years on I haven’t piled it all back on as I accepted it was a lifestyle change. I personally find calorie counting a faff and I feel like I’m on a diet.
I started an instagram and used that to motivate me and for support.

It was a comment from my friend's brother,I was in my early twenties and I was maybe a stone and a half heavier than I had been the last time he saw me.
I always wore baggy clothes(I still do)so I didn't think anyone had noticed my bulges.