What are the things that keep you motivated when loosing weight?

[Pumpernickelsoup]

I need to loose weight.
I have gained allot of weight since the start of the first lockdown and I’ve finally had enough!
I’m not bothered too much about what I look like although I would love to wear my nice clothes again that are packed away in vacuum seal bags whilst I wear ugly boring stuff and I’d like to feel good about how I look.
I have previously had an eating disorder and was underweight but I think I am truly over all of that now and would just like to be a healthy weight.
I am currently about 3/4 stone overweight and think I’m actually addicted to junk food!
I cook and eat good nutritious meals most of the time but I cannot stop buying and eating treats! Chocolate, cake, desserts, nice bread and full fat toppings, crisps etc! It’s beyond just eating a treat here and there, I buy treat food multiple times a week and just cannot stop! I suppose the answer to that is to have more willpower. It’s like having an eating disorder but the opposite way around!
I don’t drink alcohol often at all so at least there’s that but I drink allot of coffee with milk (although it is decaf now) but there are added calories there too.
My plan is to get myself on to the slim fast diet and have 2 shakes a day and then enjoy a nice home cooked meal in the evening without worrying too much about restrictions in that meal (obviously so long as it’s nutritious and balanced) and then maybe a Skyr yogurt or a low calorie jelly for dessert (I know I will cave if I don’t allow myself dessert for now).
Also I’m just about to be in a position that will allow me the time to go for a 2 hour walk alone 5 times a week for extra exercise so I intend to keep that up as I love walking, it’s good for my mind, but I know it will also help with the weight loss as I’ve been the most inactive I’ve ever been for the last couple of years!
Anyway, I think I just word vomited everything out there, my point to this post was to ask what keeps people motivated when loosing weight?
What is helpful to keep in mind to help you stay on track when you’re actually in some ways quite happily fat! Awful I know. What I mean by that is I’m generally pretty content right now and that feels good, I’d just like to be content and normal sized at the same time!

Definitely exercise. It doesn't make you lose much weight in itself if you don't control your diet, but it makes a big difference to my mood and how I feel about myself, so it helps to put me in the right frame of mind to make better food choices.

Also, making an effort to make my healthier food look and taste really good, rather than depriving myself by eating crappy, boring, low-calorie/low-fat but non-nourishing stuff. I couldn't do slimming shakes etc tbh - too depressing. I need to eat proper food!

Yes I think the exercise will be a huge factor. I’ve honestly been shocking with exercise lately and when I say lately it’s been almost 2 years lately. I do have odd days where I do allot of walking allot but generally I have become so lazy when I used to exercise daily!
I am in a very fortunate position at the moment that I am just about to have the time to go for a walk for a couple of hours a day for a fair few months which I’m really looking forward to.
It’s hugely my food intake aswell though.
I have put all sorts of new spices and pastes into my online food shop this week so I will be able to experiment with lots of different flavours in my veg and salads to bulk out meals. I’m going to try adding more veggies to my plate portion wise as I don’t like the texture of allot of meats or seafood so I tend to have allot of potatoes/rice and cheese based things alongside my meals!
I’ve also cut all treats out of the food shop (as I have a bit of a food buying addiction and have plenty to keep us going treat wise for a while ).
I do enjoy cooking luckily and tend to cook, what I think are, delicious nutritious meals. It’s just the compulsive snacking I need to get under control mostly.
I quite like sticking to rigid diets as I find having rules easier to follow and knowing my day goes “shake, shake, meal, dessert” just makes sense to me. And when I say dessert I have added a few boxes of 10 cal jellies and some skyr protein yogurts into the shop depending on how hungry I still am after my meal but I just cannot cut out dessert entirely yet as it’s just too many changes at once!
I think that once I get going and am a couple of weeks in it will just be what I do but I find it so hard to change things and keep motivated to stick with it until it becomes the new way.

Exercise definitely is great for physical and mental health. But what you eat is the most important thing in weight control. You need to find a way of eating that is sustainable for you. Can you limit your desserts to the weekend? There is a thread on the weight loss forum called 'Why we eat (too much)' - it's not so much a diet as a way of eating: cutting out refined flour products, cutting out processed food and vegetable oils, limiting sugar, maximizing the omega 3:omega 6 ratio. No calorie counting. There has been some impressive weight loss.

I tie my bikini to the fridge door handles. Works well

I'm in a similar situation and feel the same. Need to lose 2 stone ish.

I start each day so well! I have a bowl of porridge with berries and a teaspoon of peanut butter or Greek yogurt. I'm all smug that I'm hitting my good fats and calories etc and I plan a healthy lunch and then.... I eat crisps or chocolate or cakes or anything really. And it's out of hand

I joined a very expensive health spa last week in the Hope it'll keep me motivated as it's so much money that I don't want to waste it. So I'm currently swimming 750 metres a day. Now all I need to do is stop eating shit

I'm currently losing weight using the Noom app. A combination of healthier food choices, not buying crisps etc, exercise- I do the Lucy Whyndham Read YouTube 7 minute workouts daily. I bought a rowing machine. I make a yoghurt smoothie if I want something sweet. DH and I have cut out alcohol for lent.

@samthebordercollie that thread sounds great, I will check it out, thank you!
@LadyLolaRuben that is absolutely hilariously bloody ingenious, I love it!

@CatFacedGirl that’s how my attempts at dieting have gone over the last few months, It’s now got to the point that I HAVE to do something as I’m just getting fatter and fatter! The spa sounds lovely, I hope you enjoy it I’m going to start rewarding myself with a few £ for every lb I loose too, I have lots of lovely clothes 2-3 sizes down I’m desperate to get back into as I don’t enjoy getting dressed now, I just think “oh what shall I wear today that actually fits” but it will be nice to treat myself to some new bits too and as I have around 3/4 stone to loose I should be able to get a few nice outfits once I’m done!
@Libertybear80 I will have a look at Noom, thank you! I find myfitnesspal quite helpful as you can input all of your calories but I’ve avoided it before as I can become quite obsessive. I do think I’m strong and ready to loose weight healthily now though 💪🏼 I’ll also look into those 7 minute workouts! 7 minutes sounds like nothing and being as I’ll probably struggle at the start it’ll be good to know that it’ll literally be over with in a few minutes 🤣