How to motivate yourself to lose weight?

[stuckinarut86]

How do you motivate yourself to lose weight? Im 5ft 6inch and 17stone. I find it so hard to stay motivated. I have all the reasons as to why I need to do it and why I want to do it. But at the end of it I am tired, stressed and trying to survive each day as it comes. My daughter is 2 and I realised I'm even more grumpy with her if I'm restrictive with food so just try to eat healthy. I have tried focusing on 1 habit a time so started having a healthy breakfast everyday and the days she is at nursery having a diet shake to reduce the calories. I'm eating less chocolate and crisps. We rarely do takeaways or meals out. Plus I'm trying to walk more. I have been doing this for some months now but the weight goes up and down

How about doing Fast 800 for a few weeks to get you started? It's very possible to lose a stone in 3 weeks to kickstart a diet. I've gone low carb for different reasons (my DH is type 2 diabetic) but once you get past the sugar cravings in the first few days you don't feel hungry and stop needing to snack. Michael Mosley did a recent TV series following several people who tried it. The tough bit is sticking to it long term but I think if you are seeing real results and feeling good it's easier to stick it out for the long haul.

I feel you op. My motivation seems to have a mind of its own and not something I can turn off or on. When I'm motivated it's great. I lost 18lb from January to March and I remember thinking it was so easy and I hoped my motivation stayed with me. Lockdown happened and 'poofI' off it floats and no amount of talking to myself will bring it back. I've put 9lb back in since March, my knee hurts and my jeans are tight again. I'm so pissed off

Sorry that was a crap answer a s no help whatsoever. I'll be watching this thread with interest

@LilyLongJohn

Sorry that was a crap answer a s no help whatsoever. I'll be watching this thread with interest

It's good to know I'm not the only one with a motivation problem

Restricting food doesn’t work for me. I switched what I was eating to healthy stuff that could be eaten in decent potions (basically loads of veg) and measuring my carbs. Eating like that is also very sustainable long term.

One of the most insightful wisdoms I've heard and taken on board was, if you are relying on motivation to get something done, then you will fail.

Motivation is wavering. Sometimes it's up, sometimes it's down. Commitment lasts.

e.g. Sometimes I want to walk the dog and am motivated (warm, sunny days). Sometimes I don't want to do it and am not motivated (rainy, windy ones) - but motivation does not determine whether or not I walk the dog. I got the dog, I committed to his care - therefore, if he is due a walk, he gets a walk. I just do it, because I committed to it.

Make a plan, make it realistic and to suit your own preferences and lifestyle (e.g. no good doing keto if you love pasta, no good doing very low cal if you cannot stand being hungry, no good planning to run 5 x a week if you hate running). Then commit to it.

That is a good point it is about being committed rather than relying on motivation. I suppose it's sometimes hard to stay committed when other things get in the way that make you want to give up. Like being really tired, if I've ended up having 4-5 hours sleep the craving for food is mad and even worse with either a screaming child or crap going on at work. I think it's these moments I find the hardest.

Absolutely it's hard, it really is.

That's why setting a realistic plan that takes into account your own circumstances, is key. For example, assuming you're sedentary and haven't got other health issues, your TDEE (the total cals you burn a day) must around 2100 (ish).

Cutting very low may be too punitive for you. Maybe instead you focus on smaller cuts, accepting it will take longer but that you're more likely to stick with it. e.g. 1600 cals per day. If you exercise or moe much at all then you can up this.

If you know that there are 2 days a week when you tend to feel so tired you want to give in, or want to get a takeaway, then balance your calories so that you eat something like 1400 x 5 days a week and 2100 on the other 2. The net reuslt is the same as eating 1600 every day but this way you have extra cals you can call on, when needed.

If calorie counting isn't your thing then there are loads of other ways to achieve a deficit. e.g. just using a smaller plate and eyeballing 50% of the plate is covered by veggies, 25% by carbs and 25% by protein.

Or keto.

Or 18:6 to reduce your eating window.

Or 5:2 so that you only have 2 tough days a week.

One is not better than the other, except for where it is better specifically for you and your lifestyle.

Commitment is made so much easier when you think about "can I realistically do this for the long term?" Even easier when you think "can I do this for the rest of my life?". Because losing weight is really hard but maintaining that loss is really, really, really hard.

Further to what @TwentySixPointTwo said I look at it like this. What do you do when you don't feel like going into work? You go anyway. Same with sticking to a diet. You just carry on anyway. It's discipline rather than motivation that gets results.

Personally I have only ever found calorie counting to work. I'm a snacker and I like to eat every few hours so intermittent fasting is of no interest to me. I weigh ans measure everything and try to eat volume foods where there's a lot of it for few calories. I eat tons of protein and always save some calories for a treat every single night. I've lost 6 stone since January.

Have you tried weighing what you eat? It's a small thing but I think we all underestimate what we are eating and then get upset because it feels like we put on weight when we "shouldn't". Portion sizes are so skewed these days. The biggest revaluation for me was just how much I was eating. If you change nothing else at all start weighing your food, and eat from smaller plates/bowls. I inherited some dinner plates from my gran and they are the same size as a salad plate I bought last year.

Knowing how much I'm eating motivates me to do better. It means I expect the worst when it happens and I'm gradually teaching myself what a portion should look like! Knowledge is weigh loss power.

This is why I love SW because you still get to eat carbs, chocolate, crisps, all of it and still loose weight!

My motivation was a picture i saw of myself!

I read a quote that really helps
"Being overweight EVERYDAY is hard, losing weight is hard, chose your hard"

So for me being over weight plays on my mind all the time, im always thinking about it i feel uncomfortable, i compare myself to others all the time, it makes me misserable.
I feel like im taking some control, it's only me stopping myself nothing else is, you are the only one who can help your self dont let you stand in the way

Stuckinarut, I could have written your OP myself. I too am 5ft 6in, and 17 stone. Also finding it hard to stick to a healthy eating plan. My doc told me to stick to low carb ( not no carb ), for health reasons, and when I do, it works, its easy, I don't get hungry, I sleep better, I have more energy, you get the idea. But then I have a bad day and fall off the wagon. I started making a list earlier of all the reasons I want to lose weight, and hoping it will motivate me. So far, my list is
I hate hate hate the way I look
I wear boring clothes as I don't think I look good in anything decent
I worry about my future health and being around for my young children
I wake up aching, I reckon from weight around my middle, my back is particularly bad
I dont feel attractive for my husband ( though he is amazingly complimentary)
People's perception of me ( though I know I shouldn't care )
I shy away from social situations
It has affected my confidence at work

I do feel that if all of the above reasons don't motivate me, I'm not sure what will.

OP I am the same weight and height as you and feel like all I do is think about how I need to lose weight but on the other hand all I do is think about food.
I really don't know what the answer is I wish I did.

I can only lose weight if I weigh myself every day. I need the fear factor of knowing I’m stepping on the scales the next day.

I have minus levels of motivation