Struggling with willpower - what motivated you?

[Piplette]

I'm 5'7 and just shy of 13 stone at the moment and wearing a size 14.

Since child number 2 16 months ago I've struggled to get down to my pre baby weight of around 11 1/2 stone.

I was almost there towards the end of maternity leave but going back to work and shortly afterwards back into lockdown including home schooling took its toll and the weight has piled on again.

I just can't get the kick start I need to commit to it! My issue is snacks. I have a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner but then end up stuffing my face with chocolate.

I'm reasonably active and cover my 10k steps. I'm also running a 2\3 of times a week (just 3k at lunchtime). I've also started trying to do some kettlebells once or twice. I January I ran 55 miles for charity and put weight on :(

Every day I say tomorrow I'll be better and eat better and everyday I fail.

I know once i get on it I'll stick to it as I have in the past but it's just successfully taking that step that I really struggle with.

Would Iove some ideas on how to do it. Almost tempted to sign up for something like the forever living 10 day thing - I did that before and lost a stone and pretty much kept it off until I fell pregnant!

Intermittent fasting. I eat as much as I want at lunch, as much as I want at dinner, no eating between meals, and fast between 8pm and midday the next day. That's it. No other rules whatsoever. Extremely liberating to give up thinking about what I'm allowed to eat. If I want chocolate etc I can have it, but only as part of one of my meals. It makes it easier to resist snacking when you can say 'later' instead of trying (and failing) to say 'no'.

I've done all the bloody diets. None of them work long-term because they are impossible to stick to.

You have a sugar addiction - it's highly addictive stuff and some say more addictive than cocaine. If you can cut it out of your diet then life is so much easier and you're not a slave to it. Cut down gradually otherwise you will get awful headaches but once you've cut it out avoid it like the plague otherwise you'll be back to square one.

Scales which measure %body fat were fairly motivating!

I lose my motivation in the blink of an eye, to be honest, so I always have to look for something new, be it a pair of new jeans that I'll be able to wear, or surrounding myself with photos of women who made it.
I have a number of my own photos edited in a program that makes you look thin and printed out to remind me how I'm going to be if I don't give up so it kinda works for me, too.
Keeping tracks of the progress also helps, you can take pictures and make collages out of them to see how far you've already made it. Setting small goals is important, too, as there will be days of stagnation and that's fine and you have to remember it.
Here is a good article about motivating tips that may give you some ideas- www.lifehack.org/797037/motivation-to-lose-weight

Thanks all. Liked the idea of something like the 16:8 - have been trying that as it will definitely help stop me snacking after dinner!

When I am tempted to snack, I try to fast-forward my mind to after I'd eaten it. Yes, I would enjoy the few moments of eating it, but that would be over very quickly, then I would feel disappointed afterwards.

I've also been trying on clothes I no longer fit into once a week and seeing them get nearer to fitting - I'm back in a couple of things now which is very motivating.

Finally, I have been thinking in terms of my BMI more than my weight in stones. Really happy as I've just got it down to 29.5 (from 32) so I am now officially overweight, not obese. Obviously I want to get it back into the healthy range, though. I find it helpful not to dwell to much on stones and pounds.