What made your brain click so you started losing weight?

[Youaremysunshine14]

I hope the title isn't too baffling! What I'm trying to get across is that I know losing weight is as much a mental challenge as a physical one and if anyone has need tips on how to make my brain engage in the process, I'd love to know them.

Background: I've been a yo-yo dieter since my teens so I'm pretty confident I know everything there is to know about how to lose weight. I've read The Obesity Code, am savvy on low carbs, glucose intolerance etc etc. I know about the body's set point and why it rebels against LCD et etc. I know about the benefits of intermittent fasting etc etc. I know that commercial diets are designed to only work in the short term and that the diet industry's success is built on a failure rate of 98% that guarantees return customers etc etc. I know all this and more (I've even tried hypnotherapy!) and yet still I'm overweight by three stone (I've been in denial about it for ages, but today I realised I'm now proper fat and can't put my arms down by my sides properly).

I've just turned 50 and I don't want the final third of my life to be blighted by ill health caused by obesity. But how the heck do I flick the switch in my brain that makes me stick to a healthy eating plan and stop scoffing crisps by the multipack-load? What worked for you? I really don't want a health scare to trigger me finally taking action – I want to sort myself out before I get to that point. I'm hoping this post, and taking some accountability, might spark something, so do share if you have any tips!

@Dilbertian this is bloody wonderful!!!

Scientists have proven the body has a set point of weight that you can go up and down between and that dieting can mess it up. I learned all about it watching this TED talk by neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt, then read loads more scholarly articles about it. They're not saying dieting/LCD doesn't work for some people, but for the vast majority the body rebels.

www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work/transcript?language=en

Dilbertian What an amazing thing you did! I can see why it was so motivating.

Everyone else, I am reading all your posts and soaking up the info, but sorry if I don't reply to everyone individually! I'm finding it so inspiring though– I've just registered for the pre-diabetes programme and booked myself in for another swim. Baby steps.

@KirstenBlest can you explain a bit about what you mean by carbs and false hunger please? Lay terms is fine - doesn't need to be science-y. I kind of feel it myself but didn't know it was a thing.

Not sure how that can be possible though. If you allowed someone else to provide you with food, and they only gave you 1000 calories of food per day, and you had no access to any other food, you would drop weight. Your body would never get to a point where put weight on or rebelled. Sorry if I've misunderstood.

Your DS is so lucky to have you as his mum. I have a daughter and wanting to be there for her should be my motivation. I should stop thinking about myself and think about her.

For me it was how tired I felt. I constantly felt lethargic and I knew I needed to do something about my weight. At this point I thought I was about 17 stone. Shock horror when I stepped on the scales at 21.10. This was feb 2021 . I was a crap mum due to the constant tiredness and walking hurt my body.

I'm now 13.2Still over weight. But much better than I was last year.

I pretend that I'm single and need to look banging hot to find another fella.

Let's face it, at 9.5 stone they're coming to the yard

😂☺️☺️

I started thinking of salad and chicken and beans as lunch, rather than something bread based. And breakfast as an egg on toast, or chia+oatmeal, instead of cereal.

Still a bit fat though 🤠

That's an incredible loss, well done!!

😂😂😂 That is genius.

Had a routine medical and my bmi was “overweight”. Always seen myself as slim needed that to jolt me that I wasn’t anymore.

For me, it was realising that I want DD to still have a living parent by the time she's an adult & having DCs of her own, and the further realisation that it's unlikely to be DH. He just doesn't take care of himself.

I've started eating low carb, fairly low fat, lots of non-starchy vegetables, more & better quality protein - oily fish, eggs, low fat dairy, lean meat etc. No seed oil, nothing highly processed. Lost about a stone since the beginning of April. Have eased off slightly for a while (still low carb, currently eating slightly more fat & am currently eating a few of the lower carb fruits). Weight is still coming off, just more slowly. My clothes are looser which is lovely. My BMI is now in the healthy range for the first time in several years.

It's a hard thing to have to come to terms with. Ironically I'm the one with the chronic health issue which I have to take a lot of medication for. Maybe that's why I'm motivated to improve my health.

SandyDays I get what you're saying, but if someone else restricts your diet and only provides x amount of food, then your body wouldn't have opportunity to rebel but you'd probably get to the point where you were constantly starving hungry. Once your calories weren't restricted and food was abundant, your body fights to get itself back to its set point.

This is my understanding too. Starvation mode has been disproved. You don’t feel good on VLCD and you might move less. Your body can get used to eating less calories but it can’t stop a scientific process from happening to it

That makes more sense! Are yeah it would be pretty miserable way to live being being hungry all the time

There is a backlash against a lot of bunkum diet myths and weight loss programmes recently with a lot of emphasis on less gimmicks and just being in a reasonable calorie deficit without being LCD and moving around more, getting strong. Even cardio isn’t rated as the ideal way to lose weight. It’s pretty well known it’s 80% diet but the exercise helps you get strong and is good for your MH. Problem is when you hit 40, it’s so hard to lose weight so I think many people look for options such as fasting (it’s just calorie deficit in a smaller window, it’s not proven to be any different to eating across the day) and low carb has been proven to be rubbish - processed carbs are the issue, not carbs. Studies of dieters eating carbs/no carbs but same calories lost the same weight. Switching your diet to cleaner whole foods is obviously going to help you as many chemicals in processed foods

It is really hard op - I keep sabotaging myself - so a step forward then 2 back

What medicine did you take for this? I thought it was just cream available? Thanks

Noom!

I've had success with ww and slimming world in the past but pregnancy always left me a good 3 stone overweight.

To be fair to those plans, had I not got pregnant I likely would have maintained my weight loss but still have been a good stone over my lightest weight.

I signed up to Noom about 2 months ago and I've lost 11lbs so far with another 11 to go. It's changed how I view food, diets, long term health changes etc.

I joined a gym last summer but I've now got into a great habit with classes I do each week. Ive increased my walking and am more mindful of what I eat.

I had been sitting at my desk munching my way through endless toasties for a couple of decades, and always intending to shift the extra 2 stone (and counting).

Then at the start of lockdown I just decided to look after myself. I thought then that if I could do anything to respond to the pandemic, I could stop being overweight, and keep myself as fit as reasonably possible.

I didn’t look at any of the science or numerous theories and regimes.

I just decided to ‘eat healthily’.

Stopped snacking. Ate a modest nutritious breakfast (whole grains, Greek yogurt, berries) , a modest lunch with lots of veg content and protein from egg, lean meat, pulses, tinned fish or cottage cheese.

Dinner: normal dinner but with smaller portions of rice / pasta etc.

Cut right down on alcohol, but didn’t cut it out.

Upped my exercise, long brisk walks.

Lost about 1lb a week.

Felt FANTASTIC, so allowed my success and enjoyment of looking after my body and feeling better to be my motivation to keep going.

2 years later the weight is still off, I don’t struggle with it, and my fitness is increasing.

OP, I'm in the same boat. Sounds like we listen to, watch, read similar things and we know what we should do but just can't make the change. I've tried to lose weight by eating mindfully but it just isn't working, in fact I'm getting fatter.

So I started 5:2 again on Monday because I'm better when I have rules to follow. I'm disappointed in myself, but can't risk my physical health whilst my mind sorts itself out. I've been trying for 3 years and it ain't strong enough!

Yep, been there, tried mindful eating too, got fatter. I can't do rules though, I break them too easily, so I need to get my brain to get on board. This thread is really motivating though. I think I've spent too much time fixating on what the outside of my body looks like rather than thinking about what's going on in the inside. I dread to think what my inner fat ratio is. 😥

It was partly a recognition that if I didn't sort out my weight in my early 50's I was going to really struggle to do anything about it as I got older. For me reducing refined carbs and intermittent fasting are the answer. I struggle with rebound hunger with too many carbs even wholegrain ones so focus more on veg and protein. My joints were aching and I felt slow. I didn't want to get to the point where I could retire from work and then find I was too overweight and knackered to enjoy it. I am down nearly 2 stone since Feb and still have several to go but psychologically it feels different this time. I have clear goals and a realistic time frame I am expecting that it will be 12-15 months losing the weight and then the same time actively working at maintaining it before I can feel a bit more confident that it will stick. However, I am not depriving myself; I am healing myself.

Health scare for me.
After years of stop starting diets and making excuses, I had to lose weight.
It literally was like a switch turning in my brain. I'm 3 stone down now, more than halfway to my goal weight.

It's hard work, and it resets every day, but a slow and steady downward line on a weight loss chart is huge motivation for me.