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!

@Mrsteapot42 I could of wrote your last paragraph.

How many calories are you having a day? Do you mind sharing what you’re doing? Thanks

Sorry. App didn’t post first time, so posted it again. Of course both posts there now.

@Youaremysunshine14 good luck.

I never knew she went through this court case, that could rock anyone’s life

Absolutely love this!

Should say love this!

Hi everyone!

I hope you're all doing well and have a restful long weekend planned. I just thought I'd pop on with an update for anyone who is interested. Since I started this thread I have felt a shift in my attitude towards losing weight and on quite a few occasions I've found myself rejecting unhealthier choices for better ones and I'm also having fewer days where I've overeaten. I definitely need to cut down on booze – I don't drink more than the recommended units but sometimes I'll have a glass of wine when I really don't need one and it interrupts my sleep and I crave carbs the day after because I'm tired. It seems silly to put myself through that, so cutting back is definitely a goal. In the meantime though, I have naturally lost another 1lb and now I've made it as far as Epsom using Cauliflowersqueeze's genius weight map idea! I love it so much, it's so inspiring! My next destination is Harrow!😂

I've also had my blood test results back and they look in the normal range but I'm due to talk to my GP on Monday to interpret them correctly. I am still signed up for the diabetes prevention programme and am going to stick to it – my first session is mid-June. On paper it looks like a great programme, so we shall see!

Again, thanks everyone who contributed to the thread with what made their brain click. It has helped me beyond words.

Harrow! Love it!! Well done you. Are you heading north or south.

@Youaremysunshine14 let me know when you get to Harrow and I'll put the kettle on.

An update on the pre-diabetes course - I've been inspired to lose 21lb since I started it at the end of March. I don't think it was a health scare as such, more of a reality check.

Sorry for tardy reply, have been away for a few days. I'm heading north to Scotland. Started in Brighton! 😂

Wow, that's fantastic and so inspiring to hear. I can't wait to get started. What kind of thing do they suggest? Are you doing it online or in person?

I've just been away for a few days and have overindulged so I won't be getting to Harrow this week! 😂

I pay myself to lose weight 😆 every time I stick to my calorie limit for the day I put £2 in my ISA. At the end of the month I treat myself to something lovely to wear from Vinted- £60 can stretch quite a long way second-hand. It's the ONLY thing that has ever worked and I find it really motivating! I also stick in a couple of extra quid if I go to a restaurant and pick something lower calorie instead of a pizza or burger.

The first session was around the effects of being diabetic then sessions have alternated between nutrition, increasing activity, goal setting. It's been once a fortnight on line and now will change to once a month on line. Different coaches lead different sessions.

Nutritional advice has mostly been about portion size and being more aware of carbohydrates..

You have to tell the coach (privately or publicly as you wish) what your current weight is each time but there is no discussion about what you've gained or lost - no criticism and also no praise.

If you've been dieting on and off your whole life and tried various plans or clubs it's unlikely that any of it will come as a shock.

I don't really know why it's working for me but .... so far ... it is.

@Cauliflowersqueeze Sorry to jump in, i’ve read the full thread and love this idea!

would you mind explaining how you worked this out? Is there an app or anything so you can see this?

I got a map and drew a line from my town to Scotland, going through quite a lot of towns etc, then measured the line and worked out it was like a cm per pound I wanted to lose.

Then got a drawing pin with a smiley face on it and worked my way up the line.

it used to make me laugh landing on different little villages or towns and I could talk to friends about my weight loss or gain without mentioning numbers. “Let’s just say I’m back at Watford junction today” and it would make me and them smile!

it would be quite a good app to make actually!! Could do it with friends as well

So I need to get to North Yorks Moors from Bradford, and I need a map 😁
what a brilliant ide, thank you for sharing it 😁

You seriously need to do it as an app! I'm still stuck just outside Epsom because of an indulgent weekend camping + TOTM. Harrow will have to wait until next week.

Thanks for detailing what I can expect, Lizsmum. I'm really keen to get started next week!

Slimming world- it gets a bashing here.
People seem to think it doesn't work because people put on weigh if they don't stick to it and go to group.
They have some podcasts on the mental challenges that I think anyone can access which really helped me when I lost my will.

Loosing weight and keeping it off is about changing eating habits FOREVER. Understanding that you have an issue and that no you can't eat whatever you want and expect to be slim.

slimming world was fab for me the first time, I lost 2.5stone and looked and felt amazing. I’ve never been able to replicate it, so back to calorie counting with nutracheck app and making my way to the North York Moors 😁

My lightbulb moment came recently. We have just got back from a beautiful holiday, 10 days in Turkey. i took 100 photos, I am in 2 of them and none with the kids. I’m in the background of a photo my aunt took and I look horrible.
we are booking to go back in 2024 and I do not want to be this size ever again. Or be too embarrased to get in photos with the kids. I’m also pretty sure I weigh 4lbs more than my 6ft tall husband 😞

5ft 6, 14st 11lbs with 50lbs to lose to be at a ‘healthy’ BMI

The intention of this thread was to learn about what triggers people to lose weight, not how they did. So I'm afraid I have no interest in learning about SW. A business that's built on customers failing to stay at goal long term so they have to keep going back is not one I want to support or promote. Not just SW, but WW too.

Sorry, that was for sickofthisnonsense. Thanks for sharing your trigger, ListenLinda.

I've been unhappy for awhile. Hit the menopause ballooned from a 12 to an 18. My favourite shops are out of reach, my girls are wearing my clothes as vintage and I look like an overweight Aunt who my mum used to bitch about.

I was already skipping breakfast, not a binger in a biscuits/crisps way but just couldn't loose a belly with rolls of fat.
On holiday got chub rub and read the Obesity Code . have jumped right in, going hardcore for three months with a wedding guest date as motivation.

Have so far lost 8lbs in a week, appreciate a lot is water but my hands look normal not swollen and my appetite has shrunk.

One useful thing I came across was it's easier to start and really embrace your new way of eating for the first two weeks of your cycle rather than half way through. ( Be a bit more kind for the post ovulation, progesterone heavy two weeks, pre period) get off to a good start.

The fact that my life is important and deserves to be lived to the full.