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!

@Youaremysunshine14 great thread. Really interesting reading.

For me I don’t know how to eat. I had always been underweight until suddenly I wasn’t.
I want to fit into my nice clothes and feel confident.

I'm glad you've found the thread interesting, reinventinganna. I've found it so helpful! This hot weather is another reminder that I really do need to take my weight in hand. I walked for twenty-five minutes earlier and found it so hard going and when I got home I was so wiped out I ended up napping. Tomorrow I've got my telephone consult with one of the health experts on the diabetes prevention programme and I'm really looking forward to getting started. It feels a bit last-chance saloon, so I'm determined to give it everything I've got!

@Youaremysunshine14 I hope it goes well.
I’ve just ordered a new swimsuit so that will hopefully give me a push!

A particularly awful picture!

Thank you! I'll report back tomorrow. I had to size up my swimsuit and it's still snug. If* I lose weight it's going to cost me a fortune!

*When, I mean. Think positive!

I've had a few of those, including one at the weekend where my chin waddle is particularly fulsome!

So the trigger worked and you lost weight?

That kind of happened to me, the bit about the health scare spurring me in to action.

I was 16 stone, 5ft tall.

4 of those stone put on over the 2 covid years, not using covid as an excuse I’m greedy and that’s that. I’ve always been a yo yoer with my weight but 16 stone is the biggest I’ve been.

Went for my smear test in January and they checked my bp which was high, including 3 checks after. (I’m 33!) they then wanted to do my blood tests as I could have type 2 diabetes due to my weight and I was utterly mortified.

My ds has disabilities and won’t live independently as an adult, so it worried me who will look after him if anything happens to me!

So after a few false starts in January I got on with it at the end of February, and now I’m nearly 2 stone lighter, I’m only losing about 1lb / 1.25lb per week, but that’s ok. I want to get to 10 stone ideally so about another 4 stone to go.

Im doing a combo of nutracheck (which I LOVE) and intermittent fasting. When I’m bored of one I switch to the other to keep things different, I walk a minimum of 10k steps a day, wear my Fitbit and obsessively make sure the number is over that.

Do you have a particular diet in mind?

@Youaremysunshine14 it cut the bit of your post off that I was quoting.

I fell in love with someone I couldn’t have, and who regards me as a mere acquaintance, and my appetite just vanished. I don’t recommend it, because it’s been pretty miserable, but I’ve shed over two and a half stone since the spring, and people keep telling me how well I look.

Good luck to you all.

As a post menopausal woman, a friend of mine said she was careful to cut back on sweet treats whenever her weight went up a bit, as she did not want to be one of those older women whose stomach comes round the corner before she does.
I thought I was overweight enough at 12 stone to be one of those women so immediately started dieting and lost 3 stone.

Mine was hearing someone close to me talk about my weight behind my back. Keeping in mind I had 3 babies in 2 years and at the time of the comments the twins were just 4 months old.

Got myself an online coach, eat what they tell me, started learning about macronutrients, started training at the gym 4x a week and keep consistent at it fuelled on by the shitty comments made about my weight.

Not only that, it's helped me realise (and more importantly sever) my emotional attachment to food, increased my energy and got me in such a good routine and mental head space

Since sept last year I'm down over 4 and a half stone.

A huge big fat fuck you to the person bad mouthing me.

How does Noom work? I keep getting offers from them!

I find I lose weight quickly if I stick to counting calories. However if I have a bad day or two it just likes back on. It’s so demotivating.

I assumed all was good because healthy BMI - I'm tall so the fat gets more easily hidden! My GP sent me for blood tests as my waist measured 36". Blood tests showed high choleresterol. I've lost 10lbs since then (about 2 months ago) and my belly is now just under 34".

Hey everyone, apologies for the radio silence but I didn't have anything to update until I'd attended my first session of the Diabetes Prevention Programme, which I've now done. It was such a good experience! Not only because the advice is really clear and sensible – it's about making gradual lifestyle changes rather than going on a specific, strict diet, which I'm so relieved about – but everyone in the group was lovely and supportive and I think that's going to be the game changer for me. I've always tried to tackle my weight issues alone, so having others to share my frustrations with will make a nice change.

I'm SO glad I started this thread, because I'd have never found out about the programme without it and gone and had my bloods checked. So, really, looking back, my trigger was actually feeling so desperate about my weight I posted on MN for help and here I am now, finally sorting myself out!

That's great @Youaremysunshine14 . I've kept going with the pre diabetes classes and am now 3 months in and almost 2 stone less.

That's incredible! If I lose half of that in the same time I'll be happy. What's the biggest improvement you've made? I was really quite shocked when they showed the slide for portion control – I can eat three times that in a sitting!

What did you learn? I am pre diabetic.

@Youaremysunshine14 Portion sizes - I weigh everything and measure anything like oil or butter meticulously.
I still eat large portions of vegetables - I like my plate to look full!
I'm trying to eat more protein and less carbohydrate. I can't remember when I last had a piece of cake or a biscuit but I'm truly not missing them. I think I've lost my sweet tooth.
I eat a lot less fruit. 😕Only two portions a day.
I use the my fitness pal app. The discipline of recording everything I eat/drink is probably what's being most effective.

@Daisyroseandhyacinth I don't think I've learnt anything new except that I really really don't want to be diabetic. All the healthy eating and being more active stuff isn't exactly rocket science.

I've only attended one session so far, but we learned exactly what diabetes II is, the impact too much glucose in the blood can have on the body and how it causes insulin resistance, and we discussed foods that convert to sugar. Some of it I already knew (i.e. bad carbs and starch) but the physiological impact too much glucose in blood has on the body was sobering to hear. After that we set some SMART goals to try to achieve before the next session. I feel very optimistic about the course.

Lizsmum That's interesting that portion size is also what stuck a chord for you! I don't want to go down the road of weighing and measuring and logging because I have a history of disordered eating and dieting, but I think sticking to the hands illustration of portion size will help me stay mindful. I don't have a sweet tooth and don't eat much fruit as it, but I do need to drastically cut back on crisps, my absolute weakness. I had no idea what a sugar trap they are.

@Daisyroseandhyacinth I don't think I've learnt anything new except that I really really don't want to be diabetic.

God, yes, absolutely this. It's really scary to see where your body is headed if you don't do something about it, and that diabetes isn't reversible once you have it. The symptoms and your blood glucose level can be reversed to normal levels, but you'll always have the condition once it develops.

Was this through the GP? I need this really.

You can do it through your GP, but I self-referred after Lizsmum shared the link. After I did the referral to get a place on an upcoming course, I went to my GP and had blood tests done that confirmed I was pre-diabetic. I told my GP I was doing the programme and she was really supportive.

I’m going to take a look at that course, thanks this thread has been so helpful