What finally made you successful in losing weight/getting fit?

[northernlass81]

I'm 42 and carrying about 3 stone extra weight. Very well educated in health/science so fully aware of all the consequences, ways to do it and the psychology behind it, but can't seem to get my head in the place where I'm doing it for me and be successful at it. I've 2 young kids who should be great motivaters yet here I am still overweight. I'm not looking for sympathy but interested to hear what really motivated you. Was it a specific event or interaction? Did you just wake up and do it? Was it a gradual process? I'm a bit of a perfectionist but been working a lot on this recently as I know this can hold me back from keeping going if the weight loss journey is not perfect in my eyes; I appreciate it never will be. Thanks.

I would like to know too, OP.

Weight up and down due to "life". At times had other priorities, kids, work, etc. Just started changing my eating habits and exercise schedule to make "me" a priority as kids out of house and work won't happen if I'm dead so now its the number one goal. Reason: cancer, high cholesterol and high blood pressure results from Dr last month (seemingly the biggest oxymoron of all time - I have a case of "mild" cancer that they feel can be "easily" dealt with but they feel treatment and future concerns will be greatly improved with improved health). 🙄 (edited to add, 60 years old now).

Ozempic.

Download Nutricheck/My Fitness Pal/Lose It. Record everything you eat. Try and make sure it is under a certain amount of calories per day/week (this depends on your starting weight). Weight yourself and record it every day. There will be fluctuations, but the trend line should start to go down. Once this happens, you'll be hooked.

That's what I did and lost 30kg. Good luck!

Eating high protein, low calories helps me. Lots of tuna and chicken and eggs.

I was initially motivated by a summer holiday - took me 6 months to lose 2.5 stone, but a year later I am still the same weight. I maintain by exercising daily for at least an hour, am mindful of calories, eat very little upfs, hardly any alcohol, lots of protein, drink lots of water, get at least 7 hours sleep a night - harder with small children I know. I am motivated by feeling good in clothes and being more energised/happier in myself. It definitely helps that I really enjoy exercising & 99% of the time don't find it a chore. I have to exercise to stay mentally well.

I've lost two stone since July 2023, the reason being, one, changing my HRT (probably about 8lbs) and the other due to eating better, less fatty take aways and less snack food at home due to no longer having the income for it. Also my life got extremely stressful and my appetite died for a while. I also now walk my son to school, then walk home and the same after school. About 6 miles a day. I walk most places now unless it's obviously too far away. I eat quite simply, eggs on toast, beans and jacket potato, ham sandwiches with cheese and salad, chicken salad wraps, porridge, fruit bread as toast for breakfast, yogurts, lots of rice dishes, hardly any creamy sauces, the take aways I eat are usually KFC shared with my son, a modest portion like 2 pieces of chicken and fries. I drink less alcohol now too but I still enjoy a few beers at the weekend.

And I no longer need to take medication for high blood pressure, and I have a healthy BMI now! 🎉

I lost it within a six month period and it's staying off.

Consistency. Pick a method and be consistent.

What triggered it was a big stressful move.

Read dr Andrew Jenkinsons books

Last year when I was 54 I thought about life and health and realised I don’t know any fat old people. All the really old people I know are very slim.
I started noticing that lots of people who were obese and in their 60’s use walking sticks or have obvious trouble walking or for example getting on a coach.
I decided I didn’t want this to happen to me so I lost two and three quarter stone and feel fab. I cut down on carbs and allowed for a couple of small sweet treats a day. It was surprisingly easy because the time was right for me.
The only downsize is since October I’ve had to replace every single item in my wardrobe.

I was over weight as a teen & kept gaining as an adult & made excuses when i went from
a 14 to a 16. I tried many times but had no willpower (even before i got married & would be wearing my dress) & would be in a cycle of losing a stone then putting it back on. Dropping back to a 14 then a 16. Then i went to an 18. I’m
only 5”4 & was 15 stone.

after i had my daughter i was pushing a 20 whoch was my biggest & i one day i took her a little tea cup ride & struggled to fit. I was mortified. I didn’t want to be the “fat mum” at the gates. I wanted to be able to fit on swings & slides & run about after her. That was it from that day on. Took me 15 months but i lost 6.5 stone calories counting. I gained half a stone back as it was really restrictive to maintain and i didn’t want my daughter to grow up with food issues. I’ve stayed the same weight (6 stone down) for 12 years now. I did gain 4 stone when pregnant again & that took a bit of time
get off but i maintain about 9
stone size 6/8 & eat what i want but after shrinking i never had the same appetite and can’t eat anywhere near as much as i did when i was fat.

i also started to cook from
scratch when i had my daughter & generally ate better which helped & i kept up. I had been raised on a diet of crispie pancakes etc & even when i moved in with my husband we’d eat “beige” freezer foods, frozen pizza, take away etc so it was a full life style change & i had that motivation with my daughter. I’ll never get fat again.

Thanks everyone. Some interesting stories. Time to get my big girl pants on and just stick to a plan. Well done to you all for feeling happier.

Seeing my mum struggling with her health due to years of self neglect and weight. She was struggling to walk in her 50’s

Not fitting in a theatre seat

Kids asking why my bum and legs were so big

Seeing my neck rolls on a teams meeting call

I'm 35, and about 2 months ago, I weighed around 87kgs and knew I needed to make a change.
What really clicked for me was taking a more holistic approach to my health. I got inspired by this guide on holistic living. It wasn't about strict diets or intense workouts, but rather about nurturing my body and mind in a balanced way.
One of the biggest shifts for me was prioritizing restful sleep. I realized how much it affected my daily cravings and energy levels. So, I made it a point to create a bedtime routine and make sure I got enough sleep each night.
Mindful eating was another game-changer. Instead of viewing food as just fuel, I started paying more attention to how it made me feel. I listened to my body's hunger and fullness cues and really savored each bite.
Of course, regular movement was important, too. But instead of forcing myself into grueling workouts, I found activities I genuinely enjoyed, like hiking and yoga. It made staying active feel less like a chore and more like self-care.
Now, after about 2 months of this approach, I've lost around 4 kgs. It's not a huge transformation overnight, but it's progress, and it feels sustainable.

I'm 55 and a year ago thought being 3 stone overweight is daft. I used to be very slim and active...stress, perimenopause etc etc piled the pounds on.

So I joined a gym, started paying attention to what I ate - cut out the crap and random alcohol. The food has been the thing but I enjoyed becoming fitter.

I've only lost a stone but I look better. And I feel taking it slowly is the way for me to go.

@BusterGonad how did you manage to come off the tablets did you just have consistently lower BP?

My blood pressure got really high when pregnant with my son and I felt it was down to inactivity. When planning our next child I started exercising and sure enough my BP is lower. I'm now pregnant again so I'm hoping that it stays low this time.

Mine was starting an active job (retail) and realising that because I got so little time to eat a day (used to drop dh off, kids off, go to fork then back by seven, run about etc) I might as well eat healthily as opposed to cramming whatever carbs in I could.

So I did and stopped eating after 8 at night/only ate healthy snacks. Body felt great and I looked fab, I lost a stone but it was more that I lost the huge looking belly and love handles but tbh mentally I don’t think I did as great as I thought I did, I was sooo tired and it’s all well back since last Christmas (and me realising that I honestly needed more carbs to get me through the day).

I think getting older and feeling frumpy made me do it.

Then I just decided to do it and made a plan like a project plan and just did it. It didn't depend on motivation or feelings or anything like that.

I just decided it was something I would do like brushing my teeth as in I don't need to be motivated or in the mood to brush my teeth, I just do it because I need to.

I joined weight watchers online £7.50 per month) and have the lose it app (£15 for 1 year subscription)
I've never dieted before but my weight has crept up since perimenopause and I realised that I needed a way to track calories.

I don't exercise apart from a couple of 30 minute walks per week. It's all about calories. And I hate exercise.

Weight watchers helps because it steers you towards choosing healthy whole foods. Lose it is good because i can see exactly how many calories I'm eating.

I need both apps because sometimes I want a snickers which is easily accounted for in my daily calories but is so many ww points, if I was only using ww I would never be able to eat chocolate and that clearly isn't sustainable!

Work out your ttde, buy an electronic food scale (weigh everything, boring yes but you get used to it) I bought a set of scales that also track your body fat. Mine is in the obese range 🙈 I'm 5 ft 5 and 10 stone 8 so I didn't realise I was obese!

I'm trying to get down to 9 stone and it's slow but steady. The first month nothing really happened and I nearly gave up. But this month I've lost 3 pounds so I must be doing something right!

Sorry for the essay!

@BusterGonad
"changing my HRT (probably about 8lbs)"

Please tell me what HRT you changed to/from? I've put on a stone in a year of HRT and my GP is willing to change it but asked me which one to change to!!

Just to add I use an app (free) called tdee calculator to see what my calorie intake should be in order to lose weight. I have my lose it app set to 1300 calories perday which doesn't seem a lot but if you're eating whole foods and not crisps it's loads !

@Feellikeafailurenow your post is so inspiring- thank you so much for sharing that story and well done!!!
did you have stalls along the way? What would you say were the barriers or obstacles you had to overcome or were you just head down and on it once you started?