Got any tips on keeping positive and motivated?

[Seriestwo]

I have been fat since birth. Or so I believed, I’m a typical “didn’t appreciate how lovely I was in my teens and 20s”. I am about 5 stones overweight now

i tried injections last year but my problem is my blood pressure so I need to move as well as lose weight. I decided to concentrate on the gym exercise stuff, it’s cheaper and I’m more likely to keep it off if I can make a habit - and there’s the problem.

i have lost 4kg in 6 weeks. I had lost 5, but gained a kilo last week - it’s probably premenstrual gain but it makes me want to give up, binge and slob.

Im enjoying being stronger, I am definitely fitter and noticing that stairs are easier, my swimming is faster, I’m less sweaty. All of which is motivating, but then I stand in the scales and feel “what’s the point?”

how do you avoid self sabotage?

Lots of reminding myself that if I give up it’s only harder next time.
I try to drum up my inner stubborn or inner disappointment that I’m doing this “again”.
Stick to healthy eating and exercise keep weighing in, tomorrow will be better.
Or in your case next week.

Weigh daily and use Happy Scale to record th amount, so I can see how much progress I have made.

Muscle weighs more than fat. You are building your body and should focus on that. The scales will move in time but for now concentrate on the health gains. Have you measured you waist you might find you are losing inches and tightening up

Don't go for an "all or nothing" approach- that's a diet mentality that I've tried to throw off. Some days and weeks will be up, some will be down. You can still be thrilled and proud at any progress towards your personal goals, be they weight-loss or fitness or better nutrition. Every step forward counts. Concentrate on those and accept that some downward blips are an inevitable part of any upward graph.

Best of luck to you. It sounds like you're battling your demons with determination.

Thanks all. I do feel better. I am not much lighter but that’s interesting about waist size. I am trying to avoid tapes and scales because I just despair if I’ve not magically lost a stone in a week. Years of failure have led to unhelpful mental narratives which are automatic and I have to try to stop them.

for instance, I was going to do a half hour run this morning but I landed up giving my adult daughter a lift to work before Sunday bus services are rubbish. That meant I am running late and I was hungry so I had some cereal and now am sitting scrolling and there isn’t really time to run. I can do it but it’ll delay the next bit of the day by an hour or so. Normally I’d eat biscuits. - but my Apple Watch knows the nonsense and shows me that I’ve exercised every day this week, so there is space to miss the run.

I’ve got a gym check in in a week, I’m hoping for more muscle, less fat and a pat on the head.

thanks for the tips. I will try!

Weightloss and fitness comes slowly with filling your life with good habits. Took me a year to lose two stone, and Ive spent the past year learning to maintain and building good habits

This morning I was up at 6 and away for a five mile walk with a friend. I hate walking alone , it's boring, so I have had a walking buddy for the past few years. Now her time is taken up looking after grandchildren so we don't walk together often now, and I realised I was putting off the weekend walks, till I fell in with another neighbour and now we have a walk date . She's a farmer's wife with a large family so early Sundays is her only time, so up I get

I got myself a bike and try for 10 miles a day , I feel so good cycling

I do park run - its another set time written in stone, me time.

What motivates me is waist band. Ive chucked my big girl clothes, Ive kept only the size I was when I hit my goal - and Ive one pair of jeans one size bigger - and I refuse point blank to have to wear them and I refuse to go and restock my wardrobe - again - cant afford to

So the minute my jeans or bra start to feel snug - I cut back for a few days. Ive been poorly for a few weeks now and have definitely gone back to some. bad habits and the jeans had to be undone after dinner last night, so here I am - meal planning for the week so I can keep an eye on what's going down my throat and Im not reaching for biscuits

Muscle weighs more than fat

How does it @Webbing ? A pound of anything weighs…a pound.

I think what the poster meant was that a handful of muscle weighs more than a handful of fat.

I have grabbed my fat belly and also some melted Camembert and can confirm. Not the same.

also, not your point, but, I really appreciate it.

i have an Apple Watch which keeps congratulating me if I get up to make a coffee.
And yet I like closing its rings…what have I become?

I was the same when I first got my fitness tracker , I became obsessed tbh, had to throw it in the drawer for a week

Two years on, Im a lot more relaxed about it, I. suppose because I know now what I need to do to get the steps in without being prompted