Ladies, how did you find the motivation?!

Question

I’ve been struggling with losing weight for years and it’s only gotten worse. I’m too impulsive with eating poorly and i have no self control so dieting never works. I tried gym but stopped going, can never stay determined. For those of you who have stayed determined to lose weight, how did you do it? I don’t even feel comfortable in my own body anymore.. i don’t like to look at myself yet i still won’t stop eating like sh**😞

Answer

That’s the exact motivation. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. I was always sucking in and hated tight clothing. I looked at the Instagram fitness accounts, and then thought about how proud my husband would be of me when I lost weight and how if he was super attracted to me now how much he will be when I lose weight.

Answer

The best thing i think u can do is educate yourself. I like to go on Youtube and look at “Wht I eat in a day”,  “Weightloss Journey”, and watch channels on intermittent and water fasting. I was like this in the beggining and I had gotten to the point I couldnt control myself. I started intermittent fasting and its really allowed me to focus on what i eat and how much. I only eat between 3-8pm everyday. Its actually very very healthy for the body.

Answer

Learn what motivates you and go off of that. 
Maybe educate yourself about food, how your system uses and and what it does for your body. 
Whole30 and Fast metabolism diet are both great tools to learn about food and how it can be used as fuel. 
Meal prepping may help you, to have things portioned out and ready to go. 
But I’m all
Honestly, you have to find what motivates you and focus on that.

Answer

With me I’m the laziest dieter ever. If it is hard or inconvenient then it was not for me. I never went to a gym or sweat or meal prep or cooked. I’m a grab and go girl. I buy everything pre measured. My protein shakes already mixed. I eat the same thing most days. You have to figure out what works best for you. Walking and eating better was what worked for me. It’s more psychological than anything. It’s not starving or depriving yourself it’s finding alternatives. I still eat ice cream and chocolate daily. I don’t deprive myself. I just don’t eat a pint I have halo top pops 60 calories each or dole dark chocolate frozen bananas 100 calorie packs. I still go out to eat once in a while. I just had 3 Krispy Kreme donuts the other day. We all have good days and bad. But it doesn’t mean it’s over. I do 80/20 on everything. 80% I’m good 20% is wiggle room. Nutrition is 80% exercise is only 20%. Step 1 is mindset. Find your reason and that becomes your motivation and goal and fuels you to keep moving forward. Why do you honestly want to lose weight. Ask yourself. It’s a mind shift. It’s not a diet that temporary, it’s a lifestyle change. What you are not changing, you are choosing. Life is what you make it, if you aren’t happy, you change what you can and what you can’t change, you learn to love, accept and embrace yourself flaws and all. Learning not to be so hard on yourself. If you gain it’s not like you have not weighed that before. If you lose even 1/10th of a pound yay. If you plateau then you have to shake things up more or less calories or exercise. The scale doesn’t define you or your happiness nor does the reflection in the mirror or the size of your pants. It’s just a guide. I was more confident at 350 Pounds than I am at 250 with lose skin. Weird right??  Step 2 is nutrition. High protein high fiber and low sugar low salt and mostly granola bars for bread carbs was what I did. And that works for me. Figure out what you like. Find alternatives. Start with small changes. Making a complete 180 over night will be hard. Start small and work your way up. No one ran a marathon over night. You didn’t gain it over night and won’t lose it over night. It’s a journey. Sometimes you recycle the same 10 pounds, doesn’t mean it over. Life happens celebrations happen doesn’t mean you stop loving. You just know the consequences of poor eating are coming. And either you try and balance it out with more water or exercise or saving your calories etc. If I know I’m going out for Chinese food, I drink more water because it’s high in sodium and can cause you to bloat and retain water. Finding a balance. Doesn’t mean I binge and fall off the wagon. That’s another thing emotional eating, bored eating, we are all emotional beings. Learning new habits like journaling or screaming into a pillow or yoga or exercise or remembering all the hard work you already put in and repeating it’s not worth it over and over again. Beings of convenience hence fast food and snack machines. If it’s with you less chance that you will reach for the junk. I always have a snack bag with me or in the car. Apples, 100 calorie bags of almonds, granola bars, rice cakes dipped in chocolate 2 pack, protein shakes, boom chicka popcorn, etc my “treats” start small cut out soda switch to water or mineral or sparkling water. It’s understandable how it can add up quickly. 1 can of soda a day for a year is 15 pounds in just soda alone. Step 3 is move your body. Walking, dancing, something is better than nothing. If I walk 1 mile or I walk 13 miles, makes no difference to me. We all have lazy days. I used to beat myself up if I didn’t meet my goals. Now it’s ehhh 5000 steps is better than nothing. You do what you can. If you can only walk to the end of your driveway then that’s where you start and work your way up. I just used MyFitnessPal app and a Fitbit. It taught me portion control. It tracks everything. Rationalizing food options. Making better choices. You get a set number of calories and when you exercise you get extra calories to eat or save towards the end of the day which is your calorie deficit and equates to weight loss. I was the queen of yo-yo dieting. I would lose 30-40 pounds and plateau and quit when it wouldn’t break. Then quit and gain it all back and more. You can’t eat the same way and not expect the same outcome. Sugar and salt and bread carbs make you gain. I smell food and gain. Unfortunately I wasn’t blessed like my brother that can eat anything and not gain an ounce. I was size 32 pants 50dd bra triple E width shoes, even my rings size went down from a 8.5. I’m a size 16 pants, 39.5dd but wear a 40. Size 6 ring, and Can wear regular width shoes. My initial reason was to keep myself busy and not think about my ex. The more I walked in my mind, the further I got away from him even though I didn’t go anywhere. I walked at home in my kitchen, I put on music and had fun dancing in my kitchen. Step together step together. I walked the malls and grocery stores etc. I never went to a gym because I knew myself that I would have found any excuse not to go from costing too much to too many people to bad weather etc. At home the only excuse was me. I attached some of the things that I have, not all, it’s just an example, and I don’t eat everything on the list all at once. Lately I stopped eating hummus and switched to dipping my carrots into plain Greek yogurt. I wanted a change. You have to figure out what works best for you. You will figure it out one day at a time. Don’t set huge goals, take it 5-10 pounds at a time otherwise you will just discourage yourself. Don’t set a time frame either for the same reason. I don’t have a goal weight because once you hit it you gain it all back? Nope not me. My goal is to lose as much as I can. I don’t have any limits. I still enjoy life. I learned to cope differently. I learned not to be so hard on myself. I learned not to chase the scale. I learned so much since December 2017 when I had to do something to keep myself busy to help me get over my ex. My reason has changed so many times. First to get over my ex. My next was to not need a seatbelt extender on a plane which happened 2 weeks ago when I went to a wedding for a week in Florida. Only gained 1.2 pounds while I was gone. I ate cake and Spanish food daily etc. I danced 144 minutes at the wedding, should have taken off my heels, my feet were killing me lol. Even caught the bouquet 💐. I’m 41. I realized it’s harder to lose weight the older you get. I made a decision that I don’t want to be a fat bride some day, that I want to have options and enjoy wedding dress shopping and not have to pay 700 for fabric and alterations like when I was a brides maid years ago. Can’t just buy an inch of fabric nope it was 3 feet of the skirt the jacket and top and alterations after alteration from getting Sick and dropping 10 pounds up and down after a while I said forget it I will wear it big, while my sister in laws dress was 99.00 sale from David’s bridal. It was the worst feeling not having options. Or needing a seatbelt extender on a plane or having to check the weight limit on a chair when we tailgate at a game or standing the whole time instead because 250 or 300 was the limit. I want to have options in life. I don’t want to be embarrassed of something doesn’t fit or breaks or is uncomfortable etc. I want more. Now I have loose skin. My battle wounds from abusing my body for so many years. I may start working out or try cool sculpting at some point in the future but nothing invasive like surgery. I was an emotional eater all my life. Ice cream was my best friend. I would binge eat chips and desserts and a pint of ice cream and numb my pain. It’s was the only way I knew how to cope in life. I never needed a bully I lived with mine. My mother is my biggest trigger. And even after losing almost 100 pounds she still calls me fatass daily. I had to learn not to care what anyone thought of me. Their opinions are dust in the wind and don’t matter. What matters is your opinion. Everyone else can kiss your butt. I still will randomly catch myself going to the fridge after a fight with her. And I repeat over and over she’s not worth it. There is no pleasing some people. They are miserable on their own and make try and make other feel the same. I stopped caring what she or anyone else thinks of me. Don’t like my body, oh well don’t be with me. I don’t need anyone’s approval or acceptance or validation. My life isn’t defined by picture likes or anything. Man doesn’t complete or define me or my happiness, I complete myself. You can do anything that you put your mind to. We all have pitfalls, injuries, accidents, your period, life happens, like I said earlier it was last time and I had 3 donuts. No biggie. I’m still at it even if I gain back some weight, I’m still ok and you will be too. I will believe in you until you can believe in yourself. You’ve got this. Just put one foot in front of the other. Make a decision. Choose yourself. Choose happiness. Pamper yourself. Life is what you make it. You are the only thing stopping you. And you can do anything that you put your mind to.

Answer

I love exercise and sports but hate the ‘diet’ aspect. I occasionally purge all junk food from my kitchen (im a sahm so i can control myself by eating just at home).  I also try to buy things that have to be refrigerated and NOT kept in pantry (but dont buy ice cream, lol).  I let myself have treats - mine are choc chip fiber one cookies.

Ladies, how did you find the motivation?!

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