Please share daily motivations to slim down!

[Anonymous]

Slimming down and toning has been extremely challenging for me as a middle-aged woman with a metabolic disorder. I hate cardio, and can never control myself carb-wise the week before my period. I don't have that much to lose - 15lbs! - but right now it feels impossible.

Lately I've been trying to motivate myself by looking at all the lovely summer clothes and swimsuits I could treat myself to if I could fit in them and not wobble! It's sort of working... but not as much as I'd hoped. I've thought of actually printing out photos of my favorite dresses and sticking them on the snack cupboard, fridge and laptop. Or buying myself a set of cute miniature dishes to make portion control more pleasant. But I'm afraid all this is just window-dressing: it will work temporarily and come that time of the month, I'll just scarf down whatever's in the kitchen... and all my family will find it highly amusing, particularly my teens, who eat prodigious quantities of the delicious food cooked by DH and I, while remaining stick thin.

Right now I'm avoiding packing on even more pounds by going to bed earlier and watching shows on my laptop in bed, instead of snacking all evening downstairs. But I'm still inclined to eat too much and exercise too little during the day.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated?

[Anonymous]

Kit Kat bar diet.
As many as you want but nothin else except raw foods

[Anonymous]

I doubt u just are 15 lbs overweight
Self perception is usually flawed.
Ask a personal trainer for a neutral opinion.
I am guessing you are more like 35 lbs overweight
And just don’t allow yourself to see the reality
Good luck

[Anonymous]

You don’t seem to have the habits or mentality of a fit person (hate cardio, loves carbs). I’m with PP—I think you need an objective opinion and professional guidance.

The first step of solving a problem is recognizing that you have one. You are on your way. If you need a visual motivation, look at photos of obese elderly people. You are only middle aged and can change the trajectory of your life. But, it’s not easy.

[Anonymous]

Hang out with skinny people
Watch real housewives
Look at photos of myself
Wear tank tops 😬
Wear shorts
Ooooof. Those usually motivate

[Anonymous]

These are some mean responses.

I'm in a similar boat, PP, although I do play a sport that keeps my cardio level high and I recently got a Peloton to add some cardio in every day. I've lost about 7 pounds, would be thrilled to lose another 8 and truly keep it off.

Here are some motivations I personally find helpful.

- I weigh myself every day. I know weight will fluctuate and I take that into account, but it's helpful to me to see how I'm losing over weight.
- Track what i eat each day. I am a lot less likely to grab a handful of cheez-its if I know i have to log it and admit that just cost me 100 calories.
- I avoid eating each morning until 11 am. It means I have a 16 hour fast. I have found that even if I do eat breakfast at 7 or 8 am, I"m just as hungry for lunch as if I hadn't! So why not just skip it and save the calories.
- Try to find some kind of cardio or exercise you enjoy. A run, a fast long walk, exercise bike, a sport? As you lose weight it will get easier and easier to do it and you may enjoy it.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I doubt u just are 15 lbs overweight
Self perception is usually flawed.
Ask a personal trainer for a neutral opinion.
I am guessing you are more like 35 lbs overweight
And just don’t allow yourself to see the reality
Good luck

JFC you’re a douche.

OP, you’re doing great. My best advice would be to not have junk food in the house, so you’re not tempted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I doubt u just are 15 lbs overweight
Self perception is usually flawed.
Ask a personal trainer for a neutral opinion.
I am guessing you are more like 35 lbs overweight
And just don’t allow yourself to see the reality
Good luck

What are you basing this on? For all we know, op could be overestimating the amount she "needs" to lose. In fact, that is most likely the case and not the scenario you put out there. B1tch move, btw.

[Anonymous]

I think of how much better it feels when my jeans are a tiny bit too loose than a tiny bit too tight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think of how much better it feels when my jeans are a tiny bit too loose than a tiny bit too tight.

Yes! Sitting all day at a desk in tight high-waisted jeans is motivation for me! Uggh! Hate that feeling!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think of how much better it feels when my jeans are a tiny bit too loose than a tiny bit too tight.

Yes! Sitting all day at a desk in tight high-waisted jeans is motivation for me! Uggh! Hate that feeling!

YES!

I've been living in yoga pants and tried on my high waisted denim the other day...the ones that were comfy enough to sit and easy to breath in. Holy crap. Double down on losing the covid weight before winter ends.

[Anonymous]

Put 15lbs in a backpack and go for a walk. When you get home, think about how good it feels to put that down. Now think about how you are always carrying around a similar invisible backpack and how nice it would be to put that down too.

[Anonymous]

I wake up super early and exercise. Every one else is asleep and there is nothing else to do that early in the morning.

Also eyeing swimsuits online and dreaming of warm weather

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Slimming down and toning has been extremely challenging for me as a middle-aged woman with a metabolic disorder. I hate cardio, and can never control myself carb-wise the week before my period. I don't have that much to lose - 15lbs! - but right now it feels impossible.

Lately I've been trying to motivate myself by looking at all the lovely summer clothes and swimsuits I could treat myself to if I could fit in them and not wobble! It's sort of working... but not as much as I'd hoped. I've thought of actually printing out photos of my favorite dresses and sticking them on the snack cupboard, fridge and laptop. Or buying myself a set of cute miniature dishes to make portion control more pleasant. But I'm afraid all this is just window-dressing: it will work temporarily and come that time of the month, I'll just scarf down whatever's in the kitchen... and all my family will find it highly amusing, particularly my teens, who eat prodigious quantities of the delicious food cooked by DH and I, while remaining stick thin.

Right now I'm avoiding packing on even more pounds by going to bed earlier and watching shows on my laptop in bed, instead of snacking all evening downstairs. But I'm still inclined to eat too much and exercise too little during the day.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated?

Sheesh, I'm sorry for those early mean comments. And I hope your kids aren't actually laughing at you.

There are a lot of little fixes you can try. First of all, how much exercise are you getting? Even if you don't like cardio, you need it -- not just to lose weight, but to give you energy and keep you strong. Walk as much as you can. If you're already doing some sort of workout most days, add a 20-minute walk in the morning. When you get used to that, add another one at night.

If your neighborhood is walkable/bikeable, try to replace a couple of car errands with walking or biking.

How are you with veggies? Try having a small salad at the start of lunch and dinner. Snack on mini cucumbers -- you can put salt on them. Produce is starting to get yummier. Try clementines, berries, edamame ... all these kind of keep your hands busy for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Put 15lbs in a backpack and go for a walk. When you get home, think about how good it feels to put that down. Now think about how you are always carrying around a similar invisible backpack and how nice it would be to put that down too.

Not OP, but I absolutely love this. I used to be a climber and at this weight? Um...no. Not going up any rock. The backpack would be great motivation for me.