Anonymous
Post 05/14/2021 23:58     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:None of this stuff is going to work, because you are hyped up right now at this very moment, but will that motivation be there next week? Dieting doesn’t work. You really can’t lose weight permanently until you are able to deal with the urge to overeat and the urge to binge. You’ll be eating through cabbage leaves until you say f*** it and dive into the box of cookies, eating the entire thing, because “I’ll start over tomorrow”.


Not OP, but this resembles me. So what advice do you have?

Read ‘Brain over Binge’ and apply it to any overeating. Overeating is a learned habit and until you deal with the urge to overeat, you’ll be white-knuckling dieting and spend years losing and gaining the same weight. There are no “emotional” reasons you binge or psychological hang-ups that force you to overeat, you eat too much because that the thing that shuts up the urge that says “keep eating!” Deal with that urge and you conquer overeating permanently. Everything else is a band-aid.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2021 13:31     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Really focus on your "why." Why do you want to lose weight? Is it social pressure, clothing options, your kids made comments, long term health issues? This has been really helpful for me. Also, I'm doing this program that has been mind-blowing for me (BodySmart Fitness) that is coaching/trainer/diet help in one. They focus on baby steps (1% better each day) and that has helped me not try to do it all at once.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2021 12:07     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:None of this stuff is going to work, because you are hyped up right now at this very moment, but will that motivation be there next week? Dieting doesn’t work. You really can’t lose weight permanently until you are able to deal with the urge to overeat and the urge to binge. You’ll be eating through cabbage leaves until you say f*** it and dive into the box of cookies, eating the entire thing, because “I’ll start over tomorrow”.


Not OP, but this resembles me. So what advice do you have?
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2021 12:05     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I was an Au Pair long ago. Couldn't believe Americans have a cookie jar (sugary cereal and pop tarts,) and kids are only allowed to play in their back yards. If you have a cookie jar full of cookies available 24/7, you better allow the kids to roam the whole town with their friends on bikes 10 hours a day. Can you imagine what all the sugar does to grown-ups.
I have no idea what they put in the food here, but as I'm eating, I'm thinking about my next meal. Not the case when I go back home. I get full and stay full.
Start walking up the hills and cut out processed food. Most fruits are very sweet if you need sugar fix.



I've heard this several times before. I wonder what it is, as well. It must be something.

Because I have a weird food allergy, I don't eat most processed foods. If I do slip something in, it triggers me to want more food. It's strange.


Yes! My parents spend every winter in Europe and always lose weight despite enjoying wine, pastries, and cheese.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2021 11:20     Subject: Re:Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
OP, I realized I'm a sugar addict and so I cut it out completely. At first I got all sugar products out of the house, but now, 6 months later I'm no longer tempted. My last sugar was pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving until my birthday in February, and it didn't even taste that good. I used to eat ice cream daily - no more.

I know you said WW didn't work for you, but that's what I use. I eat fruit - berries & banana in the morning with steel cut oats, nonfat plain yogurt and nuts. An apple, pear or orange in the afternoon. Munching on grapes works for me.

Removing the immediate temptation worked for me, and then as I started to lose weight and fit into clothes I hadn't worn in 10 years, that became my motivation.

It sounds to me like you're ready to start. Maybe try Noom? That works for my sister who didn't like WW. Good luck!
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 22:08     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Thank you 22:01

The baking idea is actually really helpful. I’d feel super guilty if I ate all of my kids cookies. I don’t feel guilty pounding a bag of bark thins.

The answer is pretty simple, I’m realizing. Stop buying it. So I will.

I suck at tracking. I either won’t track the Oreos, or I get too bogged down with details so I quit. It’s just not meaningful for me. I don’t care. I wish I knew WHY I didn’t care. I WANT to care!

I appreciate everyone’s kind words!
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 22:02     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Intuitive eating may be helpful.
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 22:01     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:In addition to the PPs' suggestions, it helped me for my "treats" to just not be easily available. No ready-to-eat sweets around the house at all. Sure, I have sugar and flour and baking ingredients, and on the weekend I might bake a half batch of cookies for my kids and have one for myself, but most nights I'm not going to start up the KitchenAid when a craving hits at 10pm. (If a sleeve of Oreos were in the house, though...watch out.)

Same with booze. We have wine in the house, but I'm not going to crack open a whole bottle just because I'm a little thirsty watching TV. With hard alcohol around, it was just a little too easy to pour a little more, or have one more "splash."

As for movement, it needs to become part of your life. I personally didn't do well with multi-week challenges (because they end!), and it took me YEARS to be consistent, but a half hour or an hour of morning "movement" -- I won't even call it a workout -- is now a constant part of my life, every single day.

I can’t relate to this at all. I am skinny but if I bake a batch of cookies “for my kids” I’m eating a bunch of the dough and all the cookies that I can get away with. And if there is alcohol in the house, I drink it. PP you have a lot of self restraint and probably don’t have binge or compulsive eating issues like OP and myself have.

PP you sound like me where you really have to kick your sugar addiction. I know people like to hate on keto but it’s the only thing that works for me to reset my obsessive thinking around food and sweets in particular. You sound like a lovely person who is WAY too hard on herself. I would suggest CBT for changing that inner critic and think about keto even tough it’s tough to do when you’re also feeding a family.
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 20:50     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:None of this stuff is going to work, because you are hyped up right now at this very moment, but will that motivation be there next week? Dieting doesn’t work. You really can’t lose weight permanently until you are able to deal with the urge to overeat and the urge to binge. You’ll be eating through cabbage leaves until you say f*** it and dive into the box of cookies, eating the entire thing, because “I’ll start over tomorrow”.

GTFOH
OP, don't listen to haters. Just build your healthy eating routine one meal at the time. Slow and steady wins this race for sure. And then - occasional binge on box of Oreo won't matter. Just keep going with your routine.
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 20:17     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
None of this stuff is going to work, because you are hyped up right now at this very moment, but will that motivation be there next week? Dieting doesn’t work. You really can’t lose weight permanently until you are able to deal with the urge to overeat and the urge to binge. You’ll be eating through cabbage leaves until you say f*** it and dive into the box of cookies, eating the entire thing, because “I’ll start over tomorrow”.
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 19:24     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:Short term: Buy new clothes that fit so you feel better about yourself.

Long term: Start making changes. Log all your food. You won't eat the oreos if you have to write them down. When you are actively paying attention to everything you eat, you will have more motivation to snack on healthier foods. You will gradually lose weight, which will also motivate you.

I -JUST- started this plan earlier in the year and am having a lot of success. Before this year, I didn't even own a scale. Now I have a scale and a FitBit and am using them to track my progress and focus my attention on taking care of myself, which is hard with kids, but also really great for my physical and mental health! I also used to snack on oreos, so my plan should work for you, too!


Not the OP, but I could have written her post (except I'm short and round). Fwiw, this didn't work for me. I have a scale, and a Fitibt and do log all of my food, including all of the oreos. Logging my food does not stop me from eating it (and if I don't have oreos in the house then it's other carb-y things).
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 19:22     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
OP here and I eat cabbage. Dont derail my thread!
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 17:34     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The key is, IMO, eating a lot of food with a lot of nutrition but few calories.
And of course, the big, of course, having the time and the money to cook it and eat it and buy all you need.
I am right now eating a huge bowl of chunks of cabbage with sauteed ground beef with many onions in it. With a sugar-free sauce on top, hot sauce mostly.
I find this insanely delicious. More cabbage than the meat, if I am honest!
And walking helps too.


I also would find that insanely delicous.

Sounds great, but not all nursing mothers can eat cabbage, unfortunately

Why? Of course, she can use it to relieve breast pain from nursing!
The whole world knows the cabbage leaf cure, right?
I watched that Dr. Mike on YouTube, normally he is funny, but for a Russian and a male he had some nerve attacking the benefits of cabbage and inflammation. No truth to that he said! Maybe he didn't talk to my mom with two artificial knees and to many women with inflamed breasts!

Of course I know about cabbage leaf, used it all 3 times when nursing, and for other issues
Cabbage, however, does cause gas, and might be responsible for baby's colic
And I'm Russian btw, so cabbage is must have in my house

Hello Slav brethren! I am from former Yugoslavia. Of course, we all know about the cabbage leaf! And as I mentioned that Dr. Mike is Russian. Though his mom passed away young, and he is a man... so we can make exucses, but he ought to ask any woman in his family!
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 17:01     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The key is, IMO, eating a lot of food with a lot of nutrition but few calories.
And of course, the big, of course, having the time and the money to cook it and eat it and buy all you need.
I am right now eating a huge bowl of chunks of cabbage with sauteed ground beef with many onions in it. With a sugar-free sauce on top, hot sauce mostly.
I find this insanely delicious. More cabbage than the meat, if I am honest!
And walking helps too.


I also would find that insanely delicous.

Sounds great, but not all nursing mothers can eat cabbage, unfortunately

Why? Of course, she can use it to relieve breast pain from nursing!
The whole world knows the cabbage leaf cure, right?
I watched that Dr. Mike on YouTube, normally he is funny, but for a Russian and a male he had some nerve attacking the benefits of cabbage and inflammation. No truth to that he said! Maybe he didn't talk to my mom with two artificial knees and to many women with inflamed breasts!

Of course I know about cabbage leaf, used it all 3 times when nursing, and for other issues
Cabbage, however, does cause gas, and might be responsible for baby's colic
And I'm Russian btw, so cabbage is must have in my house
Anonymous
Post 05/13/2021 17:01     Subject: Where’s my motivation? So overweight and need to lose weight.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The key is, IMO, eating a lot of food with a lot of nutrition but few calories.
And of course, the big, of course, having the time and the money to cook it and eat it and buy all you need.
I am right now eating a huge bowl of chunks of cabbage with sauteed ground beef with many onions in it. With a sugar-free sauce on top, hot sauce mostly.
I find this insanely delicious. More cabbage than the meat, if I am honest!
And walking helps too.


I also would find that insanely delicous.

Right? I mean, so crunchy and delicious!