Motivation

[December31]

Hello fellow lifestyle eaters, not a diet. How do you motivate yourself to prepare meals for 1 other than batch cooking and freezing?

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, December31

Do you have a problem with batch cooking and freezing? I, personally, am addicted to it. I always cook enough for at least one other meal and freeze it, that way I'm never in the position of not having the time, energy, or inclination to cook, there's always a home made ready meal to hand, that can be zapped in the microwave.

Omelettes are generally a one person meal and take little time to cook.

One pork chop, with several veg cooked in the same pan is little trouble.

roasted veg with any accompaniment is a one pan meal.

All of the information you need about the forum can be found in Pinned Posts healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and I hope you'll be joining all the Events, Challenges and Clubs that we run, especially a weigh-in and the daily diary.

We've found active participation to be key to successful weight loss and, of course, it's a good way to get to know people, find inspiration and share support and encouragement.

Wishing you all the best for 2020

[December31 in reply to moreless]

I dont have the enthusiasm to cook, I'm struggling with eating at the moment and when i do feel hungry i eat something healthy which kick starts my hunger for unhealthy then the guilt arrives. Every morning i give myself a talking to, be good today no binging on anything. That lasts for a while then I eat when hungry and the cycle begins again.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to December31]

Are you eating enough of the right foods? If you eat processed and high GI carbs, they'll raise your blood sugar levels, spike an insulin response, which causes your blood sugars to drop, causing hunger. Have a look at this well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013...

You would probably find things easier if you followed the advice here phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...

If you don't eat enough, of course you'll be hungry and if you don't have healthy food to hand, you'll turn to the quick fixes.

Start with simple meals, you don't have to use complicated recipes with lots of ingredients.

Use a slow cooker, where you can chuck all the ingredients in and leave it.

[December31 in reply to moreless]

Thank you. I dont eat processed food, I have allergies to soya, spices, capsicum and alcohol so try to stay away from pre made foods. I will look at the links you have sent and try to plan my meals for the next 2 days to give myself a short goal. I feel my negativity radiating in the message, which isn't helping my motivation. I will set aside some time today to fully look at myself and plan for the week ahead as short term goals are better to achieve

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to December31]

Take yourself over to the daily diary, because you'll get lots of good ideas and support from other diarists

[Subtle_badger in reply to December31]

Is it possible to get the unhealthy food out of the house? I binged on crackers the other night coming back from wine with friends, breaking my low carb diet. If they hadn't been in the house, I wouldn't have eaten them. I'd have been forced to have something from my freezer or fridge that is consistent with my current diet, or not to have snacked at all.

If you are nipping out to the shops for unhealthy food, then it's a harder problem. Ditto if there are others in the house who aren't on your eating plan.

(I found my lapse particularly ironic, because a book I was reading before starting said explicitly to throw away your crackers but I hubristically said to myself I didn't need to, and they could stay in my cupboard until I got to phase 2, when I will up my carbs)

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

I like my food and that keeps me motivated. I don't find it takes me long and I suppose it's part of my routine. I'm retired now but when I was working it was a chance to switch off from the day and, as there's only me to think of, I can have as much or as little as I feel like.

I use the Daily Diary and, though I don't always stick to my plan, I do find it useful to do that bit of planning, and to pinch ideas from others. I recommend it ☺️

[December31 in reply to BridgeGirl]

I dont have the enthusiasm to cook, I'm struggling with eating at the moment and when i do feel hungry i eat something healthy which kick starts my hunger for unhealthy then the guilt arrives. Every morning i give myself a talking to, be good today no binging on anything. That lasts for a while then I eat when hungry and the cycle begins again.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to December31]

Don't be hard on yourself. It may be that you need to review your definition of "healthy". For instance, you may find this interesting youtu.be/eKQWFJmCWZE(Not working as expected?)

I've found that since I reduced carbohydrates and relaxed about healthy fats, my meals are more filling and I've been able to do without eating between meals, most of the time.

Here's something to read. fatismyfriend.co.uk/

Take your time looking around the forum, especially the Daily Diary. You won't change your weight and your general feeling about food without making changes to what and how you eat, and you can do it. There are plenty of us here who have, and who enjoy it

[TheAwfulToad Visitor]

Unfortunately, you can't really just manufacture motivation. If you don't want to cook and feed yourself properly, you maybe need to ask yourself why.

Do you have something else going on in your life that's sapping your willpower? Do you have people around you who are encouraging you ... or sniping at you? When it comes right down to it, do you actually want to be healthy and slim, as a priority, or are there other things that you want more? If you don't truly want it, you ain't gonna get it.

Having said that, I understand that it's a bit of drag making meals for one. I recommend just eating the same thing every day (or the same set of meals on rotation). It worked for me. As long as you pick meals that are inherently healthy, you won't crave endless variety. If you do find yourself thinking, "oh no not XYZ for dinner again" it's probably because it's nutritionally unbalanced.

[December31 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thank you for you harsh but right reply. It's the same story for many people, not enough time, no will power or expensive etc. Healthy food doesn't have to be expensive, will power is within yourself and time spent preparing meals should be enjoyed.

In answer to your question, yes I do want to be healthy and slimmer as carrying around excess weight isn't helping me recover from multiple injuries after a car accident a year ago

[TheAwfulToad Visitor in reply to December31]

Well .. I wasn't intending to tell you off I was just wondering if there's something going on around you that might be throwing you off-base? It's quite unusual for someone to lack the motivation to eat - it suggests depression. Is it possible your car accident has affected you more than just physically?

Anyway, I would still advise keeping things as simple as possible (a small repertoire of meals) so that you don't have to expend mental effort on figuring out what to eat or how to cook it. As per BridgeGirl 's post, this becomes a lot easier if you drop carbs and sugars, and add a sensible amount of fat back into your meals. I eat almost the same breakfast every day (eggs + something), and one of three evening meals, on rotation. I don't find this monotonous.

Also, most of us following this lifestyle tend to drop into a routine of only two meals a day (sometimes one-and-a-half) because we just don't get hungry so often ... which automatically makes like easier!

[Huawei1 5lbs in reply to December31]

Yes I agree, your negativity is coming through strongly in your posts? Like Awful Toad says, you have to 'want' to do it?

But you have to be in the right mindset. I've battled for years with my weight and have fallen in love with the lchf way of eating, and for me, it works. I cook for one, and have a busy life. A huge omelette is cheap and quick, add a few veg to it, and a side salad and there u go? I batch cook chilli and freeze that for quick meal, add few veg and there you go! I agree, healthy food doesn't have to be expensive or complicated to cook?

However, it's not a judgement, just an observation, but you seem to be thinking of all the negative things you can't have or don't like, instead of zoning in on things you can have and do like?? And seem very defensive?

We all have the same aim on here, to lose weight and feel healthy, and are on here for advice and support. It's a great site with lots of lovely people happy to help you, but you have to do the hard work yourself, 😘 No one on here will judge you 😊

[Eleanorba Maintainer]

I guess my motivation is that I love cooking and could do it all day! When I was single I would hear single friends talk about how hard it was to cook for one especially if they felt low - and I’d nod sagely so as not to feel left out but I’d be thinking ‘oh...when I feel down I just add courses!’ A lot of people on here have gone from hating to loving cooking. But I think the main thing is NOT to get too hungry. If you let yourself get too hungry I reckon any food, healthy or not, will be a trigger to overeat. Do you have a calorie range you’re aiming for? It might be a bit too low. Happy new year and happy new Healthy Lifestyle Not Diet!