Hello, i cant seem to stay motivated to lose weight i hate my body but for some reason i can never stick to being healthy. Any tips?

[alicejacksonxx]

[sammytowil15]

I have the same problem I can't keep it for long i so easy to say yes to junk. I'm also looking for advice. Wish you all the best

[GRUMPYA]

Sometimes it's better to practise maintaining weight as you go. Try to lose a bit of weight, maybe you know from experience that you can stick to it for a month, so aim to lose 1/2 stone then continue calorie counting but eat a bit more and maintain that weight loss for 6 weeks then aim to lose another 1/2 stone and then maintain again. You may find that you are happy at a slightly higher weight than you originally thought you wanted to be because it is a weight you can maintain. Most doctors agree it's better to maintain at a few pounds d's heavier than it is to yo yo.

[baerbel]

Hi,

I also could never stay on a healthy diet for long. Everybody is different, but this is what I am doing now to stay motivated.

I have started a free Harvard online course called 'Immunity to Change' which adresses, why although we want something very much and intellectually know it is the best thing for us, we cannot do it. This has little to do with willpower, it is because we are very complex creatures. Consequently, their emphasis is on a 'psychological and emotional change'. The course was original aimed at business people to improve their leadership roles, but lots of participants aiming at a healthier life style take part. I hope this course will help me to transform myself into someone who makes healthy food choices on a daily basis, but I am only on the third week out of 16.

I also use myfitnesspal.com. Seeing 'all' about my calorie intake in black and white seems to work well for me.

Today I also started the NHS 'couch to 5 k' exercise programm, although I am so much out of shape that iI will extend the first week of this 9 week programme to at least 3 weeks, and then see how it goes.

Last not least I tell peope about my plan to reduce weight, hoping they are supportive, although I understand not everybody will be as they have their own issues. This is where this site comes in.

Anyway, good luck to you. Be kind to yourself.

[SimonM]

HI alicejacksonxx

apart from the usual advice on good healthy diet and plenty of endurance exercise to lose weight the best tip I've got is to do it with a friend. Its always harder doing it by yourself and you are constantly battling with the demons in your head trying to talk you into taking the easy option of doing nothing.

So get a friend on board, set yourself a healthy eating plan (dont call it a diet) and work out a exercise routine that you can do together and have some fun at the same time. Dont take it all too serious, enjoy the time and make it as much about spending time together and not just trying to achieve your goal.

There's plenty of info on NHS site but if you need some good cardio workouts to do at home or gym go to ptprograms.com.au. You can download them for free

And remember, dont overdo it. Get a good balance and dont let it take over your life. Make it fun. Lifes for living not suffering so do something to be healthy, fit and feel good about yourself

[Hidden]

Hi alicejacksonxx,

Perhaps you need to explore, just why it is that you go back to your old "bad" eating habits.

There could be lots of reasons - afraid of change / willing to step out of comfort zone but not leave it behind / lack of self-esteem (I don't really believe I deserve to be a normal healthy weight.

Maybe it's just that you don't really see the gains / benefits of dealing with your excess weight in the longer term.

Perhaps, you see the weight loss part, as a kind of 'game' / activity / process which is interesting while you're actually doing it, but the maintenance thing is just boring.

Perhaps there is something about a sense of approval / reward that you associate with eating 'naughties'. Many children were brought up with sweets / ice-creams / cakes and the like as rewards for being "good". It's easy to get to a point where you connect eating with self-worth.

In then final analysis, there's only one person who has the answer to what the issue is for you - and that person is you.

Personally, having lost a significant amount of weight, and now having a lighter, slimmer, easier to move around in body. I have NO intention of going back to my old eating habits, whatsoever.

Good luck with your weight loss efforts.

[Blanket]

Hi alicejacksonxx,

welcome to the forum. You too sammytowil15!!

There are already some great ideas above so I just wanted to promote some positive psychology.

Try asking yourself "would I say that to my friend?" when you say negatve things about yourself ("I hate my body"). This type of thinking leads to REALLY negative thought processes and ultimately results in us finding a quick fix to our negative emotion, usually food! Food gives us a sense of instant gratification so therefore overrides the negative feeling of "I have my body" and makes us feel better FOR A SHORT TIME. What would you think of a friend if they said to you "I hate your body". Would you like them? Would you want to spend time with them? Would you want to encourage them to achieve their goals? Maybe just for a short time you could try an experiment, try finding something (it doesn't matter how small) that you LOVE about your body. Even if it's your little toe, there WILL be something that you like. Then, find something to emphasise the amazing thing about you. New lippie, new push-up bra, new sexy flip flops for summer.

I bet after a few weeks of focussing on the positives of yourself you will feel better and probably much more motivated to lose weight than if you loathe yourself. Find the love people, we're all amazing (possibly overweight but STILL amazing!!).

[Laila_]

I think one important point in what you said is that you hate your body.. I've felt like that before, but what I tried to teach myself is that it's MY body, it's a part of me, it's not separate from 'me'.. and with that try to love your body - it's the only one you will ever have, (as cheesey as that sounds) and it is yours to love entirely.. lumps, bumps, jiggly bits, funny sticky-out bits, etc!

When you start to accept your body for what it is, it becomes easier to want to stick to improving it, making yourself healthy and so on..

sorry for the overly love-thyself sounding message, but I really do hope it helps