How do you stay motivated?

stir_crazy

Thanks all, my "thanks" button seems to have disappeared since I'm on my phone. Oddly enough, I'm fine with exercise, I've been going to Zumba twice a week and doing HIIT 3-4 times a week, but as I'm cheating so often with the diet it's not having much impact.

Gra76

I lost 3 stone by setting a single long term goal and a set of shorter term goals.

I wanted to get slimmed off for a holiday that was roughly 9 months away so I decided to join a gym that wasn't on my way home to make sure I didn't just drive past it and skip it on the way home. I made sure I drove straight to the gym 3 nights a week from work.

I had weekly targets to lose between 1 and 3 lbs per week. The first couple of months the weight dropped off easily enough. Towards the end I'd met my target goal early and actually ended up 3lb lighter than I'd aimed for.

I've since put the about a stone back on over Xmas but I'm losing that again by changing my eating plan and exercising regularly again.

Change4Life

Hi Stir_Crazy.

It's great that you're setting yourself goals for yourself and that you're mindful of dietary areas that need improving. Making small changes to the way you shop and the way you think about food can make all the difference. Make a shopping list - Plan meals for the week and buy only the ingredients that you need. That way you'll be less likely to drop things into the trolley that you don't need or that might go to waste.

Mojisola

stir_crazy wrote: »

So if anybody has any tips that I can use to keep motivated that would be great! They dont have to be "diet" tips, just anything that would help with willpower in general.

There are a lot of little things that you can do that unconsciously affect the amount you eat. Here's a few -

Use a plate that's different in colour to your food - if you have white rice or pasta, use a dark coloured plate; if you have meat and veggies, use a white plate. You eat less if you can clearly see the amount you put on your plate.

Buy some smaller plates and bowls. If you have a large plate, you will serve yourself more and eat more.

If you're going to eat treats - cake, biscuits or sweets - take a set amount and put the rest away in container in a cupboard rather than leave it handy. You eat less if you have to go and get it out of the cupboard rather than just reach for another piece.

Always get what you are planning to eat and sit down to eat it. If you nibble at food on the move, your brain doesn't register how much you're eating.

If you can also eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly and concentrate on eating (no phone, TV, book, etc to distract you), you'll also eat less.

Start to reduce the size of your portions - serve up what you would normally eat and then put a small amount back. It doesn't have to be much to add up over a year.

Anoneemoose

Oh I am the same. It is so hard finding something to stick with that doesn't involve syns, points etc etc.

I wasn't one for calorie counting either but my husband has had success with myfitnesspal so I am going to give it another go. I spent last night thinking of lots of foods that I enjoy that are naturally low calorie. So I get 'more for my money' so to speak. Like Aldi frozen berries with low fat (not fat free) greek yog for supper! Can't wait!

I am also doing a sugar stop challenge which means I am giving up everything with added sugar.

I am also not gojng to get weighed every week as I find this often demotivates me. I can't exercise due to Fibromyalgia and ME so that's out of the window but I do try to keep active when I can by pottering quickly around the house!!

belfastgirl23

I tend to focus on the behaviours that I want to enact rather than on the end goals. So I have yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals. That's not to say I always live up to them

So for today for example my goals were:
To support x (taking a friend to hospital, everything else is secondary to this today)
To get as much walking in as I can because of above (normal goal is 12k steps but most of the day travelling to/from and at hospital)
To eat well and not eat any sugary foods or drink alcohol
To stretch and meditate
To ignore my work emails (I'm offically on a holiday day)
To finally sort out a car problem I've been ignoring

At the end of the day I sit down, tick off what I've done, note what I've failed to do, and set my list for the next day. It is repetitive but there's something about making the list that helps me focus on what I really want (rather than what I want right now, which might be a slice of cake) and there is something kind of pleasing about ticking off what I've done - though I don't always succeed in everything - I failed in ignoring the emails today

I think if you focus on building the good habits the good results follow.

This approach helped me lose quite a bit of weight a few years ago, maintain it for quite some time and is helping me to lose it again now (gained a stone over a very stressful time last year but half a stone of that lost again since Christmas )

stir_crazy

Thank you all, there are a lot of handy tips from everyone - interesting about the different coloured plates Mojisola, I'd never even thought something as simple as seeing your food clearly could affect how much you eat.

That is a good idea about ticking off your goals at the end of the day belfastgirl. I think something like that could help keep me focused.

crumblepie

I can plan for a couple of days but can't plan for a whole week. So now I plan two or three days or so at a time food.

I tried 5:2 before but found 500 cals too restrictive. This is the link to the horizon programme with the restrictive diet. Download the ebook which is quite informative and there's links to recipes. I manage with this much better because it allows you 800 cals a day and is a bit prescriptive in what you can eat.

For example - 1 piece of fruit, 6 portion of veg, there's others I can't remember from memory for protein and dairy. And a list of foods that you don't eat which reminds me a bit of the new slimming world diet (speed/protein).

On my low cal days I still eat loads I'll have a soup and salad with a bit of quorn for lunch then a plate full of veg and quorn and a piece of fruit. I eat the meals without any snacking in between and I don't really count the calories.

I've been doing this for a month and the weight is going down slowly.

calleyw

I have issues with motivation if I gain weight I have an all of nothing approach and go and have a binge.

Without really trying about 3 years ago I lost 2 and half stone but that was due to a my marriage failing amongst other things. Wish I had kept it up now!

I am also lazy. I have a local little supermarket up the road and get in the car, pop up there and grab a sandwich and carp to eat rather than cook tea. In january alone I spent £30 in there on carp alone. That does not include anything I bought from else where. I am very MSE when I buy my carp its is reduced to clear or on offer :rotfl:

Also I temp and have not worked since before xmas:eek: so I am very skint. I have loads in the cupboards and freezer. So I have given my debit and credit card to a friend to look after. I need to collect it today as I am going out for lunch tomorrow so need to take some money out and pay my road tax for the year. And I will give them back the cards.

I know that I have always had a bad relationship with food. And I can eat most people under the table. Not something I am proud of.

Yours

Calley

stir_crazy

I know exactly what you mean calley. Most days its a struggle not to give up and binge on whatever I can find, I've managed to cut it down a bit but my motivation isnt what it once was so I do have a few blips.

Well done for being proactive and giving your cards to a friend to keep for you. I have thought of this myself - in fact for a while I stopped taking my purse to work so that I didnt have any money to stop at a shop on the way home afterwards. I think I'll start doing this again.

Oh, I hope you find some work soon.