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I need to lose some weight. I don't think I look "fat" but I am definitely not small. I just don't feel good. I'm sore all the time, I'm always tired, and I get winded easily. I just moved to Florida and I want to start a healthier life and not be embarrassed to take my shirt off at the beach. But I love food. Mostly bad food. Burgers, pasta, anything with cheese on it. How do I motiviate myself to get in better shape if I hate "healthy" food? What type of diet do I even try? I just don't know where to start.
OK, about me. I am 34 year old male. I am 6'2" and weigh 260 lbs. Primary area of fat is stomach and waist. I'm a size 40.
I'd love to lose 40-50 lbs. I realize BMI is outdated but I just like to see it not say I am obese anymore.
"Motivation" is a fickle and unreliable thing. The question isn't how to keep yourself motivated, it's how to train yourself to diet & exercise even when you're not feeling motivated.
It's better to cultivate and rely on discipline. Force yourself to do the things you need to do, whether you feel like it or not.
Retraining your taste buds....
I know that hamburgers & pasta taste so good...but the bottom line is that the foods you're eating are making you feel like crap.
So you've got to re-train your palate. It will be difficult at first but vegetables really are delicious once you get used to them. And you will feel so alive and fresh and amazing.
Watch the movie "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," it's an inspiring movie that shows especially one man transforming his diet from burgers to vegetables. He looked so radiant and happy, he lost tons of weight, he felt so much better.
Think of all the good things that will start to happen once you drop even ten pounds. Clothes will fit better, you'll sleep easier and more restful. You'll hopefully avoid a depressing diagnosis of early diabetes or high cholesterol.
What I did to motivate was go out and buy an expensive pair of jeans that were one size smaller. Once they fit, I bought a few more great looking pieces; dresses and such as I'm a woman. The goal is health, but vanity plays a part, I'll admit.
And believe it or not, now there are some junk foods that just don't appeal to me anymore. I can't even choke down a Tastycake pie or a Big Mac. Bleh! Season your veggies with herbs you have never tried. You might be surprised at what you'll like. And your gall bladder will thank you later for staying away from all that cheese now. Best of luck to you.
Motivation is a tricky thing. It all boils down to what you truly want and whether you're willing to go after it.
You can stay "fat" and unmotivated and miserable, or you can decide that you will start looking up new recipes, ways to cook, basic vegetables like zucchini, cucumber, avocado, etc. and see what you can do with them. Start with a salad maybe. You really will learn to like them, eventually.
I used to eat fast food all the time, and not even by purposeful choice, I got away from it because I started cooking at home and trying vegetables I knew I would probably like as long as they were cooked a certain way. I've discovered that roasting them is awesome, it does bring out their sweetness. Throw some brown sugar on them, and bam! Almost decadent!
I recommend Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead too. That totally got me into smoothies for a while, which is another route you could go and getting your veggies in.
I'll check out the movie but I don't see myself going from nearly an all meat diet to juicing. Maybe I can find another way to incorporate more vegetables into my diet though.
Once I figure out a diet I will need to figure out a workout routine and how to make time for it while working 50+ hours a week.
t_fins, one way I do it is to make myself a promise that tomorrow I won't eat anything until the hunger pangs have come and gone and come again at least 3x. Then I'll just have a small meal. Then next meal same thing. Don't worry about what time breakfast or lunch works out to be. Eat a normal evening meal and don't worry about the content of it. Repeat each day and you will lose at least a couple of pounds that first week and that is motivating. Since you're never that far from a meal you won't be worrying about food too much. Then when you're comfortable with that change, start looking at fitting in a salad, a vegetable, and a fruit each day--work up slowly and shoot for at least 5 servings of vegetables a day but remember, a serving of vegetables isn't that big and a large apple may be 2 servings. I am not a big believer in breakfast and I don't believe the hype that it's the most important meal of the day--I'm willing to admit that for many it is, but for me it just makes me eat more later, even when I eat healthy.
As for exercise, don't worry about that until you've lost enough to actually want to exercise--about 20-40 lbs maybe. Most people try to make too many changes at once but then if they're not perfect they go right back to what they were doing. Mine sounds modest but you will lose pounds that first week and that will keep you going and you'll gain energy as you go. Do not do exercise you hate--I hate jogging and get discouraged too quickly if I even try to do that. I love dancing however so I could do that often, and do.
I need to lose some weight. I don't think I look "fat" but I am definitely not small. I just don't feel good. I'm sore all the time, I'm always tired, and I get winded easily. I just moved to Florida and I want to start a healthier life and not be embarrassed to take my shirt off at the beach. But I love food. Mostly bad food. Burgers, pasta, anything with cheese on it. How do I motiviate myself to get in better shape if I hate "healthy" food? What type of diet do I even try? I just don't know where to start.
OK, about me. I am 34 year old male. I am 6'2" and weigh 260 lbs. Primary area of fat is stomach and waist. I'm a size 40.
I'd love to lose 40-50 lbs. I realize BMI is outdated but I just like to see it not say I am obese anymore.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
That diet is your problem, .basically fried greasy meat smothered in cheese wrapped in white bread accompanied by soda pop or beer aint in your best interest.,
Motivation? in ten years add 100lbs to your current weight, diabetes is almost assured,heart problems,potential for stroke,mobility issues, by the time you are 60 you'll be in a wheel chair.
Your undisciplined dietary lifestyle needs an overhaul, much more low carb fat free meals are in order.
Not sure who cooks your meals but it sounds like its all fast food in nature, start cooking at home and ignoring the paleo designation start cooking and eating foods like this= Paleo Recipes - 325+ Free from Paleo Plan
I need to lose some weight. I don't think I look "fat" but I am definitely not small. I just don't feel good. I'm sore all the time, I'm always tired, and I get winded easily. I just moved to Florida and I want to start a healthier life and not be embarrassed to take my shirt off at the beach. But I love food. Mostly bad food. Burgers, pasta, anything with cheese on it. How do I motiviate myself to get in better shape if I hate "healthy" food? What type of diet do I even try? I just don't know where to start.
OK, about me. I am 34 year old male. I am 6'2" and weigh 260 lbs. Primary area of fat is stomach and waist. I'm a size 40.
I'd love to lose 40-50 lbs. I realize BMI is outdated but I just like to see it not say I am obese anymore.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Different people are motivated by different things. You just need to experiment to find out what works for you. Motivation can come from within, or it can come from external forces.
The biggest thing I have found and have seen when it comes to actually being successful in improving health/weight/fitness is the switch from thinking of food as a reward or something to celebrate, and starting thinking of it as fuel for your body. There is a 100% success rate from people I know and have trained who are able to make this (mental) change.
Here is my post from the attached motivation thread:
Motivation is often a personal thing. What motivates one person, may not motivate another.
One thing I always say to some women I train who have children is to do it for them. Often, overweight/obese women who have small kids/babies forego almost all things in LIFE and just live for their children. I say to them "If you don't lose weight and get healthy soon you could die and imagine how painful it would be to your kids to have to look at you in a casket. Imagine your husband/boyfriend finding a younger, pretty new wife/girlfriend who will then become the mother figure to your kids all because you refused to change your ways and died". This works for many of them.
You really have to make it personal, be a goal oriented person, or finds something like martial arts or crossfit where you do it in a group of positive motivating people.
Some things that motivate me are:
Feeling of being fit/healthy
Liking what I see when I get out of the shower
Awesome sex life - I look better and my performance is off the charts (sex is an athletic endeavor)
Being a positive role model to my daughter in terms of living a happy healthy athletic life
See pics/videos of fit women. Im a dude, but fit women really, really motivate me
The extreme self satisfaction if seeing myself get better. Its why I log all of my workouts on my iPhone.
Stronger, longer, more energetic sex.
My wife motivates me
Its a stress reliever.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Look at pictures of yourself when you were in better shape. Hang around people who are in better shape, and observe what they do to stay that way.
Make a commitment to yourself. If you don't want it, no matter what anyone says, you're not going to do it. When you do that, join WW because you're going to need the support.
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