Motivation to change eating habits

[JohnnyReggae]

I am struggling with motivation to change my eating habits. I love food, and I love eating ... way to much. Over the years I have done so many different diets and eating plans and know what is required to lose weight but can't bring myself to follow any sensible eating plan.

 

Over the last 20 years I have probably lost the equivalent in weight of another person, and put it all back on again. My heaviest being 120kg's and lightest 85kg's. I'm currently hovering around the 105-110kg mark. The most weight I lost at a time was 35kg's, going from 120kg's down to 85kg's in the space of about 6 months. My previous best was 23kg's going down from 110kg's to 87kg's in the space of 3 months. The last time I attempted a serious effort at losing weight I only managed 8kg's in the space of 4 months, stopping at 92kg's.

 

I am fairly active riding around 90-100 minutes with an average heart rate around the 135bpm mark, 4 times a week, split over 2 sessions. This is done on my commute to and from work. I don't have any other time to exercise or even time to prepare nutritious/cheap meals as I have 2 kids, the youngest being 5 months old. My life is busy...

 

So working up the motivation to eat healthy when only getting between 4 and 6 hours sleep a night is a struggle. I'm sure there are others in a similar position to me .... so how are you doing it ?

 

I suppose I'm just looking for a pep talk to get my butt into gear to make a serious effort to get somewhere with a healthy lifestyle that I can maintain. The maintenance is the biggest problem for me. I can starve myself and lose weight, done that before, but that's not really a solution.

[Jakkals.]

Its called self discipline. Tell yourself no more.

[Baaisikilist]

I find preparation to be the key. If your 'diet' meals are prepared in advance, you'll veer off track less.

[VicanZA]

Eat what u want work harder on the bike, target HR of 60 to 80% of ur max keep ur riding in aerobic zone.

 

THR=(MHR-RHR)%+RHR.

 

75% of ur training should be aerobic, try catching some spinning sessions at ur gym avoid the anaerobic and red line classes, u don't need to develop power.

 

Life is short dude and food is awesome. Do u really wanna wear dippers again?

[Ilana]

Weight loss is 70% diet 30% exercise.

If you prepping food for the kids you can prep food for yourself. Watch your portion sizes and ensure you eat at the right times of the day.

Look at a lifestyle change as a whole and not only on the losing weight part, something that you can incorporate for the whole family. Too busy is not an excuse.

It takes two weeks to get into a routine - bite the bullet and go for it.

You can do it.

[Pappa Bear]

Diet starts in the shop. Don't buy anything you will regret eating later. Buy healthy eat healthy.

[Tjokkits]

80/20 approach if you try too perfect it falls apart. Stock uour fridge with easy to make stuff, ostrich filket, grilled salmon, chicken breasts, veggies, sweet potatoe, pumpkin ( not butternut) cottage cheese, fat free yogurts and fruit, eat as little fat and mostly good fats like avo, balance carbs and proteins i.e if you have 30 g carb have 30 g protein, if you track on myfitnesspal easy to work out. Eat five or six small meals. Avoid starchy foods at night. Dont eat too little thats a big danger. Make it a lifestyle

[Dirtbreath]

I think you are trying to loose too much too quickly. Take smaller healthier steps and forget about the scale. Why do you put the weight back on? Are you constantly hungry when you diet?

[Mojoman]

Over the last 6 months I have lost over10kgs.

 

I have stopped eating after 8pm. I no longer eat meat (partially for health, partially for moral reasons). I pile my plate up high with mixed roast veg (chop up a sweet potato, carrots, butternut, onion and potatoes), a baked mixed bean dish (fry up an onion, pepper and mushrooms, add a tin of mixed beans and a little cream and season to taste, put in the oven for 20 minutes, delicious with some fresh chopped chilli, I eat loads of the stuff! You can add in a couple more tins of beans as the week progresses). And a couple of times a week I eat fish.

 

I try not to eat crap when travelling or going out, have basically cut out junk food (a treat is a home made prawn or veg curry on weekends, veg pizzas-just buy the bases, and various pastas).

 

I ride about 4-5 times a week and go for a quick trot twice a week as well as do a little upper body workout on my weight bench at home. I still drink some beer during the week or have a coke etc but now I just watch how much of it I consume.

[P.A.K.]

Do the Low Carb High Fat diet, it's so much fun you won't need motivation! See the LCHF thread on the Hub

[NotSoBigBen]

Eat what u want work harder on the bike, target HR of 60 to 80% of ur max keep ur riding in aerobic zone.

 

THR=(MHR-RHR)%+RHR.

 

75% of ur training should be aerobic, try catching some spinning sessions at ur gym avoid the anaerobic and red line classes, u don't need to develop power.

 

Life is short dude and food is awesome. Do u really wanna wear dippers again?

 

I must re-iterate what others have said and I know as I had that opinion of 'I ride lots so I can eat what I want' ... I was still a fat a$$

 

I now live by the thinking that 'you cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet' ........

[Excite_Bike]

I must agree, food is great, but also the root of all evil. Unfortunately weight loss does not happen overnight, as much as you sometime want it too. It takes baby steps and a change of lifestyle. It does not help going cold turkey on everything. Just does not work. Try to slowly eliminate one bad thing at a time.

[HappyMartin]

My motivation began when I did a medical for life cover. I was turned down. That means the actuaries calculated my risk of dying was so high they would not make money on me. Gave me a huge wakeup

 

Lost 20kg and kept it off. Normalized my BP. Got an exercise program going. Stopped drinking. Got more sleep

 

As for motivation there is the carrot and the stick. The stick is your lifestyle is killing you. Not it is going to kill you. It is killing you. Sorry to be blunt but that's the reality. The carrot is waking up and feeling bloody marvelous. You don't know how good that is until it happens.

[Grondpad]

+1 on the LCHF (or Paleo if you want). Check out the LCHF topic

[Beesrib]

sit and eat naked in front of the mirror

[DPG]

Too Busy is not an excuse! Carry on yo-yoing your weight and your 5month old isn't going to have a Poppa to play with!!

Healthy eating plan doesn't take much once you get into the swing of things! It doesn't matter if you go low fat, fat free, low carb, paleo, atkins, just get onto a healthy eating plan that works for YOU and stick to it. Carry on like you are and you gonna have a heart attack!