Health  Motivation for Weight Loss

So, for the past 4 years or so, I've wanted to lose weight. I feel like I know what I need to do (mainly fix up my diet), but I can't seem to find the motivation for it. I'm pretty muscular, I'm not obese or anything like that, but I'm definitely overweight. I'm probably at about 20% bodyfat right now.

I don't actually have too much unhealthy food in my apartment. My problem stems from the fact that its just so much easier to drive 5 minutes to the nearest restaurant (where they serve unreasonably large portion sizes), then it is to cook my own meal. Also, I binge eat on healthy food. ...A lot. Like, if I have something in the apartment, I'll eat it just cause I'm bored.

To combat this I've tried:
1. Keeping track of what I eat (I lose motivation to do that after a week or so).
2. Affirmations
3. The Weight Watchers program


None of it really worked for me. You could say I'm just being lazy. But given that this is something that's important to me, and something that I think about every day, I feel like it's gotta be something more than that. Maybe part of the issue is that I'm not so overweight that it's significantly affecting my life (i.e. girls still seem to think I'm very physically attractive, and I have no health related to my weight). Because of this, losing weight has become something I only "kind of want" as opposed to something I "really want" (which is how I usually have to feel to get shit done). Any tips?

Bboy100 said:

So, for the past 4 years or so, I've wanted to lose weight. I feel like I know what I need to do (mainly fix up my diet), but I can't seem to find the motivation for it. I'm pretty muscular, I'm not obese or anything like that, but I'm definitely overweight. I'm probably at about 20% bodyfat right now.

I don't actually have too much unhealthy food in my apartment. My problem stems from the fact that its just so much easier to drive 5 minutes to the nearest restaurant (where they serve unreasonably large portion sizes), then it is to cook my own meal. Also, I binge eat on healthy food. ...A lot. Like, if I have something in the apartment, I'll eat it just cause I'm bored.

To combat this I've tried:
1. Keeping track of what I eat (I lose motivation to do that after a week or so).
2. Affirmations
3. The Weight Watchers program


None of it really worked for me. You could say I'm just being lazy. But given that this is something that's important to me, and something that I think about every day, I feel like it's gotta be something more than that. Maybe part of the issue is that I'm not so overweight that it's significantly affecting my life (i.e. girls still seem to think I'm very physically attractive, and I have no health related to my weight). Because of this, losing weight has become something I only "kind of want" as opposed to something I "really want" (which is how I usually have to feel to get shit done). Any tips?

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Maybe there's no problem with your weight in fact? You write that girls like you and there's no problem for your health so maybe you should leave this idea? =)
I like to eat too and don't like diets at all. I tried at once but I saw no result in fact and that constant feeling of being hungry... No, that's not my style definetely xDD I understood that the only thing which is good for me is enough of daily activity and regular physical trainings =) That's why I can eat what I want and how much I want xDD
For me a perfect combination is making every day some basic, mostly "calm" exercises, they keep my body in a perfect fit =) Also a good contrast for me is practising in the gym, especially with using the stuff like here, twice a week, also a good fun for me =)) I think that such combinations are the best for the good weight loss =)
And speaking about food... For me a good motivation for cooking at home were the prices for the fast food and other similiar things xDD

For your weight loss treatment, I will suggest getting chiropractic care. My cousin got it from a popular Mississauga chiropractor clinic and lost good amount of weight with this therapy. I am sure you’ll see results in just couple of sittings.

For your weight loss treatment, I will suggest getting chiropractic care. My cousin got it from a popular Mississauga chiropractor clinic and lost good amount of weight with this therapy. I am sure you’ll see results in just couple of sittings.

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Can you elaborate? How does a chiropractor help with weight loss?

Join a gym and get a hot female trainer.

Seriously...

You will up your metabolism and burn more calories. Your trainer will help you plan your meals, and setup a workout plan. You will start enjoying the physical accomplishment of working out and will chose food to fuel that continued improvement.

Diet and Exercise have to come in tandem.

Join a gym and get a hot female trainer.

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Already kind of doing this. I do HIIT training in a small group setting. I'm always physically active and I love it.
My problem is that I have yet to learn to cook. Without knowing how to cook, its almost impossible to eat good meals throughout the day. :/

And I'm not saying this to make excuses. I totally take responsibility for this. Really, the only thing I don't know I change old habits (like going out to eat) and replacing them with new ones (like learning to cook healthier food)

There are websites galore on cooking and learning to cook. Even if you don't have a full kitchen, you can do wonders with a BBQ Grill and a Crock pot. Make a one pot meal that cooks during the day, while you are gone at school or work, then freeze leftovers for future meals to reheat. A single man can get 3 different dinners out of a Cooked Rotisserie Chicken from the store.

I lost quite a bit of weight and have been at this for a long time. Here are some ideas.
If you're thinking about this, it means you don't like how you look without your shirt on. So if you want motivation, go look at the thing you're bothered by in the mirror. For me it was handles hanging over my belt.
Realize that you might need to summon a much more radical energy to change this.

I finally lost real weight after listening to an audio book by Tim Ferris called the 4 hour body. I radically changed my diet but had a cheat day each week. I stayed on the diet for years as it became a lifestyle. Some of my cheat days were epic and after a while I became much more comfortable with low carb food including lots of protein and healthy fats. I didn't cook either. I did everything from eat McDonalds double quarter pounders without the bun, ketchup and extra mustard to getting good at getting salads without croutons to otherwise finding stuff on nearly any menu. I'm not into carb cycling but I wouldn't have the discipline to do this if I didn't nail low carb/high protein diets first.

I endured the social aspects of friends asking why I was on a diet, friends drinking craft beers while I get tested/teased by the bartender for getting vodka club, and it feeling a bit less manly to pass on the cheesesteak or pizza when everyone else is having it. Results helped and you start to get this sort of positive feeling that you're going against the grain a bit. You're making progress while so many other people are struggling. It makes it easier to deal with breaking social convention because you just feel good about it. Losing weight and eating right are a skill/habit you can use for the rest of your life. Over time you might slip, learning how to deal with that and fix it is important. Food affects how you think and dieting will mess with your mind. You'll lose focus only to feel regret later. After a while though, you won't forget that regret and you'll stick with it even when it sucks. Sometimes especially because it sucks. It makes you stronger

If you're thinking about this, it means you don't like how you look without your shirt on. So if you want motivation, go look at the thing you're bothered by in the mirror. For me it was handles hanging over my belt.
Realize that you might need to summon a much more radical energy to change this.

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I can attest to this. I'm lean, but I have some fat on my stomach and legs I want to lose - getting closer and closer.

Bboy,

The George Foreman Grill can be your best friend. Grab some chicken, turn it on, put the chicken on it, and close the lid. Boom! You have a grilled chicken sandwich right there. Add some vegetable and fruit in your diet and you can prepare days of food for your self ahead of time. Leave them in the fridge for the week to eat.

You'll save money from going out to eat, and you'll have some momentum if you want to keep learning how to prepare more. No joke, the Foreman Grill is the only reason I even thought about learning to cook haha, it's so easy to grill chicken. If you overeat on the healthy foods, buy lots of tupperware contrainers and lay out your meals for the week. A lot of bodybuilders do this and it helps keep them on track. It'll feel annoying at first, especially since you can drive five minutes to get a large meal, but you work out already, so you know the first few weeks are always the toughest and become easier without realizing until after.

For the budget part, check this vid out:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r2uA5lIPNiE

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the great advice guys! Just an update:

I've been home for the summer, and my mother cooks a daily basis. I've been having her teach me some of her recipes (most of them are healthy foods) so that I can take them back to college with me. I've also been working with a personal trainer. His lifting program is somewhat sketchy to me because he only has me lifting weights 3 days per week. Two of them are sessions with him (which are only 1 hour) and I do one alone (usually ends up being about two hours). They usually consist of a full body workout, usually exclusively compound movements. Then at the end, a circuit to completely exhaust the muscles. The rest of the days, I do about 30 minuts of HIIT or Interval style cardio on my own. The fact that I'm not lifting 4-5x a week is kinda weird to me. But I'll trust he knows what he's doing better than I do.

I'm seeing a little progress (i.e. in the last month, I've lost 2 pounds). So right now, its really slow. But there is some success. So that's good. However, there are still a few issues that persist. Namely:
1. I still have lots of cravings for sugar. I've tried solving this problem by taking out all sweet foods from my house. Admittedly, this has helped. But I still struggle to keep myself in check sometimes (e.g. I might drive by a baskin robbins or something and get ice cream. Usually, there is no portion which is "acceptable" because most everything there is 700+ calories). Also, any time there is a celebration of any type (e.g. birthday party), I usually give in to temptation and have a bit too much sugar. Unfortunately, given that its summer, this is relatively common.
2. Alcohol consumption. This is a biggy. Drinking alcohol is a part of my lifestyle. I don't drink every day. But anytime I go out with friends and often times when I go on dates, there is alcohol involved. I try to stay away from beers and sweet drinks, which is better than being completely unmoderated. But that still doesn't help to mitigate the negative effects alcohol has on the metabolism. So I'm really not sure what to do about this one. Cause even though I CAN talk to people sober. It's just a lot more fun when I'm drunk lol. Being the only sober one at a party sucks.