I Need Motivation to Diet Right

[Della]

I never understand this thing about dieting. I'm not being nasty. Why don't you just eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied? Are you bored or stressed so that you are trying to fill those needs with food? Try learning something new and challenging if you are bored or stressed. I eat everything, desserts , junk food, etc. but always lots of veggies. It's not rocket science. I have been slim all of my life. Of course if you have diabetes or some other medical issue, that would be handled through your doctor. And of course if you are struggling with stress, again your doctor will be able to help you. I wish you luck.

Overweight people do stop when they are satisfied, but they may not feel satisfied quite as soon as other people. Hunger is controlled by hormones.

From the National Institutes of Health:

"The two hormones most closely associated with energy homeostasis leading to sensations of hunger and satiety are ghrelin and leptin. Any shift in the delicate balance between ghrelin and leptin drastically affects our body's ability to regulate energy demands and storage, leading to pathophysiology."

It only takes about ten extra calories per day to put on an extra pound a year and over 40 years, well that would be forty extra pounds without appearing to eat more than anyone else. Also, those ten extra calories can come from vegetables as easily as candy.

It's not rocket science.​

 

[JustDave]

When I was younger my motivation was about looks. Today it's about health. But no matter the motivation, both results are still a product of the process. But that may not be what your asking. The big question is how you get to that point? I have no universal answer for that. For me, what works defies most of everything people warn each other about when it comes to dieting. Maybe the best advice I have is don't listen to others, especially people who write diet books or sell diet supplements. Don't listen to me either. I only know what works for me.

 

[hearlady]

Good advice. What works for some does not work for all.

 

[Remy]

I never understand this thing about dieting. I'm not being nasty. Why don't you just eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied? Are you bored or stressed so that you are trying to fill those needs with food? Try learning something new and challenging if you are bored or stressed. I eat everything, desserts , junk food, etc. but always lots of veggies. It's not rocket science. I have been slim all of my life. Of course if you have diabetes or some other medical issue, that would be handled through your doctor. And of course if you are struggling with stress, again your doctor will be able to help you. I wish you luck.

I developed an eating disorder at 8 years old comforting myself with food due to abuse. When my mother came to the school and made a scene, I started to get bullied at school. I had no safe place and I turned to food. I only made this connection a few short years ago. It's been a life long struggle. I'm not huge and every job I've had has been on my feet. I do a better and more conscientious job at my workplace than many others.

You sound like my stepfather. Can eat anything he wants, won't gain an ounce. He also stood by as an adult and never once protected us kids, even witnessing physical abuse and doing nothing.

But as long as you look good, it's all that matters. I mentioned stress (to put it mildly) to my doctor, he waved it off. I don't have money for counseling. It won't rewire my brain back anyway. It's also very hard for abuse victims to ask for help. We were conditioned as children that we didn't matter. What mattered in that house was my raging screaming mother. Who could be a good mother when she wasn't in one of her psycho states that could last for days. It was her needs, never ours. And I was just a kid.

 

[Remy]

What's motivating me right now is summer. I just shortened a pair of 50 cent (we actually have a little thrift store in our town with a 50 cent rack, PAWS sometimes has a dollar rack. Right now it's clearance winter wear) jeans into knee length and they actually came out really good.