Need help with motivation always

secretchef

Hello Serial Starters, I am 61 yrs old, major overweight, a few back pain issues, no outside support. I am not from WW but I have been trying to lose weight for years, sometimes with success but most times not. I have bounced from 230 to 170 then back up to 250, now I am at 263 my highest ever. I have had some recent medical issues that kept me from doing anything so I know that is part of the reason for the weight gain, but my biggest problem is myself. I want to do this so much, I am uncomfortable and just feel terrible but for me to do this by myself is not easy. I have no one I can get to help me stay accountable for what I am supposed to do but me. I have asked many people and they all say sure I will help but in the end, they don't. I am going to be going through some Physical Therapy for a pain in my hip and down into my groin, once that is done I am setting myself up for a guided exercise program with them, Once I get to doing it on my own for awhile I think i should be ok to go back to the gym. I just know I can not do this on my own. Any advice on motivation or help with it would be greatly appreciated.

AnnPT77

If the goal is weight loss, then getting the eating side in line is the big deal, IMO.

I lost from class 1 obese to a healthy weight at age 59-60, have been at a healthy weight since, now age 67. Before that, overweight/obese for around 30 years. I didn't materially change exercise in order to lose weight.

Don't get me wrong, exercise is great. The stronger and fitter I've gotten - a thing I've been working on since my mid-40s but it's never too late - the better I feel, less pain/discomfort, etc.

But exercise alone won't guarantee weight loss. I stayed overweight/obese for a dozen years on a higher than average exercise schedule. (I wasn't trying to lose weight at the time, because I was being foolish, basically. I wish I'd started weight loss earlier, honestly . . . in part because it wasn't as hard as I'd expected.)

I'm not sure what your "no support" situation is, exactly. I'm a widowed, orphaned, childless only child, pretty much inherently a "no support system" scenario. Yeah, I have friends, but none of them were on the same path . . . at least none who really committed to it. In some ways, I felt like it being my own quest was a good thing. I had full responsibility, but also full control. No one forces food into my mouth, makes me chew and swallow. It's all me.

Ditto for being more active: It's in my control. I started being active after cancer treatment in my mid-40s (surgery, chemo, radiation). I was very physically depleted from the cancer and its treatment (on top of decades of very sedentary life). I figured out that I was going to need to work at it if I ever wanted to feel strong and vital again. I started gradually (gentle yoga a couple of times a week), and just gradually branched out from there, following my interests and sampling to see what activities I enjoyed (and could handle physically, because I already had some osteoarthritis and a torn meniscus going on, maybe more). It worked pretty well.

If you start gradually and progress carefully, I'd bet you can surprise yourself with what you can achieve. I'm cheering for you, because IME it's more than worth it.

Best wishes!