I started doing yoga using YouTube just out of boredom during quarantine and something about it got me motivated to get healthy again. I think it's the combination of mindfulness and body awareness that made yoga get me going. I've lost about 35 pounds and feel amazing. Plus it's free and you can do 5 min, 10 min, an hour...whatever you need that day.

I wonder if you are enjoying improved vision from the cataract surgery. Last summer, I had cataract surgery and my improved distance vision made me want to walk more, so I could reap the rewards of better bird watching. Can you find a benefit from the surgery and connect it to moving more? This may be a weirdly-phrased question, but I hope it makes sense. Finding something to celebrate could prove motivating on your weight-loss journey.

Cheers,
Carol

Different things are motivating for different people, and different approaches work better. All I can do here, I think, is share what works most for me.

In terms of approaches, I prefer to think in terms of changed habits that I can stick with permanently, to reach then stay at a healthy weight. During weight loss, I told myself I wasn't willing to do anything to lose weight - except for a sensibly moderate calorie deficit - that I wasn't willing to do permanently to stay at a good weight long term. Weight loss became a series of personal experiments in what was easy and sustainable, rather than being a project with an end date after which I expected to "go back to normal". Instead, I gradually remodeled my eating and activities to find a happy routine. That's worked well, for me. (I'm in year 5+ at a healthy weight, after 3 *decades* of obesity prior.)

In terms of exercise, I started gradually, and built up. (Ten minutes is better than zero minutes!) That, too, was experimental, kind of like dating: I kept trying things out, trying to stick with each thing past the newbie blues to give it a fair chance, until I found things I enjoyed well enough that I *wanted* to do them. An at least moderately enjoyable/tolerable exercise I'll actually *do* (even if it's theoretically sub-par) is better than a theoretically perfect exercise that I'll use any excuse to shortcut or skip. I kissed a bunch of exercise frogs en route, but I now have a routine that works well for me. It's less viable during the pandemic, but especially at first "appointment workouts" helped me stick with it: Classes, scheduling a time to meet a friend for a walk, etc.

I'd also say that that increasing *activity* is helpful, but it doesn't have to be "exercise". Any amount of moving more, in any way, is helpful. It can help me create what I think of as "a bias toward movement". Personally, I've been active for far longer than I've been at a healthy weight. Both of those were hugely beneficial for me, in quality of life, and I think it makes sense to start on whatever front is more approachable for a person. It doesn't have to be all at once. I became active after cancer treatment (chemo and the whole 9 yards) because I realized I needed to do so, if I was ever going to feel strong, vital, happy again. (That realization was a gift, in retrospect.) Being active improved my health and functioning, made me feel better. When I later committed to weight loss, that had added benefits. I'm able to do more, and I feel better not just in terms of things like aches and pains, but also just general sense of well-being. I don't want to go back!

Nowadays, I've been active enough, long enough, that I start to feel actually crummy (moody, tense, more pain/discomfort) if I'm inactive for too long a stretch. I'm not sure how long it took for that to sink in viscerally, but it's for sure true now.

The last thing that works for me is admittedly idiosyncratic, and won't click for everyone. At some point, I looked around at friends and relatives my age - all of whom are lovely people whom I value in my life! - and realized that there were patterns.

People my age and older who had good quality of life, who were able to do pretty much whatever they enjoyed, recover quickly/smoothly from illness/surgery, eat/drink indulgent things now and then . . . those people were primarily active, and at a healthy body weight. Among those who were inactive and materially overweight, it was more common not to be able to do certain fun things (too much walking, too many stairs, at art fairs, athletic events, etc.), to need help with routine home chores (yardwork, flipping the mattress) so depend on children or paid services, to have long and problematic recoveries from surgeries/illnesses (while experiencing illness/surgery more often!), and to have strict eating/drinking limitations due to health conditions or medication contraindications. (They also tended to have problems with side effects from mixing medications for various conditions, while the healthy weight/active people take fewer meds.)

Furthermore, when I went to doctor's offices during the day, the waiting rooms tended to be disproportionately filled with people who were overweight/obese and who looked inactive. That can be cause or consequence, but it reinforced my motivation to find ways over, around or through personal obstacles, and become a healthier person.

As a consequence of that sinking in, for me, one of my biggest motivations is future Ann's longevity, health, well-being, and enjoyment. Calorie counting in particular helps me eat as many yummy things as possible now, while still balancing that with my future quality of life. There are no guarantees, of course . . . but for me, it's motivating.

Like I said, I don't know whether any of the above will resonate with you, but it's pretty much what got me into being active, helped me get to a healthy weight, and is encouraging me to stay there . . . so far.

Best wishes!