For me it's really a combination of factors. Nibbling when I'm bored or watching tv & not really hungry. Stopping more often than I should for fast food when I'm out and about instead of thinking ahead and packing something healthy from home. Being lazy and more sedentary than I should (like doing wii fit or something active instead of sitting on the computer burning no calories!)
. Not being a lover of exercise, I am also guilty of using any excuse these days to avoid it . Add to that having a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally. Unfortunately, he sweetly keeps telling me that I look beautiful to him and am not overweight - which truthfully doesn't really help me much in the motivation department, either (then again, I guess it's better than him telling me the
alternative !). My brain REALLY wants to believe that he is right (despite the fact that I currently live in only yoga pants, as nothing else fits comfortably - and the dress I bought to wear to a wedding last month was a depressing size 16
!!!).You can also add to that my now being over 50 and in the midst of menopause. Yes, all of those factors definitely contribute. But if I really had to break it down to one thing, I think it would be the fact that I was never a "big" person in my younger years - in fact, in my teen years I was very skinny - looked like a scarecrow actually - and because of that could eat anything, and as much of it I wanted -without any problems at all. So I never really learned to develop much will power or portion control when it came to food. That is where the ladies who have always been on the larger side actually have the advantage over someone like me. But as I got older, my wonderful metabolism started slowing down. Got married and had my kids late in life - mid 30's - and that made another dent in the old metabolism. Stopped working at a job where I was always moving and standing and stayed home to raise and homeschool the kids. That sedentary lifestyle added more weight. Then the pre menopause/menopause years kicked in. More weight added. But not with enough lifestyle changes to counterbalance it. On top of that, add some major stressful events in the past few years and this is what you get. I am now so heavy I actually weigh more now than I did when I was pregnant with my children! I DON'T want to be like this. I know that if I don't get a handle on it now, things will only get worse. Let's face it - people DON'T typically get thinner when they get older! I want to start being more active again. As much as I hate exercise, I do like the way I feel (and look!) afterwards. But right now the joints hurt, I'm always sore, etc. If I can lose at least 2 "bowling balls" worth of weight in the next month or so, then I will hopefully be more motivated to get out there and start working out again. But I do have to seriously learn and make some permanent lifestyle & eating changes. And stick with them! That's why I'm counting on the accountability factor with my Ideal Protein coach to kick me back into gear when I start to slack off if/when I reach the maintenance phase. Hopefully I can do it.