I would give ANYTHING...well, except any effort whatsoever

rml_16

Weight Watchers IS proper eating if done right. And the program encourages exercise. It also is not any easier or even really different from what you proposed.

Not saying you don't have a point, though.

toaster6

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

tinak33

Only yesterday one of my colleagues told me I was "so lucky" because the weight just "fell off" me. Yup, that's right, 65lbs just fell off with no effort at all <rolls eyes>.

She is apparently giving up Weight Watchers and trying Slimming World instead as she isn't losing. I'm not sure she understands that you have to do more than just pay the weekly subs to lose weight...

Wait... what!?!?? You mean you don't pay the fee and they take your fat?!?!? WTF?!?! Ripoff......



I haven't lost enough for people to notice, so I don't have anyone tell me I'm "lucky" or whatever... But hopefully soon!! :ohwell:

Beckyloo80

OMG - I work my *kitten* off for my body! If it was as easy as taking some raspberry pills, don't you think we'd all be on them????

jmoliveson

Many people don't stop to think that you have to work to hard to look good. An hour a day is not much and if people were less lazy and more active then they wouldn't become obese. I went into a mode when I didn't care until I do care which is why I have gained and lost weight so many times and everytime I get tired of being overweight its time to Work Work Work! I am doing cardio for at least an hour and a half a day plus strength training and staying active with everything I do. While I have not lost a ton of weight in the 2 weeks since I started this workout routine, I can visually see and feel the results and even notice how different other people are checking me out.

The sad fact is that many people including myself become lazy and are not willing to do the work; but once you get started working out and sweating the results become addictive! Don't be bothered because you are blessed to have the drive so many others need to FIND!

Fragilebird24

I totally understand why people would say "I would give anything..." except an hour at the gym and healthy food choices. Some people can put in the effort to "eat right and exercise", but for others, this leaves out a HUGE part of the equation.

Being disciplined in eating and exercising are, of course, important. BUT, for some people, the emotional piece is much bigger. Some people use food to "self-medicate" or fill emotional voids or symbolically insulate themselves from other people. Some use food as their only coping mechanism to sooth internal shame or self-loathing or abandonment or whatever. I think the reason many diets fail is because "healthy diet" advice rarely addresses issues of emotional food issues. And for some people, until they find or develop better ways to address these kinds of deeper needs, sticking to diet and exercise is more than they can handle.

However, I agree that it's NOT okay for anybody to dismiss the all the lifestyle changes and all the hard work as merely "luck". You have every right to be proud of an accomplishment you've worked hard for, and if someone told me I was "lucky", I'd want to smack them. But instead I'd just say something like "It's not luck, I've been working very hard, every day, for a long time to reach these goals, and if you're interested I can help you, too."

:flowerforyou: Well said!

HealthWoke0ish

I'm moving slowly but steadily in the right direction. Even though I'm not an expert, I feel like I've had some success, so I am happy to share anything I've learned with whomever it is that needs help. I'm surprised (though not completely so) as you are by people who say they want help...but then balk upon discovering that some effort will be required. :laugh:

I'm even more surprised, though, (and not a little unhappy), when people ask for my input but then get super defensive and say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've done that before but it doesn't work" (By "before" they often mean that 10 years ago, they counted calories for three days--nevermind that their counts were inaccurate estimates at best--and then gave up after failing to lose 20+ lbs in those three days thus concluding that the calorie-in-calorie-out approach doesn't work). :huh:

I'm no hater...and I know that some people just need to live at "rock bottom" a little longer than others before they have their Come-to-Jesus moment, but I just wish (for their sakes) that peeps would take a break, lend an ear, and give some effort before being defeatists and saying that I'm "lucky" that this voodoo/witchcraft calorie counting worked for me.

Big_Bad

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

But it DOES take motivation and dedication. Absolutely everyone can lose weight if they decide to. Not everyone decides to. Burn more calories than you take in - that's something everyone can do. I agree that not everyone is educated on the subject and marketing does make it seem like it should be a quick process. But if you're intelligent enough to do your own research and LISTEN to people who have had success with simple diet and exercise, then you'll be able to see beyond the BS.

I have a feeling you've never worked with low-income people before. There's a level of education required to know how to research or calorie count. Not everyone has access to calorie counting sites or even knows how to read a food label. It's not intelligence. It's class and education.

And just sayin' but I for a long time crash dieted and I'm going to an Ivy League school. I don't think I'm stupid, but I fell for the idea that I could lose weight fast by cutting carbs and starving myself. That idea is a huge part of our dieting culture and shouldn't be blamed on individuals. Biggest loser. Or even an article on webMD that I read that told me I could lose 3-5 lbs a week just by amping up exercie and cutting calories. As long as I didn't go below the magice 1200 number.

gr8xpectationz

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

I totally agree. I'm having success now, but I promise that if I had tried this two years ago, there's no way I would have been successful.

The difference is, two years ago I was working a stressful 9-5 job with a 90-minute commute every morning and night, plus some evenings and weekends. It was all I could do just to keep up with laundry and get halfway decent sleep. Now, I am LUCKY, that I have a job that affords me a better work-life balance (shorter commute, work from home some days, etc.), and I'm LUCKY that I have a supportive husband who has stopped bringing junk food into the house, and I'm LUCKY that I live someplace where walking is safe and easy, and I'm LUCKY to be free of the tremendous relationship and financial and work stresses that used to hold me back, and I'm LUCKY to have a doctor who helped me figure out how to overcome some of the challenges of PCOS, and I'm LUCKY to have supportive friends who will take walks with me and offer ideas or suggestions when I come up against a problem, and I'm LUCKY to have been born into a family that helped me develop coping strategies for life's problems that don't involve food.

It's great to be proud of your hard work and and the results you're seeing. But NOBODY loses weight in a total vacuum. Don't forget to count your blessings and be grateful for the good fortune of the personal strengths, life circumstances, and supportive people who contribute to your success.

Meg_Shirley_86

People ask me how I maintained my weight (even lost some) while pregnant. While I was overweight to begin with, I haven't gained at all and baby and I are very healthy. I still have weight loss ahead of me after I launch this kid out. I know people are curious, and will dispute me at every turn when I say I eat cleaner, preparing meals from home, having less of a process in my processed food ("what do you call freezing veggies and putting them in the bag, if that's not 'processed', hurr durr), but unless I gather that they are truly interested, I go to my default answer:

"Clean living and dirty thinking." :devil:

AlongCame_Molly

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

THIS.

We live in a society where we all have access to literally unlimited information, at the simple touch of a button. FOR FREE. If someone cannot be bothered to read up on a few things and educate themselves on a subject, that is lazy.

Jenism1

Haha! Love this!

No...I am by no means lucky. I work out 5 days a week. I get up at 5:30am every weekday and head to the gym to lift weights, take spin class, do various step classes. I run, do the elliptical and generally sweat my *kitten* off. I do not drink during the week, I pack my own lucnhes, I eat 1700 cals a day and get a good nights sleep.

I had a friend say to me.."Well, I have a full time job and two kids and a husband". Then she looked at me sheepishly and said..oh, yeah...you do too, don't you.

Yes I do. The difference is, I make time for it. Heck, I live for it. It is my 90 minutes to plug into my ipod and go away for awhile. It does become a habit...a great habit that I am in no rush to break!

CoderGal

I hear you! I've gotten that my whole life. Gained for a year and now we're back to those comments again.

Big_Bad

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

edited for ranting and overshare of personal info. People have serious issues with food. I've known quite a few people, including myself who suffered from issues with disordered eating that led to weight gain. Mental roadblocks aren't as easy as they appear.

HannahJDiaz25

You know... I feel kind of bad for ranting about this online. She is a very sweet person, and the only annoying habit she has is complaining about her weight...and never being willing to take action. Oh well. there is no delete button. I just wanted to vent. But now I don't think I should have. Bu thanks for all the understanding :flowerforyou:

ClumsyArtist

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

You're so right. My mom must be super lazy as someone who has a binge eating disorder and used food as a coping mechanism after suffering a sexual assault. And I must have been really lazy looking back on when I was suffering from bulimia and kept on a binging and purging because I was so neurotic about food.

I mean if you don't work out your issues like ASAP and look all ugly and fat because of it you are SOOOOO lazy!

These are extreme examples that fall under the "exception" category, not the "rule". I think we're all talking in generalities here. There are always going to be outliers. I feel for your mom and your situation but maybe you shouldn't take online forums as personal attacks.

tinak33

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

You're so right. My mom must be super lazy as someone who has a binge eating disorder and used food as a coping mechanism after suffering a sexual assault. And I must have been really lazy looking back on when I was suffering from bulimia and kept on a binging and purging because I was so neurotic about food.

I mean if you don't work out your issues like ASAP and look all ugly and fat because of it you are SOOOOO lazy!

WOW..
Ok, OBVIOUSLY there is a difference between being lazy and having emotional trauma that links with food.
No one here pointed a finger and called you and your mom lazy.

The statements were pretty generalized. I know plenty of people who are lazy. They want the perfect body, they just don't want to work for it. They want it in 60 days or less.

And yes, I know people who have disorders and other issues linked to food. I would never call them lazy. And I don't think someone here would either.

If you read the original post, it was ONE person talking about ONE friend who wanted the look but didn't want to work for it. This friend called her lucky when in fact it had nothing to do with luck. That was the post. All she was saying is, it's not luck, I worked for this body and you can have it too with good nutrition and exercise.
NO WHERE did she say that someone with an ED or other emotional problems is lazy.
And I read all the other posts. Didn't see anyone else say that either.

AlongCame_Molly

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

You're so right. My mom must be super lazy as someone who has a binge eating disorder and used food as a coping mechanism after suffering a sexual assault. And I must have been really lazy looking back on when I was suffering from bulimia and kept on a binging and purging because I was so neurotic about food.

I mean if you don't work out your issues like ASAP and look all ugly and fat because of it you are SOOOOO lazy!

WOW.

Meg_Shirley_86

[/quote]

I have a feeling you've never worked with low-income people before. There's a level of education required to know how to research or calorie count. Not everyone has access to calorie counting sites or even knows how to read a food label. It's not intelligence. It's class and education.

And just sayin' but I for a long time crash dieted and I'm going to an Ivy League school. I don't think I'm stupid, but I fell for the idea that I could lose weight fast by cutting carbs and starving myself. That idea is a huge part of our dieting culture and shouldn't be blamed on individuals. Biggest loser. Or even an article on webMD that I read that told me I could lose 3-5 lbs a week just by amping up exercie and cutting calories. As long as I didn't go below the magice 1200 number.
[/quote]

^THIS. Take a dollar and see how many calories you can buy in junk food, and compare it to how many calories you can buy in the produce section. I am not saying it is impossible for low income people to be healthy, but the odds are stacked against them very heavily. I know from experience. I work a well paying job now, but grew up in a very poor part of South Carolina. My husband stays home with our daughter, and I still keep a very tight budget. I have found ways to make a healthy diet economical, but you can be damn sure it took a ton of time, energy, and devotion, on top of internet access and some reliance on my Culinary Arts background. I feel like that may have come off as a "poor me", but what I'm getting at is that I'm very grateful for the accessibility I have to resources I need and I am aware that certain opportunities have made my transition to a healthy diet much easier.

ashleyisgreat

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

You're so right. My mom must be super lazy as someone who has a binge eating disorder and used food as a coping mechanism after suffering a sexual assault. And I must have been really lazy looking back on when I was suffering from bulimia and kept on a binging and purging because I was so neurotic about food.

I mean if you don't work out your issues like ASAP and look all ugly and fat because of it you are SOOOOO lazy!

I heart you. I have been reading through this thread, and I was getting increasingly upset that so many people who have had issues with their weight consistently failed to recognize the mental health element of weight gain/overeating/binge eating. I'm not saying that everyone who overeats has a mental health issue, but many people do, and it's disheartening to hear so many people dismiss that as being a "lazy fat-*kitten*," as one poster so eloquently termed it.

I *totally* agree with almost everyone here that it is infuriating when someone dismisses all the hard work as simple luck or as a blessing. It completely denies the success of the individual who has worked SO HARD to lose weight and get fit. But, yeah, it's not always a simple fat=lazy=stupid equation here. It's just weird to me that so many people who have struggled with weight loss can't see this.