Natural vs "other"

stewarm01

I'm trying to lose 90 lbs naturally via exercise and healthier eating. On a good start but as we know it's very, very hard.

How do you feel about people who I say "cheat" with diet pills and the various surgeries?

I personally don't really have the same respect for them vs people who make the real sacrifices. Just my opinion.

cwolfman13

I don't care what people do or how they do it...and if you think people who go through weight loss surgery don't make sacrifices, then you know very little.

mbaker566

what's the difference between naturally and exercise/healthy eating

kommodevaran

Everybody who have ever lost weight, has done so by being in a sustained calorie deficit (eaten less, moved more) over time. And that is something they have done, not just tried to do.

When you tell yourself a task is going to be hard, it will be hard.

Envy is the thief of joy.

Eyes on your own plate.

paperpudding

I think for most people diet pills will not be helpful in the long run.

WLS has its place for those who are significantly obese and make an informed decision to use that tool

I don't have any difference in levels of respect though, nor do I consider it cheating.

Everyone do what works for them - it isn't a competition where you earn more respect by making 'real sacrifices'

Your post sounds judgey and self righteous to me. I personally don't have much respect for judgemental self righteous types. Just my opinion.

janejellyroll

Anyone who loses weight and figures out a sustainable way to maintain it has done something hard. As someone who has done it/is doing it, I respect the heck out of someone accomplishing it even if they chose some different tools than the ones I did.

jemhh

I really don't care how others do things that have no affect on me and have never even considered "respect" (or lack thereof) coming into play as far as my thoughts on people who use diet pills or surgery. I have enough actual real life stuff to think about without gumming my brain up with thoughts on other people's diet methods.

stewarm01

Interesting responses, maybe I'm just frustrated, tired, hungry, and all that.

Maybe the easier way may have been better.

estherdragonbat

There's no objective easy to it. You find what works best for you and do it that way.

nutmegoreo

stewarm01 wrote: »

Interesting responses, maybe I'm just frustrated, tired, hungry, and all that.

Maybe the easier way may have been better.

You're missing the point. There is no easy way. Diet pills are largely ineffective, so the person still has to do all of the work. Surgery alters the way the body functions. Person still has to do the work plus (depending on the surgery), has to continue ensuring they are getting sufficient nutrition and may be a higher risks for other complications long-term, so still has to do the work. Regardless of the approach, the person needs to make the changes, and needs to follow through for the rest of their life, or face regain.

THERE IS NO EASY WAY.

lynn_glenmont

There's a difference between (1) taking a moral stance that diet pills and surgeries are "cheating" and those who choose those approaches don't deserve "respect" and (2) having concerns about the health implications of diet pills and surgeries and the sustainability of such methods throughout long-term weight loss and maintenance. I can choose not to use diet pills and surgeries and even advise others to consider health and long-term sustainability implications of using them without making it a matter of which approach is more virtuous and deserving of respect.

WinoGelato

nutmegoreo wrote: »

stewarm01 wrote: »

Interesting responses, maybe I'm just frustrated, tired, hungry, and all that.

Maybe the easier way may have been better.

You're missing the point. There is no easy way. Diet pills are largely ineffective, so the person still has to do all of the work. Surgery alters the way the body functions. Person still has to do the work plus (depending on the surgery), has to continue ensuring they are getting sufficient nutrition and may be a higher risks for other complications long-term, so still has to do the work. Regardless of the approach, the person needs to make the changes, and needs to follow through for the rest of their life, or face regain.

THERE IS NO EASY WAY.

^ this.

Lounmoun

stewarm01 wrote: »

I'm trying to lose 90 lbs naturally via exercise and healthier eating. On a good start but as we know it's very, very hard.

How do you feel about people who I say "cheat" with diet pills and the various surgeries?

I personally don't really have the same respect for them vs people who make the real sacrifices. Just my opinion.

I don't call people cheaters if they lost weight differently than me. I have to do things my way. I don't know if I respect people more if they lose weight a particular way. I do respect people less if they promote fad diets,unsafe or unhealthy weight loss methods.
I feel concerned for people who use diet pills. That doesn't seem a sustainable path.
Surgery for weight loss seems to me to be the riskier and harder path than just counting calories alone.
There is not a magic way to lose weight though. It is all some kind of sacrafice.

george5911

Why would you base your respect for someone on what they weigh, or how they lose/gain it?

IHaveMyActTogether

stewarm01 wrote: »

I'm trying to lose 90 lbs naturally via exercise and healthier eating. On a good start but as we know it's very, very hard.

How do you feel about people who I say "cheat" with diet pills and the various surgeries?

I personally don't really have the same respect for them vs people who make the real sacrifices. Just my opinion.

I honestly don't care one way or the other. Some people need to get their stuff under control, stat, so I don't judge them at all. I personally prefer to not take any extras because I don't want to deal with what they come with. The pain they go through, the tiny portions of food they eat, the ginormous amount of vitamins they have to take and the skin removal surgery all seem like enormous amount of work. It doesn't seem lazy to me.

Remember PhenPhen? Someone I know lost a lot of weight doing that, and I refused to partake. Later it was pulled off the market because people were dying from it. I stay way from preworkout, BCAAs and all that other stuff because of what happened with PhenPhen. People I train with take these (and possibly steroids on top of it), but I don't judge them for it either. They've weighed the risk and reward and made a decision for themselves. They still have to work hard on their workouts, so I don't think of it as being lazy.

I also know someone who had weight loss surgery. She had many complications and it got so bad she was making preparations for her passing. She pulled through, thank God.

But people who lose weight that fast end up with a lot of loose skin, throwing up, leaking butt, vitamin deficiencies, don't have any room for feasting during the holidays, all that and more side effects, plus scars.

Steroids, for women, make their faces and vaginas look manly, and I'm frankly too vain for that (not vain enough to not get fat in the first place, but I digress). For men, it gives them pimples, premature aging, balding, erectile disfunction, infertility, etc., basically all the things men are afraid of.

So, honestly, I don't think pills and surgeries are the "easy way" out of anything. They force people to lose weight, but they seem quite violent on the system.

To me, eating a healthy, delicious diet and exercising is a much easier and more satisfying way of losing weight, with better results, looks wise. But it is a LOT slower, and takes a lot of consistent effort, which is the difficult part.

IHaveMyActTogether

stewarm01 wrote: »

I'm trying to lose 90 lbs naturally via exercise and healthier eating. On a good start but as we know it's very, very hard.

How do you feel about people who I say "cheat" with diet pills and the various surgeries?

I personally don't really have the same respect for them vs people who make the real sacrifices. Just my opinion.

And also, you have 90lbs to lose. Do you realize that a lot of people do not have the same respect they have for someone who only has 5lbs to lose, because people who didn't gain weight in the first place were making the real sacrifices to keep their weight in check?

Not me, but some people.

Zodikosis

My biggest issue with diet pills is that they tend not to work, and the ones that do tend to be really, really bad for you. The false advertising and BSing also bothers me. That's all. If they actually worked, didn't lie and BS a bunch, and weren't terrible for you I'd be all over that ish.

AnvilHead

People who "cheat" with diet pills do make "real sacrifices". They sacrifice their money for scam products which do absolutely nothing to help them lose weight.

As for weight loss surgery, there's already a very long thread here about it (one of several such discussions which have taken place in the Debate forum): https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10677528/honest-opinions-on-weight-loss-surgery/p1

tl;dr - if you think weight loss surgery is "cheating" or taking the "easy way", maybe you should go talk to a few people who've actually had the surgery. It's nowhere near as "easy" as you apparently think it is.

stewarm01

Thanks everyone for the insight and different perspectives.

I was just frustrated like I said before from less food intake and 2 hours of exercise 6 days week. 1 hour each session 12 hours apart.

To each their own.

janejellyroll

stewarm01 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the insight and different perspectives.

I was just frustrated like I said before from less food intake and 2 hours of exercise 6 days week. 1 hour each session 12 hours apart.

To each their own.

Why are you exercising so much? Are you training for a specific event?

stewarm01

Janejellyroll,

I recently had to retire early and I have nothing to do right now. Decided to finally get into better shape. I'm only doing cardio right now and going to add strength training very soon. It's been 11 weeks now.