is there such a thing as cheating

Broderick50

I've went back and forth on this a few times. There was a time when i debated weight loss surgery and when i also thought about taking diet pills. I would also go against it saying that was cheating to me, but when I think about it is there such a thing when it comes to weight loss. I know some ways are healthier than others, but in the end if you met your goal weight and your satisfied does it matter how you got there? I'd love to here other opinions on this.

Care76

I don't think surgery is cheating as I believe people still need to follow a diet or lifestyle change. Pills I am not sure of because once you stop taking then you would probably gain the weight back.

NewandImproved1

It's not cheating...but it's unhealthy to be in a hospital-period. I have had no surgeries and will not have any unless the situation is life threatening. If your weight...is life threatening then that would be a reason.

BarbieAS

If it's not dangerous, then who the heck cares *how* you did it. Weight loss is a personal thing. Whatever works for you is what works for you, and it shouldn't matter to anyone else - of course, again, within the confines of safe, healthy weight loss.

If surgery is what's most healthy for you - as another poster said, if the benefits of surgery outweigh the risks of getting it done - then that's fine. It's not "cheating," it's just what was most appropriate for YOU.

Diet pills, IMHO, almost always fall into the category of "dangerous," though under a doctor's supervision, again, it could be what's most appropriate for you.

There's no cheating in weight loss. No one's journey (gods I hate that word, but it's the right one here) is worth any more than anyone else's simply because of their methods. If you lost the weight, then you did it, same as anyone else. If you used a method that ended with you unhealthy because of it...well, it's YOU you screwed, not anyone else.

Greenrun99

I think it matters how you got there.. if you had to work with sweat, pain, and blood.. endured the up's and down's of the journey and still met your goal.. you are that more likely to maintain.. If you went from eating 7000 calories 1 week, then had surgery the next, and were told to eat 1500 calories and oh btw here is a list of foods you can never eat again.. I think you are more likely to not maintain that in the long run..

Mokey41

I don't think it's cheating and I don't think it's easy or healthy to choose either of those options. People are always looking for the quick fix and the reason is usually that they really need to fix their thinking rather than try to fix their body. If you need "cheats" to be able to control your weight then you really need some mental therapy to find out why you find food so attractive that you can't control your intake.

Francl27

I've heard too many bad things about pills to ever consider them, to be honest.

Surgery, well, I have nothing against it, but I think it's a bit pointless in the sense that you have to learn good eating habits with it anyway... so if you're going to do it, might as well save yourself the money and just do it the 'hard' way.

RhonndaJ

I don't think any method of weight loss is actually cheating because there is no 'easy' route, there are downsides to every single one.

Things like diet pills, shakes, surgery, etc, are just tools that are sometimes needed.

Honestly, I've thought long and hard about the surgery and even now I wonder if I shouldn't go that route. Not because I consider it cheating, and therefore easy, but because it would put me under strict supervision for a while and literally force me to do the right things.

In the end I always conclude that I'd probably fall back to old habits, and because I don't have health issues related to weight, justifying to my phobia about why I'd have to undergo a medical procedure and spend so much time with medical professionals is darned near impossible.

deksgrl

Personally, I think it's not a good plan to ever be sliced open unless you absolutely have to, in order to save your life. But, that said, I haven't ever been overweight enough to consider it, so I leave room for understanding that some people feel that was a decision they had to make.

ChrisM32205

That's not cheating.. maybe taking the easier way out. Like others have said, don't get cut on if you don't have to.

You can do this. It's going to be a lot hard work and you must stay focused on your goal, but in a few months you'll be happy you didn't have the surgery.

basillowe66

It really takes self disipline. This program is great because if you get on it and clean up your eating and increase your activity, you will start to lose weight. How fast you lose it,is up to you. There are people here that have lost 100lbs and better. It takes time and discipline. When you start counting your calories and such, you start watching more carefullt what you eat and how much.
Pills don't work because once you go off of them the weight comes back. Fad diets don't work for the same reason. MFP is a life changing program. You determine how you are going to eat and workout. Once you see the weight start to come off the more motivated you become.

Basil

Broderick50

Just to be clear it was years ago when i considered and decided against the weight loss surgery. I was just wondering I look at my weight loss journey as a game and it's a game i'm gonna win. I think thats where the cheating came about i guess i could have called it taking the easy way out instead. I agree with most of you that if you don't have to have surgery then don't which is why i didn't.

MityMax96

I will say this.
If you go the surgery route, then do yourself a favor.
Work on the diet before hand, so after the surgery you are eating the right foods, and not over eating.

I have known a few people who have not corrected their eating before surgery, so then post surgery they have the same eating habits, and then about a year or two later, they have put back on most, if not all of the weight they lost.

Do the hard work pre-surgery of getting your eating under control.

LiminalAscendance

I've went back and forth on this a few times. There was a time when i debated weight loss surgery and when i also thought about taking diet pills. I would also go against it saying that was cheating to me, but when I think about it is there such a thing when it comes to weight loss. I know some ways are healthier than others, but in the end if you met your goal weight and your satisfied does it matter how you got there? I'd love to here other opinions on this.

I'm not too concerned with what others consider "cheating." My quality of life takes a much higher precedence.

Diet pills? Never tried any, haven't researched any, and don't even think they work (although I could be wrong). If there was a "diet pill" that did work, I couldn't imagine it being too good for me otherwise.

As far as the surgery goes, I feel genuine sympathy for those who decide to choose that route, since I would imagine you'd have to be quite desperate to undergo such a radical procedure, in order to effect weight loss. (Not to mention, just the casual information I'm familiar with regarding the enforced lifestyle changes sound untenable to me.)

amie709

Here's my opinion: it's not cheating and if that's what you want to do to get there then go for it!! BUT I think you NEED to think about what got you HERE in the first place.

If you got to this point where you are big and ever thinking about surgery you need to think of why your here: are you here because fate threw you a curve ball that ended up with you gaining weight-like a car accident or something will like that (it happens) OR are you (like me) here because you eat foods and eat them in big quantities that cause you to gain weight and don't do things (like exercise) that would help you lose weight and be healthy. If that's the case then if you do something like surgery how are you going to learn to stay that way??

Me, I got to where I was because I ate crap and lots of it and didn't ever exercise. Now, I eat much better and I love to exercise-I'm learning as I go. When I get to my goal I will be very used to the healty foods.

NovemberJune

I don't see surgery as cheating or the easy way out. I think it's a very very hard way to lose weight. First of all, it's serious, scary surgery. Second, once you're done with surgery and recovery from that, the way your body works is changed, how you can eat, etc. I'm sure it depends on the type of surgery, but I'd be terrified I'd never be able to eat normally again.

skinnyinnotime

I've heard too many bad things about pills to ever consider them, to be honest.

Surgery, well, I have nothing against it, but I think it's a bit pointless in the sense that you have to learn good eating habits with it anyway... so if you're going to do it, might as well save yourself the money and just do it the 'hard' way.

I agree. But it's not even the money, what about the recovery and if it goes horribly wrong. Thinking about that the 'hard' way seems easier!

ChrisM8971

I associate cheating with competition and unless you have a wager on with someone then no its not cheating in my view. Whether its healthy or not is another question altogether.

I seem to remember a celebrity biggest loser or something similar in the UK when one of the contestants had to pull out because she had a gastric band fitted and tried to hide the fact in the competition

therainandthunder

It's only cheating if it's harmful for you, because then you are cheating yourself. If someone is willing to fix their eating habits after surgery, then why not?

samammay

I think its cheating, but only cheating yourself. If you are going to lose 100 pounds 'the hard way' you are going to earn it and you're going to feel every day of it and your are going to be PROUD of it. I think you will be much less likely to relapse.

When I went to college after high school I blew off most of my classes, didnt study and failed out. After I got out of the army and went back to college and paid every penny of it out of my pocket, I didnt miss a class, assignment and studied my butt off... because I earned it and it cost me and it hurt to be there. I wasnt going to take the easy way out.

Not sure if this makes sense, but I think you would feel better about doing it the 'hard way'