the TRUTH about weightloss

fitbulky

So what "truths/reality" did you learn on your journey.Here are mine

Even after lifting weights vigourously and eating better I had 35.2 % fat (omrom)but had visible biceps.It was shocking.So...

1.one needs to follow a structured plan.
2.Progress is slow
3.Unresolved issues with food will always exist
4.It may be difficult for some people to deal with"fatty" issues
5.weightloss does not solve all problems
6.It may be tough to pinpoint the causes of obesity

KateK8LoseW8

1. You really have no idea what a proper portion is. Measure it.

2. You will be hungry sometimes, because you didn't plan very well and you ate too many calorie dense things that aren't satiating. Or you're just hungry that day.

3. Sometimes you'll do everything right and you still don't lose weight that week.

4. Weight loss is addicting, and you might develop anxieties about food, be tempted to under eat on purpose, or start exercising excessively. Therapy helps.

twixlepennie

1. Losing weight is easy. Maintenance is a b*tch

That's all I got :laugh:

Stage14

1. I don't have to starve myself or eat an insanely small amount of calories to lose weight.

2. I don't have to be hungry, ever.

3. Going over my calorie goal on occasion (whether planned or unexpected) is not "cheating" and it doesn't necessarily make for a "bad" day. It's all about averages.

4. There are no "bad" foods.

pinkiemarie252

1. Self control is HARD

2. You have to get up and do it even if you don't feel like it. You'll feel better after.

3. I'll never be able to cut enough calories to trim up my behind.

4. Watch macros...I was way below on protein. If you're exercising you need the proper nutrition.

pwittek10

you are so right
Loosing is easy compared to keeping it off.

megsmom2

Losing weight is simple. Not easy.
Losing weight doesn't fix your other life problems. You're still you. Just thinner.
Eating to lose weight should not feel like punishment. If you eat good, tasty food, not stuff just because "its good for you", you'll be happier.
Sometimes the answer really is chocolate. Or bacon.
Diets are temporary. They all work. Temporarily. If you don't learn how not to diet, but how to live healthier, you'll be back on the diet merry go round pretty quickly. The pounds will come back, and bring friends.
Most of all...you get one body. Treat her well and love her.

elyelyse

Sometimes the answer really is chocolate. Or bacon.

and sometimes the answer is chocolate covered bacon.

SLLRunner

The ONLY thing required to lose weight is to burn more calories than I eat.

No food is good or bad. It is all just food.

There is no such thing as cheating.

It's okay if I go over my calorie goal once in awhile. It's the calorie average each week that is most important.

The scale is not my higher power, it is a tool only.

fitcanpro

Once I started measuring my food I realized how much I was overeating. I was just as full with smaller portions and the weight just started dropping.

Buy a skipping rope! 1 min of skipping is like 10 minutes on a treadmill. This is the one I use: http://amzn.to/IPNvmx

Weight train! The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism.

Cut out sugar and gluten.

That's all I have and it worked for me.

romancefan1983

1. Losing weight is easy. Maintenance is a b*tch

That's all I got :laugh:

Where's the darn like button?!?! LOL

I agree!

Siansonea

It's all just math.

When people stumble, it's because they're doing the math wrong.

Wishful thinking leads to bad math.

Maintaining is easy when you minimize deprivation during the weight loss phase, but you still have to track everything accurately.

Sometimes, you just have to eat everything in sight. And that's okay. As long as you do that less often than before, you're good to go.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Speaking of marathons and sprints, exercise is really not necessary to lose weight, and should be undertaken to achieve other fitness goals, not simply to burn calories that can then be eaten. It's easier to burn calories by not eating them in the first place. No cupcake is worth an hour at the gym.

Sometimes a simple substitution can make your math much more favorable. Knowing which components of a meal are the real calorie killers is essential. Fill up on the low cal stuff, and savor the smaller portion of the high-cal stuff.

Fast food is not the enemy.

When you're conscious and you count calories, you can eat things that you'd previously thought were off-limits, which feels very indulgent.

Weigh in the morning, every morning. After you pee/poop, but before you shower. Not only will you be your lightest at that time of day, it's the most consistent baseline for measuring your progress.

Did I mention that it's math? Because it's math.

If you don't know why you're not losing weight, it's because your math is off and you're eating at maintenance. Pie in the sky thinking with regards to calorie intake and the calories burned through exercise (and then "eaten back") leads to unintentional maintenance, i.e., "plateau".

People, really, really, really, don't want want to be told they're eating too much. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Literally.

Losing weight feels good, and so does keeping it off, and it's totally worth it. But it shouldn't consume your life and your thoughts.

Some people want you to fail. Some people on this very website want you to fail. You can tell who those people are because they pooh-pooh the importance of calories, even though the whole point of this website is to track calories.

Some people want you to succeed. Sometimes to help someone succeed, they have to tell you what you don't want to hear. Any time you hear something that you don't want to hear, pay attention, because that might be what you need to hear.

Smileys are fun. :drinker: :smokin: :devil: :flowerforyou: :noway: :grumble: :explode: :laugh: :bigsmile: :huh:

DavidSTC

1. For me, portion control is hard. I'll have to be vigilant about that for the rest of my life ... not just during my weight loss phase.

2. Patience and balance are key. It's best that I take it slow. I've had to learn to be patient. If I had to give up everything to slim down, I wouldn't. So, I've sought and found a balance.

3. I'm not special. I didn't want to count calories and measure my food. That resulted in a number of setbacks. To make more progress, I HAVE to count calories and measure food.

DavidSTC

It's interesting to me that so many people say no food is bad food, and that fast food is not the enemy, and other stuff like that. To me, it's important to eat nutritious food. Or else, I'd have a very hard time keeping to a low calorie count.

fangmouse

Loving this thread

knitapeace

It's all just math.

When people stumble, it's because they're doing the math wrong.

Wishful thinking leads to bad math.

For my quote in my profile, I wrote: "Losing weight is easy math and hard work."

For me, the numbers don't lie. The numbers point the way to correct choices. I'm still working on the macro part of it, but I'm happy with the math I've done so far and the hard work is following behind.

The only math I enjoy is calorie counting and knitting measurements.

Harrisonsauntie

It's all just math.

When people stumble, it's because they're doing the math wrong.

Wishful thinking leads to bad math.

Maintaining is easy when you minimize deprivation during the weight loss phase, but you still have to track everything accurately.

Sometimes, you just have to eat everything in sight. And that's okay. As long as you do that less often than before, you're good to go.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Speaking of marathons and sprints, exercise is really not necessary to lose weight, and should be undertaken to achieve other fitness goals, not simply to burn calories that can then be eaten. It's easier to burn calories by not eating them in the first place. No cupcake is worth an hour at the gym.

Sometimes a simple substitution can make your math much more favorable. Knowing which components of a meal are the real calorie killers is essential. Fill up on the low cal stuff, and savor the smaller portion of the high-cal stuff.

Fast food is not the enemy.

When you're conscious and you count calories, you can eat things that you'd previously thought were off-limits, which feels very indulgent.

Weigh in the morning, every morning. After you pee/poop, but before you shower. Not only will you be your lightest at that time of day, it's the most consistent baseline for measuring your progress.

Did I mention that it's math? Because it's math.

If you don't know why you're not losing weight, it's because your math is off and you're eating at maintenance. Pie in the sky thinking with regards to calorie intake and the calories burned through exercise (and then "eaten back") leads to unintentional maintenance, i.e., "plateau".

People, really, really, really, don't want want to be told they're eating too much. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Literally.

Losing weight feels good, and so does keeping it off, and it's totally worth it. But it shouldn't consume your life and your thoughts.

Some people want you to fail. Some people on this very website want you to fail. You can tell who those people are because they pooh-pooh the importance of calories, even though the whole point of this website is to track calories.

Some people want you to succeed. Sometimes to help someone succeed, they have to tell you what you don't want to hear. Any time you hear something that you don't want to hear, pay attention, because that might be what you need to hear.

Smileys are fun. :drinker: :smokin: :devil: :flowerforyou: :noway: :grumble: :explode: :laugh: :bigsmile: :huh:

Hmmm some people use the website to gain access to people who know alot about weight lifting/nutrition not necessarily to count calories.

GolfBird1

1. I don't have to starve myself or eat an insanely small amount of calories to lose weight.

2. I don't have to be hungry, ever.

3. Going over my calorie goal on occasion (whether planned or unexpected) is not "cheating" and it doesn't necessarily make for a "bad" day. It's all about averages.

4. There are no "bad" foods.

^^^^ This! This is how I am approaching it too. I eat the same foods as I always have done. I just watch my portion sizes and make sure I get at least 45mins moderate/brisk walking in most days or a 30 - 60 minutes cycle ride in once in a while and the weight has fortunately come off easily for me. I have learned that for me inactivity is the major cause for me to pile on the weight.

judyde

It's all just math.

When people stumble, it's because they're doing the math wrong.

Wishful thinking leads to bad math.

Maintaining is easy when you minimize deprivation during the weight loss phase, but you still have to track everything accurately.

Sometimes, you just have to eat everything in sight. And that's okay. As long as you do that less often than before, you're good to go.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Speaking of marathons and sprints, exercise is really not necessary to lose weight, and should be undertaken to achieve other fitness goals, not simply to burn calories that can then be eaten. It's easier to burn calories by not eating them in the first place. No cupcake is worth an hour at the gym.

Sometimes a simple substitution can make your math much more favorable. Knowing which components of a meal are the real calorie killers is essential. Fill up on the low cal stuff, and savor the smaller portion of the high-cal stuff.

Fast food is not the enemy.

When you're conscious and you count calories, you can eat things that you'd previously thought were off-limits, which feels very indulgent.

Weigh in the morning, every morning. After you pee/poop, but before you shower. Not only will you be your lightest at that time of day, it's the most consistent baseline for measuring your progress.

Did I mention that it's math? Because it's math.

If you don't know why you're not losing weight, it's because your math is off and you're eating at maintenance. Pie in the sky thinking with regards to calorie intake and the calories burned through exercise (and then "eaten back") leads to unintentional maintenance, i.e., "plateau".

People, really, really, really, don't want want to be told they're eating too much. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Literally.

Losing weight feels good, and so does keeping it off, and it's totally worth it. But it shouldn't consume your life and your thoughts.

Some people want you to fail. Some people on this very website want you to fail. You can tell who those people are because they pooh-pooh the importance of calories, even though the whole point of this website is to track calories.

Some people want you to succeed. Sometimes to help someone succeed, they have to tell you what you don't want to hear. Any time you hear something that you don't want to hear, pay attention, because that might be what you need to hear.

Smileys are fun. :drinker: :smokin: :devil: :flowerforyou: :noway: :grumble: :explode: :laugh: :bigsmile: :huh:

^^ So happy you are on my friend list. Every single thing here is true!! Thanks for the reminder!!

Edited since I just figured out how to BOLD! :-)

judyde

For my quote in my profile, I wrote: "Losing weight is easy math and hard work."

Love it!!!

Siansonea

le snip

Hmmm some people use the website to gain access to people who know alot about weight lifting/nutrition not necessarily to count calories.

Well, you are in the WEIGHT LOSS forum, you know. :huh: And even if the only thing you use here is the community tab, there are a lot of other tabs that have to do with recording calories and tracking progress 'n such. If you don't use those resources, more power to you. But that doesn't change the fact that the site is geared toward helping people track calories in and calories out.