I miss food

FindingMyPerfection

there sure seem to be a lot of people right here on MFP with a lot of willpower and low body fat %. hormones.....grumble

It's also that somewhere between 80% and 95% of people who try to lose weight fail. Also there are a lot of people on MFP who have never been obese, which is evidently a big part of the problem. It may well be that becoming obese causes irreversible consequences regarding leptin.

This video gives a great insight as to why that is so. It also shows that the symptoms that I have been experiencing for years are not to be brushed off as, "Oh, you're just eating too few calories!". Loss of body fat triggers loss of leptin which, at least in some people, causes hypometabolism, which can cause cold sensitivity, and increases in hunger. The idea that many people insist here that "you can diet without being hungry or cold" may not, in fact, be true for some people.

What "video" do you keep talking about?

I'm betting money it's some straight-to-youtube "documentary."

Here you go.:flowerforyou: have fun!

For this to stick beyond the dieting faze you must develop a healthy relationship with food or you will gain it back again.

Yes, this has been known for the 30 years I have been trying to lose weight.

Also, very interesting point at the 35 minute mark in this video:
http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=1

The symptoms he mentions match mine exactly. It was such a relief to see affirmation after hearing everyone tell me I'm wrong!

deksgrl

there sure seem to be a lot of people right here on MFP with a lot of willpower and low body fat %. hormones.....grumble

It's also that somewhere between 80% and 95% of people who try to lose weight fail. Also there are a lot of people on MFP who have never been obese, which is evidently a big part of the problem. It may well be that becoming obese causes irreversible consequences regarding leptin.

This video gives a great insight as to why that is so. It also shows that the symptoms that I have been experiencing for years are not to be brushed off as, "Oh, you're just eating too few calories!". Loss of body fat triggers loss of leptin which, at least in some people, causes hypometabolism, which can cause cold sensitivity, and increases in hunger. The idea that many people insist here that "you can diet without being hungry or cold" may not, in fact, be true for some people.

I don't know about that, I have a number of people on my friends list who have lost upwards of 100 pounds or more, most of them are not eating too few calories. In fact, most of them were successful because they DIDN'T eat too few calories.

maillemaker

Or maybe there are so many obese people because we live in countries where food is abundantly available, and eating has become a hobby along with socializing.

That is a different subject though. You are now talking about all overweight people, when I am talking about people who are overweight who have or are trying to lose weight.

Most people who try to lose weight, between 80% and 95%, depending on study, fail to sustain it long term. This is an entirely different discussion than how many people are actually overweight and/or why.

Hormones cannot be a part of the problem of people gaining or holding onto weight if they stop putting too much food into their mouths. 30 years ago there weren't many fat people around and the same hormones were part of our endocrine systems. It's a copout.

If you watch the video, he goes into the change in genotype and phenotype that relates to the change in food supply. The long and short of it is that it has become increasingly easy to put too much food in your mouth.

The hormone problem is not what causes the weight gain. The leptin mechanism described in the video does not put upper limits on fat storage, but instead lower limits. It basically fights to preserve body fat.

What "video" do you keep talking about?

I'm betting money it's some straight-to-youtube "documentary."

No, this guy is a doctor and professor at Columbia University Medical Center.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_Leibel

Here is the video:
http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=1

It is part of a lecture.

I don't know about that, I have a number of people on my friends list who have lost upwards of 100 pounds or more, most of them are not eating too few calories. In fact, most of them were successful because they DIDN'T eat too few calories.

This may or may not be true. My point is, it's not relevant to what Dr. Liebel is saying. What he is saying is that fat loss reduces leptin, which in turn triggers many other fat-defense mechanisms in the body. Symptoms of this include cold sensitivity, hypometabolism, and increased hunger.

It's not the caloric intake directly that is causing this, though obviously the caloric intake is what results in the reduced adipose tissue. It is the reduced adipose tissue that results in the reduced leptin that causes these symptoms.

It goes back to what I was saying from a lifetime of experience that I can always tell when I am "on" or "off" my diet without even getting on the scale simply by the way I feel. I can physically feel the physiological changes. It was a relief to see this doctor speak of them after so many people telling me I was simply "dieting wrong".

What I don't know is if this applies to everyone. It does not seem to apply to people who were never obese. It may or may not apply to everyone who is/was obese. I have emailed Dr. Leibel and asked him this and other questions. I do not know if he will respond or not.

Also bear in mind here that I am not trying to be some knowledgeable champion for leptin. I only discovered this a few days ago when googling for the number of people who fail at dieting. It is clear that leptin and the related hormones are not fully understood even by experts in the field.

However, I was heartened to read that reductions in body fat do, in fact, cause feelings of cold and hunger and also reduce metabolism by some 15-20% over the metabolisms of people who have the same body composition but were never obese. I was also heartened to read that in fact abstinence from highly palatable, calorie-dense foods can be a way to lose weight. Though it is disheartening to read that because of the body defense mechanisms to protect body fat most attempts to lose weight through behavioral modification fail. They are simply unsustainable for most people.

deksgrl

I was also heartened to read that in fact abstinence from highly palatable, calorie-dense foods can be a way to lose weight. Though it is disheartening to read that because of the body defense mechanisms to protect body fat most attempts to lose weight through behavioral modification fail. They are simply unsustainable for most people.

Of course, weight loss is only attained by reducing calorie consumption. Abstaining from more calorie dense foods allows you to eat more volume of food for the same reduced calories. i.e. a 49 gram pack of peanut M & M's for 250 calories, versus 340 grams and 272 calories in (2) Chobani Strawberry greek yogurt. The yogurt will obviously keep me full a lot longer than the M & M's.

Modifying diet is mostly habit and planning. If I do not have any M&M's but I do have yogurt, I am very unlikely to go find M&M's, I'm going to eat the yogurt.

maillemaker

Modifying diet is mostly habit and planning.

I think it is mostly discipline, as it takes discipline to do those things.

If I do not have any M&M's but I do have yogurt, I am very unlikely to go find M&M's, I'm going to eat the yogurt.

5 minutes in the car fixes that. I've done it many times. It takes discipline to not do that. Most people can sustain that discipline for a while, but not long-term. But I keep trying.

deksgrl

Modifying diet is mostly habit and planning.

I think it is mostly discipline, as it takes discipline to do those things.

If I do not have any M&M's but I do have yogurt, I am very unlikely to go find M&M's, I'm going to eat the yogurt.

5 minutes in the car fixes that. I've done it many times. It takes discipline to not do that. Most people can sustain that discipline for a while, but not long-term. But I keep trying.

Most people using this site have by habit, developed the discipline. It is certainly sustainable.

parkscs

5 minutes in the car fixes that. I've done it many times. It takes discipline to not do that. Most people can sustain that discipline for a while, but not long-term. But I keep trying.

Personally I think you're selling yourself short. We're talking about sufficient willpower to resist getting in your car, driving to the store, and binging on M&M's - on such a regular basis and in such high quantities that you gain significant weight. You really don't think you as an individual are strong enough to resist that?

Think about the incredible feats of willpower humans have demonstrated throughout our history. Think about the incredibly restrictive diet and training regimen some athletes and body builders go through on a regular basis (and most of these people are not paid well for their efforts, particularly the body builders). Now think about how trivial it really is to resist eating something like M&M's in such huge portions that you gain significant amounts of weight. It doesn't even compare.

Why paint the picture of that being such a daunting task? I'm not saying it's the easiest thing in the world or a trivial thing to accomplish, but you've listed so many reasons/excuses that it comes across as if you're suggesting it's nigh impossible to do, when if you just sit back and look at it, we're talking about a relatively small exercise of willpower. At the end of the day, there's more to life than food and giving up habits like eating M&M's in extremely excessive amounts is hardly the toughest thing you'll have to go through in your life. If you come into it focused on failure and doubtful of long-term success, you're just setting yourself up to be another statistic in the failure column. In my opinion, you're better off asking yourself why so many people fail in long-term weight loss (IMO, the answer is complacency and resting on their laurels) and what you can do to give yourself the best chance for success.

maillemaker

Most people using this site have by habit, developed the discipline. It is certainly sustainable.

But again, you can't use the subset of people using this site to prove anything. Even if people using this site had higher rates of success (which would need evidence to support), the fact is that among all people who attempt behavioral modification to lose weight between 80% and 95% of those people fail.

As the doctor says in the video, for most people, it's not sustainable.

And how long does it take to develop this habit? I mean I made it 10 months before failing.

maillemaker

Personally I think you're selling yourself short. We're talking about sufficient willpower to resist getting in your car, driving to the store, and binging on M&M's - on such a regular basis and in such high quantities that you gain significant weight. You really don't think you as an individual are strong enough to resist that?

I know I'm not, from a lifetime of trying many times. For my latest attempt, see:

http://i.imgur.com/ijSkLog.jpg

After 30 weeks of sustained weight loss of 30 pounds I gained back 21 pounds over the course of 3 months.

Why paint the picture of that being such a daunting task?

Because that's what the data shows, my friend. Depending on which study you look at, between 80% and 95% of people who attempt to lose weight fail long term. They simply lack the willpower to sustain the diet necessary to do it.

I'm not saying it's the easiest thing in the world or a trivial thing to accomplish, but you've listed so many reasons/excuses that it comes across as if you're suggesting it's nigh impossible to do, when if you just sit back and look at it, we're talking about a relatively small exercise of willpower. At the end of the day, there's more to life than food and giving up habits like eating M&M's in extremely excessive amounts is hardly the toughest thing you'll have to go through in your life. If you come into it focused on failure and doubtful of long-term success, you're just setting yourself up to be another statistic in the failure column. In my opinion, you're better off asking yourself why so many people fail in long-term weight loss (IMO, the answer is complacency and resting on their laurels) and what you can do to give yourself the best chance for success.

I have been asking (and telling) why people fail long-term. That was is the whole point of the video. The reason why people fail long-term at dieting is because our bodies are programmed to operate in a food-scarce environment and protect body fat stores. In a food-surplus environment it is easy - even with only a 3.6% over-consumption per year, to become obese in a short period of time. And once obese, there are body defense mechanisms that make it very difficult to use willpower to lose weight. Most people don't have the willpower to do it. The doctor in the video says more than once that it is "unsustainable". And the data bears that out.

I'm not trying to be defeatist here, but I'm tired of people suggesting that there are not serious willpower issues here that most people are not able to overcome. I'm also tired of people denying the physiological processes that try and protect fat loss.

WinoGelato

It still comes down to choices. You chose to track your food and make better choices for 7 months and your graph you keep linking shows that. You said then Halloween hit and you couldn't withstand the temptation of the candy, leading you to gain back almost all of that weight. Halloween candy can easily be given away or thrown away. If as you say, you can "feel the effects of weightloss" you probably also felt the effects of the weight gain, not to mention that the scale would have told you that your progress was being reversed. When you started to see these signs, that is when you need to take action and get that candy out of the house and start back on the habits you had learned in the 7 months of success. Here it is 3.5 months later and all you are saying is how you are pre-programmed to fail, when you have 7 solid months of positive results.

I understand the statistics that you keep quoting, that 80% are not able to maintain their success for the long term but if you spent any of the time researching ways to make yourself succeed this time around, rather than looking for studies and numbers to prove your point that you are destined to fail, maybe this time around would be different. And if you are so convinced, then why are you even spending time here on the site? There are a lot of people on here that are working to make better choices and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Your posts though, are basically telling these people there is no point in trying.

Again I ask, what would you say to your daughters if they said there was no point in trying to train for the Olympics, that they are destined to fail? Would you tell them they are right, that the odds are against them, so why bother trying in the first place? Take them out of ice skating or gymnastics or soccer because they are likely not going to be successful in the long run, if the only measurement of success is making it to the Olympics? I think it is the same thing here. Even if you have gained some of the weight back, you still weigh less than you did last April, right? So why not focus on that positive development and use it for motivation to make those better choices. Stop with the cookies and doritos (yes I see you are still logging from the last few days) and get back to whatever you were doing in May, June, July and August. Even if you don't end up achieving your ultimate goal, some progress would still have benefits, just like if your daughters enjoy gymnastics and have some smaller success but don't make it to the Olympics, doesn't mean they shouldn't have tried in the first place.

deksgrl

I'm not trying to be defeatist here, but I'm tired of people suggesting that there are not serious willpower issues here that most people are not able to overcome.

BS excuses. Really, people overcome the temptations. Not every day, sometimes we give in and have the candy. Some of us plan the snack right into our diets. But changing lifestyle comes with making consistent decisions on calorie count and content, and all the planning that comes along with it.

You choose to do it, or you don't. When you get to the place where you are really ready to make those changes, you will.

parkscs

I'm not trying to be defeatist here, but I'm tired of people suggesting that there are not serious willpower issues here that most people are not able to overcome. I'm also tired of people denying the physiological processes that try and protect fat loss.

Like anything in life, not everyone can and will be successful. When you were in school, surely you realized that most people will not get top grades in the class. Some people will be at the top and others will be at the bottom. Given that it's difficult and takes effort to come out on top, did you simply give up, since 80% of the students won't make A's (just pulling numbers out of the air, but that sounds about right)? If you have kids, do you tell them to not even bother trying to get a good education and a good job, because most people won't be successful professionals in life and it's difficult to get into the economic top 1%? Moving away from money, the lifelong probability of getting a divorce for the average US marriage is close to 50%. Should people not get married because there's a 50/50 chance it will end in failure?

My point is again I think you're selling yourself short. Just because you've failed in the past doesn't mean you will fail in the future and just because most people fail to maintain their weight loss long-term doesn't mean you can't maintain your weight loss in the long-term. It's simply a matter of willpower. If you want it badly enough, you can find the strength to do it. Many people do.

maillemaker

It still comes down to choices. You chose to track your food and make better choices for 7 months and your graph you keep linking shows that. You said then Halloween hit and you couldn't withstand the temptation of the candy, leading you to gain back almost all of that weight. Halloween candy can easily be given away or thrown away. If as you say, you can "feel the effects of weightloss" you probably also felt the effects of the weight gain, not to mention that the scale would have told you that your progress was being reversed. When you started to see these signs, that is when you need to take action and get that candy out of the house and start back on the habits you had learned in the 7 months of success. Here it is 3.5 months later and all you are saying is how you are pre-programmed to fail, when you have 7 solid months of positive results.

The only effects I feel of not dieting is a sense of a return to feeling good, as opposed to the suffering I feel when dieting. So yes, in that sense, I can "feel" the effects of not dieting. Of course I also see the effects on the scale and my clothes not fitting. Yes, obviously this is when I need to take action but it is a matter of willpower and I didn't have it.

And if you are so convinced, then why are you even spending time here on the site? There are a lot of people on here that are working to make better choices and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Your posts though, are basically telling these people there is no point in trying.

Hope springs eternal. I keep hoping maybe this time I will keep my willpower. Honestly, though, in my heart of hearts, though, I don't really believe it.

Again I ask, what would you say to your daughters if they said there was no point in trying to train for the Olympics, that they are destined to fail? Would you tell them they are right, that the odds are against them, so why bother trying in the first place? Take them out of ice skating or gymnastics or soccer because they are likely not going to be successful in the long run, if the only measurement of success is making it to the Olympics? I think it is the same thing here.

Since you keep laboring the point, if my son and daughter were talking about training for the Olympics, I would tell them that their chances of being an Olympic athlete are very slim. I would not stop them from trying it if they wanted to, but I would make sure they pursue a realistic education path for a realistic career as a primary goal. It's fine for something to dabble in but not to the exclusion of realistic goals. Being an Olympic athlete is not a realistic life goal for most people.

Even if you have gained some of the weight back, you still weigh less than you did last April, right? So why not focus on that positive development and use it for motivation to make those better choices. Stop with the cookies and doritos (yes I see you are still logging from the last few days) and get back to whatever you were doing in May, June, July and August. Even if you don't end up achieving your ultimate goal, some progress would still have benefits, just like if your daughters enjoy gymnastics and have some smaller success but don't make it to the Olympics, doesn't mean they shouldn't have tried in the first place.

I restarted my diet again today. We'll see how long the willpower holds out this time.

Like anything in life, not everyone can and will be successful. When you were in school, surely you realized that most people will not get top grades in the class. Some people will be at the top and others will be at the bottom. Given that it's difficult and takes effort to come out on top, did you simply give up, since 80% of the students won't make A's (just pulling numbers out of the air, but that sounds about right)? If you have kids, do you tell them to not even bother trying to get a good education and a good job, because most people won't be successful professionals in life and it's difficult to get into the economic top 1%? Moving away from money, the lifelong probability of getting a divorce for the average US marriage is close to 50%. Should people not get married because there's a 50/50 chance it will end in failure?

My point is again I think you're selling yourself short. Just because you've failed in the past doesn't mean you will fail in the future and just because most people fail to maintain their weight loss long-term doesn't mean you can't maintain your weight loss in the long-term. It's simply a matter of willpower. If you want it badly enough, you can find the strength to do it. Many people do.

The difference here is there is probably a biological limitation to weight loss. It's not just because I have failed in the past, it's because nearly everyone who attempts this fails, and it appears there is a biological reason that overpowers most people's willpower.

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=1

go to the 51:49 mark.

Also look at 36:51.

Basically, people who lose body fat will endure hunger and a suppressed metabolism for years. Possibly forever. Most people can't fight this forever. 30 weeks is the longest I've ever made it without a drug.

We'll see how long I make it this time. Honestly, though, I'm not optimistic. I'm more likely to become an Olympic athlete.

deksgrl

The only effects I feel of not dieting is a sense of a return to feeling good, as opposed to the suffering I feel when dieting. So yes, in that sense, I can "feel" the effects of not dieting. Of course I also see the effects on the scale and my clothes not fitting. Yes, obviously this is when I need to take action but it is a matter of willpower and I didn't have it.

The point that many have been trying to make here is that you don't have to SUFFER when you lose weight, if you take a reasonable calorie deficit. Will it take longer? Maybe, or likely, but you will be farther along on your goals if it makes it sustainable enough that you don't quit.

_HeartsOnFire_

Most people using this site have by habit, developed the discipline. It is certainly sustainable.

But again, you can't use the subset of people using this site to prove anything. Even if people using this site had higher rates of success (which would need evidence to support), the fact is that among all people who attempt behavioral modification to lose weight between 80% and 95% of those people fail.

As the doctor says in the video, for most people, it's not sustainable.

And how long does it take to develop this habit? I mean I made it 10 months before failing.

You know why most people fail? There's a few actual reasons for it...
A) they treat it like a diet and NOT a lifestyle change - which it should be.
they don't plan what to do when they reach their goal weight. If they were dieting and cut things out of their diet, chances are when they reach goal weight they'll think they can just eat whatever and it's okay. Which it's not, so they gain the weight back and then some.
C) Whatever someone chooses to do they have to make it a lifestyle change. It's about moderation not deprivation. I make sure I do NOT tell myself that I can't eat anything. I eat/drink what I want and I'm losing weight. I feel that people who restrict themselves too much set themselves up to fail.

Also...

I'm not trying to be defeatist here, but I'm tired of people suggesting that there are not serious willpower issues here that most people are not able to overcome.

BS excuses. Really, people overcome the temptations. Not every day, sometimes we give in and have the candy. Some of us plan the snack right into our diets. But changing lifestyle comes with making consistent decisions on calorie count and content, and all the planning that comes along with it.

You choose to do it, or you don't. When you get to the place where you are really ready to make those changes, you will.

This!

And...my favorite part of the website I'll list below...

Lack of motivation to follow a healthy diet and commit to consistent exercise is a myth.

You are going to die. And neglecting your health and fitness is more likely to hasten your departure. Furthermore, the days you do have will be spent with less energy and more pain if you choose to eat crap and be sedentary. The motivation, the “why”, to exercise and eat nutritious foods in appropriate quantity is present and strong. The bigger mystery is why we choose to ignore the need for proper diet and exercise in the face of obvious requirement.

We do not need motivation. We need decision.

We need unwavering non-negotiable decision. And yes, I know that the pic above was not taken during Hurricane Sandy (although I thought it was when I posted it to my Facebook page). But it was taken during a torrential down pour at some point in recent history. It absolutely captures the fortitude and decision of those soldiers to stand by their post no matter what hardship may be encountered.

If those soldiers can decide to endure the elements, then we can decide to put down the damned pizza and beer.

Or forgo the free bagels at the office. Or wake up a half hour early to exercise. Or keep a food journal everyday. Or what ever else we know we need to do but keep failing to commit to because it is “hard”.

Enduring chemotherapy is hard.

Hitting a fast ball in the major leagues in hard.

Negotiating nuclear disarmament from a hostile nation is hard.

Saying goodbye to a loved one in the hospital or the veterinarian’s office for the last time is hard.

But putting down the cookies and picking up the spinach? That’s only as hard as the story we tell ourselves.

What is often called lack of motivation is actually lack of discipline and lack of habit. I’ve posted about discipline and habit before – those entries lack the sexy headlines such as “1 weird trick to lose belly fat” and often do not get more than the cursory glance. And that’s unfortunate because it is discipline and habit that hold the keys to not only losing weight or getting strong, but to anything that we want in life.

You already know what to do to lose weight and get in shape. The smaller details will vary but the big picture is always to eat real food in appropriate quantity and move in a manner that is continually challenging. The problem is not lack of knowledge or lack of motivation. The problem is lack of decision.

Decide. Now.

http://www.vicmagary.com/blog/fitness-motivation/

TeriaShae

Eat them! In moderation though however.

blainekehl

Cheat day. Have a cheat day and eat whatever you want.

parkscs

Since you keep laboring the point, if my son and daughter were talking about training for the Olympics, I would tell them that their chances of being an Olympic athlete are very slim. I would not stop them from trying it if they wanted to, but I would make sure they pursue a realistic education path for a realistic career as a primary goal. It's fine for something to dabble in but not to the exclusion of realistic goals. Being an Olympic athlete is not a realistic life goal for most people.

To put things in perspective, roughly 20% of people who lose a significant amount of weight are able to maintain their weight loss in the long-term. On the other hand, consider the fraction of people who make it to the Olympics for their sport - it's a tiny percentage. So, a better analogy would be encouraging your kids not to even try to make the honor roll because only 20% of the people make it and telling them that deep inside they should accept the fact that a majority of people will fail. Why bother trying when 4 in 5 can't make it, right? Best to accept mediocre grades and aim for a mediocre job at best.

As for the comparison to the Olympics, with sports where there's a limited number of people who can make a pro team or the Olympics, while there are no limits or caps with weight loss. ANY individual can be successful in weight loss if they want it badly enough. It's like a lot of things in life - many people say they want something but few are willing to work and sacrifice to achieve it. In short, if you really want to lose weight and keep it off, you can do it.

Personally, I think your attitude is way more defeatist than even the statistics let on. 20% really isn't that bad, especially when you consider most people put the weight back on simply by getting complacent and the only difficulty comes from avoiding complacency. But, if you can lose the weight, you have every tool you need to maintain the weight loss, and rather than making up excuses for why it's hard, personally I feel that your time and energy would be better spent considering what you need to do in order to find long-term success.

WinoGelato

Since you keep laboring the point, if my son and daughter were talking about training for the Olympics, I would tell them that their chances of being an Olympic athlete are very slim. I would not stop them from trying it if they wanted to, but I would make sure they pursue a realistic education path for a realistic career as a primary goal. It's fine for something to dabble in but not to the exclusion of realistic goals. Being an Olympic athlete is not a realistic life goal for most people.

To put things in perspective, roughly 20% of people who lose a significant amount of weight are able to maintain their weight loss in the long-term. On the other hand, consider the fraction of people who make it to the Olympics for their sport - it's a tiny percentage. So, a better analogy would be encouraging your kids not to even try to make the honor roll because only 20% of the people make it and telling them that deep inside they should accept the fact that a majority of people will fail. Why bother trying when 4 in 5 can't make it, right? Best to accept mediocre grades and aim for a mediocre job at best.

As for the comparison to the Olympics, with sports where there's a limited number of people who can make a pro team or the Olympics, while there are no limits or caps with weight loss. ANY individual can be successful in weight loss if they want it badly enough. It's like a lot of things in life - many people say they want something but few are willing to work and sacrifice to achieve it. In short, if you really want to lose weight and keep it off, you can do it.

Personally, I think your attitude is way more defeatist than even the statistics let on. 20% really isn't that bad, especially when you consider most people put the weight back on simply by getting complacent and the only difficulty comes from avoiding complacency. But, if you can lose the weight, you have every tool you need to maintain the weight loss, and rather than making up excuses for why it's hard, personally I feel that your time and energy would be better spent considering what you need to do in order to find long-term success.

The honor roll analogy is much better than my Olympics one but I've got Sochi fever. Oh wait, that sounds bad.

_HeartsOnFire_

Hope springs eternal. I keep hoping maybe this time I will keep my willpower. Honestly, though, in my heart of hearts, though, I don't really believe it.

You are definitely already setting yourself up to fail. If you don't believe it or believe in yourself and your ability to lose the weight then you're right, you won't be able to do it. Because you've already decided you can't.

I restarted my diet again today. We'll see how long the willpower holds out this time.

Again, you are already believing it won't last. YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

My point is again I think you're selling yourself short. Just because you've failed in the past doesn't mean you will fail in the future and just because most people fail to maintain their weight loss long-term doesn't mean you can't maintain your weight loss in the long-term. It's simply a matter of willpower. If you want it badly enough, you can find the strength to do it. Many people do.

I agree with this poster above. You are selling yourself short. WAY short. But it's possible while you say you "want it" you just might not want it bad enough. Because when you want it bad enough, you'll do what it takes.

The difference here is there is probably a biological limitation to weight loss. It's not just because I have failed in the past, it's because nearly everyone who attempts this fails, and it appears there is a biological reason that overpowers most people's willpower.

Nope. People fail and gain the weight back for reasons I listed earlier. Just in case here it is...
You know why most people fail? There's a few actual reasons for it...
A) they treat it like a diet and NOT a lifestyle change - which it should be.
they don't plan what to do when they reach their goal weight. If they were dieting and cut things out of their diet, chances are when they reach goal weight they'll think they can just eat whatever and it's okay. Which it's not, so they gain the weight back and then some.
C) Whatever someone chooses to do they have to make it a lifestyle change. It's about moderation not deprivation. I make sure I do NOT tell myself that I can't eat anything. I eat/drink what I want and I'm losing weight. I feel that people who restrict themselves too much set themselves up to fail.

Basically, people who lose body fat will endure hunger and a suppressed metabolism for years. Possibly forever. Most people can't fight this forever. 30 weeks is the longest I've ever made it without a drug.

We'll see how long I make it this time. Honestly, though, I'm not optimistic. I'm more likely to become an Olympic athlete.

Again, saying you aren't optimistic...

The real problem is that you don't believe in yourself. You are also talking negatively about yourself - already believing you can't do it, etc. All of the negative self-talk resonates in your brain and you will continue on the path to fail. But if you start trying to believe in yourself, start saying I CAN DO THIS, rather than I can't do this, stop any and all negative self talk (which is hard, I was the QUEEN of it), if you catch yourself saying you can't, stop yourself and rephrase it.