Is losing weight supposed to be hard?

GreenIceFloes

My mom is trying to lose weight, and she has Wegener's granulomatosis, so she is on a whole host of medications, including steroids. She isn't allowed a wide variety of proteins either. And she has hypothyroidism.
When your hormones are out of whack, it isn't simply calories in and calories out.

SugaryLynx

So....what exactly was the point of posting this thread? Nobody can gain anything from this.

Something, something showing e peen

Aaron_K123

You're in high school and have zero life responsibilities and associated stressors.

Grow up and stop trivializing what is difficult for a lot of people.

You have all the tools available to you that you need to complete your goal. Responsibility and stress aren't reasons to not develop healthy habits
Don't have time to have a healthy breakfast or lunch?
Make it the night before and en masse
Don't have time to exercise?
Go for walks around the office or workplace if you have the chance

You asked about challenges. Examples were given. No one said those challenges preclude success.

The troll is strong with this one.

Those aren't challenges, those are excuses

At what point do "excuses" become challenges then. Where is that line?

I am sorry but when you are trying to maintain a house, working a 10 hour shift and starting a family those "excuses" qualify as challenges. We all have been through highschool, I can assure you....you have not experienced true stress yet. Your body is in peak form at your age, your energy level is at its highest it will ever be, you have the fewest responsibilities you will ever have in the rest of your adult life.

You perceive things as not being difficult because you have nothing in your life that makes them difficult.

Is weight loss or fitness complicated? No. But it, like anything, takes time...and time becomes a lot more precious at 30-65 than at 18.

Ang108

I've always read and heard about people complaining about weight loss being too difficult, or that it's too complicated. I'm on day 48 of my weight loss "journey" if you wish to call it that, and there's been absolutely zero challenges I've faced. I lift weights 3-4 days a week, and eat at a 500 calorie deficit and I've lost 16 pounds.
So what's the big deal with weight loss? Why is it considered to be so impossible?

I am almost 50 years older than you, am on day 402, hold down a full time job and commute by public transport almost two hours each way in one of the biggest and most polluted cities of the world. I keep up my home, have a social life, exercise 6 days a week, walk my dog twice a day and take care of her and volunteer. Oh yes, I also cook all my meals.........and have had set-backs in my " journey " because I have rampant Lupus and re-covered from Thyroid cancer. I made the necessary efforts to overcome those problems and now have lost 50 pounds. Would you like to switch roles with me and still say thatweightloss is not a big deal ? And who considers it impossible ? If people really believe it is, what are they all doing here ?

Escloflowne

I started at 280lbs and I found it very simple, it's just basic math and making sure you measure your portions...

establishingaplace

I've always read and heard about people complaining about weight loss being too difficult, or that it's too complicated. I'm on day 48 of my weight loss "journey" if you wish to call it that, and there's been absolutely zero challenges I've faced. I lift weights 3-4 days a week, and eat at a 500 calorie deficit and I've lost 16 pounds.
So what's the big deal with weight loss? Why is it considered to be so impossible?

There are factors that can make losing weight more difficult, such as:

1. Age/hormones
2. Endocrine issues like hypothyroidism
3. Medications
4. Physical ailments/injuries that may keep a person from temporarily working out
5. Life stresses like job changes, moving, loss of a loved one
6. Being super busy and finding time management challenging
7. Negative self-talk and damaging amounts of criticism
8. Treating one slip-up as failure and sliding downhill and giving up
9. Seeing a few pounds gained after vacation as failure and sliding down hill and giving up

I've also had a really easy time of losing weight since I started, though I'm not losing as quickly as you. But it took years of getting my endocrine system back into balance, learning to manage my stress so I don't get sick as much, and shushing the negative self-talk and feelings of failure.

paulawatkins1974

If It's so easy, I dunno why you gained weight in the first place?

rkquade

How close are you to your ideal weight? The closer you get, the harder it gets. If you have weight to lose, it can seem easier in the beginning, but get down to those last 5 "vanity" pounds and tell me how easy and not complicated weight loss or rather fat loss is for you.

SugaryLynx

Here, I got you a snack

Careful not to choke OP

glickman1

Let's break this down

My mom is trying to lose weight, and she has Wegener's granulomatosis, so she is on a whole host of medications, including steroids. She isn't allowed a wide variety of proteins either. And she has hypothyroidism.

You're describing less than 1% of the population, nice.

When your hormones are out of whack, it isn't simply calories in and calories out.

Your body "burns" fat by not obtaining enough energy (calories) from food
Make sure your body doesn't get enough energy, and you'll lose fat. It's not hard

kgeyser

If it was so easy for everyone, wouldn't everyone be thin?

It's easy or be fat in our society, if you don't care about what you're eating or how you're working out you can very easily let yourself go
Being a normal weight requires some effort, and most people aren't willing to apply themselves

Outside of pregnancy-related weight gain, I've been a normal weight my entire life with little to no effort.

Is this one of those "I feel bad about myself, so I'm going to project my issues onto everyone else" posts? There are counselors who can help you work through it, no need to take it out on the members here.

skullshank

madhatter2013

jessilyn76

If losing weight was so easy, no one would be fat!

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Guise, I think study hall must be over.

UmmSqueaky

I was going to say something serious about working 90 hours a week but instead I'm going to refer the OP to Sherlock

rml_16

If it was so easy for everyone, wouldn't everyone be thin?

It's easy or be fat in our society, if you don't care about what you're eating or how you're working out you can very easily let yourself go
Being a normal weight requires some effort, and most people aren't willing to apply themselves

Honey, sweetheart, darling, even when you work at it, sometimes it isn't easy.

You are an 18-year-old male. You barely have your eyes open yet.

Ang108

You're an 18 year old male. Get back to me when you're a 45 year old woman.

Calories in<Calories out

Done.

It really, really sounds arrogant if an 18-year old wants to give advise based on life experience to people who are older....some of them even decades.

Zaftique

You're in high school and have zero life responsibilities and associated stressors.

Grow up and stop trivializing what is difficult for a lot of people.

erickirb

There are no single mold for losing wight everyone is different

Yes there is, it's called a caloric deficit. If you are in one, you will lose weight. figuring out how much to eat may be the harder part, but the concept is simple and is the same for everyone. Some with medical issues may have a much lower BMR so they have to eat way less to be in a deficit, but the concept still rings true.

Derpes

Guise, I think study hall must be over.

Sweet! Can we find someone to buy us beer?

Aaron_K123

Let's break this down

My mom is trying to lose weight, and she has Wegener's granulomatosis, so she is on a whole host of medications, including steroids. She isn't allowed a wide variety of proteins either. And she has hypothyroidism.

You're describing less than 1% of the population, nice.

When your hormones are out of whack, it isn't simply calories in and calories out.

Your body "burns" fat by not obtaining enough energy (calories) from food
Make sure your body doesn't get enough energy, and you'll lose fat. It's not hard

Older you get dude the more conditions get applied to you, no matter how "healthy and fit" you are. I don't mean this as an insult, its true of everyone your age, but frankly you just have no experience here to base your claims. You are 18. Literately at the peak of your energy level and health couples with the lowest point for responsibility in your adult life. It does not get any easier than what you are experiencing right now. Is it easy to lose weight when you are 18? Yeah. Is it easy to lose weight when you are parent with a house to maintain, a full time job pushing 10 hour shifts and more responsibilities than your own personal appearance and health? No.

You are smug now. Give it 20 years.

jescamp9481

This horse is soooooooo high.

lol

Hellbent_Heidi

:laugh: This is so perfect for Thowback Thursday... I remember being 18 and knowing everything too...thanks for the laughs

FatFreeFrolicking

You're in high school and have zero life responsibilities and associated stressors.

Grow up and stop trivializing what is difficult for a lot of people.

You have all the tools available to you that you need to complete your goal. Responsibility and stress aren't reasons to not develop healthy habits
Don't have time to have a healthy breakfast or lunch?
Make it the night before and en masse
Don't have time to exercise?
Go for walks around the office or workplace if you have the chance

You're 18. You don't have responsibilities, a family to take care of, a career to live up to, a home to tend to, etc.

Don't compare yourself to other people. Just because weight loss isn't hard for you doesn't mean it's easy for everyone else. You haven't truly "lived" yet. Just wait until you have a 9-5 job, a family to feed, a house to clean, a lawn to mow, parents to take care of (because when we get older, people tend to forget that their parents are as well), ON TOP of trying to lose weight.

When you have a family, it's no longer about YOU. You don't come first. When you have a job, yes, you're supposed to get a 30 min. lunch break, but most don't take it because they have too much work to do and would rather work through lunch than be in the office until 8 at night. Think about people in healthcare. They literally don't have a minute to use the bathroom, let alone eat lunch. My mother doesn't get to eat lunch because her patients are the priority. Not everyone has a job that is flexible and allows them to go for walks or to the gym during lunch.

You have a very small idea of what life is actually like. Try to think outside of the box.

glickman1

Keep making excuses, I'll keep making progress.

rml_16

I started at 280lbs and I found it very simple, it's just basic math and making sure you measure your portions...

For most. Not for all.

I eat on a good day 1,500 calories. On most days, between 1,000 and 1,200 (mostly because I'm just not that hungry). I use a food scale. I eat healthy foods. I exercise (I lift and do cardio). For the last four years, I have done nothing but gain weight. The only change from the last time I lost weight (easily) is that I went on a different birth control.

So, I suppose I could cut down to 500 calories a day ...

Aaron_K123

There are no single mold for losing wight everyone is different

Yes there is, it's called a caloric deficit. If you are in one, you will lose weight. figuring out how much to eat may be the harder part, but the concept is simple and is the same for everyone. Some with medical issues may have a much lower BMR so they have to eat way less to be in a deficit, but the concept still rings true.

I agree that the concept is simple. I agree that the path forward is clear. I also agree with peoples statements here that the experience of difficulty from the perspective of an 18 year old is of little use, especially a smug 18 year old.

levitateme

Op, I want to adopt you like a sally struthers kid so I can watch you grow up. I'm pretty sure you'll gain the weight back eventually, only 1 in 500 people keep it off forever.

scottjoh

I'm with the OP and I'm alomost 47. Losing weight wasn't hard. I just decided that was what I was going to do and stuck with it. People make too many excses on why they can't lose weight (I'm too old, I'm too busy, blah, blah , blah). I have 4 kids, work a very busy job, but I decided I wanted to lose and wasn't going to make excuses why I couldn't. Can an 18 year old lose it easier? Probably, but a year ago I was over 300 lbs and now I'm just over 200 and I was fairly easy if you just stay with it.