Things People Do not tell you about weight loss!

albayin

someone recently lost some weight and all she said was "i run 5 miles a day"...the truth is she was also eating 500 calories a day. I knew this for a fact but was puzzled why she didn't tell the whole story...

Another one I knew also lost some weight. She said that skipping dinner was the key as she still ate a lot during the day...the truth is she ate much less during the day comparing to her old way of eating AND she skipped dinner...

I used to beat myself up when reading all those "success stories" and self loathed myself as a stupid loser...after these 2 girls, I started respecting myself for my own effort

Meerataila

As others have said:

The scale is a liar.

Eating healthy costs me far more than eating junk food.


It can lead to over-obsessing. Days on MFP, nights spent watching videos on health, weight, and food, thinking about what to eat, what the scale said that day, what the scale should say tomorrow, the gut that still won't go away, what foods to eat that will fill me up instead of make me hungry, and so forth. It might be clearcut and simple from the laws of thermodynamics standpoint, but it's definitely not simple when you throw in motivation and compliance. That's not to say I haven't learned a lot and enjoyed the learning, though.

albayin

As others have said:

The scale is a liar.

Eating healthy costs me far more than eating junk food.


It can lead to over-obsessing. Days on MFP, nights spent watching videos on health, weight, and food, thinking about what to eat, what the scale said that day, what the scale should say tomorrow, the gut that still won't go away, what foods to eat that will fill me up instead of make me hungry, and so forth. It might be clearcut and simple from the laws of thermodynamics standpoint, but it's definitely not simple when you throw in motivation and compliance. That's not to say I haven't learned a lot and enjoyed the learning, though.

I'd like to quote from another fellow MFPer's post "it's simple, but not easy". Well some people make it sound easy but it really isn't.

silencioesoro

It's one of the most hardest and weirdest, yet most exciting, ride of your life. It's common sense how to do things, but it's not easy - if it were easy, we'd have a lot less big people around here.

LazerMole

Keto has been a lifesaver for me.

I haven't had to suffer the hunger that so many people talk about, and I naturally eat less when I let my body tell me when I'm hungry (rather than tell me when I'm bored or antsy).

My most recent struggle began with overeating because I quite smoking a month ago. I hadn't had to deal with "bored" eating before (only emotional binge eating, and carb addiction), and that suddenly became a problem for me, which I've finally gotten under control.

Now I'm smoke-free and back to eating only when I'm hungry.

Biggest drawback on Keto? If you didn't cook before, you should probably learn, because people like to sneak sugar and carbs into EVERYTHING.

Biggest win? Eggs are cheap. Chicken thighs are cheap. If you're on a limited budget, you can definitely bulk-cook on Sunday for your entire week. My lunches for a week cost me less than $1 each!

krennie8

maybe it was because i started after eating huge meals the previous day, but the first week wasn't bad for me at all. The second week though...I wanted to everything that wasn't nailed down! After I pushed through that though it got better.

OkamiLavande

1. The beginning was hardest. I used to eat a lot more. Once I went...I don't even think it was a week...eating smaller portions, it became easy. Your stomach shrinks and you no longer feel like you have to eat a ton. A friend who eats massive amounts of food decided to diet and complained about the hunger and asked me what you do. I said, "You have to BE HUNGRY. Give it a week! It gets easier." A week was too long. Fine, you want to weight 360 pounds, do that! Just don't complain to me!

2. It's not that much work, I don't work harder than I did before, but it had obstacles. It's actually easier now that I see progress as I go.

3. My very fat friend is the only one who is jerky. Says things like, "Well, I don't want to be a Skinny Mini." Because if you weigh less than 200 pounds, you're too skinny? Lots of small, mean comments. My favorite was, "Wish someone would give me a magic pill!" Had to point out that my "magic" pill just gives me what she already has. She has issues, obviously. Everyone else has been really supportive. They even asked if it was okay to eat things in front of me. Like I'd say, "No! If I can't have ribs, NOBODY CAN!"

4. People do get very rude about forcing food on others. They can't hear "No, thank you" and respond appropriately. "Oh, have a small piece!" "Go off your diet! One little pice can't hurt you!" I know they were raised by people who didn't teach them any better, but it's annoying. I've found that if the third rude "encouragement" comes, a simple, "I have made my decision. No, thank you" will shut them up.

5. I don't know. I think I notice it less because I see myself every day. When people from out of town show up, they flip. I never flip because I see me every day. I knew I was losing before anyone else noticed, though. It is still hard for me to walk to the non-Fat Lady section, though.

It was so awesome the first time I went to Kohls and all the clothes in the Fat Lady section were too big. I was like, "What now? They're too big!" It really took a moment before I remembered there were other sections and that maybe...I belonged over there now! I felt a little uneasy walking to the normal section, like an imposter. Like I'd get caught and someone would say, "Back to the Fat Lady section, where you belong!" But I felt like a Queen when I walked out with a bag containing two new shirts, size XL, from the normal section. That was a GREAT day. Kind of pathetic, but great!

MAJOR CONGRATS! It's always a wonderful thing when you can change clothing sizes. It's nothing better for a woman's confidence if you ask me. The only downside is when you're in between sizes and belts just can't help as much as you want.

I'm lucky I have a "car seat" belt that lets me adjust it's sizes for when my pants are in the wonky awkward too big but not big enough to warrant a new size.

It always feels good when you can buy clothes in a new size!

DebbieLyn63

I agree with most of what the OP said.

Losing weight CAN BE very difficult for most people. I mean, if it were EASY, then NO ONE would be overweight, right?

Everyone has different needs, and different responses to changes in diet and exercise.

Someone 100+ lbs overweight, that regularly eats 5K+ cals a day, can 'cut back' a bit and lose fairly easily. When you get down to the last 20 lbs or so, it gets more complicated.

People that annoy me are-

1. Those that seem to lose weight easily and brag about it, and insist that it is just as easy for others to do.
And-
2. Those that are extremely overweight that refuse to make ANY changes in their diet and exercise, and instead just use everything as an excuse to not even try.

One of my favorite quotes I read on here is something like-

"Those who want it, will find a way, Those who don't will find an excuse."

Keepcalmanddontblink

I was hungry for the first 3 days. I was impossible to live with and a cranky, horrible person, because I wanted food! I went back to my settings and saw that MFP had set me to lose 2lb a week and had me at a sedentary type job. I was barely getting 1200 a day. No wonder I was starving. I re-adjusted to my correct stats and now I get 1600 a day. Makes a HUGE difference for me.

It is hard, learning to weigh and log everything at first, but its become second nature for me now and I am liking the success I've had so far.