Dieting easier then you thought??

Ep41382

28 yr old male here and this is my first time dieting/counting calories. I have been over weight most of my life and just have never really tried to officially diet. I was introduced to this site about 5 weeks ago and so far it has been much easier then I thought it was going to be. I never used to eat breakfast just b/c I was never hungry in the morning and well now I do it on a daily basis to get my metabolism kick started. I try to never eat past 8pm and have cut out mid day snacking for the most part. I have lost 16lbs so far with minimal exercise. I plan on increasing the amount of exercise very soon. But I'm just shocked at how easy it has been so far. I do realize the weight loss slows down over time and I'm still very new to it but has anyone else experience this? Am I a freak?

bachooka

People hype it up a lot I think... And this isn't really "dieting" it's a lifestyle change so it shouldn't be hard... it should be natural. I think that watching people whine about their diet, and fail repeatedly scares people into thinking it is some olympian feat.

JennsLosing

yeah its really not all that difficult. sometimes staying within my calorie allotment is though! lol

2bFitNTrim

I don't think you are a freak at all. But for me, dropping the lbs has been hard! :grumble: I have such a sweet tooth. :ohwell:

taso42_DELETED

Awesome man. I think you are in the perfect mindset. You know what needs to be done and are just doing it. This is as it should be. You should not be struggling. Way to go.

skingszoo

I too found that the first 25lbs came off like that. I kept thinking this is so easy why didn't I do it sooner. Now that I have 5-7more lbs to loose it is so hard. Keep it up!!!!

Raguirim

I can very much agree with you!!! Never thought it could be this simple. Even though the excercise part I have not really incorporated I have adjusted my eating habits without any problem.

Kminor67

Once I was introduced to MFP (thanks to Amber) it was easy. It was the tool that I was missing in order to lose the weight.. I had lost 30 lbs at one point, but then put 50 back on, because I didn't know what I was doing. Now I know! I've been here since Aug 20th 2010, and I've never had so much success at losing weight! Now that I know what I'm doing, I know I can reach my goal weight!

rklein88

I was only slightly overweight (184lbs, 5'9") when I started and still lost 5.5lbs in 2 weeks. I'm happy and not looking forward to it slowing down, but it has been awesome and not difficult at all

emott84

I think when people go on "diets", which encourage you to limit or eliminate a particular food/group of food, they find it more difficult to stick with it and struggle when it doesn't go as well. Or when they revert back to eating normally, the weight comes back on.

Most people here are in it for a lifestyle change, and most diets cannot feasibly be your lifestyle forever. A life without carbs? What's the point? :P

What I've discovered here is portion control, healthy alternatives and making conscious good-food decisions. I can still eat cookies, but now I know that I don't need 5!! And when you see the caloric difference between 1 cookie and 5 in your food diary, you start to re-think whether it's worth it

My weight loss has been slower than maybe it could've been if I'd taken up a 'diet', but I know these pounds are going to stay off much longer (or permanently!) and the knowledge I've gained from this is invaluable.

thecanface

it's easy if you don't think about it as a diet... think of it as you will be doing this forever, you just have to get used to it. stuff i used to eat everyday is stuff only eat once a month IF even that... eventually you won't even be able to imagine eating the way you used to.. just stick to it.

Tzavush

I think when I have looked all all of the "options" for "dieting" it has scared me. And when I have seen others following a "fad diet" and how much they have to restrict themselves and feel awful if they "cheat" it really shocked me into just doing what I'd always been doing.
By taking the time to just start doing all those things I should have been doing, I actually found that it wasn't so much that I was eating TOO much, just all the wrong things. Changing that has been quite simple.
Getting in the extra exercise is my biggest challenge.

(My boss has been DIETING with the Dr. Berstein plan for the past 7 years on and off, throwing thousands of dollars down the drain month after month and eating 600-700 calories a day in hopes to lose. Each time she gains it back because over time it is so hard to maintain. Now that is what I call a challenge!!)

ladyhawk00

I think when people go on "diets", which encourage you to limit or eliminate a particular food/group of food, they find it more difficult to stick with it and struggle when it doesn't go as well. Or when they revert back to eating normally, the weight comes back on.

Most people here are in it for a lifestyle change, and most diets cannot feasibly be your lifestyle forever. A life without carbs? What's the point? :P

What I've discovered here is portion control, healthy alternatives and making conscious good-food decisions. I can still eat cookies, but now I know that I don't need 5!! And when you see the caloric difference between 1 cookie and 5 in your food diary, you start to re-think whether it's worth it

My weight loss has been slower than maybe it could've been if I'd taken up a 'diet', but I know these pounds and the knowledge I've gained from this are going to stay off much longer (or permanently!) because it's sustainable.

Well said! Coming from someone who a year ago would have SWORN I'd NEVER count calories, it didn't take long for me to admit that it is a HUGE help. It didn't make me diet or feel deprived or like I have to give anything up - it just makes me aware of what I'm eating and how to make better choices and what something will cost me. That awareness is really the key, for me at least.

shtefie

I love the replies here, and agree with so many of them! It isn't a fad at all, it's making sustainable changes. My challenge was mainly to cut out all the rubbish snacks I was eating. The first week was really tough, as I was consuming so much sugar before, I felt my body was craving it. But now it's easy to avoid the sweetie section in shops, and even if I do have to pass through, I can avoid temptation.

lauriallen

You know what I like about this? (and I really don't have a lot of experience with the program cause I just started 2 days ago) The only one you have to be accountable to is yourself. There's no one telling you that you can do better next time, or trying to shove this kind of weightloss pill down your throat or that kind of stinking milkshake (eww) at you. If I don't get to my goal, or start loosing weight it's because it was that important to me. This sight has all the tools (from what I can see) in it to be successful, all it needs is someone to be motivated enough to make it happen. I look forward to my journey and am excited to see how it all turns out.

Ep41382

I agree 100% with dieting vs life style change. When people diet they "cold turkey" something in their diet... they go from one extreme to another. For short periods of time this is possible but over a long period of time most people can't handle it.

perrytyra

I has mostly been easy. I have had a couple of rough days, but I still never go more than 300 over. And that just puts me at maintainance calories, so the weight it just coming off, not gaining. It has only been about 3 weeks for me, I think? I have to look at that. But I have lost 6 pounds. I put my weight loss goal at 1 pound a week.

I just had to get to the mindset where I not just wanted to lose weight, but I had to have the mindset that I had to lose it.

Daisy_May

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(My boss has been DIETING with the Dr. Berstein plan for the past 7 years on and off, throwing thousands of dollars down the drain month after month and eating 600-700 calories a day in hopes to lose. Each time she gains it back because over time it is so hard to maintain. Now that is what I call a challenge!!)

I honest to god think Dr. Bernstein is the devil, I did his diet twice and was so malnourished that I was passing out all over the place. It screwed with my metabolism; I gained back twice what I lost. I swear to god I would sue the guy if I could! 600 calories a day is STARVATION! When they thought I was cheating (I wasn't I have blood sugar problems and if they read the charts they would know) they took away my fruits, so yep that brought me down to about 450 calories a day!!
Sorry rant over, I just can't handle hearing that guys name, LOL.

michelec64

I haven't found it difficult at all. Like some of the others said, I don't look at this as a diet but changing the way I eat. I am a serious foodie, so I'll never get on board with something that focuses on what I can't have. I'm using the calorie counter as a tool to be smarter about how much I eat. For instance, before MFP my typical weekday lunch was a sandwich, a can of soup and a 1 oz. bag of chips. When that one meal showed up on the counter as being around 900 calories it was a no brainer for me to make changes. Now I'll have either the sandwich/chips OR the soup with a salad...a small change that cut my lunch calories in half.

I'm only 3 weeks into the program but aside from my Sunday "cheat days" I haven't gone more than 100 calories over my daily allotment (this includes the exercise calories), and there have been a few days that I finished under. I miss grabbing a handful of cookies just because, but surprisingly I am doing just fine having just 1 or 2.

sbwood888

I think dropping weight is HARD! I love to eat lots of the wrong things and I hate to exercise. :grumble: I am glad that you are having an easy time. Send me some good luck vibes!!

fteale

I am finding exercise easier than I thought, but weight loss much much harder. Ie, it just isn't happening, despite eating super healthy, and with a decent deficit.