Why are women always on a diet?

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  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    i do not know one woman that is on a diet right now,.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
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    I think they are probably not truthfully logging their food and exercise.

    When I am militant about logging, I lose. When I start eyeballing portions and not counting that cookie I ate after supper, I gain. Also the funny thing I notice about a lot of my friends is that they will go to the gym and burn say 300 calories, but then they'll stop and have a 400 calorie smoothie on the way home!

    I have a lot of friends on Facebook who post what their burn at the gym was per whatever app, then half an hour later they post a picture of the burger and beer they're having at the bar. Although they've made great strides with their fitness, they are still overweight. I'm not sure if they care, though.

    I think a lot of people think that exercising means they can eat whatever they want and still lose weight. I know I had that mentality for a while, too.

    A lot of people ask what I've done to lose the weight, and I'm up front - it's log what I eat and exercise (hard, as in not just 100 calories but 500-700/day, if not more) at least 5x/week. They usually shut down after that.

    It's likely that these ladies the OP works with need to open their eyes to the truth of what it takes to get fit and lose weight, and they need proper motivation. Unfortunately both need to come from within.

    ETA that the people posting burns are posting maybe 125- or 150-calorie burns, not heavy burns that might justify a burger and beer's fitting in their macros.
  • rowanwood
    rowanwood Posts: 510 Member
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    1) women on "diets" are in a club and if they are fat, it doesn't count because they are "working on it"

    2) fad diets don't work and after years of "diets" their metabolisms are screwed up

    3) cookies
  • BunkyBumBum
    BunkyBumBum Posts: 157 Member
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    My husband can decide to walk up 2 flights of stairs all week long and lose 10 pounds. For me, I have to work extra hard to lose it. My weight has been stuck for the last year, gaining and losing the same 5 pounds, eating 1360 calories and not losing anything, working out 3 times per week. It doesn't make sense. I'm a biologist, I know it doesn't make sense, yet... that's what was happening.

    Two weeks ago I switched to 1600 calories based on a post by "Dan" about TDEE. I've lost 2 pounds, and last week I skipped the gym twice. We'll see if it's a fluke.

    I lost 75 pounds fairly easily (a year of eating right and just walking for exercise = easy), I'm pretty healthy, but my last 15 pounds is holding on and being very stubborn. I've heard it all, everyone has an opinion. If I'm being honest, the ladies you work with are probably a good mix - some are lying to themselves, some have thyroid/metabolism problems (which is fairly common, especially in aging women, and isn't always diagnosed by the blood test), some are probably more worried about the number on the scale than the fact that their body is healthy, they want to be 125 but the scale says 135, they don't see that it's because they're muscular or whatever, they just see that it must be 10 pounds of fat. There is no one explanation that will cover it all.

    But - just in my experience, if I'm not actively trying to lose weight, I'm gaining it. That's just how it is for me. My husband can eat all sorts of crap and hover around the same weight, yet I eat fairly healthy (vegetarian, very few processed foods at all, on the average day I drink only water all day long, with the exception of a cup of green tea in the morning) but if I spent a week eating similar to him (same things, just size-appropriate portions relative to what he eats) I'm going to gain a ton of weight and he'll stay the same. So... in short... what I'm trying to say is that, in general, men have an easier time losing weight than women - and we hate you for it ;)
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    I vote for they're lying to themselves. My friends all tell me how lucky I am to be thin because no matter how hard they try they can't lose weight. If I spend any time with them I know exactly why they don't lose weight but they don't want to hear it.

    "You just don't understand what we're going through." *eye roll*
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    This is a serious question.

    In my office all the women (aged 28-50ish) are on a diet seemingly all the time. They do Zumba and other stuff (according to them) yet they never lose any weight. Are all their metabolisms really that bad or are they lying to themselves?

    I have one friend who says she needs to lose about 20 pounds so she cooks healthy and works out but hasn't lost any weight. On the other hand, I eat pizza or fast food about 5 times per week and I lost 15 pounds just by not snacking and quitting alcohol for a bit. I also watch everything I eat and exercise 4-5 times per week; strength training in the winter and running in the summer.

    Can one of you wonderful ladies please enlighten to me why this is? Are they not serious about it or is it social?

    It's important to be very mindful of what goes in our mouths. Tracking food portions and calories is imperative because you realize how much of what you are really eating.
  • mallen404
    mallen404 Posts: 266 Member
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    I vote for they're lying to themselves. My friends all tell me how lucky I am to be thin because no matter how hard they try they can't lose weight. If I spend any time with them I know exactly why they don't lose weight but they don't want to hear it.

    This ^^^

    If they consider it a diet it won't work.. it needs to be a lifestyle change.. my two cents.
  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,637 Member
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    My mom always says she needs to lose weight (she really isn't that fat) but she doesn't try super hard to lose it. She walks sometimes and does zumba with me sometimes, thats about it. She eats small portions but she doesn't eat the healthiest stuff all the time. I feel like the women just don't try hard enough.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Just a few observations I've made in my office and with my other female friends, including my wife:

    1.) They confuse being on a diet with needing to be on a diet. They say they're on a diet, yet they haven't really changed much about the way and the amount they eat

    2.) They go to extremes...they tend to crash diet, which is unsustainable...or they cut out everything they enjoy and only eat celery or whatever...then they end up cheating on their diet and easily reverting back to previous eating habits.

    3.) They think they need to diet when they really don't. I don't know how many women I know who are of perfectly good weight but still think they need to lose more and more and more. It doesn't matter how thin they get, all they see is fat.

    4.) Body comp issues...kinda goes back to number 3. Too many women at a healthy weight just aren't happy with their composition...so they diet even more and do even more cardio, when in reality they would benefit greatly by lifting something heavier than their handbag and dumping those endless hours on the elliptical...and actually eating a bit more, especially protein. Always amazed at the lack of protein in many females diets.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    People in general like to talk. Saying they are on a diet makes people feel like the person is "doing something". Meanwhile they are on the couch each night with a bag of Cheetos and a 2 liter of Pepsi. Every woman I know of claims to be on a 'diet', though I'm the only one I know that actually loses weight...
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
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    I know 2 people that are always on diets and both are morbidly obese, I know why they never lose weight but they don't.

    Neither count their calories.

    1 eats lean cuisine, and fat free foods everyday for lunch, yet is easily 80-100lbs over weight....why? She is still eating too much, she assumes if its sugar free or fat free she can eat it and that it doesn't "count". I've worked with her for 10 years and she still eats the same stuff everyday, I almost want to tell you you may as well have a burger instead the diet foods because it isn't making a difference

    Friend #2 - always claims to be dieting yet gains weight. She drinks fancy coffees that are LOADED with calories every single day, some are 800+ calories, and she'll drink them twice a day, plus redbulls, plus mountain dew, she'll stop in the morning and grab herself a breakfast sandwich (500 calories) Eat some kind of peta sandwich for lunch (300) calories. Then for dinner tells herself she didn't eat (and technically she didn't) so she'll have two helpings of oversized portions for dinner. She is consuming 3000+ calories a day and is 4'10. Some days she'll even binge on McDonalds for lunch (eating 2000 calories in one sitting) - she'll do this several times a week but since on 3 out of the 7 days she was hungry most of the day she tells herself she is dieting and then wonders why it doesn't work.
  • GurleyGirl524
    GurleyGirl524 Posts: 578 Member
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    Women are always on a diet because TV and magazines tell us we should look the ladies on TV or the models in the magazine. This has made us self conscience. So even women (some not all) who are not necessarily overweight develop a negative self image and think they have to diet diet diet to reach society's standard. When they do this, it is usually a fad diet, they fail, thus continuing a vicious cycle of lowered self esteem.

    This is part of the reason I love MFP and my MFP family. I have learned to accept me for me. I am never going to look like the super model in the magazine. I am who I am and that is all I can be. I am much happier person for learning this.
  • User819
    User819 Posts: 271
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    Everyone is on a diet. Some are on no food diets, some little bit of food diet, & some way too much food diet.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
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    4.) Body comp issues...kinda goes back to number 3. Too many women at a healthy weight just aren't happy with their composition...so they diet even more and do even more cardio, when in reality they would benefit greatly by lifting something heavier than their handbag and dumping those endless hours on the elliptical...and actually eating a bit more, especially protein. Always amazed at the lack of protein in many females diets.

    This is something I learned even after losing 82 lbs on MFP (I'm pregnant now, so my losing is on hiatus, as is my exercise, unfortunately, due to bleeding issues). I am doing The Roadmap when I return and plan on incorporating lifting into my fitness regime :)
  • RooBug88
    RooBug88 Posts: 55 Member
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    I have been one of those women. The reason they don't lose any (substantial) weight is because it's a diet, something they will do for now and then go back to their previous eating habits. I've definitely done it, you name it, Weight Watchers, Biggest Loser, Slimming World.....

    But now on MFP I'm not on a diet I'm changing habits and adapting my way of eating, portion control etc.

    Have you been spying on my life?? I second this. ALL of this. I was that woman, too, and for me it was definitely a social thing. I'd SAY I'm on a diet, only eat salads in public, swear to my peers that I was doing my Zumba and treadmill religiously, but I was sugar bingeing, sitting on my rump, and watching endless hours of Netflix when no one was looking. Now, I am actually going to the gym, working out IN PUBLIC, eating fruits AND veggies at nearly every meal, and tracking each and every calorie I eat. And guess what? I'm losing the weight! It's not the same for everyone, but if you're willing to put forth some serious butt-kicking effort, you will more than likely begin to see results.
  • berthabunny
    berthabunny Posts: 251 Member
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    Social pressure is probably a part of it for many people, but I choose to not tell people that I am 'dieting'. If there is a birthday, I eat the piece of cake I am given, log it as truthfully as I can, and make sure to compensate somewhere else.
    TBH, I doubt I am correct in my calorie intake, so I set it a bit lower than it should be. The crazy thing is, I can be way off the other way too. For example, I had chicken in my lunch today, I weighed it because I had the opportunity, it was six ounces. I estimated more than that (eight ounces) before hand.
    I am one of those girls who is always on a 'diet' and never loses weight. I was an overexerciser and undereater for months and lost nothing. Then I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I have stuck to my plan for eight weeks now, hopefully it will work.
  • Lalouse
    Lalouse Posts: 221 Member
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    Here's an article about it. Women have specific issues/pitfalls. This article is meant for women, but you can see where the advantages/disadvantages are between men and women.


    "He drops pounds overnight, you gain weight just by glancing at a doughnut. Here, 7 habits you should steal."

    Read more: http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/steal-these-weight-loss-tips-men#ixzz2O6SPqJ6V
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    Binge eating when all the friends are gone. Food that goes in when nobody's looking doesn't count.

    That and doing 15 minutes of the whatever it is of the month DVD and saying they did the whole thing.

    People are comfortable with self-delusion. ^ was my MO before I got serious about changing.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    :laugh: my mom does this. She seems to always be on a diet because she's always talking about it & seemingly not losing any weight.

    What's actually going on is she's THINKING about going on a diet but never actually doing what she needs to in order to see progress :noway:
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
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    Or maybe they just don't move at all when you don't see them? I used to eat pretty healthy, always passed up the cake or cookies at work, but I didn't do any extra moving around at work (other than taking the stairs) and when I got home from work, I sat in front of the TV and/or computer for the night. So not so much the calories in as NO calories out (other than a little over my BMR). When I got a dog that has to be walked and started moving more, I lost weight without even paying attention to what I was eating. When I joined a gym and started paying attention to calories in and out, I lost even more. Now I don't pass up the cake at work--I fit it in to my calories for the day or exercise it off when I get home.

    I feel sorry for those women. I've been trying to encourage the ones where I work to check out this website and/or get a BodyMedia Fit Link like I have when they ask me about my weight loss.

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