why does losing weight have to be so hard???

Its hard because you are making it hard. Eat food. Good healthy food. If you want pasta and there is no medical reason you should not have it have pasta. Seriously its not THAT hard.
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If you feel like giving up after 1 week imagine how its gonna feel when you hit a road bump and you gain a bit of wait or you maintain the same weight.

Don't give up. Once you see results, you will realize it is worth it. You can do it!

Part of the problem is having a negative mindset about weight loss. YES, it is hard. YES, you want anything that is salty, carby, and fatty. BUT you need to want to lose weight more. We have all been through it. Try to stay positive. Motivational phrases in your car, in mirrors, read the success stories in the forum. Interact with people here who are all going though it too.

In order to be successful, you have to do the work, and the work it hard---but being positive about it will make it easier. Try not to focus on the stuff you can't eat and find healthy alternatives. If you love bread, try a whole wheat pita or english muffin for your sandwiches instead...make sure that your food actually tastes good. I am obsessed with the Skinny Taste website (www.skinnytatse.com) The recipes are healthy and AMAZING. If your food tastes good (which is possible on a diet!) you won't feel so deprived.

If carbs is what you want, make sure there's plenty in your diet. Mine is mostly carbs, actually.

Also, as I'm sure people have mentioned, if you're at 1200 calories, you can probably increase. Try 1350 or so and you'll be a lot happier.

Some things that helped me in the beginning:

Eat "something healthy" every 2 hrs. Snacking keeps me from binging. Point is try to be prepared for the day.

-- cut up fruit and keep in snack bags for a quick grab.
-- weight watchers string cheese is awesome hunger killer
-- sugar free hard candy
-- instant oatmeal
-- fiber one bars (only 90 cal)
-- yogurt
-- nuts

Don't restrict your calories down to 1200 too fast. It's a hard lesson I learned when I plateaued at 3 weeks in. Figure out your BMR and reduce your daily intake by 20% and then every other week, reduce another 100 cal/day until you start to lose. Stay there until you have to recalculate your BMR or hit a plateau.

These links will provide the tools to calculate YOUR numbers.

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/weight-loss-calculator

-- Get enough sleep. Fatigue makes you want to eat sometimes.
-- Drink plenty water. Flushes out toxins and fills you up.
-- Eat more fiber. A whole wheat english muffin with sugar free spread, or egg beaters on top goes a LONG way.
-- Protein kills hunger. Veggies fill you up for hours.
-- Enriched white flour, sugar, high fructose syrup will make you CRAVE MORE and worse than a drug.
-- Make obtainable goals for exercise daily. Even if it's 10 min.
-- Track progress with measure tape and pictures.
-- Journal your feelings and why you want to lose weight.
-- Find support any way you can get it (here, friends, family, etc)
-- Post pictures around your house of things you want to do -- that you cannot do now.
-- Make every food choice healthier than yesterday. If you slip up, just do better.
-- Be kind to yourself. You deserve good health, long life and love. It's up to you to want it.

Part of the problem is having a negative mindset about weight loss. YES, it is hard. YES, you want anything that is salty, carby, and fatty. BUT you need to want to lose weight more. We have all been through it. Try to stay positive. Motivational phrases in your car, in mirrors, read the success stories in the forum. Interact with people here who are all going though it too.

In order to be successful, you have to do the work, and the work it hard---but being positive about it will make it easier. Try not to focus on the stuff you can't eat and find healthy alternatives. If you love bread, try a whole wheat pita or english muffin for your sandwiches instead...make sure that your food actually tastes good. I am obsessed with the Skinny Taste website (www.skinnytatse.com) The recipes are healthy and AMAZING. If your food tastes good (which is possible on a diet!) you won't feel so deprived.

Love this ^^^ .. I am about a week in and totally agree, it is about choices.. It is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, but I have a crap ton of pictures of my grand babies on my fridge reminding me that I am needed, find your personal motivation... You can do it...

It is hard but once you start seeing results you won't stop!!!

Don't give up! take it one day at a time. Its an extremely hard journey but it will be well worth it in the end. The feeling of being healthy is priceless. good luck.

It's really simple, that doesn't make it easy to do. Losing weight is tantamount to overcoming an addiction (overeating is an addiction for many of us), and building a series of new habits.

Like any addiction or habit, patience is the most crucial ingredient. Yeah you can eat well today and exercise today. What's important is having the willpower to do it tomorrow, and the next day. You're going to have to fight against VERY strong feelings of "I don't want to". You won't want to, most of the time. But you really, really want to lose weight. That's more important than lying in bed for an extra hour or sitting on the couch or those snacks you're dying to eat.

Lifestyle change is never easy, but it is very rewarding.

In RE to feeling hungry, etc...reading between the lines here tells me that you probably have your caloric goal set to low and/or your are exercising but not eating any of your exercise calories back...also, you're probably eating too many simple sugars/carbs that give you quick bursts of energy, but don't really fill you up and keep you going.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you are on the arbitrary 1,200 calorie/day diet. That's pretty hard to stick to and IMHO completely unnecessary. It may seem that it was easy to put on the weight...but believe it or not, it took time; it takes time to lose the weight as well. Shooting for a more modest .5 Lb to 1 Lb per week loss is much easier to stick to and doesn't leave you feeling like you can't open the fridge. I personally started at .5 Lb per week and did that for a couple of weeks just to get used to things and then reduced further to 1 Lb per week. Also, if you're not exercising, you should start; it doesn't have to be that intense go to the gym twice a day for 2 hours thing. Keep it simple. 30 minutes of moderately paced walking 3-5 times per week. Add in some strength training with various body weight exercises.

In RE to your food, eat more filling foods...fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains and you shouldn't feel hungry. When I'm having hunger pangs, I know something is wrong...I was having this issue when I went to the 1 Lb per week and I upped my caloric goal by 40 calories per day from MFP's suggested and that set me straight and I'm still losing just over 1 Lb per week. You'll likely have to play with it a bit and tweek it. They're just estimates based on statistical data.

If you are not ready to make the changes then it is not going to happen. Do you want this? Do you want to change your lifestyle? That is what it is. It is not a diet, it is a lifestyle change. You have to have it in your mind that you want to make changes. Once you get to that point it becomes a lot easier, and when you a start seeing results, you will want it even more. At least that is what happened to me.

You don't have to be deprived of carbs, eat them in moderation. Do some research on some healthy recipes. There are so many options. Strength train in addition to cardio. You can do this... Eat. Lift. Be awesome!!

Focus on driving the car. Filling up at the gas station isn't the high point.

I love this!!

It might be helpful to log what you are going to eat before you eat it. That helps me to get a reality check and often I won't eat all of it. Plus, logging brings your food to a mindful level and you are aware of what you are going to eat. I can eat hundreds of calories in a fog of unawareness, but logging first clears my head. hmmm...I need to take my own advice. :embarassed:

OP - How many calories are you allowing yourself a day? If it's too few It can leave you feeling deprived and really be a motivation killer. Open up your diary so we can see what you are eating. You'll get more valuable feedback.

-Pick a moderate calorie goal.Pick the "1 pound per week" or "half pound per week" weight loss goal, it is easier to stick to.
You will be less likely to want to go off the track because you are satisfied with what you are eating rather than driving yourself insane with a low calorie "diet".

- 80/20 rule. 80% healthy good choices, 20% treats or whatever you want. Eat from all food groups unless a medical condition
requires you to cut something out. Work your favorite foods into your calories for the day so you don't feel the need to binge on
them (like your pizza).

-Take a 30 minute brisk walk 3-5 times per week. You don't need a crazy intense exercise regime especially when you first
start out. Do some push ups, squats, dips, planks. Do whatever you can to fit some activity into your day.

-Stick to it. Don't give up. Persistence and patience are the key. Don't throw in the towel if you have one slip up. Get right back on it. These things take time.

All of this is fantastic advice! I didn't lose my weight living on diet food and starving myself. <<<This girl is a foodie and LOVES to eat and I finally figured out the reason all my past dieitng attempts failed is because I tried to deprive myself of the foods I enjoy. So instead of not having pizza, I just switched up the crust and topping choices and cut down on how much I eat. Instead of not eating sweets, I cut down on how many and the type I was eating - no more mindlessly shoveling down crap chocolate, it has to be the good stuff to be worth it. Instead of trying to live off carbs, I figured out that proteins and healthy fats keep me fuller so I eat more of those and whole grains. Instead of not making yummy casseroles like lasagna, I just used leaner meats, more veggies, less pasta and lighter sauces.

It IS possible to lose weight and still enjoy the process. And as others have said, try getting some exercise in to help give you some wiggle room with the calories. Set your goal at a lower point (1/2-1 pound per week) and MOST IMPORTANTLY be patient. It will come off, just give it time and don't give up!!

DONT GIVE UP!!! I started in June and wasnt losing the weight - in a month I had only lost 2 pounds - I thought why am I doing this but all of a sudden in September I lost like 20 pounds all at once. So Don't Give up - It will Happen.