the way people are trying to lose weight

I agree. I feel those miracle pills or crazy diet plans are just setting people up for failure.

Wait...WAIT...WAIT...

...you mean to tell me raspberry ketones are NOT the secret to losing weight?????? #sarcasm

amen sista

Sometimes it takes a lot of fails before you find the win. Have compassion.

This.

the "lose six pounds in two weeks on the special k diet" coming from my television yesterday made me go "what the ****?"

I am having this same reaction with the various women's magazines that litter the register at every grocery store (And with the new year, these headlines are freaking EVERYWHERE). Lose 10 pounds this week! Lose 35 pounds this month! I'm like "WTF? And which body part would you like me to chop off????"

They have very convincing testimonials of people who did lose the weight - but no returns on them long term. In the last few years, I've only read a few articles about people who have lost weight and kept it off - and it was always people who did it the slow, sane, sustainable way.

Good on you.

The funny part is after you lose the weight people will still refuse to believe you did it that way.

"So what did you do? What's your secret?"

"Diet and exercise. Counted my calories and started working out."

"Yeah yeah, but really, what was it? What pills did you take? Did you cleanse? I bet you cleansed. And no way I could lose weight, I'd hate to give up bread. I've been watching Dr. Oz and ordered a bunch of stuff, so I should be in a bikini come summer!"

:grumble:

I have this conversation at least 2 times a week in real life. :noway:

We will learn when we are ready.

I fell pray to the quick-fixes and failed every time. It wasn't until I was mentally ready that I took the plunge and started counting calories. THIS is what worked for ME. Other people need to figure that what works for them on their own.

good plan best of luck, I did it a few eyars ago on here and lost 80 LBS. Sadly i went back to my old habits and put back on 50 in 2012. Now I am back at it.

Following the Special K diet *is* a form of calorie counting. The fact is that people lose in all kinds of ways and we all find our path. The principal is to be healthy and the method varies. Support each other and don't worry so much about the path that other people are on. I'm following a PSMF and people FREAK about it and spout all their common wisdom but the fact is that www.pubmed.com is full of great studies that support this choice for people in my situation. While for others it may not work for others and may seem like a 'fad' to some.

i completey agree with you!!!! I find the biggest problem is alot of people want everything to be instant,( ex... instant promotions at work, lose the 80lbs that took 2 yrs to gain) people dont want to work for the things they want! People are willing to try so many ridiculous things in order to lose weight....meanwhile if they had just been watching what goes in their mouth and getting some activity in their lives they could have already lost the weight and saved a boat load of money!!! Sometimes things in life aren't instant but it makes it that much more rewarding when you suceed!!!

I have been on the journey to lose weight. But i decided to do it the right way. count calories and exercise. And people seem to find it hard to believe this is all im doing. And yes im going to brag that its all about getting off your butt and moving! But its crazy the things im reading and seeing on tv. Juice diets? Eat special K and lose weight in 2 weeks! Take this supplement but yet its not evaluated by the FDA. Do this workout. Buy this membership or this piece of exercise equipment. And another that gets me is these food programs. How does that teach you how to live? It may work for some people. But do you want to be 60 and still converting your meals into points? Why is it that some people cant face reality that weight loss takes work, And why is it so hard to believe that you don't have to diet so to say. That you cant learn to eat normal everyday foods in a healthier way. And its so funny going through the weigh tloss sections of stores and seeing these drinks and bars that pack more calories then if you were to prepare the meals to begin with. it took time to learn habits and its going to take time to fix them. okkk. venting over!

Of course we all know this is true..... NOW.... and many of us knew it for many many years, but just weren't ready to make the commitment yet. It is very easy for us to get on our high horses once we figure it all out, and look down on all those people that are looking for miracle pills or plans that will do the work for them, and forget how many years we spent ourselves in that frame of mind.

I have to be very careful around my friends in the 'real world', that I don't get so hyped up on the success of so many people on here that have figured it out, and become 'enlightened to the RIGHT way', to the point of alienating my friends and family with all my 'wisdom' I have obtained here over the past 5 months.

I have to remember where I was 6 months ago, and how easily I could slip back into that 'easy fix' mentality. If the answers were so obvious, why did it take me X number of years to figure it out??

A little humility goes a long way.

I always tell people I lost weight from Stress, Men and Tequila...for some reason people accept that answer better than Exercise and Watching What I Eat.

:noway:

Forks over Knives

Okay, OP, I think your opinion is valid, however it is one sided and a little harsh. Many of the things you mention are completely legitimate, doctor approved methods.

1. I used Phentermine in the past, for 4 months. I lost about 20lbs. It mainly helped to suppress my appetite. I love food. It was prescribed by my doctor, who I saw every month for testing and a session on eating & exercising habits. We treated this program as if I was going to make a lifestyle change. I however, was not as commited as I should have been, hence the reason I quit taking the phentermine. I wasn't looking for a "quick fix" I was in need of support for my appetite. But like I said, I hadn't really made the mental commitment of what should have been a lifestyle change.

2. Before that, I did Jenny Craig. It was expensive, but I could afford it. I lost 40lbs with that. I was going to college full time, working full time, was newly married, & renovating our house. Needless to say, I was busy, so the convenience is what I was paying for. The food was just a tool or aid . Again, with that program, we talked diet & exercise. I ate salads & veggies with their meals, and I got support once a week from my consultant, who is still a friend today. I loved it. Yes it was expensive, and yes I put the weight back on a few months after I stopped. This is due to a lifestyle change my husband and I made together, that change was letting ourselves go and getting addicted to watching TV every night instead of cooking & exercising.

3. I've started & stopped weight watchers several times. I always lose when I go to the meetings, count points, and log food. Again, they have a weekly support system, they TEACH clean eating just as much as they promote their prepared products and recipes. For many people there is a balance. They have great tools & support. But again, each time I've gone, I've lost following the program, but eventually I lose interest and quit going and then quit working the program, and I realize I wasn't commited to making this lifestyle change in the first place.

4. I've done cleanses and felt better. I think cleansing is a personal preference. As long as you aren't using a very low calorie diet during, but just eating clean, and it's not for too long of a period. If it makes people feel better, they should be able to do it without judgement.

5. I currently use Herbalife as a meal replacement in the morning. I figure, this is better than not eating at all, which was my morning habit before. Their shakes taste the best out of any I have tried, which is quite a few different brands. Again, I think this is a personal preference.

So, calorie counting is the MFP method. I agree that it is a very effective method, obviously almost everyone, if not every here on MFP agrees. It comes down to the person. Some people just aren't ready to let go. Some people have issues with food and that's why some of the above mentioned methods don't work for everyone but do work for some. It's personal preference. You really shouldn't be so critical of the methods, especially if you haven't tried them. They all promote health & lifestyle changes. I know this because I've tried them all. If I am honest with myself, they didn't work for me because I didn't work the programs. I am having many of the same issues here with MFP as I was before with the other plans. Because I LOVE food. I also grew up with overweight parents who didn't care what they ate because they don't view their weight as a problem. They just love food, fried, baked, grilled, Red Meat, Pork, and veggies, we even had a huge garden and therefore ate a lot of Wholefood organic stuff. So, that is why it's so hard for me to jump on board with healthy eating & weight loss. It's going to have to be a slow mental shift process. I have years of growing up in an unhealthy lifestyle of bad eating habits to overcome. It's not going to happen overnight. If I try different tools to overcome that, then that's on me. I've learned a little something from each program that I still use today. It doens't mean I'm looking for a quick fix, I'm just looking for something that works for me.