What causes failure?

Deprivation I believe.I believe they give up because they are trying so hard to be healthy they leave out what they are craving or have little of it, and so they then overindulge and give up because they feel like failures, even though they're not. Take the bad with good, if anyone has a bad day just let it be, then try again the next day.

People fail because they restrict food groups and believe they are "bad"…they then restrict to the point that they can't anymore and then bing on said bad foods…feel guilty, eat more, give up, and then repeat the cycle again every few months…

If most people just made sensible changes and ate in a deficit and treated themselves to said foods then they would lose weight and it would be sustainable.

This is a false dichotomy. Calorie counters return to MFP time and again talking about "falling off the wagon". This is true across the globe. To say ONLY those who restrict foods fail is just plain false.

the post was about what "causes" failure….IMO food restriction is one of those causes….I mean if you want to me to cover every single possibility for failure then we will be here all day….

geez…lighten up C3PO….

Ah so now it's one of the causes. Got it.

so you are saying that food restriction is not one reason that leads to failure????

Of course I'm not saying that. But I also think calorie counting does.
Or rather: I'm saying that regardless of HOW folks created a deficit they tend to regain the weight after they stop being mindful of that deficit.

i think a lot of it is complacency as well. i know that a lot of people go "oh, i've been loging for X months, i can keep track of it in my head." to an extent, yes, but not long term.

Failing causes failure.

Don't fail and you won't be a failure.

Glad I could help . . .

I wasn't sure where to post this question, so I figure I would ask those that are trying to maintain. Lately I have seen several people posting things like "Back to MFP again". I've seen a lot of people on here talking about how they lost weight and then gained some or all of it back so they are back on MFP. Why do people fail? Right now I have the drive in me to lose weight. Once it is lost, I don't want it back. What makes maintaining hard? What can I do to prepare myself better?

I'm not on maintenance yet, but I suspect that part of the answer is in your question. The people are "Back to MFP again." The reality, at least for me, is that I have a disordered relationship with food. I don't just naturally eat the amount I should. I compulsively overeat. Just because I reach a specified number on the scale doesn't mean that issue is just going to go away. I will probably need to keep logging, or at least keep periodically logging, for the rest of my life if I don't want to go back to the way I was. So, by the people saying they are "back", that means they left. They stopped logging. Chances are, they thought they were finished and could go back to eating the way they had before. Or they might have had some illusion that they would eat healthier, but without logging their habits slipped.

For myself, I may not log every day for the rest of my life, but I do think I will need to keep an eye on things. Weigh myself each week, and if I notice that number going up and my habits slipping go back to logging for a time. I just doubt that I'll ever be able to not pay attention and expect the weight to stay off. When I don't pay attention I do things like consume 4000 calories in one day. :-/

I think people regarding it as a temporary diet instead of a permanent lifestyle change is the cause of failure. Add to that the fact that some have unreasonable goals (I've seen many women post stats of goal weights that are 10 pounds under what would be the minimum healthy weight for their height and age) of course if your goal is to be underweight your body will resist that.

Mostly though, its the "diet" instead of the "fitness" mentality.

After all, the site is called Myfitnesspal, not Mydietpal. Watching what you eat and exercising is something that most of us need to continue for life, not just long enough to reach a goal.

well first off, failure is when you stop trying. So I don't think anyone who is back has failed they just see that they need to evaluate what they have been doing. I think the idea that once we achieve our goal weight we'll effortlessly stay there might be a bit unrealistic. to easily stay at goal weight may take a few tries to get right and for some it may never come easy. also some who are "back" have only gained 10-15lbs. where as they came in with 60 or 70 to lose. they are "back" so that the buck stops at 10 which I don't think is failure at all, I think its smart!

I know that for me I enjoy a healthy lifestyle, I love to workout and prepossessed junk food looks like garbage to me.. all the same, times like holidays I over eat here and there. Or I get sick and stop working out for a while, then starting up again is a struggle. its as easy as letting that happen a few to many times and you find yourself needing to "get back on the wagon" but there is noting wrong with that, its just life. Its throwing your hands up and saying well I didn't hold maintenance weight so I guess I'll just be fat forever...that's failure.

Is everyone tired and bored of being thin and fit? I was tired of being a lazy slob and bored of the tediousness of trying to lose weight. This point in my life is much better and I will kick, scratch and bite before going back! No way will I accept anything less than where I am now. I have a whole of improvement in front of me, but every misery behind me will not be relived!