We are not "LUCKY", we work hard!!

I agree from the perspective of 'standard' serving sizes, but none of us is standard...

Your friend can eat anything you can, just smaller portions - if the portions are in proportion to body size, you both should see similar (proportional) results.

But i totally get your point - we all want to eat the whole pint of ice cream - regardless of our respective size and not being able can add a layer of feeling 'deprived'.

Well played, sir!

The mental issue is more what I was referring to as well. I have plenty of days when I feel ravenous after first starting a deficit, so I still have to deal with the issue of being hungry, but I do think it helps to be able to look at a plate full of food and not feel like I have to restrain myself. If I have something really tasty, I would have a very hard time stopping after only a small amount, even if I wasn't necessarily still "hungry". I guess I would just feel that having to work with those smaller numbers would require a LOT more discipline on my part, and I'm admittedly not always great with that.

Im lucky that I don't care what other people say or want to believe about me, as long as I know how much work it take then that all that matters to me.

:flowerforyou:

I disagree. I AM lucky...

Lucky I had the patience and drive to lose the weight in the first place.
Lucky I have the perseverance to keep it off this long.
Lucky I have the time and resources to find activities that make me happy enough to keep doing them.
Lucky I have knowledge I've learned about making better food choices.
Lucky I have wisdom enough to take compliments and be proud of the work I do for my health.

I respectfully disagree. Most of that is down to you and the choices you make and your good qualities such as determination. Credit where credit's due.... including to yourself.

Luck comes into it that you have access to the knowledge required to do that... but most people who don't have access to that knowledge (internet, public libraries, free education) also usually don't have access to enough food to get obese in the first place. Luck also comes into it in that intelligence is mostly genetic. But intelligence doesn't inevitably lead to being either wise or knowledgable, they come from choices you make.

Anyway, I'm just saying this because a lot of people, and it tends to be women more often, don't give themselves credit where it's due, and it's actually better for long term good mental health to take credit for your achievements and take responsibility for your failures, and to know the difference between something that's the result of your choices and effort, and something that's the result of outside factors you have no control over (which require acceptance and work-arounds).

^ totally agree!

While I CAN appreciate the POV expressed ^^ I think for me there are some things that I view as luck - being born to parents who were living in a developed country and mature and caring enough to raise me in a safe environment. That has undoubtedly given me advantages in all areas of life.

But I think a lot of how our lives turn out once we grow up is "all us".

Plenty of my peers were raised with all of the same situational advantages as I was, but have really screwed up their lives badly. Likewise I am sure that some of my peers who accomplished things miles above & beyond my own successes would feel superior and perhaps they should - although it's often a case of different priorities...that argument could go on endlessly.

As for the health topic, I think it is a mixed bag as well. At one point I was a 307 lb woman who, at age 32, had excellent lab work, was actually NOT pre-diabetic, good blood pressure, etc. At a dangerously, morbidly obese size. That is luck, genetic and/or otherwise, in my opinion. However I do have to give myself credit for living a lifestyle that included no smoking or drugs, very little drinking, good hygiene, and 8+ hours of sleep every night. I'm not saying that stuff prevented morbidly obese me from having the usual host of health issues that accompany being that size...but I think it's important to recognize our own role in caring for ourselves too.

if ANYTHING for the people talking about how it is partially luck.......... it's I'm BLESSED to have the resources and motivation and drive. but of course there are days you just feel like quitting.. it takes hard work to even make the decision to keep going sometimes!

Amen!! No way I could do this without God. I didn't start having success until I prayed for strength to see this through.

+1!!

There are people "luckier" than others when it comes to weight loss. Some work just as hard or even harder but they don't get the same result as those "lucky" ones do. Just saying~

No.

if ANYTHING for the people talking about how it is partially luck.......... it's I'm BLESSED to have the resources and motivation and drive. but of course there are days you just feel like quitting.. it takes hard work to even make the decision to keep going sometimes!

Amen!! No way I could do this without God. I didn't start having success until I prayed for strength to see this through.

+1!!

I couldn't have really committed without Jesus giving me the strength either

I'm an Atheist - I just like being thin.

There are people "luckier" than others when it comes to weight loss. Some work just as hard or even harder but they don't get the same result as those "lucky" ones do. Just saying~

No.

Yes.

I would also say yes. Case in point - women who share my start weight/current weight who have stomach apron hanging to their knees. I'm luckier. Women who share my SW/CW and have a nice roundish flat belly without the B shape...they're luckier.

Im lucky that I don't care what other people say or want to believe about me, as long as I know how much work it take then that all that matters to me.

This indeed is a blessing...often the problem is we care too much about what other see or say about us.

I will never say that to anyone. Ever! It is usually said by people who think diet pills are the way to lose weight. It is completely demeaning, in my opinion.

Yes!! It drives me crazy. I actually had a lady tell me my 50 lb weight loss after being 6 weeks postpartum didn't count because I'd just had a baby and I'm only 25. The list of excuses continued. No! If you want it, you go get it!

From your comment - it sounds like you lost 50 lbs in 6 weeks. Is that what you intended?