Is losing weight supposed to be hard?

I've always read and heard about people complaining about weight loss being too difficult, or that it's too complicated. I'm on day 48 of my weight loss "journey" if you wish to call it that, and there's been absolutely zero challenges I've faced. I lift weights 3-4 days a week, and eat at a 500 calorie deficit and I've lost 16 pounds.
So what's the big deal with weight loss? Why is it considered to be so impossible?

I'm finishing up my second year and have to agree. I think some people find it hard because they haven't really figured it out yet.

I would agree that it's simple. Easy is another thing. And, if one of my kids got seriously sick, you know that tracking calories would be the last thing on my mind.

I think easy depends on your frame of mind. I have had my own personal stressors, and I have decided not to log here and there, but that's just life. Life sometimes throws you a curve ball, and you have to react.

That doesn't make it *hard* to lose weight, once you find what works. And obviously, I realize that some folks have medical conditions, and some may be on birth control or other meds that directly cause weight gain. I'm not dismissing that. I'm just saying, that for me, I struggled for *YEARS* to figure it out. Once I finally learned how it works, and figured out the right macros/calorie goal for *ME* personally, then it was easy. I used to drop and gain 20 pounds from diet pills and such. Now I'm lighter than I've been since my kiddos, and I've been able to maintain that for over 9 months without tracking daily.

So, that's why I said the people who struggle are people who haven't figured it out. Or they could have some medical condition, which I didn't mention in my earlier comment, but yes, for some, that's simply a fact.

Many of the people who struggle haven't figured it out yet. However, I've had this conversation with my friends list. and some of the people who have been really successful and inspirational, etc. admit to still struggling with it. Different people have different challenges.

<Ducking as I write this>

As a 40 year old woman, I found losing weight to be pretty straight-forward and simple. The weight didn't come flying off quickly, but it was steady, reliable and generally easy for me this time around.

My past efforts to lose were difficult and destined for failure because I over-complicated everything with diets, huge calorie deficits, and long lists of forbidden foods. If I went off my rigid track even a little, it always snowballed into a return to the bad habit of overeating all the time and proclaiming myself a failure.

As soon as I realized that all I needed to do is cut a minimal amount of calories from my daily intake (250 in my case) and work harder at moving throughout the day, everything else fell into place. I continued to eat all my favorite foods (not even the diet/light versions). Most days I ate over 2000 calories and still lost consistently. I went from 202 to 152 (my initial goal weight) in about eight months. I went on to lose another 16 pounds over six more months, before finally settling around 136 lbs. (I'm almost 5'9"). I've hovered between 135-140 for a little over two years now.

I don't want to minimize anyone else's struggles because we're all different. But for me, it was easy.

Well I will come out swinging at you and say....yeah for me it is easy to. However unlike our friend here I have enough experience to recognize the challenges and enough empathy to sympathize with them.

All of this he's 18 and I'm 4o, 41, 42, 45 implies an inherent difference in BIOLOGY in aged people that makes it hard.

Besides my injuries I have to consider when choosing exercise I wasn't aware that there was some biological or physical state that my age bestows on me that nullifies CI/CO? I thought as far as I don't have PCOS or thyroid problems which are rare, I have the same methods as any other human. Am I misinformed? Have I misread hundreds of threads?

I agree with OP that calories in calories out is all there is to it, that conceptually it is easy. I disagree that as an adult balancing your own personal needs with your responsibilities to others is "easy".

The backlash is largely centered on OP's lack of life experience and overall smugness and arrogance.

You're an 18 year old male. Get back to me when you're a 45 year old woman.

And with the attitude you have, the only way for your girlfriend to get the boyfriend she deserves is TO FIND A NEW ONE

Look back in history and tell me, how many of the greatest leaders ever were complacent, weak willed,etc.?
I'll wait

you by good young fella are complacent and weak willed...otherwise you wouldn't ahve been 30lbs overweight.

Exactly

Being overweight doesn't necessarily imply complacency or being weak willed
Nice try though

So you came out of the womb overweight?...

Everything in life is a choice, whether it's conscious or not.
Did I choose to be overweight? Yes. I had zero problem with being overweight, and I still had the qualities that I did then that I have now
The only difference is that I got tired of having a belly

I've always read and heard about people complaining about weight loss being too difficult, or that it's too complicated. I'm on day 48 of my weight loss "journey" if you wish to call it that, and there's been absolutely zero challenges I've faced. I lift weights 3-4 days a week, and eat at a 500 calorie deficit and I've lost 16 pounds.
So what's the big deal with weight loss? Why is it considered to be so impossible?

I've always read and heard about people complaining about weight loss being too difficult, or that it's too complicated. I'm on day 48 of my weight loss "journey" if you wish to call it that, and there's been absolutely zero challenges I've faced. I lift weights 3-4 days a week, and eat at a 500 calorie deficit and I've lost 16 pounds.
So what's the big deal with weight loss? Why is it considered to be so impossible?

All of this he's 18 and I'm 4o, 41, 42, 45 implies an inherent difference in BIOLOGY in aged people that makes it hard.

Besides my injuries I have to consider when choosing exercise I wasn't aware that there was some biological or physical state that my age bestows on me that nullifies CI/CO? I thought as far as I don't have PCOS or thyroid problems which are rare, I have the same methods as any other human. Am I misinformed? Have I misread hundreds of threads?

I agree with OP that calories in calories out is all there is to it, that conceptually it is easy. I disagree that as an adult balancing your own personal needs with your responsibilities to others is "easy".

The backlash is largely centered on OP's lack of life experience and overall smugness and arrogance.

OK but that wasn't part of his original OP or his thread title. I think he only said so far that the weight loss plan is easy. I don't think he has called adulthood or the responsibilities "easy" but has simply encouraged people (in a blunt style) to work out those challenges and find a way? I read over his posts which seem limited to this thread and that was my read on his posts anyways. I fear people may be reading more into what he is saying just from personal perspectives.

<Ducking as I write this>

As a 40 year old woman, I found losing weight to be pretty straight-forward and simple. The weight didn't come flying off quickly, but it was steady, reliable and generally easy for me this time around.

My past efforts to lose were difficult and destined for failure because I over-complicated everything with diets, huge calorie deficits, and long lists of forbidden foods. If I went off my rigid track even a little, it always snowballed into a return to the bad habit of overeating all the time and proclaiming myself a failure.

As soon as I realized that all I needed to do is cut a minimal amount of calories from my daily intake (250 in my case) and work harder at moving throughout the day, everything else fell into place. I continued to eat all my favorite foods (not even the diet/light versions). Most days I ate over 2000 calories and still lost consistently. I went from 202 to 152 (my initial goal weight) in about eight months. I went on to lose another 16 pounds over six more months, before finally settling around 136 lbs. (I'm almost 5'9"). I've hovered between 135-140 for a little over two years now.

I don't want to minimize anyone else's struggles because we're all different. But for me, it was easy.

Well I will come out swinging at you and say....yeah for me it is easy to. However unlike our friend here I have enough experience to recognize the challenges and enough empathy to sympathize with them.

No need to swing at me!

I was very careful to qualify everything I wrote with 'personally' and 'for me', and end my post with 'I don't want to minimize anyone else's struggles because we're all different. '. I'm just trying to say that it finally clicked for me, but I empathize that the struggle in daily and ongoing for many, many people.

I've always read and heard about people complaining about weight loss being too difficult, or that it's too complicated. I'm on day 48 of my weight loss "journey" if you wish to call it that, and there's been absolutely zero challenges I've faced. I lift weights 3-4 days a week, and eat at a 500 calorie deficit and I've lost 16 pounds.
So what's the big deal with weight loss? Why is it considered to be so impossible?