why is losing weight so hard

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boyter77
boyter77 Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
41 and struggling to lose weight. I am thinking so hard about the gastro bypass.
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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Why is it so hard? Being patient is hard.
  • elinor32
    elinor32 Posts: 7 Member
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    Getting up early is hard/getting motivated when you come home is hard. Saying no to delicious food is hard. Logging your food is hard. Working out is hard. Really hard. Not wanting seconds, or thirds, or fourths, is hard. Seeing others eat what they want and look skinnier than you - it's hard. Feeling bad about yourself, sometimes depressed, and not associating it with food - it's hard. It's all so tough. But something clicks and you say, I can do a little today. Then you can do a little more tomorrow. Habits are hard to change. But so many great people are testament to it here - you can change. You can move a little more. You can eat a little less. By the time you feel good about that, you feel a stronger and healthier and sleep better and notice that the stairs aren't so hard, you move even MORE. You can do this.
  • Dootzy1
    Dootzy1 Posts: 2,201 Member
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    Agree with queenliz99!! Also, it is counter-cultural to delay self-gratification. Human eating habits are heard to break!! We have so much food available, that there are countless decisions to be made about what we eat each day!! You have to really really commit to the process to make it work.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    Read the success stories and you will see that there are a lot of people on here who have been where you are but have pushed on to success with just adjusting their diet and lifestyle rather than having surgery. I can understand why you are contemplating it but it is a big step and does have some risk. I am sure if you are determined enough you can succeed. Take heart and don't give up.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Losing weight is a simple process of eating less than you burn. All surgery will do for you, is to force that to happen. You will have to be more specific with what you are struggling with.
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
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    anything worth having in life is hard
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Because the calorie deficit is hard. It is corrective action to fix a health problem we all got into. This is why they say if it was easy everyone would do it. Sometimes it's because people focus too much on the results and not enough on the process or the healthy lifestyle and all the NSV's.

    “You would only fail to accomplish something if you were focused on the outcome.” If you continue to focus on the outcome and results, it may not be what you expected. Once you let go of that, you have accomplishment.

    You have passion.

    You will go do great things.

    Every day.

    You will have a PRIZEFIGHTER VICTORY day every day.

    -Tips from “Own Your Success” by Ben Newman

    It is hard because we have an overabundance of food. Humans were meant to eat when stressed and when food was available, well that is all the time now in the last 100 years of modern society, so obesity climbs.

    So we have to find ways to get comfort from things other than food. We have to retrain ourselves. Sometimes when we think we are hungry we really need some other primal comfort; warmth, coolness, human touch, sleep. A hot bath, a cool dip in the pool, a nap or just go to bed, a hot cup of tea, a big drink of water, a massage, a hug, talking to someone who cares and listens, writing in a journal.

    Next time you think you are hungry, try one of those other things. You might learn something about your hunger, if you just listen.

    gastro bypass does not help you train yourself in these things, so it might not end up helping you in the end. I know several who have it permanently and they gained all their weight back and then some. It does not really fix the problem.

    The problem is there is too much food available. You can fix it by going somewhere in the world where you won't have all the food and living there. Or, you can learn to navigate all the too much food - which is essentially like swimming up stream for our lives, but you can adapt and relax about it and retrain yourself.
  • cb2bslim
    cb2bslim Posts: 153 Member
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    I went into this on a very strict high protein low carb diet and only lasted a month with it. I loved that I was shedding the pounds but I hated the same foods day in and day out. I'm glad I started out that way because it opened my eyes to a new way of eating. I look at the protein, fat and the fiber to help me stay satisfied longer. I do eat my allowance of carbs and I weigh all my food with a digital scale. I love my scale! Numbers make sense to me and I like that I can weigh food to the gram. You fall off the wagon, you jump back on it the next day and hit it hard with a vengeance. Show who the boss is! Once you start getting deep into a weight loss journey, the plus side is that you have gained so much knowledge that will stay with you. Yes, I'll have the lasagna but I'll skip the dessert and can I substitute the garlic bread for a salad? Lol It becomes a lifestyle change in a therapeutic kind of way. I wish you the best of luck! Stay true and kick some butt!!
  • amazonqueen29
    amazonqueen29 Posts: 247 Member
    edited March 2016
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    I have a friend who had gastric bypass and gained lots of weight back. Her and I are part of a health plan that has created health in all aspects of our lives she lost 70lbs and I lost 117. The first thing you have to change is not what you eat but your mindset. There is a solution that doesn't include surgery!!!
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    edited March 2016
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    boyter77 wrote: »
    41 and struggling to lose weight. I am thinking so hard about the gastro bypass.

    Now THAT would be hard, it would change your life forever to have surgical procedure. It's not magical from what ppl have shared that have talked about it. I don't know anyone that has been able to keep the weight off a year. Now I'm not saying there aren't ppl out there in the world but I think by changing your eating habits and changing the way you think about food will give you far better results than a knife in the surgeons hand.

    Think long and hard... some ppl have absolutely no choice they must do surgery or they'll die... but even to do the surgery don't ppl have to lose a chunk of weight first?

    Hope you give MFP a try first :)
  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
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    I agree, it's in the head, not the stomach. And it's hard because, if you had had ancestors who could easily pass up food when it was over-available, they'd have starved to death in the next famine and you would never have been born. This business of everyone having lots and lots more food than they need all the time is brand-new to your body. Your mind, however, is a lot more adaptable: it can learn in one lifetime how to deal with conditions that human beings have never experienced before. Put your head in charge!
  • Yurie222
    Yurie222 Posts: 5 Member
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    I totally agree. I haven't lose weight at all.... It passing almost two weeks.....bleh
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,634 Member
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    Because if it were easy, there wouldn't be people that are overweight. The body is great at storage and not at releasing it. It takes commitment and discipline for it to happen.

    As for gastric bypass, that may not solve your issue. Your issue is control of your calories. Getting a procedure done rarely addresses the problem of CONTROL and it's NOT uncommon for people who do GB to not lose weight after 6 months or so.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    Yurie222 wrote: »
    I totally agree. I haven't lose weight at all.... It passing almost two weeks.....bleh

    are you eating at a deficit?     2 weeks is actually not that long a time for some ppl. It'll also depend on how much you have to drop.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Don't worry about eating "clean" or sticking to any resolutions or diet plans.

    Just worry about eating under your calorie limit.

    You can make room for what you desire the most with a little planning.

    This doesn't all have to be too complicated.
  • Tweaking_Time
    Tweaking_Time Posts: 733 Member
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    You didn't get to this point overnight - so with that in mind - it does take time to turn that station wagon back into a sports car. Keep after it!
  • xtina315
    xtina315 Posts: 218 Member
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    Life is hard in general. But you have to stand strong and fight back, to get your health back. Gastric bypass will not teach you to exercise nor good eating habits. I'm struggling with my weight as well but be persistent, DON'T ever give up, and push through those mental road blocks that keep telling you that you can't. My aunt had the bypass, and gained 150 lbs after having it done because she didn't improve on anything.

    YOU CAN DO THIS!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Biologically you are basically wired up to resist weight loss and promote weight regain.

    That and changing behaviors permanently is really, really hard.

    And maintaining weight loss appears to be even harder than losing it in the first place.

  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
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    The good news is, once you do manage to change your behavior, it wants to stick, not revert.
  • CalorieCountChocula
    CalorieCountChocula Posts: 239 Member
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    Nothing about weight loss makes sense. I can stick to my program for weeks or even months and barely lose anything. Then, I'll have cake and ice cream at a party and boom, 5lbs literally overnight. There goes months of progress for nothing. It's total crap. Meanwhile every ab-hole on planet gets to brag about how they eat pizza and ice cream constantly. It's garbage.

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