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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?

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Replies

  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited August 2017
    As much as I'd like to argue against your view point, I have to admit you're describing me to a T. Having yo-yoed throughout my entire adult life over a huge span (100lbs either way), and having had great success in losing this time around, I've currently regained almost 30lbs and am struggling mightily to get things going back down, rather than continuing up. To be honest, life is kicking my *kitten* right now, and I'm doing a really crappy job of dealing with it.

    I think most people have a hard time with life at times. I mean, maybe some lucky people don't but most of us have periods of change/difficulty/adjustment that change things. One of the big ones for me was being forced to move a lot farther away from my job and having to commute. It has never gotten easier to make the time since I lost those hours. But it wasn't just that, it was a combination of things. This time. The exact circumstances don't matter, I just see that life is going to go on and things are going to keep happening. I'm no longer sure enough of the future to say "I will keep doing these things forever without fail no matter what" because that would be a lie.

    But that's what it takes.

    I kind of agree with you to some degree in that getting complacent is one of the biggest problems, at least for me. The minute I got complacent in the past was the only time I regain weight in an uncontrolled manner. I have been at this for years, but although I feel like I have developed great sustainable strategies (which actually include purposeful and calculated weight gain sometimes if life gets too challenging to maintain a diet) I don't think I'm safe or that I will always be doing this well. With that said, I'm not easily jaded and don't think I will allow myself to venture into defeatism territory. Understanding that there will be setbacks means keeping an eye for them. I'm terrified of diabetes and that keeps me on my toes no matter what life throws at me, but if there comes a time where I just don't care anymore I'll just re-lose the weight again when I start caring again, no problem. I realise things will not always be perfect, but I don't believe for a second that I'm doomed to always be fat because I got fat as a child and reached morbid obesity.

    This. This is what I was trying to say. I'm terrified of my arthritis and losing my mobility.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
    I'm another who won't be laying down and saying I'm never going to maintain a healthy weight. I've been overweight since I was 9 and was obese for most of my teens and early adulthood. I've yo-yo'd once in my life and know exactly what caused me to regain my weight. There's too much at stake not to keep the weight off. I've got the grit and determination not to accept being on the wrong side of the statistic. I refuse to be one of the 80%.
  • curiouskate
    curiouskate Posts: 36 Member
    Right. "Most."

    It's the truth.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    shrcpr wrote: »
    Fair enough, but I know myself.

    Where your post rubbed me the wrong way was your sure declaration that just about everyone was doomed.

    Statistics say that 20% will succeed. I've researched the habits of successful people and made them my own. I've already been through a serious trial and didn't falter.

    Time will tell which side of the statistic any of us fall on.

    To be fair her original post said most people. A 20% success rate means an 80% fail rate. 80% is most.

    I do think being on this site gives us a big advantage with all the knowledge and experience of those who have been successful long-term.

    It was most people who got fat as children teens, and then went on to say that the best we all as a group meeting that criteria was either giving up or yo-yoing.

    It was rather more defeatist that we had a 20% shot at succeeding.

    I find it interesting that no one ever considers the abysmal success of attempts at smoking cessation when quoting statistics around here, but we're married to the failure of weight loss. And yet, I think most of us think of smoking cessation as something most people succeed at. That's because they do. After multiple attempts. The statistics for individual attempts are far worse than those for weight loss, in fact.

    I read a statistic once that most people who successfully quit smoking long term try 5 times before they are successful (or maybe it was succeed on the 5th time, it's been a while).

    I was never a smoker but my husband was (and is) addicted. It took several tries before he finally gave it up for (hopefully) good. I think of this when I read about those that yo-yo and then finally succeed at losing weight.
  • curiouskate
    curiouskate Posts: 36 Member
    I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.

    I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.

    Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.

    I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.

    Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.

    re: the bold section. What are you referring to when you "this is a futile effort"?
  • curiouskate
    curiouskate Posts: 36 Member
    I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.

    I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.

    Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.

    re: the bold section. What are you referring to when you "this is a futile effort"?

    Trying to tell people about what happens to most people who lose weight. Nobody wants to hear it. I get that.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I never listened when people told me the dire statistics until I became one. I used to get mad at the suggestion, in fact. And remember that "20% success rate" includes anyone who kept off 10% of their weight loss. Heck, by that standard I won! But I don't consider gaining back 90% of what I lost success at all. I doubt many people would.

    I know this is a futile effort because people generally never think bad things could happen to them, but I just wish I personally had been more humble and less arrogant in the past. It stings to eat those words, it really does. I remember getting real mad at this one woman who said she regained because her child died. I feel so bad about that now- wish I could apologize to her. But I did not understand how it happens. Now I do, from watching all my WL friends and myself.

    Also there's nothing special about MFP. People have been calorie counting for decades, it's just that now there's an app. Weight Watchers is basically calorie counting and it has the same dismal long term success rate of anything.

    re: the bold section. What are you referring to when you "this is a futile effort"?

    Trying to tell people about what happens to most people who lose weight. Nobody wants to hear it. I get that.

    Why would they? It's the glass 3/4 empty point of view. Most would rather hear abut the 1/4 glass full.
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