Why is it EASY to gain weight, but HARD to lose it?

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Kwebs60043
Kwebs60043 Posts: 6
in Introduce Yourself
I am a person who was skinny during my high school years, but after my pregnancy I gained weight, I didn't blow up but I went from being a 130 to a 175, and it's hard to lose weight. I want to go back to a 130 again, but it's hard to not eat certain foods and to work out for an hour straight without lying down for a more than a rest break. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I want to tone my arms, lose that arm fat, that back fat, I want to tone my thighs, gain some hips and butt, lose my stomach and waist. I wondered if that's all possible, slim my waist, gain some hips and a butt, without losing some of the other. I want to know, what are some of your suggestions in those department, and your regimens and how did you change your eating habits. I could eat salads every day, but then sooner or later it will become bland and I will spot a sweet and have a little mishap and cheat on my diet. Also, has anybody tried any lean shakes or any diet pills or products fro GNC, did they work?

Sincerely,

Nikki

Replies

  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    It's the same difficulty to gain or to lose. The rest is in your head.
  • Kwebs60043
    Kwebs60043 Posts: 6
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    That's what one of my friends said to me, but it's hard to discipline myself because it seems I always let the wants come before the needs.
  • Aleciajones
    Aleciajones Posts: 153
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    If you want something then make room for it, smaller portions of other foods so you have the available calories. Or just have half of what it is. If you can't do an hour straight them build up to it, do it in 20min increments until you can do the hour. It is harder to loose only because we've let ourselves become week and soft.
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
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    You're making it harder in your head than it needs to be... there's good news. You DON'T have to exercise an hour a day. 30 minutes is fine. You DON'T have to give up food you like. Just eat it in moderation. You DON'T have to eat salad every day (I don't recall when I last had a salad, unless it was a taco salad).

    I do yoga 2-3 times a week, walk some, and do exercise videos at home. A typical day for me is cereal/milk for breakfast, a wrap stuffed with veggies/cheese/meat with sweet potato chips and fruit for lunch, and supper is lean protein with a starch and veggie. Snacks throughout the day.

    You can do this!
  • CaliSweden
    CaliSweden Posts: 62
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    I don't recommend diet pills at all. Those things aren't good for you. The best way to lose weight permanently is to change your eating habits.

    We didn't gain all our weight over night or in a month. So it will take longer than those time period to lose the weight too. It's okay to fall off the wagon, as long as the next meal or day you jump right back on that wagon. Also if you don't have the energy to do a full 1 hour workout right now, you should try something smaller and easier. Try going for a walk, start out by going for 15 minutes, then try for 30 minutes. You'll start to feel more energetic and maybe from there you can walk longer or start jogging.
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
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    Those who only diet and do not exercise have difficulty shrinking their waists despite losing weight elsewhere. This is because once you've built a store of fat cells, they don't just go away - only shrink. You have to exercise to slim your body too.

    http://calorielab.com/news/2006/08/17/fat-cells-never-say-die/
  • Kwebs60043
    Kwebs60043 Posts: 6
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    Those diet pills commercial be making it sound so great and easy, and claiming its good and ok, I always wondered, thanks.
  • UltraRunnerGale
    UltraRunnerGale Posts: 346 Member
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    One of the reasons it *seems* easy to gain weight rather than lose it is that the older you get, the slower your metabolism gets. You have to work harder to get the results you want, but it certainly isn't impossible. Anything worth having is worth working for!! :bigsmile:

    You cannot *spot* reduce. As you lose fat, you basically lose it all over your body. Of course some things are hereditary and we all have a spot that tends to be troublesome. You can use strength/weight training to help tone and reduce fat.

    As for the shakes and pills.... forget it. If there were a magic pill, everyone would be thin. Diet products are a multi-million dollar industry!! :noway:

    Eat right, exercise and get proper rest and the weight will take care of itself. :drinker:
  • CaliSweden
    CaliSweden Posts: 62
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    You're making it harder in your head than it needs to be... there's good news. You DON'T have to exercise an hour a day. 30 minutes is fine. You DON'T have to give up food you like. Just eat it in moderation. You DON'T have to eat salad every day (I don't recall when I last had a salad, unless it was a taco salad).

    I do yoga 2-3 times a week, walk some, and do exercise videos at home. A typical day for me is cereal/milk for breakfast, a wrap stuffed with veggies/cheese/meat with sweet potato chips and fruit for lunch, and supper is lean protein with a starch and veggie. Snacks throughout the day.

    You can do this!

    I do yoga almost daily, and I love it! I wish I would have discovered it earlier.

    I really recommend yoga too. I started off doing only about 20 minutes of yoga, since I wasn't strong enough to do longer. But now I do yoga easily for an hour, and I've lost inches.
  • dkreman
    dkreman Posts: 17
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    I understand completely. I can empathize with an alcoholic, only it's food with me . The overwhelming desire for food could have something to do with how the brain is wired, just like an alcoholic or drug addict's desires. But then I'm certainly no expert on any of these issues. I only know that sometimes it does not matter how much I tell myself no, I will still eat.

    DaK
  • chapagonzo
    chapagonzo Posts: 53
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    You might can have your answer by asking yourself a question.......Were you paying as much attention eating and gaining weight as you are by altering your eating habits and attempting to lose weight. Can't speak for others, but it is super easy for me to eat carelessly and without thought. After all I then won't have to hold myself accountable. To take on the quest to lose weight however requires a lot more of my brain cells and it is helpful if they are in the right place. I have to think more, control more, reason more and moderate more. Sure is a lot harder that going for that forth piece of pizza. Anyway, I feel your pain. I have been calorie counting since July 16th and have dropped 21 pounds. Of course it has helped to blog every single morsel I eat. I would not have been able to do it if I had not mentally prepared myself that this is the way it has to be if I want to see results. Keep trying, stick with your plan. Good Luck!

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