Why do people give up?

2

Replies

  • niniundlapin
    niniundlapin Posts: 327 Member
    edited April 2020
    For me the best combo for successful weight loss (& fat loss) is a balanced lifestyle- being able to eat in moderation, workout in a structured routine (cardio, weights, “fun ones” for rest day, etc), and sleep enough. The last one is the hardest since I had my daughter... those sleepless nights just translated into exhaustion and aggressive snacking behavior. Now she’s a bit older (1.5 yo) so I get to adapt into a new daily routine. Not sure how things will go later on though since I’m in maintenance and trying to gain muscle mass.
  • MeganD1704
    MeganD1704 Posts: 733 Member
    pink_mint wrote: »
    MeganD1704 wrote: »
    I am glad I am back on track- yes its taking forever vs when I did Keto- but I do not care- I want to do this right and build lifelong habits.

    Same here. I was on keto for quite a while and yes it worked for weight loss but I cannot bear the thought of doing it again. I guess I thought I was going to lead my whole life doing keto but I just can't.

    Yesss! Its weird- I did well on it but it just feels so restrictive now. Hated pre planning where we could/couldnt eat based on my diet. We went to Vegas and I fear my hubby missed out on my expense. We travel a lot when we can do I need to be able to have flexibility but still be healthy!
  • LeiLaura
    LeiLaura Posts: 238 Member
    My story is a lot shorter.

    I needed to lose weight, I knew it was ultimately about calories. I found a free website to help me track my calories. (This one.)

    I logged food, and I planned and paid for a vacation that was in the Bahamas, which meant a bathing suit for a week. I had nine months to get the weight off. That worked! I got really close to my goal by the time I took off.

    It wasn't until I got back and still had 15 pounds to lose that I had to really buckle down. The first 65 weren't nearly as hard to lose as the last 15. It required sticking to macros and calories and getting enough of all the nutrients. I had to make most of my own meals so I could control it. I weighed in daily. I used a food scale for food - all food. I walked on hilly trails for an hour 4-6 times per week. I had to be disciplined for those last 15 pounds and I had to live with quite a lot of hunger. I think that must be when people give up...the home stretch.

    Totally this. Well done, you're very inspiring.
  • MidlifeCrisisFitness
    MidlifeCrisisFitness Posts: 1,106 Member
    edited May 2020
    Aside from a medical barrier I believe the issue comes down to SMART.

    People get lost in thier journey. They set out goals that are not

    Specific
    Measurable
    Achievable
    Reaslistic
    Timely

    Any time you set a goal each one of these is crucial to your success. Set SMART goals that you can attain and set progress within the required reward, motivation cycle for your personality. If you need daily reward satisfaction your goals need to be task based. If you are more patient your reward can be monthly challenge based. If you are single minded and visionary you can set long term goals to a target.

    Know yourself and set appropriate SMART goals that lead to your finish line.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,928 Member
    edited May 2020
    for me, being pregnant and it not being safe to lose weight while pregnant. And then being on meds and breastfeeding and hormonal for over a year after (only applicable for my second child). Being too tired. Family pressure can also be hard. That being said, I've always been successful outside of pregnancy and breastfeeding. And I'm on my path to successful now too. (Lost weight pre-babies, after 1st baby, and now working on after second baby).
  • mullanphylane
    mullanphylane Posts: 172 Member
    No idea why others give up. We're all individuals and each individual is different.

    The greatest reason that I give up is because results aren't fast enough or linear. I fell off a plateau (198 Lb) where I languished for two weeks. In three days I've put on two pounds.

    Second excuse is that for most of my life I had to consume nearly 3000 calries/day or I lost weight. When that changed I packed on 70 pounds in about six months. I've so many bad habits to break that some days I just say fork it and pig out.

    Underlying health conditions contribute to my lack of success, but they are minor compared to my personal habits.
    • Move More
    • Eat Less
    • Eat Better

    One day at a time.
  • Italiana_xx79
    Italiana_xx79 Posts: 588 Member
    Lack of knowledge and results....
  • Dani9585
    Dani9585 Posts: 215 Member
    For me, it was the stress of having too much on my “life” plate. I’m a single parent, two kids, had returned to school to get my Masters, and was working full time. Something had to give... which, unfortunately, ended up being my diet/tracking lifestyle.

    I had lost 20lbs (out of my 30lb goal), but gained 10lbs back. When I tried my jeans on the other day (because quarantine sweat pants are life), and they were tight, I knew that I needed to come back here.

    I’m still a single parent with two kids, but I’m working full time and won’t be returning to school for my PhD. I managed to track and lose weight like this before, and I will do it again.
  • digestibleplastic
    digestibleplastic Posts: 27 Member
    I don't think I ever gave up per say, it was more that other things in life started to take precedence over paying attention to what I was eating in combination with an overuse injury that made it very difficult to burn calories with exercise, so over the course of 12-15 weeks, 20 lbs came back on pretty swiftly and I was suddenly obese again.

    It's hard to care about 20 extra lbs when debt, job loss, family illness, emotional turmoil are at the forefront of your mind. Truly what's important - staying at a low weight/losing more weight, or focusing on resolving emotional and financial personal problems? I'd say the latter.

    What's important is to just be kind to yourself and know this is a process and it's not about the destination, it's a lifelong journey. Even when I was consistently thin I was never the same exact weight. I weighed between 125 - 140 lbs (normal range for my height) from ages 18 - 34, my thinnest at age 30.

    Right now I'm back to tracking because 1-My life is stable right now due to coronavirus (ironically) and 2- I'd like to get back consistently into that range. Creating these good habits now, while I'm emotionally and financially in the position to do so will only help me later in life when I have more downs than ups. And if I'm at 125 lbs, and have a "down", then gaining 20 lbs isn't a huge deal. It's "loseable" and it's still in my normal/healthy weight range.
  • thesame6
    thesame6 Posts: 5 Member
    Impatience, some laziness, too much information gets confusing.

    I stopped using MFP last time because it kept telling me I wasn't eating enough.... but I wasn't losing weight, despite not eating much and exercising more...... it ended up being my thyroid.... but I honestly thought I was eating too much at 1000 calories, if that, a day....

    So, I'm doing this again, but throwing out everything I think I know (my life of fad diets and misinformation) and just tracking what I eat, keeping within my range of calories and staying active.

    I want to see an immediate loss.... but I know that's not how it works.. so I need to remain patient, keep active, stay the course.