Why did your previous weight loss program fail?

I would get bored, cheat or just stop going to those meeting. I know I'm the reason they all failed. I didn't want to do the work and to lose the weight you HAVE to do the work. Count the calories and do the exercise. I won't happen in a day. You didn't put it on in a day, its not coming off in a day. Guess I just needed to learn that.

because I stopped following it :ohwell: I set a goal weight for myself and once I reached it, for some stupid reason I thought I could return to my old eating habits and not have any negative consequences :ohwell: This time, my head is where it needs to be. I've reset my goal weight (lower) two different times now. I take things one day at a time -- I just need to have a good day today. As long as I do this every day, before I know it, I will be maintaining :happy:

I was not mentally ready. The idea of buying workout equipment or joining a gym felt good. Buying fresh, whole foods at the grocery store felt good. But making the full-time commitment to changing my life was just not something I was mentally prepared for at that time. That's the most important lesson I have learned about weight-loss ... if you haven't truly made your mind up that you're not going to take no for an answer anymore, then you will fail.

I didn't have mfp. by that I mean not only am I getting positive feed back from many people every day, but I also feel accountable to everyone I've friended and as a result will not give in.
I hold people accountable to their diets (as much as possible) and expect them to do the same for me. as a result we all win.

great question thanks for making me think about it.

May our Lord bless you all on your individual journeys!

i was too strict on myself. i went from 2200 cals a day and sedentary to 1200-1300 cals a day and doing the same boring exercises and ate the same things and never allowed myself to have the foods i was eating before. i was going through an extemely stressful time the last time as well i also focused on the long term goal, got discouraged and just gave up. i really dont have a support system, except for myself and now im hopeful that mfp helps me stay on track and the wonderful people i have met. and now a year older and wiser hope it works this time

Because I stopped trying/it became too hard to fit in with my lifestyle.

Doing 10 hours shifts, with an hour each way travelling, and trying to prganise moving house... It doesn't work too well.
I'd already stopped losing by that point, but then I gained, about half a stone! So I'm on it again now, but I'll probably get bored because I'm not seeing results, and stop again. Or lose a few pounds and plateau and give up.

The biggest reason was ME. I was not ready. There are things that I think hindered the programs, but the failure was mine.

1) Adkins-- Not sustainable. Maybe by some folks, but not by me and I doubt by most.

2) WW--Good program, good recipes, but learning "points" is not the same as learning calories, etc and it makes a huge difference. Also, WW online does not have the community support found here and regular WW's in person meetings are not for me. I can work MFP into my schedule any time, not have to be at a meeting at a set time. Plus, I don't like most people in person.

3) eDiets--Loved the shopping planner and got great ideas for new things to eat so as not to get bored, but any system that tells you what to eat does not teach you how to do it yourself and that is what you have to have to make a sustainable, lifelong change. On eDiets (maybe this has changed, this is back when I was on it in 2006) you have no idea how many calories you should have, you simply pick food off of the list provided.

This is the first time I have needed or tried to lose weight.

I gave up because I didn't see the results as fast and as large as I wanted. Plain and simple I didn't have the will power to stay with it and opted for the easy way out. But alas a you get older, you develope a different set of priorites. My priority before was just to get SKINNY. Now it's to loose weight so that the arthritis in my knees and hips will be more manageable and to lessen the load on my heart so that I can live longer. With maturity comes wisdom.

When I started, i tried to have a low fat, low calorie diet (1800 calories) . It failed because my BMR was high, so my caloric needs were greater. Add that with not getting enough healthy fats or even calories, and my body started to hold onto the calories I was taking in. 3 Months later, I increase my calories to 2400 and stopped low fat substitutes and my weight loss started again. I since learned that fat doesnt' make you fat, excessive calories do.

Atkins - totally unrealistic and almost like a carb addiction program - when you fall off the wagon you carb load and put it all back on and more. Plus actually made me feel really unhealthy despite weight loss of almost a stone (but at a time when my lifestyle was less sedentary i.e. no desk work so possibly not all down to Atkins). However, some of the principals are still good to learn i.e. there is such a thing as a good/healthy fat and some carbs are far worse than others.

Slimming World - loved the fact that it includes all food groups, allowed for naughtiness in moderation and that you could eat as much as you like (red-protein/green-carb days alternated to suit). Lost about 1.5 stone and felt great with it but hated squeezing meetings into my life and found eating out at restaurants or friend's houses demanding. I also felt I wasn't 'like them' i.e. my food/exercise regime was never as bad to start with as many people there - I lacked common ground with them I guess. Tried then to go it alone but just little by little let bad habits creep back in. Put everything on again and more. Other than naughtiness in moderation, I actually don't think any of the principals are worth learning as it pandered to my over-sized portions which I believe is my biggest problem rather than the food types/content.

Cutting all snacks - too much deprivation leads me to rebel.

MFP - well it's early days and the loss is slower than I would like (but hope slower off might stay off) but it isn't a diet. It's just a mechanism to record and monitor your own behaviour. I can plan ahead, I can compare choices, I can pre-log before buying my lunch or before eating out (rather than falling for the selection/menu). I feel like I've learnt a lot about some of my regular choices (what proportion o each ingredient to include) and have been able to make easy switches to better options that totally fit with my lifestyle i.e. can be maintained/no wagon to fall off. And best of all, I realise I'm not the only one who feels this way with roller-coaster emotions... even if you don't contribute to discussion, you can read others' stories and motivate yourself. Plus by logging your exercise you realise you are supposed to earn your treats!! So far so good.

I've never had a weight loss program fail. If I stop exercising regularly or eat too much unhealthy food I gain weight. If I exercise regularly and eat healthy food, I lose it. This has been the story of my life, but I've never had trouble losing.

because I was interested in losing weight, but not committed to it.

because I gave up.

because I was too restrictive while losing, and gave myself permission to quit the diet when I got close to or reached my goal weight.

because I lost too quickly, and my brain didn't have the chance to catch up with my body. I still saw myself as fat, so lost hope and started eating like a fat person again.

So many reasons... Mostly because I refused to make an actual lifestyle change in the past. I was always very aware that what I was doing (eating less and moving more, sometimes to the extreme) was temporary.

:flowerforyou: Here's an awesome list that has inspired me so much, just to spread the inspiration. It's from Linda Spangle's 100 Days to Weight Loss-

People who are interested in losing weight:

1. Stick with in until something better comes along
2. Take action only if they "feel like" doing it
3. Need to see results in order to stay motivated
4. Blame people or circumstances for their struggles
5. Easily give up when they face challenges

People who are committed to losing weight:

1. Stick with their plans no matter what
2. Take action whether they feel like doing it or not
3. Assume that if they stay motivated, results will follow
4. Take responsibility for their own actions
5. Keep going in spite of challenges and setbacks

My only previous attempt was at Truestar gyms for women...I think it was in Canada and US, but maybe only Canada. Not surprisingly, it failed for several reasons.
- it was far too strict and nitpicky to sustain forever
- my then husband wanted me to go, but sabotaged my efforts
- it was too expensive
- I was dealing with extreme anxiety and phobia at the time
- I quit on myself.

I lost 30lb but was miserable constantly and every meal became such a chore of measuring and counting and balancing, and I was hungry. All I could think about day and night was food. Unhappy dieters don't make good dieters, I don't think. I kept it up for 6 months, but was pretty far into the letting it go process when the gym closed down and sealed the deal for em. Naturally, I gained it all back and then some.

This time around I am sure I'll do better because
- I'm choosing to count calories only while making conscious decisions to make healthier choices, but I am not constantly balancing fats/carbs/proteins. That gets too complicated and tedious for me and makes those choices a chore. The TrueStar diet focused entirely on that balancing act.
- I am free of the husband that wanted a skinny trophy wife, but held me down at the same time. Now it's not about making him happy (mission impossible), it's about making me happy and healthy and loving my wonderful life.
- it's FREE!
- I have worked really hard and overcome the phobia that was crippling my everyday life. I still struggle with social anxieties, but I'm loads better than I was.

I think now is a better time for me...I'm struggling much harder financially now, which sucks. However, it's better than the emotional and psychological struggle I was fighting before.

Excuses.

My previous weight loss plan was calorie counting, clean eating, and a combination of planned exercise sessions and a generally more active lifestyle. There was nothing wrong with that plan- when I was sticking to it, it worked just fine! I went from 178 (highest non-pregnant) to 125 and then maintained within 5-10 lbs of that goal for about 4 years.

In the last year I started making excuses...
-I'm too tired
-I'm too depressed
-I'm too busy
-I don't have time to cook every night
-I don't have time to workout every day
-Healthy eating is too expensive
-I have bigger problems to worry about right now
-I "deserve" to take a break
-I "deserve" to go drinking with my friends

On and on and on.

As a result, I am 25-30 lbs heavier than I want to be, I lost my muscle tone, I lost my endurance, and I generally hate everything about my appearance.