Why did your previous weight loss program fail?

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.

To be honest, I've never had a weight loss program that failed to help me lose the weight I wanted. I've tried different things in my life and they've always been successful at getting me to the weight I wanted to be at.

The problem was - as soon as I reached that magic number on the scale, I didn't know how to maintain. That's why I like MFP so much - you can use it as a tool for both weight loss and maintenance. I've learned through MFP that to stay where I want to be, I have to stay accountable - weighing in weekly, paying attention to calories & exercise. I firmly believe that the majority of weight loss programs want you to fail long term - that way you'll come back & pay them more money to lose the weight all over again. MFP frees you up from that destructive cycle.

I wasn't ready and I wasn't eating right. I was doing Weight Watchers, but I wasn't eating "healthy points." I would lose 10-15lbs and that's it.

I will offer my thoughts on why Slimming World did not work for me as this was the diet I tried to lose the baby weight the first time. Basically without portion control, and having a very big appetite after pregnancy and breastfeeding it doesn't return to normal straight away so you do get hungry... I believe that with SW I was eating too much. I was sticking to the plan and initially lost weight but it plateaued at much too high a weight for my goals. I left SW and moved onto Weight Watchers (the old points system) which was basically the same as calorie counting, and lost the weight and even got lower than I had been previously.

This time I tried again with SW but again, no good, tried Weight Watchers and it's changed- no good. I have eventually come back to basic calorie counting and find this works fine.

I was not mentally ready. I am overweight because of emotional eating issues. When I tried to lose weight in the past, I had not moved past my issues. I was not ready to give up emotional eating and learn healthier habits. Now I have worked past my issues and I have finally given up the emotional eating.

Mainly because despite exercise and healthy food, I didn't have a clear idea of how much I should - and shouldn't - eat.

THIS /\