Why Is It SO DANG Hard to Lose Weight???

glib answer...beware!!
It's so damn hard to lose weight because food is so damn good!
I feel you...I know exactly how you feel...this has been "my week" for about a month now. I don't know how to get there again (I did it before I got pregnant and LOST 100lbs...so I know I can), I just know that I like to eat.
L.

I feel you pain!!! For me personally, it was all about changing my old habits and developing new ones. I developed my own exercise regime and simply changed my eating habits...then stuck with it. I didn't "diet" or starve myself. I simply made better choices for the majority of my meals. Then I allow myself to cheat or eat whatever I want a couple of meals per week. And, I certainly didn't eliminate ice cream from my diet...are you kidding me??? No way girl! As for exercising...I went from doing absolutely nothing to walking a mile or so a day and then built up from there. I immediately started seeing results and now exercise is a habit. If I don't do it, I feel like I'm missing a part of my day. I have lost 30 pounds in a matter of months and have managed to keep it off. I look great and feel better than I have in years. I'm living proof it can be done...just got to be in the right frame of mind! It just took my mind 40 years to get there. :-)

I am with you, it is HARD to lose weight!! But I learned a lesson about myself long ago..I am NOT a dieter. I could never stick with it, stay motivated, and I fell off the wagon too much for me to continue, so I'd quit. SO, I decided that instead of dieting, I'm just going to keep eating what I always have (which has never been TOO bad), but make healthier choices. It is a long process that I always can improve on, but it definitely has helped me shed pounds. For example, I started out small..Eat the sandwich I want, but no cheese. Eat a hamburger, but veggies on the side instead of fries. I even would eat a cupcake, but take the frosting off. At potlucks, try a little of everything instead of a lot of a few things.

Fast forward to years later..and I still make those decisions, but on a larger scale. Instead of a cupcake all together, eat a yogurt, etc. I still allow myself to have the things I want sometimes, because it's all in moderation. Two slices of pizza and an ice cream sandwich isn't too bad, just make a healthier choice next time. :) Make it relative. Forgive yourself and move on.

Go shopping when you are full, you wont be tempted to buy lots of snacks.

I don't buy soda, chips, cookies, ice cream... any of that. About every other week I'll get cookies or make brownies or something and that is our indulgence. We still snack, but on healthier options.

For meals, eat that pizza, but make sure you drink water, have a nice salad or veggies and fresh fruit. Make sure it's well balanced. Also, eat 5 small meals a day and lots of healthy snacks. It will help keep you full and help you avoid wanting to gorge on junk.

Also, all the dieting in the world isn't going to tone your body you may lose lbs, but then you'll have loose skin and not proportioned. So, I would join a gym or do home workouts. Seriously, it helps so much, even just 30 mins a day! We joined the ymca b/c it's cheaper and more 'family friendly'.

If you need an online community for ideas and encouragement, join sparkpeople.com it's free. Gooid Luck!

what??? not a fan of the answer you are getting. People take out the social aspect of food. I think you need to make some allowances for celebrating the end of school. I guess you could have skipped the icecream but to me having a salad for dinner would balance it out. Just jump back in, and cut yourself a break.

love the letter idea!

Honey, I wish I knew. I've read the books, many, many books. I've joined the programs, walked until my feet hurt, rode a bike until my knees swelled, put my shoulders out using the row machine, even hurt all over from weeks of swimming, bought so many exercise gadgets, sweated, and steamed my food to the point of almost never consuming fats. I added the good fat in, took out the bad fat, tried the pills, potions, and have even tried endless hours of meditation/hypnotherapy. I've studied the bible, prayed, and kept so many food journals. I feel like I have almost as much experience as a dieter as I do as a daycare provider!

I hear you! I too am coping with the same dilemma. My doc gave me phentermine, and for 3 months I was on it I felt super fantastic bullistic!! I went nuts and lost allot of weight.... now being off the stuff I find myself dreading to get on that scale.. it keeps climbing.. I don't want to go back to that weight I was before I started the medication.

I try and be good, then, like you.. a slice of pizza and some chocolate covered pretzels later, I feel disgusted in myself and wonder why I just did that!!! I can't get myself to throw up and even if I could I wouldn't. I don't want to overcome one problem, by creating another.

I wish there was an easy answer girlfriend... I really do...

I too have this problem. You have to condition your mind. I ask myself " do I really need this____ right now? before I eat something, especially if it's junk. I love to snack, and that is something that I have had to stop doing. For me, asking myself really keeps it in check. It's a reminder. Sometimes I will need something sweet, or a snack, and that's ok, but not every day. I think to I get discouraged. Especially if I have been good all week, and didn't lose anything. I have to remember that it's a process, and a lifestyle change. It can't happen overnight. I have also started the Weight Watcher's points plus, and have already lost 5 pounds. It's a huge motivator.

OMG I SOOO feel this!!! It is as if I posted this myself...I have been doing very well, low carbs etc. Yesterday in the middle of me preparing a healthy dinner (shrimp and veggies) hubby calls me from work, his car would not start so I had to load all 3 kids (7 wk old, 3 yo and 4 yo) all in the car to go and get him. Well by the time we got him and were on the way back, it was 8 pm, and of course we got takeout. And I had a chicken sandwich (fried of course) with fries and a freakin milk shake. Grrr. so mad at myself today!!

I was the same way. I tried seriously every diet imaginable, and the ONLY thing that I found that works, Weight Watchers Online. It's sooooo easy! It works off a point system, and you can eat pretty much what you want, just stay within your points. It's VERY do-able. I've been on it 11 weeks and have lost 22 lbs. My friend is doing it as well, she's lost 35 lbs. in 11 weeks!! Unbelievable for both of us. I urge you to check it out. It costs about 17.00 per month, and you have access to a TON of recipes as well. Good luck, keep positive & don't give up, you WILL find the motivation & do it!

I know you probably didn't mean to be funny, but you had me cracking up... I'm with you girl... I have everything planned out in my head too, but instead of getting up early to exercise, I hit the alarm and go back to bed... or lie to myself and say I'll do it after work... and eating, don't get me started...

On a serious note, mainly to myself, it's a choice we make in our head when we are ready and determine to do it. It has to be a mental decision and we have to be committed in doing it... I think ice cream taste better than a salad (most of the time) and it's easy to pleasure our taste buds than torture ourselves with a workout...

1) Perhaps, joining a support group will help.

2) Find out "why" you are eating and sabotaging yourself.

3) Why are you eating? emotional eating is typically like this.

4) also exercise. Daily. It can even be just walking around the block at a brisk pace. It does not have to be for hours. Just even 1/2 hour.

It isn't hard to lose weight.

It is hard to realize that you are worth making better decisions regarding your health. Repeat after me, "I am worth it" before you reach for the pizza, the ice cream.

When you say diet week what do you mean? Is it restrictive with a lot of rules that a normal, sane person could never follow and adopt for a lifetime? Or, does it incorporate a wide variety of food choices and regular eating intervals so you never really get hungry?

Three things you can do to help keep yourself accountable and motivated:

#1 - Journal what you eat. Write down EVERYTHING you put in your mouth and calculate how many calories it is. That right there is pretty eye-opening. Often, though, if people can visualize how many calories they are overeating then they have a tendency to have a little more restraint. Once you've journaled your caloric intake for a while and are used to it, you may find yourself planning out your meals for the day (also smart), so that you know if you have wiggle room for a handful of chips and a tiny bit of guacamole instead of bingeing on them.

#2 - Weigh yourself once a week after you've started journaling. Seeing an actual change in your weight can be a huge motivating factor in continuing on your nutrition plan. Pick one day of the week and weigh yourself first thing in the morning. Do NOT weigh yourself on the other days. Log your weight so you can see your progress. (If you'd like to take it a step farther, get a home blood pressure machine - inexpensive at like CVS or Walgreens - and start taking your blood pressure on a daily basis. It's another way to gain objective data in determining the good that your nutrition plan is doing.)

#3 - Reward, reward, reward! My favorite? I get one dark chocolate Hershey's kiss a day (the dark chocolate has flavanoids that actually help lower cholesterol and it gives my sweet tooth a little boost without wasting a bunch of calories). If you reach your weekly goal (about 1-2 pounds per week) then reward yourself with something tangible: a movie, a pedicure, a new workout shirt, a new Nalgene or stainless steel water bottle.

It may be helpful to create a menu for the week and stick to it. That way you won't fall into the trap of "I don't know what to make for dinner so we're having McDonald's." Pack your lunch. Prepare your breakfast the night before (do you like oatmeal? Put 1 cup of steel cut oats and 4 cups of water in a crock pot overnight on low and all you have to do is dish it out. Throw in some blueberries - great antioxidant - and some pecans or walnuts and you've got a delicious, healthy, filling breakfast. Want to be more adventurous? Add a little wheat germ or ground flaxseed for some Omega-3 fatty acid goodness!)

Write out goals for the week. Do your shopping for the week. Designate Sunday as a meal prep day. Pack a cooler/lunchbox for work every day, including all your snacks so you aren't tempted to run to the vending machine.

Good luck to you! Feel free to PM if you have other questions.

Losing weight is not hard at all. Deciding to be healthy is the trick. Diets don't work. It is a choice to live a certain way.
Before you think, "..easy for her to say!" let me tell you I have had some extremely dangerous health conditions. An undiagnosed hole in my heart made me gain 65 lbs with both of my pregnancies. With the right supplements (no dieting) and eating more healthfully, I was back to ideal weight in 5 weeks. Then I had a stroke and open heart surgery to fix the hole in my heart. At 50 I had another unexplained weight gain. I found out in January that I had a tumor in my lung and had half my lung removed. Since then, I have lost 12 lbs. I eat constantly when I am home--at least 9 servings of fruits and veggies per day (usually at least 4 of them in a smoothie) no dairy and no sugar.
Even with all the health problems I have had and major surgeries, not all mentioned here, I have never missed more than 2 months of exercise.
I was the queen of junk food before all this started, so if I can do it, anyone can. If someone could guarantee I would never have another health issue and could eat any and everything I wanted, I would not change what I am doing. I am not deprived of anything.

My guess is, because right now you really don't want to. Your mind has to be 100% focused on losing weight and right now you haven't made up your mind that you are willing to give up the things that taste good to you.

Once you have your mind made up, it is incredibly easy to lose weight (I know, because I have done it). What's hard, is changing what you are used to.

A great first start to weight loss is detox-ing your self. Also, it is great for your body as well as weight loss to have at least a liter (aprox. two bottles) of water before you eat or drink anything else. That is a start, and from there you can start the day with high-fiber foods that make you feel full. I think it just has a lot to do with how you start. And don't limit the water intake by that liter. You should spread out about another two liters more throughout the day (not all at once!). One thing that many people don't know is that some mistake a thirst for hunger and eat instead of drink water, and when some people get thirsty, they drink juice and soda instead of water...

Maybe you're going about it wrong? It sounds like you have cravings that you are really struggling to let go of. Would it work to give yourself a day for those cravings...like every Saturday or something? That way if on Tuesday you are REALLY wanting ice cream or pizza, you can (hopefully) tell yourself to hold off until Saturday. Then Saturday you can eat whatever you want. Obviously this isn't ideal, but if it will give you more self control on most days, it's definitely better than not doing it! I dated a guy who did that. He weighed 400 lbs before I met him. When I met him, he was around 190 lbs - very buff and fit. Every Saturday was his cravings day.

Also, make sure you understand what causes weight gain. You want to keep your insulin release at an even level. If you haven't watched "Fat Head" (you can instant watch on Netflix), it has some really good explanations on insulin and how to control that to control your weight. And this is for EVERYONE, not just diabetics.

Eating protein, you won't gain weight. Eating carbs (especially unhealthy ones like breads, rice, potatoes, candy, ice cream, sugar, etc) will mess with your insulin and make you gain weight. Eating vegetables are awesome too. There are some really yummy salads you can eat. They are super healthy and filling too.

anyway, so you want a nice amount of protein every day and a very small amount of carbs. Then you also want a lot of veggies. People say not to eat fruit, but I think that's ridiculous! It has so many nutrients in it that you should definitely eat fruit too:-)

Hope that helps.

I felt the same way for so long and it is obvious by your responses, so do most people. Then I finally did something. I joined Weight Watchers. The support, ideas, and food suggestions have helped me lose 33 lbs. They teach you, it is NOT a diet, it is a new way of life and a new relationship with food. You can try a meeting for free or join online. I bet you will be glad you did. Best of luck, M.

Because some of us (me) enjoy eating even when I'm not hungry! I eat socially because it's something I've always done. Most of the issues or problems with eating arise from old habits that have been formed. I"ll do great all day then eat something bad at night (which one night isn't bad but three nights in a row? Not good). I enjoy eating 'good' foods and by good I mean things that taste good but are not good for you - french fries, chips and dip, donuts, etc.

If I didn't snack at all, I think I could lose more weight. But the snacking is what is really bad for me!

I've done WW and lost weight on it but I'm never motivated long enough to count all my points, weigh my food, etc. I have to come up with something that is longer term something I will stick with. I joined everydayhealth.com and have a group of a few women who check in daily to see if I'm journaling, working out, etc.

I don't get mad at myself if I skip a workout, but plan for another one and try to follow through with that. I celebrate every loss - even if it's .5 lbs. I try to cut out starchy foods for 2 meals a day and then allow myself starches at one of my meals. I try to bring healthy snacks to work. For me, it's not about eating heathy foods - I could eat healthy all day long. I just enjoy eating. Not a good thing, I realize! But something I"ll have to overcome my entire life!!!!

I did do the cabbage soup diet to detox and lost about 6 lbs in a week - and I even cheated a little bit.

I think it's all about a perfect combination of eating right, eating the right portions, finding out what snacks will help you curb your cravings or giving into those cravings some times and actually really wanting to lose the weight! You need all of that in order to be able to lose it without feeling like you are 'dieting' and need to make a life change...it's an ongoing process for me so I feel your pain!