Is Losing Weight Really That Difficult?

[ck1]

You decide you want to lose weight, you take the step to stop eating unhealthy food and to exercise more. Job done. Sounds simplistic but isn't this really the only way to lose weight? The biggest challenge is the mental one to stay determined, no amount of supplements or clubs can help with that

[Mattk]

My no.1 tip for weight loss is patience and just stick with it.

[pixie373]

I think it's the only way to lose weight and keep it off. Keeping the weight off needs permanent changes in habits. I've seen many people lose a lot of weight, by making a huge effort, but shortly afterwards, putting it all back on again. Realistically, nobody is going to make a "huge effort" forever. You need to change your way of thinking first.

[woofgang]

The trouble is that food is not just fuel. It has meanings and overtones to every single human on the planet.

[Old_Geezer]

It is a question I suspect only those who haven't got a weight problem and tried to solve it, could ask. Yes it is that difficult. If really determined one can go around feeling a need to eat something all the time and losing concentration on everything else, but no one wants to live that way. Lucky those who don't experience it. And the body has its own background controls to ensure you burn off as little as possible if you try to eat less. Then there is a whole science including gene involvement and other differences between folk that make keeping weight down difficult for some, and not an issue for others.

Clubs help, they hold your incentive to stick with that which some folk never need to stick with. Supplements/replacements are dodgier as one is likely to want to stop them at some time and need to have a decent diet to take over.

[Scarlett]

If it was easy to lose weight, there would be no overweight people. It is very very difficult. It is not just a matter of eating less and exercising more. There are emotional reasons that people eat, differing hunger levels and peoples ability to cope with that, the way they were raised, metabolism etc. It is so much more complicated than people think. I think one of the main problems is that we all buy food from supermarkets. If we shopped at the wholefood shop and dug veg out of the garden, we would be fitter and healthier I am sure. All standard foods are processed and laced with sugar and fat which add to our taste and desire for them. If those foods were eliminated and the government had stricter control over processed foods in supermarkets, people would eat healthier and more filling and nutritious food.

[nungate]

Yes it is. I eat a very healthy diet, and I eat less than the rest of this household
yet I am still overweight. I also cannot move well owing to arthritis and gout so I can't exercise as much as I'd like.
So you tell me what is the answer

[boxtops]

In principle yes - but you can know all these things, and your lifestyle gets in the way. Working all day, commuting, and grabbing food on the hoof doesn't lead to healthy eating.

[boxtops]

... and slimming clubs give people moral support and share their achievements - it's a big motivation if you are being weighed in public.

[Eve]

I envy my parents' method of eating, they have a balanced diet, lots of fruit and vegetables (lots from the garden), a roast every Sunday, desserts and even supper but it's everything in moderation and not excessive portions so they can have things like proper butter and treats. Mum eats a lot less, Dad exercises a lot, gardening running and going for long walks up hills and such.

They don't eat things like ready meals or much convenience or junk food or have much takeaway food/meals out or alcohol.

[ummmm]

Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full, don't eat snacks 'just because'

Of course move around as much as poss....

[Eve]

I'm the same nungate, I've ballooned on meds (gutting after I lost a load of weight before that) and not being very mobile and able to exercise.

I tend to eat around my job, grab breakfast (and coffee) between buses to work as I get up so early, grab something at my desk for lunch then try and eat as soon as I'm home to leave time between that and bed. I only eat two meals a day max on weekends. I don't eat anywhere near as much or as badly as I used to yet I am the most I have ever weighted.