Why do people struggle to lose weight?

[Fascinate]

Are you trolling? Why do you think this?

I am saying being skinny does not make you healthier than the next guy who is a bit overweight. I think cravings play a part in this, you and me can disagree on what the body tells you but i feel people who focus on staying fit a lot of times reject a craving that would be the healthier decision.

There is also something to the saying "fat and happy", do not discount the positive reinforcement the body gives when you eat a large satisfying meal. Stress is what will kill you early, try and stay happy eat what you want and dont compare yourself to others. Life is easy, just listen

[Deletedaccount1]

I am saying being skinny does not make you healthier than the next guy who is a bit overweight. I think cravings play a part in this, you and me can disagree on what the body tells you but i feel people who focus on staying fit a lot of times reject a craving that would be the healthier decision.

There is also something to the saying "fat and happy", do not discount the positive reinforcement the body gives when you eat a large satisfying meal. Stress is what will kill you early, try and stay happy eat what you want and dont compare yourself to others. Life is easy, just listen

I don't think people resisting food cravings is a major cause of stress. Indulging a craving and feeling bad about it later can make you even more stressed so your own logic is working against you there.

You can eat large satisfying meals, in fact you have to, if you want to put on muscle and look "fit". I think you are under the misconception that fit or skinny people starve themselves when really, most of them just eat at a small caloric deficit when cutting weight.

"Don't compare yourself to others" sounds nice and all but for someone who seems to care a lot about natural urges and listening to your body, you have to understand how ridiculous that is. Everyone compares themselves to others, it is an ingrained part of being human that is unhealthy to ignore. It could cause stress to have to worry about that. So again, your own logic is working against you.

[Sastank]

Nice bait thread.

[Bonkura]

Lack of self-restraint. Mentally weak.

[Fascinate]

I don't think people resisting food cravings is a major cause of stress. Indulging a craving and feeling bad about it later can make you even more stressed so your own logic is working against you there.

You can eat large satisfying meals, in fact you have to, if you want to put on muscle and look "fit". I think you are under the misconception that fit or skinny people starve themselves when really, most of them just eat at a small caloric deficit when cutting weight.

"Don't compare yourself to others" sounds nice and all but for someone who seems to care a lot about natural urges and listening to your body, you have to understand how ridiculous that is. Everyone compares themselves to others, it is an ingrained part of being human that is unhealthy to ignore. It could cause stress to have to worry about that. So again, your own logic is working against you.

I simply have a different view on things, a lot of things lol. When you see 120+ year old people, what is the common trend? Is it people that have exercised their whole lives, or is it people that have enjoyed life and endulged a bit? From what i have seen its the latter. I think the number one key is just having fun and being happy, and avoiding stress as much as possible.

Ill throw this out there as well, i think our first 150 year old will be someone with a fairly sedentary lifestyle who exhibitis the kind of eating habits i described earlier.

[TheEconomist]

Because it's a significant change of habits and lifestyle.

I went from 300lbs to 215lbs, I'm 6'3. It took a lot of hard work and effort to drop those 40kg and get a lot leaner in the process, while retaining muscle mass.

What made it hard for me was my addiction to snacking. I wasn't eating that bad but killed my diet by supplementing it with snacks. A lot of them. It's so easy to consume your entire maintenance caloric intake in less than 30' with candy and cookies.

I made a change about 1.5 years ago by counting my caloric intake and sticking to the IIFYM approach to nutrition. I went on a 40/30/30 diet with a 25% TDEE deficit. This might sound too harsh, but when you have a body fat % in the high 30s, you've got some room to improve. It also allowed for a bit of leeway in my calorie counting, since on the one hand the nutritional information on food labels has some error variance to it, and on the other hand it's not that easy to accurately count olive oil/butter used for cooking (and they quickly add up).

It was highly repetitive, I ate enough lean chicken breast, broccoli and long grain brown rice to last a lifetime. However, the IIFYM approach allows a lot of flexibility in how you fit your meals into your macros.

I also picked up running and swimming again and started going to my local gym about 8 months ago. I followed some AthleanX programs (first time I ever paid for a program), which helped me a lot. Sure, there are a ton of free resources on the internet, but instead of wading through the broscience swamp I got solid information & assistance from a trustworthy source.

Now I want to get into CrossFit (my brother is a certified coach) to further build my physique.

Changing these habits was incredibly tough for me. I work about 55-60 hours per week on average, practice 7-10 hours of piano per week, so there's not too much energy left to exercise hard and think about nutrition all the time.

The biggest advise I have is to plan your meals. I made food for the entire week on Sunday (basically 2 different meals for 7 days). It helped me control my portions and eased my mind during the week. Before, I would often just hop into the store to get something unhealthy because I didn't prepare anything to eat. Sure, eating a lot of the same is boring but entirely feasible if you're only feeding yourself and it's a sacrifice I was willing to make. Still, there are a few ways to keep chicken interesting, or to prepare broccoli in a different way, etc.
And also: overnight oats. I had a horrible habit of skipping breakfast and then getting donuts on the way to work. Just look up one of the 1000s of recipes online, you can do anything you want with it, and prepare it 3-5 days in advance. I eat it on the train to work now.

[Deleted]

People should put the fork down once in a while i think.

I put the fork down every time I finish a meal.

[Fascinate]

The problem honestly is the brain.

We think too much. We are beautifully flawed. Because we are so smart in some things we convince ourselves to be dumb in others, diet and health is one of the things we overthink. Animals have all the basics covered, but they cant overhaul a transmission.

[Deleted]

Because:

- Eating healthy is not cheap.
- Most readily available foods have added sugar and salt.
- The Sugar lobby spend billions funding fake studies against fat when sugar is worse.
- Parents are lazy and let children eat all kinds of garbage.
- Once you gain weight even if you lose it there is a new layer under the skin which makes gaining it back much faster.
- Fat children are very unlikely to shed their weight as they grow older due to bad habits.

Eating healthy might have been pricy like 10-15 years ago, but lactose free gluten free eco etc have been mainstream for so long now that price on most products are around the same or even lower.

Its only pricy with healthy food if you keep buying what the 1% overlords wants the blind work ants to eat. Plus healthy food that you eat like 1-2 times a week thinking that makes you healthy.

[Deleted]

I put the fork down every time I finish a meal.

I want to "like" this post, why can't I do it?

[Chrno]

It's really not that bad. Are people just afraid of feeling a little hungry? I actually feel energized when I'm slightly hungry. 155 pound club.

I don't know your hight .... but if you are a normal sized male, 155 pound is seriously light weight ...
way too light weight for my taste (unless you're a prof cyclist). Consider gaining some mussle to actually look like a man instead of a boy

[Mizix]

Eating healthy might have been pricy like 10-15 years ago, but lactose free gluten free eco etc have been mainstream for so long now that price on most products are around the same or even lower.

Where you live, maybe. Where I live, eating healthy is expensive as fuck: vegetables, fruits, whole cereals, etc. all are very expensive, even when I buy local and seasonal or directly from farmers (which I don't always have the time to do). Doesn't help that I live in one of the most expensive country in the world but cheap junk or unhealthier food is way more budget-friendly.

[Deleted]

I read all that. Just confusing how any sane person keeps shoveling the same slop into their mouth. I would like to think we are a society that has information at hand at all times.

Some people are depressed and don't have enough energy to help themselves
Some have decided to live fast and die young
Some are ignorant
Some are looking to fill some void in their mind and soul
Some find food to be an escape
Some just find food irresistible
Some do it out of habit

As with every condition you first need their history to provide the best treatment.

[Deleted]

Carbohydrates are freaking everywhere. I've tried to go low carb before, it's next to impossible without spending a lot more money and getting ingredients and making everything yourself. Not to mention all the fake propoganda that demonizes fat and meat (both of which are good), and says people need to eat a lot of things like bread (which is about the same as eating a handful of sugar). People need to be eating a lot more protein and fat, and a lot fewer carbohydrates. The only people that need the amount of carbohydrates the average person eats are athletes who do things like run marathons.

Demonizing Fat hasn't helped to curb the obesitiy epidemic. But demonizing Carbohydrates won't help either. It is not about macronutrients, it is about quality of food first and foremost. Most of my diet is based in lentils, rice, beans, quinoa and fowl/fish, some dairy, lots of veggies and fruit . Yet I stay at my 55 kg at 160 cm height, have so for years. Eating a bowl of quinoa with some turkey just makes me full and satiated. A bag of chips will make me full as well, but I will get hungry again very soon.

chaud just gave us new user titles, so he'll probably be taking the rest of the year off to recuperate.

Hehe

[Lex Icon]

it's no wonder people are having a hard time with it when people can't even seem to agree on how to best go on about it.

[Deleted]

As with so many "problems" in peoples lives, it's the lack of discipline and persistence.
Every time I see someone starting a diet, it only takes a few days (sometimes already on day one) before he/she already eats something unhealthy.

Losing wait is easy. No diet needed, just have plenty of exercise and drink water when you are hungry in between meals.

[Serpha]

Hormonal imbalance. People are too lazy or afraid to go to a doctor to check their health, but than again doctors in UK are morons and they give you 5 min time with them because "they are too busy". Every one too quick to blame the diet alone.

[Deleted]

Hormonal imbalance. People are too lazy or afraid to go to a doctor to check their health, but than again doctors in UK are morons and they give you 5 min time with them because "they are too busy". Every one too quick to blame the diet alone.

Doctors are just glorified drug dealers nowdays, trusting them is as bad as trusting government/olden media "experts".

Internet is the place to go to if you wana change your life for the beter.

[Shinrael]

And then there are people like me that find it completely boring, my back hurts after a short time, I get sweaty and hugely uncomfortable, and it feels like a waste of time (even though I know it isn't). Again a matter of mutual non-understanding. I don't see how ANYone could like running at all, let alone enjoy it. To me it's an entirely negative experience. And someone who loves to run and get's kicks out of it would probably look at me with the same amount of disbelief I look at them with.

I've been to both sides and I understand how you feel. The reason I enjoy running has nothing to do with healthy life though. I turn on my favourite soundtracks and songs and I get goosebumps (can happen when not running as well, but it's just so much more intense if I do).

[tristannarutofan]

I read all that. Just confusing how any sane person keeps shoveling the same slop into their mouth. I would like to think we are a society that has information at hand at all times.

basically anyone who has any dumb opinions like this guy needs to check themself and ask themselves why they have such disgusting views.

Like the only people who "shovel the same slop in their mouth" are cartoon characters made by people raised in a society that ideolizes unhealthy people (people who are "toned")

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First of all if OP is genuine then what they first need to realize is that if you are 150 lbs you are a tiny little person and probably have low energy needs and a high metabolism.
The entire reason who have things like sharks and birds and humans on the same planet is genetic diverstiy, which is what feeds evolution. part of that is that within the same species you have vastly different genetic makeup. you have tall people, short people, different blood types different melanin production and one of hte many things is body girth and rate of metabolism and the rate at which your body tries to store fat.

So no, if you are 150 you have no idea what its like living in another persons body who is nothing like you. If they ate the same amount you did every day their body would shut down because they have at least 50% more body mass than you do.

--------------------------------

Anyways.
First of all any posts here about "willpower" are complete B.S. and probably written by ugly disgusting people who hate other human beings and should be ignored. This is just a gaslighting tactic people who hate other human beings teach each other so they can have an excuse to insult people and use them as an "other" to better feel good about themselvse. It usually ignores Reality (i.e. "that person is fatter than i am, so they must be a weaker person. It has nothing to do with the fact their genetic makeup is different , its just i'm inherently better)

second to literally answer the question. its Neither desirable or health to 'lose weight'. Your weight should be proportional to your body size and metabolism. If you are showing muscle without a healthy layer of fat you (probably, once again, genetic diversity) doing your body a diservice. Many people do not eat enough and have to GAIN weight. And of course this issue is very important with children, who have abusive idiot parents that dont want a "fat baby" despite the fact that their child hasnt finished growing yet (shock). and literaly starve them (sometimes to death) to fix a problem that doesnt exist.
You can ask any body builders or body models that in order to get in form for their competition they have to go do an exhausting routine of overworking their body and eating TONS of calories in order to build muscle (and fat) and then do excessive cardio and extreme dieting to remove the fat while keeping the muscle mass.
You CANNOT gain muscle without gaining fat. This is why those people who do this professionally cannot compete year round because they need to recover because SUCH HABITS ARE UNHEALTHY. I myself follow a woman body builder who finally decided to give up on competitions because it was taking a horribly stressful toll on her to keep putting her body through so much b.s. every year

Second of all one has to realize that most people dont need to "lose weight" Our society as a whole has (wrongly) focused medicine on average sized white men. as more understanding doctors get in the field we are making progress in realizing that skinny doesnt mean healthy. in fact many people have died or almost died due to fatphobia (such as one girl who has a hole in her heart the doctors kept telling her her breathing issues were do to being fat and despite being active in sports for years it didnt stop. Turns out that excessive exertion is usually what kills people with that condition. So the doctors were literally prescribing her with what would kill her, because they saw she was a little round and just thought her problems were because she was fat)

If you actually care about these issues you can easily find MANY atheletes far more atheletic than anyone here who are plenty "fat"and medically obese. However they are very health, Football players, wrestlers, sumo wrestlers and may other atheletes. in fact during the last olympics there was a handy app on their website that allowed you to put your height weight and gender in there and find an olympian who was similar.
You can find ballerinas, dancers ect that are "fat" and its not that hard you just have to not make assumptions. Indeed certain bodies are condusive to certain sports. Sprint running favors long legged people with high endurance and small bodies , and thus if you are not tall and thin with good lungs and better legs then it doesnt matter HOW healthy you are, you arent going to be a sprinter or long distance runner

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but yea someone who knows more could go on but basically

Many people need to gain weight. "weight" is not an indication of health.
many people we deem "overweight" are just natural because of genetic diversity
Hollywood idylic bodies are unhealthy and you can find any of your favorite stars or bodybuilders and find out you basically have to dedicate yourself to this arbitrary standard.
Fat is the hardest thing to lose. It is a high scource of energy and your body tries to get rid of muscle before fat.
Fat is super easy to gain. if you are eating in excess at all you will get fat. and if you are building muscle you are going to gain fat or have to go on some fucked up diet most people are not willing to put up with, something that professionals exhauset themselves with because that is their choice and often their profession (its easy to spend all your day doing something when you are payed to do it)

and as i said at the start people who think fat=unhealthy and are idiots who dont know anything
And this is all before you consider things like Food deserts (any area of a city not within walking distance of a store with fresh unprocessed foods/a grocery stores), the fact that unhealth food is cheaper and provides more energy, and the fact we live in capitalist hell and dont have time to prepare health means and often have to rely on unhealthy food before coming home exhausted and not wanting to spend 2 hours cooking and cleaning.