Why do people struggle to lose weight?

[Azadina]

For me, it isn't how much calories sugar adds, it's what it does to your body raising your insulin level. All the blood sugar that is not burned as energy or stored as glycogen is turned into fat.

Sugar is love, sugar is life!

[Celista]

none of the stores around here sell kale or quinoa.

It was an example. You can substitute spinach, broccoli/whole grain rice, black beans for the same price...rice or beans will probably be cheaper.

[Vash The Stampede]

I don't eat there myself, but Google tells me a Big Mac costs around $4.80.

I can assure you that you can make a salad with meat that costs less.

And I can assure you that I do as well. My daily diet consists and lunch and dinner with nothing more than salad and hard boiled eggs. Give me $10, and I can eat for 3 days on salad. Kale and broccoli for me. But I can whip out my phone and use a coupon for Burger King to get 2x burgers and fries for $3. Which is what I usually buy for my nieces and nephews. Which for $10, I can feed two kids for 1.5 days. Or a fat person for 1.5 days, or a skinny person with soon to be heart problems for 3 days. Not including breakfast, cause salad and burgers isn't what I consider breakfast.

To get that burger you need to get your car, or walk or something, There's travel time, standing in line, waiting for the meal prep, being served finally, traveling back to work or home, etc. There are further costs for gas in transit or idling in line, etc.

It's the same for buying fruits and vegetables.

I buy salad fixings in large amounts. At any time I can make a salad in under 10 minutes that includes: romaine, kale, treviso, spinach, radish, artichoke hearts, red bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, grated Tillamook cheese, homemade dressing (usually vinaigrette or blue), and some meat like bacon, chicken, pork, sliced beef steak or hard boiled eggs. I also like to make large containers of beef chili which can quickly make a taco salad with some salsa. Chicken can go Mexican style too with some salsa and hot sauce.

The thing is, 10 minutes is too long for some people. Picking up the remote for the TV, is too much for some people. People are really lazy.

If you are super lazy, you can buy salad fixings pre-chopped which amounts to you placing chopped veg in a bowl, plopping some meat, cheese and dressing on it and eating it in under 5 minutes.

If you're super lazy and have money to burn, you can buy salad from Burger King and Mc Donalds, but it wouldn't be healthy or cheap. Chopped meat, cheese, and the dressing they use will pretty much go beyond the calories of a Big Mac. I use Olive Oil in my Salads, and even that has way too many calories, but still significantly less than whatever those fast food places give you.

[Louisa Bannon]

And keep in mind that many non sugar sweeteners still trigger the insulin production.

This is only partially true. The heart of the issue is to find sweeteners that are not suspended in some other component like dextrose, maltodextrin, etc. Basically you want to use "X" substitute sweetener in its purest liquid form.

This another place where it seems quite clear that commercial interests aren't really that keen to produce anything that will actually allow anyone to escape the sugar trap. Think of it this way, a consumer wants or needs to find a substitute for sugar so they choose say sucralose, then the food makers cut it with dextrose and maltodextrin - these other things are types of glucose. So if you are using Splenda in the powdered packet form, that's kind of a WTF moment there. Splenda precisely undermines what a consumer is trying to achieve in choosing to use sucralose.

FWIW, It is also possible to buy sucralose suspended in water and in a liquid firm. This is what I use in the main. And while I am not that happy to use it, its a healthier alternative in my view than to simply overeat sugars. Certainly anyone with diabetes would be better off using the substitute, in my own case its more a matter of choice and more up for debate. But at least its a devil of which I am aware.

[Finick]

Because it isn't that simple.

Some people have inefficient bodies...and those are actually the ones who maintain thin bodies easily (seems counter-intuitive on the surface, but makes a lot of sense when you think about it). As part of good survival processes, when there is plenty to eat, an efficient body actually stores the food in anticipation of periods of time when there isn't going to be plenty to eat. Indeed, that is why you have fat...it is a storage system to address fluctuations in food supply.

Furthermore, the efficient body will interpret sweet foods as a time to store even more. This is accomplished via your insulin reaction. The primary two things insulin release does to your body is to expedite carbs into your fat cells, and to inhibit your body from accessing the energy stored in your fat cells. This is why after carb heavy meals, efficient bodies tend to get hungry again in just a few hours. If there is more food available, go ahead and store more because there might not be all this food in another day or two (your body logic operates on its own).

This is why the 2 most successful approaches to dieting involve either low-carb diets (you eliminate the massive insulin spikes inherit in standard diets), or high volumes of low-energy carbs (e.g. eating lots of salad) which physically fills your stomach, but doesn't have a whole lot of calories. The problem with those diets is that for them to be effective for efficient bodies, you need to stick to them. And, in the US as well as a number of other well to do countries, the grocery stores are jam-packed with temptation that doesn't follow either diet...so people stop following their diets in the face of the constant temptation...and food manufacturers only care about making money, not helping people maintaining healthy lives.

An additional complication is that younger adults tend to be much more active leaving them less time to be tempted by food and more time burning calories. So even those most have efficient bodies, they don't run into these problems until they get older, have kids and careers, and they find themselves getting heavier each year because they don't realize they are eating a little more each year and exercising a little less each year.

Finally, some people like to lie to themselves. Claiming they are fat while eating very little. This simply isn't possible with a severe metabolic problem (which affects far less than 1% of the population). You can't be fat eating 1,500 calories a day on average regardless of the calorie source (yes, there are studies showing that some food works different than others, but we are talking less than 10% difference in reported calories vs effective calories). If you think you eat very little, take the time to track what you are eating in detail (bring a notebook with you so you don't forget anything) and you'll find that you are eating far more than you think you are. There was a study of a woman who claimed to eat very little, and her doctor told her to put everything she eats outside of meals into a bag instead of eating it...after a week, they looked at those little snacks which added up to a little over 1,000 extra calories every day on average. That is reality.

Stop. Seriously, stop spouting unsubstantiated bullshit like this.

The insulin response will have no meaningful impact on your weight gain/loss assuming caloric intake is appropriate for your current goals. EVER. Period. Insulin spikes are irrelevant unless you have a medical condition (diabetes) that says otherwise. low carb diets have no benefit over other types of dieting when calories are CONTROLLED to match in each case. There is 0 difference.

Your last paragraph is about the only thing that makes sense in your whole post.

Control calories -> control weight.

The reality is that people choose foods that aren't very satiating when they start dieting, and people buy into the bullshit that "this is unhealthy" and they start binging and can't control themselves.

Losing fat IS that simple, people just want it to be complicated to make themselves and their body feel "special." Well you're not special, and if you're not losing fat you're eating too much. That is reality.

[Airlick]

You don't have to be hungry on a diet. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a "healthy" diet. You don't even NEED a “healthy" diet in order to lose weight. It all depends on doing enough exercises and eating adequate amounts. I was overweight (obese for a few years, in fact) for the most of my life, since primary school all up until I've gone into 20s. At worst I've weighed almost 110 kilos. Now I weigh around 65. I wasn't going hungry while losing weight. I've actually started spending less on food since I've started eating properly. All the excuses people come up with are just that - excuses. I mean, I don't know - there might be diseases that actually make people gain weight. But I do know that most of the people claiming they are fat due to health conditions are just lying. The truth is that 99% of people only need to fit 2 conditions to lose weight - they need to care and to have enough willpower to refuse eating more than they need. And what they need really isn't much and is much less than they actually eat.

[Droodid]

Just do the opposite like me, train strongman, eat 5k+ calories a day.

Joking aside, a lot of times it's because people exercise thinking that's all it takes, then at the end of the day continue eating their sugary treats because "I worked out, I deserve this." and don't understand the value of calories in vs calories out. Sure you can have your treats, but if you don't don't change your overeating, you're not going to lose weight.

[Rudkobing]

Genetics.

/10

[Demona3]

I'm keeping my drinks! Right now after meal, drink, exercise and the sandwich I'm eating now, I'm at 800 calories. Which for me is currently deficit of about 1000-1200. I still need to come up with some more calories to eat despite having had one drink today.

In short, the drinks I have are least of my worries, and I'm not sure they are at all.

Have you tried a shake in between to make up some of the lost calories? And I don't blame you on the drinks. I have a bad habit of drinking tea (gotta have my caffeine fix, and I'm not a huge fan of coffee). I usually limit my consumption of tea though. I try to go every 2 days with 1 glass of it. Yeah, I'm trying hard to shed a few extra pounds before summer. Beach time! woo! lol

[Deleted]

Why are people alcoholics? Are people that afraid to deal with life without being inebriated? I actually feel purer when I'm clear of mind after drinking water. No alcohol club.

It is only the dumb people that make the choice to become food/drug/weed/alcohol addicts.

[Azadina]

Have you tried a shake in between to make up some of the lost calories? And I don't blame you on the drinks. I have a bad habit of drinking tea (gotta have my caffeine fix, and I'm not a huge fan of coffee). I usually limit my consumption of tea though. I try to go every 2 days with 1 glass of it. Yeah, I'm trying hard to shed a few extra pounds before summer. Beach time! woo! lol

If it's not the drink, it ends up being some other type of sweets, like more icecream or candy. I get off far easier with a drink, than do those, which contributed to some kilos I gained, which I now try to lose pretty much for summer time and less clothing

[slickwilly]

100 calories burned each time you fuck. Just need to fuck more.

[Halyon]

Because life isn't a simple and easy fairytale. People have issues they have trouble dealing with, and sometimes keeping a model weight isn't part of it, not possible to keep.

[Astalnar]

People struggle because they lack self-control and discipline. Simple as that.

[Coffeh]

We're all going to die. Enjoy life while you can.

[Mafic]

For me diet and working out helps but sleep is the big one for me.

Good sleep ensures that I am waking up later in the day where I have a brunch and I am good to go for the rest of the day till dinner. My older relatives argue about not eating food after 6 PM, but that rule works if you have eaten a good dinner. Snacking after 6 PM is okay if you had a light dinner and it is a mistake to try to go to be hungry.

Best time to fast is starting at the after noon all the way till late at night where you have mini snack and then sleep a good 8-10 hours.

[Celista]

100 calories burned each time you fuck. Just need to fuck more.

Pretty sure you don't burn 100 calories just from lying there.


Ba dum tss

[Heladys]

People like to eat. People don't like to exercise.

[Celista]

I'm keeping my drinks! Right now after meal, drink, exercise and the sandwich I'm eating now, I'm at 800 calories. Which for me is currently deficit of about 1000-1200. I still need to come up with some more calories to eat despite having had one drink today.

In short, the drinks I have are least of my worries, and I'm not sure they are at all.

I'm a big believer in not eating if you're not hungry, especially if you're trying to maintain or lose weight. I don't actually think "starvation mode" exists. There was a study of a guy who ate literally nothing for an entire year and lost a ton of weight...your BMR will drop slightly no matter your caloric intake at a deficit, lifting weights/eating protein helps to offset that.

Just make sure you're getting enough protein to maintain your lean body mass and then focus on whatever macro you like for the calorie difference, and eat slightly more if you're hungrier the next day or later in the week.

[I Push Buttons]

Because evolution. We evolved to survive scarcity and not starve, modern society no longer has that problem, but we are still selected to survive it.

We evolved to:
- Have fat to store energy so we didn't starve during periods of scarcity.
- Have an efficient body that burns through energy stores slowly so, once again, we didn't starve during periods of scarcity.
- To seek pleasure and comfort.
- To utilize the least effort to accomplish things.
- To be habit forming, since a habit seemingly ensures survival. (If going to this area reliably gets you food, if going to this stream reliably gets you water, etc., you survive, why alter that habit unless forced to?)

Its just a matter of breaking one habit, and adopting a better one. The only problem is you are trying to break a habit which every fiber of your evolutionary being is against. You have to deny yourself pleasure and comfort of tasty junk food, you have to use more effort than is necessary in the form of exercise, etc. Eventually your new habit is formed and your grow comfortable and find pleasure with it, but until then it is agonizing. For many, it is easier to just not do that.

It helps immensely if you never form the bad habit in the first place by having intelligent parents that provide you a healthy diet and encourage exercise as your grow, but that obviously doesn't happen.

Many of our problems today are evolutionary related. Anxiety for example. We evolved to be anxious all the time because it was dangerous back then. If you saw a bush twitch, those selected for anxiety responses were filled with fear and apprehension, they stayed away from the bush for fear of what might be in ti... While those who weren't, approached the bush, got bit by a poisonous snake and died (as an example). Today we don't need such a level of anxiety so much (we still need it to be risk averse), but we still have it and worry and fear every little thing, some to such an extent it is crippling.