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A comparison I would make is interpersonal skills. Trying to fit in and make friends is hard if you're coming at it from the angle of how do I impress people, how do I conform, how do I be pretend something I'm not. Not only is this approach inefficient but it's more laborious and more boring.
But then it becomes way easier when you instead approach it from a standpoint of: Listening to other people. Ask them questions about what they care about. Understand their needs. Trying to form genuine connections with people.
I guess the point I'm making is that sometimes the best way is also the easiest way.
I see where you are coming from, but you are dismissing my original point. How long did it take you to reach your current success. How long have you been able to keep the weight off?
I try and maintain a healthy weight, it's harder when you are an older woman who takes medication that hinders loss. However when I was younger I had a much easier time if I needed to lose weight because I knew how to do it. It was still hard however because of the sacrifices one has to make to get it all to work. I am someone who never eats fast or junk food. I exercise regularly. But I am a social creature who loves wines nd going out to eat, and all the goodies that go with it. So for me that is a sacrifice that is sometimes hard to make.
When one is in the midst of a successful weight loss journey they tend to think they have all the answers. I know I certainly have been guilty of it. But the fact of the matter remains whether it is getting your mind in the right frame to begin the journey or to maintaining the journey and learning how to live with the sacrifices one has to make losing weight is hard.
Once one has come to terms with that fact that losing weight is indeed hard it is much easier to do the work needed. To tell someone it is easy only to have them feel like they are failing because it is not easy for them can cause a lot of mental harm.
And remember you have the answers for YOU. That doesn't not mean you have the answers for everybody.
On a side note if losing weight was easy we would not have an obesity epidemic.
I see where you are coming from, but you are dismissing my original point.
There was a solid 10 years where I was promising myself I would "diet" but never did. But once I actually started counting calories consistently, it took me about 15 months to lose 120 lbs. I lost most of it in the first 10 months, the last 5 was more gradual. I've kept it off for 2.5 years.
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On a side note if losing weight was easy we would not have an obesity epidemic.
There is validity to this point, but I also think there are a lot of bad influences that lead us astray. And things would be 10x easier if people weren't misled.
Lots of books and articles online with bogus pseudoscience or fad diets, for people who are looking for some magic secret exotic answer for weight loss. Instead of wanting to hear the truth.
Highly restrictive diets like atkins and keto, which aren't sustainable for most people. Or when people go to the doctor, the doctor will print out a perfect diet of lean chicken, broccoli and whole wheat pasta. Which is well-intended, but many people end up following this diet verbatim for 5 days and then giving up entirely, instead of making gradual changes.
Also, an underemphasis on calories and protein. People talk about calories sometimes, but not nearly to the extent they should. I've only really heard a lot of emphasis on this from bodybuilding communities, but you don't have to be a bodybuilder to benefit from tracking your calories and protein.
When most people talk about weight loss, they praise certain food and vilify others. They judge a diet by the names of the food rather than the portion sizes, or the nutritional value of the diet AS A WHOLE.
Or when people go to the doctor, the doctor will print out a perfect diet of lean chicken, broccoli and whole wheat pasta. Which is well-intended, but many people end up following this diet verbatim for 5 days and then giving up entirely, instead of making gradual changes.
The flip side of that is that often doctors aren't trained in nutrition, and are still beholden to the BMI, which isn't really an accurate measure of health. So quite often an overweight person goes to their doctor with symptoms of chronic migraines or carpal tunnel syndrome, and are told they need to lose weight above all else, when that's not going to treat the condition they came in for. When people don't feel heard and understood by their doctor, they stop going to the doctor and end up unhealthier.
There was a solid 10 years where I was promising myself I would "diet" but never did. But once I actually started counting calories consistently, it took me about 15 months to lose 120 lbs. I lost most of it in the first 10 months, the last 5 was more gradual. I've kept it off for 2.5 years.
There is validity to this point, but I also think there are a lot of bad influences that lead us astray. And things would be 10x easier if people weren't misled.
Lots of books and articles online with bogus pseudoscience or fad diets, for people who are looking for some magic secret exotic answer for weight loss. Instead of wanting to hear the truth.
Highly restrictive diets like atkins and keto, which aren't sustainable for most people. Or when people go to the doctor, the doctor will print out a perfect diet of lean chicken, broccoli and whole wheat pasta. Which is well-intended, but many people end up following this diet verbatim for 5 days and then giving up entirely, instead of making gradual changes.
Also, an underemphasis on calories and protein. People talk about calories sometimes, but not nearly to the extent they should. I've only really heard a lot of emphasis on this from bodybuilding communities, but you don't have to be a bodybuilder to benefit from tracking your calories and protein.
When most people talk about weight loss, they praise certain food and vilify others. They judge a diet by the names of the food rather than the portion sizes, or the nutritional value of the diet AS A WHOLE.
Yes, restrictive diets are the worst. They make work in the short term but are extremely hard to maintain. I agree with all of what you are saying.
I believe junk food is the culprit in most if not all obesity situations. People simply do not eat a healthy diet of whole, unprocessed foods, with an eye on nutrition. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rarely if ever consumed.
Calories do indeed count - but if you are counting calories from junk foods its a lost cause.
I look to Italy and France where there are basically no rules other than to eat fresh foods and exercise - in the way of walking, and generally moving their bodies. The French loves their breads and the Italians love their pasta and rice yet they are still healthy.
Asian countries rely on rice and noodles. They eat minimal meats and lots of vegetables. But everything is fresh and minimally if at all processed.
The introduction and then constant push to sell fast foods has been our downfall. Food companies like Kraft go out of their way to find tastes that are addictive. Fast food joints with drive throughs make getting a meal effortless. Then they sell this stuff for cheap.
There's one camp of people who say "eat literally anything as long as it fits your macros". And another camp that says you should be eating clean raw whole foods 95-100% of the time.
I'm in the middle of those 2 camps.
Having a calorie deficit of twinkies and ice cream, is unhealthy, even if it does result in weight loss.
But at the same time, you can have some junk food as long as the majority of your diet is healthy, and you're meeting your calorie/fiber/protein/micronutrient targets OVERALL.
There's one camp of people who say "eat literally anything as long as it fits your macros". And another camp that says you should be eating clean raw whole foods 95-100% of the time.
I'm in the middle of those 2 camps.
Having a calorie deficit of twinkies and ice cream, is unhealthy, even if it does result in weight loss.
But at the same time, you can have some junk food as long as the majority of your diet is healthy, and you're meeting your calorie/fiber/protein/micronutrient targets OVERALL.
I you eat healthy diet long enough junk food becomes less attractive. I eat a fast food burger- In-n-Out maybe once a year if even. Chipotle is decent because they stress fresh, yet I haven't eaten at one in about 3 years.
I you eat healthy diet long enough junk food becomes less attractive. I eat a fast food burger- In-n-Out maybe once a year if even. Chipotle is decent because they stress fresh, yet I haven't eaten at one in about 3 years.
That's what I've found too. I lost my taste for burgers and pizza, loved them both. Have little desire to eat in restaurants any longer.
I'm good with that!
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