To despair at how hard it is to lose weight?

[Angel1983]

I know I need to toughen myself up and it's my own fault for letting my weight get so out of control in the first place but my word how hard is it to lose weight?

I have just been to the gym and worked my backside off on the cross trainer (amongst other things). After ten minutes of really going for it (sweating and panting) I had burned only 50 calories. This is not even enough for an apple!

AIBU to feel disheartened? How do you keep your motivation? Help!

[Pugthug]

Forget the gym. Put your time and energy into meal planning and cooking food from scratch. Look at the diet boards. Try 5:2 or 16:8 to get your appetite reset. Do not snack and remove sugar from the house. Buy a couple of exercise vids and a dog. Take up a hobby to take your mind off food.

[StuntNun]

Exercise does not help with weight loss.

Eat less move more doesn't work.

Slimming World works for lots of people. If it appeals then go for it.

Low carb works for lots of people too. It could be worth a try.

[sootballs]

The first week at sw the class leader raved as did many others about chicken in diet coke. That's rammed full of aspartemene, where everything seems to be a replacement for something else and the rules are insane.

I cook from.scratch, have done since I left home. I just ate too much cake while.pregnant and now can't shift it.

[Pugthug]

And cook foods which are jam-packed with nutrients not just bangers and mash. There are loads of books out just now full of healthy stuff to make your body sing.

[gobbynorthernbird]

I'm going to follow mrsdavidbowie's advice and do 30 mums. Sounds like fun.

[CalleighDoodle]

Portion sizes. You probably need far leas than you think!

[Ledare]

gobby

[PlayNice]

Nah, you're not unreasonable. It IS hard. If it weren't, there wouldn't be so many overweight people in Britain. And maybe the posters here are in the magical, tiny percentage who have lost it and have kept it off, but most likely they've struggled in the past and will do again in the future.

I think the most important thing is to keep trucking on, and not fall into a black pit of despair/give up when you have a bit of a bad day. It's all part of a journey.

I keep my motivation by meal planning on MFP, and by buying or making healthy (or healthier) snacks. Once I've bought the food I'm going to be eating, I feel quite committed to actually eating it, and I really enjoy the process of making treats I can eat without feeling bad.

It really is (almost) all about food. You are right - slaving away at the gym for hours burns barely any calories compared to swapping a chocolate croissant for a few scrambled eggs in the morning.

Apparently, statistically, you're more likely to keep to a diet if you weigh yourself daily.

I also (guilty pleasure) quite like rewatching shows like Secret Eaters when I'm dieting as it pleases me to see others furtively downing kebabs while I nibble on a salad. Otherwise put, I like reminding myself that even if it feels slow, I'm way ahead of anyone who hasn't started.

I guess it's also about what motivates you. Whether it's a holiday, a gorgeous pair of shorts bought one size too small, being smaller by a next birthday or next year... Focus on how good you'll feel on that day.

[Happfeet2911]

Forget the gym, just ditch the carbs and move more, I lost a stone in six weeks after getting off my arse doing computer work and started working on my feet all day, best diet ever! BTW 10 stone to 9 stone so not that huge to start with.

[however]

I feel quite sad for carbs. Poor carbs.

[MistressDeeCee]

Im low carbing. I haven't had bread, potatoes, rice, flour, for weeks now. I don't eat pasta anyway. & Im not really losing weight. Weight used to drop off quickly when I was younger, up to age 40, but certainly not now. Im 52 and although I have no menopausal symptoms Im wondering if its the onset of that which is impeding weight loss. I guess I need to exercise more but I can't focus on anything more than 15 minutes daily...

[mrsdavidbowie]

Ha! Just seen my 30,mums autocorrect!!!!
It is hard...I'm 55 and about 9,lbs heavier than I was 2 years ago.
I have has a very stressful year and will eat out of boredom in the evening.
I agree with the poster who said about eating main meal at lunchtime. And portion sizes. Compare what you get in restaurants to what you eat at home..especially carbs.

[WorktoLive]

Slimming World is just cooking normal food with little or no fat - how is that grim? I just use normal oil in a spray bottle or simmer onions in stock instead of frying in oil.

Things I have cooked over the last few weeks or are on my meal plan:

Chicken curry cooked several different ways
Chicken and spinach biriyani with courgette dhal
paella
cottage pie
spaghetti bolognese
fishcakes and salad
risotto
cooked breakfast
omelettes
roast dinner
barbecue
chicken breast topped with pizza topping with salad
salads with cous cous, chick peas, cheese etc

Not one single muller light or artificial sweetener has passed my lips. Have also gone off plan quite a lot (pizza, eating out) and still lost every week. I only have a stone to lose so am never going to lose 5 pounds in a week.

I see the attraction of low carb as well, and do agree that it is sugar and processed food that is the enemy, not fat.

People are overweight because portion sizes are huge (restaurants, takeaways, crisps and sweets), people drink a lot of calories (fizzy pop, energy drinks, alcohol) and a diet heavy on junk and processed food is seen as normal. Even on here, if you mainly cook from scratch, you are seen as a weirdo by many.

[puffinrock]

I lose a lot through exercise. I don't do any formal exercise just I am constantly on the go. Lost last of baby weight through doing this. 9 pounds in 7 weeks and now 8 stone. I never stop moving and it isn't anything I am consciously thinking about.

I don't cut anything out and live on pasta, pies, omelettes, fast food, rice, potatatoes and other stodgy food. I really believe that is how slim people stay slim as if you added together all the time they are moving they are buring a lot more calories than those than don't move a lot but just do a few hours set exercise a week.

I suppose it is more difficult to do if it isn't inbuilt in you. I struggle sitting down for an hour tv show without getting up and wondering around doing stuff.

[GoldfishSpy]

It is carbs for me.
5 weeks of no grains or processed sugar, 1 stone down.

[frankbough]

It's a lifestyle change, diet, moderate exercise, cut out the booze and refined foods..
It's also a long term project, set realistic goals and weight loss targets spread throughout the yr.. Yes it is hard, if it takes yrs to put it on, it's going to take a while to get it back off..

[ChickenMe]

Fewer carbs works for me too. I'm on less than 100g cos I'm breastfeeding. But it's soo easy-some days I struggle to eat 100g because I'm full. The key is to do low carb-high fat. Eliminate grains and table sugar completely (I do have fruit but in tiny portions) and no artificial sweeteners either. They are said to be even worse than sugar.
Exercise for weight loss is a losing game without the diet to match. Think about getting fit, building muscle and stamina - that's what the gym is for.

[tobysmum77]

op the opposing views on here is why you would be better off with something like slimming world/ ww. These will help you to find something that suits you. There is no need to have chicken in diet coke or muller lights if you don't want to, home prepared food is spot on for either.

All this calorie in/ calorie out stuff is massively simplistic imo. You need to not be hungry and for your body to need to work to get the nutrition . For me lean protein and wholegrain is the key..... rather than cutting carbs entirely but we are all different.

[bimandbam]

I completely feel your pain. Ds is 18 months old and I weighed only 9lb less than when he was born.

I am back in sw but doing the low carb plan a few days a week. And not eating bread or pasta at all. Have a couple of new potatoes or some boiled rice. Lost 4lb in my first week but will be happy if I lose 2 this week.

I also bought a pedometer and was shocked by how little I move. So working in that but it has been difficult this week due to the heat. I am just weaning bf ds too and find I am sweating like a mad woman so hopefully a few lbs will come off that way.

I don't agree with all sw plan. I have found it works for me for about 6 weeks then stalls. Even if I stick to plan religiously. But they did change a few things at Christmas as well as introducing the sp plan which is basically lower carbs. So lean protein and more fruit and veg.

I also think you have to be in the right mindset. You have to want to lose the weight more than you want to eat freely. Or in my case drink freely.

I have set myself a goal of 10st and it seems very far away right now. So set myself little goals too. So this week I want 2lb off and by the end of july I want to have 7lbs off. And I want at least 3 days where I do 7000 steps and at least 1 10k day.

We were looking at old photos last night and there are a few of me in bikinis looking fabulously slim. There is one of me on dps phone from the other week in a tankini looking like miss piggy. Reverse before and after pics. Am tempted to stick them on the fridge.

[puffinrock]

Low fat/low sugar is just to make people feel better for lack of exercise imo. Dh said to me a bit ago 'have you ever seen anyone skinny dying Diet Coke?' When I thought about I don't think I ever have!

[puffinrock]

Drinking not dying!

[susiedaisy]

For me cutting right back on pasta bread white rice cheese and eggs has really helped with my weight loss. When I keep them in my diet the weight just doesn't budge. Obviously I also cut out all the rubbish and treats etc.
I've lost 19 pounds over four months. It's a slow weight loss but I'm not hungry so I can cope with that.

[Silvertap]

I lost 5 stone a few years ago and since have had 2 kids and lost about 4 stone both times. Pre these 3 weight losses I struggled for 10+ years.

The diet was immaterial (did ww to lose the first 5 stone then winged it after kids) it was all about my motivation and levels of happiness. I can genuinely eat what I want now - the key being I don't want 3 mars bars and a takeaway for tea because 1) I'm happy and 2) I prefer billing slim now.

[tobysmum77]

have you ever seen anyone skinny dribbling diet coke

Yes, absolutely. People of all shapes and sizes drink it.

[tobysmum77]

drinking