To think it is impossible to lose weight unless you have 1) time & 2) headspace?

[TuesdayBliss]

By which I mean:

• You are getting enough sleep
• You are not anxious about anything happening in your life
• You are not stressed
• You are not overwhelmed with work
• You are not worried
• You have free time to plan, exercise, cook and so on

If any of the above factors are an issue in your life, then I think it’s simply not possible to have the energy, time, and positive attitude that make up the necessary commitment to losing weight. AIBU?

I think you're right about getting started, but once I hit my straps on weight loss after a week or two I'm less likely to let external factors affect me. Maintaining weight is my problem!

Loads of people lose weight when they’re more stressed than usual or going through something hard so I don’t think that’s right.

I agree, the only time I've been able to loose weight is when my head is in the right space.

Absolutely agree. I am desperate to start to try and lose enough weight to reduce my health risks but it needs headspace and planning time that I just done have.

I lost three stone when I was worrying 24/7, anxious and paranoid, up all night and massively stressed with work. Once I started to live a healthier live and treat my anxiety, prioritise sleep and have CBT the weight came back...

I disagree.

I manage to lose weight (very slowly) and most of your points apply to me. The biggest challenge is tiredness, my 2 year old has me up every night. It’s difficult but it’s doable.

I don’t agree. As a PP said, lost of people lose weight when they are worried or stressed, and that can also go along with not sleeping well.

I think if you have a lot of weight to lose and really need to combine both healthy eating and some form of new exercise then you do need to be in the right frame of mind. But again, lots of people who are overwhelmed with work use exercise as their release and it doesn’t take much planning or time just to cut out the junk and eat smaller portions.

Agree with this

No I don't agree with this for me personally.

I lost 3 stone over 8 months with a newborn, chronic pain which meant I couldn't walk without intense pain and I'd had a very high stress pregnancy. I honestly just cut down on portion size and ate more mindfully. Got as much exercise as I could manage.

But we are all different

Agree, I lost 2.5 stone from 1 jan to mid March. I was following Noom, it become central to my life, making the right choices, doing the course reading and exercising enough. Then I caught Covid which was mild but totally gave me the munchies and fell of the wagon, I kept the weight off for a while but then over the summer when I lack time to exercise and focus on myself I regained some.

I need to try again, but I just feel like I have so much other stuff using my mental energy and time at the moment that it is just not happening.

And in reply to @AnneLovesGilbert some people loose weight when stressed, some people gain weight (emotional eating, mindless eating), so for some including me, and presumably OP, then OP statement is correct.

I agree, I think it's very true for many people. Obviously not everyone as there is definitely a group that responds to stress and lack of headspace by not eating and therefore losing weight. And indeed there are people who are overweight who have no additional stresses and plenty of headspace. It would be interesting to do some research into it.

Well yanbu if you need an excuse not to do it. From personal experience.
Yabu if you really believe any of the factors will stop everyone.

No.
Ds was born, we haven’t had a day help since the last 2 years. He next slept unless being pushed in pram. Screamed unless held. When you walk miles to get them to stop screaming, and no time to cook you loose weight.

Im now trying to gain weight as way to low bmi. Ds managed too grab my bowl this am and it went over the floor, lunch I was busy at appointment with him and this evening he’s screaming as tired from nap refusal and I can’t cope with eating whilst he’s screaming. So I’ve eaten a banana in car so far today.

I think it depends on if stress makes you eat more/badly or less. I definitely comfort eat and we've had a pretty hellish year at points, where I basically turned to chocolate to cope.

I'd like to lose half a stone, but I have no time to exercise atm and I'm sometimes not eating dinner until 11.30/midnight.

I agree that all of those reasons can make it harder. But there’s a difference between a reason it’s harder, and an excuse. That list can be either.

Most people don’t need time to exercise to lose weight - they need to consume less calories. Which isn’t easy… but “oh I don’t have time to exercise” is an excuse.

Good luck when he no longer wishes to go in the pram or back carrier and any 'exercise' becomes walking less than a mile at toddler pace. This happened to me during the first lockdown, and the weight piled on.

disagree - if anything, a stressful life and a lack of ‘headspace’ is an advantage.

It’s usually diet, not exercise.

Cook your normal food but cut portion size down to 1/3 of your usual, (freeze the excess food, if necessary) then fill the rest of the plate with vegetables/salad and eat no snacks. No planning involved; I lost 2 stone over 6 months.

Interesting… maybe it’s about how stress responses differ then. If those bullet points apply to me, then I ‘cope’ through junk food, buying ready meals instead of cooking, spending time on my phone as I feel I don’t have the energy to exercise.

But yes, some people will be tired and stressed and their response is skipping meals etc. Good point.

Crosspost! 😁

This is me. I am struggling due to time and stress factors. Some time off work due to stress would give me what I need. Not happening obv

I fully agree. As someone who used to have a cast iron grip on weight management, and could drop half a stone in a week, I now struggle massively. I lose between 0-200g a week, and that's not even guaranteed. I am just so constantly knackered that I don't have the strength to muster up any willpower. In staying that, I used to treat my body like crap by starving myself and only snacking on cigarettes. I'm much kinder to myself these days.

When is life ever going to not be stressful? It's not helpful to state that it's impossible (harder maybebut not impossible ) to lose weight without perfect conditions.
Try to start small. Going for a walk/run can take 30 mins max and really will make you feel better.
Making excuses or waiting for the perfect moment will only ensure you stay stuck where you are.

But life is stressful, a lot of the time

no need to calorie count or actively loose weight

but surely you are not helplessly eating maccues and biscuits either?

whatever happens, you still have choice about what you eat, or if not, at least how much you eat?

people are always looking for excuses to eat junk, really. If you want to overeat, do, but there is always an element of choice

Agreed! Sone people are different, I'm putting on weight because of stress, issues with my child which are serious, anxiety and depression. I'm trying to get myself motivated but it's so hard