To think that people who say diets don’t work aren’t really trying

[amijumping]

I’ve lost a stone since having A baby got another stone to loose. It’s Been fucking hard I felt hungry for my usual snacks and rubbish for ages and still do but I’ve had to really get the willpower out to actually loose some weight. At first I tried to just easy a hit healthier but soon realised it wasn’t working as I wasn’t actually reducing my calories. Science states time and a time again it’s calories in vs calories out I’ve managed too lose weight slowly and sensibly by tracking everything that passes my mouth it’s hard it’s boring sometimes not fun but it’s the only way it’s worked. Otherwise I’ll think I’m being healthy and low calorie but things seriously add up that extra bit of mayonnaise extra slice of toast eyeballing butter in mash for example all adds up. Surely if people have been actively eating less calories than they need they would loose weight

Tell me you aren’t post-menopausal, without etc etc.

Also why did you put on so much weight in pregnancy? I didn’t, so nobody should. That, in your world view, is how it works, right?

report back in 6 and 12 months OP

Oooh well done you.

Here's your gold star for being so much better than the other fatties ⭐️

I always thought "diets don't work" meant fad diets, i.e., Paleo, keto, low carb, etc. Eating fewer calories than you burn, or the same number if you're trying to maintain your weight, is just how you're supposed to eat.

Also, it's lose.

Statistically you’re likely to regain what you lose plus more. But well done enjoy your moral high ground… for now

Nothing the matter with upsetting a few people.

No, I don't think you're correct because some people have to eat a lot less than others to lose weight, because they lost in the metabolism lottery, therefore they have to 'try' a lot harder. Life on 800 calories a day is very miserable.

Why not eat less and move more, no accounting for genetics,hormones, anxiety, depression, trauma etc,etc. I agree with other ppl on here apply for health minister your so enlightening. 😂

With respect my experience of thin women is an iron clad will of steel and saying no to cake, biscuits, snacks and following a rigid diet. Like PoW, VB etc.

Gosh, I only gained 2 stone total during my pregnancies, my babies were all 9lb plus so I didn’t have 2 stones to lose after having them

in other words, you clearly don’t have the experience of being long term overweight, or of menopause related weight gain or stressors in your life that make “willpower” something that is not possible n your radar (unless it’s willpower to make it through the day when your entire being is telling you that the world would be a better place without you)

Diets fuck up your relationship with food. Willpower doesn’t last forever and 90%+ of people who lose weight go on to regain it. Even bariatric surgery only has a success rate (at the 5year mark) of between 50-70%

Come back when you hit the menopause.

I’ve kept 6 stone off for 12 years. I had a twin pregnancy in that time where i gained 4.5 of it back.

loosing it is the hard part not keeping it off. You need to change your whole lifestyle and way of thinking though. Keep eating better and exercising and not go back to old behaviours. I know quite a few people who have lost weight over a period of time and kept it off.

In theory it should work like that, sure. I went on a calorie-counting diet when I was younger and the weight just fell off. Fast forward some years later + a PCOS diagnosis, doing the exact same thing produced almost no results. Age matters of course but we’re talking early twenties vs late twenties.

And it's only miserable if you have that mindset. We don't need sweet foods or high fat products, you're buying into the consumerism again that has become the food Industry.

I'd take some of that willpower you're so blessed with and put it into motivating yourself to learn about the complexities of our relationship with food, and the basics of hormone regulation and how it gets utterly fucked by cycles of yoyo dieting.

And then come back and tell everyone they just need to be as good as you and will themselves not to have eating disorders, disregulated eating or no ability to control satiety.

I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) that the OP means people who specifically state that dieting doesn't work for them. If they said they aren't losing weight because they can't stick to a diet, had a troubled relationship with food or a medical condition, that's different. But otherwise to put your hand on your heart and say you're sticking religiously to a diet but not losing weight is disingenuous.

I kind of see where you’re coming from… there is obviously some truth on a surface level but when you look deeper it’s more nuanced.

Personally I found that pregnancy weight fell off really easily. I (and I can only talk about myself here, others may be different!) lost pregnancy weight, from 3 different babies, so much more easily than ‘too much snacking’ weight. I put on over 4stone with the last one! Genuinely most of it was water retention and fluids (as I was over 2stone lighter in a fortnight- that wouldn’t be possible otherwise!). It was only the last 1/2 stone that hung about till i stopped breastfeeding at 2.5years. I didn’t diet, I didn’t feel deprived. Occasionally I might ask myself, do I REALLY want that cake? But if I did I ate it! But I didn’t diet in terms of calorie counting. I’m sure there was a hormonal element to it.

I have found it so much harder when I’ve accidentally slipped into too much snacking - lockdown I’m looking at you! That required so much more disciple than pregnancy weight, even tho it was ‘only’ 1.5st i put on over 18m. It seemed as if my body got used to that being my weight and wanted to hold onto it far more than pregnancy weight.

I have been in the same work place for 10 years, all my colleagues that were slim/average build in their early 30s ,ten years on have all increased in size, they haven't all drastically changed their diets there is much more to it, even the ones who have very active home lives struggle 😢.

I really do think that it's not about willpower. I would almost venture to suggest that there's no such thing.

What's needed is not willpower (ie not fighting against yourself) but the learning of a new skill. Changing from an unhealthy diet and lifestyle to one that promotes health and wellbeing is a skill. You can't do it by beating yourself up for not having the "willpower" to suddenly become a healthy person when you don't know how to be one. You need to learn how, taking it one step at a time, just as with any new skill.

I agree with you logically but I did the Cambridge weight plan I lost 21 lbs in 6 weeks which was great then not 1 lb in the next 8 weeks of having 600 kcals a day so I disagree

It’s true that diets don’t work if, having lost the weight, you revert to the lifestyle choices that caused the weight gain in the first place. However, if you make long term healthy changes then it definitely does work.

Dieting makes you fat.

Losing it is the hard part... You need to change your whole lifestyle and way of thinking though.
This

I don't diet, but if I feel a bit heavier, I cut back for a few days.
My parents were chubby, my siblings are chubby. I'm not.
It'd because I eat differently to them.
I'm in my late 50s and weigh the same as I did at 40 years ago.

I can appreciate what you’re saying. I might have said the same once upon a time but you’ll probably feel different once you’ve gone through menopause and the old metabolism slows down

Congrats sweetie x