For me the hardest part has always been sticking with it. I'm an all or nothing type of girl, so I start hard core with my diet/exercise then one day I slip up and it seems to take me forever to get back on.
2. Trying to stay positive as the weight loss rate slows down. I feel lighter, I'm wearing smaller clothes but I'm still morbidly obese. It's not tempting me to stop working on it, but mentally my weight and appearance is bothering me more now than when I was at my heaviest.
I'm just now finishing up my fourth week on my first ever diet. There have been two major temptations I have experienced so far. The first was cooking food for family members that I would not get to eat or taste. The second was computer gaming with my much younger cousin (he's 13). During our gaming sessions, we used to eat all sorts of junk food without regard to calories or sugar content. I still love gaming with him, but the new diet and sugar/carb restrictions will take some getting used to. I know the upcoming holidays are going to be tough as well.
The hardest part for me has been mental. When I get blue or down on myself, everything else goes out the window. And I seem to get down on myself quite a bit! When I'm feeling good, eating right and exercising is no problem at all.
Hard for me goes in cycles. At the beginning it was hardest when I was learning to do things like: deal with social (food) situations, handle vacations and disruptions in routine, and persevere through plateaus. Then I hit maintenance and it was all about learning where the balancing point is.
Even still today, some days it's easy and some days it's hard.
Time management. As a full-time working mother of two, it is hard to find the time to exercise and plan meals. But, I do it because it's important to me.
Learning what I can eat for my alotment of points/calories.
Forgiving myself for making a food "mistake", which I've learned isn't really a mistake afterall (I almost cried the afternoon I ate chips and salsa from On The Border). It was hard for me to let go of my All Or Nothing mentality when it came to this lifestyle change.
Dedicating the time to do 30 Day Shred every single day. I'm pretty lazy. :P
For me? Gotta be maintenance! - I've lost & gained so much weight in the past 20 years... ranging from 126 - 192. I've done tons of diets, some sane ones (South Beach, Medifast, etc) and some really crazy ones (eat dinner in the morning & breakfast at night!) ... and I've lost 10, 20, 30, even 40 pounds... Keep it off for about 6-8 months, and then "something" happens...
*got hurt & couldn't exercise one time (out of the gym for 12 weeks & POOF! - back to bad eating habits...)
*one time I got severely sick and the medicine I took made me blow up like a balloon... so what'd I do? Ate. (Seemed logical at the time, duh) ....
*the last time I was happily rolling along on MediFast, lost 20 pounds, felt good & was doing the diet just fine... WHEN IT HIT... my husband lost his job in the bad economy time, and we could not afford the MediFast anymore.
So yeah, I'll have to go with MAINTENANCE being the hardest for me!
I have a sweet tooth and sometimes it's hard to ignore. When I make poor choices I'm much more likely to lose control and just blow the day. It's dealing with and minimizing these situations which has been the biggest challenge.
Trying to stay positive as the weight loss rate slows down. I feel lighter, I'm wearing smaller clothes but I'm still morbidly obese. It's not tempting me to stop working on it, but mentally my weight and appearance is bothering me more now than when I was at my heaviest.
DITTO!!!
The hardest part for me is the length of time it is/will take to lose all this weight. I mean I've lost 60lbs, I feel so much better, yet I can barely fit into a size 16. I keep plugging along but most days I really wish I could lose weight at 2 or 3 times the rate I am now.
* Not giving into my stupid head games. I have to continuously remind myself I am worth the effort I have to put in. I've spent my whole life thinking I wasn't good enough and it's hard to turn that thinking around.
* Realizing the relationship with my best friend of 20 years has been very one-sided. I was always 5-10 lbs heavier than her and we spent our time smoking, drinking and gossiping. Now that I have stopped smoking and have lost weight, she has been less than supportive. I've always been her biggest cheerleader and now that I'm doing something to make my life better, she has put distance between us. We still spend time together but it's different.
Without a doubt it's exercise. i can't lose weight without it. my metabolism is so low now. i used to beable to drop weight in no time, now it trickles off. i have finally been able to break through some barriers and make some progress thanks to exercise and portion control.
the hardest part for me is every month right before my period i start craving anything fattening, chocolate, salty, and just bad for me in general in the worst way. I almost always have to give in just a little or else i completely fall off of my plan.
the hardest for me is avoiding binge eating which happens about once every other week. Usually there's a day I'm stressed, I have low energy, I'm hungry, and I just need to load up on carbs and junk food. Also, resisting food that is offered to me. I often go to family dinners where the hosts are insulted if you don't try everything they have prepared. Even if I try to explain my diet they still insist I try what they made. ugh!
