Man oh man I feel ya guys on this. Its so true, people just want to hear that you took this or did that, and poof, the weight feel off. from now on, when people ask what I did, I'll tell them I eat five pizzas a day, extra greasy, with five 2 liters of regular pop Weight comes off like magic.

I agree that diet and exercise works for everyone but I respectfully disagree that eating 1200 - 1600 calories a day will create a weight loss in everyone. I've been living my life feeling like a failure because I can't lose weight on a 1200 calorie diet. I'm not being dishonest or "cheating" - although that's what everyone thinks - from friends, to family to doctors to annonymous strangers on the internet. If I'm not losing it's because I'm cheating. It's because I'm not being honest and I'm making excuses to prevent myself from being accountable for my actions.

Heck, I even began to believe it myself. I started thinking that I must be unintentionally screwing myself up - so I tightened the reigns on my eating even further until I was afraid to eat anything at all because I was sure that ANYTHING I ate was going to result in a "cheat" and a resulting weight gain.

What I learned is that by keeping my calories at or about 800 calories a day my body does kick in and start shedding the pounds. It's not an excuse, it's not dishonest, it's just a fact of my life. Weight loss is a simple formula of calories in vs. calories burned right? But that formula is not an exact science. According to the "formulas" for calculating BMR I should be able to easily consume 1500 calories and drop weight. Heck, I know people my size who do without problem but I'm not one of those people.

So I struggle. I struggle with keeping my calorie count low enough to lose weight but high enough to maintain a decent quality of life (I can get VERY cranking on only 800 calories a day). I struggle with people thinking I'm cheating, lying or too lazy to actually put in the work. I struggle with the fact that my body betrays me by either simply not working well OR by working too well when it comes to processing calories.

I maintained for 7 years now with one pregnancy break (now back to PP weight give or take 5lbs after 6 months).

It has always ALWAYS been a priority. It has always been my accepted new lifestyle. There is no going back. That girl who went through the drive-thru 3x a day or went out to restaurants with friends each night is gone, dead, 6 feet under There's a new one in her place

You'll be fine if you have a good support system in place and you make yourself a priority. I didn't. I had a special needs baby, my husband was working long hours, my other son needed attention too and well, I came dead last for everything and I allowed it.

A lot of it has to do with getting enough sleep too. If you can get that, it will be a lot easier. At least for me, no sleep, means bad decisions.

But yes, it is MUCH easier with the kids being older. Mine are now 14 and 5 (nearing 6) AND I stay at home (for now). I have no excuse not to get this weight off NOW.

I have to say that in all honesty, we (as a society) are brainwashed into thinking that the magic pill exists. Sad but true, the weight loss industry has the majority of people convinced that they can't do it on their own.
I think that's why people get the glazed stare when informed that you lost weight with (common sense) counting calories and exercise. Maybe it's shock??
People think that it has to be the new-fangled diet plan or piece of workout equipment creating success. It's kind of sad, really, because it's a totally dis-empowering state of mind.

people just want to lose weight without any hard work. Its really annoying. A coworker got a little upset with me because she said she was going to spend A LOT of money doing this program where you eat steamed veggies and drink their smoothies. BUT she was hessitant to pay $29 a month to join the gym! I basically told her that she was wasting her time because you can learn how to eat well for free. PLUS, the moment she starts eating regular food again she will blow back up. I just dont understand people lol

Have you been checked out by your doctor for some medical reason why you are not losing on at least 1200 calories? Eating 800 calories is not only not healthy, it is not a sustainable diet. You are loosing muscle mass on that # and it is totally understandable that you are cranky... 800 cals is not enough. Honestly, if you do not have any medical reasons like diabetes, hypothyroidism, PCOS etc, there is really no way that your body wouldn't eventually loose a good bit on at least 1200 calories... especially with the calorie deficit that is created by your current weight. If you are dealing with one of those diseases or another, then you should probably work with a health care professional to get on a plan that will work without dropping your calories to an unhealthy level. (it may be low carb or something like that) Also, it takes time to lose weight. You may not drop weight every day, or even every week on a set # of calories... even if you have created a big enough deficit. We deal with other things like water weight affecting the scale. Please don't take this response with offense, it is definitely not meant that way. I am just worried that you feel you need to cut your calories to such an unhealthy level to lose. Please get yourself checked out. If they find that there is a medical reason and can treat it, it could make your journey s much easier! Good luck!

ps. there is no magic calorie intake # for every person and not everyone will lose the same on 1200-1600. However, 1200 should be the lowest you go...

I hate when people give you that look like you're lying when you tell them it's just diet and exercise. Like you have some secret method you don't want anyone to know about. I mean seriously what do you think I did.

I also hate how even though I have lost over 50 pounds people just assume I'm not in good shape. They see the fat I still have on me and give me advice on what to do. Like my arms are still very large and my sister told me that I need to do tricep work. I explained to her I have a lot of muscle in my arms and I lift weights regularly and that it's the fat left on my arms that makes them appear that way but it fell on deaf ears.

Sometimes I just wanna scream at people I am doing things the right way and I'm getting results. Sorry if that is incomprehensable to you!

Oh, this used to be my biggest beef!! I was such a harder worker! I was so the opposite of lazy! Honestly, I don't know too many fat people who are lazy. It is not always, or maybe even often, about sitting on the couch all day. I always said I was the fittest fat person out there.

I am so, so glad my exterior now matches the work I put into it. It's really hard to put in more effort at the gym than the tiny person next to you, but she's the one who gets to wear the size 6.

I love the posts about how people are shocked and saddened that we lost weight through diet and exercise. The recurrent replies that dieting and exercise didn't work for them points out the psychological addiction to food that is so hard to break for so many. I always think that with any addiction, until and if I get honest with myself nothing will change. When I have overeaten in the past, I would actually lie to myself about what I consumed in a binge-so of course I would not admit that to anyone else. Now that I have become so much more accountable I am feeling so much more in control and on top of things-and yes, the pounds are coming off.

Started at 172-down to 148-gradually: through low carbing , cal. counting and alot of exercise and support from this board.

Okay lets face it. There are a lot of discouraged people out there in the world. And yes, we are bombarded, not only with pictures of thin thin people in magazines and celebrities and magazines that claim "lose weight with such and such a pill" and the latest indoresed celeb diet, but all the pills, all the pressure to be thin in society..Its not helping people out there have an understanding of helping themselves. People in the diet industry claim to help people by teaching them all about diet..but how many diets are out there? Many..and how many of them are un-healthy or radically extreme? Many..And how many people do you know will go to a place for help in which the people arent even trained to give advice OR have had no previous experience of being overweight or obese prior to helping people..See.. its like it takes one to know one. I used to be a finatic in believing that weight would just melt off me if i sat on my bum and followed this diet or that diet. I have a friend or two of mine looking at me and they are rather impressed that for 3 weeks i have been on the "South Beach Diet"...to them its just a diet, and it will last maybe a few more weeks..but to me.. i choose to, and have to for my health, look at it and embrace it as a lifestyle..If its a diet.. i can just jump on and off of it and i can make every excuse to stop exercising and i can cheat one or two days and then jump back on and that just isnt true..AND yes its still about calorie in vs calorie out..The person who said that and told you that in school was in fact right..But that point has become so muddled up in society..We look at carb counting or south beach as "low carb" but its not about "low carb" its about types of carbs..or weight watchers..its about the types of calories...or the zone..its the balance of different types of calories..Its all calories, its just the type you eat, the portion you eat, and then the exercise that you put out or the amount of work your body does in a day to burn it..and that message has been completely disguized as "such and such a diet"...And am i ever sick of people saying to kids in school "Eat according to the food pyramid"..Did you know that the food pyramid is based on agricultural and ecenomic stability? Same thing as the whole "Milk is good for you, you lose weight..and then Milk is bad for you, it makes you gain weight" Or soy is good, soy is bad..You get these two totally different messages and its because its not based on health, its based on how the economy is doing..SO how bout people just simply tell the truth and say ..its calories in and calories out..If you want to eat 900 calories at mcd's go for it, but thats 900 calories your body has to burn off after.

I lost my weight using the Food Pyramid. It's quite the fashion to trash it, but there is a lot of sound science behind it and by tracking at mypyramidtracker.gov I not only lost the weight, but by eating the balance of nutrients recommended (% of protein/carbs/fat/saturated fat, fiber, etc) I have amazing lab numbers compared to 2 years ago.

Kills me when people would rather pay for a program then to try eating a balanced diet that your tax dollars have already paid for. And it's fun because you earn smiley faces when you get your nutrient balances right!

HILARIOUS!

There is no one size fits all BUT I think the bottom line is if you aren't going to work hard to lose the weight it's not going to happen. So many people lie to themselves IMO when they say they "tried." Half the time trying seems to be starving themselves for 2 days then giving up and binging when they see the scale didn't move down 10+ lbs.

It took me a long time to figure out that I needed to work hard and stop lying to myself. Hopefully others figure it out and get on it too.

If I ate following the food pyramid I wouldn't be able to fit through the door. I am far too sensitive to grains to be able to lose weight taking in more than minimal amount.

That's what's so tricky about weight loss plans, wl advice etc. Everyones reality is different. Everyones perception is different... And we tend to believe that what works for us will work for everyone, or what failed us will fail everyone. There is no one answer and there never will be.

Each of us is our own experiment. We need to take an honest look at what didn't work and keep adapting it until it does. Then rinse and repeat, forever, no excuses