...when people ask how you are losing all this weight and you look at them and tell them the good ol' fashion way, watching what I eat and exercise. They always look so disappointed like I'm going to tell them some secret I've discovered that only I know that is going to make them lose weight...like yeah I eat a chocolate chip cookie before every meal and the weight is just flying off...or all the experts were wrong! it's not 1200 cals a day that's the key, it's really 4000!

Or when you tell them...no really I eat whatever I want, I just eat less of it or I plan for it so there's room in my plan. Or when you respond to the question won't you be excited when you can eat more again you say no...this is how I'll be eating forever.

To be completely honest, even though I know in my head the fact that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is eating less and moving more, I still fight the urge to ask maintainers what the "secret" is. LOL! And I know whats like to lose weight through balanced diet and excercise because I have gone down from 185 to 152 by doing just that! It is not exciting when you tell somebody something they already know. The truth is most people DONT believe they can control themselves. This is the reason why we have a billion dollar budding diet industry and the reason why books and magazines that has headlines such as "Melt Fat" or "Easy steps to a thinner you" or "Lose 20lbs in 10 Days" still sell despite the obvious facts.

That's so funny, because I still find myself in the *diet* section at the bookstore looking for THE book that's going to have the next great secret...and then I'm reminded that I've lost this weight by not secret at all

I think for the most part people are looking for a microwave fix. When you tell them they have to roast the turkey in the oven and it will take time for it to be ready, they don't want to hear it. They would much rather believe the lie...take this pill, shot, liposuction or whatever to loose the weight. Even in the medical community they will not lipo but so much which will requires you to do something. Some people think that WLS is the quick fix but it still requires work. Not too many people are willing to put in the work because it will take too long, they think they won't be able to do it or they can't see having to live a healthy lifestyle forever.

I do kind of feel bad when people ask and I give them the truth. I know that people are expecting what all of you have mentioned: the quick, easy, miracle fix. But I’ve finally grown to understand that there is no such thing and I guess it’s best for them to know that, too. People always ask eagerly, but then when I’m about halfway through my speech (“Well I work out five times a week, drinks lots of water, take the stairs and restrict my calories…), their eyes go dim and the disappointment is there.

It makes me feel kind of good though that I’m doing something that so many people don’t have the patience or will power to do (not that I do it well all the time, either, but the effort is always there.) It makes me proud to do it the hard (real) way!

I am pretty sure that all the people that don't know me well--all the co-workers that aren't friends--assume I had surgery. I don't have any problem with surgery, I certainly know it's not a quick fix or a miracle cure, but there's still some little part of me that wants them to know (though I don't want to tell them) that I did this by being perfectly on plan 95 days out of 100, and those other 5 days weren't half-bad, either.

Thicknpretty -That is such a wonderful outlook. I really needed a pick-me up and that did the trick.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I am making a lifestyle change. I don't want to go back to the way I was eating before. I wish there was some magic button you could press to make yourself skinny, but there is not. I haven't had anyone ask me yet about what I am doing to lose the weight, but I will be honest if anyone ever asks. I will tell them it's all about exercising and dieting - no secret formula (or button).

Brilliant, Jigglefree. Yes. This.

to be honest, i secretly do wish that the moment i lose all this weight my metabolic rate will miraculously level with those skinny people who eat anything they want and truly never gain weight and i'll be able to eat anything i want for the rest of my life.

probably never gonna happen....but its okay at least i'll be healthy! and sexy. teehee

At my work my female co-workers see me loosing weight and they all know what I eat and do for exercise because they all have asked me but they still want to think that I am drinking some pill that is making loose the weight and the same goes with people who haven't seem me in two last two months. I simply don't care if they believe me or not that I am just eating healthy, a lot less food and exercising a whole lot.

I get this question a lot now, but I've been pleasantly surprised that 9 out of 10 people ask whether I'm eating better or exercising. While a very small sample, I hope that as more and more time goes by and more education is available and more and more "quick fixes" prove to be frauds people realize there isn't a magic fix.

For it's flaws things like the Biggest Loser I tihnk help reinforce the diet/exercise thing as well.

I was thinking about this last night. I had never attempted to lose weight before, this is my first time. I thought it was so impossible to lose 10 or let alone 20lbs...just a fairy tale that infomercials told us to make us buy their gizmos and gadgets. I was so overwhelmed that I just never tried. I would ask people how they lost weight, and was frustrated when they wouldn't "give up the secrets" when they said diet and exercise. There's no possible way that a person could stick to a low calorie diet and exercise. It was simply impossible for me to give up fast food and sweets, so it was impossible for me to lose weight. How in the world did other people do it?

But now I've realized that it's actually quite easy and achievable and straightforward. Easy in the sense that the concept is easy, burn more than you take in, it still takes discipline and effort. I don't know understand why I put it off for so long.

I think we're just looking for quick fixes. The "I want to lose 25lbs NOW" attitude. Losing 1-2lbs/week is a slow process, and we want quick results. We want a solution that will work overnight.

I used to work in a place where everyone would jump on the bandwagon for any new fad diet that came out, including some dangerous diet "supplements" they all ordered online that made everyone extremely angry all the time. While working there, I had lost about 40lbs so everyone always wanted to know my big secret. Well, as soon as I would go into whole foods, calorie counting and exercise, they would all the sudden need to run, but I would see them grill others on fad diets for an hour every day on their "secret to success".

What amazes me about the attitudes of other towards calorie counting and exercises is that really, compared to having to eat nothing but a cabbage soup, or taking pills that make you jittery and angry all the time, why is calorie counting and exercise the crazy, difficult thing that no one things they can do.

A woman at work looked at the food I packed for the day and said, "Oh my god. How much time does it take you to pack that? Do you do it at night or in the morning? I could never do that."

I said I cooked chicken at 9pm so that I could have chicken the next day at work. She said, "You didn't cook the chicken just for lunch, right? You had it for dinner?" When she learned I just made it to prepare for the next few meals during the week, she was floored.

I work full-time, have two kids, and commute 1+ hours each way to work. It does take some time and advanced planning, but if it's important, you really can find the time.

That's what I was trying to get across, but you said it much better than I did.

It's really not that complicated, I don't see why people are so opposed to eating a bit more sensibly and maybe a bit less and working out moderately, but they'll spend tons of money on whacky diet foods and pills, eat unsatisfying "foods" and buy expensive exercise gadgets that they use for a week. I just don't understand it, but I used to be the same way, so I can't point fingers at all.