Is it hard to lose weight?

I have been pondering this question for a few days now. Is it hard to lose weight? Something seems to have made us believe that it is a difficult thing to accomplish. That it will require tons of energy and time that we just don’t have.

Have we all just brainwashed ourselves into thinking that losing weight is something we cannot achieve because it is difficult? What is it about losing weight that you find hard?

I really would like to know what you feel makes losing weight a chore, difficult, hard whatever you want to call it. What is it that makes you put it off for another day, week month.

What is the number one reason that it is hard to lose weight or start a weight loss program?

1. I want a greasy cheeseburger with a bun but I can't have it.
2. I am allergic to fruit so I can't eat it.
3. I HATE veggies so it's a chore to eat them.
4. Sometimes I am tired and I don't want to exercise
5. I don't like exercise but I do it because I like how it makes me feel
6. I crave carbs & sugar but I eat protein and whole grains.

I could go on and on and on....

But, despite all that I have been able to stick to my plan because my will to make a change is stronger than the things listed above.

It's hard because it's hard to change, period. Changing is just really tough.

Specifically, I find the following things tough:
1. It's hard to drag my butt to the gym sometimes after working all day and getting very little sleep.
2. It's hard to pass up the sweet treats that my friends enjoy.
3. It's hard to keep going when the scales refuse to budge...(i.e. it's hard to have faith in the process)

Ok no time for a nap....its time to think
When I was young it really did not matter what I looked like. I did not care and did nothing about it..When I got married I did not need to look good I had my man. When my kids came along I did not have the time...

Now I need to do something for me I have been married for 13 years my kids are 9 and 7 and can do things for themselfs...Now its time for me...and just me. To do something I really want eventhough no one in my house thinks I need this I still want this BAD.......

I didn't find it hard to lose weight. If anything was difficult, it was just getting started. I had to break the inertia that comes from spending years carefully not paying attention to all the weight I was gaining. Once my head was extracted from the sand it was all downhill.

Tani's got it!
Me ... I was the hard part. Actually I still am. I interfere in everything I do.

We live in a world of instant gratification. With something that is such a slow process as losing weight, it's so easy to lose motivation. I think, 'ok I ate healthy food in a smaller quantity than I used to in addition to working out like crazy today, therefore I want to look thinner today.' I find it difficult to work so hard and then have to wait so long to see the fruits of my labor.

For me it's just food. I have no trouble drinking water, exercising (a lot!), tracking everything. I just like food. Fast food, fried food, cake, peanut butter-chocolate anythings.

But as Tani and SusanB said, that's my problem. Not the food.

All the psychological stuff, of course, but also I have diabetes and must use insulin. Insulin does a wonderful job of helping your body store fat. This adds a little exta physical challenge.

What makes it hard for me is that I'm lazy and pretty good at feeling sorry for myself. If I gave myself a choice I wouldn't exercise or do any prep for dinner, or even cook at all on most days. Heck, I wouldn't even go to the grocery store to get the food, therefore, no reason to cook. And, if I let myself get away with it, I can easily fall into the old "poor me, I'm always going to be fat" and "it's not fair" and "why do I have to suffer, why can't I just eat any darn thing I want like everyone else" and "diets don't work, why should I bother..." Blah, blah, blah. I'm full of it!

It's only over these past two months, particularly since I joined here, that I discovered that it wasn't the diets that kept failing me... I kept failing myself. I gave up, plain and simple. But now, to quote my favorite starship captain: "Never give up, never surrender!"

-lala

I am right there with you 'stacylambert' - I love to eat! I love sweets especially donuts. I enjoy working out because it gives me energy and I am sleeping much better since I started a daily workout routine. I don't have a problem with water and even eliminating fried foods but the sweets are KILLING me!

I definitely know how to lose weight and this is as far as I have ever come and I know that I am going to reach my goal but it is a challenge.

That is a good question, but for me it's slightly different. I was always able to LOSE weight. Just eat 1000 calories or less a day and the weight would drop. But as soon as I started eating "normally" again, it would come right back and more weight with it.

What made it hard for me to lose weight and keep it off was ACCEPTING I would have to change the way I eat forever. Once I fully embraced that decision, it was easy. Lost weight, have kept it off for a year.

I'm still having a problem accepting the importance of exercising and fitting it into my busy life. That is what I am currently working on!

My desk job... ugh... one of my coworkers left and lost 20 pounds with very little effort... so jealous!

Oh, and I love food, too

Good answers, everyone!

What makes it challenging (I'm trying to look at things from a positive outlook) for me is my natural tendency to want things easier. This new, healthier lifestyle is not "natural" for me (yet).

I'd much rather sit on the sofa and watch a movie than get up and exercise. But I now make myself move. I'd far prefer to just do take out for dinner, but I make myself prepare more home-cooked meals, where I can control the ingredients. 72 oz of coffee a day is far more appealing to me than 72 oz of water, but I'm getting the water in (and, as a result, much less coffee because I simply can't drink that much fluid in a day).

What's making it challenging for me is trying to adopt a new way of looking at weight management. And trying to make this my "new" normal. I'll probably never get there 100% but I'm closer than I was two months ago! Progress!

The hardest part for me was making that decision to just go ahead and do it. Once I started, I sailed. It took me a while to figure out that regardless of what I ate, I had to take in fewer calories than my body was burning. Once I grasped that idea, the weight fell off. And, here I am, 80 pounds lighter when I spent years being fat because I didn't think I could do it at all.

I proved myself wrong. And I'm so glad I did.

But I think gaining the knowledge you need to know HOW to lose weight is the hardest part. But losing the actual weight wasn't hard at all.

Knowledge is power. That's why it was hard for me in the past, I didn't have that knowledge.