So far, I've lost 52 pounds. It's been a struggle sometimes & my weight has stalled (my own fault!) or gone up by a few pounds, but I have been resilient and always gotten back on track. It's not the fastest that I've lost, but I've told myself THIS. IS. THE. LAST. TIME.

It's happened to me 3 or 4 times in the past week and I'm sort of amazed. I've run into people I haven't seen in a while and the first words out of their mouths are, "You look GREAT! You've lost weight! How did you do it???" Each time, I smile & reply, "Eating healthy and exercise." Their smiles kind of fade and I can see the diappointment when they ask, "Really?" And, my reply back is "Yep! Trust me, there's no magic pill." And then I change the subject or walk away.

I think it is the prevalence of bariatric surgery options that lead people to assume all obese people can't lose weight any other way. We can thank the media for that misconception.

I can't blame them - I know I wish there was a quick fix/magic pill/secret chant that would effortlessly whisk pounds off my body. Good for you for staying on track!

I have gotten that too. Not often, but I do remember one woman in particular, who not only looked disappointed but stated quite emphatically 'I refuse to change the way I eat!!!'

Okay by me......your choice.

LOL - aren't we all hopeful that there would be some "secret" that would allow us to drop the weight without worrying so much about things like calories, carbs and exercise?

Congrats to you for sticking to the plan and making such amazing progress! Even if you haven't cracked the secret to effortless weight loss!

I couldn't have said it better! Great job!

Keep it up!

I actually had a friend TELL me a week or so ago that...and I quote..."Science is against me on this one. There is no way I can lose the amount of weight I want to lose without surgical intervention."

I said..."Watch me"

I have asked that question, haven't you? You've never run into a friend who looked thinner and asked...so, how are you doing it?

Most people *know* that there will be diet and exercise involved. The questions I am REALLY asking when I ask "how did you do it" are "How did you stick with it? How did your make yourself keep doing it every day? How did you hang in there at 11.30 on a Wednesday night when you were sad or bored or hungry and all you wanted was cheese toast?"

If none of us had ever struggled with this question, we wouldn't have gotten so overweight in the first place.

I sometimes wish for that "magic pill". But then I stop and think about it and while I am sometimes frustrated at the pace of the losing, or how I look (or don't look) in my clothes, and I realize that there is so much going on with me surrounding my weight loss journey. I am learning things about myself, my family, my past that I never considered before.

Some people have told me that I am obsessed with food and weight, and the truth of the matter is of course I am. I will never be able to just sit down and have something to eat. None of us will probably. We will always have to think about it, and then check the scale and all the fun stuff that comes with losing weight.

I guess my point is this, if there were a magic pill, we would not learn to change bad behavior, so what would be the motivator to change?

I had a friend once who mentioned how i looked good, had lost weight, asked me how I did it, and I shared. Her comment to me then was "well that just sounds uncomfortable and I am not going to make myself uncomfortable" My response to her was of course "And I am sure weighing 315lbs is VERY comfortable". Comfort is what got us to where we are. It will NOT get us to where we are going

Well, in fairness, we even ask each other here in the goal forums "How did you do it?" There are MANY ways to lose weight and some work better for others.

We have people here on South Beach, WW, Atkins, Calorie Counters, Nutrisystem, WL sugery, Jenny Craig. Some people exercise like fiends, some lift weights, others concentrate more on just food intake.

And I have to admit that 5 out of the 7 ways to lose that I listed above are ways that I could NEVER do it, and keep it off. So when people mention one of those 5 I'm usually done listening. Nothing against those ways, I just know they aren't for me.

You are doing great!!!

I agree that is has to do with the populariyt of WLS. People suddenly can't believe that it can be done without it.

Thanks for all of the replies.

I never looked at it at them wanting further explaination of the real "how" I've done it. Some may have been asking & I didn't realize it. I know others weren't because they are always in the "get rich quick" schemes. I try not to "push" my plan on anyone unless specifically asked what plan/method I'm using.

I looked into surgery, but knew I couldn't do it. I love food too much and the restrictions (especially carbs), would be my downfall. I know for some people, it's the only way & I don't begrudge them of that method.

When people ask me that question, I just reply 'The hard way' - and giggle when they give me a sour face. What is funny is that it isn't hard when you're ready.

Ah, lightbulb moment. I think you are right. I've always been perplexed by people's responses to "how". You say "diet and exercise" and they do turn a deaf ear. But you're right. I was always all ears when people said "South Beach" or "Atkins" or any other method I had or hadn't tried, but if anyone said "calorie counting", I'd have probably sighed and said it wouldn't work for me.

I had to TRY it and SEE it to believe it.

I haven't had the disappointed reactions but I'm sure most people with weight to lose would love a permanent quick fix that doesn't involve months or years of chugging along. This isn't really the "hard" way though IMO since it becomes a natural routine over time to eat cleaner and the addiction to working out is hard to break.

It's bizarre, now when I see people losing tons of weight quickly on what I consider "unsustainable" diets (liquid fasts etc) I actually feel sort of disappointed myself. Almost as if they're "cheating" at weight loss. How irrational!