What are some complications/setbacks you may have had when you suddenly started dieting?

During one of my other attempts I got really bad Charlie Horses.

Is it possible to get to much of a good thing? Someone told me eating to many bananas can raise your potassium to much. They are one of my favs to eat because they leave me feeling full.

The only thing I can really think of is stalling out/hitting a plateau. These are hard to get through, you have to stay determined and not give up!

I've heard some thingsabout side affects of a strict low carb diet like muscle cramps and constipation. I tried Atkins 2 years ago for a couple of weeks and experienced both of those, not worth it to me, I'm doing this to be healthier, not screw me body up! If you do decide to do low carb maybe try a modified plan, or you might not have a problem at all, many people don't.

I did get charlie horses consistently once, but that was when my calorie intake was too low. Watch out for that and diet healthily. Make sure you are getting enough food.

Hey bethmart,

That's not true about bananas. They are a good source of potassium, which is a good thing. You'd have to eat a whole lot of bananas before they would harm you because of potassium. In fact, leg cramps are sometimes caused by too little of different salts. If you get them at night, here's a trick I have used: 1 small can of V-8 juice an hour before going to bed.

But bananas do have calories--a large banana is about 120 calories. I rarely eat a whole one--usually just 1/3 to 1/2 with cereal or a smoothie.


OK, setbacks & problems:
- giving in to food cravings without planning ahead calorie wise.
- eating something without knowing how many calories it has.
- thinking that something "doesn't count." If i eat it, it counts.
- hitting a stall and getting discouraged.
- not drinking enough water.

Jay

What would drive me crazy is...

Everytime I went from Sloth mode to active, I would get this terrible intense itching on my legs, tum, back of the knee's and such. It was awful!

But it was also temporary. Even though when I was experiencing it it couldnt go away fast enough! The reason for this is and I quote....


I vow to never ever go back to sloth mode!

I am happy to say I have had no setbacks or complications. Not a one.

Well if I really stretch perhaps because of all the drinking I do - I DO need to use the ladies room a bit often . But I was a large water drinker before, so there's really no difference.

Maybe another complication would be eating out and parties. But nothing major and nothing that can't be dealt with. Planning is key. Oh - so is will power.

Now if you asked me to name some setbacks and complications of being morbidly obese - now that would be a whole other matter. That list would be mucho, mucho GIGANTIC.

Just wanted to comment briefly on Robin's post about willpower above. Robin has had amazing success, and she's been very sensible - eating a very healthy, whole foods diet and getting enough calories a day.

In my previous weightloss attempts, one of my former complications/setbacks was NOT getting enough calories a day which led to some out of control eating behaviors. I used to think that if a person could cut some calories to lose some weight, a person could cut MORE calories and lose more weight.

This set me up for an ugly cycle of restriction and binge that made me feel like I had no will power. Which I didn't. Because I was starving myself and my body's will to survive was luckily more powerful than my will to restrict.

So, my complication to contribute to this thread - not eating enough. I know a lot of people don't believe in the "starvation" theory. but it definitely fits my experiences with dieting over the last 20 years. The body doesn't recognize a diet from a bad harvest. When I don't get enough calories, my body reacts EXACTLY like I would want it to if my plane crashed in the mountains and I had to hike my way to safety - cannabalize muscle (since muscle uses more calories), lower my metabolism (so I can get by with fewer calories) and strongly encourage me to EAT when there is food available. This was a huge realization for me - why be ANGRY or frustrated at my body for doing what it is supposed to do? I decided to work with my body and it has made a huge difference.

Anyway, I probably talked too long (and hopefully didn't make Robin feel bad!) but the subject of "will power" was one of my huge "a ha" moments when dieting. Now that I eat a healthy, whole foods diet and a sensible number of calories a day, I suddenly feel like I have will power. But it's not my will power that got stronger, it's my "oh my god I'm starving" body response that got weaker.

No Glory, I don't feel bad. At all.

But when I said will power, I was talking about, like I mentioned SPECIFICALLY at a social event. I mean resisting temptations - even though NOT hungry. Glory I was 287 lbs. That's TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY SEVEN POUNDS. At a mere 5 feet tall - my BMI was a whopping 56! So, yes, you may be shocked to hear this, but - hellooo...... I ate even when NOT hungry. I had a hard time resisting food, especially when it was all around me and PART of the activity - the social function.

So although yes, I eat plenty of calories and plenty of healthy, nutritious DELICIOUS foods and thank G-d, I am rarely hungry and have come a loooong way in my battle, food will ALWAYS be a temptation for me. I will ALWAYS struggle with eating though not hungry. I've improved greatly and have been able to keep it in check, but nevertheless when it comes to parties, holidays and the such - I, that's ME personally, cause that's what the OP was asking, what complications have I experienced - I DO have a harder time resisting food when it's all around me and I'm socializing even though I'm not hungry. So therefore I, that's ME, has to muster up some extra will power. I do have a feeling though I'm not alone on this. Of course, I could be wrong. Although, something tells me - I'm not.

Yeah, I agree with you on the social situations, but the whole "willpower" and "dieting" thing really hits me hard, because I spent 20 years trying so hard to be "perfect" (which for me meant eating about 1000 calories of mostly fat free/sugar free diet frankenfoods) with sessions of what felt like out of control binging. When I thought about will power, I had a lot of self loathing, why was I so weak? Why couldn't I lose weight?

I still struggle with "party foods" (particularly at work, where every big group meeting has to include finger foods - grrr) but I no longer struggle with binging and I don't hate myself anymore. It's just hard to describe what over-restricting did to me - the subsequent binging made me feel like a mindless, eating machine, I couldn't seem to stop and I hated myself so much when it was over. Figuring out the trigger (not eating enough) and fixing the problem was another one of my weightloss miracles - I suddenly felt like a "normal" person, with willpower! But I didn't change - just how I ate!

When I first started I would get really bad headaches. Went to the DR. and he ran blood test and told me my sodium was very low. I was being to restrictive. I increased my sodium and calories a little , added back a little caffeine and headaches were gone.
After about 3 months my hair started falling out by the handfuls. So I added omega 3 and some extra vitamins and my hair stopped falling out and has started to thicken back up.
On any of these occassions I could have easily giving up and said it is not worth it, but something inside of me said there has to be a reason and eating healthier is not it. So I investigated, found the problem, and treated it. Now I am 120 lbs lighter and can do almost anything I want to. And the side effects are a healthier and much happier me.
Terrie

Glory, we're bascially on the same page. I was actually editing my post when you answered my unedited version. I mentioned that I will ALWAYS struggle. But it has nothing, absolutely NOTHING to do with true hunger.

For me it really and truly was just a simple (haha - simple) matter of will power. And again I am satisfied 99% of the time with my food. But luckily there IS room for error and I don't have to be perfect - all the time.

I too feel like an absolute miracle has taken place - I have control!!!!! I have that will power that was so elusive to me for so many years. And I love it.

I don't have the problem with charlie horses but once every blue moon. But then again, i eat a banana every day monday-friday. I usually skp on the weekends...but i have a pattern at work. My biggest problem is getting enough calories. I am trying to be around 1200-1300 but some days i have to like add in a glass of milk just to bump them up to 1200.

My weight loss complications have been self - sabotage due to over confidence and just laziness. Let me explain.

A. Self sabotage: When I am on a downward trend, I get uber confident when the first five pounds fly off. Then I think to myself "hmm...I guess one more slice of bread couldn't hurt...you know what I think I'll have a sandwich actually..." and so on and so forth. I hate this about myself and I'm trying to curb it and recognize that feeling when it comes up. I have to keep telling myself "you need to see the numbers go down! Stick to the plan and keep going...don't overindulge!!" I'm working on it and the scale is moving (slowly) but so far, I've improved a little.

B. Laziness: This is also due to over-confidence. I think "eh, one day won't hurt me. I'll make up for it or just exercise tomorrow." Yeah, right. One day becomes two days becomes a week becomes a month and I've gained all my weight back. I think I've realized (let's hope finally) that I HAVE to exercise every day and watch what I eat.

Those are my major complications that I'm still working on.

On potassium:

Most people benefit from more, not less potassium in their diets...and if you don't have end-stage renal disease and aren't taking any medication with a big "watch your potassium!" warning on it, eat all the bananas you like.

For me, it was learning to deal with emotions for what they are and not treat them as excuses to chow down.

Another thing I wasn't aware of is that sometimes, all the planning and food prep gets a little old.