I actually thought the beginning was the easiest because I was highly motivated and didn't let other distractions get in the way. As time goes on, you need to learn how to tweak, tweak, tweak.

YES Cookiebell, it'll get easier as you get into it!! At least, it was for me. I had such cravings at first but they got much better. Just 2 or 3 weeks made it easier.

Yep, for me the beginning was the hardest part. And I knew from previous attempts that I really want to give up week 2-3 because scale is not moving as fast as my perceived effort. So this time I did not allow myself on the scale at all the first 10 weeks. I wanted to make sure I had my new habits in place before I faced the number on the scale.

Yeah, I was just kidding. It doesn't all suck, it feels pretty darn awesome to be a normal weight. BUT, I can't lie and say every day is a bed of roses, because even though I didn't find any of it "hard", I did find that the world is full of temptations. There were many rough patches in the road from the very beginning to even a year into maintaince. Some days are super easy and some days well...they suck. Learning how to deal with the bad ones make the good ones so much sweeter.

I think the beginning... the VERY VERY beginning (not the beginning this time, or last time, but the FIRST beginning) is the hardest, certinally.

At the very first beginning... you have SO MUCH to learn! I can not believe how much I had to learn in the first two years and where I am today. You have to learn which 'diet' is for you, what calories are, what type of weight loss to expect (when I started, I thought a pound a day was the acceptable rate ), you have to learn that eating 300 calories a day is NOT GOOD (again, I made this mistake too ), if you want to eat healthy, you need to figure what that is too! (I've almost got a hang of that one.) And then you have to use what you've learned on your own to go back and decide if certain pieces of common information are fact or fiction (1200 calories a day for women, starvation mode, eat more to lose weight).


I don't know how difficult maintenance is (unfortunately for me ) but I can't imagine it's harder than going into battle the very first time without any weapons at your disposal. (At least I hope it's not!!!)

The beginning was difficult for me as well. I would say the first week was the hardest. Then it definitely became easier. Maintenance has also been tricky. The VAST realization that I must do (to a large extent) exactly what I did to take the weight off in the first place is still hitting home for me.

I really agree with RR that all things in life that are worthwhile ARE this way. Marriage, kids, occupations, education, etc. They all require attention and ongoing maintenace or they suffer.

It is OH so friggin' worth it though.

The beginning was the easiest for me. I was SO motivated. I had wandered beyond my breaking point with my depression, anxiety, and general weight related problems and I was ready. It was time for change.

That being said, even though it was the easiest, it was not easy. I just think plateaus are more difficult. Tweaking and adjusting as you lose weight (especially when you've never been a normal weight) is a PAIN. It's new and scary and so much more intimidating than poking your foot through the door of it all.

I feel like it just changes. The start is hard because of cravings, of having to break old habits, of just trying to figure the whole lifestyle out.
But new challenges come up...holidays, birthday, sick days, sad days. They all have their challenges.

I still think its worth it. even when things aren't going awesomely for me, like right now, I'm happier that I'm at least doing 80% better than this time last year. I'm healthier, thinner, and happier overall. It could take a while for the "this sucks" mentality to die out. But thats ok...because I'm still a better person while making those changes stick 100%

For me, the first month of giving up my favorite high calorie sweets was the hardest. It was kinda like being on withdrawal. I was able to keep myself on track by substituting some low calories sweets that I like. Still, every day is a challenge but not nearly as hard as at first. After 13 months of changed eating, it has become a "no arguing" with myself new normal.
YES COOKIEBELL, it will get easier IF you put in the hard work of retraining your mind and body to eat in a healthy manner, and if you commit yourself to making this a lifelong change.

Agree!

And yes, the beginning is hard, although most of us are bouyed along for a while by whatever strong motivation made us start.

Haven't tried maintaining yet, but for me, the hardest part, besides getting started is hitting the first big stall... in the past, I could always stick with something for a week or two, but as soon as the scale stopped moving down, or (gasp) bounced up, I was done.

I've been at this for more than a year and the good habits feel like habits now....

These days now are easier for me.....Im more in acceptance that some days Im the bug & some days Im the windshield.

I think all different phases of weight loss have easy and hard parts about them...here's how I see it, and my strategies for overcoming the pitfalls in all three phases. FWIW, the middle part, particularly my 6 month plateau, was the hardest for me.

At the beginning, you get lots of motivation from quick water losses, and you are doing things that are new and different, which is both exciting (good) and scary/difficult (bad). Changing habits and getting over previous food addictions is difficult. In this phase, I found it most helpful to focus on what was new and exciting, finding new recipes and ideas, doing new things, etc. This kept that good "newness" going as long as possible.

In the middle, you have some advantages and disadvantages as well. On the one hand, you've got habits developed, new skills, and you're getting better at the strategies that result in maintaining healthy habits. On the other hand, the losses slow down (or even STOP in a plateau), your routine is no longer exciting, and your losses might be falling short of your expectations. In this phase, I found it was most helpful to reward myself for good BEHAVIOR so I'd have something to work toward...I had an exercise chart, and got a sticker on it for every workout/OP day. Stickers added up to rewards for myself, which motivated me to keep going no matter what the scale was deciding to do (unlike some here, I DID plateau for 6 months or so, and this trick singlehandedly got me through).

At maintenance, you have the benefit of lots and lots of practice and routine. You most likely know how to order in a restaurant, turn down trigger foods, and plan your meals like a champ. You likely have an infrastructure in place for exercise, and you have the benefit of all of the knowledge you gained throughout your weight loss. On the other hand, the permanence of it (I'm doing this FOREVER) can get a little dull and bothersome, and you don't have ANY scale motivation to drive you to stick on plan. For me it's all about creating that newness/excitement again, just like at the beginning - I eat seasonally, try new foods constantly, make up new recipes, try new exercises, and push myself toward new goals (for example, a sub-30-min 5K, or heels on the mat in downward dog).

That's hilarious!!! so TOTALLY what is in my head. LoL

I would say re-starting is the hardest. You've already done so much to learn what you should be doing and then out of nowhere it seems that you've reverted to your old ways and are back to where you started. So when you RE-start you're doing the same things the last time. And.it.doesn't.work. Then what??? You have to take all that knowledge and almost go by trial and error to figure out what works this time around.

Maybe that's just my opinion because that's where I am right now and it is friggin hard! But I guess it's still considered to be a beginning so can look forward to it getting easier too. So to the OP, yes it does get easier! it better!