5 reasons why losing weight is torture

Lose weight, feel great. How often have you heard or read that?

There’s no escaping the message that “losing weight will make you happy,” but some people will tell you it’s torture.

Losing weight isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. There are downsides to weight loss such as:

1. The food

There’s no getting around it. Nobody can lose weight without changing eating habits. One of those habits is your actual food choices. You see it on your Facebook feeds.

  • 5 foods to never eat for weight loss
  • eat/drink this every day to burn belly fat

Your favorite foods are on the 5 foods to never eat, and the belly fat burning foods look and taste like something that belongs in a bowl – a toilet bowl that is. It’s just not great, or maybe even worth losing weight if eating unpalatable food is the only way to do it. Eating yucky food is torture.

2. Lose weight; never feel full again

My hungry face and I don't think this little hard candy is going to fill me up!

My hungry face and I don’t think this little hard candy is going to fill me up!

Losing weight means reducing calories. It absolutely does. You aren’t going to lose weight unless you eat less. Sometimes you will feel very hungry but if you want to stick to your diet, you can’t. So what do you do? You go hungry. A common weight loss mantra is, “put down the fork and step away from the table.” Great advice when you have eaten enough to feel satisfied – or full – but it’s usually applied before satisfaction occurs. Feeling hungry all the time and never eating enough in one meal to be satisfied is torture.

3. Lose weight; live with guilt

My guilty face. I’ve been caught eating a peppermint candy. Oh the shame of it all.

We hear a lot about how weight loss takes self-discipline and willpower. Self-discipline and willpower are okay, but guilt isn’t. Some losers are absolutely overcome with guilt anytime they make the smallest stray from their very rigid food and exercise plan. Even though no damage may be done by a little stray from time to time, some losers absolutely beat themselves up with guilt. Being consumed by guilt is torture.

4. Lose weight; live in pain

Exercise is good, but if you want to lose weight you got to work out until it hurts. We all know that unless there's pain, there's no progress.

Exercise is good, but if you want to lose weight you got to work out until it hurts. We all know that unless there’s pain, there’s no progress.

The standard weight loss formula is “eat less/move more.” The move more part of the formula is especially useful when it comes to maintaining a loss. Moving more for some losers means many painful hours at the gym. The pain can be from pushing too hard or lack of guidance. The gym can be a dangerous place for somebody who is unaccustomed to using the equipment and who doesn’t seek the help of a qualified expert. Constant pain from overexertion is torture.

5. Lose weight; live in fear

Time to get weighed in and tortured over what eating that piece of cake will do to the number on the scale.

Time to get weighed in and tortured over what eating that piece of cake will do to the number on the scale.

Losing weight means there’s always the risk of gaining it back. There are many people who not only gain back all that was lost, but end up heavier than when they started. The bogus statistic that “99% of all people who lose weight will gain it back,” only feeds the fear. Losing weight is great, but constantly worrying about how much is lost or worse, a gain is torture.

 Weight loss can be great

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Losing weight and maintaining a loss doesn’t have to be torture. The good news is weight loss doesn’t have to be torture. The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) has discovered that people who have successfully lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year report the contrary. They say their lives are better as a result of the changes they’ve made to enable their success.

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It’s true, you can eat food you like; you can eat every food you like. You can eat until you’re satisfied. You can replace guilt with confidence. Exercise doesn’t have to hurt to work. It can even be fun or productive. Playing and household chores are two forms of effective exercise. When losing weight isn’t torture, there’s no reason to fear you’ll gain back the weight. Your weight is maintained because your strategies to lose weight have become habits that feel good, no great.

Jackie Conn

About Jackie Conn

Jackie Conn is married and has four grown daughters and four grandchildren. She is a Weight Watchers success story. She's a weight loss expert with 25 years of experience guiding women and men to their weight-related goals. Her articles on weight management have been published in health, family and women's magazines. She has been a regular guest on Channel 5 WABI news, FOX network morning program Good Day Maine and 207 on WCSH.