Quote:
Originally Posted by bluck
I don't necessarily disagree with them because obviously a lot of people who have had success losing weight do relapse and put it back on. I have only been alive for 25 years so I can't really attest to long term weight loss; however, if you do change your lifestyle, eat healthy, exercise and maintain that for the duration of your life then wouldn't you technically achieve your goal of keeping that weight off?
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Losing weight was super easy when I was under 30. If I felt like I needed to do it, it pretty much just happened, didn't even have to consciously think about it.
I'm only 36 now, but losing weight for longer times is super hard now, and I've started to notice the same happening to all my friends. Almost everyone is gaining weight. I'm not sure if I know anyone who has succesfully dieted him/herself to a significant longterm difference, or anyone who has approached it as a lifestyle change and succeeded.
The only thing I've seen work is people starting new physical hobbies. For example by wife went nuts over lindy hop (a dance) maybe 5 years ago and has been way fitter ever since. Others have taken up everything from historical fencing to scuba diving. I believe this actually serves a purpose beyond exercising; when you're really into what ever you're doing, it's pretty easy to just eat the minimum that you need to keep going.
It's also worth remembering that exercising is not equally easy for everyone.
For example, I have a combination of relatively minor physical issues which cause me to dehydrate more easily than average, and more importantly it takes ages for me to rehydrate. Basically it's easy for me to lose fluids way faster than I can take in. Which means that physical exercise for me is a time to constantly watch out for signs of getting dehydrated. And if I do get dehydrated, I get supersick. Like vomiting for 6-12 hours and not being able to do anything other than moan in agony.
Now, I don't
usually get dehydrated that much, especially since I've learned to pace myself and watch my fluid balance. But having to watch out for that just sucks a lot of fun out of physical exercise. And none of this stuff is something that you would know unless I specifically told you. Looking at me you'll just see someone who "never really throws himself into it". The stuff I've mentioned is complete non-issue otherwise. (As you can guess I'm also not much for extended outdoor trips in hot weather, but that's hardly rare either.)
I'm also envious of people who feel great after a physical exercise. I'm pretty much either ok or feeling sick, always have been like that. Even in my fitter days (and I used to be pretty fit at around 24) I've never gotten any kind of a "rush" or energy boost that a lot people say they get from sports.