“I have noticed is that it is very easy to deny ourselves things  IN THE FUTURE
- we can all promise to have no treats - next week or tomorrow.
But change happens RIGHT NOW.
There is no magic clean slate that happens when … you start Day 1 of a new Diet…
The truth is that it is all one life and that each action you take right now
will affect the next set of results you receive.“

This is a Wise quote from a regular member of a forum which I frequently visit. 

                             
It's hard not to binge on delicious food. For more about that experience, go to the bottom of the page, and Watch an entertaining video at the end of this article.

However, that is NOT the ONLY reason why weight-loss is hard.  I've been reading about "Adaptive Thermogenesis" .  Physical systems (like machines) stay the same.  Biological systems (like humans) adapt.

Weight-loss and maintenance have less to do with motivation and will-power than most people think. In fact it has far more to do with how your body adjusts to, and is capable of, resisting a calorie deficit. Putting less fuel in the tank of one's car will always cause the car to drive a shorter distance.  However, the human body adapts to less fuel ....meaning eating fewer calories.... by becoming more ‘efficient’ and running the same distance on less fuel than before. That is the big difference between simple physics and biology

For a better understanding of the issue of energy-in/energy-out, read my Summaries of what Gary Taubes has to say about it. 
WWGF - Chapter 6 Thermodynamics for Dummies, Part 1
and Chapter 7 Thermodynamics for Dummies, Part 2.

Here is a great article by Dr. Arya Sharma M.D. on this issue:

The Role of Adaptive Thermogenesis in Resistance to Weight Loss

No intentional weight loser continues to lose weight till she disappears.

Sooner or later every diet, every medication, or every type of bariatric surgery will result in a weight loss ‘plateau’ (better referred to as a ‘floor’) - a weight, beyond which losing even more weight (and keeping it off) becomes an almost ’super-human’ feat.

However, there is considerable variation in how much weight people can lose and keep off. Although the average sustainable weight loss with ‘eat-less-move-more’ (ELMM) approaches is about 3-5% of initial weight, some folks manage to lose considerably more, while others struggle to even simply stop gaining weight.

This has less to do with motivation or will-power than most people think.
In fact, it has far more to do with how your body adjusts to and is capable of resisting a calorie deficit.

While putting less fuel in the tank of your car will consistently decrease the distance that you can drive, our bodies adapt to less fuel (i.e. eating fewer calories) by becoming more ‘efficient’ and running the same distance on less fuel than before. That is the big difference between simple physics and biology.

Biological systems adapt - physical systems (like your car) stay the same.

In the case of huma...

Here at DietHobby, I share my own experiences and opinions as I work to maintain a very large weight-loss. I am now in the 7th year of maintaining at normal weight after spending much of my lifetime in morbid obesity.  Those who are interested can see more details in the ABOUT ME section under RESOURCES.  Recently I posted detailed records of my average food intake together with a summary of my weights during those periods. See Records: My Past 8 years. 

One of the things I've personally discovered from my own experience is that weight maintenance is very difficult, and it takes an enormous amount of ongoing, consistent effort.   When I first reached my goal weight, I had some vague idea from things I'd read, that the first 5 years of maintenance were the most difficult, and if and when I could achieve that point, it would become much easier. 

In my own case, I have discovered this not to be true.  Even though the first couple of maintenance years were difficult, the subsequent years became MORE difficult.  Maintenance did not become easier after 5 years, and I can honestly say that here in my 7th year, maintenance is more difficult than it has ever been. 

My detailed records confirm my subjective experience that .... not only do I need to eat fewer calories than the BMR or RMR charts indicate to maintain the same weight, ..... but, when I raise my daily average calorie intake ... even slightly for a brief time, or for a lengthy time period... I gain weight.  However, for the time period of the past 3 to 5 years, I've discovered that decreasing that average calorie intake to the same extent, does not cause a corresponding weight-loss. 

As an example.... if we use conventional wisdom, and assume that an excess or deficit of 3500 calories = a 1 lb fat loss....my detailed daily food-intake and weight records indicate that during the past 3 to 5 years,  if I eat an excess of 3500 calories I will definitely gain 1 lb fat, however, when I eat a deficit of 3500 calories I will NOT lose 1 fat lb.  In actuality, the 3500 calorie calculation appears to no longer be applicable to my body.  Water weight aside, and referring to fat weight only, it appears that it takes far less excess calories for me to gain 1 fat lb, and that it takes a far greater calorie deficit for me to lose 1 fat lb.  During the past 5 years, I've run many personal experiments testing this particular issue (even using different micronutrients), and each time, my results have confirmed this to be true for my own individual body.
Not only is this a frustrating condition, it is one that almost no medical professional addresses.   Probably, this is reasonable, because there is no actual scientific research on f...

Sometimes, here on DietHobby,  
I choose to share videos that I find personally amusing.

Here's an "infomercial"  that is twisted, horrifically offensive, totally inappropriate,
............. and yet hilarious.

It made me laugh, and maybe that's good enough for today.
If you aren't easily offended, and want a chuckle,
click to expand this article and watch the video "Naptime"  just below.

  
In general, today’s society seems to think that Running, or Athleticism is a positive goal for everyone. This opinion tends to support its prejudice against obesity in general. Sometimes I am amazed at the depth of such prejudice, along with the overwhelming acceptance of the biased misinformation that accompanies it.

Many obese people are quite healthy, and they live active, functional, and fulfilling lives. An Obese person is not necessarily an Unhealthy person, and being obese is not a direct cause of either disease or ill-health.

Even though there are many studies that have found that any correlation between being Obese and being Unhealthy is merely an ASSOCIATION, many people, including those in the medical profession, wrongly believe that the mere state of being Obese is Unhealthy and that being Obese is the CAUSE of disease. Nowadays, there are even people who say it obesity causes diseases which no one has discovered either the cause or the cure… such as Cancer and Alzheimers.

I am in agreement with this recent article by Dr. David Katz which is quoted below:

I have now been interviewed several times about those Nike "find your greatness" ads we all saw during the Olympics,… in particular, about the ad that shows an obese boy running down a dirt road.

Personally, I think Nike may have meant well, but went down the wrong road.

We may reasonably commend Nike for good intentions. Of course, an athletic-ware company implying that we can all find greatness, but should do so along a course through some kind of athletic activity -- for which they, presumably, stand prepared to provide wardrobe and accessories -- may not be the purest form of altruism we've ever seen. Still, let's give Nike the benefit of that doubt, and say thank you for the concept.

For the execution, not so much.

The ad in question, suggesting that this obese boy is pursuing greatness as he runs down the road -- is presumably intended to remedy obesity bias. But it seems to me it may be propagating it. Obesity is not a barrier to greatness of many varieties. But it certainly is a barrier to great distance running.

I am concerned that the ad suggests that something for which obesity is a genuine barrier -- athletic prowess -- is what greatness is all about. This, of course, is near-sighted nonsense. I don't know for sure, but I bet Sir Isaac Newton did a truly lousy butterfly. I can't see Mother Teresa in the synchronized swim. And I bet Mozart wasn't much of a hurdler.

The boy in the ad, Nathan, made running look every bit as wretched as David Rudisha and Mo Farah made it look inspiring. If we pretend we saw greatness, or even the potential for it, in this ad, we may be buying into Nike's version of the Emperor's New Clothes.

The message that obesity is no barrier to greatness is both a good and important message. But did this poor boy running, looking like he was about to pass out or throw up (as, apparently, he act...