Am I the only one who struggled badly with Python for loops?
Posted by ALONE_BOY77@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 16 comments
I never thought "for" loops in Python would mentally break me this much.
I started learning programming because I genuinely fell in love with the idea of building things and understanding how software works. But now I’m stuck at one of the most basic topics and it’s destroying my motivation.
The weird part is that when I watch Python tutorials, everyone in the comments says things like:
“Programming is so fun 🔥”
“This is easy”
“I learned this in one day”
Meanwhile I’m sitting here replaying the same "for" loop explanations over and over feeling completely stupid.
I’m not lazy. I’m trying.
But my brain just freezes when I try to understand loops deeply or use them by myself.
Did anyone else go through this stage?
How long did it take before loops finally clicked for you?
I honestly don’t want to quit programming because I love it more than anything else I’ve tried learning. But right now I feel alone and mentally exhausted.
ryancnap@reddit
Which part exactly are you having trouble with? And do you think it's syntax or concept throwing you off?
I think we all probably have our own weird thing that we struggled too long with, for you it's loops, just gotta practice more on it
ALONE_BOY77@reddit (OP)
I think it’s more the concept than the syntax. Like I understand that loops repeat, but my brain gets confused about things like "i + 1" or how the variable keeps changing each iteration.
For example, when I see something like:
for i in range(5): print(i + 1)
I start overthinking what exactly is happening behind the scenes and why we add "+1" there 😭
I think I’m struggling to mentally trace the process step-by-step while the loop is running.
ryancnap@reddit
Don't step by step it, just take a couple paces back until you can from the abstraction. If you can envision the first and second iteration that's as far as you need to envision, the pattern won't change
for item in range(5):meaning we will loop once for every single item in a list of 5 items...item 0, item 1, item 2, etcprint (item + 1)so we're going to print whatever item we happen to be on between 0 and 4The only reason we're adding 1 to the print statement is because range(5) is 0-indexed, ie the first iteration of your loop will actually be 0, the second iteration will be 1
So they're adding one to make the output be
1, 2, 3, 4, 5instead of0, 1, 2, 3, 4THEKHANH1@reddit
Then just write it down on paper, do it mentally later at i = 0, it becomes print(0+1) at i = 1, it becomes pint(1+1) .....
So you will get this as the output 1 2 3 4 5
TrinitronX@reddit
If you mean list comprehension syntax (e.g.
[x for x in range(10)]), then yeah that syntax can be hard to fully grok for a while, especially coming from other programming languages to Python. Adding extra pythonic stuff to that syntax can be powerful but also confusing.The standard for loop syntax is pretty simple to understand however:
ALONE_BOY77@reddit (OP)
Yeah, the normal "for" loop syntax makes more sense to me than list comprehensions right now 😭
But one thing that still confuses me is when people add stuff like "i + 1" inside loops. My brain struggles to understand what exactly is changing each iteration and why adding "+1" changes the output the way it does.
I think that’s the exact point where my understanding breaks.
Imakadapost@reddit
Hey I think this is pretty normal. I still have to walk through my loops if I do something heavy or get unexpected results. This is what I call sheet of paper time. Get some paper and write out your loop so you can see what's going on.
Your for either counts through a range or iterates over an array or series of items. It loads the first number or item into the variable then runs your code. After the code is done it updates the variable and runs code again. Rinse, repeat, finish.
It'll take time but you'll get it with repetition.
ALONE_BOY77@reddit (OP)
“Sheet of paper time” honestly describes exactly where I’m at right now 😭
Your explanation actually helped because I think I’ve been trying to understand loops as one big thing instead of seeing them as: load value → run code → update value → repeat.
I’m starting to realize I need to slow down and manually trace each iteration instead of expecting my brain to instantly visualize everything.
Levi_CC_@reddit
Não ironicamente, eu tenho mais facilidade para entender loops em C, que em Python. Parece magia demais
Levi_CC_@reddit
Não ironicamente, eu tenho mais facilidade para entender loops em C, que em Python. Parece magia demais
Any-Cardiologist1641@reddit
In loops you first have to solve simple questions and try to write the backend process how the loops work in the code. Writing the process of code in detail will help you to imagine how code worked.
ALONE_BOY77@reddit (OP)
That actually makes sense. I think my biggest problem is trying to understand the whole loop at once instead of tracing each iteration slowly. I’m going to start writing the process on paper and practice with smaller problems first. Thanks 🙏
Beneficial-Panda-640@reddit
You’re definitely not alone. Loops are one of those concepts that seem simple once they click, so people forget how confusing they felt at first. What helped me was stopping the tutorials and manually tracing each iteration on paper like “what is the variable right now?” over and over until my brain stopped treating it like magic.
Unlikely_Studio_5115@reddit
took me weeks tbh
malaszka@reddit
"I honestly don’t want to quit programming" --- if for loops do this to you, the maybe you should.
ALONE_BOY77@reddit (OP)
If struggling with "for" loops means someone should quit programming, then half the developer community would’ve disappeared in week one 🙂