The real point is not that X does or doesn't work, but that weight gain/loss is complicated and personal. I lost ~40 pounds after I started running. My diet w

The real point is not that X does or doesn't work, but that weight gain/loss is complicated and personal. I lost ~40 pounds after I started running. My diet was essentially the same or maybe a bit worse - the "compensatory behavior" mentioned in the article. Do I expect running to have the same effect for everyone, and recommend it to everyone on that basis? Nope. It didn't even completely work that way for me. After I lost 40, I slowly gained back 10 before my weight seemed to stabilize. This time, definitely no change in diet. No idea why that happened. I could name a dozen friends who have had similarly "anomalous" experiences - both good and bad, with various approaches to weight loss. Turns out there's a lot going on in there, and not the same lot for everyone. Some studies have shown that gut flora have a large effect on weight gain/loss, so at least for some people the answer might be neither diet (as generally thought of) nor exercise but changing one's internal ecosystem. The good news is that biologists and medical researchers are beginning to untangle these factors, so in another ten years we might all have access to personalized weight control that actually works consistently.