6 ms·

Pro tip, you can lose weight for free with no drugs at all.

ralmidani 4y ago
I agree with you regarding the general population. I also hope we can agree that not everyone attains meaningful weight loss with just diet and exercise. The human body is incredibly complex, with a spectrum of natural compositions, metabolisms, etc. Your post dismissing these nuances risks being interpreted as “thin privilege” (my wife is a Dietitian and taught me the concept). For what it’s worth, I’m against treating drugs like this as a first line of defense against obesity; it should be seen as the last step before bariatric surgery, and only used under the direction of a competent and ethical health professional.
- fourseventy 4y ago
  I can't take anyone seriously who uses the phrase "thin privilege".
  - toofy 4y ago
    and many of us can’t take anyone seriously who dismisses nuance in one of the most incredibly complex topics which involve: biology, psychology, economics, etc… as you did in your original post.
bluedevilzn 4y ago
This is equivalent to saying, you don’t need a cure for AIDS. You can just avoid getting it by not having any sex. This is easier for some people but not a solution for the general population. Similarly, eating less is easier for some people while others are genetically or psychologically predisposed to eating more than they need.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  There's also an enjoyment asymmetry. I'm 6', 175 lb. If I were 5'2" and ate the same way I'd be fat. My structure gives me the ability to enjoy life more than a smaller person (at least tastewise), and if they eat exactly as much as I do I can tell them they lack self-discipline.
- fourseventy 4y ago
  No it's not. You can avoid getting fat by not overeating, but if you do end up getting fat you can cure it with diet and exercise. You can't cure AIDS.
  - rhinoceraptor 4y ago
    To a first approximation, losing weight isn't possible in the long term. There is enormous social pressure not to be fat. Yet the vast, overwhelming majority of people who try, cannot do it.
helpfulmandrill 4y ago
I did, but now I feel absolutely starving much of the time.
DangitBobby 4y ago
This is true, and I frankly don't believe anyone that says there are conditions which make weight loss impossible, since I've lost 90 pounds myself and kept it off by changing my diet and moderating calorie input, a grueling and on-going process. Regardless, I am very happy to see that there are effective weight-loss treatments that will be available soon, because losing weight is incredibly hard, and it's been shown definitively at this point that something is causing most Americans to be fat (not just Americans anymore either), it negatively impacts their lives, and for one reason or another they are unable to lose the weight without help.
pwinnski 4y ago
Pro tip, you (some percentage of you) can (for some definition of can) lose weight for free (your mileage may vary) with no drugs at all. The fact that these drugs exist and work demonstrates the hormonal link that decades of research has shown is there. Also, the prices of healthy food is much higher than the prices of unhealthy food thanks to subsidies and scale. But that's secondary to the fact that many people actually can't just "eat less" the way others can.
- fourseventy 4y ago
  I promise you that every human can lose weight for free. People absolutely can "just eat less" they just choose not to. Let me give you an example of something that humans really can't do. "Humans can't breathe unassisted underwater". See the difference?
  - pwinnski 4y ago
    I hope that your ignorance and attitude here is somehow restrained as you encounter people in life, and that you never find yourself facing any sort of medical issue or on any medicine that puts you behind a lifelong eight-ball. You could read about catabolism and metabolic suppression, or lupus, or lipedema, or just carry on, but please, don't be mean to people in real life.

I agree with you regarding the general population. I also hope we can agree that not everyone attains meaningful weight loss with just diet and exercise. The human body is incredibly complex, with a spectrum of natural compositions, metabolisms, etc. Your post dismissing these nuances risks being interpreted as “thin privilege” (my wife is a Dietitian and taught me the concept). For what it’s worth, I’m against treating drugs like this as a first line of defense against obesity; it should be seen as the last step before bariatric surgery, and only used under the direction of a competent and ethical health professional.

fourseventy 4y ago
I can't take anyone seriously who uses the phrase "thin privilege".
- toofy 4y ago
  and many of us can’t take anyone seriously who dismisses nuance in one of the most incredibly complex topics which involve: biology, psychology, economics, etc… as you did in your original post.

bluedevilzn 4y ago

This is equivalent to saying, you don’t need a cure for AIDS. You can just avoid getting it by not having any sex. This is easier for some people but not a solution for the general population. Similarly, eating less is easier for some people while others are genetically or psychologically predisposed to eating more than they need.

pessimizer 4y ago
There's also an enjoyment asymmetry. I'm 6', 175 lb. If I were 5'2" and ate the same way I'd be fat. My structure gives me the ability to enjoy life more than a smaller person (at least tastewise), and if they eat exactly as much as I do I can tell them they lack self-discipline.
fourseventy 4y ago
No it's not. You can avoid getting fat by not overeating, but if you do end up getting fat you can cure it with diet and exercise. You can't cure AIDS.
- rhinoceraptor 4y ago
  To a first approximation, losing weight isn't possible in the long term. There is enormous social pressure not to be fat. Yet the vast, overwhelming majority of people who try, cannot do it.

helpfulmandrill 4y ago

I did, but now I feel absolutely starving much of the time.

DangitBobby 4y ago

This is true, and I frankly don't believe anyone that says there are conditions which make weight loss impossible, since I've lost 90 pounds myself and kept it off by changing my diet and moderating calorie input, a grueling and on-going process. Regardless, I am very happy to see that there are effective weight-loss treatments that will be available soon, because losing weight is incredibly hard, and it's been shown definitively at this point that something is causing most Americans to be fat (not just Americans anymore either), it negatively impacts their lives, and for one reason or another they are unable to lose the weight without help.

pwinnski 4y ago

Pro tip, you (some percentage of you) can (for some definition of can) lose weight for free (your mileage may vary) with no drugs at all. The fact that these drugs exist and work demonstrates the hormonal link that decades of research has shown is there. Also, the prices of healthy food is much higher than the prices of unhealthy food thanks to subsidies and scale. But that's secondary to the fact that many people actually can't just "eat less" the way others can.

fourseventy 4y ago
I promise you that every human can lose weight for free. People absolutely can "just eat less" they just choose not to. Let me give you an example of something that humans really can't do. "Humans can't breathe unassisted underwater". See the difference?
- pwinnski 4y ago
  I hope that your ignorance and attitude here is somehow restrained as you encounter people in life, and that you never find yourself facing any sort of medical issue or on any medicine that puts you behind a lifelong eight-ball. You could read about catabolism and metabolic suppression, or lupus, or lipedema, or just carry on, but please, don't be mean to people in real life.