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> As a person who used to be fat and lost ~20kg over a few months by eating only 1 meal/day, I cannot symphatize with people who say they cant lose weight becau

> As a person who used to be fat and lost ~20kg over a few months by eating only 1 meal/day, I cannot symphatize with people who say they cant lose weight because of their genetics or whatever because you are supposed to feel hungry when losing weight. My own anecdote: I lost 68kgs naturally by sheer “willpower” in 12 months. My weight stayed stable for about 18 months and then I slowly started to regain weight despite maintaining my exercise regime, my appetite was becoming more and more difficult to regulate, and I’d regained about 10-15kg’s after 2.5years. I decided I wasn’t prepared to go back to my much more obese starting weight, and so I got a prescription for a GLP1. I feel much better, I still actually decide what foods I’m going to eat, but weirdly on this medication, I’ve got a preference for fresh fruit and vegetables, and lean cuts of meat. After my experience with weight loss, both “willpower” and substantial loss, a little regain and a GLP1 my anecdotal experience suggests to me that obesity is not a willpower issue, but rather a physiological issue with living in an environment that’s saturated with unhealthy food. If only 1 or 2 people were struggling with obesity then sure maybe it would be a them issue, but this issue effects so many people that it’s got to be something far deeper than there being some sort of moral failing of the individual suffering from obesity.

arcticbull 3y ago
> If only 1 or 2 people were struggling with obesity then sure maybe it would be a them issue, but this issue effects so many people that it’s got to be something far deeper than there being some sort of moral failing of the individual suffering from obesity. I don't understand why we just take anecdotes seriously in conversations about weight, in a way that we simply would not anywhere else. We have data about this. There's boatloads of studies over decades and decades. Obesity is genetic and epigenetic, and it's a chronic condition. Most people when exposed to an environment with lots of food/stress/etc will gain weight. Some will become obese. Some will not. Those that don't, will increase their energy expenditure and return to roughly normal in time. Those that become obese will not. [1] We know those who become obese have an insanely hard time losing the weight because when they try, their metabolism slows down and their hunger goes up well in excess of what would be expected based on their reduction in fat mass. As you were beginning to experience, substantially everyone who loses a clinically significant amount of weight will return to roughly where they started over a few years without meaningful intervention. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6226269/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6226269/

arcticbull 3y ago

> If only 1 or 2 people were struggling with obesity then sure maybe it would be a them issue, but this issue effects so many people that it’s got to be something far deeper than there being some sort of moral failing of the individual suffering from obesity. I don't understand why we just take anecdotes seriously in conversations about weight, in a way that we simply would not anywhere else. We have data about this. There's boatloads of studies over decades and decades. Obesity is genetic and epigenetic, and it's a chronic condition. Most people when exposed to an environment with lots of food/stress/etc will gain weight. Some will become obese. Some will not. Those that don't, will increase their energy expenditure and return to roughly normal in time. Those that become obese will not. [1] We know those who become obese have an insanely hard time losing the weight because when they try, their metabolism slows down and their hunger goes up well in excess of what would be expected based on their reduction in fat mass. As you were beginning to experience, substantially everyone who loses a clinically significant amount of weight will return to roughly where they started over a few years without meaningful intervention. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6226269/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6226269/