It feels like that a lot of people use exercise (and diets for that matter) as a kind of self-flagellation, working off the guilt of eating "bad". But do people

It feels like that a lot of people use exercise (and diets for that matter) as a kind of self-flagellation, working off the guilt of eating "bad". But do people really want to live in guilt like that? Is that what motivates them? Thing is, I'm healthier now that I don't feel guilty about what I eat, and also don't feel like snacking / "cheating" nearly as much. A lot of people don't eat normal, they have no healthy baseline; they don't eat regularly, they eat reactively to "I am hungry" or "Oh shit I need to figure out something for dinner". This is especially an issue in the US where it seems that eating takeout is the norm (and what you have is decided on the spot instead of planned in advance), but please correct me if I'm wrong. This takeout culture is also growing in Europe, especially with apps and services that make it easier to just reach for it. For a good period we ended up having takeout once a week, often reactively / last minute, and it's nowhere near the healthiest choice (but a chips, cheese, kebab, sauce and salad lasagna is so good)