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The diet works. Their habits are a different matter. There is no such thing as "body desperately wanting to return to an old weight." Most people who screw u

• Houshalter 12y ago
  It has nothing to do with habits. Diets almost always fail, and those on them almost always return to their previous weights. Far more than can be explained by "habits". Obese people who go on diets have the metabolisms of starving people. While on a diet they burn 24% fewer calories per square meter than a normal person. In experiments normal people forced to eat huge amounts of calories gain weight. But as soon as the experiment stops they quickly return to the previous weight. During the experiment their metabolisms increase by 50 percent, and they need far more calories to maintain the weight. "The body’s metabolism speeds up or slows down to keep weight within a narrow range. Gain weight and the metabolism can as much as double; lose weight and it can slow to half its original speed." Also it's really easy to test if something is genetic. Just look at identical twins. Twins have the same weights even when raised in entirely different environments. "Weight is more strongly inherited than nearly any other condition, including mental illness, breast cancer or heart disease." Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/health/08fat.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/health/08fat.html?pagewant...