[qnsi]

I think a lot of people can fast, but are never told to try this. Most people are recommended to eat 5 meals 300kcal each - and this is hard to do. Tell them to fast for 18h and eat in 6h window without calorie counting (but no shit food) and I would guess more people can do it.

[RPLong]

All that does is attach a ritual to the fasting process. People start to think that it's the ritual doing the work, but really it's the calorie restriction. Again and again, study after study proves that restricting calories to 700 calories reverses diabetes in obese people and in fact cures their obesity, too.

It's no surprise that people who put on 100+ pounds of extra weight once would tend to put on 100+ pounds of extra weight a second time. But it's silly to claim that there is an underlying medical reason it's happening.

The body gets used to whatever conditions you face. Human beings have thrived in the Arctic Circle, the North African deserts, and everywhere in between. Obese people have accustomed themselves to an obese lifestyle. If they can make a permanent break and embrace the lifestyle of a person with normal weight then they can stay skinny forever. In the end, most people just don't want to exercise 2+ times per day and limit their portion sizes. So they don't.