[nradov]

The common theme for many people who succeed in losing weight and keeping it off through making a sustained lifestyle change seems to be some form of "hitting bottom" experience. Sort of like the experience that some drug addicts go through before getting sober (although food isn't really addictive in the same way). For some it's a health scare like a heart attack or diabetes diagnosis. For others it's an embarrassing social incident like being unable to fit into an airline seat.

But that's all anecdotal. It wouldn't be practical to codify "hitting bottom" experiences in a clinical study since they're so individualized.

[ImaCake]

>although food isn't really addictive in the same way

While broadly true, specific things such as sugar seem to be addictive in similar ways to drugs.