[evantbyrne]

Sure some of the weight in those first ten days might have been water, but it stayed off. Possibly because my diet didn't immediately revert to pre-cut levels but it's hard to say given it didn't go back up and I wasn't exactly suffering. A 1000 calorie deficit over a month would still cut 8lbs. No problem for an overweight man who is likely eating well in excess of 3000 calories. The point is that major interventions aren't really necessary for that level of weight loss, and imo practicing the self-control needed to lose 10lbs should be beneficial to pretty much anyone. Let me put it this way: it should be way harder for a couch potato to train for a 5k run than to lose 10lbs on a cut.

[prepend]

> The point is that major interventions aren't really necessary for that level of weight loss

It’s about effective interventions. Obviously major interventions are needed as there is a huge amount of obese and overweight in the US and many other methods have been attempted.

It’s not about theoretically possible (ie, a bodybuilder can do it) but effective population interventions that result in people successfully losing weight.

Think about people going to medical school and becoming a doctor. It’s obviously possible but if you said the solution to income inequality was for everyone to go to medical school and be doctors that would not be a very effective intervention.

Not being obese is not being wealthy. It’s simple what to do, but difficult to stick to a successful plan.

[evantbyrne]

Maybe if messaging wasn't so absurd then people would feel more empowered? Losing weight is as simple as counting calories and cutting some of them. This isn't just theory. But every time the topic comes up I see the comments dominated by discussion about diet and lifestyle optimizations. People really don't have to change their whole lives at once to make noticeable improvements. Most of the advice I see on weight loss feels more like coping or even trying to sell people things rather than actionable advice.

[prepend]

Just like being rich is just hard work. And not being depressed is just thinking happy thoughts.

Etc etc

Life is full of things that are supposedly easy, but yet people don’t do them. I think it’s reductive to just stick with ineffectual interventions that aren’t being used because they seem simple and people should just adjust.

[evantbyrne]

There are multiple "1st world" societies where obesity rates are below 10% and many more near those levels. The United States is above 40%. It is an absurd perspective to believe any amount of weight loss is unattainable for the general population through natural means. We need to have a bit more faith in our abilities.

[prepend]

Feel free to suggest something more effective than ozempic.

Saying “Japan (4.5%) can do it so Germany (19%) should stop being so fat” isn’t very helpful. [0]

The goal is to reduce obesity. It’s not like we can’t also attempt systemic changes while also using ozempic.

If you’re saying we shouldn’t use ozempic because other methods should work (but haven’t in many countries), then that’s a pretty simplistic argument. And one that will likely result in greater obesity and societal harm.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_obesity_r...

[evantbyrne]

To be clear, I'm not against people medicating for severe cases. Calorie counting does work for billions of people alive today though. It works so well most people never even have to do any real measurements. You're either starting from a false premise by declaring that it "doesn't work" or using a very lax definition of what it means to try. I'm assuming the latter is what you mean, because that makes the most sense. The point I'm trying to make is you would be hard pressed to find someone who actually followed through with measuring their food intake honestly, cut 500+ calories out of it, and still managed to not lose weight over an extended period of time.

One of the reasons I referenced other countries was because it provides very strong evidence that culture is a factor. In America, we presently have a culture of telling ourselves that it's really hard to keep excessive amounts of weight off. We betray ourselves every time we tell that lie.