> That said, we are at a point where people are overweight enough that getting exercise has its own risks, and taking a medication that allows you to be more active is likely to cancel out some of those downsides.
And yet we rarely ask or say "maybe I should just eat fewer calories?" Unless you have some other disorder that prevents normal bodily function, that does work (and would be viable I'd imagine for the majority of people being prescribed).
But it requires patience and discipline which are basically non-existent for the majority of the population.
As someone who has been fat and not-fat throughout my life, I think literally everyone knows that it is simple to lose weight by eating fewer calories. That does not mean it is easy. If you are already fat, which can happen almost without you noticing by eating 200-300 calories too much a day over a year say, or as a result of some brain malfunction (both have happened to me), then eating the calorie deficit require to lose weight is mentally very hard to to.
As a thought experiment, imagine what you eat per day. Now halve it. Would you be having a good time?
I've been fat/not-fat my whole life too. I'm fat right now (working too much and not watching diet).
> That does not mean it is easy. If you are already fat, which can happen almost without you noticing by eating 200-300 calories too much a day over a year say, or as a result of some brain malfunction (both have happened to me), then eating the calorie deficit require to lose weight is mentally very hard to to.
You install an app. You honestly track what you eat. Set a goal for how many calories per day. Done.
I've intentionally set my calories at 1,300 per day. Low, yes, but I allow myself to eat over that to satiation. The end result is that I'm still in a deficit relative to my actual caloric needs (e.g., maybe I eat 300-500 extra calories and my daily total rounds out around 1600-1800), so I lose weight.
I've started eating less and tracking calories and I'm losing weight (I'm not even exercising—I sit most of the day programming). Nothing extreme, just a simple mental hack.
I've done this before to the tune of losing 70-80 pounds. Literally just tracking calories and not even really exercising beyond walking. I wasted years on different workouts and diets all just to come back to realizing "yeah if you just eat less calories (and increase your intake of whole foods, not boxed slop), you lose weight."
Much better choice than shooting up with pharma syrup that has god knows what in it that's a ticking time bomb.
And yet we rarely ask or say "maybe I should just eat fewer calories?" Unless you have some other disorder that prevents normal bodily function, that does work (and would be viable I'd imagine for the majority of people being prescribed).
But it requires patience and discipline which are basically non-existent for the majority of the population.