Self control is the best way. But Ozempic and similar are a solid second best. To reduce Federal & state outlays for the obese and the diabetic. I am a bottom line guy. Get Americans healthier, whatever way that is effective. Enough with the self-centered, self control lectures!
Another voice in a growing choir!
As I have shared, ad nauseum, my doctors cannot figure out what is up with my weight.
I recently went through ANOTHER period of strict calorie control, pared with specific exercise goals, that should have resulted in me losing AT LEAST two pounds a week. No cheating. My wife monitored me (I have a witness!).
After a month I had lost about a pound and a half.
For some reason I burn only about 50 to 60 percent of the calories of a normal person. I have low heart rate, low body temperature, normal to low blood pressure.
Unfortunately, the next step is a FULL endocrine work up which insurance doesn't cover and would cost me about $10K.
For the "eat less, exercise more" Nazis...that isn't ALWAYS the cure. Sure, there are overweight people who eat like pigs, but not ALL overweight people eat like pigs and there are more and more being diagnosed every day.
In my observation the problem is less “self-control” but a combination of marketing mania and corrupt government agencies acting in concert with corrupt mega-corporations.
Once upon a time supermarkets would actually run TV ads involving staple foods. Now it’s snacks and processed food ads run by the manufacturers.
Meanwhile the standards for something as simple as oatmeal or bread are hideous. (one example: https://foodbabe.com/quaker-oatmeal-ingredients-changed-because-of-you-food-babe-army-strikes-again/)
Thirdly, all this garbage food is available to the people with the track record of making the worst life decisions or otherwise in a bad spot (those on welfare). We pay to make people unhealthy. I noticed the tracking of obesity rates only went back to 2013. This puts it more in context: https://www.fns.usda.gov/yearly-trends — Obama doubled the rate of people on SNAP.
And so, without even suggesting that one hand is shaking the other, the pharma industry is right there to offer treatments (not cures) for all the things caused by the bad food we can hardly avoid. And yes, the exercise industry loves this too. Don’t just do stuff, go buy the latest thing to sit in the corner, or the membership at the place you never go.