FFP (former fat person) here. Lost 120/130 lbs over the course of a year and a half or so. I went from 315 to 185/190. In my opinion, it just takes willpower and the desire to change. I did it without surgery and just by changing my diet and exercising. I now eat more volume wise than I did when I was 315 pounds. I also do distance running which helps and do weight training 3 or 4 times per week but in my opinion, it’s 100% a mental game of reprogramming yourself to actually eat well.
If people would just stop eating shitty fast food, cooked at home 90% of the time, and walked half an hour a day, a lot of people would actually lose weight. A huge problem, in my opinion, is the media and publicity of dieting to lose weight. A diet is a short term fix to a long-term problem because it has a finite beginning and end. Losing weight and keeping it off is a life-style change. I’m continuously mystified by the studies that come out that says Americans eat fast food on average 6 times per week or whatever the number is. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had fast food. The amount of money that Americans spend on eating out is such a waste. It’s not just fast food either. All of the restaurants that Americans eat at have portion sizes that are way too large, cook everything in butter or peanut oil, and we eat it all because we were trained to by our parents (clean your plate or you can’t leave the table!) Americans are too lazy, too “busy”, and aren’t incentivized to lose weight and be healthy. It’s easier to just go through the drive-thru which is a fucking problem.
If I had a dime for every time I heard a fat person say “I’ve tried dieting…it just doesn’t work for me!”, I’d be a fucking thousandaire. No shit, thanks mainstream media. It’s not a fucking diet. It’s a lifestyle change. I’m busy as shit, travel for work, have a kid in little league, run a half marathon damn near every weekend, and STILL have the time to meal prep every other fucking workday. When I travel for work, do I eat out 3 meals a day? No, I go to the grocery store on my way to the hotel and get healthy food for breakfast and dinner. It’s a fucking choice to be healthy. It’s a hell of a lot easier to be fat and lazy because of the fast food giants lobbying their way into Congress.
Eat eggs, oatmeal, chicken, rice, avocados, leaner cuts of beef, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Stop eating processed foods with sugar added and stop drinking fucking calories. Fuck Coca-cola.
Sorry for the rant.