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More on Lessons from Personal Diets and the Obesity Epidemic
“Are you on a diet?” This question is pregnant with expectation, moral judgment, and the rest that comes from a multi-billion industry. People ask because I lost over fifty pounds. This is nothing to sneeze at. And so far, I can maintain it. I write so far because I know the odds are against me, and it is biology, not lack of willpower. Statistically maintaining weight after weight loss is a numbers game, and those are not in my favor. To be honest, it’s about five percent of those who lose weight who keep it off.
Why?
It is not falling off the wagon. It is not the sweet table calling me. It is not a lack of willpower. It is biology. As you lose weight your body goes, are we in starvation? Are we having issues finding enough calories? And that is a product of millions of years of evolution. When food was available, we gorged ourselves, when there were lean times those reserves were there to carry you through.
We live in a society with food available 24/7/365 and most of it is super processed. The standard American Diet is processed, and it is super concentrated in the calorie department. This is a social aspect that also comes with people who have no time to cook, and we also know food desserts exist, which makes it far easier to grab a burger from the drive-through on the way home.