alt Hacker NewsIf you have an open mind, I'd like to assign you some homework if you like. Take a look around r/zepbound and count the following:
1. Posts from folks who diet+exercise, or who have tried diet/exercise and nothing's worked so they then turned to Zepbound ("excited to hit the gym," "my diet is finally starting to work with Zepbound" and similar)
2. Posts from folks who haven't tried diet/exercise and turned to Zepbound first. (e.g. "I'm excited to eat dessert and laze around on my couch all day!" or "Zep is so much easier than before, no more keto for me" and similar)
Which group do you think would have more posts?
Selection bias probably prevents us from being able to count "Zepbound didn't work for me, but diet and exercise did" posts, which is why i suggest this.
Here's my hypothesis: I think self-control is generally uncorrelated to losing weight. Perhaps it's necessary to have self-control to lose weight "the simple way," but certainly not sufficient. I know lots of friends who've struggled and found it's not so simple.
Replies
I'm not sure how this applies to my comment. I'm not saying anything about self control. I'm not against individuals taking GLP-1s. But, if we're at a point where we're all on drugs to treat lifestyle diseases, we should at least recognize that these lifestyles are largely chosen for us, and we should consider that doing something about that will reap us the benefits we're after.
The more important point the comment you're replying to makes is not "what if people could diet and exercise" - i.e. accept the modern American lifestyle as given, plus force yourself to go to the gym and eat chicken and broccoli - but rather that the modern American lifestyle in fundamentally structured to lead to people being overweight.
Instead of being forced to drive everywhere for the most basic possible human needs - like getting groceries, going to the doctor, or dropping kids off at school - as is the case in 90% of America - what if you could walk to those places instead? You would get exercise as part of your every day life, with no extra effort!
What if instead of corn syrup being so heavily subsidized, we could use more filling sweeteners in a lower amount instead? What if people lived closer to agriculture, instead of in faraway suburban tract housing only accessible by car, so they had easier access to fresh meat and vegetables, instead of ultraprocessed package food?
These dreams are not "diet and exercise", they are a fundamental reshaping of American lifestyle that would directly lead to weight loss. We know this, because America used to look like this before, say, 1940. In old photos you see people in huge crowds in streets as they walked to their everyday errands, and menus and recipes of the era are mostly minimally processed food that is mostly local. Americans of the past were not overweight, because the way society arranged its physical existence didn't permit it!
The people in #1 won’t express it that way.
I was that guy. For a variety of reasons that aren’t relevant i developed insulin resistance over a relatively short time that made it increasingly difficult to lose weight. I’m in my mid 40s, which also makes it difficult.
I got on one of the GLP drugs 18 months ago. I am down 80 pounds, and am running 20 miles a week. I’ll be doing a half marathon in March. Ive dropped the dose twice and still going strong.
Taking the pill made exercise possible. Online everyone likes to apply a moral hazard thing to every discussion. GLP medication twiddled my dopamine system and allowed me to achieve my goals. Period. If you think that makes me weak, I cannot think of anything that I care less about.
> Perhaps it's necessary to have self-control to lose weight > it's not so simple.
Presumably people who have good self control and are not prone to developing addictions (due genetic or various semi-immutable cause) do not become obese in the first place. It might be fairly easy easy for them to lose weight they just don't need.
> I think self-control is generally uncorrelated to losing weight
Choosing to eat fewer processed foods is very effective but does not require that much self-control since appetite will fall automatically.
But don't you think that it's better to make the changes to prevent obesity rather than focus so much on a cure for after?
I don't have a problem with a cure only if it doesn't reduce the focus and effort on prevention.
There has to be a reason why so many more people are obese today than decades ago. I refuse to believe we can't find out why and make changes to reverse it.
But if it's so easy to cure, will enough people care about figuring out how to prevent it?
I’m not obese, just before (1m75 / 82kg) but I have found self control impossible, except when I do intense sports (like musculation 3-6 times a week). Then only, and this is the magic part, I not only eat less, but also enjoy being more brave, with cold showers, being hungry, going to bed early and other efforts in life.
My hypothesis: this is more cultural than people want to admit. Try to skip out on too many engagements, sorry, meals and see how many connections you still have.
Not saying you're wrong but maybe group 2 is too lazy to open their browser and post their experience?
counter hypothesis - the amount of self control exhibited by an average human is insufficient to self regulate when placed into a hyper enriched environment , for example the capitalistic profferings of junk food tv porn etc , we did not evolve around these hyper stimulatory activities, how on earth are we meant to adapt to them? drugs are not an answer, they are another bandaid making someone else money and allowing the underlying wounds to fester, the solution is education and awareness of this fucked up situation
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GP isn't talking about self-control, they're talking about the fact we've created a system that requires obscene amounts of self-control if you wish to maintain physical health.
People in the 50s weren't slimmer because they had ironclad determination to stay such.