I worded that poorly and deleted a paragraph below it since it maybe was wandering into places I didn’t want it to.
Reading on the topic of self control and personal discipline, and talking with friends with phds on the subject of addiction medicine changed my mind and perspective on it. I can white knuckle pretty much anything - so can most people if properly motivated. I no longer find that interesting or a point of pride.
When you look into addiction at a deeper level you find people who are sober from their drug of choice, but utterly miserable. This is similar to your description of having to lose and maintain weight through self control. The “it sucks” part. I no longer feel it needs to suck, just like a former alcoholic will tell you how it’s relatively easy to be sober but miserable. The hard part is figuring out how to do it while being happy and not constantly in a battle with yourself. I see what you describe as someone who avoids alcohol by not visiting establishments that serve it and keeping it out of the house.
What I realized is that I don’t need to do that with food - there is help available. I’m now like the former alcoholic that can be around booze without a single thought of taking a sip. It’s an entirely different life experience and I’m not miserable or using a portion of my brain to remain in control.
I have done it both ways and the GLP-1s effectively saved my life. Not literally - but it’s now a life worth living vs just surviving.
I firmly believe these drugs will be as society changing as antibiotics were.
Sure, I'm proud of being able to do it. But it's not an ego/pride thing this in this conversation. I don't know how to say this politely, but I think it's dangerous when our own failures warp our world view with regards to possibilities and truth. "I couldn't do it, so it's impossible" Well maybe? But maybe not.
And you're right. I've had to make lifestyle changes where I avoid certain venues. I don't have fast food. I've had chips maybe a handful of times in the past several years. You can call it a battle, but I wouldn't say I'm miserable on a daily basis. I just got used to it.
Using drugs to improve your quality of life is incredibly valuable. At the same time, I still believe that lifelong dependence to drugs should be avoided. I anticipate negative societal and psychological outcomes in the future. But I have to run.