I mean…yes?
I get that this is supposed to be a joke, but, I don’t get the joke. This is literally how weight loss works.
Eat less.
Eat healthier.
Exercise.
Weight loss is hard because it’s hard to stick to it. But the concepts aren’t complicated. Caleries in minus caleries burned equals caleries stored as fat.
Less caleries means less unburned caleries means less fat.
As most things about the human body, it actually is more complicated. Caloric restriction also causes biological responses in our bodies, influencing hormones such as ghrelin and leptin which physiologically alter hunger and satiety. Some people can even be resistant to leptin for example, meaning that they struggle with a lack of satiety. Our bodies have also been shown to reduce their energy requirements by about 200 calories per day when intake is restricted.
So even if we disregard the problems the claim it’s just a matter of willpower, there are other, biological things to consider.
All this to say, it is undoubtedly good to have more fiber, around 1.2-1.6g protein per kg of bodyweight, 120minutes of excercise a week and strength training, or just whatever we can implement into our routines.
Oh, and one more thing, fatness isn’t a ubiquitous measure of healthiness or virtue, and thinness isn’t either. We have to challenge our assumptions and biases, a lot of which come from our cultures and media.
Today’s DietitianVol. 17 No. 7 P. 26 Brain and gut hormones impact eating behavior and weight loss efforts. Many people who have struggled to lose weight and keep it off suspect there’s more to it than simply eating less and resist the notion that failure is simply a matter of not trying hard enough. The
Oh, and one more thing, fatness isn’t a ubiquitous measure of healthiness or virtue, and thinness isn’t either. We have to challenge our assumptions and biases, a lot of which come from our cultures and media.
It kinda is… obesity is not healthy. Period. It’s bad for your joints, your organs, it’s a driver for cancers and other illnesses. The HAES movement is partially to blame for this massive spike in obesity we’re seeing. All of those links you post, are not causing the majority of people to be obese. The epidemic is not something that happened in the past, it’s quite recent.
I work in participation sports, and agree with OP. I’ve seen people running in a long distance triathlon (which means they’ve already swum and biked a long distance) who, if I saw them in a different context, I’d not have thought them fit. Usually women, not men. Fat and cardiovascularly fit >skinny and idle. And I’ve seen really strong fat guys, maybe that’s not as perfect as lean & strong but is it worse than thin and weak?
It’s not the usual arrangement (fit and fat) but skinny and unfit is pretty common.
I don’t make fitness assumptions anymore, about people within some range, obviously there is a point where this isn’t true. I haven’t ever been fat and do not think I’d be one of those people (if I am in shape it shows in my visual shape) but plump fit people do exist.
Thassodar