The truth is that many people are metabolically imbalanced or diseased and will not respond the way a young otherwise healthy man does to caloric restriction. Calories in, calories out is certainly true because we know the laws of thermodynamics are obeyed by the human body. However, there are all sorts of subtleties here. For instance, one person might not absorb all the food they're eating and may shit out much more viable calories than another person. Further, we know that hormones play a dramatic role. Look at pubescent boys versus pubescent girls. In both cases, caloric intake goes up (it also doesn't go up consciously, the kids are signalled to eat more by their bodies and are nearly helpless to do otherwise) but what is done with the excess calories is different in boys versus girls due to hormonal influence. In boys, the majority of excess calories goes into creating more lean tissue whereas in girls it is much more balanced between lean tissue and fat growth and the fat distribution is not the same as boys. Hormones are an important factor in weightloss and weight gain and should be considered.
This is just my long-winded way of saying: yes, simple caloric restriction works for many people, but among many people with hormonal and metabolic problems, caloric restriction is much more likely to result in needless suffering and poor results. If the conversation focuses solely on simple caloric restriction, then these people who likely make up the majority of obese people will likely never get the information they need to find strategies that work for them.
I don't disagree with that statement, no one can, but is it useful, actionable and helpful?
As a lifelong obese person, I disagree immensely that any of those things work. I have been asking doctors for years if they have any success stories of any of those things "working" for longer than 1 year and I have found none.
How should I contact you? There's no info in your profile. Thanks.
I have been successfully managing my weight for the last 8 years.
Do you mean I'm wasting their time because it's not their responsibility to know if they have had successes? Or because it's my fault for eating too much when I could decide not to?
I'm honestly asking this, please don't take this as an attack. I am very curious as to your thoughts about doctors.
I'm generally asking because I am hopeful that they provide me with a motivation to believe that someone else has done what they're asking me to do.
Similar to an alcoholic finding comfort in Alcoholics Anonymous, I would love to find someone who has been lifelong obese who has shed the pounds for more than a year.
Do you mean that it is wasting a doctors time because they don't owe me motivation? I am talking about my obesity specialists. They are giving me diets and exercise plans that I am doing. I don't feel like I am not trying.
Do you mean that I am not trying because I am not successful?
With respect to doctors and motivation though, do you think that I should not ask them for success stories?
I understand that you're saying that the doctor can't do anything if I'm so lazy that I find excuses all the time, but I don't feel like I have ever given a doctor an excuse. I feel like doctors give me excuses constantly about their success rates.
From my perspective, if they give the same advice to 100,000 people and of them they have 0 successful treatments by their own data, I'm going to assume I should find other advice
Do you know anyone lifelong obese that has had a year or more of losing weight?
Now, is calorie restriction the OPTIMAL diet? Maybe not, but half the problem with weight loss is that people get hyper fixated on finding the ideal dieting methodology and never just start. Calorie counting works, IIFYM works, zone diet works, keto works, weight watchers works. As long as you pick a validated plan that matches your lifestyle and you are adherent, you will have success.