this post was submitted on 06 May 2026
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"Less calories in, more calories out" is a technically true, but deceptively simplistic approach.
There are many variables affecting the outcome.
All of these things are treated differently. In many cases, maintaining calorie deficit without addressing underlying issues is either practically impossible or damaging for individual's health.
All these things are true. But they are far from true for the vast majority of obese people. Once you realize that you are, at least partially, contributing to the problem, you make it possible to, at least partially, SOLVE the problem.
I have PCOS, I have hereditary thyroid issues. Those all contribute to obesity. I also retain a fuckton of water when it's that time of the month. I also used to have BED.
And then I went to a therapist who basically said "so, what if you had to the power to fix a quarter of the problem? Would you do it?" I said yes, and she said "Then why aren't you?" That was a super shitty thing to say to a 19 year old, but she was entirely correct. I could fix a quarter of my problem!
So I stopped infantilizing myself, and said I was able to lose a quarter of my overweight kilos. And you know, once that first quarter was off, it turns out that taking ownership of a problem will actually let you work on that problem.
PCOS and hypothyroidism and water retention don't magically put fat inside your body. You can absolutely lose weight with them. It's not as fast as someone who is otherwise healthy, sure, and that's kinda unfair, but its also not impossible. It's just slower, and my caloric needs are lower than other people while my stomach started out at the same size and with the same demands for satiation. And yeah, that sucks. I will gain weight if I eat the same portions as my husband, even though I do bodybuilding, sword fighting and am very active. That's just how it works, and no amount of crying will fix that. None of my other problems went away, but I decided to deal with them instead of ignoring them. (Although the PCOS is much better without the obesity, and the BED was a lot easier to handle in therapy without the guilt)
You can recognise the unfairness and work on it, or you can just raise your hands, pretend it's entirely out of your control and deal with obesity. Lots and lots of people opt for number two these days.
Congrats on pulling yourself together and going for it, no matter what!
It's good that you did it, and I believe in you. I only ask the original comment author not to dismiss the ways others are dealing with the problem. If novel research can help it, it's good!
obligatory consult your medical specialist and don't consume random drugs without prescription, this will end badly
thank you for sharing this.
i see a lot of comments in this thread refusing to acknowledge any personal responsibility in the decisions people make regarding food, as if people have absolutely no choice but to say "i ate a salad yesterday, so today i'm going to order a triple chocolate lava murder cheesecake"-- which is easy to do when you've adopted the mindset of "oh well, i have chemical imbalance, can't help it"
people are of course free to do what they want with their own bodies. but i think saying that 99% of obese people have no choice about what they put in their mouth is false and harmful
Just reading all the activities you do makes my hypo, PCOS self crash, lol cries. I also have mysterious gut issues that caused me to be bed bound for a while. Tried to get back to cycling and my body just crashed. I try not to think about the time before all this, but it's still depressing.
Good job on your progress, wish you all the best!
Maintaining a caloric deficit also causes a sustained reduction in basal metabolic rate. Our bodies are very good at homeostasis.
I second the opinion that calories are a reductionist metric for fat loss. Much better to think in terms of biology.