To lose weight you have to eat less and move more. Behind this commonplace hides elements of great complexity. Does the obese eat more than the person who is not? Certainly.

On the other hand, people who have a healthy weight do not have more merit than others. The obese are hungry for the foods they have available, and the healthy weight person usually does the same. The person who trains a lot and eats little may have a brain programmed to find pleasure in it, while the brain of the obese does not. You can be genetically programmed to have more or less desire to eat and exercise.

Some people are successful in losing a lot of weight and keeping it off. In the United States, the National Weight Control Registry⁵⁷ brings together more than 5 individuals who have achieved this. The members of this “select club” have lost 000 kg on average and have maintained their weight for more than 30 years. They eat less and exercise more. Some followed a balanced plan, others fasted. Some lost weight quickly, others slowly. Just over half got some outside help and 5% fought for it on their own. About 40% found it easier to maintain the weight loss than to lose the extra weight. These are the real experts in obesity, smarter than scientists. But it’s a very small portion of the obese population that does. The research team of psychiatry professor Rena Wing is studying them to try to find possible solutions for the entire population. So far, these successful people maintain their weight loss by eating breakfast every morning. They weigh themselves once a week, watch television less than 40 hours a week and exercise for 1 hour per day.

I think it’s possible to lose weight and keep it off. It is difficult to know in advance who will be successful.

If you’ve made a reasonable effort, improved your lifestyle, and failed to lose weight, continue your efforts while forgetting the scale. For reasons that largely escape us, success in weight loss and weight maintenance is the exception rather than the rule. All the same, by improving your lifestyle, you certainly gain.

On the other hand, if you are severely obese, suffer from related illnesses (such as diabetes or sleep apnea) and all conventional methods of losing weight have failed, bariatric surgery is an option you should consider. you have to consider. It gives very good results.

Finally, please, avoid trying to lose weight if you are not obese …

D^r Dominic Larose, M.D.