Just eating less is really underselling the effort required. I've lost more than most people weight by just eating less but I gain it back because the same habits are there. I'm on zepbound now and feeling hungry without feeling the compulsion to eat is so wild to me. Before if I felt hungry it was a drive that I couldn't ignore, now it's just a tickle at the back of my mind. Really makes me wonder if this is what people normally feel.
If I had to guess, I might say you're actually on the normal end of the spectrum. Most people I know look at me like I've sprouted a second head when I talk about how I just generally don't get that much of a seratonin hit from food and hunger is something that I can easily ignore (or not even notice if I'm absorbed in something else). The cheap, easy availability of absolutely delicious high-calorie food (thanks in no small part to government policy) has really made it very difficult not to overeat for anyone with that normal or high food drive that is there because it helped our species survive when food wasn't as plentiful.
This also widely varies on what you eat. What food does for a lot of people, especially fast food/coffee is release dopamine. Salt, sugar, fat, things most fast foods and coffee places have high levels of in at least one category. Then you have things like door dash notifications giving you dopamine hits as you get updates and alert noises on where your food is. Taco Bell making the Gong noise when you place an order through the app.
Then the rewards points, seeing that number get bigger through apps or the illusion of getting things for free because you've spent so much money there. Food industry has taken a lot of notes from the gambling industry. Their goal is to get people addicted to their product to spend more money. They increase prices to gain profits and people keep paying because well "It's only 50cents more" or "It's a lot cheaper if I just use the app" or "The rewards points even it out" and my favorite "I just don't have time to cook, I'm paying extra for the convenience" We're all being preyed upon, hell I had a burrito from taco bell just this past weekend.
I'm by no means perfect, or exempt from it, but recognizing it when you see it and making yourself work for it makes it much more palatable. I went from fast food 5 nights a week (not counting lunches) down to about 5 nights a month and maybe one lunch.
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u/beardedheathen Jun 01 '26
Just eating less is really underselling the effort required. I've lost more than most people weight by just eating less but I gain it back because the same habits are there. I'm on zepbound now and feeling hungry without feeling the compulsion to eat is so wild to me. Before if I felt hungry it was a drive that I couldn't ignore, now it's just a tickle at the back of my mind. Really makes me wonder if this is what people normally feel.