Since you said you went through three weight loss cycles (bravo, it is hard to do!), is exercise an important part of the effort? Example: Did you ever try cardio vs weight training? It seems like weight training is the more likely of the two to change body composition (more muscle, same or less fat). And higher muscle weight almost always leads to higher resting calorie burn rate.

Last thing that almost no one is talking about in this discussion: Once you start doing exercise, something changes in your brain. I cannot precisely explain it, but a huge number of men experience a drop is depressing thoughts after starting regular exercise. My guess: Exercise helps to de-stress which has all kinds of other positive impacts in your life.

That's what I've noticed, too.

But I've also noticed that it makes me crave different foods than when I sit on my ass all day. So, on average, I tend to actually eat less, because I don't have random cravings in between meals.

I doubt that people who are overweight and sedentary only eat "healthy" meals, only too much.

I am currently at around ~120kg and my "goal weight" was around that area. I still have a tummy that I am not satisfied with, but my legs are mostly muscles due to me cycling a lot. I sold my car on purpose to force me to cycle in bad weather.

Currently I am also trying out a more hardcore exercise program because I never gained a lot of muscles in the past, even when I was doing MMA training 6 times a week.

I'm probably stating the obvious here: muscles weigh more than fat, meaning you'll always gain weight before you can lose weight. I mentioned the 2-3 months time span because that's (for me) when it switched, and my body suddenly had it easier to get into calories burning mode.

Suffice it to say: I don't eat nor drink any sweets, not even in my muesli. No artificial sweeteners either. I replaced sweets with fruits in my muesli, for example. And I just drink water, because soft drinks are the human brain's enemy.

The decision to not eat nor drink anything sweet is important, I think, because it helps me go into calories burning mode much faster with much less calories.

    > Currently I am also trying out a more hardcore exercise program because I never gained a lot of muscles in the past, even when I was doing MMA training 6 times a week.

You cannot outrun a fork.

Reality is more complex than memetic one-liners.

The obese people and sedentary office workers don't and would need to train for months to be able to out-run a single piece of cake on a regular basis without injury.

The phrase is good advice for that group of people.

To quantify this, on a weekly long ride they may consume 300g of refined sugar, far far beyond the often recommended limit of 20g of sugar per day.

So perhaps the sedentary person would benefit from walking or leisurely cycling to work a whole more than by trying to restrict their diet

Do we really want to compare ultramarathon runners with couch potatoes?

I gather that you have never met an endurance cyclist. Randonneurs are notorious for devouring whatever they can find when they stop for lunch.

Maybe that meme needs to die for good, instead.

>> So perhaps the sedentary person would benefit from walking or leisurely cycling to work a whole more than by trying to restrict their diet