And for me food bridged that gap. I think it did for all of us. We ate like a pack of wolves. My father literally almost made one of my children sick at one point, watching him eat.
I really would argue that the ability to be kind to oneself, and the ability to calm oneself endogenously, are the two factors in maintaining a healthy weight. All of the diets that lead to reduced consumption work, at least at weight loss. I don’t think there is any serious dispute about this. We all know what to do. But we continue to get a new diet or diets every couple of years. Keto is the current thing. I don’t know what will replace it, but something will.
In the end, no quantity of information is sufficient if you find in food a comfort you cannot easily obtain anywhere else. The problem has never been will power. I think the problem is very much like the rats who got addicted to cocaine when they were left alone in their cages. Put those rats in a place where they belong, and the cocaine is of no interest to them. Put people where they feel safe to play, and to express, and being fat–and doing all the things that make you fat–loses all attraction.
Look around you: we do not live in a warm nation. We love to take principles and apply them to all circumstances, and this can be a good thing, but no “compassion” springing from coldness can be anything of the sort. This is Rousseau’s compassion, that led directly to the guillotine. There are many guillotines in the hearts of many Americans right now.
My work continues.