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I was 35 pounds overweight. Saw the writing on the wall and in three months I'm down 25-30 pounds. Stopped eating sugar and bread and only eat one meal 2-4 times a week.

The trick is to keep that going in the longterm. I did manage to lose that amount of weight in the same amount of time as well, but ended up gaining it back in under 5 years, which I hear is the fate of most people who lose weight.

So true!

Unfortunately, it would seem the data would suggest yes.

Per the CDC:

From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –2018, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 42.4%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

Obesity has also increased among wild animals https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28261232

While dieting can control obesity, we have decades of evidence to show it isn’t easy. Bariatric surgery does seem to work but is invasive and dangerous.

I think most people can stop.

I also think most people lack the resolve to stop.

Those are opposite statements.