Can’t comment on the info re primates but I understand that a relevant fact about the Hadza people is that they tended to be a lot smaller than Westerners and therefore the conclusions drawn from equal calories could be misleading. Sorry that I do not have a source .
I could totally believe that. I’m sure there’s a lot of factors at play. A hunter-gatherer population likely has developed many biological specializations for their environment, and superefficient locomotion could be one such benefit. I hope that the original research sparks more experiments in the area of exercise to weight loss since there is still a lot we don’t understand.
One thing that has always irked me about studies about exercise affecting weight loss is that they frequently take sedentary people and have them do light exercise, like walking or light jogging, and then extrapolate the results to all exercise. But there is a big difference in difficulty in the effort between something like walking and running, and it seems like the extra effort could trigger more changes in your body than simply additional calories burned.
Did not expect such a quick reply , or indeed any. If I remember correctly , the Hadza walked many miles a day . I assume any running was short bursts as it was not mentioned that they hunted by chasing down in relays big game. But the walking would have been over rough terrain and of course any game caught has to be carried home .
I think it is often overlooked that exercise builds muscle and muscle tissue burns more calories. I lost a lot of muscle mass after I retired and I feel like I’m eating only half as much to stay the same weight.
I am very excited for you!
Congratulations!
You’ve got us. Congratulations! 
That’s how it works, in general. I’ve lost about 20 lbs in the past nine months or so by eating less, and exercising more.
The thing is, exercise isn’t going to do it on its own. That’s the mistake people make, is thinking that they need to seriously amp up the exercise, when in fact, the big advantage of exercise is that if you build muscle, you burn more calories at rest, and the cardiovascular health benefits. You do burn calories, but not enough to really make a huge difference without actually changing your diet and eating less consistently and steadily.
People want a silver bullet for weight loss that doesn’t involve them eating say… 25% less on average for months on end, as well as consistently exercising. Portion control is difficult if you actually like eating.
And it’s not like drinking or smoking where you can just quit, and willpower is a big piece of it. You can’t not eat for any reasonable length of time. So it comes down to having to eat, but eat less. How many smokers or alcoholics would do well with being expected to have to smoke 3 cigarettes a day, but not 5? Or be required to drink 2 drinks a day, and no more? Yet that’s exactly what we expect overweight/obese people to do. It’s more than likely some kind of eating disorder/mental illness, but everyone treats it like it’s sheer gluttony and laziness. Which isn’t fair- it’s TOUGH to do what I described, and drinkers and smokers would fail absolutely miserably, but nobody calls them lazy or gluttons.
I’ve lost something in the range of 35-40 pounds in the last two years, going from a peak of about 235 lb to about 195 lb now. Enough that none of my old clothes fit me anymore. (Which actually kind of sucks because I was the same size for 20 years, and bought clothing in bulk when it was on sale. So now I have a ton of brand new jeans, work khakis, and short that are all too big for me.) Still, it’s nice to be thinner.
What’s worked for me so far isn’t a diet per se. My guidelines instead have been eating high fat, high-satiety foods (like butter and full-fat yogurt), watching (but not eliminating) carbs, and eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. Oh, and a little bit of portion control, which mainly means not eating until I’m stuffed. When I go to restaurants, I usually only eat half my meal, and take the rest to go.
I’ve also increased my activity. I ski, bike, and hike. At a minimum, I try to go for a walk almost every day, usually 3 miles at a fast pace.
Well…
Not that it’s really recommended, but it is an absolutely certain way to lose weight.
I started a new diet on August 22: no alcohol, no sweet snacks, and… just eating less overall. I am guessing it’s around 1000 calories/day. I don’t know how much weight I’ve lost, since I don’t weigh myself. But my pants are much more loose, and my belly has noticeably less fat. At the same time I am running more, about three to four days a week at lunchtime at work. And going to keep at it.
I lost about 40 lbs (~220 to ~180), combination of walking and eating somewhat less. I don’t know if it actually works, but I also stopped eating anything for breakfast which accidentally put me in “intermittent fasting” mode. That is one of the new hot things, but seemed to work?
I did put about 20 back on (less walking, more eating), but am slowly getting back down.
Update:
I am unofficially under 200 lb. I was at the doctor’s office and was weighed with shoes off and pockets empty. 201.3 lb. Do jeans, tshirt, socks and boxers weigh 1.4+? It took all my willpower not to find out in the waiting room. But still, no joy in Mudville. I treated myself to a Hostess Cup Cake (a few weeks ago, not due to yesterday but in hindsight down close to 55 lb) and Mrs. Cad saw and said, “I see you went off the reservation.” So do you think I’m about to go home and say I hit THE MILESTONE?
Ring the bell
“SHAME!”
It actually made me think of something. I’m not a psychologist but I do know that people have a skewed view of their own body like with anorexia, so is it possible people can have a skewed view of others’ bodies? Like here I am at unofficially 200- lb but when she looks at me, she sees me as that 260+ lb gutboy eating a container of Ben and Jerry’s?
Congrats to you (and everyone else in the thread who’s had some success, or even made an honest effort). I hope you’re able to take some satisfaction yourself regardless of the situation with your wife.
I finally made my own enough-is-enough decision yesterday. Trying to work in more proteins, fruits and veggies vs less carbs and sugars. (Eight-packs of Double-Stuf Oreos are right out.) I might also rejoin the gym I quit during Covid to supplement my 1-2 dog walks per day.
I felt fantastic between 195-205 a few years ago but now I’m 228 and pre-diabetic. Enough is enough.
I always liken it to dunking a basketball. Dunking a basketball is really simple. It’s also incredibly hard.
yes i have a relative who that thinks since his wife was a stick with big boobsas a teen/young adult and a health and diet nutter even though she drinks booze like a fish everyone else needs too look and eat like she does even tho her doc says she has body perception issues
My kid called us up and said “We want to hike around Africa and think it’d be more fun with you guys along. Are you free at the end of the month?”
YIKES! I’d been sticking to my diet plan of “Gain 10-15 lbs over the holidays by eating ALL the goodies.” So suddenly I had to lose weight, and get in shape.
I went all in: joined a health club with a trainer, signed up for an indoor soccer league, started a mild intermittent fasting (no snacking after an early supper, waiting til 10am to eat breakfast). And… here’s the hardest part:
Cut Out Crap.
I’ve got a real sweet tooth, and there’ve been days when I was eating almost all carbs (do donuts and beer count?), but I cut almost all of it out. I’ve been strong, and am snacking on carrots and nuts instead. I do give myself a reward for every five pounds I lose, though I’ll admit going out for two big breakfasts has set me back a bit.
It took a week to see any results (I think my weight lags behind my diet/exercise patterns by that long). There’ve been some plateaus, but… I’ve lost all my ‘holiday hibernation weight’, and I’m doing a half hour of 12º incline/3 mph on the treadmill (which was impossible three weeks ago).
i could lose weight again by simply quit drinking carbonated beverages or "fruit drink"that’s pretty much artificially flavoring sugar/corn syrup and water and going back to the gym 3 times a week
But I did all that for and I wasn’t anymore happier so I just said screw it … Now I might go back to the gym but the ret of it is just depriving myself …
I had plateaued at 205 lb for two months now. Weight today? 198.8! Woot! Broke 200!
Now to celebrate with an entire pizza.
And undo your hard work. 
But if you aren’t used to eating that much any more, it might make you uncomfortable.