system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: weight loss is made out to be far more difficult and complicated than it actually is

I have a rather simple approach to weight loss: if you are overweight (i.e. carrying too much body fat), then all you really have to do to lose weight is eat less. If you don't eat enough, your body will consume your fat reserves. Problem solved. I realize there may be exceptions where people have chronic disease concerns but I think this simple approach is all it should take for most people. 

I have always kind of held this view, and my recent experiences have reinforced it.  I had been overeating the past few months and found myself about 20 pounds heavier than I want to be. For the past six weeks, I've eaten one meal per day and have effectively reduced my calories by about 1000-1500  per day. I'm down about 12 pounds, and I don't even exercise to speak of.  I was apprehensive before I started because people act like losing weight is so freaking hard. It has not been all that hard for me and I don't think it is actually that hard for other people.  

Change my view.

Edit, addendum:

66% of American adults are overweight or obese. I recognize that some people have food addictions, are especially averse to change, and things like that. Weight loss is hard for those people. However I don't believe that those sorts of issues are so widespread that two-thirds of people should suffer from them. I think that the common narrative around weight loss is so discouraging that many people give up on the idea without giving it much effort. 

Also, I realize that my statements here are insensitive. That's why I'm saying them to anonymous strangers on the internet in a debate setting and not to random fat people on the street. You can drop an upvote for creating an interesting discussion without having to agree with me.
gpt
From a pure physics perspective, you're right.  It's calories in, calories out.  If you're taking more in than you're burning, you're gonna gain weight, and vice versa.

However, actually dieting to lose weight is trickier, and diet is by far the most important aspect of weight loss (as opposed to exercise).  For one thing, peoples bodies and brains get adjusted to eating certain amounts of food, and in the case of some foods like sugar one can even become addicted to them.  This means that when a person tries to make changes to their diet, they are almost automatically starting with an uphill battle.  If they don't do it just right, they will be hungrier, more tired, and possibly experience symptoms like dizziness or a headache.  All of those sap a person's energy and willpower, which makes it much harder to stick to a diet.

On top of that, actually figuring out which foods one should eat is often difficult in itself.  Many people eat so poorly they have to alter their entire diet, and that means coming up with a whole new menu of meals and snacks for all times of the day.  That takes time, energy, and knowledge that a person may not feel like they have, or it may make things seem hopeless.  Not everyone can just eat potatoes and vitamins every day, it makes it much easier to stick to a diet if you eat foods you like.  Coming up with healthy options people like isn't always easy.

And all of this is compounded by the fact that many people already have busy lives, with work, school, family, or all of the above. Making radical changes can really throw off a person's life balance. For many people, it just doesn't work out to be as easy as "calories in, calories out".