From experience, I know that these things are not comparable. Swimming in open water is fine after a few minutes of adjustment. I have learned not just to drink coffee, but to prefer it without sweetener.
But I spent over a year at perhaps a 10-15% reduction in calories. Persistent discomfort never went away for me. I was only able to maintain the diet by my constant awareness of concrete and measurable progress towards a specific weight loss goal.
I believe that I have more willpower than most, and diets are probably easier for me than most. Yet I doubt that I could live the rest of my life on a calorie restricted diet for the sake of living a bit longer.
I find the opposite. When I experience hunger, if I wait for an hour or two I forget that I'm hungry. Just today I was working and skipped breakfast. Around lunch I thought I should get up, but I kept working. I forgot to eat until I had to stop for a meeting at 4:30pm. Suddenly I remembered my hunger and grabbed a banana.
I still struggle with overeating when I'm hungry and there's food in front of me.
But I spent over a year at perhaps a 10-15% reduction in calories. Persistent discomfort never went away for me. I was only able to maintain the diet by my constant awareness of concrete and measurable progress towards a specific weight loss goal.
I believe that I have more willpower than most, and diets are probably easier for me than most. Yet I doubt that I could live the rest of my life on a calorie restricted diet for the sake of living a bit longer.