The scarcity loop helps explain why 95 percent of people who lose weight in a given year eventually gain it back. When we begin to lose weight, the scale gives us unpredictable rewards every morning. Our weight changes unpredictably, trending downward in an exciting way. But when weight loss stagnates, the number becomes predictable. The unpredictable rewards no longer trickle in. Dieters get frustrated—and extinction occurs. They slide back into their old habits. A solution: Stick to your diet but find another behavior that rides the loop and aids your goal. For example, lifting weights. As
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