30-years ago, when my parents were in school, Atari had not even been invented yet. Kids actually went outside to play and run. Now days, parents sit their kids in fronts of the electronic babysitter and feed them chips. How do you fatten a hog, Garrett? You stick him a a pen where he can hardly move, and feed him fatty shit. But, if that hog could run around and breed other hogs, it would loose 1/4 of it's weight.
It's the same deal with people. Get out and go hiking, fishing, hunting, running, walking, swimming, etc.... and the weight stays off.
If you want to use Mike as an example...Mike was never fat in the first place. But, about the same time he started his "healthy" stint, he also got a bicycle, built two storage sheds by hand, helped his neighbor build a house, and Connie made him till a garden. Say it was the food that took off the weight if you want to......
Sure, I can eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast, have a salad for lunch, and a nice grilled chicken breast for dinner, and I may loose a few pounds by the end of the month. I could even pop a few dietary supplements to give me a boost in my vitamins. In the end, I may have a little more energy and I may feel good. But, on the other hand, I'm 6' 3", 170lbs, feel great, can run a mile in 6-minutes, hike until I die, fish all day long, and I can still party and drink with the collage kids....So, I guess my diet works just fine.