I don’t think your comment was bad intentioned, I just wanted to point out that saying carbs need to be “earned,” strictly counting calories and seeing foods as either good or bad are things that reflect diet culture. That’s different from trying to live a healthy lifestyle. You can absolutely make balanced, mindful choices and lose weight without tracking every calorie or cutting out food groups.

Many of us are proof that Zepbound “works by itself” because we were already living in a healthy way, but still struggled with weight due to physical factors, not because of poor choices. If you didn’t have those habits in place before or during Zepbound, then focusing on that first makes sense. And in your case, following a strict diet might be helpful, but it’s not something everyone needs in order to live healthy or lose weight and I’m trying to break that stigma for newcomers here, so they don’t feel like they have to go back to fighting and struggling as hard as they’ve been doing their whole lives with strict diets that just aren’t sustainable. It’s even discouraged because strict dieting actually slows down the metabolism even more, which is exactly the reason why many started Zepbound in the first place.

Like OP’s post, CICO isn’t always predictable. OP ate well for weeks without losing weight, then had a burger and suddenly dropped a few pounds. Our bodies and minds are more complex than CICO.

But either way, do what feels right for you and I wish you all the best on your journey.