So you went from know it "reduces appetite" to make a bunch of conjectures about why it affects other things
> But please, tell me how it's better than finally doing some exercise and eating right.
Because it actually works well?
Good ol' fashioned gumption doesn't work, no matter how crankily and haughtily you say it. GLP-1s do
Also, you don't mention why the things you listed are bad. Any weight loss will require a calorie deficit, which has the same "starvation" you're so aghast at.
Lack of resource adds stress to the body, plain and simple. Exercising without a caloric deficit can build muscle. Weight loss without exercise is all loss no gain while maintaining a stressful state on the body.
And "good ol' fashioned gumption" does work, at least for me. (Sample size: 1)
Define “stress”.
Calorie restriction is demonstrably life-extending in multiple species (that it’s feasible to test it in).