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Comment by jlgreco | Hacker News Reader

I never said that eating less was easy. I am not sure how you read that from what I wrote.

> What point are you trying to make? That the news should be trying to make people hate themselves more than they already do?

No, my point is that the news should not be trying to make people hate themselves less. Editorializing with peoples feelings in mind may be good business sense, but nevertheless I find it contemptible.

> This research isn't about justifying behavior

I like the research. The research is great. My issue is with the editorializing.

> those fat people over there

It sounds like you are making an assumption about me that is rather false.

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I never said that eating less was easy. I am not sure how you read that from what I wrote.

That's just it. It is easy. It's absolutely, effortlessly, ridiculously freaking easy. If you're lucky enough to have my metabolism. I can buy basic, average quality food, eat to satiety, binge during the holidays, occasionally eat an entire bag of candy, and barely move the needle on the scale. It's not fair! But it's reality, and my luck with regard to metabolism is compensated for by other things about myself that are less fortunate.

While the arguments from conservation of matter and energy are obviously true, they are not the best guide to find actual success in eating. Human bodies are fantastically complex systems of systems. Human metabolism is a chemical system with an insane number of components. Conscious decision is only a very small part of that system, with the vast majority being controlled by autonomous chemical and neurological processes.

Attacking obesity by focusing on portion control and willpower seems rather like trying to control a PC by carefully fluctuating the voltage coming into its power supply.

So when news outlets start reporting on some part of the problem other than portion control, don't take it personally; take it as looking at the big picture.

> > those fat people over there

> It sounds like you are making an assumption about me that is rather false.

Given your original post about "people trying to justify their poor health" and "big bones", I'd say that assumption is pretty accurate.

Fat people are not "those people over there" to me. I am in that group. Actually no, I am not "fat". I am 15 pounds over the line between overweight and obese; I am a "fucking lardass".

The fact is that many fat people come up with all sorts of justifications and excuses to try to make themselves feel better. If you honestly have not noticed this tendency, take a look at the "fat/body acceptance" social movement. It is a real phenomenon, not imagined.

Right, so all of the conventional wisdom that you're putting out (portion control, willpower, "fucking lardass", etc.) has essentially been shown to be wrong. Homeostasis is a bitch.

Weight control is far more about maintaining healthy insulin and hormone levels - more sleep, less sugar, alcohol and carbs, some moderate exercise but not full-on jogging - than denying yourself food.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading "Good Calories, Bad Calories" - it goes into a lot of the scientific background, weight loss and overfeeding studies, etc.

Your body doesn't have permission to violate conservation of mass and energy. If you put yourself in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight, as I have been doing.

Is it easy? Fuck no. Do different bodies react in different ways? Of course. Is there nuance involved in making sure your body reacts optimally for weight loss? Of course Are most overweight people consuming gargantuan proportions of shit? You better fucking believe it.

If you live a sedentary lifestyle and consume many thousands of calories a day, fixing the problem isn't rocket science. Pretty fucking simple, and pretty fucking hard.

The fact that I am a fucking lardass is not conventional wisdom, nor has it essentially shown to be wrong. It is a simple fact. No idea what you were trying to get at there.

"If you put yourself in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight, as I have been doing."

It sounds like you think establishing a caloric deficit is as simple as forcing yourself to eat less and exercise more. Research says it isn't. Some diets result in a lowered desire to eat. Some diets result in an increased metabolism.

What you are saying is that some diets are better than others. I would never dream of disputing that, and I don't think I have been disputing that.

That's not precisely conservation of mass and energy. At least not in the conventional E=mc^2 sense.

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