Assuming unlimited willpower, burning more calories than you consume will reduce body weight (c.f. thermodynamics, &c.). Easy!
The issue is not how to reduce weight, per se, it’s about how to do so while also suppressing hunger pangs and other physiological and psychological effects of wanting more food than you’re getting.
As an aside, exercise itself isn’t actually particularly useful unless you devote a lot of time to it, as the calorie burn rate is fairly low. Raising the basal metabolic rate via anaerobic exercise may have value, though.
Another issue is how to reduce fat weight per se. One of the eye-opening parts of Gary Taubes’ talk was the fact that somebody can be simultaneously emaciated and obese. Fat cells want to survive and sometimes will do so to the detriment of their host.
Another Taubes insight: when it comes to vertical growth, we posit one causal direction. We say that a teenager eats a lot because he’s a growing boy; we do not say he’s growing taller because he eats a lot. It’s accepted that the body of a teenager has somehow decided for itself that it wants to get taller and appetite/metabolism will accommodate that need.
Perhaps horizontal growth isn’t all that different.
Could you explain that without the metaphor of intentionality? Fat cells don’t have their own germ line, so I can’t reason about what they “want” the way I can reason about what a virus “wants”. Thanks!
Could you explain that without the metaphor of intentionality? Fat cells don’t have their own germ line, so I can’t reason about what they “want” the way I can reason about what a virus “wants”. Thanks!
I think that was just a colorful way of saying what the rest of the post elaborated on—that the body may prioritize fat storage higher than other energy uses that the person associated with the body may prefer.
Also, fat cells are biologically active. Obesity is caused by hormone activity and fat cells provide inputs into that biological process as well as being part of the outcome of it.
Rats that overproduce insulin can die of starvation despite being obese—the body gets energy by breaking down muscle—including heart muscle—in order to preserve the fat.
Rats that overproduce insulin can die of starvation despite being obese—the body gets energy by breaking down muscle—including heart muscle—in order to preserve the fat.
Yeah, and I realize that simply recommending “diet and exercise” is a bit too pat. Getting oneself into virtuous cycles, with extremely short-term rewards and consequences, is the most effective meta-tactic I know. There are various ways to do this; the key is just to render willpower moot.
Assuming unlimited willpower, burning more calories than you consume will reduce body weight (c.f. thermodynamics, &c.). Easy!
The issue is not how to reduce weight, per se, it’s about how to do so while also suppressing hunger pangs and other physiological and psychological effects of wanting more food than you’re getting.
As an aside, exercise itself isn’t actually particularly useful unless you devote a lot of time to it, as the calorie burn rate is fairly low. Raising the basal metabolic rate via anaerobic exercise may have value, though.
Another issue is how to reduce fat weight per se. One of the eye-opening parts of Gary Taubes’ talk was the fact that somebody can be simultaneously emaciated and obese. Fat cells want to survive and sometimes will do so to the detriment of their host.
Another Taubes insight: when it comes to vertical growth, we posit one causal direction. We say that a teenager eats a lot because he’s a growing boy; we do not say he’s growing taller because he eats a lot. It’s accepted that the body of a teenager has somehow decided for itself that it wants to get taller and appetite/metabolism will accommodate that need.
Perhaps horizontal growth isn’t all that different.
Could you explain that without the metaphor of intentionality? Fat cells don’t have their own germ line, so I can’t reason about what they “want” the way I can reason about what a virus “wants”. Thanks!
I think that was just a colorful way of saying what the rest of the post elaborated on—that the body may prioritize fat storage higher than other energy uses that the person associated with the body may prefer.
Also, fat cells are biologically active. Obesity is caused by hormone activity and fat cells provide inputs into that biological process as well as being part of the outcome of it.
Rats that overproduce insulin can die of starvation despite being obese—the body gets energy by breaking down muscle—including heart muscle—in order to preserve the fat.
Source?
Yeah, and I realize that simply recommending “diet and exercise” is a bit too pat. Getting oneself into virtuous cycles, with extremely short-term rewards and consequences, is the most effective meta-tactic I know. There are various ways to do this; the key is just to render willpower moot.