Can someone help me understand why those who would like to lose weight can’t just eat less and exercise more?
They can.
If it’s not working, eat less and exercise more. Physics is physics.
The usual implied questions behind, though, are “Do you have enough motivation to eat sufficiently less?” and “For how long will you be able to keep it up and what happens afterwards?”.
Weight loss methods seem to be a topic that have gotten really complex on LW.
Because the two questions above are important ones and because EY tried to lose weight and it didn’t work for him.
just don’t get why it’s so complicated
Losing weight is not complicated. Maintaining the desired body configuration is—because it usually requires continuous effort.
The usual implied questions behind, though, are “Do you have enough motivation to eat sufficiently less?” and “For how long will you be able to keep it up and what happens afterwards?”.
I don’t see how that complicates anything. This applies to any pursuit.
Because the two questions above are important ones and because EY tried to lose weight and it didn’t work for him.
Oh.
Losing weight is not complicated. Maintaining the desired body configuration is—because it usually requires continuous effort.
Sure. But how is that not true of lot of things that require maintenance? Of course you’d need to be disciplined to maintain many “desired states of configuration”.
Some people find certain things take more effort than others. For many people, the willpower necessary to stay thin is more than they have. Given how problematic being overweight can be, this is a problem.
In the usual ways. Your body has its own ideas about your food intake which may or may not match what your consciousness decides. It also has a variety of levers to affect your brain—from outright feelings of hunger to subtle reduction of mental efficiency when it thinks itself underfed.
If I decide to consciously commit to any task, there will be obstacles. If I set out to increase my knowledge on a subject, I’ll fight boredom, distractions, etc. It will reduce my capacity for other tasks—both mentally and by consuming time.
Losing weight is difficult, but it seems much simpler to me than the discussion (and perhaps consensus) I’ve seen around here.
I’ve wondered if it’s due to body weight being such a personal issue?
In the ancestral environment, sweet food (i.e. fruits and honey) was difficult to find in the wild, and our brains got wired to take advantage of every little opportunity to recharge with those sweet calories.
Now that we can mass-produce corn syrup and all kinds of cheap calories, our ancestral urges play against our best interest.
Sure. But how is that not true of lot of things that require maintenance? Of course you’d need to be disciplined to maintain many “desired states of configuration”.
Humans are driven by a lot of instincts that have millions of years of evolution behind them. Beating those instinct for a short time is doable but it’s harder to beat them for longer timeframes.
The human body can reduce energy consumption at the cost of being less agile and feeling bad. It has various ways to sabotage a diet that for most people are outside of their conscious control.
They can.
If it’s not working, eat less and exercise more. Physics is physics.
The usual implied questions behind, though, are “Do you have enough motivation to eat sufficiently less?” and “For how long will you be able to keep it up and what happens afterwards?”.
Because the two questions above are important ones and because EY tried to lose weight and it didn’t work for him.
Losing weight is not complicated. Maintaining the desired body configuration is—because it usually requires continuous effort.
I don’t see how that complicates anything. This applies to any pursuit.
Oh.
Sure. But how is that not true of lot of things that require maintenance? Of course you’d need to be disciplined to maintain many “desired states of configuration”.
Some people find certain things take more effort than others. For many people, the willpower necessary to stay thin is more than they have. Given how problematic being overweight can be, this is a problem.
The problem is that your own body tries to sabotage your maintenance and it can get pretty tricksy (or brutal).
How so?
In the usual ways. Your body has its own ideas about your food intake which may or may not match what your consciousness decides. It also has a variety of levers to affect your brain—from outright feelings of hunger to subtle reduction of mental efficiency when it thinks itself underfed.
Of course. But isn’t this the case with anything?
If I decide to consciously commit to any task, there will be obstacles. If I set out to increase my knowledge on a subject, I’ll fight boredom, distractions, etc. It will reduce my capacity for other tasks—both mentally and by consuming time.
Losing weight is difficult, but it seems much simpler to me than the discussion (and perhaps consensus) I’ve seen around here.
I’ve wondered if it’s due to body weight being such a personal issue?
Kinda, but the thing is, there are different levels of difficulty that one faces when trying to do “anything”.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of establishing a habit.
Sometimes you need to get over a hill and then the activity will provide its own incentives (e.g. runner’s high).
And sometimes it’s just a hard slog all the way and any time you relax you backslide.
In the ancestral environment, sweet food (i.e. fruits and honey) was difficult to find in the wild, and our brains got wired to take advantage of every little opportunity to recharge with those sweet calories.
Now that we can mass-produce corn syrup and all kinds of cheap calories, our ancestral urges play against our best interest.
Humans are driven by a lot of instincts that have millions of years of evolution behind them. Beating those instinct for a short time is doable but it’s harder to beat them for longer timeframes.
The human body can reduce energy consumption at the cost of being less agile and feeling bad. It has various ways to sabotage a diet that for most people are outside of their conscious control.
So, it’s difficult?
There are many different ways of difficult.
Changing your blood pulse by will from 90 bpm to 60 bpm is difficult.
You are dealing with a bunch of inbuild mechanisms that you have to deal with and a lot of them are outside of your awareness.