3 ms·

No they can't. While it's true that people's metabolisms vary widely, and the amount of calories for one individual to maintain weight might make another gain,

by leshow 11y ago

No they can't. While it's true that people's metabolisms vary widely, and the amount of calories for one individual to maintain weight might make another gain, it's not true that the weight gain is outside of their control. They have control over how much food they eat. If you're gaining weight, it means you're eating more than your body can burn, so you need to eat less. This is not as attractive an answer as "i just have the wrong gut microbiota" but it's far more accurate.

npsimons 11y ago
> If you're gaining weight, it means you're eating more than your body can burn, so you need to eat less. This is spot on. So you have a slow metabolism/bad genetics/conditions/etc? Sucks to be you. Sorry. It's like that saying by Schneier about copy protection and the speed of light. If you want to lose weight, adjust your intake downwards. That's all it takes. Hungry/craving something? Try substituting something more filling (less calorie dense), or eating a little bit to see if that makes the craving go away.
onion2k 11y ago
If you're gaining weight, it means you're eating more than your body can burn, so you need to eat less. Or your body is skipping the usable energy stage completely for some foods and storing them as fat directly without it ever having the chance to be used. Then some of the food you eat makes you gain weight regardless of the amount of activity you do - you just run out of energy and get fat. The mistake you're making is assuming that humans are perfect machines for turning food in to energy, and simple mechanics means extra energy is stored as fat. It's far more complex than that.
- rdancer 11y ago
  If fat were deposited and not burnt under starvation, body would be unable to perform work (law of energy conservation), and organs would fail. Ultimately, starving people would be dying fat. But we know this is not the case. Starving populations are very skinny. This is not to say that starvation is healthy, only that starvation is a reliable, affordable, and obvious way to lose weight.

by leshow 11y ago

npsimons 11y ago

> If you're gaining weight, it means you're eating more than your body can burn, so you need to eat less. This is spot on. So you have a slow metabolism/bad genetics/conditions/etc? Sucks to be you. Sorry. It's like that saying by Schneier about copy protection and the speed of light. If you want to lose weight, adjust your intake downwards. That's all it takes. Hungry/craving something? Try substituting something more filling (less calorie dense), or eating a little bit to see if that makes the craving go away.

onion2k 11y ago

If you're gaining weight, it means you're eating more than your body can burn, so you need to eat less. Or your body is skipping the usable energy stage completely for some foods and storing them as fat directly without it ever having the chance to be used. Then some of the food you eat makes you gain weight regardless of the amount of activity you do - you just run out of energy and get fat. The mistake you're making is assuming that humans are perfect machines for turning food in to energy, and simple mechanics means extra energy is stored as fat. It's far more complex than that.

rdancer 11y ago
If fat were deposited and not burnt under starvation, body would be unable to perform work (law of energy conservation), and organs would fail. Ultimately, starving people would be dying fat. But we know this is not the case. Starving populations are very skinny. This is not to say that starvation is healthy, only that starvation is a reliable, affordable, and obvious way to lose weight.