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Pretty sad that this is top comment. Obviously increased consumption and decreased physical activity is the direct cause but everyone here knows this already. I

by sambe 11y ago

Pretty sad that this is top comment. Obviously increased consumption and decreased physical activity is the direct cause but everyone here knows this already. It's not the key problem. The key problem is that for most people this is hard. And doing it for the rest of your life is almost impossible (for a significant majority). The fact that willpower/compliance is the core problem is also sufficiently well-known that I read this kind of assessment and think "and world peace too: we just have to get along with each other".

yummyfajitas 11y ago
Yet our ancestors, with far fewer resources than we have, managed it just fine. Unlike world peace, this is also an individual problem with an individual solution. If I renounce gluttony I can avoid obesity. If I renounce violence that makes me more vulnerable to murderous thugs.
- jim-greer 11y ago
  > Yet our ancestors, with far fewer resources than we have, managed it just fine. Wait, how does having fewer resources make it harder to consume fewer resources? I find it easier to not eat ice cream if I don't have any ice cream. Are you KenM trolling us?
  - blfr 11y ago
    More resources means that you can buy things, like gym memberships, pre-made meals in accordance with your (low-carb for example) diet, or just leisure time to work out. It also means that you can largely avoid carbohydrates since their main advantage is low price per calorie.
    - jim-greer 11y ago
      This is true. I am not advocating being fat. I, myself, am not fat. But the parent comment seemed to be saying that our ancestors had more willpower than we do now, making them slimmer. Occam's Razor would suggest that it was the absence of ice cream.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
madaxe_again 11y ago
Is it hard, or are we told it's hard so often we all take it as a given that it's hard? Are we told it's super hard so that we will buy an "easy" weight loss solution that doesn't work? Hint: it's not hard. I lost 90 lbs over about six months five years go, and haven't put it back on - and eating less is easy - saved a small fortune, too. If anything it's harder putting on and maintaining excess weight - but the process of getting obese is more immediately gratifying than applying self-control and seeing the long term gains.
- pluma 11y ago
  If so many people fail to do it, it's hard. If it wasn't hard for you, congratulations: you're different.
- xlm1717 11y ago
  I do agree that "marketing" is a big part of the problem. We're told over and over that it's hard, and the only time we're told it's easy is when someone is trying to sell us some weight loss program. The first step to winning the battle is gaining some awareness. Barring any pre-existing condition (especially diabetes), someone who wants to lose weight should simply start eating less, and slowly so they can gradually get used to it. Food is so abundant, it's usually not lack of food that makes people feel hungry, but lack of feeding the food addiction, especially addiction to added sugars. People should try fasting every once in a while just to see they can do it and they won't suffer ill effects from feeling hungry for ~16 hours. The biggest obstacle is convincing yourself you can do it.
fpgaminer 11y ago
> but everyone here knows this already. I doubt that. Most people do not have a good enough understanding of what will help them lose weight easily. In fact the statement "increased consumption and decreased physical activity is the direct cause" illustrates my point, in that decreased physical activity has little to do with weight gain. I suspect the vox populi have the same beliefs when it comes to weight loss that I did until a few years ago. That is, to lose weight one must eat lots of veggies, cut fat, cut junk food, etc. and exercise a lot. While doing that specific thing will certainly lead to the intended result, it is but one of many ways to achieve the goal of weight loss. More importantly it masks the mechanics of weight loss, which are simple to understand and from which a plethora of lifestyle changes can be derived that are nearly effortless and malleable enough to fit into anyone's lives. The truth is simple. People gain weight when they consume more calories than they expend. Carbs, fat, sugar, veggies, exercise, etc. don't magically bend the equation. It's just calories. From that simple fact everything else can be derived. My advice to anyone is to grab a calorie tracking app, and use it for two weeks. Set a calorie budget for yourself (good apps will ask questions and do this for you), and then stay within that budget. Your life will change forever. You know how humans intuitively believe that a bowling ball falls faster than a pebble? Well our intuitions about food are just as bad. You'll quickly learn that breads are awful, meat is amazing, and exercise is useless (for losing weight). Most of that is counter intuitive. I bet most people will think a chicken sandwich is healthy, and fat, juicy steak is bad. But the opposite is true (in the context of losing weight). The chicken sandwich comes on bread, which is calorie dense and will quickly blow your calorie budget without filling you up. The steak, on the other hand, can be surprisingly low calorie and will fill you up for a long time (fats are satiating). And yes, again, exercise is useless. People will jump to the exercise part of the app, plug in their 20 minutes of treadmill, and see that through all their sweat and tears ... they've earned half a cookie worth of calories. Not worth it. That doesn't jive with what your average joe off the street believes about weight loss. After the two weeks? Ditch the app if you want. Those two weeks will change your lifestyle, and you'll be able to guessimate calories without it to maintain weight. Want to keep losing weight? Keep using it; you'll have learned that calorie apps aren't scary, or hard. You'll go to the store, check the nutrition facts, and you'll realize you now have a special new power. The power to understand what those numbers mean and how they'll impact your life. It becomes second nature and doesn't require any extra brain power. Seriously, it's easy. This stuff is not taught in schools, nor by most parents, nor by most of vocal society. We get the tired, old rhetoric about vegetables and exercise. For goodness' sake, we were taught the food pyramid when I was growing up! What a load of bollocks that was. I get funny looks by almost everyone when I say things like "Bacon is good for you!" and "Fat is healthy for you!" They look at me like what I said was a joke. I think that's telling about what "everyone here knows". P.S. This comment is all within the context of losing weight. Eating healthy is a different matter, one which is much more complex, far less understood, and far more open to debate. In the grand scheme of things, if you're overweight, that's going to kill you before "Ah, well, looks like you didn't eat enough of this unheardof berry that we just discovered last week in the Caribbean forests". So take care of weight first, then in roughly this order: stop eating sugar. No really, stop eating sugar. Fat is good for you (except trans, that's terrible. Sat/unsat is whatever; probably doesn't matter and we don't know one way or the other). Yes, seriously, fat is good for you. Exercise. No, cardio is not for everyone, so do weight training if that makes you happier. Or do cardio if that makes you happier. Whatever gets you into the gym. No, it doesn't matter how many reps/sets you do; just work hard. Multi vitamins. Fish (or fish oil) ... maybe. Your heart will thank you. Fiber. Seriously, fiber. Mr. colon needs love too. Oh, and get some sun, but not more than 20 minutes without sunblock. Careful balance between vitamin D and skin cancer... But no, really, the sun is scary. Some day we will master the art of genetic manipulation and put racism behind us so we can make everyone some nice shade of brown. Until that day, if you were unfortunate enough to be born without natural melanin in your skin (aka white), stay the hell away from the giant freaking nuclear reactor core in the sky. Future you will thank you for not having to get gapping, cancerous holes cut out of your face and arms because you wanted to be tan for a summer 40 years ago. Did all that? Okay, go chase the latest fad diet if that makes you happy. No, seriously, happiness priceless. Find it wherever you can.

by sambe 11y ago

yummyfajitas 11y ago

Yet our ancestors, with far fewer resources than we have, managed it just fine. Unlike world peace, this is also an individual problem with an individual solution. If I renounce gluttony I can avoid obesity. If I renounce violence that makes me more vulnerable to murderous thugs.

jim-greer 11y ago
> Yet our ancestors, with far fewer resources than we have, managed it just fine. Wait, how does having fewer resources make it harder to consume fewer resources? I find it easier to not eat ice cream if I don't have any ice cream. Are you KenM trolling us?
- blfr 11y ago
  More resources means that you can buy things, like gym memberships, pre-made meals in accordance with your (low-carb for example) diet, or just leisure time to work out. It also means that you can largely avoid carbohydrates since their main advantage is low price per calorie.
  - jim-greer 11y ago
    This is true. I am not advocating being fat. I, myself, am not fat. But the parent comment seemed to be saying that our ancestors had more willpower than we do now, making them slimmer. Occam's Razor would suggest that it was the absence of ice cream.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

madaxe_again 11y ago

Is it hard, or are we told it's hard so often we all take it as a given that it's hard? Are we told it's super hard so that we will buy an "easy" weight loss solution that doesn't work? Hint: it's not hard. I lost 90 lbs over about six months five years go, and haven't put it back on - and eating less is easy - saved a small fortune, too. If anything it's harder putting on and maintaining excess weight - but the process of getting obese is more immediately gratifying than applying self-control and seeing the long term gains.

pluma 11y ago
If so many people fail to do it, it's hard. If it wasn't hard for you, congratulations: you're different.
xlm1717 11y ago
I do agree that "marketing" is a big part of the problem. We're told over and over that it's hard, and the only time we're told it's easy is when someone is trying to sell us some weight loss program. The first step to winning the battle is gaining some awareness. Barring any pre-existing condition (especially diabetes), someone who wants to lose weight should simply start eating less, and slowly so they can gradually get used to it. Food is so abundant, it's usually not lack of food that makes people feel hungry, but lack of feeding the food addiction, especially addiction to added sugars. People should try fasting every once in a while just to see they can do it and they won't suffer ill effects from feeling hungry for ~16 hours. The biggest obstacle is convincing yourself you can do it.

fpgaminer 11y ago

> but everyone here knows this already. I doubt that. Most people do not have a good enough understanding of what will help them lose weight easily. In fact the statement "increased consumption and decreased physical activity is the direct cause" illustrates my point, in that decreased physical activity has little to do with weight gain. I suspect the vox populi have the same beliefs when it comes to weight loss that I did until a few years ago. That is, to lose weight one must eat lots of veggies, cut fat, cut junk food, etc. and exercise a lot. While doing that specific thing will certainly lead to the intended result, it is but one of many ways to achieve the goal of weight loss. More importantly it masks the mechanics of weight loss, which are simple to understand and from which a plethora of lifestyle changes can be derived that are nearly effortless and malleable enough to fit into anyone's lives. The truth is simple. People gain weight when they consume more calories than they expend. Carbs, fat, sugar, veggies, exercise, etc. don't magically bend the equation. It's just calories. From that simple fact everything else can be derived. My advice to anyone is to grab a calorie tracking app, and use it for two weeks. Set a calorie budget for yourself (good apps will ask questions and do this for you), and then stay within that budget. Your life will change forever. You know how humans intuitively believe that a bowling ball falls faster than a pebble? Well our intuitions about food are just as bad. You'll quickly learn that breads are awful, meat is amazing, and exercise is useless (for losing weight). Most of that is counter intuitive. I bet most people will think a chicken sandwich is healthy, and fat, juicy steak is bad. But the opposite is true (in the context of losing weight). The chicken sandwich comes on bread, which is calorie dense and will quickly blow your calorie budget without filling you up. The steak, on the other hand, can be surprisingly low calorie and will fill you up for a long time (fats are satiating). And yes, again, exercise is useless. People will jump to the exercise part of the app, plug in their 20 minutes of treadmill, and see that through all their sweat and tears ... they've earned half a cookie worth of calories. Not worth it. That doesn't jive with what your average joe off the street believes about weight loss. After the two weeks? Ditch the app if you want. Those two weeks will change your lifestyle, and you'll be able to guessimate calories without it to maintain weight. Want to keep losing weight? Keep using it; you'll have learned that calorie apps aren't scary, or hard. You'll go to the store, check the nutrition facts, and you'll realize you now have a special new power. The power to understand what those numbers mean and how they'll impact your life. It becomes second nature and doesn't require any extra brain power. Seriously, it's easy. This stuff is not taught in schools, nor by most parents, nor by most of vocal society. We get the tired, old rhetoric about vegetables and exercise. For goodness' sake, we were taught the food pyramid when I was growing up! What a load of bollocks that was. I get funny looks by almost everyone when I say things like "Bacon is good for you!" and "Fat is healthy for you!" They look at me like what I said was a joke. I think that's telling about what "everyone here knows". P.S. This comment is all within the context of losing weight. Eating healthy is a different matter, one which is much more complex, far less understood, and far more open to debate. In the grand scheme of things, if you're overweight, that's going to kill you before "Ah, well, looks like you didn't eat enough of this unheardof berry that we just discovered last week in the Caribbean forests". So take care of weight first, then in roughly this order: stop eating sugar. No really, stop eating sugar. Fat is good for you (except trans, that's terrible. Sat/unsat is whatever; probably doesn't matter and we don't know one way or the other). Yes, seriously, fat is good for you. Exercise. No, cardio is not for everyone, so do weight training if that makes you happier. Or do cardio if that makes you happier. Whatever gets you into the gym. No, it doesn't matter how many reps/sets you do; just work hard. Multi vitamins. Fish (or fish oil) ... maybe. Your heart will thank you. Fiber. Seriously, fiber. Mr. colon needs love too. Oh, and get some sun, but not more than 20 minutes without sunblock. Careful balance between vitamin D and skin cancer... But no, really, the sun is scary. Some day we will master the art of genetic manipulation and put racism behind us so we can make everyone some nice shade of brown. Until that day, if you were unfortunate enough to be born without natural melanin in your skin (aka white), stay the hell away from the giant freaking nuclear reactor core in the sky. Future you will thank you for not having to get gapping, cancerous holes cut out of your face and arms because you wanted to be tan for a summer 40 years ago. Did all that? Okay, go chase the latest fad diet if that makes you happy. No, seriously, happiness priceless. Find it wherever you can.