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You can't claim that understanding how metabolism works is useful and suggest that understanding how CICO works isn't useful in the same breadth. Understanding

by sn9 9y ago

You can't claim that understanding how metabolism works is useful and suggest that understanding how CICO works isn't useful in the same breadth. Understanding CICO is sufficient to derive all useful, actionable advice for healthy weight management (e.g., maybe you're measuring wrong, stop eating calorically dense foods, eat foods that are more satiating, etc.). Understanding the difference in how fructose is metabolised compared to glucose is majoring in the minors and is far less likely to help someone achieve their goals. CICO is the most important factor and the simplest to understand. Suggesting people teach themselves biochemistry and physiology without understanding the basics is silly and far less realistic. Ignoring CICO is setting people up for failure which will discourage compliance and further improvements.

grzm 9y ago
> You can't claim that understanding how metabolism works is useful and suggest that understanding how CICO works isn't useful in the same breadth. I believe you're misreading what I'm saying: I'm saying that only repeating CICO is not helpful. That itself does not give people the tools they need to be able to maintain health. You yourself point this out in saying it's "sufficient to derive all useful, actionable advice for healthy weight management": Not everyone is able to derive things from first principles. Perhaps we're talking past each other. I'm more satisfied understanding human behavior and metabolism regulation than only repeating CICO and expecting people to derive everything else from there.
- sn9 9y ago
  You might be right. I think we agree more than we disagree. I'm certainly not against giving more advice than CICO and I'm not saying we should expect people to derive things from first principles, just that any method of weight loss that works will be working by CICO and understanding that is far more useful than not, and that it is outright harmful for people to suggest that it doesn't work. I actually wrote a rather long comment a few months ago about my thoughts for healthy living in general if you wanted to know my thoughts beyond CICO: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14681035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14681035

by sn9 9y ago

grzm 9y ago

> You can't claim that understanding how metabolism works is useful and suggest that understanding how CICO works isn't useful in the same breadth. I believe you're misreading what I'm saying: I'm saying that only repeating CICO is not helpful. That itself does not give people the tools they need to be able to maintain health. You yourself point this out in saying it's "sufficient to derive all useful, actionable advice for healthy weight management": Not everyone is able to derive things from first principles. Perhaps we're talking past each other. I'm more satisfied understanding human behavior and metabolism regulation than only repeating CICO and expecting people to derive everything else from there.

sn9 9y ago
You might be right. I think we agree more than we disagree. I'm certainly not against giving more advice than CICO and I'm not saying we should expect people to derive things from first principles, just that any method of weight loss that works will be working by CICO and understanding that is far more useful than not, and that it is outright harmful for people to suggest that it doesn't work. I actually wrote a rather long comment a few months ago about my thoughts for healthy living in general if you wanted to know my thoughts beyond CICO: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14681035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14681035