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Sorry, you come off as just another "hater" looking to pick apart a basically good book on hacking ones body. It's not just about weight loss or gaining strengt

by bgraves 15y ago

Sorry, you come off as just another "hater" looking to pick apart a basically good book on hacking ones body. It's not just about weight loss or gaining strength. There are chapters on sex, sleep, free diving, etc. that would probably interest many people on HN. ------------------- >It's a prime example of good 21st century marketing, so at least that's something of use for a lot of HNers. The scientific and nutritional parts are a "bit mixed", to put it nicely. If I remember correctly, parts of it basically went "this is scientifically proven because Wikipedia says so". I don't think one should read it as a scientific or nutrition text book, but it's not fair to dismiss it as pure marketing either. There's lots of works cited and professional observations through out the book. You can't write a 500+ page NYT and Amazon bestseller based off of information you pull from Wikipedia articles no matter how good the marketing is. >His "slow-carb" diet is basically a easier to digest low-carb diet mixed with a bit of CKD. To me, the slow-carb way of life differs from the low-carb way of life in that you don't avoid all carbs, but be smart about the ones you choose. That's an important distinction. For instance, choosing dense nutrient-rich vegetables like spinach and broccoli over corn and green beans. He really encourages legumes like lentils and beans in the book, which I haven't seen as much in other low-carb style books. >Kettlebells are good, but surely not the workout panacea he promises (and actually somewhat risky for people with back or knee problems who are doing this without proper supervision). Yeah, if you have serious health issues, please consult a physician. Every diet/health/fitness book has this basic disclaimer in the front pages. If it hurts, you are probably doing something very wrong. >You should be able to get most of that info on the net, and there you often have some much-needed perspective and discussions about it. Scouring the net for this information from various sources of questionable authority is a very bad use of one's time/money. Purchasing a 500+ page book for less than $20 which contains all of the information you need to get started on your body-hacking journey is a very good use of one's time/money. >And those are the moderate parts of the book. If I can poke some holes into that, I don't even want to know what might be wrong with the more risque parts (injury prevention, bodybuilding, supplements). And the sex chapters would fit in nicely into drivel like "The Game"... I'm not so interested in the "risque parts" and I wouldn't knock the sex parts until you've tried them ;) Really, you can avoid those parts if you want and still have loads of material to dive into and research farther. >Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a "body hacks" book, but I'd prefer if it were done with a bit of scientific rigor, not just "this worked for me, control group: me". Honestly, I was skeptical at first too. But Tim really doesn't say "this worked for me, control group: me". There are dozens of on-the-field and in-the-lab experts he mentions (you can research their credentials/expertise further very easily, as I did) and hundreds of subjects. Again, it's not a scientific thesis -- it's a guide book on hacking one's body in a very efficient manner.

mhd 15y ago
Especially when I'm hacking my own, non-renewable, non-refundable body I'd want more than a bit of scientific proof that a) it works and b) it won't mess me up. Whereas your regular self-help book might just wreck your bank account (at the worst), some of the things in this book might do a lot worse things. Yes, they might not, too. But are you willing to take those risks? (Again, the slow-carb diet and the kettlebell workouts are probably amongst the least controversial parts of the book) And yes, I've read the book, most of the "hacks" have been done by Tim on himself, sometimes with a with/without methodology. Not really bad and actually something that everyone who modifies his lifestyle should do. But that still doesn't replace blinded studies, never mind that he very rarely states how many "hacks" he's been doing at the same time. And never mind that he's been quite athletic for most of his life, so a lot of the techniques won't work that well for your average pudgy nerd. It's not a very expensive book, on the other hand. But if someone buys it, I'd recommend taking everything cum grano salis and do your internet research before embarking on a "hack", especially if it means taking supplements (e.g. the bro-sciency ECA stack).

by bgraves 15y ago

mhd 15y ago

Especially when I'm hacking my own, non-renewable, non-refundable body I'd want more than a bit of scientific proof that a) it works and b) it won't mess me up. Whereas your regular self-help book might just wreck your bank account (at the worst), some of the things in this book might do a lot worse things. Yes, they might not, too. But are you willing to take those risks? (Again, the slow-carb diet and the kettlebell workouts are probably amongst the least controversial parts of the book) And yes, I've read the book, most of the "hacks" have been done by Tim on himself, sometimes with a with/without methodology. Not really bad and actually something that everyone who modifies his lifestyle should do. But that still doesn't replace blinded studies, never mind that he very rarely states how many "hacks" he's been doing at the same time. And never mind that he's been quite athletic for most of his life, so a lot of the techniques won't work that well for your average pudgy nerd. It's not a very expensive book, on the other hand. But if someone buys it, I'd recommend taking everything cum grano salis and do your internet research before embarking on a "hack", especially if it means taking supplements (e.g. the bro-sciency ECA stack).