3 ms·

"What factors do you think are influencing your desire to eat more or less?" There is a lipostat or setpoint in the hypothalamus. It acts like a thermostat for

"What factors do you think are influencing your desire to eat more or less?" There is a lipostat or setpoint in the hypothalamus. It acts like a thermostat for fat. Fat levels are controlled by a homeostatic system, just like body temperature. The highest amount of bodyfat you've had will typically be the bodyfat your brain will defend. It not only does this by making you hungry, it also will downregulate your metabolism. So you become less active. Anyone who has been obese, is fighting their own brain to maintain fat loss. Losing fat is easier than maintaining fat loss. Semaglutide disrupts this system. BTW, the mechanism of the setpoint is Leptin, a hormone secreted by fat almost exclusively. Muscle also releases Leptin, but in small amounts. So if you cut the fat out, if you use liposuction, or you diet down slowly, or you diet down quickly, it doesn't matter. Your brain still knows how much fat you have, based on the leptin signals it gets. You cannot trick it. The reason bariatric surgery is effective is that cutting out the stomach reduces the amount of ghrelin released, which is a hunger hormone that the brain sends the body. Again, disrupting the homeostatic system...which is the only effective way out of this mess. I was expecting more people on hacker news to know about homeostasis of fat by now. Leptin was discovered 27 years ago.

SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
I would love to know how any of this would enable or disable a person whose mouth was sewn shut to continue to gain weight, because it was my understanding that in the vast majority of cases, someone must make a willful decision to lift their hand, pick up food, and insert it into their mouth in order to obtain any nutrition at all. I was expecting more people on hacker news to know about the existence of how eating works. The mouth was discovered... well, millions of years ago.
- joedevon 4y ago
  You can overcome the starvation response caused by the lipostat with willpower if that's your point. Not many do. In fact, there's a registry of such people http://www.nwcr.ws/ http://www.nwcr.ws/ . They report having to be diligent every day. They work out every day. They watch their calories. They can't relax about it. That's why it's so hard to succeed in the long run. You don't seem persuadable, nor too interested in the science of the lipostat, so I'll just let you have the last word here.
  - SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
    Thanks, I think you’re ignoring the forest fir the trees here. We are not lipostat monitors attached to stomachs, we’re thinking, reasoning creatures who are not slaves to our impulses. Many, many people, billions of people, overcome their animal instincts every single day in favor of reason. Fat people can do this too.
    - BuyMyBitcoins 4y ago
      >”we’re thinking, reasoning creatures who are not slaves to our impulses.” I’m not so sure about that. We haven’t evolved past our animal instincts and it seems like our conscious mind is only an additional layer on top of the “reptilian brain” - for lack of a better term. It has not replaced our base urges and our intrinsic motivational systems. We are only sometimes able to shut down our unconscious urges. Even so, we may only be able to do that temporarily, as people fall off the wagon all the time. In fact going “cold turkey” seems like one of the most counterproductive things someone can do. I feel like much of our ability to succeed via “mind over matter” has to do with our biochemistry rather than rational thoughts. Our motivational systems are ultimately controlled by neurochemistry. So there seems to be a lot more to this than just conscious mindset.
      - SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
        You can "feel" however you want, the science is firmly against you.
        BuyMyBitcoins 4y ago
        Okay then, present your citations. And don’t just copy paste a bunch of studies saying willpower can be practiced. I’m saying there’s a chemical basis for motivation and willpower, which is also backed up by science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway

SpeedilyDamage 4y ago

I would love to know how any of this would enable or disable a person whose mouth was sewn shut to continue to gain weight, because it was my understanding that in the vast majority of cases, someone must make a willful decision to lift their hand, pick up food, and insert it into their mouth in order to obtain any nutrition at all. I was expecting more people on hacker news to know about the existence of how eating works. The mouth was discovered... well, millions of years ago.

joedevon 4y ago
You can overcome the starvation response caused by the lipostat with willpower if that's your point. Not many do. In fact, there's a registry of such people http://www.nwcr.ws/ http://www.nwcr.ws/ . They report having to be diligent every day. They work out every day. They watch their calories. They can't relax about it. That's why it's so hard to succeed in the long run. You don't seem persuadable, nor too interested in the science of the lipostat, so I'll just let you have the last word here.
- SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
  Thanks, I think you’re ignoring the forest fir the trees here. We are not lipostat monitors attached to stomachs, we’re thinking, reasoning creatures who are not slaves to our impulses. Many, many people, billions of people, overcome their animal instincts every single day in favor of reason. Fat people can do this too.
  - BuyMyBitcoins 4y ago
    >”we’re thinking, reasoning creatures who are not slaves to our impulses.” I’m not so sure about that. We haven’t evolved past our animal instincts and it seems like our conscious mind is only an additional layer on top of the “reptilian brain” - for lack of a better term. It has not replaced our base urges and our intrinsic motivational systems. We are only sometimes able to shut down our unconscious urges. Even so, we may only be able to do that temporarily, as people fall off the wagon all the time. In fact going “cold turkey” seems like one of the most counterproductive things someone can do. I feel like much of our ability to succeed via “mind over matter” has to do with our biochemistry rather than rational thoughts. Our motivational systems are ultimately controlled by neurochemistry. So there seems to be a lot more to this than just conscious mindset.
    - SpeedilyDamage 4y ago
      You can "feel" however you want, the science is firmly against you.
      - BuyMyBitcoins 4y ago
        Okay then, present your citations. And don’t just copy paste a bunch of studies saying willpower can be practiced. I’m saying there’s a chemical basis for motivation and willpower, which is also backed up by science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway