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I just spent the last year losing 60 pounds. I did so by reducing my food intake. At one point I began to exercise without reducing intake and I began to lose

I just spent the last year losing 60 pounds. I did so by reducing my food intake. At one point I began to exercise without reducing intake and I began to lose weight. Once classes started, I could not longer exercise as much and my weight loss stagnated. So I tried simply eating less and continued to lose weight. I lost about 40 by exercising only and about 20 reducing intake only. There is a difference between protein calories and carbohydrate calories and how each is processed, but beside that, calories represent energy. Energy that must be used. Otherwise, it will be stored.

whiddershins 13y ago
Just because something works doesn't mean your hypothesis as to WHY it works is true. See any research published on Traditional Chinese Medicine for a similar example. [spoiler: it definitely works, but is it REALLY because of qi meridians?] I think it is great that your approach is working for you, because that is what matters. Congrats on the weight loss.
- farinasa 13y ago
  >Congrats on the weight loss. Thank you. Much appreciated. >Just because something works doesn't mean your hypothesis as to WHY it works is true. But in general, it actually does. This is how science works. You get an idea that doing something will produce a result. If you do that thing and see the expected result, that indicates a successful hypothesis. After that the conversation devolves into existential questions on whether humans can really know.
  - whiddershins 13y ago
    Ah, the oldest scientific trap. In actuality you must form a hypothesis, then construct an experiment designed to DISPROVE the hypothesis. For example, for how many months must I eat 4000 calories a day without altering exercise or gaining weight (just hypothetically) before I cause you to reconsider your hypothesis.
    - farinasa 13y ago
      To disprove a hypothesis, you must already have data. You can't form a hypothesis without data. How can I start to collect data to disprove a hypothesis I haven't come up with yet? Well to get initial data, you must have some guidance in the data you decide to collect. There must be structure, a control, standardized values. You can't form a proper experiment without first having a hypothesis. Your goal is not to prove it correct regardless of the results, your goal is to gain insight on your hypothesis base on the results. I never said you must prove your hypothesis correct. But the goal is certainly to assess the accuracy of your estimation. Your comment is really just a strawman tactic anyway. Thread derailed.

whiddershins 13y ago

Just because something works doesn't mean your hypothesis as to WHY it works is true. See any research published on Traditional Chinese Medicine for a similar example. [spoiler: it definitely works, but is it REALLY because of qi meridians?] I think it is great that your approach is working for you, because that is what matters. Congrats on the weight loss.

farinasa 13y ago
>Congrats on the weight loss. Thank you. Much appreciated. >Just because something works doesn't mean your hypothesis as to WHY it works is true. But in general, it actually does. This is how science works. You get an idea that doing something will produce a result. If you do that thing and see the expected result, that indicates a successful hypothesis. After that the conversation devolves into existential questions on whether humans can really know.
- whiddershins 13y ago
  Ah, the oldest scientific trap. In actuality you must form a hypothesis, then construct an experiment designed to DISPROVE the hypothesis. For example, for how many months must I eat 4000 calories a day without altering exercise or gaining weight (just hypothetically) before I cause you to reconsider your hypothesis.
  - farinasa 13y ago
    To disprove a hypothesis, you must already have data. You can't form a hypothesis without data. How can I start to collect data to disprove a hypothesis I haven't come up with yet? Well to get initial data, you must have some guidance in the data you decide to collect. There must be structure, a control, standardized values. You can't form a proper experiment without first having a hypothesis. Your goal is not to prove it correct regardless of the results, your goal is to gain insight on your hypothesis base on the results. I never said you must prove your hypothesis correct. But the goal is certainly to assess the accuracy of your estimation. Your comment is really just a strawman tactic anyway. Thread derailed.