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If the culprit is bacteria, why torture yourself with starvation? People have gained weight on half as many calories. 2000 calories hasn't worked for a lot of

If the culprit is bacteria, why torture yourself with starvation? People have gained weight on half as many calories. 2000 calories hasn't worked for a lot of people, perhaps because the gut bacteria is too efficient and the body alters their metabolism.

nanidin 13y ago
So do you think people gaining weight on 1000 calorie diets could power my perpetual energy machine?
grannyg00se 13y ago
Are you saying a diet of 2000 calories is starvation? But then you go on to say people have gained weight on 1000 calories. So how is there starvation involved?
- anonymous 13y ago
  Yes. 2000 calories can be starvation, complete with feeling like crap, reduced mental and physical capabilities and the body lowering its metabolism to keep itself from getting thin. Also, even if you do lose weight by starving yourself (which is inevitable if you do eat little enough for long enough and don't die from malnutrition), you can't go back to eating enough to feel satiated, because you'll get fat again. You'll need to feel like you're starving for the rest of your life.
  - woofyman 13y ago
    For a 150 pound male who is sedimentary, approximately 2100 calories is required to maintain weight (American Cancer Society). While there are exceptions, most people who are overweight eat too much and exercise too little. http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Why-people-become-overweight.htm http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Why-people-become-ove...
    - beagle3 13y ago
      [citation needed] I know it's the prevailing wisdom, but I've never seen any study that actually supports that.
      - zoul 13y ago
        You mean you need a scientific study to confirm that people who eat too much get fat?
        Nimi 13y ago
        Well, I do. And I'm not the only one. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-feltham/why-i-didnt-get-fat-from-eating-too-much_b_3428524.html http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-feltham/why-i-didnt-get-...
        zoul 13y ago
        That guy just argues that people should eat less junk food. The basic point is the same: if you want to be thin, excercise and eat properly.
        beagle3 13y ago
        No, that's totally not what he claims, although that might be what he thinks he argues. There are enough data points of (thin person, does not exercise or eat properly) and (fat person, exercises and eats "properly") to make that point basically wrong. Perhaps the problem is with the definition of "properly". But the causation is not total (that is, there are reasons other than food and exercise that cause people to become fat, some known and some unknown), and the population correlation is time reversed to what you would expect (people stop exercising AFTER they gain weight, not BEFORE), to make this not a trivial matter at all.
        beagle3 13y ago
        That's not what I want a citation for (but, yes - even that is not a trivial assertion, given that there is a nontrivial part of the population, perhaps even 10% who do not get fat regardless of the amount they eat) I want a citation that "exercise and diet" are enough to convert a fat person to a thin person. Trivially, that's true - just stop feeding person until they starve and almost die, and then feed a little. But the non-trivial question is: Given person X who is now fat (possibly a result of binge eating, but possibly a result of disease, some kind of pharmaceutical treatment, etc.) - can exercising and reducing intake alone make them thin, without damaging their psyche, without limiting their intellectual potential and mental well being? There is NO reason to believe that the answer is a simple "yes". People who claim that the answer is definitely yes should be able to back their claims easily, if this is so trivial.
  - oblique63 13y ago
    If anybody is having trouble believing this, I highly recommend watching this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeeFrcvt3KA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeeFrcvt3KA
    - grannyg00se 13y ago
      Huh? There's a whole section about how the average person can go an entire month without eating at all because eating is not even entirely necessary. One guy went over a year with only water and vitamins and lost over 200lbs. And if I recall correctly from previous reading that guy actually kept the weight off for years. Nothing about a life of continuous starvation and suffering.

nanidin 13y ago

So do you think people gaining weight on 1000 calorie diets could power my perpetual energy machine?

grannyg00se 13y ago

Are you saying a diet of 2000 calories is starvation? But then you go on to say people have gained weight on 1000 calories. So how is there starvation involved?

anonymous 13y ago
Yes. 2000 calories can be starvation, complete with feeling like crap, reduced mental and physical capabilities and the body lowering its metabolism to keep itself from getting thin. Also, even if you do lose weight by starving yourself (which is inevitable if you do eat little enough for long enough and don't die from malnutrition), you can't go back to eating enough to feel satiated, because you'll get fat again. You'll need to feel like you're starving for the rest of your life.
- woofyman 13y ago
  For a 150 pound male who is sedimentary, approximately 2100 calories is required to maintain weight (American Cancer Society). While there are exceptions, most people who are overweight eat too much and exercise too little. http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Why-people-become-overweight.htm http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Why-people-become-ove...
  - beagle3 13y ago
    [citation needed] I know it's the prevailing wisdom, but I've never seen any study that actually supports that.
    - zoul 13y ago
      You mean you need a scientific study to confirm that people who eat too much get fat?
      - Nimi 13y ago
        Well, I do. And I'm not the only one. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-feltham/why-i-didnt-get-fat-from-eating-too-much_b_3428524.html http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sam-feltham/why-i-didnt-get-...
        zoul 13y ago
        That guy just argues that people should eat less junk food. The basic point is the same: if you want to be thin, excercise and eat properly.
        beagle3 13y ago
        No, that's totally not what he claims, although that might be what he thinks he argues. There are enough data points of (thin person, does not exercise or eat properly) and (fat person, exercises and eats "properly") to make that point basically wrong. Perhaps the problem is with the definition of "properly". But the causation is not total (that is, there are reasons other than food and exercise that cause people to become fat, some known and some unknown), and the population correlation is time reversed to what you would expect (people stop exercising AFTER they gain weight, not BEFORE), to make this not a trivial matter at all.
      - beagle3 13y ago
        That's not what I want a citation for (but, yes - even that is not a trivial assertion, given that there is a nontrivial part of the population, perhaps even 10% who do not get fat regardless of the amount they eat) I want a citation that "exercise and diet" are enough to convert a fat person to a thin person. Trivially, that's true - just stop feeding person until they starve and almost die, and then feed a little. But the non-trivial question is: Given person X who is now fat (possibly a result of binge eating, but possibly a result of disease, some kind of pharmaceutical treatment, etc.) - can exercising and reducing intake alone make them thin, without damaging their psyche, without limiting their intellectual potential and mental well being? There is NO reason to believe that the answer is a simple "yes". People who claim that the answer is definitely yes should be able to back their claims easily, if this is so trivial.
- oblique63 13y ago
  If anybody is having trouble believing this, I highly recommend watching this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeeFrcvt3KA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeeFrcvt3KA
  - grannyg00se 13y ago
    Huh? There's a whole section about how the average person can go an entire month without eating at all because eating is not even entirely necessary. One guy went over a year with only water and vitamins and lost over 200lbs. And if I recall correctly from previous reading that guy actually kept the weight off for years. Nothing about a life of continuous starvation and suffering.