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Losing weight is something you can quantify and measure. Living a healthier lifestyle is fuzzy and open to interpretation -- allowing you rationalize almost an

by spudlyo 17y ago

Losing weight is something you can quantify and measure. Living a healthier lifestyle is fuzzy and open to interpretation -- allowing you rationalize almost any behavior you choose. For certain kinds of people the certainty of calories in vs. calories out is comforting, especially in the world of weight loss where feel good reasoning and pseudo science are everywhere.

dasil003 17y ago
You realize of course that choosing that weight lose is the most important metric is just another form of rationalization. If you take a step back to first principles and start with a reasonable goal such as "I want to feel better and live longer" then zeroing in on losing weight is not necessarily the most effective path. For obese people it might be, but for normal people getting regular exercise and eating right (which varies by individual) will have a much more positive effect than obsessing over weight. Furthermore, telling people to count calories and not worry about the quality of what they eat is just opening the door for that same destructive human behavior of eating whatever crap they want, just in limited quantities. This is not the road to health. No amount of engineering mentality will get around the fuzziness of health or the stubbornness of human nature. Fortunately people are capable of being honest with themselves to varying degrees, and it is possible to improve one's health by a commitment to exercise and healthy eating.
Daishiman 17y ago
No. Stop rationalizing that all there is to a Reese's cup is just calories. A healthy lifestyle has quantifiable metrics in regards to the levels of cholesterol, processed sugars, vitamins and aminoacids you should consume daily. The food you consume also interacts in complex ways that go beyond what has been formally quantified, but a casual observation of people who eat leaner foods and vegetables instead of processed sugars and dairy products is pretty good circumstantial evidence. There's a reason why dissociative diets can produce different effects on your body even though by the end of the week you may have eaten the same in terms of the amounts of calories and nutrients as other people. I have two personal observations in favor of that: I have psoriasis, and the level and redness of the rashes is directly correlated to my daily intake of fruits and abstinence of coffee. I also know several people who are healthy vegetarians who have been keeping insanely good dieting regimes for several years, and it's remarkable how good their skin looks in comparison to other people of their own age, less wrinkled and more elastic (not being a scientific observation, my sample size is still large enough to be adequately convinced personally).

by spudlyo 17y ago

dasil003 17y ago

You realize of course that choosing that weight lose is the most important metric is just another form of rationalization. If you take a step back to first principles and start with a reasonable goal such as "I want to feel better and live longer" then zeroing in on losing weight is not necessarily the most effective path. For obese people it might be, but for normal people getting regular exercise and eating right (which varies by individual) will have a much more positive effect than obsessing over weight. Furthermore, telling people to count calories and not worry about the quality of what they eat is just opening the door for that same destructive human behavior of eating whatever crap they want, just in limited quantities. This is not the road to health. No amount of engineering mentality will get around the fuzziness of health or the stubbornness of human nature. Fortunately people are capable of being honest with themselves to varying degrees, and it is possible to improve one's health by a commitment to exercise and healthy eating.

Daishiman 17y ago

No. Stop rationalizing that all there is to a Reese's cup is just calories. A healthy lifestyle has quantifiable metrics in regards to the levels of cholesterol, processed sugars, vitamins and aminoacids you should consume daily. The food you consume also interacts in complex ways that go beyond what has been formally quantified, but a casual observation of people who eat leaner foods and vegetables instead of processed sugars and dairy products is pretty good circumstantial evidence. There's a reason why dissociative diets can produce different effects on your body even though by the end of the week you may have eaten the same in terms of the amounts of calories and nutrients as other people. I have two personal observations in favor of that: I have psoriasis, and the level and redness of the rashes is directly correlated to my daily intake of fruits and abstinence of coffee. I also know several people who are healthy vegetarians who have been keeping insanely good dieting regimes for several years, and it's remarkable how good their skin looks in comparison to other people of their own age, less wrinkled and more elastic (not being a scientific observation, my sample size is still large enough to be adequately convinced personally).