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Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

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Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#491
post #120

Please be careful with oxygen, you cannot handle breathing 100% oxygen for long, it starts to cause all kinds of acute health issues all throughout your body. The biggest hacks are all mental though, and to know what you're actually up against. As hyped up as the fitness industry makes it all seem, there's nothing particularly special about fitness, you just gotta do it. The majority of weight loss is dietary, but wi…

Thanks for addressing motivation. That's what I struggle with, and this comment definitely resonated with me. It's still something I need to find.

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#492
I was a fat kid. I suspect what changed was I started, consciously, pursuing things that I was afraid. I had a stutter, so simply forcing myself into public speaking situations terrified me. Once I managed to get my stutter better handled, I found I was losing a lot of weight from a stressful appetite loss. Wanted to lose more weight, I pursued more things that frightened me, and again I experienced stressed appetite loss, and weight loss.

Today, decades later, I still pursue things that trigger stressful appetite loss, but that has become the opposite issue. I'm thin, but addicted to pursuing intellectual goals that are frighteningly difficult. I often have to force myself to eat.

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#493
post #64

Weird tips like that? No, no definitely not. Just eat less man. It's pretty straight forward. Just eat one meal a day (lunch) and you'll see the weight fly off. It's what I did for a bit and lost the weight quickly. You'll lose 5lbs/month easily even for people who have a relatively lean body mass already. (Easier to lose a lot of weight when you're heavier because your BMR is high to begin with) I've done it as some…

> Just eat less man. It's pretty straight forward ... > You don't have to worry about eating another meal or two. You do realize for many overweight people eating isn't something to worry about but to look forward to? It's not that we don't understand thermodynamics. It's just a big part of enjoying being alive.

It takes a shift of mindset.

In my experiment with alternating day fasting, I was surprised how quickly I was able to look forward to a meal that was 18 hours away.

Was I interested in eating sooner? Yes. But you learn quickly the difference between hunger as desire and hunger as need. 99% of what we feel in our lives wrt food is hunger as desire.

Caloric restriction is a requirement of sustainable weight loss, there are no weird hacks around it.

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#494
post #197
post #64

Weird tips like that? No, no definitely not. Just eat less man. It's pretty straight forward. Just eat one meal a day (lunch) and you'll see the weight fly off. It's what I did for a bit and lost the weight quickly. You'll lose 5lbs/month easily even for people who have a relatively lean body mass already. (Easier to lose a lot of weight when you're heavier because your BMR is high to begin with) I've done it as some…

The real takeaway about mass loss via carbon dioxide is that you're changing how the engine works, and you're unlikely to notice it. Get a digital scale, weigh every morning after toilet. I find there is a very quick and variable response to the previous days food, which can be quite motivating. Seeing it up or down half a kilo each day is very noticeable, and informative about what works and what doesn't. Eat less d…

Weighing daily and seeing the trend was what worked for me, and encouraged me to stick to my fairly brutal diet. Went from 250 to 180lbs over five months or so - and that was 15 years ago, and have maintained myself at ~180lbs, as seeing the hard evidence that “don’t stick it in your gob, you don’t need it” works has allowed me to continue on that principle.

Before the scale, I’d always bemoan that it was impossible for me to lose weight, that it was genetic, that it wasn’t under my control. More than anything, it made me realise that it was entirely in my control, and that my excuses were bullshit borne of not being able to perceive the outcomes of my previous, short-lived efforts.

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#495
Have a purpose for losing weight. One that you can keep in mind all the time. Even if it's not the most noble one, like sleeping with a girl you dream about.

Also, don't eat pizza, burgers, beer, soda, bread, rice, pasta, sugar or any desserts. Stick to grilled meat, eggs, bacon, chicken, fish, milk, cheese, yogurt and lots of greens.

Keep your mind occupied and don't forget you reason for doing it.

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#496
I've been exploring "weird" approaches to health improvement (including weight loss) for years.

In response to your post: it's not necessarily the case that more oxygen will lead to positive outcomes. Respiratory illnesses like asthma and sleep apnea can be caused by overbreathing/hyperventilation. The lungs need to maintain a certain level of CO2 in order for oxygen to be properly absorbed into the blood, and where this hyperventilation happens, the CO2 drops too low, blood oxygen drops, and the impulse to overbreathe is further exacerbated.

If you're looking at oxygen/CO2 levels as a potential means of improved weight loss, look into the Buteyko Breathing Method, which teaches you to breathe so that your oxygen and CO2 stays in optimal balance.

Another big thing to look at is metal toxicity; mercury, lead, aluminium, cadmium, as well as bio-unavailable forms of iron and copper are the most common.

It's worth investigating if these are present, and look at natural ways of removing them. I'd avoid chemical chelation, but moderate use of saunas, and natural detoxifiers like cilantro are worth considering - though seek professional advice before undertaking any such approach.

Other than that, I've lost about 5-6 kg in the past few months, just by ensuring I walk plenty each day (7000 steps works for me), and keeping my sugars/carbs down so that I'm just in very-mild ketosis in the morning and the evening. There's nothing extreme about it; I'm not avoiding anything altogether and not feeling at all deprived, just ensuring I'm burning off more than I'm storing each day. (Regular barbell/dumbbell sets through out the day can help with this too, especially if you're not able to walk that much.)

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#497
post #64

Weird tips like that? No, no definitely not. Just eat less man. It's pretty straight forward. Just eat one meal a day (lunch) and you'll see the weight fly off. It's what I did for a bit and lost the weight quickly. You'll lose 5lbs/month easily even for people who have a relatively lean body mass already. (Easier to lose a lot of weight when you're heavier because your BMR is high to begin with) I've done it as some…

> Just eat less man. It's pretty straight forward. Just eat one meal a day (lunch) and you'll see the weight fly off. You're suggesting a diet that requires a discipline that, empirically, is obviously beyond the reach of most people. Here's much, much simpler advice, that is also more enjoyable to do: Just eat better. Or just somewhat better, and do some exercise. You'd be surprised how easy it is to purchase or coo…

That works for you because you enjoy cooking. If you hate cooking then one meal per day is much better because you only have to do the thing you don't like doing once per day instead of 3+.

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#499
Do some exercise. But wat h out: a lot of exercises will increase your body mass because you will build muscle!

So, in other words: you may want to lose some fat but you may also want to con very some body mass from fat to muscle.

=> do not only rely only on the number on the balance.

Re: Ask HN: Any weird tips for weight loss?

#500
post #64

Weird tips like that? No, no definitely not. Just eat less man. It's pretty straight forward. Just eat one meal a day (lunch) and you'll see the weight fly off. It's what I did for a bit and lost the weight quickly. You'll lose 5lbs/month easily even for people who have a relatively lean body mass already. (Easier to lose a lot of weight when you're heavier because your BMR is high to begin with) I've done it as some…

> Just eat less man. It's pretty straight forward ... > You don't have to worry about eating another meal or two. You do realize for many overweight people eating isn't something to worry about but to look forward to? It's not that we don't understand thermodynamics. It's just a big part of enjoying being alive.

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