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The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

dberkholz.com

11–20 of 93 posts

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#12
post #5

> Moderate alcohol intake (vs none, occasional, or heavy) I thought it had already been shown that the only healthy amount of alcohol is zero. I'm also surprised that "moderate" is better than "occasional".

In a vacuum, zero is best since it's a poison.

But the real world is full of trade offs and confounders. Like the increased socialization with friends & co workers could have health benefits that outweigh the negatives of alcohol. Or that many people who drink nothing are ex-alcoholics.

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#13

Wow, congratulations! 55 lbs is a lot of weight to lose. Your approach of gradual changes and focusing on caloric deficit is refreshing compared to the extreme diets and fad-based approaches that seem to come and go every few months. Keep up the awesome work!

ChatGPT alert ^

Nope, just me. As someone who also struggles to lose weight I am tired of hearing about Keto and Paleo. I would be thrilled to be down 55 lbs. Sorry if it sounded insincere.

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#15
post #5

> Moderate alcohol intake (vs none, occasional, or heavy) I thought it had already been shown that the only healthy amount of alcohol is zero. I'm also surprised that "moderate" is better than "occasional".

In a vacuum, zero is best since it's a poison. But the real world is full of trade offs and confounders. Like the increased socialization with friends & co workers could have health benefits that outweigh the negatives of alcohol. Or that many people who drink nothing are ex-alcoholics.

The folks in so-called "blue zones" that live longer on average than anyone else in the world drink alcohol regularly yet moderately.

https://www.wellandgood.com/alcohol-in-blue-zones/

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#16
post #5

> Moderate alcohol intake (vs none, occasional, or heavy) I thought it had already been shown that the only healthy amount of alcohol is zero. I'm also surprised that "moderate" is better than "occasional".

In a bubble that might be true, but life is often more messy.

>Put simply – many of the abstainers were either ex-alcoholics or people with factors that would increase the risk of premature death (that is why probably they stopped drinking).

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/199398#1

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#17
post #2

Moderate drinking is good for you?

Simply not true, no amount of alcohol is good for you. See: https://podcastnotes.org/huberman-lab/episode-86-what-alcoho... Not saying everyone should be sober 100% all the time (I drink occasionally myself), but there are much safer and more fun alternatives (med dose psilocybin etc.)

Those living in "blue zones" would disagree, and they live longer than anyone.

https://www.wellandgood.com/alcohol-in-blue-zones/

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#18
post #5

> Moderate alcohol intake (vs none, occasional, or heavy) I thought it had already been shown that the only healthy amount of alcohol is zero. I'm also surprised that "moderate" is better than "occasional".

In a vacuum, zero is best since it's a poison. But the real world is full of trade offs and confounders. Like the increased socialization with friends & co workers could have health benefits that outweigh the negatives of alcohol. Or that many people who drink nothing are ex-alcoholics.

Not only in a vacuum. In some contexts, like people who don’t drink already and still have a healthy social life (like myself), it is very much real world and zero is best.

Considering only the contexts where you have trade offs and use it as public advice is plain wrong.

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#19
post #5

> Moderate alcohol intake (vs none, occasional, or heavy) I thought it had already been shown that the only healthy amount of alcohol is zero. I'm also surprised that "moderate" is better than "occasional".

> I thought it had already been shown that the only healthy amount of alcohol is zero

It has been, but asking people to completely refrain from alcohol is basically a non-starter for a huge part of the population.

Re: The lazy technologist's guide to weight loss

#20
This is almost exactly what I did when I needed to shift 70lbs in a hurry - although I cut my calories harder and incorporated a 2.5 mile walk every day to the office and back. I also only drank gin/vodka/whiskey with diet mixers, when I did drink, and I drank little.

Having WiFi scales helped enormously - seeing my progress day by day, week by week - and being fascinated to see my weight fall but take on a gradual asymptotic curve as my metabolism adapted to the new regime.

Anyway. Eat less was the key, and seeing the measurable progress kept me going until I decided it was quitting time. That was 13 years ago, never regained the weight.

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