Being fat is a trap • Hacker News Board

Re: Being fat is a trap

#121

Post by thanatropism » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:30 PM UTC

Maybe I wasn't receiving the full Fitness Message as someone proudly sedentary, but the way I experienced the world (seen through what I think I know now), it always seemed like people overemphasize weight loss and being thin as a marker of health.

People, people, I know many of you don't want to look like you lift, but skeletal muscle has moby advantages in minimizing the annoyances of old age. It also literally helps in weight loss. I'm also told it regulates insulin. Plus weight training also strengthens your tendons and bones. If you start deadlifting heavy at age 40, you will develop strong spinal erectors which will likely protect you from herniated discs when you're 60.

Losing weight is fine and will help preventing coronary / fatty liver etc diseases. But please make it priority number 2. Build muscle and try, as a bonus, to lower your body fat percentage. If you never do, it's better to be 35% bodyfat and yoked than to be 30% and made of blubber and chalk.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#122

Post by friendzis » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:30 PM UTC

maztaim wrote: post #12

For me, quitting tobacco was simple, don’t use. Quitting alcohol was simple. Don’t drink. I cannot simply abstain from eating. I can relate to the struggles and feelings from this article.

> I cannot simply abstain from eating.

Eating is usually (insert a number of asterisks) not a problem, more often than not it is snacks snacks.

The problem is twofold. First, snacks are typically extremely calorie dense. Even a small snack can easily offset caloric deficit coming from reduced portions. Second, leptin, the satiety hormone, is barely secreted from carbs, which are again calorie dense and main ingredient of snacks.

With these two in mind, it is no coincidence that it is hard to not overconsume snacks and snacks quickly lead to caloric surplus.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#123

Post by spiffytech » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:30 PM UTC

netdevphoenix wrote: post #22

maztaim wrote: post #12

For me, quitting tobacco was simple, don’t use. Quitting alcohol was simple. Don’t drink. I cannot simply abstain from eating. I can relate to the struggles and feelings from this article.

You don't need to abstain. You can either eat less or simply eat more low caloric food (greens, potatoes, lentils, etc)

Many people find "cold turkey" to be an effective way to discontinue bad habits or addictive behaviors. It's brutal, but carrying it out is simple and binary.

You can't do that with food. Your only choice is to develop moderation, restraint, and discipline. You're forced to always be around temptation. To always indulge at least a little, but hopefully somehow not too much.

This is much harder to do. And you have to keep doing forever — even when you're tired or stressed or bored or whichever feelings trigger your bad habits. For life.

"Eat less" / "eat veggies" is a mechanical solution to an emotional and physiological problem. The GP is highlighting that some tools we apply to similar problems can't be applied here, and so we see poor results and higher recidivism.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#124

Post by dnpls » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:31 PM UTC

waynenilsen wrote: post #17

maztaim wrote: post #12

For me, quitting tobacco was simple, don’t use. Quitting alcohol was simple. Don’t drink. I cannot simply abstain from eating. I can relate to the struggles and feelings from this article.

It can be this simple if you eat a controlled diet. Say Soylent or similar only for 3 months. Compliance is very easy to detect at least

yuck - while the soylent diet might be efficient on short term, it's not sustainable. It's harder at first to eat better, healthier foods (more vegetables and fruits, meat and eggs, less fried foods and stuff with a zillion additives or refined sugars) but so much easier to maintain once the habit is formed. Stuff yourself with whole foods 80% of the time, it's going to be ok to eat a burger with fries or a pizza every now or then, and it doesn't feel like a sacrifice. Bonus: you'll feel the difference in energy levels.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#125

Post by flkiwi » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:31 PM UTC

andrew_lettuce wrote: post #47

flkiwi wrote: post #18

Ok, but there's also an environmental (and one completely reasonable mental) factor: I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) most of the year and there are few public outdoor spaces generally thanks to rampant overdevelopment, I hate gyms and toxic gym culture, I have a quaint bungalow that doesn't have space for equipment, I work an intense job that keeps me focused for hours at a time,…

I don't disagree with you, but also don't think (based on what you described) that you're a great example of the environmental components. Compared to say someone who hasn't known non fat as a norm for generations and doesn't have a grocery store for miles you actually recognize the issue and problems. It sounds like you have a lot of tools and resources to overcome systemic aspects but prioritize other things. There…

I appreciate the response, but I'd caution against extrapolating from a list of examples intended to represent a generally comprehensible set as a representation of my (or anyone else's) full life context. I mentioned the food desert concept elsewhere, and there is zero doubt that generational health and simple food geography are a major driver of health for many people, often in surprising ways.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#126

Post by wiseowise » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:31 PM UTC

SonOfLilit wrote: post #35

I have extremely lucky genes and have managed to stay just within the green BMI range despite eating all the carbs and fats you can imagine and at times consuming 200-300g of milk chocolate a day. Some of my friends are obese despite exercising heavily every day. Finding ways you enjoy to keep an active lifestyle is a great idea, probably the highest impact thing you can do for your long term well being (for people i…

> I have extremely lucky genes and have managed to stay just within the green BMI range despite eating all the carbs and fats you can imagine and at times consuming 200-300g of milk chocolate a day.

You’d be surprised just how little you eat. I’m also like that, thinking that I eat shitton and don’t get fat at all while my friends can’t lose 5 kilo. When I’ve started counting, even with all the junk food, I’ve been barely pushing above 1,5k.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#127

Post by pabna » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:31 PM UTC

Gained 45 pounds in a year due to light-depression from the economy. Just got on Ozempic/Semaglutide last week so hopefully should be back to my goal weight in 3-6 months.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#128

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:31 PM UTC

flkiwi wrote: post #18

Ok, but there's also an environmental (and one completely reasonable mental) factor: I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) most of the year and there are few public outdoor spaces generally thanks to rampant overdevelopment, I hate gyms and toxic gym culture, I have a quaint bungalow that doesn't have space for equipment, I work an intense job that keeps me focused for hours at a time,…

[deleted]

Re: Being fat is a trap

#129

Post by LoganDark » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:32 PM UTC

almost_usual wrote: post #37

LoganDark wrote: post #9

I feel like the author is generalizing by assuming that everyone who is fat has an "obsession with food".

Most people I know who are overweight have more of an obsession with beer/alcohol and they make poor food choices when intoxicated. They eat snacks before bed, consume high calorie foods with low nutritional value. Then they feel too tired or hungover to be active the following day due to a poor night of rest.

I struggle to pay attention to diet because of ADHD. The closest thing I'd have to food obsession is just the normal level of hate for myself that's common to everything. My doctor says I'm quite close to obesity, and my own research suggested most people my age and gender are supposed to weigh roughly a third less than I do. That's not anything quite like morbid obesity, but it's still something I occasionally hate myself for. Yes I would have to develop quite the food obsession to change habits about this because I don't think I've changed habits about anything for reasons like this before. Worth noting I have BPD so it's nearly impossible for me to do anything for myself. But I don't think I have that obsession right now.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#130

Post by lanfeust6 » Fri, Jun 06, 2025, 1:32 PM UTC

p1dda wrote: post #57

Stop eating junk food. It's as simple as that.

Junk food easily to blame for the initial weight-gain (most of the time), but cutting it out usually isn't enough to reach optimal weight, unless the excess weight is marginal.