Live data from Hacker News

People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

sciencedaily.com

221–230 of 350 posts

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#221
post #78

There's a really interesting study they did with pigs. They fed pigs four different diets that had the same amount of calories, but varying ratios of n3/n6 fats. The pigs with high n6/n3 ratio ended up much fatter and less muscular than the pigs eating a 1-1 ratio diet. It's a very neat demonstration that "all that matters is calories" is not true; your metabolism, and thus how you use the calories, is influenced by…

Very interesting! I've been reading up on nutrition recently and saw articles talking about this ratio, but they were focused on inflammation, not on body composition or hunger.

tmjdev wrote:

> If it was the ratio being studied, could you instead increase your n3 fat consumption?

Some articles suggest exactly that: "To improve the ratio of omega-3 fats to omega-6 fats, eat more omega-3s, not fewer omega-6s." [1]

If you're looking for sources other than fish, consider chia. Two tablespoons of chia give 4.3 g of omega-3 fat, as well as 10 g of fiber for no net carbs. [2] Don't eat chia seeds dry; [3, 4] mix into 1.25 cups of water and leave them for at least 30 minutes. I also combine with oats. (I used to eat 0.5 cups of oats every morning. When trying to lower carbs, I went down to 0.25 cups of oats and the chia. The omega-3 fat was a nice surprise.)

On the other hand, minimizing processed and restaurant foods is probably a good idea in general. And of course if your goal is to lose weight, removing something from your diet makes more intuitive sense than adding something.

[1] https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/no-need-to...

[2] https://cronometer.com/printfood.html?name=Bob%27s%2BRed%2BM...

[3] https://www.wbur.org/news/2014/10/24/chia-seed-alert-superfo...

[4] https://draxe.com/nutrition/how-to-eat-chia-seeds/

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#222

I eat all the time. I run hot. I also fat. I also think BMI is not a good measurement, not just because it says I'm morbidly obese, but also because it skews in favor of those with smaller frames for their height.

BMI seems to be one of those things that everyone in the relevant field knows is pretty damn bad, but no consensus has formed around anything better so they keep using it anyway. (I'm sure there are parallels to things in the software world - SQL comes quickly to mind - but that's a bit OT so I'll resist the temptation to explore that idea further.)

It's a good enough first approximation for the vast majority of people but because it's not perfect it is criticized by people with unfavorable numbers… which is the majority of people in certain societies.

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#223
post #77

Hunger is mediated by a bunch of hormones and you can test for some of those, but there is no test for the feeling of hunger. As a comparison, it is famously very hard for doctors to understand pain; it is also difficult for patients to communicate about pain. The feeling of hunger is not comparable between people. Hunger is driven by multiple sensations (blood sugar, stomach stretch, hormone levels) and by cognitive…

I lost weight during the pandemic by just trying to make sure I was hungry by the next meal time. By that I mean, I would eat breakfast and then see how hungry I was at lunchtime. If I wasn’t very hungry for lunch, then I would still eat lunch, but I tried eating less at breakfast the next day. Same with lunch-to-dinner. Over time my meal portion sizes came down, but I was not looking directly at that, I was just pay…

Motivation generally doesn't work for the long term.

A few months you may be skinner. 1,2,3 years, you may have maintained the weight loss.

10 years later will probably be fatter. Those are the numbers.

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are trying to convince everyone that the fruit & veg & lean meats is every bit as enjoyable as a steak and piece of cheesecake. It may be for them, but as a rule I have my doubts.

I've had this weird obsession with that Alone show, but there was an episode where one of the contestants decides her nutrition is messed up and she's going to eat the stomach contents of some wild hares she's trapped. She describes it as one of the tastiest meals she had the entire show. Literally half digested arctic vegetation. Your body rewards you for eating those things which satisfy your needs. McDonalds will…

I mean, the Alone people are literally starving. Levels of hunger play a huge part in how much you enjoy your food. I really enjoy a fresh bell pepper at times, but not right after desert.

You're arguing that people who eat bad things constantly only want a little of them when that is obviously not true. Plenty of people eat far too much steak far too often. People are keyed to like salt, fat, & sugar. It's a balancing act of moderation, it's not just a matter of finding that you love vegetables and you will always find them just as satisfying as Twizzlers.

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#225

There is so much content saying “calorie counting doesn’t work!”, but actually it really does. If you eat less than you burn you will lose weight.

"Calorie counting" describes the input. This article is about the output. Maybe read it instead of giving a tautological but also wrong dismissal?

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#226
post #130

I'm one of these people. Always super hot after eating, especially carbs (which I now avoid). Hard to gain weight even at 28. I also almost always wake up covered in sweat and have to change cloths. So not all roses.

most people wake up sweaty

Not at all, and I live in Brazil of all places

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why, but the fever thing is special I think. A common symptom of the flu is chills even though your body is at scorching temps. I "run hot" as my partner says. She'll touch my arm and it boggles her mind how hot I feel. I have to keep my room at 67F at night or I can't even use blankets. My sleep suffers from how hot I run. I don't feel cold in the least.

Could be food related. Feeling hot stopped when I did an elimination diet. Basically my body was constantly reacting to food. Eventually diagnosed with an autoimmune condition. Food is one of the primary ways I keep it under control.

I should try that, but I honestly don't mind running hot. I think it's partially sex-related too. I don't have any studies on hand, but from my personal experience, females tend to run colder than males. (Obviously this isn't for every case).

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are trying to convince everyone that the fruit & veg & lean meats is every bit as enjoyable as a steak and piece of cheesecake. It may be for them, but as a rule I have my doubts.

There are some fruits and vegetables and lean meats (which absolutely includes "leaner cuts of steak with the fat trimmed off") that I quite sincerely like as much as junk food, if not more. Two pan-fried salmon fillets and a big bowl of brussels sprouts with butter beats the pants off even a pretty good burger-and-fries, the main downside being the prep (and, well, the cost for most people). A pound of fresh strawbe…

> I assert most people will enjoy a baked potato ... about as much as garlic bread

See I'd assert the opposite, or at least the following more nuanced version, for myself:

If I make a baked potato, I'll eat it and be quite happy -- even delighted! -- with it. But! If I have to choose between a baked potato or garlic bread (say, on a restaurant menu) I'd choose the garlic bread virtually every time, unless I'm exerting Herculean levels of willpower to choose healthier options. And if I'm served a baked potato and garlic bread, I'd probably eat the potato, and then somehow find room to eat the garlic bread anyways.

I don't disagree that healthy food can be very tasty, but I mitigate my own struggles with healthy eating by "merely" never keeping unhealthy options around, so I can focus more on the joy of the healthy food, and not have to constantly choose to avoid the high-calorie treats.

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#229
post #169

If you are an engineer you are intelligent enough to work out how your metabolism works and make changes. What would be a reason to stay fat?

Oh yeah, obviously fat people are fat because they don't understand thermodynamics.

If you're an engineer, you should be smart enough to notice when you're making such a gross oversimplification

Re: People with low BMI aren't more active, they are just less hungry, 'run hotter'

#230
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've known very active cyclists that couldn't lose weight despite riding hundred mile rides weekly. In my youth, I could eat anything and do nothing and not suffer the consequences. I definitely fit the "run hot" part but I was the plate-cleaner in my family and didn't really stop eating like that until I was in my late 30s and suddenly started gaining weight.

> I've known very active cyclists that couldn't lose weight despite riding hundred mile rides weekly. Isn’t this against the laws of physics? If you’re burning a ton of energy and not eating excessively, where are their bodies getting mass from to maintain weight?

As someone who exercises a lot, the body ends up being extremely hungry all the time similar as to when I hit puberty as a child. `
Post reply on HN