Optimization in food production.
Optimization in regulation of hunger and energy utilization. We have done the
first and evolution the second. Humans haven’t always had easy access to food.
It is hard to get fat off of scavenged fruit, and deer tend to run away when
you try to eat them. So we store. We store food, yes, but that was not always an
option. So we stored energy. We ate what we could, then stored the energy until
we could manage to trap another rabbit. That is in the past. This is the
future, and the future has shelves. Seemingly endless shelves stocked with
food. Cases of produce that don’t even grow in this climate. We have truly
optimized food production and storage. The proof? Twenty billion dollars, by
some estimates, spent in the United States for the sole purpose of eating less
food. That is a market that I am sure did not exist two millennia ago.
Well here it is, the secret to
dieting for all who have been dying to know. All diets work, but dieting doesn’t
work, the only way to reduce fat through metabolization is to consume fewer Calories
worth of food than the number of Calories
of energy you exert.
Please
also notice how carefully that previous sentence was constructed. Calories are
not something that you consume. A Calorie is a unit of measure of energy. It is
also capitalized on purpose. A Calorie, as we know it, is synonymous with a
kilocalorie or 1000 calories. The true number of calories in your food is
simply a property of the food, denoting the amount of energy that can be
produced in the form of heat when the food is literally burned.
Why
don’t diets work? because a diet is temporary. Your diet needs to change in order to effect a change in your body.
Any diet that reduces caloric intake can be effective, but it must be
maintained.
What about those magic diet pills?
They don’t work, plain and simple. Pills can’t increase your metabolism, not
safely anyway. Your metabolism is strictly regulated in response to your
activity levels, amount of stress, the external temperature, and other such
factors. Any significant increase would come with significant side effects. The
medications that are actually proven to help with weight loss work on the
hunger signals in the body to reduce cravings. They are also prescription
medications and are not available online or through phone order.
What if I don’t want to lose weight.
Our society has done well to promote inclusivism. You should not discriminate
or shame people based on innate properties of their person. Here’s the thing
though. Body weight is not innate. A refusal to strive for a healthy weight is,
of course, one’s own choice, as is the choice to smoke cigarettes. It will also
certainly lead to health complications and an overall decrease in life
satisfaction just like smoking cigarettes.
There is a dangerous tendency for
persons with unhealthy habits, such as maintaining an excessive weight, to be
in denial about the extent of their problem and the inevitable effects it will
have in the future. Even worse, however, is the tendency I have seen, for such
people to accept their problem. To say I am obese and I am okay with that. I am
never going to change. These are the people who have given up on themselves. Let
me be clear that I do not think people should be shamed for their problems. We
don’t know their story, and the heroin addict is certainly not going to stop
using because he gets called a junkie. Do not expect me to support his drug
habit either. For as long as someone is engaging in an unhealthy behavior they
should be encouraged to improve their lifestyle.
-AMS
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