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AlexU comments on The Unfinished Mystery of the Shangri-La Diet - Less Wrong
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I am questioning the value of diet and exercise. Thermodynamics is technically true but useless, barring the application of physical constraint or inhuman willpower to artificially produce famine conditions and keep them in place permanently. You, clearly, are one of the metabolically privileged, so let me assure you that I could try exactly the same things you do to control your weight and fail. My fat cells would keep the energy that yours release; a skipped meal you wouldn't notice would have me dizzy when I stand up; exercise that grows your muscle mass would do nothing for mine.
So, maybe staying thin requires Herculean effort for some. Why turn your back on that particular challenge? Elsewhere you seem to take a lot of pride in your determination to "save the world," which seems like no small feat. Don't try to lose weight -- lose weight!
I can starve or think, not both at the same time.
I'm sure you've seen the psych research suggesting people have a finite amount of "willpower" they can exercise at a given time. It probably does make sense for some people to worry about hard-thinking (or other endeavors) than staying in top shape.
It's not just that you only have so much "will power" that you ration, it's that your brain doesn't work when you're starving.
I had to cut weight for wrestling in high school (from a healthy 185 down to 160) and the will power to not eat wasn't even that difficult (though it did suck), but I still couldn't think well.
I love this comment. It reminds me how some days my brain is working like a champ and I can tackle any complex programming job with ease. Other days I'm simply aware that my brain is pretending to be a much less smart person's brain, and I should stick to more menial projects. If my job required me to be smart every day, I'd have to pay much more attention to the food / sleep / whatever combination that determines how my brain works the next morning.