I think the way LW talks about diet and weight loss is among the most irrational I've seen. It's not nearly as complicated as it's made out to be here.
A while ago I was speaking at a conference for people who were professionals at the subject of teaching people to lose weight. They generally also considered the topic to be complicated. Seeing the topic as being complicated is not a contrarian LW opinion but the opinion of the relevant professional field.
I, for instance, have very low will power.
That has little to do with anything given that the amount of will power isn't predictive of diet adherence. See Baumeisters book on will power.
These are pretty simple measures. And all they do is allow me to (1) eat less and (2) exercise more. People just don't wanna.
We do you talk about that instead of talking about a more relevant metric of success such as a long-term reduction in BMI? (Or another metric for being overweight)
Your example is just a play on the word "exercise". Shopping is exercise. Walking, moving.
So you are saying that going shopping would fall under your 5x times exercise per weak? It very likely isn't.
If you look in the dictionary exercise is defined as:: physical activity that is done in order to become stronger and healthier: a particular movement or series of movements done to become stronger and healthier
Shopping is not done to become stronger and healthier but is done for another end. Therefore it's not exercise.
Even if you don't look at the purpose of the activity, when you define any moving as exercise everybody exercises 24/7. That's very far from what most people mean with the term.
Seeing the topic as being complicated is not a contrarian LW opinion but the opinion of the relevant professional field.
It is as complicated as someone would like to make it. Just like anything else. But that's not helping people lose weight, IMO. That's my point. Instrumental rationality suffers when we get too far away from the simple facts.
And it depends on your definition of "complicated"...
That has little to do with anything given that the amount of will power isn't predictive of diet adherence. See Baumeisters book on will power.
Per...
The most recent post in December's Stupid Questions article is from the 11th.
I suppose as the article's been pushed further down the list of new articles, it's had less exposure, so here's another one for the rest of December.
Plus I have a few questions, so I'll get it kicked off.
It was said in the last one, and it's good advice, I think:
This thread is for asking any questions that might seem obvious, tangential, silly or what-have-you. Don't be shy, everyone has holes in their knowledge, though the fewer and the smaller we can make them, the better.
Please be respectful of other people's admitting ignorance and don't mock them for it, as they're doing a noble thing.