_Stupid question: Wouldn't a calorie restriction diet allow Eliezer to lose weight?_
Not a single person who's done calorie restriction consistently for a long period of time is overweight. Hence, it seems that the problem of losing weight is straightforward: just eat less calories than you would normally.
I posted a version of this argument on Eliezer's Facebook wall and the response, which several people 'liked', was that there is a selection effect involved. But I don't understand this response, since "calorie restriction" is defined as restricting calories below what a person would eat on an ad lib diet (as distinct from a diet that involves having a a weight that falls below what the person would weight normally).
ETA: There's now a lucid post on Eliezer's Facebook wall that answers my question very well.
Not a single person who's done calorie restriction consistently for a long period of time is overweight.
All the people for which the diet produces problems quit it and don't engage in it consistently. If your brain function goes down because you body downregulates your metabolism to deal with having less calories and you want to keep your brain functioning at a high level you will stop engaging consistently in the diet.
There also the issue that you deal with a hunger process that evolved over tens of millions of years and try to beat it with a cerebral...
Haven't had one of these for awhile. This thread is for questions or comments that you've felt silly about not knowing/understanding. Let's try to exchange info that seems obvious, knowing that due to the illusion of transparency it really isn't so obvious!