I do agree that the distinction you draw can get muddied. But look at it this way: Suppose there is a problem which consists of two sub-parts—one of which is simple and one of which is complicated. If there is an in-depth discussion of the problem, it is reasonable to expect that discussion to focus on the more complicated sub-problem. If someone wanders in and says that people are missing the point, then he himself is kind of missing the point.
The other thing to consider is that there does exist some evidence relating (1) to (2). For example, some people claim to have an easier time restricting their eating if they shift their diet away from carbohydrates. One could call this the Weak Carbs Hypothesis. Some people claim that if you simply eliminate refined carbohydrates (whatever that means) from your diet, you will naturally restrict your calories enough to become and stay thin. One might call this the Strong Carbs Hypothesis. I personally believe in what might be called the Junk Food Hypothesis.
If there is an in-depth discussion of the problem, it is reasonable to expect that discussion to focus on the more complicated sub-problem.
If this is what happened, I’d have said nothing.
What I observed was a discussion of 2 as if it were not really simple.
1 is a very useful conversation. My guess is that, generally, people want to talk about 2 because 1 is the hard part of dieting. If there is someway to hack 2, then you don’t need to worry about 1.
In my understanding, there isn’t a way to hack 2. But the discussion swirling around the articles on Taubes seemed to be advocating some ideas that seemed bogus and pseudo-scientifc to me, but I trusted LWers on account of the fact they tend to be smarter than I. Since losing weight (rather simply, and by ignoring all the noice I heard here) I’ve noticed my confidence in LW is lower.
The other thing to consider is that there does exist some evidence relating (1) to (2). For example, some people claim to have an easier time restricting their eating if they shift their diet away from carbohydrates.
This still is a 1 issue to me. I have dieting tricks I use too. But they aren’t somehow negating the simple calorie math that determines weight loss.
As far as carbs, my assumption (that I now feel stronger than ever about) is that carb-restriction diets “work” because Western diets tend to have lots of carbs in them and people are so accustomed. If you make a rule saying you’ll not eat carbs, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with enough calories eating non-carb stuff to not lose weight.
I mean, if someone is eating 60-65% of their caloric intake in carbs and then they quit carbs, they’ll lose weight.
If someone drinks a 6-back of beer a day and then quits, they’ll lose weight on account of consuming fewer calories. But we don’t call this the No Beer Diet and pretend something magical is occuring like we do with Atkins and other low carb diets.
What I observed was a discussion of 2 as if it were not really simple.
Would you mind linking to an example so I can understand what you are talking about?
If you make a rule saying you’ll not eat carbs, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with enough calories eating non-carb stuff to not lose weight.
That may very well be the case. I myself am pretty skeptical of low carb dieting. At a minimum, it does not appear to be the “silver bullet” which some people have claimed it to be.
I do agree that the distinction you draw can get muddied. But look at it this way: Suppose there is a problem which consists of two sub-parts—one of which is simple and one of which is complicated. If there is an in-depth discussion of the problem, it is reasonable to expect that discussion to focus on the more complicated sub-problem. If someone wanders in and says that people are missing the point, then he himself is kind of missing the point.
The other thing to consider is that there does exist some evidence relating (1) to (2). For example, some people claim to have an easier time restricting their eating if they shift their diet away from carbohydrates. One could call this the Weak Carbs Hypothesis. Some people claim that if you simply eliminate refined carbohydrates (whatever that means) from your diet, you will naturally restrict your calories enough to become and stay thin. One might call this the Strong Carbs Hypothesis. I personally believe in what might be called the Junk Food Hypothesis.
If this is what happened, I’d have said nothing.
What I observed was a discussion of 2 as if it were not really simple.
1 is a very useful conversation. My guess is that, generally, people want to talk about 2 because 1 is the hard part of dieting. If there is someway to hack 2, then you don’t need to worry about 1.
In my understanding, there isn’t a way to hack 2. But the discussion swirling around the articles on Taubes seemed to be advocating some ideas that seemed bogus and pseudo-scientifc to me, but I trusted LWers on account of the fact they tend to be smarter than I. Since losing weight (rather simply, and by ignoring all the noice I heard here) I’ve noticed my confidence in LW is lower.
This still is a 1 issue to me. I have dieting tricks I use too. But they aren’t somehow negating the simple calorie math that determines weight loss.
As far as carbs, my assumption (that I now feel stronger than ever about) is that carb-restriction diets “work” because Western diets tend to have lots of carbs in them and people are so accustomed. If you make a rule saying you’ll not eat carbs, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with enough calories eating non-carb stuff to not lose weight.
I mean, if someone is eating 60-65% of their caloric intake in carbs and then they quit carbs, they’ll lose weight.
If someone drinks a 6-back of beer a day and then quits, they’ll lose weight on account of consuming fewer calories. But we don’t call this the No Beer Diet and pretend something magical is occuring like we do with Atkins and other low carb diets.
Would you mind linking to an example so I can understand what you are talking about?
That may very well be the case. I myself am pretty skeptical of low carb dieting. At a minimum, it does not appear to be the “silver bullet” which some people have claimed it to be.
You’re right to have low confidence in our winning-ness. If we were winning so hard, why would we be so often theorizing about what it takes to win?
Reading and writing well means never having to admit that you didn’t do any research before weighing in.