Lots of people have system 1 processes governing calorie intake and expenditure that are maladaptive within their current environment. It’s possible to overrule these maladaptive impulses with system 2, but that imposes lots of cognitive load so most people are only able to sustain such efforts for a short time before reverting.
The article describes the common experience of people who temporarily go on medically supervised diets. Once they are left to their own devices, bereft of the external support and close supervision, they rely entirely on ongoing effort from system 2 to regulate their intake and expenditure. This eventually fails when limited system 2 resources get allocated to other tasks leaving system 1 to prevail.
Wealthy people can reliably obtain good long-term outcomes by hiring a nutritionally savvy chef and a good personal trainer, thereby creating an durable external regulatory system that doesn’t require ongoing conscious supervisory effort from their system 2.
Of course it is unfair that some people’s system 1 drives are wildly maladaptive, while others’ require only minor correction. File a support ticket to the Blind Idiot God. If you choose not to wait for the bug to be patched, however, then you must spend your system 2 effort wisely. Spend it upfront to impose prudent structure and routine around diet and exercise with the goal of minimizing the day-to-day, minute-to-minute supervisory effort required.
I’ve been into fat acceptance for quite some years, and more than a little irritated at the idea that emotional problems are a major cause of people being fat.
I knew I ate somewhat more than I was hungry for, but it wasn’t a lot and didn’t seem like it was worth the trouble to fight.
I read some Eric Franklin—probably in his Relax Your Neck, Liberate Your Shoulders: The Ultimate Exercise Program for Tension Relief, but possibly his Dynamic Alignment through Imagery—about how the ribs connect to the breastbone, and I realized that I was holding my shoulders up all the time. I was able to lower my shoulders and found an immediate drop in my anxiety level. I was also doing heartbeat meditation (focus on heartbeat as well as breath) which was probably also helping with anxiety.
In any case, I found to my surprise that my previous usual “I’m fed, but food is still interesting” had changed to “if I’m comfortably fed (in some cases, if I’m mildly hungry), food isn’t interesting”. I’ve lost seven pounds with very little effort, and I’m expecting that I’ll be able to lose more weight stably.
None of this is relevant to Eliezer’s situation with losing weight, but might be of general interest.
Lots of people have system 1 processes governing calorie intake and expenditure that are maladaptive within their current environment. It’s possible to overrule these maladaptive impulses with system 2, but that imposes lots of cognitive load so most people are only able to sustain such efforts for a short time before reverting.
The article describes the common experience of people who temporarily go on medically supervised diets. Once they are left to their own devices, bereft of the external support and close supervision, they rely entirely on ongoing effort from system 2 to regulate their intake and expenditure. This eventually fails when limited system 2 resources get allocated to other tasks leaving system 1 to prevail.
Wealthy people can reliably obtain good long-term outcomes by hiring a nutritionally savvy chef and a good personal trainer, thereby creating an durable external regulatory system that doesn’t require ongoing conscious supervisory effort from their system 2.
Of course it is unfair that some people’s system 1 drives are wildly maladaptive, while others’ require only minor correction. File a support ticket to the Blind Idiot God. If you choose not to wait for the bug to be patched, however, then you must spend your system 2 effort wisely. Spend it upfront to impose prudent structure and routine around diet and exercise with the goal of minimizing the day-to-day, minute-to-minute supervisory effort required.
I’ve been into fat acceptance for quite some years, and more than a little irritated at the idea that emotional problems are a major cause of people being fat.
I knew I ate somewhat more than I was hungry for, but it wasn’t a lot and didn’t seem like it was worth the trouble to fight.
I read some Eric Franklin—probably in his Relax Your Neck, Liberate Your Shoulders: The Ultimate Exercise Program for Tension Relief, but possibly his Dynamic Alignment through Imagery—about how the ribs connect to the breastbone, and I realized that I was holding my shoulders up all the time. I was able to lower my shoulders and found an immediate drop in my anxiety level. I was also doing heartbeat meditation (focus on heartbeat as well as breath) which was probably also helping with anxiety.
In any case, I found to my surprise that my previous usual “I’m fed, but food is still interesting” had changed to “if I’m comfortably fed (in some cases, if I’m mildly hungry), food isn’t interesting”. I’ve lost seven pounds with very little effort, and I’m expecting that I’ll be able to lose more weight stably.
None of this is relevant to Eliezer’s situation with losing weight, but might be of general interest.