*!$%&£! oppressive diet culture

[ajva]

Im very confussed about something, I dont eat alot, or on a regular basis, but when I do eat I get all the essitials...well atleast try to, I dont eat chips, or big out on bon bons or anything, But I just cant lose weight if anything ive packed it on more then lost it, I dont know If its all the caffine I drink thru out the day, ive heard thats a bad thing, or if im just naturally fat, how can my eating help me lose weight, and is the caffine im drinking a bigger issure then the food im eating?
-Dallas

An average comment from caloriecounter.co.uk, also the site of gems like this one:

I hate myself so much. I weigh 140 Lbs. and I am 5'5" I just started not Eating anything, because nothing else works. I have tryed everything and nothing will work, so this is my only option. I don't even care if I die, I would rather be dead than continue life fat. Seriouslly, I hate myself so much. I don't think about anything except for how fat I am. I can't take it anymore. Please help me.

and this:

Recent studies show that fasting can be really good for you in moderation and it doesn't neccasseraly mean no food at all, it can mean just liquids so that you can have soups and things. Fasting should not be 10 days at a time if your nat experienced. Try 1-2 days a week for a while. If you fast not only does it give your organs a little break it also flushes your body out of all toxins and impurities as well as burning off excess fat.

TIPS FOR FASTING-
1) Drink plenty of water do prevent dehydration.
2) boil veg and drink the broth so that you still get essential vitamins.
3) take calcium supplements.
4) meditate and keep your self busy.
5) dont eat loads after ending a fast, slowly re-introduce fruit and fibre first and then the rest a few days later

I HATE THIS FUCKING INJUSTICE!!!!!!!!! IT'S A FUCKING SCANDAL TO BRING UP LITTLE GIRLS TO BELIEVE THAT IF THEY EAT A CERTAIN AMOUNT, AND EXERCISE A CERTAIN AMOUNT, THEN THEY WILL ACHIEVE THE IDEAL WEIGHT AND IF THEY DO NOT IT IS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH!!!!! IT'S A FUCKING LIE!!!! I WOULD NEVER LOOK SLIM UNLESS I WERE DYING!!! AND IT'S SO ALL-PREVALENT AND ACCEPTED AND INSIDIOUS THAT EVERYBODY BELIEVES IT, EVEN A LITTLE BIT!!! SO LET'S GO OVER THAT AGAIN, AND ASK YOURSELVES THIS TIME HOW MUCH YOU AGREE WITH WHAT I SAID "I WOULD NEVER LOOK SLIM UNLESS I WERE DYING". NO - YOU DON'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT, DO YOU - A PART OF YOU THINKS THAT IF I DIETED AND EXERCISED ENOUGH I WOULD BECAUSE ISN'T THAT THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD? BUT NO IT FUCKING ISN'T BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE WAY THE HUMAN BODY OR THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION WORK!!!! SO IF EVEN YOU LIBERALS THINK LIKE THIS, AND IF EVEN DOCTORS THINK LIKE THIS THEN WHAT FUCKING HOPE IS THERE THAT WE WILL EVER BE FREE? AAAAAAARGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!! IT MAKES ME SO FUCKING ANGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

[djm4]

Simple thermodynamics dictates that the amount of energy stored in your body is dictated by the difference between the energy you consume and the energy you use.

That's true as far as it goes, but it doesn't really go very far. For a start, we're endotherms, which means that a large proportion (80%, I think) of energy our body produces is produced in the 'non-useful' form of heat. Against this background, talking about energy 'used' runs the risk of looking unscientific.

Not only that, but the energy we consume is not equivalent to the energy that passes therough our mouths - our bodies vary a lot in the proportion of energy that they extract from our foods. This makes measuring energy consumption difficult. Two people eating the same food will not be 'consuming' the same energy, and nor will one person eating the same meal from week to week.

Thirdly, the human metabolism is a complex interlocking set of systems, with many different ways of dealing with an imbalance between energy intake and energy output. Not all of them involve fat production, and not all fat production is a direct result of an energy surplus (as Anne points out in her post).

Even a very vigorous and daily exercise programme won't make *that* much difference to the energy you use...

Source? Figures?

...so dieting is the most effective technique.

That conclusion just seems to come out of left field to me. At best, you've proved that exercise doesn't make a lot of difference (and even that's a dubious conclusion in the absence of hard data about energy use), but you haven't even addressed the question of whether the body consistently responds to a reduction in calorie intake by becoming thinner. You've said nothing about the effectiveness of dieting at all in fact, you're just taking for granted that it must somehow be more effective than this other thing that you've showed not to be.

And as for your snarky deleted comment - sheesh! Lisa was talking about experience, which is a perfectly valid counter argument to some pseudo-scientific twaddle invoking the first law of thermodynamics in a situation where it doesn't really apply. If you say 'Science shows that X always leads to Y', it's perfectly reasonable to ask why, in that case, X led to Z last Thursday. It's then up to you to demonstrate that Z was actually Y (or that X wasn't X at all), not to say 'well, I'm being scientific and you're not, nyaah!'.