
An Engineer's Guide To Weight Loss - twampss
http://teddziuba.com/2008/05/an-engineers-guide-to-weight-l.html
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gaius
"Dieting and exercising suck. This is possibly the most miserable thing you
can do to yourself. You are not going to have fun."

Bzzzt! Wrong attitude. If you hate the exercise you are doing, find another
one, there are more sports than anyone can count. If you hate healthy food,
learn to cook, I guarantee that anyone who knows what they are doing can
prepare a healthy meal that tastes better than pizza or a burger.

Setting out to make yourself miserable is setting out to fail.

~~~
pg
Yeah, that was weird. To me playing soccer is just about the most fun thing in
the world.

~~~
ardit33
second that. It is one the most geek friendly sports, it can be from very
relaxing to very competitive (depending on who you are playing with). You
don't have to be huge, extra tall, have any extra abilities to be decent in
soccer.

And I love that there are soccer field sprinkled all over SF, and plenty of
co-ed leagues (which tend to be more fun).

Plus, having a great run, gives you a certain natural high, that it is just
awesome. Running all the way to Golden Gate Bridge from my home and back,
feels just great.

~~~
eru
> It is one the most geek friendly sports,

Soccer is _the_ jock sport in Europe.

Ultimate Frisbee is geek friendly even here, though.

~~~
ardit33
huh? I am european, and everybody plays soccer back home. I mean everybody
(girls a little less, but usually at the beach). I hope you don't think
everybody is a jock.

Are you FAT, you would be a great for a golie (if playing small goals). Are
you tough, but kinda slow, play defenese. Do you have great endurance, then
midefield, are you good at sprinting and shooting, then offense.

In soccer there is a place for everybody, as long as you can run some.

Ah, probably ultimate frisby is a very geeky sport, in kinda lame way. It is a
very demasculating sport.

~~~
eru
I am from Europe, too.

Ultimate did not feel demasculating the last time I played. It is a very
competitive sport but in terms of physical aggression is almost the opposite
of soccer. You have to run a lot, too.

As soon as I am back home I'll go back to juggling, unicycling, lock picking
and walking on a slackline. The real geek sports.

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edw519
The _real_ engineer's guide to weight loss:

"The Hacker's Diet"

<http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/>

Written by John Walker, author of Autocad. He claimed to have solved every
problem he had except weight loss, so he just treated it as another
engineering problem. Very interesting read for those with scientifically
oriented minds. The Palm software is cool, too.

~~~
jgrahamc
I've been following The Hacker's Diet (had 7kg to lose to get to my 'ideal'
weight) and it's been relatively easy. At some point I plan to blog all the
data, but I've been consistently losing about 0.6kg per week since I started 5
weeks ago.

Quick summary of what has worked for me:

1\. Stopped eating anything between meals. I probably cut out 12 cans of Coke,
2 chocolate bars, and 2 cakes/treats per week. I estimate this at 2,640 kcal
alone

2\. Started listening to my stomach so that I'd stop eating when I was full,
and didn't take second helpings that I didn't actually need.

3\. Have been following the exercise plan and now avoid taking lifts or
escalators.

4\. I am not counting calories for my meals since excluding my between meals
rubbish I eat fairly balanced food.

Also I'm saving money... basically I'm losing weight, feeling better and
saving about 26 Euro per week. Since I plan to cut out that stuff permanently
I'll be able to afford a spanking new iPhone after 6 months.

Lose Weight, Save Money, Feel Better, Get an iPhone!

~~~
eru
I read that guide, too, some time ago. Unfortunately, I am not overweight --
so no iPhone for me coming soon.

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Prrometheus
I disagree with the exercising part. Playing pick-up and adult league sports
around town is far more satisfying and less boring than an elliptical or
treadmill machine. As a bonus, you get to satisfy some of your social needs as
well.

I play Ultimate Frisbee and Basketball. I sucked at first, but eventually it
taught my brain to think and react in new ways and I got better - which is
pretty cool! For a guy like me who moves to a new city every two years, the
social benefit of being part of the Ultimate Frisbee network cannot be
overstated.

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tungstenfurnace
My goodness, if he'd advertised his thoughts as "The Cholera Diet: a great way
to lose 20kg" they could hardly be less attractive.

If he could discover why he desires cheeseburgers so much then perhaps he
could find a way to _want_ to eat less. As it stands he is using force on
himself and there is a heavy psychological price tag for that, as he
acknowledges. This will effect the rest of his life in ways he may not
appreciate.

~~~
edw519
"The Cholera Diet"

There used to be a diet bar named "Ayds".

In the early 80's people just stopped buying them. Nobody wanted Ayds anymore.

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augustus
I am in the top 5% of fitness of those above 30. My weight has been consistent
for more than 12 years. I have more muscle today than I did 12 years ago.

Frankly, I have never followed any diet. I simply limit my carbohydrates to a
level that matches my physical activity. I eat about 1 gram of protein per
pound of bodyweight and limit fats. I lift weight three times and try to run
about 2 times and it works.

All those micro-managed diet programs have never worked for me. The main thing
is to enjoy your workout and to enjoy the fitness lifestyle.

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swombat
Lame article. First of all, that system (I've tried it) sucks. It requires
constant attention and effort. I'd be surprised to meet anyone who's male and
can be bothered to count their calories every day for more than 1 or 2 weeks
(though some girls seem to manage, but they _really care_ ). You won't lose
much weight in 1-2 weeks, so this system will only result in making you feel
bad for yet again failing to lose any significant weight.

As I propose in my article here: <http://www.inter-
sections.net/2008/01/02/feedback/> \- you need a good, timely, but also
_effortless_ system of feedback. Something that requires you to carry a
notepad and add up numbers every day is a still-born failure.

The system that worked extremely well for me was much simpler: weigh yourself
every day (including body fat %). Plot that on a grid, and that'll provide you
motivation enough to keep your calorie intake down.

As an engineer, you should be aware that there's a few key vital behaviours
that, if you implement them, typically make all the difference. According to
various food associations, there's 3 vital behaviours for losing weight:

\- Weigh yourself every day

\- Eat breakfast every day

\- Have a way to exercise at home

Since I lost 10kg in 3 months by doing just 2 out of those 3 (but going heavy
on the "weigh yourself" bit by actually charting my weight and BF%), I can say
that it certainly seemed to work for me.

~~~
scott_s
_I'd be surprised to meet anyone who's male and can be bothered to count their
calories every day for more than 1 or 2 weeks_

I take it you don't know any bodybuilders, or any guys in a weight-class
sport, like wrestling, boxing, BJJ or MMA.

I think exercise can be feedback unto itself. Performance gains in strength
training and calisthenics come surprisingly fast.

~~~
swombat
(serious) body builders: a) aren't normal (they're a small minority) b) don't
have 50 pounds of extra flab

This article is obviously not targeted at body builders.

~~~
scott_s
You assume males can't count calories. I know plenty who can, and do when the
circumstances require it.

Literally counting every calorie gets old quick, but I think everyone should
be able to estimate their calorie intake. It doesn't take long to calibrate
your own intuition; after a week of paying close attention, most people should
be able to guess the calorie contents of a plate of food.

~~~
misterbwong
Agreed. I started counting calories a couple weeks ago. Once you get the hang
of it, you can estimate pretty well. In most cases, you don't need to know
_exactly_ how many calories you take in. Ballpark works just as well. If
you're coming close to the limits you set for yourself, stop eating.

~~~
swombat
I did that too. The problem is, this system does not work "just as well".
Certainly did not for me or anyone else I've spoken to. The "rough calorie
intake" thing breaks down because our lives are not as regular as you imply.
There are times when you will pig out, go on a bender and eat a load of food
while drunk, and that's very natural and normal in today's society. At that
point you need a feedback system that works whether you're sober or not.

Sadly, a general resolution to "watch your calories" just doesn't do it.

In order to work, a weight-loss system has to remind you each day of where
you're at (in perspective with where you've come from). Ultimately there's
only two measurements that count: your weight and your body fat percentage.
Measure those every day and you'll be much further on the way to weight loss
than by calorie counting. Sure, being aware of your rough calorie intake is
useful supporting data, but you need to measure the end result to get the
"proper" feedback.

The end result of weight loss is not calorie intake, it's loss of weight. If
you want to achieve that end result, you need to measure it. Sounds simple
enough, no?

~~~
scott_s
The suggestion isn't for calorie counting to supplant regular weighings, but
to supplement it.

Also, the end result is _fat loss_ , not weight. Which is why I think weight
is not the best metric, but performance in physical tasks. (As most people
can't get their bodyfat percentage checked regularly, and performing various
physical tasks is what allows you to keep or increase muscle mass while losing
body fat.)

~~~
swombat
A good scale which uses impedance to give a reasonably accurate measure of
body fat % is fairly cheap nowadays, fyi. I got mine for about £25 in the UK.
It's accurate enough to tell you whether your fat is dropping overall, week
after week - just make sure you measure at the same time each day (ideally,
just after waking up, before having breakfast).

~~~
scott_s
I used one once, and I was skeptical about its accuracy, since it required
gender and activity level as input. I still prefer performance as a metric,
because it measures fitness.

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frederiksen
This article was terrible. Staying fit is easy if you can have a great time
doing it. I work out with friends and try to play as many sports as I can with
people whose company I enjoy. The self-discipline with respect to eating can
be tough, but he's right, if you can keep your intake low for a couple of
weeks you won't find yourself wanting to eat so much all the time.

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signa11
why should i care, i have the body of a god : <http://www.huongsengrand.com/>

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umjames
South Bronx Paradise!!!

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_%28Aqua_Teen_Hunger_Force_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_%28Aqua_Teen_Hunger_Force_episode%29)

Seriously though, if coffee is an appetite suppressant, what about the sugar
and cream most people put in their coffee? Not to mention the fact that coffee
servings can come in large containers too.

And recommending smoking to replace drinking? Surely he can't be serious.

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Tichy
Start smoking, eat more ice cream, drink lots of coffee... Hm... Seems to be
the old fashioned type of engineer.

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mightybyte
<http://crossfit.com>

Enough said.

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jakewolf
Chew more times per bite and use smaller plates. Reduces available food and
taking longer to eat let's your brain realize you're not hungry anymore.

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Maro
Start training for an Ironman. Worked for me (-16 kg).

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Tamerlin
I hike in the mountains regularly (with a 50 pound pack) and spend 6-8 hours a
week in the dojo. :)

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kingkongrevenge
> Caffeine is an appetite suppressant.

It is not.

