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Comment by curiousllama | Hacker News Reader

It’s the phrasing, not the idea per se. Like, yes, weight loss is energy consumed - energy burned, but it’s rather obvious, rather unhelpful, and simplifies things in a way that triggers shame, not determination for people who have to overcome more barriers.

It’s like you’re in the middle of a marathon and someone running a 5k goes “have you considered running faster?”

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I lost 30kg in a year or so by following "calories in / calories out". For me it was very helpful for two reasons:

1. Unlike a fixed diet or meal plan, it freed me to keep eating the things I wanted to eat. Not exactly as before, but to a large degree. I really enjoy my food, so not being forced to eat stuff I didn't want or like was crucial. Instead I focused finding ways of keeping the calories per day roughly at a target value. This simplified things a lot for me, as it was a clear and very tangible goal.

2. If I failed one day, say maybe I went out with some friends or I just had to have some ice cream or whatever, it allowed me to not feel bad about it. I knew this process would take a year at least, so "calories in / calories out" meant whatever I do today doesn't matter much, it's what I do every day that matters.

Hahaha yes this is great. Similar with “Oh, you’re poor? Have you tried making more money?”

I love Rutger Bregman’s Ted talk on how being poor impacts decision making.

https://www.ted.com/talks/rutger_bregman_poverty_isn_t_a_lac...

Yep, fat shaming doesn't work because the rich bully the poor all the time and that definitely hasn't changed anything

"Money in, money out."

You would think it obvious but suprisingly a lot of people didn't know that.

Sure it can be interpreted multiple ways and like with any idea, there will always be some people that offended.

Some people may find it obvious but some other people can find it helpful.

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