# Stoid, Are You Still Confident that You Know a Lot about Diet and Obesity?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [February 12, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100 "2013-02-12T18:34:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 12

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**Author:** ![Oliveritaly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oliveritaly/32/15233_2.png) [@Oliveritaly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oliveritaly)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/221 "2013-06-18T14:34:49Z")

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> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> This is how it begins. There is no end.
> 
> Run, **colander**. _Run_!

Colander, I’m with VT on this one.

You’re an awesome poster so please run now.

Otherwise he ends up driving you insane and then eats your brains …

He should only be observed in the wild from a safe distance and never, ever, interacted with.

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**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/222 "2013-06-18T15:15:25Z")

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> [@Oliveritaly](#):
>
> You’re an awesome poster so please run now.
> 
> Otherwise he ends up driving you insane.

Yes, a lot of people find it very disturbing when someone requests that they actually back up their conclusions with evidence, examples, etc.

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**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/223 "2013-06-18T15:26:02Z")

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> [@brazil84](#):
>
> Yes, a lot of people find it very disturbing when someone requests that they actually back up their conclusions with evidence, examples, etc.

[Like this?](http://fineartamerica.com/featured/driftwood-pile-san-juan-lorraine-devon-wilke.html)

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**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/224 "2013-06-18T15:31:08Z")

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> [@kayaker](#):
>
> [Like this?](http://fineartamerica.com/featured/driftwood-pile-san-juan-lorraine-devon-wilke.html)

No, more like [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16390185&postcount=216).

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/225 "2013-06-18T15:33:54Z")

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Ohhhh, I was supporting a claim, though.

> [@colander](#):
>
> It’s like you were homeschooled by a pile of driftwood.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/226 "2013-06-18T16:30:45Z")

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> [@kayaker](#):
>
> Ohhhh, I was supporting a claim, though.

Oh I see now. Yes, if I’d asked for a picture so I could better understand what “driftwood” means, that would have been helpful.

Thank you again for your concern.

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**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/227 "2013-06-18T16:44:19Z")

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> [@Stoid](#):
>
> It is rather remarkable that it is a topic of such interest to him and yet he seems to be so much in the dark about so much basic information…

Like stuffing your pie hole with doughnuts isn’t really conducive to losing weight?

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**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/228 "2013-06-18T17:00:46Z")

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Why would you put doughnuts in your pie hole? That’s where the pie goes!

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**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/229 "2013-06-18T17:02:46Z")

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> [@Bob Ducca](#):
>
> Why would you put doughnuts in your pie hole? That’s where the pie goes!

Where should I put my pizza?

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**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/230 "2013-06-18T17:21:22Z")

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> [@Steophan](#):
>
> Where should I put my pizza?

Pizza pie. Pie hole.

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/231 "2013-06-18T19:06:13Z")

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> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#):
>
> Like stuffing your pie hole with doughnuts isn’t really conducive to losing weight?

Sure they are! Its only calories in/ calories out, remember? If i only eat a thousand calories per day, and i want all of them to be honeywheat donuts, theres no reason I wouldn’t lose weight.

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**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/232 "2013-06-18T19:59:27Z")

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**Stoid,** one thing I would appreciate if you clarified. I know you don’t view all calories as created equal. Do you believe that if a person has a basal metabolic rate of, say 2000 calories, and they are consuming 2200 calories a day, it’s possible for that person to lose weight, depending on the type of calories they are consuming? Or is it that you accept the calories in \< calories out theory, but just feel that carbs make it more likely you will consume more?

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**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/233 "2013-06-18T20:23:56Z")

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> [@Stoid](#):
>
> Sure they are! Its only calories in/ calories out, remember? If i only eat a thousand calories per day, and i want all of them to be honeywheat donuts, theres no reason I wouldn’t lose weight.

_If_ you maintained that diet, you would obviously lose weight, pretty quickly. Of course, you (or I, this isn’t personal) wouldn’t maintain it.

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/234 "2013-06-18T21:35:08Z")

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> [@olivesmarch4th](#):
>
> **Stoid,** one thing I would appreciate if you clarified. I know you don’t view all calories as created equal. Do you believe that if a person has a basal metabolic rate of, say 2000 calories, and they are consuming 2200 calories a day, it’s possible for that person to lose weight, depending on the type of calories they are consuming? Or is it that you accept the calories in \< calories out theory, but just feel that carbs make it more likely you will consume more?

Well, BMR is the starting point, right? So if they are running marathons then they will lose weight. 🙂

And yes, carbs drive appetite.

But to answer what I know you are really getting at, as best I’m able, consider the people who effortlessly maintain a stable weight without ever thinking about what they are eating. They can “go crazy” during the whole holiday season, regularly eating much higher calorie totals than they usually do, still never thinking about it. If they gain anything, it’s very little, and then very quickly after they go back to whatever is regular eating for them, they return to their stable weight.

There’s one or both of two things going on: their body is dumping or burning the excess calories, and/or their appetites are adjusting naturally to keep consumption in the range necessary to maintain a stable weight.

But very few people in America, specifically, ever have a chance to develop such a naturally healthy, efficient internal weight regulation system because of so many outside forces that disrupt it, very possibly starting as early as the womb, when Mom’s fucked up eating habits may be affecting baby. The disruption is nutritional, cultural, emotional… All by itself, eating so much pure, distilled sugar is deadly for the system.

And that’s my best answer.

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**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/235 "2013-06-18T21:40:38Z")

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> [@Steophan](#):
>
> _If_ you maintained that diet, you would obviously lose weight, pretty quickly. Of course, you (or I, this isn’t personal) wouldn’t maintain it.

Too true. Honeywheat fatigue actually sets in pretty fast.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/236 "2013-07-11T07:46:25Z")

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> [@Stoid](#):
>
> Sure they are! Its only calories in/ calories out, remember? If i only eat a thousand calories per day, and i want all of them to be honeywheat donuts, theres no reason I wouldn’t lose weight.

For what it may be worth, I think that there are two issues here which can be conceptually separated: First, the effect that eating a donut has on your fat metabolism. Second, the effect it has on your brain and appetite system.

As far as the first goes, calories in/calories out is a pretty good model and indeed if somebody was locked in a room and given 1000 calories a day worth of donuts, he would lose weight.

The second issue is the more interesting one. I think most people have observed that eating junk food like donuts gives you the urge to eat more and more.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/237 "2013-07-11T09:19:27Z")

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> [@brazil84](#):
>
> For what it may be worth, I think that there are two issues here which can be conceptually separated: First, the effect that eating a donut has on your fat metabolism. Second, the effect it has on your brain and appetite system.
> 
> As far as the first goes, calories in/calories out is a pretty good model and indeed if somebody was locked in a room and given 1000 calories a day worth of donuts, he would lose weight.
> 
> The second issue is the more interesting one. I think most people have observed that eating junk food like donuts gives you the urge to eat more and more.

Second issue is directly related to the first. Your fat metabolism affects your brain and appetite. They are intimately connected and cannot be separated. So yes, eating the donuts or bread or potatoes or sugar drives you to eat more…because of your fat metabolism.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/238 "2013-07-11T11:07:11Z")

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You two should meet for dinner and discuss this face to face.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/239 "2013-07-11T11:09:48Z")

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They wouldn’t be able to agree on a restaurant.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stoid-are-you-still-confident-that-you-know-a-lot-about-diet-and-obesity/650100/240 "2013-07-11T11:13:34Z")

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Well I thought it was classier than, “get a room”.

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