Blog: Hilda Bastian: "Am I Going to Need a Smaller Plate? In Which I Juggle a New Weight Loss Trial & Old Systematic Reviews"

Does this sound familiar???

https://blogs.plos.org/absolutely-m...new-weight-loss-trial-old-systematic-reviews/

 

A recent article in the New Scientist said that all the evidence for food was just rubbish. Common sense says moderation is probably a good thing but there is no genuine scientific reason to change.

Looking at food labels and choosing the thing with the least additives is as good a reason to make a choice as looking at the latest research.

 

Science began largely as an effort to categorize things, to determine what is one thing and not another, what makes different things different and how they differ, by what characteristics. Basic questions like is a rock different from a tree and how. This was a painful centuries-long effort.

All the lessons have been thrown out the window by the evidence-based medicine thing with systematic reviews. Things are lumped together, specific effects are blurred and things that barely have superficial similarity are insisted to be the same.

So not only is the crisis of replicability allowed to fester and grow, its problems are being expanded into other areas, largely by the process of dismissing the scientific method in favor of the old system of rhetoric-based arguments.

And those who point out those flaws, calling for more rigorous scientific method, are angrily insulted as anti-science. Good grief.

 

^^ A much needed observation!! Are/were you in the sciences?

 

In my case it does make a difference... My meals are cooked and dished up by OH. If he's dishing up on a big plate I get HUGE portions (I think he's afraid I'll starve ). Sometimes I eat more of them than I should*. So I now request him to use small/smaller plates. After all, if I'm still hungry after finishing my plate of food, I can always ask for seconds.

* I think the problem is that I don't want to hurt OH's feelings if I leave food he's so lovingly prepared and cooked for me. So I guess you're right, @NelliePledge, it is more complicated than merely the size of plate. But smaller plate works for me. But that's more for psychological reasons than physical ones?

 

I would suggest that the trick to weight loss is to use much bigger cutlery, no matter what size the plate is, if indeed there is a plate.

I suspect this is why barbarian heroes are always ripped - the effort of using a 5 foot long knife discourages eating much, as well as burning excessive amounts of calories and providing a fairly intensive workout when they do. When using a 5 foot knife as cutlery slow and careful would be the moto, as those who don't won't remain barbarian heroes for long. Coincidentally this is exactly the way you are supposed to lift heavy things for maximum results.

 

In our family, I think it was encouraged to not leave food on your plate. I think I have only done it a small number of times in my whole life. Possibly didn’t help with weight gain at one stage.

It’s interesting to see it being more acceptable for my nieces and nephews to not clear their plates.

 

I've found that my smaller plates are easily negated by second helpings

 

Does being a science nerd count?

Not much in school, ironically, I wasn't a good student despite good grades. I learned software development, of which a primary skill is the rigorous application of a scientific process, that gave it practical value. Then expanded into soft skills: politics, economics, philosophy, which made me appreciate the scientific method even more, especially its real-life impact. I fell in love with physics, though I have no ability to maths despite lots of advanced classes at university, and science in general more recently. I like truth, mainly. Science is the best process for that.

Experiencing the impact of bad science made it all too real. I've long had an interest in disinformation and I couldn't miss the strong similarities between political disinformation and bad science. This stuff is important, it isn't merely academic. Which really makes being insulted as an anti-science activist by lousy ideologues all that more ridiculous.

 

Regardless of the size of plate used, I still usually manage to get a lot of its contents either onto the table or onto myself when eating (and miss the plate when trying to put food on it from the cookware).

 

Probably nothing will beat a sharp pain in the gut at the slightest trespass into eating too much that ME has brought me. That and the constant nausea. And the bloating. And the pain. I already mentioned pain, but it's actually a different kind of pain. Like, layers of pain.

Want to eat a tiny bit too much? Well, IT WILL HURT LIKE HELL! Now that's an effective diet.