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While following this kind of protocol does help some people lose weight, the model it is based off has been debunked.

'Calories in vs calories out' dieting is based on the idea that each person has a fixed rate of at which they burn calories at rest, proportional to their bodyweight. This fails to account for the fact that ‘calories out’ depends entirely on the metabolic state of the individual, which is highly dependent on the quality of their nutrition.

Some diets lack certain key nutrients required for efficient metabolism, thereby inhibiting the body’s ability to utilise calories. Some diets also contain metabolic toxins that diminish the body’s ability to utilise calories.

For these reasons, diets that are equal in calories but that vary in nutritional content can have vastly different weight gain/loss outcomes.

A chronic calorie deficit will trigger a suppression of the active thyroid hormone T3. Lowering T3 causes a lowering of the metabolic rate, which lowers the rate of caloric burn at rest.

For this reason, CICO dieting often hits a wall when the body adjusts to the new low calorie lifestyle.

An alternative is to improve the quality of the foods, such that the metabolic rate increases while caloric intake is kept the same (or even increased too, by a lesser amount). This would be preferred by the body as it is a more complete solution: all nutrient requirements are being met and energy is being produced and utilised in abundance.

I think it is much more useful to think of the body as a dynamic energy-processing system, rather than a ledger of calories.

While following this kind of protocol does help some people lose weight, the model it is based off has been debunked.

'Calories in vs calories out' dieting is based on the idea that each person has a fixed rate of at which they burn calories at rest, proportional to their bodyweight. This fails to account for the fact that ‘calories out’ depends entirely on the metabolic state of the individual, which is highly dependent on the quality of their nutrition.

Some diets lack certain key nutrients required for efficient metabolism, thereby inhibiting the body’s ability to utilise calories. Some diets also contain metabolic toxins that diminish the body’s ability to utilise calories.

For these reasons, diets that are equal in calories but that vary in nutritional content can have different weight gain/loss outcomes.

B7: Biotin
Functions:
- Needed for cell growth
- Needed for metabolism of fats and amino acids
- Takes part in the transfer of CO2
Sources: eggs, beef liver, beef kidney

B6: Pyridoxine
Functions:
- Amino acid breakdown in the intestines
- Healthy immune system
Sources: potatoes, eggs, beef, beef liver, beef kidney

Vitamin A
Functions:
- Growth and development
- Immune function
- Healthy skin
- Vision
- Cholesterol conversion into pregnenolone
Sources: milk, cheese, eggs, beef liver, beef kidney

B1: Thiamine
Functions:
- Helps break down sugar and amino acids
- Needed to form the neurotransmitters acetylcholine and GABA
Sources: potatoes, coffee, eggs, oysters, beef liver, beef kidney

B2: Riboflavin
Functions:
- Needed for fat, ketone, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism
Sources: milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, beef liver, beef kidney

B3: Niacinamide
Functions:
- Helps with skin conditions
- Inhibits oxidation of fat in the tissues
Sources: beef, oysters, shrimp, beef liver, beef kidney

B5: Pantothenic Acid
Functions:
- Needed to metabolise protein, fats, and carbohydrates
Sources: milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, beef, oysters, shrimp, beef liver, beef kidney

B3: Niacinamide
Functions:
- Helps with skin conditions
- Inhibits oxidation of fat in the tissues
Sources: beef, beef liver

B2: Riboflavin
Functions:
- Needed for fat, ketone, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism
Sources: cheese, eggs, beef liver, beef kidney

Here I will list essential vitamins and minerals, and their sources. It is my amended version of the list featured in How to Heal Your Metabolism by Kate Deering. Sources described are for the diet I have designed for myself, and are not exhaustive.

B1: Thiamine
Functions:
- Helps break down sugar and amino acids
- Needed to form the neurotransmitters acetylcholine and GABA
Sources: potatoes, coffee, eggs, beef liver

Vitamin A
Functions:
- Growth and development
- Immune function
- Healthy skin
- Vision
- Cholesterol conversion into pregnenolone
Sources: milk, cheese, eggs, beef liver

Here I will list essential vitamins and minerals, and their sources. It is my amended version of the list featured in How to Heal Your Metabolism by Kate Deering.

I was careful to say "It is important to buy assets for significantly less than you think they are worth". Value is certainly subjective (in the sense that things are valued differently by different people).

As for methods of valuation, there are many out there, each with their pros and cons. Discounted cashflow (DCF) valuations are my preferred method as they directly address the purpose of investing: giving up value today in exchange for more value in the future. The key problem with this is that the future is inherently unpredictable, so building a DCF involves educated guesswork and is imprecise.

The flaws in valuation methods are why we should try to buy assets at steep discounts to our valuations of them, in case we are wrong.

Thinking in terms of gold is less arbitrary than thinking in dollars because gold is anchored in physical reality, whereas the dollar is anchored in political decree. When you choose to measure your wealth in a unit just because you want to trade for it later, you are prioritising the convenience of a transaction over the integrity of the measurement.

Measurement requires a constant. If you measure a table with a rubber band, the "length" of the table changes depending on how hard you pull the band. The US dollar is that rubber band. Its supply and value are subject to the whims of central bankers, interest rate policies, and the shifting needs of government deficit spending. Gold, however, is a physical element with a high stock-to-flow ratio. Its total supply grows at a very slow, predictable rate that no person can speed up by decree. Measuring in gold allows you to see the real change in an asset's value, independent of the currency’s volatility.

Gold's value is anchored by the arbitrage of mining. If the value of gold rises significantly, it becomes profitable to mine more, which eventually brings the value back into equilibrium with the cost of production. This creates a feedback loop rooted in physics and labor. The dollar has no such anchor; the cost to "produce" a trillion dollars is the same as the cost to produce one dollar: a few keystrokes. Using a unit that costs nothing to create to measure things that require real work is an arbitrary standard.

Drugs are a net negative for society.

Doesn’t need to be arbitrary emojis, it could just be a handful that you choose, each being a different flavour of acknowledgement.

Thumbs up,
Thinking emoji,
Mind-blown emoji,
Etc.

Edit: X spaces are an example of a limited set of emojis working well.

Doesn’t need to be arbitrary emojis, it could just be a handful that you choose, each being a different flavour of acknowledgement.

Thumbs up,
Thinking emoji,
Mind-blown emoji,
Etc.

Is there a reason the analogy follows from open vs closed societies, to open vs closed people? A society is not a person.

Those who advocate making most/all drugs illegal tend to think alcohol should remain legal, despite alcohol having many of the same problems as drugs.

The purpose of the law isn’t to minimise negatives and maximise positives. The purpose of the law is to uphold the rights of people.

Drugs are a net negative for society.