This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I guess I have some experience here. Starting back in 2021 I was the heaviest I had ever been (260 lbs) and decided I wanted to lose weight. I saw a nutritionist, we worked on a meal plan and routine. I changed a whole bunch of my habits and about 18 months later I was down to 185 lbs. Over the two-ish years since then I've gained most of it back and am about 220 lbs as of this morning.
Losing weight this way required changing a lot of daily habits. Counting calories. Keeping regular track of my weight. Paying attention to portion sizes. I would venture to say most people don't do any of this. They eat in a very intuitive way that likely matches the way they grew up eating or their social environment. I think likening it to drug addiction makes sense. Not necessarily because people become physically addicted to food, but because the scope of changes to one's life can be similar. I'd liken it to mild alcoholism, which is also something I struggle with. Losing weight was much harder than controlling that!
In terms of why I gained the weight back, the habits necessary to maintain that lower weight require active upkeep, at least for me. If I fall out of the habit of counting my calories or macros, of weighing myself every day, it's easy to get back in bad habits that involve eating a lot more.
This part is weird, to me. I was significantly weaker at my primary form of exercise (powerlifting) after my weight loss. And no one I had ever interacted with had commented on my weight in a negative way socially. The reasons I started losing weight were definitely internal to me, not anything I felt pushed on by anyone else.
More options
Context Copy link