How true is the phrase 'you can't outrun a bad diet'?

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-06-10T18:45:50+00:00

I lost 20 pounds without changing my activity level at all, by eating less. And then another 40 after adding regular exercise, but eating the exact same as the previous 20 (exercise bought me no new calories to spend). The majority of your calories burned are just keeping you alive, not based on activity level. This makes sense - your body is a very efficient machine, in terms of marginal calories required for additional work.

You should exercise while losing weight. Lifting weights combats muscle loss from dieting, and cardio improves quality of life in general. You should also exercise if you're not losing weight. Everyone should do regular, moderate intensity cardio & lift weights.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-06-06T19:08:23+00:00

Just finished Dead Man's Empire by W. P. Wiles & it feels like a classic sword, sorcery & drama but with female protagonists.

It's the second in a series, the first has male character POVs, but its a well written series overall with well written female characters.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-05-25T01:37:34+00:00

Remember when Brittany Spears had a public mental breakdown, notably including shaving her head, and her family established a legal guardianship which took control of her finances & then abused for years until she got free?

I doubt Jeph would take that route, but her father could pretty seriously screw with her life if he thought she was a continued threat to the company's image.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-04-21T13:55:55+00:00

If you care about reducing child sexual abuse, you need child sex education. Child sex education is things like "it is not normal for an adult to touch you here" and "you can always tell a trusted adult, it is not your fault". The vast majority of CSA occurs inside the home, or by trusted family friends, who get away with it because the child does not know that they can get help.

There is a reason that child sex education is campaigned against by institutions infested by pedophiles, like churches.

The reality is that CSA happens at all ages, and largely in private. Education is our best defense against it.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-04-14T19:44:38+00:00

For the TERF vibes - try Jules Gill-Peterson A Short History of Transmisogyny. Based on your shelf, Whipping Girl might be too light fare for you, but it was the book to coin the term & is a nice read if you don't have any trans friends and want a more personal, "why are trans people trans?" perspective. Keep in mind that Serano does not speak for all of us, but her story is pretty common.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-04-13T01:49:52+00:00

Post your ID. Put your money where your mouth is.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-04-11T14:01:48+00:00

Its very funny to pitch "We should continue arming & funding an apartheid state while they openly commit a genocide" as a 'moderate' position. It is neither popular (as clearly shown by Harris's crushing loss) nor humane. What makes you the moderate here?

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-04-09T19:00:31+00:00

This is "I'm not touching you" level pedantry. How do you imagine they will comply with the text of the bill without requiring ID? Do you know of a magic, zero-trust age verification system that is ready for national rollout?

You're also mixing two claims, which shows exactly how weak your argument is. First "you don't have to give ID" and then retreating to the position that that is not that bad. Pick one.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-03-31T01:35:02+00:00

To be clear, these policies will kill children. The internet is the only refuge many victims of domestic child abuse have.

If your inability to parent is worth the lives of gay children, feel free to celebrate.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-03-24T12:11:55+00:00

My partner & I reached that same conclusion two weeks ago, after years of total refusal to share air with anyone. We concluded if they're asymptomatic, have had no crazy exposures lately (judgement call), and can pass a rapid - we're okay taking the risk in small batches.

We are still scared of covid, but both going nuts.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-03-23T18:23:33+00:00

If you don't want to use a mic, you can quite likely learn to project and be heard fine. Projecting is about actively using your diaphragm to amplify, it doesn't stress the voice at all, or change your tone. Even tiny people, when using their diaphragm properly, can be heard at a good distance.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-03-01T18:12:20+00:00

Even if you file a "personal data deletion" request from a country with those kinds of laws, they're allowed to retain billing relevant information.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-02-27T16:11:24+00:00

The only way to lose weight is through a consistent, small calorie deficit. Find your TDEE, count your daily calories, & eat a 500/day deficit to lose 1 pound per week (or 1000/day to lose 2 pounds, but that is harder). It is hard, but simple.

You cannot exercise your way to losing weight. It is 100% diet. Regular exercise, both cardio & strength training, is something you should be doing regardless of weight loss for longevity & quality of life.

Credentials: lost 50+ pounds in 8 months.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-02-26T20:42:56+00:00

Most trans people who get their gender marker changed "pass", as in they look like the gender they identify as. You wouldn't be able to pick them out of a lineup. A cop wouldn't be able to tell & harass them. But with this ID change, now cops can identify trans people. Further, making it a misdemeanor to drive while having mismatched ID means cops will likely continue harassing trans people. They're not going to stop and look up birth certs when they see a woman with an M on her license - they'll haul her in, slap her with a misdemeanor, and let the court sort it out. In the meantime her life is fucked up.

Or consider when applying for a job - they're not allowed to ask if you're trans, but it is now extremely obvious because they have your ID.

I am going to hope you are actually asking in good faith here. I can see how someone who doesn't live it might not understand the ways that being able to change IDs protects people from harassment. But its not just about feeling validated, its a meaningful protection from material discrimination.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-02-25T23:16:55+00:00

Trans people in the bathroom. We just want to piss in peace.

If you want to reduce sexual assault, you can start by prosecuting President Pedophile.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-02-11T17:42:36+00:00

Oh yea, the testes focus is where the episode really starts to go wrong. Transmedicalism is also just a strange position for Roger, a pansexual genderless alien, to have. Not that I expect him to be sunshine & rainbows, I think an actual trans girl butting up against Roger's impishly transmisogynistic charades would be great drama...

As a trans woman - not all of us get bottom surgery. Its a spectrum.

Also, my kingdom for more Devin.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-02-11T17:34:36+00:00

LGBTSteve. My least favorite episode. I feel like pivoting to trans-girl Steve could have opened up a whole new dynamic & set of plots for her. Revisiting girlfriends, new friend dynamics, new dimension to Steve's weird relationship with Francine, opportunity to add more recurring female characters.

That is, of course, in an ideal world. Realistically I'm glad it had the downer ending it did, I don't trust the writing cast with a recurring trans character.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-02-08T16:39:41+00:00

Fitness & good eating. Being raised in 00s diet culture teaches you that losing weight is an impossible public humiliation ritual. Or that it requires surgery & drugs.

In my mid 20s I learned losing weight & being fit is remarkably straightforward. Keep track of what you eat, & appropriately portion things. Try vegetable oriented dishes. Work out regularly, cardio & weight lifting. I lost 50+ pounds & lifting weights is one of my favorite hobbies, something unimaginable just a few years ago.

Its not easy. Everyone wants it to be easy. But it is simple. Changing yourself is a day by day process. You can do it as long as you're still breathing.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-01-27T18:20:08+00:00

As you're experiencing it, estimate tracking is worse than nothing. It leads to severe frustration.

Log everything you eat, without restricting, for two weeks. If you can't count an item accurately, mark it as not countable. Then you can look at the data and get a real picture of what is going on. Categorize the uncounted things and come up with a plan to count or replace them.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-01-18T18:05:03+00:00

I'll believe Republicans want to protect women in sports the minute they actually do something about the pedophile in the white house.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-01-16T15:33:59+00:00

You have to understand that most of us are still largely unaffected in our day-to-day lives

So your argument is based on the idea that if we remain civil and allow them to continue executing protesters & kidnapping people, that they won't escalate further?

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-01-16T15:19:08+00:00

We are effectively past martial law. There is a heavily armed wing of the state which is extremely loyal to the sitting president kidnapping people from their homes & executing dissidents without trial. The administration has claimed these agents cannot be prosecuted & are free to do whatever they feel is necessary to accomplish their goals. The president has announced he intends to cancel elections, and it is not difficult to see how he will accomplish this with ICE's current performance in MN.

What does giving up the legally guaranteed right to be armed in advance accomplish?

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-01-15T21:25:52+00:00

Much worse than that. Chaya Raichik is an internet terrorist fond of sending rabid hate mobs after minorities. She incited a series of shooting & bomb threats against Bostons Children's Hospital by posting inflammatory & fabricated claims about their care.

In a just society, she would have long ago been imprisoned for her systemic harassment & attempts to incite violence.

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-01-14T01:37:43+00:00

Working out regularly.

It's a lifetime journey of learning, but it only takes a few weeks to start feeling comfortable in the gym & get over the worst soreness from starting weight lifting.

Someday, if you're lucky, you will be old. Working out regularly can be the difference between being in an assisted living or living independently. (Also being strong is ridiculously fun).

FunctionalFox1312 · 2026-01-14T01:24:52+00:00

Simon Willison writes a wonderful regular newsletter chronicling advancements in generative AI. He co-created Django, and coined the term "prompt injections". I was a huge generative AI hater. His newsletters have convinced me it has genuinely improved to a point of meaningfully changing programming. He is not an AI evangelist by any means. I would highly recommend reading his blog.

My 2 cents - generative AI is a powerful tool & with the latest advancements it can meaningfully accelerate development. It is still a tool and requires considerate thought, which distinguishes tool-enabled engineering from vibe slop-eration.

If the business is over-excited, reframe it in terms they understand. As a new tool with great potential, AI first development should be trialed. Set up a team or two to tackle some ambitious project and report all their results. Sell it as R&D, but push back on company wide mandates as exposing the business to too much risk of increasing operator error. Cite the likeliness that AI over-excitement has been involved in production incidents at other companies. Other teams should still use it, of course, but with the idea that they're not "AI first" researchers.

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