A Diet for Traders, 03/30/08



There is one, and only one, Fundamental Principle of Weight Gain:
Weight gain = Calories in - Calories out
Beyond that there is only nuance.
Weight gain = Calories in - Calories out
If you take in more calories than you take out, you will gain weight.

If you take out more calories than you take in and you lose weight.
Calories in = Eating
Healthy and unhealthy don't matter to the Fundamental Principle of Weight Gain
Calories in = Eating
You burn calories by exercising.
Calories out = Exercising
Gym, yardwork, housework, long walks - it doesn't matter:
Calories out = Exercising
What you need to know next is this:
It's okay to be hungry.

It's okay to let yourself be hungry.

You have to make a conscious decision to let yourself be hungry. Sometimes.
The key to Sometimes is when.
You have to know you're going to be hungry in advance so you don't 'fix' your hunger.

It's okay to be hungry. Sometimes.

The Fundamental Principle of Hunger
On the days when you aren't exercising, there's a need to be hungry.

Therefore:
If you are_not_ going to the gym today, you need to let yourself get hungry.

If you _are_ going to the gym today, you do not need to let yourself get hungry.

Your need to be hungry is planned when you plan your day.

It is not spontaneous.


Final step:

You achieve your weight goals by combining the Fundamental Principles:
Weight gain = Calories in + Calories out

If I'm not going to the gym today, I need to let myself get hungry.
The rest is nuance, you can make it as complicated as you like.


For Traders:
A trader achieves P&L goals by combining a very similar set of Fundamental Principles:
P&L Gain = Wins + Losses

It's okay to go hungry, to not trade, when you and/or your systems don't have an edge
As a matter of fact, The Axiom of the Small Edge may require that to be profitable you don't trade when you don't have an edge.






Henry Carstens
Vertical Solutions
carstens@verticalsolutions.com