In our mind's eye, we see our ancient ancestors as they have been depicted in paintings, stories, films, and scientific recreations. Small, wiry, hairy figures surrounding a huge beast, poised for the kill.
Do we know if that picture is really accurate?
We do know, from skeletal fragments that have survived, that they were definitely smaller than present day human beings. We can surmise that they were wiry from the lifestyle they pursued: irregular availability of food and long hours of daily hunting. We can assume that women started to gather plants, grasses, fruits, and seeds to provide an alternate source of sustenance to the men's only intermittently successful hunting efforts.
We have only vague timelines on when tribes started to move out of caves and into shelters they made themselves. We can only guess about the invention of cooking pots, an enormous advance from simply an open fire.
As the race became more domesticated, the variety of food expanded and therefore the availability of something to eat became more assured. Eventually, civilization sparked, agriculture was born, and eating became a process of selection and choice rather than mere consumption to stay alive. It was at this juncture, we can posit, that individual's weights started to differentiate, depending upon personal choice, the wealth or strength to obtain extras, or the physical demands of one's occupation.
What did our cavemen forbears bequeath as their legacy?
Underfed and overactive, they willed us a body that still thinks we dwell in the primordial forest. Suddenly cut back on our intake of food and the alert is sounded through the nervous system and organs of our prehistoric physiology. "Famine coming, famine coming" our bodies shriek and immediately our metabolism slows to a crawl. The body attempts to hold onto its fat like a Paleolithic hunter grasping his animal skin against the elements.
In the very architecture of our bodies: tail remnants, vestigial organs, and a primitive metabolic system, we carry the seeds of our own weight difficulties.
To work with our bodies, rather than constantly fight them, we need to recreate the world in which our bodies developed. While we cannot participate in a primeval hunt, we can repeatedly, over a long period of time, consume only limited calories so that our bodies don't have to worry about getting enough food, but process the little they do get rapidly and efficiently.
Our little friends, the white rats in the laboratory mazes, have proven over and over again, that consistent undereating is the pathway to good health and longevity.
For all they did for mankind in the dawn of history, the cave dwellers deserve our thanks and our respect as do the bodies they left as their testimony.
What ungrateful abuse we heap on them when we allow ourselves to grow flabby and fat, desecrating their gift and nullifying their efforts.
Virginia Bola is a licensed psychologist and an admitted diet fanatic. She specializes in therapeutic reframing and the effects of attitudes and motivation on individual goals. The author of The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a free ezine, The Worker's Edge, she recently published a psychologically-based weight control e-workbook, "Diet with an Attitude" which develops mental skills towards the goal of permanent weight control.
She can be reached at http://dietwithanattitude.blogspot.com
Lincoln Stretch rentals Alsip ..At the beginning of December, WeightWatchers.com announced the release of... Read More
It's been called the world's oldest medicine, the miracle fat... Read More
As a low carb dieter, you have probably been bombarded... Read More
Everybody knows that 98% of dieters fail. But do you... Read More
It's easy to lose sight of our goals, "Do I... Read More
A fill is nothing to be worried about. The actual... Read More
One of the difficulties with dieting is the well known... Read More
April 14, 2005 federal judge Tena Campbell of the federal... Read More
Why Making Small Changes in Your Eating Habits Adds up... Read More
How many calories do you need? Well, that depends on... Read More
Are you considering a low carb diet? If so you... Read More
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE NUMBERS!The health clubs are always racking... Read More
If you find this article helpful, please forward it to... Read More
The Quest to Reach Your Ideal WeightIt was late in... Read More
The perfect diet should be combined with a healthy weight... Read More
This article is about making long-term changes in the foods... Read More
When on a diet, snack attacks can hit hard and... Read More
Research from Harvard, recently published in the highly respected peer-reviewed... Read More
Cellulite is not a medical condition or an aesthetic mutiny... Read More
Women on diets need more calcium than normal to avoid... Read More
"I never saw it coming, how did I get so... Read More
Obesity and fast foods - there's little doubt about the... Read More
It's the American Dream: "If I could just lose a... Read More
There are a few different ways to determine if you... Read More
WAHOO!!! for YOU!! You are the most AWESOME person alive!!... Read More
Western Springs shuttle limo ..The market is flooded with weight loss supplements that make... Read More
Yesterday, out of the blue, without any foreboding gossip or... Read More
Natural Weight Loss Is PermanentOnly natural weight loss can be... Read More
The act of taking the first step is what separates... Read More
Dietitians just plain don't like low-carb or high-protein diets.Whether it's... Read More
In this age being ignorant is like committing a crime.... Read More
There have been many diets and weight loss plans that... Read More
I gotta confess: I'm completely addicted to crisps. Any kind... Read More
Water is an essential component of the human body and... Read More
There are several ways to manage cravings. You can: ... Read More
Do you know anybody who does not wish to get... Read More
Here are the 4 things you need to know about... Read More
I am Greg Ryan, a high profile fitness expert with... Read More
WAHOO!!! for YOU!! You are the most AWESOME person alive!!... Read More
Abdominal fat is now seen as a growing health hazard,... Read More
Metabolism is essentially the speed at which our body's motor... Read More
It's the travel time, meaning hours spent sedentary. It prepares... Read More
Don't diet, just eat and lose weight!First, the following "diet"... Read More
In many cases conventional dieting wisdom simply doesn't work for... Read More
WHAT DOES BEING FIT REALLY MEAN?The "INSIDE-OUT" approach to fitness... Read More
Developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston, The South Beach Diet touts... Read More
Weight Loss is something that many Americans struggle with. In... Read More
Hoodia Gordonii a cactus plant found thousands of miles away... Read More
Much has been written about obesity and globesity. Obesity is... Read More
Fats are always looked at as a negative in a... Read More
Weight Loss |