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
cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareRules of day to day no longer apply as you... Read More
A few months ago, I set out to lose 22.6... Read More
I'm sure you already know that weight loss and improved... Read More
It seems like everywhere you turn, there is someone trying... Read More
You may not like what I have to say, even... Read More
Whenever I hear someone say they just can't lose weight,... Read More
"The kind of thoughts that you plant in your mind,... Read More
A Little Help With Some Difficult terms ------------------------------------------ Aerobic... Read More
Abdominoplasty, or "tummy tuck" is a major surgical procedure that... Read More
Low Carb, Low Fat, More protein, Eat all the fat... Read More
Everybody you know is on the latest weight loss bandwagon:... Read More
Weight Loss Axiom Number ThreeInsulin and GlucagonThese are the two... Read More
Healthy living begins with healthy eating and healthy eating begins... Read More
Before many Australians recently, a devastating story unfolded on a... Read More
Have I become invisible or are people just aiming right... Read More
ObesityToday, 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about 127 million) are... Read More
Now I know you're always asking yourself questions.You know the... Read More
Most men and women put on weight differently. But on... Read More
When on a diet, snack attacks can hit hard and... Read More
What's a Low Carb Diet Really Mean?When I hear low... Read More
Many people want to lose a few of those annoying... Read More
Adherence to diet for one year, not the specific diet... Read More
I remember back in my senior year of high school... Read More
Here are 7 simple habits that can help anyone enjoy... Read More
Very few Americans are satisfied with their current weights. There... Read More
limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn ..These fat burning tips can help you discover a fat... Read More
I am considering Gastric bypass surgery because I am overweight,... Read More
Welcome to bodybuilding weightloss exercise tips!This is the engine room... Read More
Contrary to common belief, your weight is not really the... Read More
If you've been enjoying life after gastric bypass surgery you... Read More
Diet pills have met with many different fates, and come... Read More
If you are traveling on the path towards wellness you... Read More
Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) is often viewed as a quick... Read More
Are you overweight?Most people are afraid to admit they are.It... Read More
Healthy living begins with healthy eating and healthy eating begins... Read More
Have you ever worried about something so much it paralyzed... Read More
In life, various factors contribute to weight gain. Be it... Read More
Weight loss, diets and "carbs" are common household topics. There... Read More
If you are committed to the low carb way of... Read More
After patients have had gastric bypass surgery comes a very... Read More
R...real foodE...exerciseS...spiritual stuff first and the other stuff secondU...ultimately, you... Read More
Are you tired of getting the same old advice when... Read More
There is only one way to lose weightThere really is... Read More
I have tried many "diets" here in the USA and... Read More
Who'd have thought healthy eating could be so controversial? Lunching... Read More
CancerCoronary heart diseaseStrokeOsteoporosisMajor Depression from Brain StarvationHeadlines.WASHINGTON, Jun 22, 2004... Read More
Learning the jargon is part of the weight loss journey.... Read More
It would not be surprising to hear your answer is... Read More
While it would be ideal to make all of our... Read More
Weight loss is one of the biggest industries in the... Read More
Weight Loss |