We’ve established that typically people eat too much and all the wrong stuff because they aren’t eating enough of the right stuff—at the right time. They experience famines from which they must recover. The food supply in America today is both fantastic and frighteningly poor, even disgusting. Many non-foods, meaning foods that are almost completely artificial and devoid of nutrients, are available. These foods are often calorie-dense and fattening, even when they are labeled low fat, sugar-free and “diet.” But our quality food supply is also amazingly varied and plentiful throughout the year! In light of famine and feast idea, it is not so great a mystery why millions of Americans are choosing the former over the latter.
Our bodies still possess the adaptive potential to take in more food, qualitatively and quantitatively, than we need to live. Naturally, this is easy to do given a plethora of sugary, salty, fatty, low-class, poor-nutrient, excessively portioned, tasty, habit-forming fake foods. It seems that a full quarter of the grocery store shelves are stocked with these items and many shoppers consider them staples. They are not.
Do people get fat just eating these foods regularly? Definitely. Calorie-rich “pleasure” foods contribute significantly to obesity, even cause it in some people. But I have found that many of those people who indulge in foods like this also eat erratically, missing meals, and going hungry at times. So, they experience both quantity famines—not enough food at the right time—and quality famines— not enough good food.
Detox Tips Weight Loss Eating Too Much How does a body do it Photo Gallery
How does a body do it?
Dieters’ bodies use several specific and amazing means to adjust to the low-fuel threat that a typical diet brings. A discussion about these amazing body responses is coming up in Chapter 2. Bodies are built to adapt to environmental changes, not to comply with psychological needs and goals. Dieters’ bodies must work hard to protect them from themselves, or they would surely starve themselves to death. Instead, with the exception of anorexics, who really may be in danger of death, most of us have bodies that demonstrate their capacity to survive dieting by adding pounds.
Just remember this fact: When fat becomes a survival priority to a body that is in famine off and on, the body adopts ingenious physiological adjustments to ensure survival. These adjustments or adaptations are specific and universal. Now you know why bodies change in these ways, and that’s cleared up some confusion. But now it’s time to learn about exactly what’s going on and how it all works.
Get ready to explore how dieters’ bodies work behind the scenes. These are probably some of the most mysterious physiological phenomena of adaptation, and probably the most misinterpreted. For example, loss of control over eating (bingeing) has been almost universally considered psychological or emotional. It is not. Learn how even bingeing fits into the logic of survival. It is one powerful example of the body’s ability to influence eating behavior in order to survive. This “feasting” that follows a diet famine is the central topic in the next chapter. It is crucial to understanding how the body fights for survival against the struggling dieter. But feasting isn’t the whole picture. There’s a lot more going on. Get ready for more AHA experiences!
