Evolution and Weight Loss

Have you ever wondered why when you have a craving it is for such yummies as chocolate, cheese, or chips? We as human beings have evolved to want to eat the sweetest and fattest things that we can because it gives us more “bang for our buck”. Or, more calories to store in our hips, thighs and belly for the long winter nights.
Everyone who is alive today has made an incredible evolutionary journey through times of very little food. We have a built-in need to want to store fat for the times of lean. What happens now, particularly in the United States, is there are no times of lean. We can get food at all hours of the day and mostly we do.

So understanding that part of what is driving us is a biological imperative may help you be kinder to yourself when you find yourself with an empty bag of chips in your hand at midnight. This does not mean, of course, that you should throw up your hands and decide that you have no control whatsoever and should then eat pizza (which is one of my favorite foods) and dessert any chance you can.
You do have control over your immediate environment. For instance, if it is not in the house, then late at night when you get the “bingies” (this is my weakest time, I don’t know about you) you won’t find anything to binge on. When you are first trying to lose weight, your body’s evolutionary “memory” will make it very hard to resist these foods so it is better not to be surrounded by them.
It is more likely that if you have to make an effort to do so, like go out to a 24-hour store at midnight to get what you are craving you will have second thoughts and decide that sleep will do just as well.

Author: Dr. Emily Gonzalez, Naturopathic Physician

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