We eat too much in North America. It's why we are having trouble with obesity and preventable healthy problems.
We have warning signs and signals in our body that tell us when we are hungry or when we are full. The hungry signals are much stronger. I'll get to why in a second. Just know that your hunger and feelings of fullness are based on:
1) Blood Sugar
2) Stomach Stretch
3) Hormones
It seems fitness people are contradicting themselves constantly with information. I get confused all the time. Do I eat more fat and less carbs? Do I eat 4-6 times a day? How do I eat 6 meals if I can't eat after 7pm? It has to be organic? Is vegan better than a red meat diet? Should I eat this paleo diet?
It's funny because our grandparents, and great grandparents seemed to have it figured out. Live from natural food off the land. Work hard to grow and harvest it, if you needed more trade your goods for someone else's. They celebrated big events, not every week. They rarely had treats, they didn't go get a latte everyday.
The human body is wired to be fairly primal. So think of this.
Our bodies don't understand the concept of a supermarket. Our bodies think that if we are hungry, it's because food is scarce. When our blood sugar drops, or our stomachs are not full of food, we get a hormonal response. Those hormones make us crave food. Why? Because our body thinks we are going to have to go out and kill a wild animal or till the land to get food. It doesn't know that you work in front of a computer, get a pay cheque without spending much energy, and you take that money to the store and buy a prepared meal. Your body doesn't realize it costs you 0 calories to get your meal.
Our bodies response to hunger is preparation for tough times. So that craving is intense to make sure you get up while you still have the strength too, and you go get food.
For past generations it could have been a two mile hike to where they were heading, then hunt their game, then pack it up and drag it back home. That takes the motivation of a craving, or a deep desire to fuel the body. Now we get a craving for food and we can walk to the fridge. We still get that primal urge to fuel, but it's without the need to survive.
What is the point of my story? What's in your fridge? How much do you need to eat? those are the questions you need to answer to be healthy and lose weight.
If you struggle with weight try a few simple things.
Clean out your cupboards. Simple sugars, and salty high fat snacks will be what you grab if you get hungry. Your body knows what it wants to survive, and it gives you a powerful craving to grab it. If it's not there, you will grab the next best thing. That next best thing from a survival standpoint is usually vegetables, yogurt, and the healthy choices.
Get a scale. Not for you, but for your food. Portion out everything, at least until you get to know how much you should be eating. Relying on your body, and it's desire to over fuel to ensure safety is a bad idea. Stick to roughly 1800 calories. Eat that split up through the day to control blood sugar. Controlling blood sugar is a great way to tell your body to relax, the food situation is under control.
Eat local and eat food. As much as you can, make sure you are eating real foods. Stay away from artificial sweeteners, added processed sugars, and anything that is processed and preserved. Go to the grocery store, buy food and make a meal.
Exercise is the last thing on the list. It's become synonymous with the gym. The gym is where you go to build bigger muscles that are only good for the beach or sports. If you want to be healthy it's as simple as going outside, or doing something active. Just don't sit in front of the TV all night. Move a little, and understand that we put Athletes and Models on magazine covers. They live a life to get to look the way they do. If you want that look, live that life. If you want to be healthy, simply start moving more.
Don't worry about the rules of dieting. Eat real food, enjoy your meals, and start to remove processed food. Realize that cravings are hard to beat, so don't have food that isn't good for you close by and at the ready.
Make this simple, that's how to get results. It's also the way to change the health of the Nation, One Fit City at a time.
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