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Monday, December 11, 2006
Losing Weight the National Geographic Way... (why the animals are smarter than us)
I love wild-life documentaries.
I love watching those amazing creatures in their habitat, doing what they do.
Well, perhaps not the tearing-each-other-to-pieces part.. but all the other stuff.
Well, nearly all the other stuff.
Not so long ago, I was watching a doco and it dawned on me that there ain't too many chubby animals in the wild.
Apart from animals which are genetically pre-disposed to have more fat for protection or survival (Bears, Penguins, Seals, Craigs), your typical animal in the wild is in pretty handy shape.
You might say Buffed. Lean. Ripped. Rock-hard.
A few years ago I went on safari in Africa and while I saw thousands of animals, the only fatties I saw were the hippos.... but who's gonna tell them?
Not me.
Interestingly, it's only when us very clever humans get involved with animals (i.e. feeding our domestic pets) that we start to see the rolls appear. My friend has a labrador that's about the size of a Hyundai..... she's like a three-door hatch with blond hair (the dog, not my friend).
Anyway, I started to think; how come these 'dumb' animals who don't have the magnificent education and brain-power that we humans do, don't have access to all those great diet books and that cutting-edge research (whatever that means) and certainly haven't read any of my blog (no internet access)... how come they're.... never fat?
None of them.
Not one.
Well the obvious answer is going to be that they run around all day trying not to get eaten by something with bigger, sharper teeth than theirs.
Sure, we know that.
They obviously have great exercise programs.... not to mention their incidental and occupational activity levels (you should try being a full-time hunter; huge calorie burner).
But, what about their diet?
How do they know when to eat?
How do they know when it's dinner time?
How do they know how much to eat.... especially when there's not a clever human around to tell them.
Well, I kept searching as any good scientist and researcher would, and here's what I found:
Hang on; you best sit down.
This is big.
They eat when they need food.
And when they don't need food, they don't eat.
Imagine that; not eating unless you actually NEED food.
Crazy.
That's never gonna catch on with humans.
Apparently, animals have this weird ability to discern a phenomenon called 'hunger'.
When they sense it, they eat.
A little scientific I know, but hang in there with me.
Legend has it that thousands of years ago, we humans had this special ability also.
Okay, should I stop the sarcasm now?
Oh alright.. but it's so much fun.. and I'm so good at it.
These days it seems that we are so dis-connected from what should be our natural instincts, so resistant to our body's physiological indicators, so programmed to eat certain foods, in certain amounts, at certain times, and so out of touch with what our body actually needs ... that some of us are rapidly heading towards a future of obesity, poor health and shorter-than-necessary life expectancies.
If only we would learn to listen to our body.
If only we would realise that it's much smarter than us (the cerebral us).
There's a school of thought that teaches human bodies don't actually need set meals, set eating times, set micro and macro-nutrient intakes. This classroom teaches that daily nutritional requirements not only vary from person to person, but that they vary for the same person, from day to day. Some very smart people teach that eating instinctively, that is, in accordance with what our body is telling us, is optimal for health, function, appearance and longevity.
Imagine that.
No diets.
No set anything.
Just a series of signals and responses.
Clever.
Over the next month or so, you and I (if you stay with me) are going to explore the concept of instinctive eating, and in the near future I am going to conduct a strict 28 day research project on myself. I will document my results at the conclusion and tell you what I've learned.
I have considered the possibility of making this a group effort if some of you may be interested in joining me. If there's significant interest we can explore it... otherwise I will fly solo. I will be posting my instinctive eating guidelines and rules in the next week, so you may want to peruse them before you make any decision on the 28 day extravaganza..
Anyway, it might be fun.
If you are interested, or you have any, thoughts, ideas or suggestions, click on the comments thingy at the bottom of this article and share with us all.
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Craig Harper
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