Are You Fat? - It May Not Be Your Fault
I was talking to a friend the other day about his diet, fat loss, and lifestyle.
He presented an analogy that I thought was very interesting because it offered an idea that being overweight may not be a person's fault, at least not completely.
He started his story with a polar bear in the Sahara desert.
Thousands of years of evolution and natural selection have created this wondrous creature whose body can retain heat better than any other bear.
This genetic trait allows the bear to survive in climates that would eventually freeze a man solid.
This same trait helps the polar bear survive in arctic climates would cause its demise if it were relocated to the Sahara Desert.
This is true for traits developed by many species, even human.
Especially human! The countless evolutionary ages have designed humans to live in a world where food may be scarce.
When we do not get enough food, our metabolism slows in order to store the energy; it is very efficient but decreases fat loss.
In a world where there may not be enough, our efficient metabolism has kept us alive.
But now we live in a world of abundance, this trait works against us.
So in essence we have been taken out of an environment that we were designed for and placed into an unnatural environment much like the polar bear mentioned before.
He claimed that until we can blame a polar bear for dying of heat in the desert, then people cannot blame themselves for being overweight.
It is inherent for us to eat when food is available and be grateful for it.
In the same way that we cannot control if we are black, white, tall, or short, we cannot control our tendency to be fat or thin.
The key term there is tendency.
Take the story for what you will.
I thought it was a nice analogy that may actually have merit.
I am not saying to go out and eat what you want.
Even if we cannot control our body's natural tendencies in an environment that we were not designed to be in, we can work to control and manage the outcome of our weight and fat loss.
The analogy just further reflects that we are supposed to 'Eat to Live' NOT 'Live to Eat.
'
He presented an analogy that I thought was very interesting because it offered an idea that being overweight may not be a person's fault, at least not completely.
He started his story with a polar bear in the Sahara desert.
Thousands of years of evolution and natural selection have created this wondrous creature whose body can retain heat better than any other bear.
This genetic trait allows the bear to survive in climates that would eventually freeze a man solid.
This same trait helps the polar bear survive in arctic climates would cause its demise if it were relocated to the Sahara Desert.
This is true for traits developed by many species, even human.
Especially human! The countless evolutionary ages have designed humans to live in a world where food may be scarce.
When we do not get enough food, our metabolism slows in order to store the energy; it is very efficient but decreases fat loss.
In a world where there may not be enough, our efficient metabolism has kept us alive.
But now we live in a world of abundance, this trait works against us.
So in essence we have been taken out of an environment that we were designed for and placed into an unnatural environment much like the polar bear mentioned before.
He claimed that until we can blame a polar bear for dying of heat in the desert, then people cannot blame themselves for being overweight.
It is inherent for us to eat when food is available and be grateful for it.
In the same way that we cannot control if we are black, white, tall, or short, we cannot control our tendency to be fat or thin.
The key term there is tendency.
Take the story for what you will.
I thought it was a nice analogy that may actually have merit.
I am not saying to go out and eat what you want.
Even if we cannot control our body's natural tendencies in an environment that we were not designed to be in, we can work to control and manage the outcome of our weight and fat loss.
The analogy just further reflects that we are supposed to 'Eat to Live' NOT 'Live to Eat.
'
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