So I guess I’m on day 4 of sugar reduction plan. I thought to myself today - “Am I really all done with ice cream, cupcakes, candy, lollipops, cookies…” and yet I have made such a change before, when I went on a gluten-free diet. However, when I went gluten free I really just substituted that with gluten free versions. I gave up pizza and started having gluten free pizza. A lot of the gluten free replacement products are sugary and refined starch but at least they do not cause gastrointestinal distress.
Life really can change, habits can change, and one of the most notable ways I have noticed that people can change is changing what goes into their bodies, be it drugs or food. I have not been bike-commuting since I began the sugar crash plan because I want to focus on that and not put extra stress on myself at this time, since I often feel like I should eat more when I exercise to keep my blood sugar up. (And for some other reasons.) I started riding my bike when my older car died and I didn’t really have money to buy another. Now I have another car and it's pretty great, so I don’t really have as much motivation to bike, though I can. Of course, I didn’t really lose much weight when I was biking every day. Probably because it takes so much energy to burn calories that a 3 mile bike ride isn’t enough exercise to lose weight if you are eating too many calories to begin with. I believe it may have helped lower my blood pressure however and I believe exercise is good for health even if you do not lose weight.
The human body is designed to get somewhat fat and we are very efficient users of energy. (Pontzer H. 2015. Energy expenditure in humans and other primates: a new synthesis. Annual Review of Anthropology. 44:169-187) We are the fattest of the great apes, even when we are athletic.
CARTA: Origins of Genus Homo – Herman Pontzer: Energetics and the Ecology of Early Homo
Cunnane SC, Crawford MA (2003). Survival of the fattest: fat babies were the key to the evolution of the large human brain. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A 136:17-26.
Clearly we have a knack for survival via storage of energy as body fat, and we use a few calories very efficiently, and this has been turned against us in a modern capitalist food environment. We developed the need for increased energy when we started getting smarter and bigger brains.
“Body composition in Pan paniscus compared with Homo sapiens has implications for changes during human evolution “Adrienne L. Zihlmana,1 and
Waking up from a sugar addicted haze means realizing the businesses that are making huge profits off the population are not in it for your happiness. A spoonful of sugar IS the medicine going down. Added sugar helps taste and habitual use of foods, so the consumer makes it their custom to keep buying and consuming. In the historical environment for humans, sugar was rare, and now it is in many foods, even ones that do not taste sweet.
Perhaps we will discover that the need for a lot of exercise is also a myth and a way for business to make money selling gym memberships and equipment.
Hunter-Gatherer Energetics and Human Obesity
- Herman Pontzer , David A. Raichlen, Brian M. Wood, Audax Z. P. Mabulla, Susan B. Racette, Frank W. Marlowe Published: July 25, 2012
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