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Health & Fitness

The Paleo Diet, Just Another Fad

Did our ancestors really know more about dieting than we do? Or were they simply thin as a consequence of living in abject peril? I examine the reasons why we don't need to emulate our ancestors.

Another day, another diet.

In spite of modern inventions such as the internet and penicillin, there is still a large portion of the population that believes our forefathers knew better than we do. Such is the case with the , the latest weight loss fad that promises smaller dress sizes by only incorporating foods that ancient hunter/gatherers would have had access to.

The problem with this is three-fold and I’ll try to address them accordingly. First off, as someone who has lost over 100lbs and has dabbled in diets such as Atkins, South Beach, and even a little Weight Watchers (I’m ashamed to say), I’ve learned that when it comes right down to it, all that matters is calories in, calories out.

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In order to lose weight one must burn more than they consume. And since 3,500 calories is equivalent to one pound of fat, one must find a healthy caloric ratio of consumption and exertion if they want to see any results. All of these fad diets are essentially trying to trick you into eating fewer calories by limiting you only to foods they think you won’t need to eat as much of to “feel” full.

Atkins operates on the principle that protein dense foods are more filling, so it lures you in by enticing you with all the steaks and burgers you could want, working on the assumption that you will eat less of these food items than, say, grains and starches.

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 While I can’t speak for anyone else, when I was obese I could throw back a bag full of cheeseburgers like shot glasses. And I ate steaks with my bear hands over the sink, no joke.  I didn’t pace myself either; I ate those things in one blow. Once a steak entered my grasp, it would never get put down again. The only other surface it would ever touch again would be the inside of my mouth and the interior corridor of my intestinal tract. High protein diets will do nothing but make your bowl movements smell like an open sarcophagus.

Secondly, one of the biggest reasons our ancestors were so ripped wasn’t because they ate well, but because of the nigh lack of availability of resources. Back in the day, they couldn’t just order Papa John’s when they were hungry; they would have to scour for food for days on end. And if they couldn’t find anything, they would have to migrate to a new area.

Imagine having to walk all the way to the grocery store on an empty stomach and arrive only to find out they’re out of food. Now imagine having to migrate with all 36 of your family members to the nearest grocery store 500 miles away. There’s a reason early humans were thin; they were starving. This was why our bodies adapted to hold on to fat; our ancestors were constantly on the move.

And speaking of exercise, this brings me to my last point. I don’t know when was the last time you had to scale a 400 foot tree to escape a saber tooth tiger, but the earliest humans often spent just as much time as prey, as they did hunters. Not to mention the fact that we humans weren’t exactly the fastest runners in the animal kingdom, so they would actually have to use a method called “persistence hunting.”

Unlike other animals, humans excel at endurance running. Persistence hunting involved tiring an animal out by tracking it over long distances. And never mind the fact that once they did track and kill their prey, they would have to lug the carcass home in the desert sun. Good times.

The simple fact is, you can gain weight no matter what you are eating, if you’re eating too much of it. And the rigors of living on roots and berries for a year will likely leave you with a herculean craving for modern food like pizza and donuts that will be so intense, you’ll have gained all the weight back in months.

 Antiquity has always had a way of lending credibility to silly ideas, but the truth is we humans are getting smarter all the time. We know better than our ancestors did, and our decedents will know better than we do now. We should be happy it works that way.

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