Food Instincts

[seedcorn]

People, animals eat until they get their energy needs met. Energy comes from fats, sugars, proteins. Just like my dog, I eat when I'm not even hungry. Guess where the added calories go????? As I get older, I eat much less and if it's something I want, I take a smaller portion with a small fork/spoon. More bites, less volume. Largest problem is I do less, so I burn less calories. Weight loss is a simple recipe, burn more calories than you take in.

 

[thistlebloom]

Well Steve, losing 15 pounds is wonderful even if it's not all you want to lose. Congratulations on that achievement, I know what kind of effort that takes! It sounds like you have more than the ordinary challenges that face most of us as we mature, and I have a lot of respect for your tenacity in gardening.

Agreed Seedcorn, eat less, move more. The problem for me is that my eating habits haven't changed enough since I was younger and could eat like a farmhand and not gain an ounce. And moving isn't as easy either!

 

[retiredwith4acres]

Thistle, same here. I used to go on "diets" to gain weight and now need to lose about 30-40 pounds. Hardest thing I ever tried to do! I know how to eat and what to eat but if it is in front of me I will eat it. When I was single I could kinda control what was in the house but with someone else is in the house they should have the right to have what they want in the house also. Hubby will help but we just get off track. Also, we eat out too much because of our activities. I got up this morning with a resolve to do better because I got a good heart checkup (5 year checkup from stent) yesterday but having to get rid of cholesterol meds because destroying my muscles (wondered why I hurt all the time and had trouble walking) so really need to lose the weight to help control the #'s without meds.

 

[NwMtGardener]

We watched a really interesting documentary the other night, Forks Over Knives. It wasnt about weight loss per se, it was about the benefits of switching to a plant based diet. No meat, no dairy, no eggs. I love meat as much as anyone, and used to drink tons of whole cows milk, so its been kind of hard to contemplate a complete switch to being a vegan. But i was definitely convinced enough to make some small changes, less meat, and switched to "plant milks," still trying to figure out which one i like best. What really convinced me was the length of time that these scientists and doctors have been studying this, and how every study was really conclusive - people lost weight, felt better, had more energy, and had HUGE improvements in heart health - cholesterol reduced, taken off pharmaceutical meds because they didnt need them anymore...

I dont think i'd ever go to the full extreme of being a vegan, but i definitely found the movie very fascinating!!

 

[hoodat]

I read an explanation from an animal behaviorist once that helps explain our craving for fats and sugar. It may be left over from our ancestors. Any animal has a need for fats and sugar in their diet but in nature those are scarce so nature hasn't had to limit the craving for them since it isn't likely in a wild environment that an animal would be able to find enough to overindulge. In modern life however they are quite easy to get but since nature hasn't limited the craving it is easy to overindulge, as a wild animal would be unable to.