On the radio this morning was a program about loosing weight ... people's experiences, expert advice etc. I found myself feeling very annoyed by the show, and thinking further on why I was so irritated by it I realise that I find most peoples attitudes and concerns around dieting completely obscene.
I am not one of those that think it is wrong to be concerned about your body shape. Unless you have given up on wanting to be attractive to your sexual partner(s) or potential partner(s) wanting an attractive body shape, however you define that, is a natural and healthy desire.
Nor am I one of those that think it is wrong to pander to society's common body stereotypes. We can be angry about how wrong it is for men to be attracted to hourglass figures (just an example), or for women to be attracted to zero fat six packs, but unless you have been brought up in a windowless box you and your partner(s) are a product of this society. Campaign to change society, I'm behind you, but in the mean time, don't kid yourself that most people are not affected in their sexual preferences by these stereotypes. And if that is the case it is perfectly sensible to want to conform.
I also believe that trying to improve your body, however you choose to define that (excepting practices that are very harmful to your health) can be a laudable pursuit. Pursuing an accomplished mind is admirable and pursuing a healthy body is sensible and wise, yet for some, pursuing a beautiful body is looked down on. I am an atheist, so with my belief in having one life and one body, it seems that I should get the most out of it while it lasts. But I imagine many of you who are religious would agree that you should make the most of Gods gifts to you. I think my argument here gets a bit thin for those of you who believe in re-incarnation .... so I'll just move on quickly.
Unfortunately for me, I am an unfit, chubby 54 year old with nothing better to do with his mind that write notes to himself in blog posts, but that doesn't mean that I cant appreciate people more motivated and less lazy than me.
So what exactly is it that I find obscene I hear you ask.
It is this ... that in a world when around 15% of the population of developing countries are undernourished anyone can consider it a problem that they are peckish. And lets face it it, when most people talk about hunger they are actually referring to a state of premature peckishness bought on by their own overeating (yes, me included).
I'm not talking about those of you out there comfort eating because of depression. You should of course stop dieting and see someone about your depression. I'm not talking about those of you with a medical condition that causes weight gain, you do have my sympathy. But for the rest of us, this is just about an irrational fear of being a bit peckish.
The fact is for those of us in the developed world, we eat far more than we need to be healthy. Our bodies typically are racing to keep up with all the food we shovel into our mouths by upping our metabolism etc.
It is also a fact that if we eat less, our stomach shrinks and our desire and ability to eat too much will reduce. Simples.
Of course, just eating less on its own is not the most efficient way. Exercise is a no brainer for those of us that can be arsed. It keeps your metabolism up, burns off fat, and I assume helps ensure that the body consumes fat instead of muscle. But I understand that exercise isn't for everyone. I am pretty lazy when it comes to exercise and I can use my dodgy knees and general decrepitude as an excuse to myself why I shouldn't exercise more.
So finally I think we have identified my target audience, the majority of us "developed world" residents who are, I contend , not clinically depressed, reasonably healthy, sexually engaged, gluttonous and lazy.
And we as a group whine about how hard it is to loose weight, obsess about one diet over another diet, attend weight loss groups, get into food fads, spend fortunes on prepared diet meals and drivel on about it on radio programs.
Yes I am sure that you can speed things up a little or be a little less peckish if you eat your carbs and protein in a particular order, or vary the times of your meals to coincide with your daily body rhythms, or drink 20 litres or water a day etc, but why?
Because you really can't stand the thought of being peckish. Jeez people are starving out there, suck it up.
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