I’ve written some about the Primal approach to weight management as proposed by Mark Sisson, and I’ve mentioned the Paleo diet put forth by Loren Cordain. Since then I read another book in the same venue: “The New Evolution Diet: What Our Paleolithic Ancestors Can Teach Us About Weight Loss, Fitness and Aging” by Arthur De Vany, PhD. The book cover says, “Living like a caveman is good for your health.” Like Sisson, he talks about our evolutionary development lurking the in hunter-gatherer, pre-agricultural stage and recommends a diet and lifestyle that support our genetic makeup. Here’s a bit of his introduction:
“We humans evolved when food was scarce and life was full of arduous physical activity. Hence, our bodies instruct us to eat everything we can lay our hands on and to exert ourselves a little as possible....We are, in essence, hardwired to be lazy overeaters....Most diet and exercise plans ask us to move more and eat less--a direct contradiction of our genetically engineered impulses. No wonder most diets don’t work.”
He agrees with the others, and Taubes as well, saying “it is the grain-based carbohydrate in our diet that hinders our metabolism from functioning as evolution intended.” He recommends varying our activity and our mealtimes, just as our ancestors had to. He talks about skipping an occasional meal, eating a variety of food, combining low-level cardio with occasional sprints and brief, intense strengthening exercise.
These are the basic strategies of the New Evolution Diet:
“Enjoy the pleasure of food and do not restrict calories.”
“Do not starve yourself, but do go hungry episodically, for brief periods.”
“Exercise less, not more, but with greater playfulness and intensity.”
Sounds simple! Like Sisson, he’s all about living well: “The quality of your life should determine how much you eat. Instead of obsessing over how much you take in and then trying to burn it all off, you should focus on living a high-quality life and then eat to fulfill your energy demands.” I love that idea. It seems to put food into the proper perspective. And here’s one more similar quote to put exercise into the proper perspective: “So regular exercise is not just something you do to improve your health and drop a little weight....You exercise because the length and quality of your life depend on it.”
This is a very informative book, and if you want more details about the food and exercise that fits our evolution, De Vany provides plenty. If you’re only going to ever read one book on the subject, stick with Sisson’s. It’s just more fun, more accessible, and more practical. But The New Evolution Diet did a lot to confirm for me that this is the path I want to take, and while the overall message is the same, I learned a lot of new information in this book that I hadn’t run across in the others.
For the last four months, I have been avoiding grains and starches and sugars. My daughter says I am on a diet, but I am skipping the whole diet mentality. I don’t feel deprived, and I do feel healthier. I am losing weight and feeling more energetic. My mood and my energy level are more stable. I feel better in my body. Occasionally I eat something that our ancestors would not have had access to--a hot fudge sundae for example--and I usually feel lousy afterwards. I am not so strict that I can’t adapt to various social situations: for instance, if I have dinner at a friend’s house and she makes pasta, I’m not going to turn it down. But overall I am consistent; i.e., I do not feel like I’m dieting, so I don’t feel a need to binge. I find I really don’t miss the carbs, I don’t find them hard to resist at all. If I really want something, I have a little, and usually that feels like enough.
Easy-peasy! This whole approach is fun and easy, and it feels good! If you are not convinced my Sisson and me, go ahead and read De Vany!
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