Recovering Fat Person - accurate but politically uncorrect

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	Fitness Section Topic Index A-Z Index	Recovering Fat Person

"Recovering Fat Person" (RFP)

In ancient times, getting enough food was a major problem. Our ancestors evolved when sugar was rare, fat was precious, and binging was a good idea whenever circumstances permitted. In other words, our bodies are well-suited to conditions that no longer exist.

The result is that our bodies have hard-wired fat and sugar-seeking mechanisms that work against us in our current time of extreme plenty. It does not help that advertisers and food producers exploit this evolutionary edge for their own gain.

Some kinds of food can actually be addictive, altering the body's hormonal signals of hunger, satiation, and adequate body fat. Not surprisingly, foods which are extremely high in fat, or which cause spikes in blood sugar, have this effect. Foods which are extremely high in sugar trigger the brain’s “reward” circuits for another addictive effect.

Besides the addictive nature of the wrong kinds of food, addictive behaviors are learned at a young age. Children are encouraged to join the "clean plate club." Parents fret if their children don't eat at every meal. Food is offered as a reward. Fun holidays emphasize fatty and sweet foods. High-calorie foods are combined with solitary, sedentary activities such as surfing the 'net, or watching sitcoms.

So we might be forgiven if we can't just snap our fingers and start eating like fanatical nutritionists overnight. There's a lot more at stake than just willpower. If you're trying to lose weight and get fit, you're a "Recovering Fat Person."

This is no time to be politically correct - your health is at stake. The "body acceptance movement" has almost the right idea: you may accept your body, just not the 50 pounds of FAT wrapped around it! Can you run up even one flight of stairs without gasping for breath? That's not a punchline, it's a warning sign! Your quality of life is at stake.

Here are a few PRACTICAL TIPS:

Weigh yourself every day on an accurate scale, then figure your weight as the average of the last 5 weigh-ins. This avoids being overly concerned about current body hydration and, uh, the weight of recently consumed meals.
Sorry, but you have to exercise. There's just no way around it. Losing weight without getting strong sets you up for future failure. But you should forget what you learned from sadistic PE teachers and learn about sustainable exercise. Make it a mix of aerobic and resistance training. Count on 30 minutes aerobic at least 4 times a week. It will help you feel better fast even if the weight takes a long time to come off. Cancel your cable and join a gym!
Slow weight loss represents changed habits and sustainable energy intake. Forget about quick weight loss - you may achieve it but only by unsustainable behaviors.
Thirst can be mistaken for hunger. You've heard you need a lot of water, and it's true. Fill up a 64-oz bottle and drink it all during the course of the day... at minimum! PS - if you have never had kidney stones, trust me, drinking lots of water is a very good idea.
Dr. Atkins was right about carbohydrates but wrong about fats. Stay away from saturated fats, use vegetable fats such as olive oil, peanut oil, etc. Especially stay away from hydrogenated fats! And, total calories do matter.
Stop eating potatoes, white rice, pasta, and all but the most robust whole-grain breads. They all spike your blood-sugar, resulting (surprisingly) in an unfavorable shift in your good/bad cholesterol ratio and overtaxing your blood-sugar regulatory mechanism.
If you must drink pop, make it diet pop. The calories in regular pop are less of a problem than the metabolic effects of the sugar.
Count your total calories for a while until you have an instinctive understanding of different foods. Look up how many calories things have. Example: Wendy's mandrin chicken salad has only 150 calories but the sesame dressing they give you has 280! They don't give you that total on their website - you have to add up the separate items yourself.
If you're going to eat ice cream, eat just one scoop of the best damn ice cream you can find. Do nothing else while you eat the ice cream. Close your eyes, taste it, eat it slowly. Be one with the ice cream.
Always take the stairs. Don't ride elevators. Gradually your body will adapt.
Don't let yourself get hungry. Two hours after lunch, eat a small handful of nuts, chewing thoroughly. Remember the fat guy on "Animal House?" He lost a bunch of weight and "don't get hungry" was his mantra.
Don’t beat yourself up! Don’t you get enough guilt and shame from other sources? If you make a mistake, just go back to your correct behaviors. You are simply trying to learn a new way to live with food and activity. All learning processes are bumpy.

Being an RFP is a long-term proposition. You have to educate yourself and your family, and develop resistance to common food marketing techniques. You will have to learn sustainable changed behavior, not radical dieting techniques.