How many people do you know who is out of shape and obese?
And how many of those people you know hate their bodies?
Or maybe you’re reading this now and you have similar feelings towards your own body?
To find oneself in this situation is despairing, and unfortunately, it is happening all around us.
How did we get to this point in our evolutionary path that our current lifestyle has put us at odds with our bodies?
How ironic that at a time, when once our naturally-selected bodies thrived and adapted in our natural, albeit challenging, environment is now suffering in our controlled, convenient, self-created environments.
Our metabolism flourished in an environment of unrefinement and scarcity, but now inflamed and diseased in an environment of abundance and sophistication.
As we ingeniously manipulate and engineer our lifestyles for a more comfortable, pleasurable existence, why do our bodies fail us? Should it not appreciate the giant leaps and bounds of innovation in our culinary skills and food engineering that we’ve so pompously crafted? Should it not embrace the comfort seating of our sofas and office desk chairs; or enjoy the easy commute on a bus ride to work instead of our past chores of walking for miles in the dusty, dirty roads to school every morning?
The irony of it all is in-your-face paradoxical.
As countless studies continue to surface on the dangers of sitting [1, 2, 3, 4] for prolonged periods of time, it becomes increasingly clear that our bodies were designed from times of ancient past. It simply has not had the chance to adapt to the lightning speed rate at which our societies have advanced through modern technology and science.
Natural selection or adaptation, doesn’t happen over decades, or even centuries, unlike our modern advances in civilization. It takes its course over the span of thousands if not millions of years so in a manner of speaking, our bodies were designed even before ancient times!
We can’t fault our bodies for not being able to adapt to our urban lifestyles – that’s just not how evolutionary biology works.
Our bodies are actually a remarkable piece of biological machinery. It is so magnificent in design that even after you’ve subjected it to years and years of abuse, in the form of alcoholism, cigarette smoking, excessive sugar consumption, processed food consumption, sleep deprivation, inactivity and sedentariness, it is still able to get up every morning and dutifully carry-out your wishes.
It’s amazing how much punishment it can take and all it asks in return is some TLC (tender loving care) in the form of nutritious, unadulterated food, a bit of proper exercise and good quality sleep!
You give it those very basic requirements, and the body begins to transform back into its intended, beautiful state. The effort you put in, will come back to you in spades. I can promise you that.
Love your body. Treat it with respect. It has carried you to this point in your life. Isn’t it time for you to reciprocate?
Make peace with your body – extend an olive branch to it and begin a new chapter together – hand-in-hand, as partners and not as adversaries.
Wishing you a long and high quality of life.