I am about 50 to 80 pounds overweight. At one time, I was able to lose weight at will and went from 276 to 205. As time went on, my weight has fluctuated from 220 to 250 and it sucks.
There has been a lot of research into why people these days are extremely overweight compared to our ancestors. That is not to say that there were not people in history that were overweight, there were; however that seems to be more of rare thing compared to today. Is it due to exercising or food or something else.
Research suggests that it is calories in and calories out plus the fact that many of us are less mobile. I am not sure I agree with that, but that is just my opinion. Other research has suggested that it is the type of food we eat which is very heavy on simple carbs such as sugar, bread, pasta, etc. I believe that this is only part of the problem.
In today’s world, we have air conditioning and heating. In the winter, many people will keep their temperature around 68-74F and in the summer they will keep the temperature around 60-68F. You may be thinking so what. Well here is my opinion on the so what.
Many animals will forage for food in the spring and fall when it is cool. One is to prepare for winter and the other is to recuperate after winter. In summer they do not eat as much due to the heat, but rather they lunge around in midday drinking lots of water if they can. So these animals have four seasons. Humans have basically one or two due to modern technology. Our bodies are thinking that it is either spring time or fall time and we need to eat. You may be thinking that I am wrong, but when did we start to get really obese and stay that way. While the data is not 100% conclusive, it started when more homes started getting air conditioning, but what about heat. We have always had to keep warm in the winter, so I really cannot blame that as much.
Now if you think I am wrong, think about this, are you more likely to eat when it is cool or when it is hot. Today I turned off the AC and frankly I did not want to do much in the afternoon. In the morning I was fine and was getting stuff done. As the day got hotter, I did not want to do as much and I was not hungry. The AC was put back on and I got hungry within about 30 minutes and kept on eating different things throughout the night. Was I hungry, not really, but it was more instinctual to eat. Then I started thinking about when I was a kid.
My parents hated AC for whatever reason and in the summer I ate less and so did the rest of the family. Think of it this way, when you are in the kitchen cooking and you are hot and sweaty, are you hungry? I would venture to guess the answer is no. Now wait about 30 to 45 minutes when you have cooled off in the AC, does your appetite go through the roof? I no mine has. Is this 100% true for everyone, absolutely not. However, it is one possible explanation for why we are fatter today than ever.
Now you may be thinking that the meteorologists tell us to get inside with the AC when it is really hot. If that is the case and we are unable to adapt to the heat, then how did we survive for all of these years (thousands of years) without AC? Some will think that modern technology is great, but I am not convinced.
If you think that I am the type of person that likes to do things the old way, I am not. My wife use to call me gadget man. If something new came out, I was willing to give it a try. I believe that there are good and bad tools from the modern era and I am willing to try whatever will give me the result that I want in an easier way. Take a table saw for example and compare that to a hand saw. The table saw is a modern invention in comparison and produces straighter cuts more consistently.
You maybe thinking that if you do not like the AC as much, then why have it on? My wife, she has a really hard time sleeping when she it hot and sweaty and I am sure that is true for a lot of people. She needs to be able to focus at work and lack of sleep will interfere with that. Will it be more challenging for me to lose the weight then if I think that AC is part of the problem? Absolutely, but with Gods help anything is possible. All we have to do is ask, but there are three possible answers: yes, no, maybe. I just have to be willing to accept whatever answer He gives.