Well, there you have it. It’s been a long journey through a lot of new information. You’ve learned a lot, now
it’s time to get cracking.
Oh, and I promised you that I would let you know how things worked out for Alicia and her mother Maria. Remember, I started their story in Chapter 15, Sugar Addiction. Alicia was already traumatized by weighing 250 pounds and being only fifteen years old. She could not look at me or talk to me because of her embarrassment and low self-esteem. Her mother, Maria, understood her daughter’s doubts because she herself was almost 300 pounds and was only a little over five feet tall. I wish that you could see them now! I started Alicia and her mother on a low dose of phentermine. They were skeptical at first, which is understandable with their life experiences. In about a week, Maria called my nurse and exclaimed that both of them had noted a marked drop in their cravings for starchy foods, like bread and chips. Plus, they were now satisfied with smaller portions of the more healthy foods. The freedom from thinking about food all the time was unbelievable. Both of them were now able to stay on a lower carbohydrate diet. Over time, they found that the Mediterranean diet suited them the best. Plenty of healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, with vegetable proteins and seafood became their daily fare. Alicia particularly slimmed down quickly. She was young and as she felt better about herself, she started playing on the soccer team of her school. When I saw her at six months, it was hard to believe that she was the same young women. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “I now know what I want from life, I want to become a nurse and help others find health.”
Maria’s life was a little more challenging. As she began to lose weight, she became troubled with thoughts that disturbed her. She felt that men were looking at her more. She realized that she had some unfinished psychological business that she needed to deal with. Sexual abuse had been part of her early life and this trauma had never been dealt with. One year later, after working with a psychologist she had her weight at a much more healthy level. She did have to use anti-obesity medications and meal replacements periodically to avoid both hypertension and diabetes. This will be her life “forever”.
As you have read through this book, you know that we have destroyed the 14th Century myth that says weight gain is about gluttony and sloth. Now you must believe it. Yes, there is some work for you. You will have to change your lifestyle, eat different foods, shop differently, and even exercise more. But you didn’t get heavy because of a character flaw in you.
Instead, Mother Nature gave you gifts that, unfortunately, don’t work in the environment you currently live in. It’s not her fault and it is not your fault, but remember it is your responsibility.
In these pages, you have learned how the body interacts with the different nutrients that you eat. We busted the myth about calories. Now you will focus on adapting to your current biology and learn to use the tools that you now know about that can be used to curb the natural tendency to eat foods that inflame the obesity cycle.
We have also looked at our environment. We realize now that food companies are not our friends. They aren’t necessarily evil; they are just focused on making money for themselves and their investors. By yielding to the market forces of supply and demand, they produce the best tasting foods at the lowest possible prices. And this includes extending shelf life and making sure your body craves their products.
I gave you a new way to shop and a food and exercise plan that you can modify so that you can eat more healthfully and move frequently for the rest of your life.
Yes, you do need to get that weight down, but once it’s headed in the right direction, it’s important to keep your weight down for the rest of your life. A few people can eat the Paleo diet the rest of their lives, and perhaps some can eat salads every day but most of us will have to find the best diet for our individual selves.
Finally, it may be necessary to modify our brain chemistry with effective medications. There isn’t a need to struggle when good solutions are close at hand.
And yes, for some people, surgery is the best and most long lasting way to get to a healthy weight. I’ve given you a history and a couple of safe options. The important thing is to get to a point where the guidelines I’ve laid out here will actually work for you.
But through all these words, the core message I want you to hear is that it is not your fault. It is your responsibility, just not your fault. You didn’t program your body, but you now must accommodate to your environment.
Conclusion
Now, if you have a thin biology, thank you for reading this all the way to the end. Normally, people with a thin biology perpetuate the 14th Century myth because they find it relatively easy to avoid unhealthy foods. They don’t understand or deal with the challenges faced by the heavy biology people. Now, you have the knowledge and opportunity to be gracious and supportive of your heavy biology friends and family members.
Also, realize this, if you have a thin biology, you’re lucky to be here. You’re in the minority because you don’t store fat or use calories effectively. In the old earlier environment, you would not have survived the first winter. Thank your heavy friends for your very life.
And just because you’re thin doesn’t mean you’re healthy. In fact, 30% of thin people are on their way to diabetes. You might not be storing fat, but insulin is still pumping through your body. So you should still follow the principles laid out in this book.
If you have a heavy biology, you are a survivor. In fact, you are the reason thin people are here. Your ability to store fats and conserve energy ensured that humanity survived harsh environments and calamities.
But the new environment is like walking through a mine field for you. Everywhere you look, you’re assaulted with the sight of food, even the smell. You can’t avoid foods that will destroy your body. You didn’t create this environment, and you certainly didn’t form your biology, but you must still deal with the mine field in front of you.
You will need to follow the guidelines in this book. It will be difficult for you to shop around the outside of the store. The four days a month that you deal with your sugar addiction (by going without wheat, corn, potatoes, and sugar) will not be fun.
But you should also seek help. You have a difficult road ahead, and you need a medical professional who understands how our biology reacts to the current environment. This professional can guide you through the mine field. They will also be able to prescribe medications that will accommodate to your brain chemistry. You may also want to discuss surgical options with them.
Whether we have a thin biology or a heavy biology, as humans, we need to address the very real problem of obesity. This is one of the biggest problems we’ve addressed as a species. Food is all around us, and we are programmed to consume it. And it’s killing us.
As big as the problem is, we can overcome it. Humanity has overcome immense obstacles over and over again. This is a big one, but we can overcome it as well, with knowledge and courage!
| It is not your fault, but it is your responsibility! | |