If you have seen the Fedex Caveman Ad then you know that life was no piece of cake in the neanderthal ages. Not only did you not have Fedex, but you ran the risk of being stomped on by dinosaurs everytime you took an angry stroll outside your cave.
So between figuring out if the carrier-pterodactyl would reach its destination and if the huge shadow over your head is just a rain cloud, early-man just didn’t have the time to make reservations at Applebees restaurant and eat a good meal whenever he wanted. Actually the real reason was that Applebees had not been invented yet, but you get the drift: Early man had no idea where his next meal would come from (if it did at all).
And thus the human body adapted and atleast two things happened. First, the brain became adept at figuring out which foods were nutritionally dense and energy-rich and which were not (Berries: yes, dinosaur poo-poo: ummmm…. not-so-much!). It realised that foods rich in sugar like fruits, berries and chocolate-chip-ice-cream (however anachronistic that sounds) provided much needed energy to replenish the body from all those t-rex-avoidance marathons. The brain released certain chemicals called opioids which gave the body pleasurable feelings at the sight and taste of sugar so that it would never forget to get more of those the next time it found them.
The second adaptation was that, of course, the body became an expert at storing energy in the form of fat. All excess food consumed was converted and stored in the gut to be used during the weekend Who-Can-Outrun-A-Cheetah games (cavemen were strange that way - no wonder most of them aren’t around anymore except on Geico commercials).
Fast forward to modern day. There is a Dunkin Donuts on every street and a Starbucks on either side of every Dunkin Donuts, not to mention the invention of Applebees. There is no dearth of food and no famines to threaten our existence, but some things are just the same. Like a dog that to this day will walk around a few times in the same spot before settling down (its prehistoric ancestors had to flatten the tall grass before they could lie down), man also does just as his genes have been programmed. He salivates at the sight of sugar and eats way more then he has to.
So the next you gorge on sweets, just blame it on your great-great…great-grandparents. And remember that you really don’t need to eat more than you need because, after all, if push comes to shove you can always make a reservation at Applebees.
[tags]health, fitness, sugar craving[/tags]
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
i have found in the past (now 62) that it takes 2 - 3 days to get over the craving for pure sugar. during those days you have to absolutely MAKE yourself suffer through with out it.
AFTER that; you’ve got it made. you CAN have fruit juice and any fruit after that. it almost doesn’t even matter if you”OVER-Fruit”.
you will be in control of yourself if you can go over 2 days (48 hours) and three is even better. after 3 - as i said - you are GOOD TO GO. you have activated the launch sequence.
at this time i am NOT in control. my no sugar plan can not get past the 10:15 a.m. day one moment.
but i WILL starting tuesday when i go back to work. i stayed off work way too long this christmas. (2 bad things that happened together. i wasn’t at work and there WAS holiday food!) continuously.
so i wish everyone a happy dieting new year. try - try to wait out those first few days.
it will make all the difference.
dinosaurs were not around in the same time as man
Hallelujah RW..I’m glad ‘someone’ out there is educated enough to know that man and dinosaurs did not ‘coexist’. Dino’s were here long before man, whichs makes me wonder if one should lend credence to the entire story by that entity.
Rainy
i am an avid chocolate fan and just recently i’ve been craving maltesers. i can have up to 3-4 pkts aday. i am 5ft 1 and am so desperate to lose weight.i need to lose at least 3 stone,the weight is being carried around my waist and i know i could be potentially suceptible to diabetes,i just can,t help it.
hi ellie,
i can absolutely empathise with your situation having a huge sweet tooth myself! the trick is to never ban any foods you enjoy, because you will only crave it more and then at a moment’s weakness you might splurge causing more harm than would have otherwise happened.
here’s something you can try. put a few maltesers (i love those!) in individual plastic packets and try to restrict yourself to one of those packets a day. you could spread them out as two in the morning, two after lunch and two after dinner. see how long you can do this. then bring it down to one at each time.
after awhile, try to reduce this from everyday to say every alternate day then to twice a week. by then you will be fine, because, trust me, with an otherwise ok diet and reasonable exercise, 6 (or even 12!) maltesers a week will barely make a difference to you!
this is a technique you can try with other problem foods as well.
hope this helps,
-fm.
I have a? i am one who craves sweets, like chocolate, and such. I find it strange that i just cannot get enough of it. I want more and more. I want to loose the cravings. If i eat fruit and or veges, another problem is i get so much gas that i really get self conscious. I plan on speaking with my doctor but i am hoping someone might know of something that will help.
Thanks
Sam
When someone makes a comment even in jest that’s one thing, as long as it’s being said verbally and aloud. One can always retract statements, comments and it’s easier to remove a foot from a mouth in person. However, when one is writing a blog or article or whatever the hell we’re supposed to call them today let’s get the “humorous” comparison correct. In the very least. Dinosaurs and humans didn’t coexist. Kind of like Liberals and everybody else, we evolve while you stagnate and hopefully, soon, die off. Everything exist because of glucose, even in space. We are interconnected on a molecular level. Once we start treating all living things as we wish to be treated only then can we go forward as humanity. Get your sugars from every day foods, don’t drink soda or eat candy everyday, it’ll create bad habits. It takes 21 days to development a habit and ten days to break one. Go forward people. Be well.
if you all check out other websites there is one that tells you sugar cravings come from the adrenal glands and drop in estrogen levels ect. I totally believe this because I crave sweets, and never did before Hysterectomy… I will try to find it and post it..
We crave sugar because it tastes really good!
Are you aware that cavemen and dinosaurs did not exist at the same time? Just saying.
Some turtles are dinosaurs. So are some crocodiles and birds. So actually humans did and still do coexist with dinosaurs. We just never co-existed with T-Rex or any other dinosaur species that didn’t survive the extinction event.
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