Women’s bodies, in particular, store fat around their middle so food is located close to the fetus should they become pregnant during a famine. After dieting, even if we eat the exact same amount of the exact same foods we ate before we started purging pounds, we’re going to put on extra weight.
Over time, repeat dieters train their bodies to hold onto more fat every time they try to lighten up. Of course, this is the average person’s worst-case scenario. But placed within the context of humankind’s struggle to survive scarcity and famine, who can blame our brain for taking our actions so seriously? The human body cannot overcome a quarter of a million years of conditioning in less than seventy-five years!
Adding insult to injury, since the body clings to every bit of food we feed it, it also clings to every toxin that we consume along with it—you know, those artificial flavors and colors, antibiotics, and hormones found in processed foods. The more toxins get stored in the body, the more they congest us, make us feel “off,” cause us to lose energy, and, eventually, make us sick. They also contribute to the cellulite that everyone dreads, causing our bottom to jiggle and leading us to start another diets for quick weight loss. Now we’re caught up in the cycle of rollercoaster weight loss, where we lose pounds only to gain back more weight and toxins.
Notice that as I describe this cycle of yoyoing weight, I am writing about nutrients but not calories. The culture of dieting teaches us that the number of calories we eat determines whether we gain or lose weight. While it is true that you’ll gain weight if you eat more calories than you burn off, counting calories is not the answer to everyone’s weight-loss dilemma. In fact, it is even possible for the same person to gain more weight by eating fewer calories than they did in the past. How so? One way is to get caught in a cycle of rollercoaster dieting. Another is by eating low-nutrient foods.
