What does nature have to do with weight-loss?
When was the last time you got out into nature? I mean really got out and spent time in nature. Closed your eyes and listened to the sounds filling the woods, the smell of damp earth after rain-fall or felt the rain touching your skin. Our genetic recipe evolved over thousands of years to expect certain inputs.
Our brain expects to hear the sounds of birds in the trees, not the hum of traffic or wailing of emergency services spiking adrenaline and cortisol (unfavourable hormones for fat burning when chronically elevated). Our brain expects our eyes to be scanning the vivid colours of a forest with natural light bouncing off the trees around us. Our feet expect to be stimulated by the forest floor. Our muscles expect to be put under load in small bursts of intense work, stimulating a healthy strong physique. Our ligaments and tendons are strengthened when we are required to balance while moving through challenging terrain. Our body expects to be fed an ancestral hunter gatherer diet, low in processed sugars and fats but high and dense in micronutrients. I could go on …
So why are we as a society overweight, over-stressed and unhealthy?
We are too far removed from nature. We have nature deficit disorder. To help an animal thrive you mimic it’s natural habitat; nature. We are surrounded by artificial light, technology, food and awkward chairs. Our physiology lives in an alien world, full of stress and over stimulation. So how does the body react? Cortisol, adrenaline and fat storage.
What’s a simple first step to start to get ourselves back into a more natural state?
Spend 10 minutes a day outside. This could be in the local woodland, a stroll down the beach or chilling in a city park. Just as close to nature as you can. You’ll be surprised the effect it has on your mood, body and mind. Rediscover that inner hunter gatherer.
Give it a go a let me know how you find it!
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In health,
Joe