The Hunter's Diet

• Books and Evolutionary Psychology by James Brody, 8/4/97
  
  

Jim Brody was impressed by my recent successful diet, inspired by what I assume were the eating habits of the hunter-gatherers. I lost 75 lbs., returning to my normal weight of 190, by eating only meats, fruits, and vegetables. I ate as much of any of these foods as I wanted. This was based on previous experience with the many well-described high protein diets, with the difference that I did not count carbohydrate grams, and had a fairly significant carbohydrate intake from the fruits. I was in ketosis for some of the time. My hunger was suppressed quite effectively, and I often forgot about meals. I did avoid high-starch vegetables. I did not eat much high-fat processed meats although I used liberal amounts of butter on the vegetables, and for an evening snack would eat bacon. The fruits became so satisfyingly sweet that I had no desire for traditional desserts and snacks. I ate some cheese, but usually avoided dairy products, because of allergy. I lost weight at a rate of 2 to 3 pounds per week. I felt great and my energy level was very good. I had a reduced need for sleep. My triglyceride level dropped to 30, well below normal. My cholesterol was normal, and lipid ratios were excellent. I have kept this weight off for 6 months. I still limit carboydrate but find that I am hungrier now, and want to eat a modest amount of carbohydrate, but I essentially follow the same eating pattern, and am quite satisfied with it. I don't think I will gain the weight back as I continue to have little desire for the high carbohydrate foods I used to eat alot of. Many acquaintances tried my plan with varying degrees of success. I was intrigued by an article in Newsweek 4/7/97 citing 2 books of relevance. They were "Your Body Knows Best" by Ann Louise Gittleman, and "Eat Right 4 Your Type" by Peter D'Adamo. They postulate that you should eat the way your ancestors ate. My ancestry is Swedish, which is consistent with their theory that a high-protein diet is the basic Nordic diet. Supposedly, some people should do best with a high-carbohydrate diet, if that was their ancestors' natural diet. I am curious as to what evolutionary psychologists may have to add to this discussion.

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