Health & Fitness: "Hello, this is your body."

We've been needing to have this chat for a long time. I don't want to guilt you. I know you pretty well and goodness knows you don't need any more guilt in you life.

The thing is, I think you've forgotten that I'm you. I know, it's something our domineering brain has done to us. Brain say's "It's all about me! It's all about me!" Let's get this straight, brain: you're only part of the incredible system that is me, our body.

Here are some things we don't know we know or have just forgotten. We were designed to spend significant amounts of time hunting game, nuts and berries. The remainder of our day was used to prepare food, find firewood, build and tend fires, and maintain or move our shelters. And let's not forget about birthing, nursing and protecting the young.

Our heart muscles, tendons, ligaments and bone are meant to be strong for hard work. They get cranky and despondent when we don't use them-just not designed for sitting around for long periods of time staring at screens of any kind. And, if we use them enough, we just might start to enjoy moving and working 'em. You'll also find that it helps with those annoying bouts of depression we've been experiencing.

Now let's talk about how much you're feeding us. There was a time when our ancestors really needed to store up extra fat, especially during those long, cold, lean winters. 'Cept now it's 2004 and we live in Texas. Not a heck of a lot of glaciers down here, and even if there were, it's not like you'd be in danger of starving what with those grocery stores on every corner. So, start paying attention to those calories, for goodness sake. We only need about 10 calories per pound of ideal body weight each day. No, I'm not talking about our high school weight. Forget about that. You're an adult now. You need a comfortable, fit adult weight.

Oh and I'm really not sure what to do with all that processed flour, sugar and those weird petrochemical things you've been pouring into us. Why don't we just agree to start reading labels and stop feeding us anything with ingredients that are unpronounceable. Deal? What is that stuff anyway? Fresh vegetables, nuts and fruits are easy on me, and I like them for snacks.

By the way, when we go on those diets, it makes us crazy. All of our FAMINE! FAMINE! alarms go off and we start transforming every gram of carbohydrates you swallow into fat, and then we hold on as tightly as we can 'cause we think we're in for some serious food shortages. (Like that's gonna happen: see grocery store reference above.)

Oh, did I mention that when we're stressed our adrenals pump out hormones that make us hold fat, especially around our midsection? How about that! It's that old fight or flight response. Sorry, it's the way we were designed to work over the past few millennia. Old habits die hard.

Sure, we'll probably evolve one day but not in our lifetime-or our children's, for that matter.

And hey, speaking of the kids, I was thinking maybe we wanted to be around for them. If you treat me well, we can enjoy a much higher quality of life together. If you don't, well, there are all sorts of ways of letting us know that we are not happy with us. You don't really want to see those, do you? Didn't think so.

So. Let's be friends. Take care of us.

Thanking you in advance,

Your body.