Prepare To Starve…or Not
Today I want to share something that made me say, “What? Seriously? Wow!” It’s something that I read about that happened a long time ago, but is even more relevent today. Wanna know what it is? Here’s the story:
Back in 1944 during WWII, the US government decided to learn the effects of starvation and how to re-feed people who experienced famine during the war. So, they designed a Starvation Experiment!
They chose a group of young men (18-25) who were selected for their “superior” mental and physical strength (they were consciencous objectors, but still wanted to serve their country), put them on a semi-starvation diet for six months, and measured the changes which occurred.
The results were both unsurprising and astonishing!
The not-so-revolutionary changes were physical in nature: weight loss, decreased muscle mass, and decreased metabolism. Exactly what the researchers expected to happen, physically.
The effects on mental health? Shocking. These young men, in 1944, when social media hadn’t been invented and six-pack abs were NOT a thing, lost their minds! The soldiers, during the six months of famine, began to think obsessively about food. They had loooong conversations about eating, dawdled over their food or gulped it ravenously, and even exchanged recipes! Twenty year-old dudes trading recipes?!? What?
In addition, some of the group went completely off the rails. Some stole food; others snuck off and binged; and some of the bingers even began making themselves sick in order to purge! Regular guys, in 1944, getting eating disorders after only six months on 1700 calories/day?!? Seriously?
The re-feeding period was no picnic, either. It was as if the men had forgotten how to eat normally. They reported intensive hunger that couldn’t be satisfied. They binged over 10,000 calories in one sitting. A few had developed anorexia or bulimia as noted above. It took an average of five months for the men to return to “normal” and sadly, some never did. Wow.
What does this have to do with Intuitive Eating?
This is EXACTLY what happens to our minds and bodies when we diet. And we do this willingly?!
Restriction of any kind - even if you aren’t calling it a diet - triggers abnormal eating and thinking. Restrictive and out-of-control eating are a bouncing ball that goes up and down, and up and down….
I found this study to be mind-blowing evidence that we need to re-learn how to eat normally, by which I mean stop restricting our food and to eat intuitively, of course. What do you think?
If this piqued your interest in intuitive eating, I have something just for you, dear friend. If you want to get off the diet merry-go-round and truly transform your relationship with food, sign up for my signature program: The Power of Intuitive Eating.
Details are here.
Be well. And nourish yourself! Because now you know what happens if you don’t!
With All My Heart,
