If you’re over 40, you remember all the processed food products…the endless line of snacks, be it the crunchy chip or cracker products to the cookies, etc that were promoting “Now Low Fat!” on their labels.

I most remember the Oreos, since I was a big fan of them.   I haven’t eaten one in about 15 years at this point (last I recall, the label of ingredients was reading some pretty miserable chemical compounds, one or more of which I hadn’t even heard of before, so I simply said “No thanks”), but what I do remember about those early days most, is that our bodies…not just those of us who were in our teens at the time, but the mass media industry in general…were unquestionably SKINNIER.

Remember those days?

We know obesity rates are sky rocketing.  The stats are clear on this, but we don’t need the stats to prove the point.  There is no perceptual bias here; we have all noticed that people in larger and larger (pun) numbers, regardless of age, are simply getting fatter, period.  My Grandma, R.I.P. noted it all during the 90’s as she would exclaim loudly (with her hearing loss intact)…”People are getting so FAAAAT!”

(And she always said this in public places like malls, and always within ear shot of people struggling with their weight.  Not my most comfortable moments, love ya Gram…)

Anyway.

Now we have the 80/10/10 I have referenced elsewhere.  I have also explained that I am NOT an 80/10/10-er, since I do consume more than 10% fats and do consume some animal products.

Unfortunately, there are also huge cost factors with much of the 80/10/10 diet, but that’s a topic for another time, and I’m not suggesting there is not a way around that, as I believe there is.

The topic of this article relates to those days in the 80’s when the high-rise-on-the-hip one-piece bathing suits were the rage, BayWatch was born, the Solid Gold Dancers were drooled over by every teenaged boy in America, and the populace in general, was, unquestionably…skinnier.

(I actually have the photo to the right signed by one of the Solid Gold Dancers, courtesy of Paramount Pictures).

WAS IT the lowered fat content in the food contributing to this?

We may never know.

But I think it may be partly responsible, regardless of the fact that we of course KNOW that dietary fat does NOT contribute directly to fat on our bodies.

It does however “gum up” our insulin receptors, at least in some people.

The 80’s also saw the mass introduction of a new form of hybridized wheat which I also cover elsewhere in my materials (exposing anyone who eats processed foods, which back then was nearly everyone to this stunted/altered wheat) as well as the massive influx of both high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners in our drinks and foods.

I believe all of these combination are huge factors.

And we know for sure SOMETHING has happened since the 80’s to cause this change in our people, and it appears obvious it is the western world that is contending with it the most.

In comes a new way of life…one facet of which is my “W.O.L.F.” concept.  Not a new concept at all…but actually the oldest “concept” of all, and one we need to re-visit and build into our lifestyle if we are to have any hope of not just losing weight, but of living a robust and healthy life way beyond these middle-age years.

Maybe we’re not even “middle aged” yet, if we would simply pay more attention to what nature has to offer…