Watching what you eat, counting calories, exercising, diet programs, weight loss pills, liposuction, slimming creams and soaps - all of these seem to be a normal part of the present culture. However, did it ever occur to you that this obsession of losing fat must somehow have had a beginning?
Civilization With No Diets
The history of losing fat is actually a very interesting and colorful one. Although you may think that the human race has been dieting since the beginning of time, this presumption is actually wrong.
The truth is, losing fat didn’t seem to be an issue once upon a time. In fact, back then, people didn’t really think about their weight. This is probably due to some economic factors. For instance, back then only the rich people were the ones who got fat. The majority of people were actually busy trying to survive and have at least one meal a day.
Sin, Dieting And Vegetarianism
Ironically, the first diets came from the traditional war against sin. Since gluttony was considered to be one of the seven deadly sins, there were religious institutions that preached on eating healthy and the perils of sickness. The first known preacher of this principle was Sylvester Graham. He was ordained in 1826 and by 1830 he was preaching about the benefits of having a vegetarian diet.
The First Low-Carb Diet And Diet Book
During the 1850’s a physician named Doctor Harvey in England had to treat a patient named William Banting regarding obesity. Harvey advised him to cut down the sugars and starches. In fact, he told him not to eat more than the minimum daily amount that was required. This came to be the very first low-carb diet.
The plan worked so well, that William Banting was able to write a book about the diet. The book was published in 1862 and was called Letter on Corpulence Addressed to the Public. This book also came to be the very first diet book in history.
Chewing Food The Right Way
During the end of the 19th Century, Willam Gladstone, Britain’s 4 times Prime Minister, had advised that food must be chewed 32 times, before it is swallowed. The theory was based on the principle that it can lessen ones appetite, which would lead to weight loss.
This simple advice, was so influential that it led to the title of The Great Masticator named as Horace Fletcher. However, he took it a step higher as he advised that food should be chewed until it became liquid in the mouth. He also advised that all kinds of meat must be avoided along with tea, coffee and alcohol. It was also him who spread the principle that people shouldn’t eat until they felt hungry and that people should have a happy disposition during meal times.
Calories In The Making
Wilbur Atwater, a chemist, was the one to discover the calorific value of food. However, it was only 2 decades after his discovery, 1918, that the concept went mainstream and left the academic world.
A doctor from California, Lulu Hunt Peters, was the first to introduce the calorie counting diet. Since it was a scientific method of losing fat, people were enthusiastic about it and it sold like pancakes.
Food Combinations
Then came the concept that how much you eat doesn’t really matter at all, what mattered is your food choices and their combinations. It was William Hay who first introduced this concept. He also held on to the theory that sugars, proteins and starches must be eaten separately in order to avoid adding extra pounds.
More Food, More Diets And More Claims
As time passed, people were exposed to more kinds of food. Fast foods were also introduced along with the comforts of living with high technology. Losing fat became more of a problem and still more kinds of diets came into being. However, most of them are still based on the above diets, which are considered to be the first in the history of losing fat.
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