Hmm, could it be…

Cross-posted at Confessions of the guy at Weight Watchers

As we look back in time and look at pictures from late 1800s and early 1900s what we normally see is people of normal weight.  The obesity of our nation really did not begin until the last 70 years or so.  Some would argue that it really did not begin until the late 50s or early 60s.  I have a very clear thought as to why this is.  I am sure I am not the only one who has said this and there are minds much greater than my own who could pin down more specific dates and look at the average diet over that time.  But after my weekend it was made extremely clear.  People “back in the day” worked.  They worked until the job was done.  Many times they did this for survival not for money.  The plowed and shoveled and did hard manual labor.  Many men did this their entire lives, and in that time while the men were out working the fields the women were tending to children, washing clothes by hand, and doing everything we do today… by hand.  Imagine taking the clothes you wear during the week and washing each individual item on a washboard.  We cannot imagine it.  This weekend was as close as I have gotten to real “labor” in many years.  My dad and I hand graded a spot in his yard for a shed.  We then put in a frame and then move 1500 lbs of pea gravel from my truck to the back yard.  So while I did not get the the gym this weekend I am pretty sure I burned as many calories working and I would have in the gym.  I think maybe it is important to try to do a few more things by hand and just be more manual about the way we go about our day to day lives.  I love modern convenience as much as the next guy but modern convenience has also led to and overweight nation.