S. B. Feldman wrote: > Some are interested in what to eat and some what not to eat This list concerns paleo eating, for the most part, whatever that is. To look at eating as an addictive behaviour is a narrower rather than a wider perspective. I mentioned this in the context of so many people asking why they were eating a paleo diet and still not losing weight. There is only one answer to this question: they must be eating more than their bodies needs for fuel. Why does this happen so often to humans? It very rarely happens to any other species on earth. The only exception I can think of is domesticated dogs and cats, and even this is less common than fat humans. The body--including the human body--has a fantastic inborn barometer that says exact what to eat and how much, but this quiet inner voice is drowned out by what we learn--intellectually and culturally--as we move through our lives. As I said in my first message on this topic, I believe there are two main reasons that humans tend to get fat. One is unstable blood sugar (reactive hypoglycemia), which is generally caused by excessive intake of carbohydrates (especially grains and starchy vegetables). The other is eating when one isn't hungry. This is, by definition, "compulsive eating". "Compulsive eating" is defined as eating in the absence of physical hunger. This includes initiating the intake of food in the absence of physical hunger, or continuing to eat beyond satiation. Many people on this list are overweight and want to lose weight--there have been many posts about it. There have also been quite a few posts specifically about the tendency of WOMEN to gain weight on a paleo diet more than men. I believe this is because women have a greater tendency (due to cultural pressures) to eat compulsively than do men, and a diet--any diet--can trigger the problem. So I posted some messages about this. I think a discussion of compulsive eating is quite relevant to this list. Certainly, eating in the absence of physical hunger was probably not part of our paleolithic past. And it is certainly a powerful factor in how we eat today. So it's another very relevant aspect to consider. - Sheryl