How did our family traditions become centered around eating meat? Think about it. When we think of Thanksgiving, we think of turkey. If we eat pork, then New Year’s celebrations often revolve around pork and sauerkraut. At Christian Easter, the traditional meal is ham. And in the summer, we wait for that first hamburger or steak on the grill.

How did that happen to a species that was designed to eat vegetables and fruits, nuts, berries and legumes?

We can imagine that eating meat was initially an opportunistic event, born of the need to survive. The taste of cooked meat, plus the sustained energy that came from eating high-fat meat products made primitive sense even to earliest man.

Initially, finding cooked animal meat, from a forest fire, would have been cause for celebration. It’s something everyone in a clan would have participated in eating together. When man learned to hunt and moved to a hunting orientation, rather than a hunter-gatherer orientation, he would have done this in groups. They would have had to hunt in teams, and killing an animal for food would have been a group effort. Hunting and killing an animal meant food not just for the individual, but for the clan, and would have been cause for celebration when the hunters brought the food home.

If they brought the animal back to the clan, it would have taken a group effort to skin the animal and tear or cut the meat from the carcass. Everyone would have participated in this, and subsequently, shared in the rewards of their work.

It’s easy to see how, once we didn’t have to hunt for meat, but could buy it, the need for gathering and celebration was deeply ingrained in our natures. We celebrate the seasons and life’s events with family and friends, and because those early celebrations involved eating meat, that tradition has continued to modern times.

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To encourage motivation as you lose weight, it is important to set goals. Setting goals that will stretch you allows you to improve both your exercise and eating habits consistently. Goals help you maintain focus as you strive to reach your target weight. Without goals and planning, youre setting yourself up for failure before you ever begin. Take the time to design a system of goals leading up to a stretch target to help you meet your fitness goals.

Stretch targets are goals that are designed to stretch you. When designing a stretch target, you need to plan a goal that you think is out of reach, and then set smaller goals to help you work towards it. For example, if you never exercise, you could make your goal to run a marathon in six months. You would then set smaller goals to get you there.

Goal setting is essential when you are attempting to make any lifestyle change. Take the time to design a stretch target, and smaller goals leading up to it. For example, you could begin by setting goals of walking each day with short bursts of running. Do this for 30 minutes per day for awhile, and then add more running each week. Eventually, by meeting these mini goals, youll be building up to running your marathon.

Be sure to encourage yourself along the way. As you design each goal, pick out a small reward that you will get when you achieve it. Set a much bigger reward for achieving your target goal. This gives you small incentives to work towards the bigger goal. If youre like most people, you require some sort of immediate gratification to keep you motivated. These rewards provide just that.

Goals are essential to any type of long term change, and weight loss is no exception. Setting goals leading up to a target that stretches you is a great way to encourage motivation. Tell others about your goal, so that they can encourage you as you begin. With dedication and hard work, youll be achieving your goal in no time at all. Be sure to choose a goal that really matters to you, so that youre even more motivated to work towards achieving it. Keep your mind focused on how proud youll feel when you finally reach your goal. Congratulations! Youre on your way to a better life.

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, nor should it be interpreted or substituted for medical advice. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. Better safe than sorry.

Tags: 30 Minutes, Dedication, Eating Habits, Exercise, Failure, Fitness Goals, Goal Setting, Healthy Diet, Immediate Gratification, Incentives, Lifestyle Change, Losing Weight, Marathon, Motivation, Personal Physician, Rewards, Running, Setting Goals, Six Months, Stretch Targets, Target Goal, Target Weight, Weight Loss —