AlgarveFitness.com

We just need to exercise enough. We don't need to break records or kill ourselves training. We'll spend nearly half of our lives as over-50s so we might as well spend those years in good shape physically and mentally. It's easy enough to achieve

Regular Exercise May Keep Your Body 30 Years ‘Younger’ The muscles of older men and women who have exercised for decades are indistinguishable in many ways from those of healthy 25-year-olds.

!LOSE WEIGHT WITH ALL CARBS!

In the 1930s, Dr Walter Kempner started treating overweight/obese patients with his RICE DIET. On this diet they ate only white rice, fruit, juice, sugar and lost massive amounts of weight in short periods of time.

In one study of 106 patients every single one lost at least 99 pounds, and the group lost, on average 140 pounds. They not only lost weight but improved metabolic disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc. Again, eating only white rice, fruit, sugar, and juice.

!BUT, BUT, KETO RULZ!

In this KETO CRAZY, SUGAR IS EVIL nutrition world, many will find this hard to believe. They'll think it's a hoax. They'll look for loopholes and ways to argue against what turned out to be a highly recommended intervention at Duke University for over 4 decades.

That's because they don't know their history. And knowing your history is important in politics, religion, social issues, and, yes, even nutrition.

If you don't look at historical approaches to diet and weight loss you'll be a sucker for every "new" trend coming down the pipe. Like modern low carb approaches. Or modern high carb approaches.

Folks, EVERYTHING has been tried before. Has been documented. And can be examined.

Consider Kempner's diet or Banting's very low carb diet in the 19th century. Many of these "worked" in some sense. Then FASHION and FOOD POLITICS put them out of business, not their relative efficacy or ineffectiveness.

For example, back to KETO, in my only 25 years in the field, I've seen this kind of very low carb diet come around, and disappear, 2 times before the current craze.

Does anyone honestly think it won't happen again this time? If you do, you aren't familiar with history.

!I'M NOT ANTI-KETO, I'M ANTI-IGNORANCE!

Look, I'm not anti-keto by any means. This isn't even a post about keto. It's about not being ignorant to history. It's also about being a good coach. And knowing enough to see through hype.

Kempner's success reminds us that sugar, carbs, etc aren't evil. Despite the FASHION of 2018. Despite the loud voices of Jason Fung, Gary Taubes, etc.

How could they be right that carbs are the enemy when Kempner's patients ate nothing but them, including sugars and fruit, and still lost tons of weight and improved all blood markers?

However, before rushing to the idea that Kempner's work means that fat and protein are evil -- which many did in the past and many will again, mark my words -- let's go back to what good science has shown us.

That you could have done the same exact study with an only grasshopper, red/green/yellow peppers, and coconut oil diet and (if calories were roughly equivalent) the subjects would have experienced equivalent effects.

What these approaches have in common is CALORIE REDUCTION. Have people only eat rice and fruit OR only grasshoppers and peppers and they don't eat a lot of anything else, which leads to short-term, perhaps even mid-term, weight changes.

What happens in the long-term, however, is predictable. And not desirable. (Kempner's diet is no longer recommended at Duke. Just like a hundred other retired "named" diets affiliated with universities over the last 150 years, each representing a different macro preference coupled with severe food/calorie restriction).

!DON'T BE A PAWN IN THE FASHION/FOOD POLITICS GAME!

All the debates about biochemical pathways and unique macronutrient effects are very interesting and seductive but not all that important to us coaches.

All the "which macro ratio is best", "low carb vs. high carb" debates do is distract us from what's most important.

* Helping our clients find movement that they enjoy and will do more of for the rest of their lives.

* Helping our clients manage stress, get some sunshine, develop better social bonds, and go the f*ck to sleep.

* And, yes, helping them eat the right food types and amounts such that they're eating around (or a little less than) they expend, getting enough nutrients, and are able to do this for the long haul.

Getting too wrapped up in any nutrition camp, too pro any macro blend, too fixated on what's new, hot, topical just makes you and your clients pawns in someone else's game.

The media's "Hey, look over here!" game.
Publishers' "Gotta make people buy books again!" game.
Authors' "Gotta get my books bought!" game.
Doctors' "I gotta supplement my income!" game.
Health and fitness celebs' "I gotta get attention!" game.
Universities' "We gotta differentiate ourselves!" game.

But, if you know your history AND if you, daily, remind yourself of your real job (see above), you can rise above the games. You can actually help people. Including yourself.

The colours! ... it's not all about fitness!

Three huuuge golden bream for our tummies

Skill-free breakfast. Eat well / minimum effort...

Yay! Rachel's account of her week in the Algarve makes the Irish Times! Thanks Rachel!

‘My friend called my fitness holiday a fat camp’ Rachel Flaherty: I was incredibly anxious on my first fitness holiday. Would I hold others back?

Office Worker Health workshop. It's interesting to hear what the experts are finding about our everyday wellness. Thanks to Brian Crooke

Our other brain!

Revolutions: The gut microbiome Revolutions is a new series that brings together a hand-picked selection of recent articles offering a cutting-edge insight bringing you up to date with a variety of different scientific advances. This first rundown looks at the ground-breaking science surrounding our gut microbiome.

Rachel Flaherty, one of our hugely positive clients, articulating what a lot of us feel and go through. Moderation and time are our best allies. Our weekends are golden opportunities to get the most out of our lives and max our health

I’m stuck in the weight loss plateau – three stone gone, two more to go I’ve been the same weight for 120 days and I’m frustrated. Time for a mindset change