Healthy Conversations: volume 1

Last week I had a chat over Skype with Matt Metzgar and Marc Van Dam (of Feel Good Eating).  I suppose you could call it a podcast of sorts, but none of us would want to come across as gurus.  We just discussed a few things together, things in which we are interested and around which we have each pondered over the last few years.

Matt recorded the conversation and we have been trying to work out how to host it on our blogs.  I think I have managed it!  This was the first time each of us had done this and I know we felt like we rambled a bit, but the key thing was that we enjoyed the chat and we are sharing it so that you can listen in too.



(or download the mp3)

We talked through the following topics

1) Strength – 05:44

2) Sleep – 19:10

3) Quick Simple Meals – 24:45

4) Skill/Efficient Movement - 32:12

5) Chronic Cardio – 40:00

6) Posture/Abs - 51:35

7) Stress - 58:50

8) Heart Disease - 1:03:50

9) Good Thoughts - 1:11:00

I hope you find it interesting!

I refer to my interest in hillwalking as described here.

A punch is just a punch

Bruce Lee is quoted as saying,

"Before I learned martial arts, a punch was just a punch and a kick was just a kick. When I studied martial arts, a punch was no longer just a punch and a kick was no longer just a kick. Now I understand martial arts, and a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."

I was thinking of this idea this morning as I was walking in the hills near Edinburgh in some wild weather.  Yesterday afternoon I had the great pleasure of a Skype conversation with a couple of great guys - Marc and Matt.  If you are  not familiar with them please check out their blogs:

 Marc - Feel Good Eating

Matt - Matt Metzgar Musings on Health & Other Topics

We spoke about a number of things but kept coming back to the simple ideas:  go to bed early, eat well, stand up straight, cultivate friendships, look on the bright side, get and stay strong, play.

Like Bruce Lee says, we can get ourselves so enmeshed in the complexities of programmes, diets, science, blogs etc that we need to come back to the simple things sometimes.  Yes there are scores of studies about the benefits of sleep ........ but that still means you need to sleep......we can learn so much about exercise and resistance training....but you still need to do it.  So much information, when we really just need to take some decisions, moment by moment.

Does that make sense?

Use These Great Weight Loss News

Use These Great Weight Loss News

Weight loss may feel like an insurmountable challenge, particularly if you have a substantial amount to lose. However, it is not as difficult as you may think. Try weight loss news tips in order to manifest your dream of losing weight. When dining at a restaurant, pay close attention to your soup options. Clear, broth-based soups are ideal, but avoid rich stews or cream-based recipes in favor of a salad. Eating either should count down on the amount of food you eat when you get your entree.Consuming coffee can help you weight loss news. Coffee is essential if you want to maintain your vigor while you are dieting.

Losing weight requires you to balance your calorie consumption with the amount of calories you burn. You need the perspective that you are always progressing, so you keep going. Understand that everything you do throughout the day plays a role in your weight loss news goals. The main thing to avoid is sitting on the couch for several hours a day.Do not eat right before bedtime. Do not eat within two hours of your normal bedtime. If you feel hungry, eat vegetables or fruit as a snack before bed. Although you cannot always avoid eating before bed, do what you can to make it a habit. Your body stores the fat and calories when it's inactive.

Although smoking is bad for your health, it may be a good idea to keep puffing on those cancer sticks. At least, wait for awhile. Smoking is a difficult, dangerous habit; and if you quit right away you are going to be tempted to replace your cigarettes with food. This is not good, and can cause weight gain.It is important to bring healthy snacks with you to work. This is critical if your work hours are long; you want to avoid crashing when you arrive home. This may cause you to reach for unhealthy junk.

Allowing yourself to buy clothes in smaller sizes as your weight loss news can also be a great motivator to continue eating right and exercising. Baggy clothing takes your mind off the extra weight. By not wearing loose clothing you'll be more mindful of your weight.When trying to lose weight, you may not want to work out. Weight loss news tips apply to people who do not like just going to the gym simply to work out. Instead, trick yourself by doing enjoyable activities like throwing a football, walking the dog or even going on nature walks. By doing something fun, you will look forward to your workout instead of dreading it.Don't surround yourself with foods that aren't good for you. This includes locations such as bakeries, candy stores and fast food restaurants. But, if you stick to farmer's markets and healthy cafes, you will be subjected to far fewer dangers.

To stay healthy, spread your eating habits out through the day. Eating 5 or 6 small meals is far better than having 3 large meals. This helps the body maintain a higher metabolism for the whole day.Try eating filling, but low calorie, foods. Enjoy a small plate of fresh veggies, like carrot and celery sticks, in advance of a meal to knock back your hunger pangs so that you don't devour higher calorie foods and desserts. You can get the same result by drinking a glass of water or a cup of coffee before meals.If you love eating pizza, there is a great way to minimize the calories you eat. Blot pizza slices with paper napkins to limit your grease intake.

Try to have an upbeat attitude when it comes to losing weight. weight loss news look at your diet and exercise programs as permanent lifestyle changes, it will be easier for you to continue to stay motivated. It'll make it much easier for you to maintain motivation on frustrating days.A prefect way of shedding the pounds is by going hiking. You will get some nature time and you will burn a good amount of calories. The more challenging you make the hike, the higher the calorie burn.

Yogurt is your friend. Select low-fat and plain varieties of yogurt. Try to read weight loss news plain yogurt in a salad of cucumber and a bit pepper. Fresh fruit added to plain yogurt is a better choice than flavored yogurts which may contain sugar. Yogurt not only tastes great but is high in calcium.

One good way to lose weight is to simply stay so busy that you don't have time to eat! When we sit around, we think about things like food and that creates a craving that we could cave into. If you keep yourself busy, this shouldn't happen.Even when dieting, you need to eat a sufficient amount of food. When you are dieting it is easy to fall into the trap of eating low calorie foods with little nutrition. You may lose weight, but you will not build better health in the long run.

Avocados are a good diet food because they are very rich and good for you. While they do have a lot of fat in them, it is the type of fat that is good for you. The rich and silky texture of the vegetable can make it quite satisfying for people avoiding other fats. A taco with avocado is just as tasty as one that has meat and it is much healthier.The weight loss news tips you just read can help you start losing weight.

If you don't get immediate results, you shouldn't give up. It's absolutely crucial that you stick with your plan from start to finish. If you stick with your plan, you will lose weight.

Source of Article here :- Weight Loss News  

More about news here :- +Healthy Diet Plan and Weight Loss Tips +Idietitian India 

Gnosticism in Health and Fitness

I want that blogger's secret knowledge

Increasingly I am finding that so much of the fitness & fitness blogosphere is a strange place which I am seeing more as a form of gnosticism.  Let me explain:

Gnosticism I suppose is something of a theological term.  From Wikipedia

Gnosticism comes from the Greek: gnosis which means knowledge. Some religions and sects mostly in the few hundred years before and after Christ are said to be gnostic or practice gnosticism.
This is because these religions believe that there is a special, hidden knowledge that only a few people may have.

Not to get into the theological aspects of all this, look at that last sentence:

these religions believe that there is a special, hidden knowledge that only a few people may have.
 

Gurus & Salesmen

So often we treat our interest in Health and Fitness this way.  We are on a constant search for the  "special, hidden knowledge".  The are looking for the secrets: the special diet, the new routine, the amazing new supplement or exercise.  And on this search we become vulnerable to the gurus and to the marketing people.

The gurus are the purveyors of this special knowledge.  They have their own unique approach to diet or exercise which so often is put forward as the One True Way.  We gather around them in tribes or sects: RenEx, Crossfit, RKC or whatever.  Paleo, WAPF, Primal.

As in cults and sects behind it all often there are those who see the congregation as a source of income. We buy the ebooks, the newsletters, the DVDs because we want the secret knowledges.....

We have gurus pedalling their secrets....which you can buy in a £29.95 ebook.  (Now I feel guilty as I am hawking my ebook in the top right!)

The mainstream

All this goes along with a mistrust of "the mainstream".  There is a scepticism about the conventional wisdom.  We see ourselves as brave reformers, asserting our truth, nailing our theses to the doors of the church of the medical and fitness professions.  We know better....

The thing is that the mainstream is often right!  I know lots of research scientists and while they are not perfect, they are on a professional scrutinised search for truth.  Journalists simplify and sensationalise, but the scientists are generally on an honest journey to find what works and how to get better.

It is difficult!

Reviewing the scientific literature some things are decided....lots are held provisionally.   But the obvious thing is that a lot of it is hard to understand!  It is rarely as simple as we like to make out.  The processes and systems of the body are very complicated.  The scientists that study them work hard for years to develop the knowledge necessary to look into these things.    Yet somehow we run to the bloggers.  Why do we think that we should be getting our health and fitness knowledge, even our health advice from a blogger not a medical professional?

The Gnostic approach makes us feel special

Rejecting the mainstream also makes us feel special, better than the others.  We know a better way and are not so simple and deceived as to believe the conventional.  PRIDE is at the root of this of course.  We want to think of ourselves as so much better than the others, elevated above the drones.

Simplicity, Persistence, Habit

What if it is all actually a lot simpler.  I think it is time to reject the search for the special knowledge and embrace the basics.  A sensible diet.  Exercise.  Sleep.  Social interaction.  Stress management.  Time outdoors.

Most of all though the need is for persistence.  Just keep going.

I have been guilty

I have been guilty of all of this and still am....but I am trying to moderate it.  I have jumped at paleo, kettlebells, HIIT, low carb, whatever the current trend is.  Some - like interval training - has science behind it, but it is rarely as sensationalist as we make it out to me.

Is there still interest in the simple path?  Walk lots, do resistance training, eat well and sleep?  Where is the cash in that?

the rehabilitation of eggs continues

eggs are not so bad after all:

Use 'em, don't lose 'em! Eating egg yolks adds nutritious benefits

New research suggests that consuming whole eggs may improve blood lipids

Of course eggs are nutritious.  Funny of course that the press release is from the American Egg Board!

About the American Egg Board (AEB)
AEB is the U.S. egg producer's link to the consumer in communicating the value of The incredible edible egg™ and is funded from a national legislative checkoff on all egg production from companies with greater than 75,000 layers, in the continental United States. The board consists of 18 members and 18 alternates from all regions of the country who are appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The AEB staff carries out the programs under the board direction. AEB is located in Park Ridge, Ill. Visit www.IncredibleEgg.org for more information.

When should you have your protein to grow your muscles?

This is a topic that keeps coming up time and time again.  It may be another example of us always seeking the secret knowledge, the magic key that will suddenly solve all our problems with muscle gain and fat loss....

Anyway there is research going on.  This full paper is available

Protein timing and its effects on muscular hypertrophy and strength in individuals engaged in weight-training

In general, protein supplementation pre- and post-workout increases physical
performance, training session recovery, lean body mass, muscle hypertrophy, and strength

Classic Erwan ...MovNat

It was good to interview and train with Erwan over 2 years ago.....

Be sure to check out his new website and podcast

Reviewing the Hoo-rag!

So what the heck is a Hoo-rag? 

That is what I thought when I received the email asking if I wanted to try one and write a review.  Intrigued I asked if they would send one to Scotland and there was no problem.  A week later it arrived.

Ah.....it is a Buff!  Well it is similar but the Hoo-rag is its own thing.

Maybe you are none the wiser?  These bits of clothing are very versatile and useful items that I have come to trust and rely on in both hot and cold weather.  A simple, seamless tube of lightweight, wicking cotton/polyester that can serve in lots of ways.  I use mine as a hat - they make simple beanies;  a wrap around my wrist to soak up sweat; a bandana.....and most often a neck gaiter on cold days.  Best of all on a cold day is pulling the tube up from around the neck so that it covers the mouth and nose and ears. Breathing in and out through the material warms to freezing air and takes the chill from icy days.

On Monday I wrapped my new Hoo-rag round my neck and went for a walk up a local hill.  It was icy and I slipped around the hard frozen ground, but eventually I got to the top of Tinto Hill to watch the sunset.

I sat there as the sun went down, turning all of the clouds to gold.  Sipping coffee from my flask I soaked in the view.  Turning to descend the cold gripped my face and then I was grateful for the Hoo-rag round my neck....I rolled it up covering half my head suddenly feeling warm and safe.

Later as I got lower I warmed up and it returned to a neck gaiter.

You can learn more about Hoo-rags at their blog. Definitely recommended.  If there are two items of kit that I rely on in the outdoors it is a Hoo-rag (or Buff) and a pertex windshirt.   For such a cheap piece of equipment, they have so many uses!  Check out the Hoo-rag site.

Why I Eat The Way I Do - by Tom Furman

Tom Furman has posted a good piece on diet.  He traces out some of my own journey here too.


Why I Eat The Way I Do:

Diet is an emotionally fueled issue. Quite often training for strength or training for sports is performance based. Put up or shut up. However for one reason or another, "belief" and therefore "faith" enters into eating habits. I was certainly one of those people years ago. I did things and said things that made sense then, but are fundamentally wrong based on evidence. Remember that word, evidence. 

Not just habit but patience

In the old days...pre-internet I got my information from magazines.  I remember an article in the old Ironman or maybe it was Hardgainer which laid out a basic routine.  Then it told you to stick to it until the next issue of the magazine came out in 2 months.  8 weeks of consistency.

Now we do not get new information every 2 months....it comes everyday, every hour as the RSS feeds pump out new stuff.  We are distracted.  Try this, try that.

What we need is not just habit but consistency.  Stick to some basics for a while.  Sleep.  Eat well.  Walk.  Train some basics  Don't swap from programme to programme, diet to diet, approach to approach.  Just keep going...

Diet Update

I intend to do a more detailed diet update in the future following on from my post a while ago where I highlighted my experience with a Leangains Intermittent Fasting approach.

The obliques are coming in!

For now, just a couple of photos.  I have lost maybe a couple of pounds since the last photos, putting me at about 154lb.

You can see my obliques coming in now.

I have some loose skin on my lower abs which I hope will go as I get leaner.

I am no longer fasting.  I east 3-4 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a snack.

I walk a lot and train in the gym once a week.

Diet sorts out definition.  Calories are important.  Control those and you will control your weight.  Diet composition? - follow the bodybuilders: set calories, get enough protein and fill in the rest as you wish

...and my arms are still there....

Habit

I've been following a writer / trainer for a little while who has a blog called Go Kaleo.  I like her approach a lot.

She put this on Facebook which is worth repeating

The secret to weight loss and improved health and fitness isn't paleo/low carb/plant based/low fat/crossfit/yoga/pilates/raw/isagenix/shakeology/protein/etc.
The secret to weight loss and improved health and fitness is:
Good habits, practiced consistently, over time.
Sorry it's so boring.

That fits with a lot of what I am thinking about at the moment - so many are searching fo the magic secret knowledge that will solve all of their training  diet and health problems.  We disciple ourselves to guru after guru  as we look for that secret - low carb, paleo, vegan, cardio, zumba etc etc etc.  But the basics, the sensible basics remain.  We blame our fatness or unhealthiness on gluten or casein or carbs or fat or something.  But we ignore sleep, relaxation, walking, real food and friendship.

People do not like the basics of sensible food intake and exercise.

How do knees work?

From Scientific American

Getting stronger makes cyclists more efficient....

Cyclists' improvement of pedaling efficacy and performance after heavy strength training.

AbstractThe authors tested whether heavy strength training, including hip-flexion exercise, would reduce the extent of the phase in the crank revolution where negative or retarding crank torque occurs. Negative torque normally occurs in the upstroke phase when the leg is lifted by flexing the hip. Eighteen well-trained cyclists either performed 12 wk of heavy strength training in addition to their usual endurance training (E+S; n = 10) or merely continued their usual endurance training during the intervention period (E; n = 8). The strength training consisted of 4 lower body exercises (3 × 4-10 repetition maximum) performed twice a week. E+S enhanced cycling performance by 7%, which was more than in E (P = .02). Performance was determined as average power output in a 5-min all-out trial performed subsequent to 185 min of submaximal cycling. The performance enhancement, which has been reported previously, was here shown to be accompanied by improved pedaling efficacy during the all-out cycling. Thus, E+S shortened the phase where negative crank torque occurs by ~16°, corresponding to ~14%, which was more than in E (P = .002). In conclusion, adding heavy strength training to usual endurance training in well-trained cyclists improves pedaling efficacy during 5-min all-out cycling performed after 185 min of cycling.

Does massage help through an effect on stem cells?

Maybe....

Stem cells, angiogenesis and muscle healing: a potential role in massage therapies?

Abstract

Skeletal muscle injuries are among the most common and frequently disabling injuries sustained by athletes.Repair of injured skeletal muscle is an area that continues to present a challenge for sports medicine clinicians and researchers due, in part, to complete muscle recovery being compromised by development of fibrosis leading to loss of function and susceptibility to re-injury.Injured skeletal muscle goes through a series of coordinated and interrelated phases of healing including degeneration, inflammation, regeneration and fibrosis. Muscle regeneration initiated shortly after injury can be limited by fibrosis which affects the degree of recovery and predisposes the muscle to reinjury. It has been demonstrated in animal studies that antifibrotic agents that inactivate transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 have been effective at decreasing scar tissue formation. Several studies have also shown that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can increase the efficiency of skeletal muscle repair by increasing angiogenesis and, at the same time, reducing the accumulation of fibrosis. We have isolated and thoroughly characterised a population of skeletal muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) that enhance repair of damaged skeletal muscle fibres by directly differentiating into myofibres and secreting paracrine factors that promote tissue repair. Indeed, we have found that MDSCs transplanted into skeletal and cardiac muscles have been successful at repair probably because of their ability to secrete VEGF that works in a paracrine fashion. The application of these techniques to the study of sport-related muscle injuries awaits investigation. Other useful strategies to enhance skeletal muscle repair through increased vascularisation may include gene therapy, exercise, neuromuscular electrical stimulation and, potentially, massage therapy. Based on recent studies showing an accelerated recovery of muscle function from intense eccentric exercise through massage-based therapies, we believe that this treatment modality offers a practical and non-invasive form of therapy for skeletal muscle injuries. However, the biological mechanism(s) behind the beneficial effect of massage are still unclear and require further investigation using animal models and potentially randomised, human clinical studies.

Common running injuries

This is a clever little infographic.

Click away

Too much aerobic bashing?

A couple of days ago I posted a video of James O'Keefe talking about the potential dangers of running too much.   His research and presentation has got a fair bit of coverage - e.g. in the Wall Street Journal.

His position and presentation are quite compelling, but perhaps are not the whole story.

Alex Hutchinson points out some of the concerns about the research :

The Too-Much-Running Myth Rises Again

The Sock Doc also has just written a post closely examining O'Keefe's argument and the way in which it has been popularised.  Definitely worth reading:

Enough of the Aerobic and Endurance Bashing Fostered by “New Research” and Personal Agendas

Remember: Always health first, fitness second. So train smart and train hard when you can and you’re ready to do so. Training hard is good for you, but do not do such extreme training too often. I love training hard, but I am intentional about it and only when my health is optimal and my movement is efficient

I think possibly we are all on the same side here, just misunderstanding each other a bit.