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What are the best popular diets? What will work best for you? In the health and fitness world, there is more conflicting information about “diets” than any other subject. The libraries and bookstores are filled with books which offer differing “fact based” opinions from experts, doctors, lay people, and diet promoters.

For example, when it comes to vegan (100% plant based) diets, I often hear that the elephant is a huge animal and it eats only plants. But then the big cats are primarily meat eaters. Which would you rather be like, an elephant or a panther? Different animals have different digestive capabilities. The digestive systems of elephants (plant eaters) are different from the digestive systems of big cats – Lions, Tigers, etc. (Meat eaters). And I would suspect that big cats have different digestive requirements than house cats. Evolution, you know.

Humans are omnivorous. Our systems are designed to eat both plants and animals. Yet there are even different opinions about that. There are tons of “studies” from reputable sources, each offering their expert opinions about what humans are designed to eat and what we are not designed to eat. Most popular diets contain a little of each food variety in various degrees.

In the annual Food and Health survey released in 2018 by the International Food Information Council and reported a couple of weeks ago by the Washington Post, the most popular diets were the following (in descending order): Intermittent fasting, Paleo, gluten-free, low-carb, Mediterranean, Whole 30, high-protein, vegetarian/vegan, cleanse, DASH, and ketogenic/high-fat. You can find descriptions of each online.

In a paper published in the archives of the National Library of Medicine of the National Institute of Health in 2007, it lists the dietary quality comparison of the most popular diets using something called the AHEI, or Alternate Healthy Eating Index, as the guideline. It lists the diets in terms of AHEI quality in this order with a maximum possible score of 70: Ornish 64.6; Weight Watchers high-carb 57.4; New Glucose Revolution 57.2; South Beach, Phase 2 50.7; Zone 49.8; 2005 Food Guide Pyramid 48.7; Weight Watchers high-protein 47.3; Atkins 100 gm carb 46.0; South Beach, Phase 3 45.61, and Atkins 45 gm carb 42.3.

Confusing isn’t it. The “diets” don’t even overlap.

Years ago, my wife and I tried Jean Carper’s 7 Fat Unit Diet (21 gms of fat max per day). We lost 7 pounds in seven days just like it promised. Our hair and skin dried out and we lost a significant amount of our Personal Energy. Later we tried the South Beach Diet (Low Glycemic). It worked, and we stayed on it at the maintenance level for a long time. It worked until we went off it.

Here’s what has worked for both my wife and me for the last eight years. We cut back slightly on meat and started eating more vegetables. I learned to eat some of the vegetables that I was told to eat when I was a kid. I even eat broccoli now. Sometimes I have to spice it up, but I eat it.

We cut out most added sugar. We eat a bunch of fruit. We both take a Senior multi-vitamin.  We still eat bread but mostly sour-dough, whole wheat or rye. I guess it’s sort of an American version of the Mediterranean Diet – lots of fruits, veggies, grains, some meat, moderate carbs and proteins, and good fats. Fats are important for the assimilation of Vitamins A,D,E & K.

The result? I dropped nearly 40 pounds from 198 pounds to my current weight of 160 pounds. I didn’t look bad but I felt “heavy”. I’ve remained at 160 pounds the entire time. Even though I exercise a lot, it was the diet that made me lose weight. Weight loss begins in the kitchen, not the gym.

What will work for you? I would suspect the same diet as I used would work for most, but keep in mind we all have individual needs and individual food challenges. You’ll have to experiment to see.

Thank you for reading.

Are we Seniors in better physical condition than our youth? How can that be? And if so, what can we, as active Seniors, do to help?

According to an article in the June 2018 issue of Athletic Business Magazine, a trade publication for the Fitness Facilities industry, we are facing an “Epidemic of Inactivity”. While the article speaks for all ages, it emphasizes the epidemic as it relates to our youth and addresses what one organization, PHIT, Personal Health Investment Today, is trying to do about it.

When most of us who grew up in the 1950s, 1960s and even in the early 1970s were in Elementary School through High School, we had a comprehensive Physical Education curriculum. We did calisthenics, played on Jungle Gyms and Monkey Bars, as well as a lot of running an jumping. That was before the Insurance Industry became terrified of liability problems and schools eliminated many of the physical activities and downgraded many of the outdoor playgrounds in the name of “safety” (read that “fear of lawsuits”).

In the last decade, many of the outdoor programs have been brought back from the grave in recognition of the problem of youth inactivity, but not yet close to what they were.

Some of the statistics in the above article are downright scary. Here are some that are quoted directly from the article:

• Less than 25 percent of children in America are physically active three times a week. That’s even with all the youth sports programs available.
• Childhood fitness levels in the United States rank 47th out of 50 countries. I might toss in a caveat here: The article doesn’t say what countries were surveyed.
• 47 percent of high schools across the country have no physical education classes.
• Only 29 percent of youths meet the qualifications to join the military. Obesity is the leading reason. Wow! That’s scary.

So are we, the Senior generation in a position to help reverse this trend? While organizations like PHIT are doing what they can to promote fitness for all Americans across the board institutionally, those efforts are only beginning to take hold.

A friend of mine, Richard Keelor PhD, former Director of Program Development for the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, and current President of Health Designs International in McLean, Virginia has been working with educators, recreational professionals and business leaders to promote community efforts to encourage Health and Fitness in local communities. We have discussed the problem often and agree that the problem can be reversed. Dr. Keelor approaches it from an Institutional or Community level, and I approach it from an individual initiative. Both approaches are needed.

I believe that the best thing that we, as Active Seniors can do to promote Health and Fitness to our young people, is to be seen as role models for our youth – to become and remain active and fit throughout our lives. Why don’t we as seniors “show off” what we can do and what younger people are capable of becoming.

How?

By becoming what we talk about, being lean, fit and active seniors, engaging with the young folks and “talking up” the benefits of being lean, healthy and active. Let’s demonstrate to these youngsters the benefits and positive results of an active and healthy lifestyle.  While we are improving with age, let’s help our younger boys and girls do the same.

Of course that means we have to practice what we preach. So, let’s get on with it.

Thank you for reading.

Looking back at the topics I have written about in these articles over the past few years, one topic is notably missing. That missing topic is the art and science of “Stretching”.

This article is an overview. I’ll get into more detail in future articles.

Believe it or not, stretching is a controversial topic in the Fitness industry. Do you stretch at the beginning of your exercise period, or at the end? Do you do static stretching where you extend a limb and hold it, or do you do dynamic stretching where you move your limb through an entire range of motion? How long should you hold a stretch?

Surprisingly, after so many studies, both academic and experiential, there is little consensus on answers to any of the above questions.

For Seniors, stretching plays an important part of any exercise regimen. Seniors are normally less flexible than their younger counterparts and stretching at the beginning and end of an exercise period can bring back some of that youthful flexibility. In fact there are a number of benefits to stretching:

• Stretching can improve blood flow throughout the body.
• Stretching can help relieve or prevent cramps.
• Stretching can help regain full range of motion to your muscles and joints.
• Stretching can help prevent injury to muscles, ligaments and tendons.
• Stretching will help warm up and loosen up muscles in preparation for more strenuous exercise.

There are also some pitfalls to stretching. Some if these are:

• Some people will try and overdo the stretching when first starting out, particularly when muscles, joints and ligaments are still cold or tight. This can result in an overstretching injury.
• Stretching beyond a normal range of motion. Some people try to extend their range of motion too far or too fast. This can result to damage to muscles or joints.

Here are some tips for stretching correctly:

• Loosen up before you stretch. This may sound counterintuitive but it helps to loosen up with some form of easy movement before you actually start stretching.
• Stretch as many muscle groups as possible during your session.
• Stretch as far as you are comfortable but don’t overextend. You don’t have to touch your toes the first time you try it. You’ll extend your range of motion with time.
• Start slowly. As with any exercise, ease into it.
• It seems that while there is no consensus, 30 seconds per stretch seems to be the general rule.
• Some stretches are stretch and hold (static), while others involve moving your joint through the entire range of motion (dynamic). Do both.
• Relax and breathe easily.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this article is an overview. I’ll cover the topic in detail in future articles. But having noted that I hadn’t written about this important facet of physical movement, I thought it was time to start.

Thank you for reading.