Month: December 2012

Families and fitness
family · running

Families and fitness

Sam B7 Comments

I hear lots of parents complain that they don’t have time to exercise but by and large my kids have been a force for good in my fitness adventures.

When they were little we discovered the Y’s drop in childcare and that was perfect for attending a group fitness class. After we’d swim together at the family swim. Later when they did swimming lessons of their own we’d use that time to work out. I would see other academics in the Y’s waiting area grading papers but that was never my approach. I’m not sure why exactly but I always felt that if my kids were being active, then that’s what I ought to be doing too.

We’ve always been an outdoorsy family. My daughter went camping and hiking (in a backpack of course) for the first time when she was just 2 months old. Since then we’ve spent a lot of time together as a family hiking, biking, swimming, paddling, and camping.

My children grew up seeing their parents as active. We both rode bikes and pulled them in the trailer. ‘Go faster mum!’ I felt so fast on the weekend when I unhitched the 2 child, max load 100 lb trailer. Whee! Weekends were for hikes in the woods. London is a terrific city for family friendly trails. And as they’ve grown up, each with their own interests and agendas, physical activity has been a big part of my relationship with my children.

My daughter, now 20, and I have vacationed together twice on cycling holidays, once in Quebec on the rail trail, “Le P’tit Train du Nord” and once in New Zealand on The Central Otago Rail Trail. Love rail trail holidays and strongly recommend them to people who want an active holiday and like the idea of being in nature, away from cars. It’s so safe and relaxing. We camped when we did the Quebec rail trail but it’s in ski country and there’s loads of bed and breakfasts. They’ve even turned the old railway stations into coffee shops and bike stores. No shortage of espresso and ice cream on that rail trail.

My daughter and I also do Aikido together. (It started as something all the kids did. You can read about that here.) Next summer we hope to complete the Kincardine Women’s Triathalon together too. In years past we did it as a relay: me on the bike, my daughter on the swim, and my sister in law on the run. See photo below.

The daughter is a keen outdoor adventurer and I look forward to more active vacations together. Latest scheme: Hiking in England.

My youngest is the biggest team sports person in our family, playing rugby, football, and basketball at a fairly competitive level. I don’t think he’s met a team sport that he hasn’t liked. I love it that he encourages me to take up women’s rugby and basketball.

He’s also my everyday gym companion, a fellow early riser. We head out at 6 am most mornings and then when done, I drive him to school for 8 am. When he has rugby practice I take my bike out to the field and usually get in a good 50 km on the country roads near the club while he practices. (My rule is I watch games but not practices.)

I once asked if he minded the ‘mum in lycra with road bike’ appearing at the rugby field and offered to keep my distance. I was so proud of his answer. He said he thought the mums in lawn chairs reading fashion mags were more embarrassing but really he thinks I ought to be playing rugby with the women.

My middle child is the best dog hike companion. We’ve taken dance classes together too. His interests are the hardest for me to share. He’s a terrific dancer, ballet, jazz and modern. He also roller blades rather than bikes. And he loves rock climbing.

I think the people who struggle but who can’t manage to fit it all in are exercise compartmentalizers who think of working out as something extra you do, one more thing that happens after kids go to bed or with a babysitter helping out, not something you do with children. (I explain the distinction between integrationists and compartentalizers here.) In our case physical activity is a big part of the fabric of our family life and I can’t imagine it any other way.

The above photo was taken about 10 years ago, during my literal run up to 40. It was the Santa Shuffle, kids did the mini event (.5 km, I think) and adults did the 5 km. Fun! The photo below is from the Kincardine Women’s triathalon.

relay

I did it! I tested for 5th kyu in AIkido!
Aikido

I did it! I tested for 5th kyu in AIkido!

Sam B7 Comments

Exciting times. I trained extra hard for the past month and with the help of some very special people I was invited to test in Aikdio. Thanks Senseis Oaker, Chau, and Stone! And thanks to Robert Corless for the encouragement. I tested today and it went very well.  I was even loud enough and I think I looked confident. New belts will make it official come January.

The club tests are pretty inspiring to watch. You can really see the growth in ability as people move from white, to yellow, to orange, to green, to brown, and then the various levels of black.

And if you’re in London and want to give Aikido a try, we’re having an Open House night for beginners. The free class will be at Carling Heights Optimist Club, Thursday, January 3rd, at 7 pm. See you there!

motivation · running

Christmas Running Survey

Tracy I2 Comments

I was browsing around Fit for a Year this morning. John posted this survey, which he got from The Hungry Runner Girl. It seemed like a fun, seasonal thing to do (and also got me thinking about the Christmas Day run — will I, or won’t I?). So here it is. Other than the running question, it’s not really a running survey. But I like it anyway. Thanks, John and Hungry Runner Girl.

Favorite Christmas Album/CD/Song? Album: A Windham Hill Christmas; Song: O! Holy Night
Run on Christmas morning or take the day off? Looks like it’s going to be sunny (if chilly) on Christmas Day. Might be a good opportunity to borrow my mother’s Yak Traks for a test run. A mid-morning run Christmas run might be in my near future!
What do you usually eat on Christmas morning? The usual cereal and fruit, or toast and a smoothie. The food-fest starts later in our household.
Favourite holiday or Christmas tradition? Christmas trees and lights. I LOVE this part of Christmas. Makes it feel magical.
Real tree, fake tree or no tree? Fake tree that looks real.
Christmas pajamas, yay or nay? Nay.
Where do you spend the holidays, at home, with your parents, extended family, in-laws or friends? Every other year at home, every other year at my parents’ house. This year, it’s their turn to host.
What’s your favourite Christmas food? No contest: stuffing! And I make a mean vegan stuffing to go with my tofu!
Open presents all at once or take turns? We don’t do a lot in the way of gifts anymore except for the kids. But on Christmas morning we distribute the gifts then open them all at once.  We will do the same again when the kids arrive the next day.
Favourite Christmas movie? Love, Actually. Already watched it once this season, might do one more round of it before the end of the day on the 25th.

All the best of the season to you!

Tracy

p.s. Samantha, I’d love to see your answers to this survey too. And anyone else, let us know with a pingback if you decide to post it to your blog (and credit Fit for a Year and The Hungry Runner Girl).

running

Gearing up for Winter Running

Tracy I4 Comments

When my parents first moved north of Toronto, they used to go for walks on their little cottage road in the winter, sometimes gingerly placing their feet so as not so slip on the ice.  Their neighbours would run by (not walk, RUN) at a good clip, not seeming to be the least concerned about foot placement.  After a few days of witnessing the sureness of foot of their neighbours, my parents stopped a passing runner to ask.

Their secret: Yak traks.  These ice grippers attach to the bottom of your boots or shoes. As the name suggests, they grip the ice and you do not slip.

So far, we’ve had it easy this winter in London, Ontario.  No heavy snow. No super cold temperatures.  I haven’t had to test my commitment. The true test will come when the temperature drops well below zero (Celsius) for days at a time and snow and ice set in.  Yak traks are not my only concern.

I’m serious about completing the 10 week “ease into 10K” program this winter — not necessarily in ten weeks, but certainly by the time the thaw sets in in late March I want to be comfortable with the time and distance it takes to run 10K.

If that’s going to happen, I need to make sure I have the right gear for winter running.  That way I won’t be able to use the weather as an excuse unless we’re having a blizzard.

Everything I’ve read screams out: NO COTTON.  Cotton holds moisture and makes you cold.  They also recommend three layers on the upper body: the base layer, the insulation layer (optional, depends on how cold it is), and the outer layer to protect you from the wind. Light materials that wick moisture away from the body are essential for the base and insulating layers. So far, I’ve been doing well running in our moderate temperatures with my snowboarding clothes. I get hot easily when I board. Over the years I’ve found the right combination of layers to keep me toasty on the slopes even on the coldest day.

What I have not contended with yet is snow, ice, or windchill.  As a result, I haven’t bothered with an outer layer. My snowboarding jacket is too heavy. I will need to get an outer layer for running. Recommended materials for the outer shell are thintech, isofilm, and activent.  These materials are all light, warm, and breathable. There is nothing worse for getting cold and staying cold than sweating under an outer layer that does not breathe.

So far, I’m using one layer of Under Armor leggings on my legs. These are all I ever wear under my snowboarding pants, and they have been totally reliable for the mild winter running I’ve experienced.  We’ll see how they do when it’s colder. I’m considering a slightly heavier pair, but am pretty sure that two layers on my lower body will be too much for me.

As with any winter sport, the winter runner loses a lot of heat through her head and hands.  A hat and gloves or mitts made of synthetic material that wicks the moisture away is a good choice.  I like to keep my ears warm and am experimenting with different hats. The ski toque is too warm.  But the light hat I’ve been wearing lately might not be enough for mid-winter. On a really cold day, I have a half mask that covers my nose and mouth. I don’t like wearing it on the slopes because I feel claustrophobic. I think it would be even worse for running. Maybe on a *really* cold day I’ll just stay indoors and do some time on the elliptical machine.

And what about Yak Traks? Unlike my parents, I live in an urban area where sidewalks and roads are cleared after heavy snowfall.  The sidewalks are uneven — some spots icy, some exposed. This makes ice grippers a bit risky. They grip the ice, but if you hit cleared sidewalk it is like being on ice *without* yak traks. Several of my local running friends have said they LOVE winter running and they have never owned Yak Traks or any kind of ice gripper.

So, those are my plans for winter running gear. I will balance the winter running with some extra hot yoga classes. Winter is the very best time for hot yoga. The studio never feels quite as welcoming as it does on a cold, snowy, windy winter day.

If you have any suggestions about winter running and winter running gear, please send them my way!

Here are some further resources about winter running gear:

http://running.about.com/od/coldweatherrunning/a/wintergear.htm

http://www.jogging-guide.com/winter-running-gear.html

How to run outside in the winter and keep your a** warm

[photo credit: Get Fit with Les, November 24, 2012]

body image · diets · men · weight lifting · weight loss

Men, muscles, and weight loss: Argh!

Sam B7 Comments

I remember when my office mate in grad school, a man of course, Philosophy is mostly men, set out to lose weight. Within a few weeks he’d lost 15 lbs and looked great. Stupidly I asked him what he’d done. I’d lost more than 50 lbs that first year in grad school, mostly with lots and lots of exercise and not very much eating. I thought maybe we could bond over hard it is to lose weight.  Turns out he’d switched from regular to diet Coke.

At that point in my life it had been years since I’d tasted a full-on sugar loaded beverage. Mostly, then as now, I drank water and coffee. Diet coke was an occasional treat.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t strangle him. But I admit to being shocked at what different embodied experiences we’d had.

It’s true the playing field evens a bit with age. But not very much.

There’s a man, my age, with whom I ride bikes who loses 10 lbs every spring with his tried and true method: skipping breakfast.

SKIPPING BREAKFAST! Yes, you read that correctly. If there is one piece of advice that nutrition advice givers all give it’s to never skip breakfast. Indeed, they often say, eat more calories early in the day and eat fewer calories later. You know, that saying: eat like a king at breakfast, a nobleman at lunch, and a pauper at dinner. (The extreme version of this is the dessert-for-breakfast diet which I’ve never tried because I don’t feel like dessert at breakfast but if you’re so inclined here’s some info: ‘Dessert Breakfast’ Diet: Weight Loss And Reduced Cravings, According To Study.)

This seems to me to one more area where men’s and women’s experiences of diet and weight loss are just very different. There’s been a huge dust up in the Paleo community over men’s and women’s different responses to IF, or intermittent fasting. Short version: It works well for the boys, and for the girls, not so much. Long version: Read Shattering the Myth of Fasting for Women: A Review of Female-Specific Responses to Fasting in the Literature and Krista Scott Dixon’s piece linked below.

I often think that it would be fun to be a man, just for the ability to make such dramatic physical changes so quickly. Look ma, biceps and a mustache just after two weeks! They’re like starfish, those men.

Men go to the gym, start lifting weights, and voila, they grow visible muscles. It’s kinda cool and fascinating in a science experiment kind of way. Whenever I meet men who don’t lift weights, I admit to being a bit baffled. Come on, you’ve got it so easy. Here, just pick up this bar and let me load some weight on the end. Now just wait, sit back, and you can practically watch the muscles grow.

In her best rant ever Krista Scott Dixon writes about why women should stop listening to personal training advice from young men who live in such different worlds.

“To lose weight, they do crazy shit like give up drinking so much beer. I hear women from all over the globe gnashing their teeth at their partners’ superhuman abilities to get riptshizzled with no effort. I’ve been busting my ass and I lost 1 lb in a month! That jerk’s doing my nutrition plan along with me and he’s lost 40 lb in the same time, just by eating one less strand of spaghetti a day! I hate him!

I hear ya. My home dinner table conversation sometimes goes like this.

Me: Ugh, I feel the estrogen demons again. I feel like an inflated wet sponge. The only thing that fits me is the Snuggie my grandma gave me last Christmas.

Him: I don’t feel so good myself. I had a whiff of anxiety today and dropped 5 lbs. Then my shirt tore itself on my abs.”

http://www.stumptuous.com/rant-66-december-2012-the-first-rule-of-fast-club

Mostly I try to regard the muscle growing abilities of the male of our species with wonderment and awe, rather than envy. Some of the time I even succeed.

(And yes, there’s a ton of variation between men and a ton of variation between women.  And lots of people for whom those categories aren’t meaningful. I don’t mean to suggest here that all men are alike in their ability to lose weight and gain muscle. What does bother me a lot–and it’s the subject of another post–is how much of the research in the nutrition and fitness realm is carried out on young men and then becomes advice given to women of all ages.)

aging · weight lifting

Get up off of that floor!

Sam B

The Yahoo Health headline reads, “Simple Test Predicts Longevity.”

“Brazilian researchers discovered an interesting link between a person’s ability to sit and rise from the floor and the risk of being 6.5 times more likely to die in the next six years. The study, published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention, included a simple test in which more than 2,000 people ages 51 to 80 attempted to sit down on the floor and then stand back up using as little support as possible.”

“The ease with which a person stands and sits clues doctors in to a person’s ratio of muscle power to body weight. But the researchers say there are other relevant issues. “It is well known that aerobic fitness is strongly related to survival, but our study also shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, power-to-body weight ratio, and coordination are not only good for performing daily activities but have a favorable influence on life expectancy,” said Araújo.”

I think I’m in pretty good shape by that measure. Two of the the activities I do regularly involve a fair bit of getting up from the floor.

In Aikido we spend a lot of time falling to the ground and getting back up again, ideally with no support.

Aikido break fall

But my favourite ‘getting up from the ground’ exercise is the Turkish Get Up, which I did first in the gym a few years ago and then relearned when I joined Crossfit. It’s a Crossfit staple.

The image above comes from a kettlebell work out site, http://www.bestkettlebellworkout.com/the-turkish-getup/. The site also features a common theme in men’s weight lifting sites, men lifting women. Funny there aren’t any I’ve seen of big women lifting small men. If you find one, let me know! Lots of people think the Get Up is the best kettlebell workout though personally I like the plain old swing.

Turkish get up

I figure if keep these up I’ll get excellent scores on the “get up off of that floor” test.

advertising · body image · motivation

The Inspirational Dis-Value of “Fitspo”

Tracy I15 Comments

Lately I’ve read some blog posts and articles questioning the inspirational value of “Fitspo.” The authors ask whether “Fitspo” is the new “Thinspo?” Thinspo or “thinspiration” themed websites are where people with eating disorders like anorexia can find inspiration to keep starving themselves. Most of the inspiration comes from photos of people whose bodies already match the sought-after ideal. There has been something of a crackdown lately, but the sites have not disappeared entirely.

In thinspo, the ideal is the skeletal thinness I usually associate with anorexia. In fitspo, it’s a bit different. You don’t just achieve the fitspo ideal by losing a lot of weight. Starving yourself will not do it.

No, to reach the fitspo ideal you have to work out hard. You have to bust your butt. Starvation isn’t healthy. The fitspo ideal provides us with the healthy alternative. But does it? As the header for the xoJane article says: “Heather, my love, there is a new unreasonable, idealized body standard in town.”

I’m not so sure that the promotion of any virtually unattainable body ideal counts as healthy. Much of the content on our blog has emphasized the extent to which looking fit isn’t the same as being fit. Both Samantha and I have talked about the importance of performance-oriented measures of our physical condition as opposed to aesthetic measures.

But if fitness is a worthy goal, and fitspo helps to promote it, then what’s the problem?

I’m no psychologist, but it seems obvious that the inspirational content of fitspo images comes largely from the beautiful (youthful, slim, ripped) bodies depicted in the photos. It’s demoralizing to work hard and not “see” visible results in the way the body looks. So inspiration and motivation can turn to demoralization and disillusionment over time.

It takes a lot of mental effort (for me, anyway) to retrain myself to feel good about improving performance-wise without being able to see any differences. It’s true that I am much stronger and even faster than I was nine months ago when I got back to regular resistance training after a long hiatus. If I depended on fitspo or “fitspiration” images to keep me going, I would by now have quit. The ripped, youthful body is not going to be mine again (and when I had it I didn’t appreciate it).

It’s absolutely essential to have goals that are not about the aesthetics of fitness. Fitspo does not promote those goals.

What would I like to see? As I said a few months ago in my post on inclusive fitness, I would like to see more images of older, healthy-looking, vibrant people engaged in all manner of sports. This includes weight training in gyms, running, swimming, yoga, cycling, skiing, whatever. I would also like to see more images of more body types engaged in different forms of demanding physical training.

If we wouldn’t feel equally motivated by images of people who did not exhibit that muscular, low-body-fat, health ideal, then we need to think harder about why the usual images are motivating. Once we admit that they advocate and promote an unreasonable ideal, their motivational power rests on dubious ground.

So as much as I admire and even envy the beauty of a lean, muscular, athletic body, I do not find the images to be especially helpful to me as motivation or as inspiration.

Aikido

Being tough versus looking tough

Sam B5 Comments

I’m working hard these days in Aikido to be confident, to be loud, to take a more assertive stance, to look and sound like I’m ready for combat.

Now I’m naturally a quiet sort. I smile a lot and I speak softly so this isn’t easy for  me. The advice I get from my seniors in Aikido is to “fake it.”

As a philosopher I find this interesting. The distinction between acting a certain way and being a certain way isn’t clear cut, of course. Aristotle famously makes that point about virtue. Act virtuous until you become virtuous.

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

“We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.”

Psychologists have known for years that smiling more often works to cheer people up.

I have one very striking experience in the opposite direction. I have a cornea disease and from time to time (usually allergy season) my eyes start to sting and water. I can feel my eyes welling up with tears as I wait on bike my bike at red lights, for instance. If this catches me by surprise sometimes I start to wonder why I’m crying. I actually feel sad. I cast about the events in my life and inevitably hit upon things that are making me sad. And then I feel sad for real. Sometimes realizing it was just my cornea problem doesn’t even help at this point.

The slogan is “fake it til you make it” and at that point, for better or worse, I’ve succeeded.

So I’m trying this out at Aikido: thinking big movements, standing tall, and being loud.

This article just appeared in my Facebook newsfeed and it’s along these same lines, reporting on research in psychology about self confidence, Good to Know: You Can Fake it Till You Make it.

“But can we also do this ourselves? According to psychologist Amy Cuddy this is very simple: just pose as a confident person. Don’t make yourself small by crossing your legs or arms or touching your neck, instead put your feet on the desk or stand upright.

She demonstrated the effect with subjects that had to pose in different ways. After just two minutes they acted very differently. People that took powerful poses were better able to deal with risks and their levels of testosterone and cortisol changed significantly. They also presented themselves better at stressful job interviews.”

Here’s Amy Cudd talking and “power poses” and self-confidence: [ted id=1569 width=560 height=315]

An objection I hear to martial arts self-defense training for women is that it gives women a false sense of confidence because after a few classes they won’t be able to actually execute any of the techniques against an aggressor. But walking tall, looking strong, making eye contact, and being loud are all behaviors that make it less likely one will be a victim in the first place. I’m not sure I’d be able to pin a big, strong, drunk guy on the street but I’m confident I could yell loudly and respond without panicking. That’s good enough for me.

Other Aikido posts:

Six Things I Love about Aikido and Six Things I Struggle With

Thinking about quitting: Life lessons from Kenny Rogers and Aristotle

Why is it so hard to kiai?

This is how I feel sometimes about Aikido

Aikido and Training to Test

body image

Muscular women of the world: bad news, good news, and why do we care anyway?

Sam B3 Comments

Bad news 1.: Planet Fitness’ ‘judgment-free zone’ doesn’t extend to muscular women

(Worse ad ever. Thanks Fit and Feminist for sharing. Boycott this gym, please.)

Bad news 2: Bulging muscles look mannish

(So say tabloid newspapers.)

Good news 3: The new face of MAC has muscles

(See above.)

My two cents: On whether muscular women are found beautiful by mainstream standards of beauty I’m not much concerned. Who really cares what mainstream standards of beauty have to say? Are you white, blond, able bodied, thin, twenty or younger? It’s a pretty small niche. Yes, we can expand the range of beautiful but we’re still giving too much weight to beauty, it seems to me. Why should beauty, however broadly defined, count for as much as it does in women’s lives? But what bothers me most about the Planet Fitness ad and the accusation of “mannish” looks is the gender policing: who is a real woman and who counts? I don’t care who you find beautiful but gender policing has got to stop.

Great reading for the fitness geek on your gift list
sports nutrition · weight loss

Great reading for the fitness geek on your gift list

Sam B5 Comments

Timothy Caulfield’s new book The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness aims to set the record straight on what the latest research in food and fitness does and doesn’t show. Caufield is sick of all of the myths and hype surrounding food and fitness trends.

For the most part The Cure for Everything is a fun, fact filled exercise in debunking. I like a good debunking as much as the next philosopher. What science minded academic doesn’t?

Here are some highlights from the self described science nerd and health nut:

  • When it comes to weight loss, exercise is just a tiny part of the story. 90% or more of it is diet. Caulfield thinks there is a reason so much funding for sports and exercise programs comes from food manufacturers. They’re anxious to redirect attention.
  • That said, we should all exercise more than we do. It’s incredibly good for us, even if we don’t lose weight. What sort of exercise? Heavy weights and intensity. Forget “moderate” exercise, intensity is where it’s at and what makes a difference. Governments encourage “moderate” exercise because that’s where there’s the biggest bang for health improvement buck but really, it’s intense exercise that offers the most individual benefits. Governments rightly worry that if they shared this message we’d all give up, go home, and watch yet more television.
  • There’s no such thing as toning and the best way to visible abs is low body fat. (That’s why heroin addicts look ripped.)
  • Stretch if you want to but there’s no evidence to say it’s good for you and some evidence to show it hurts performance. (Yes! Thank you.)
  • The food industry touts the ‘everything in moderation’ ideal but the truth is that some foods have no place in a healthy diet. Rather by the time you eat all the foods you need to eat, there’s no room for them in the daily calorie count.
  • Don’t bother with vitamins and supplements. Eat real food.
  • And there’s nothing particularly good to say about detox and cleansing diets.
  • Most surprisingly (for me) was his critique of yoga. I wasn’t shocked that homeopathy isn’t medicine but I was taken aback by his claim that yoga is not very good as exercise though it is probably good for stress relief. I’ll worry less now that I’m not very good at yoga but I still enjoy it anyway. Hot yoga on a cold winter day feels wonderful. And I’ll be curious to hear what yoga buffs make of Caulfield’s claims. (Hi Tracy!)

You can read the short version here on Huffington Post, 9 Health Myths Debunked by Timothy Caulfield.

Caulfield leads the Faculty of Law’s Health Law and Science Policy Group at the University of Alberta and is a Canada Research Chair  in Health Law and Policy. He is also a pretty serious track cyclist (a former Canadian master’s champion in sprint cycling) and the same age as me, 48. Oh, and he’s got cool glasses.

What counts as fitness, according to Caulfied? In an interview with Healthzone he says:

In our society, fitness is about looking good, about esthetics. My definition is not tied to sexy abs. It’s tied to feeling strong and vigorous. It’s about biological markers, such as blood pressure and cholesterol. You get all that from working out. If your goal is to look in the mirror for drastic changes, you’re going to be disappointed.

Some of this will be familiar to readers of Gretchen Reynolds’ The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer which I talked about here.

Both books cover lots of the same ground although I found Caulfield’s conclusions a little gloomier. Reynolds tends to sprinkle the bad news with the good. She’s also a health reporter and he’s an academic and the difference in background shows. Though both aim to be popular books sharing research in a field many of us care deeply about, if you actually want the science and some details about the studies Caulfield will be a better read.

Both books also make clear that the truth doesn’t provide much fodder for catchy motivational slogans: Exercise intensely for long periods of time and you might just stay the same! Both cite the same study showing women who exercise a lot, and regularly, still gain weight as they age. They just gain less. That’s good health news but won’t exactly make for a very good poster at the gym.

The bit that I found hard to take, though I don’t doubt he’s right, was Caulfield’s assessment of what’s required for long term weight loss and maintenance. People who lose weight and keep weight off in the long run have some traits in common. And this group, because they’re rare, have been studied closely.  First, constant vigilance. They remain as focused and determined as they were when losing weight and they log and track just as carefully as when they started. Second, they exercise a lot. Third, they also don’t eat very much. Yikes.

During the course of writing the book, Caulfied himself dropped 25 lbs and went into the very lean category in terms of body fat. He did with some simple rules: no junk food, very limited quantities (he only ordered starters not entrees) and half of everything he ate had to be fruits and vegetables. He speaks in frank terms about hard this was, about hunger and resisting temptation. He’s kept the weight off but still finds it a struggle.

In the end I like ‘s assessment of the book. On his blog Weighty Matters he calls it an “evidence based romp.” Three words he says he’d never thought he’d string together.

You can hear Caulfield interviewed on the ABC here and his book is also reviewed  in the National Post