I’ve had this blog for years, but never had a “Health” category before. It seems that as you get older, health is something that you don’t take for granted any more.
Personally, I’m on the borderline between overweight and obese, and my blood sugar is high. I’ve tried various diet and exercise programs over the years, and all of them worked, except that they were hard to stay on. Here are some of them:
- Atkins diet
- Orange Creamesicle diet
- Food diary / computer diet
- 40-mile (cycling per week) exercise
So, I’ve started a new diet based on some Michael Mosley videos that were on PBS a few weeks ago. They are supposed to have all sorts of health benefits including weight loss, lowering cholesterol, growing new brain cells, and reducing the risk of cancer. The diet is basically eating 600 calories a day (500 for women) two times a week.
At first one might think that eating just 600 calories a day is uncomfortable. Actually it is only that way the first time you do it. The second time, it’s not much trouble at all. Some diets are hard to follow because they require special foods. This one doesn’t. What I also found is that once you do a “fast day,” you’re not as hungry and you feel satisfied with smaller portions on the other days. If you need motivation, just remember that on the non-fasting days, you can eat whatever you want.
Mosley also introduced a rather remarkable 3-minute a week exercise program that for some people has remarkable benefits, including increasing insulin sensitivity. I haven’t started this one yet. Basically you get on an exercise bicycle and pedal your heart out for 20 seconds, cool down, and repeat for a total of three times (1 minute). Do this three times a week. That’s 12 minutes a month. Again, this is a program that should be easy to stay with because it doesn’t take a lot of time. The only problem is the special equipment.