Sunday 14th October - Dont just move more - stop eating so much !

I always love the Sunday papers (here in Australia) as you always find that you get a summary of all the week's news in one place. Often there is an article or three on "breaking health news" with today's paper no exception.

Today there was an article on this - "Eat less to live longer movement expanding".

Quick summary - a growing number of middle aged Australians (the movement) believe that reducing your daily intake of recommended food calories by 20% will add years to your life and help them avoid getting sick.

Could be worth considering with so many of us overweight.
However the "critics" in the paper (their names or who they were weren't mentioned here) advise us that "people drastically restricting diets may be more likely to develop eating disorders, and contribute to nutritional deficiencies and fertility problems".

(TONY - in comparison to the eating disorder of obesity we are globally now suffering from and key word "drastically". You have to watch those critics.)

So they quote two experts.
For the PRO side - is an Honorary Associate Professor at a Hospital and also Sydney University who follows the "principles of calorie restriction". He follows this practice and seems highly qualified and at 83 years of age, would have a load of personal experience and has been researching this for 50 years. That is impressive !

For the CON side and balance the paper got a Nutritionist to comment.
Definitely NOT to dismiss her qualifications or point of her view which was to focus on "good quality food" rather than limiting calories. This focus of good quality food is not really that much different from the first point of view when you actually see what they recommend .... both agree that we should eat more fruit, vegetables, lean protein and good sources of fat. We have been hearing this for years.

The article doesn't give a definitive conclusion which for the Editor's benefit I'm telling you only creates for the reader further dietary confusion and trust me I get the email questions asking what I think will work.

So what would I recommend. Well it's tough to beat 50 years of research but while the Professor's plan is to take half of his large meal home for the next day, I am more inclined to promote a more pro-active strategy that involves most meals including the intake of Anti-Oxidant rich foods to combat Free Radical cell damage through salads and vegetables with limited fruit due to this adding to over consumption of calories through juices.
(TONY - this is also discussed in my book).

At a recent conference on Nutritional Support I was fascinated to listen to a University lecturer explain how the Free Radical damage that is occurring inside our bodies today is a reflection of the world health issues by strongly contributing to many of the cancers we are now encountering. He raised the points that cellular damage to our bodies are being ravaged and can't compete with the result doing harm to our DNA.

In my book there will be lots more information why eating with the eating outline that I have developed with my team of experts (Nutritionists / Fitness Professionals / Real people) called the RAINBOW NUTRIENT REFUELLING PLAN can help you to start to deal with this issue.

After researching and testing I think it is NOT going to be a revelation or rocket science however there will be the usual suspects who will want to argue qualifications VS outcomes and my answer will be this. Our Nutrition team are highly qualified but don't take our word for it -Prove me wrong by trying it !

Or in other words don't just make judgements without YOURSELF giving the 56 Day Plan a go.

Simply it will involve you eating a lot less "garbage calories", you know those high processed, low nutrient foods that are quick to get and only serve to reduce the eco-harmony of your body. It has a clear strategic plan of how, and more importantly why, you need to adjust your current nutrition strategy if you want to improve the health of your cells in your body. Trust me on this - YOU DO !!!

This new ECO-friendly strategy is about creating a relationship where Biology meets Ecology and is the reason for the book title. Yes in case you are wondering that also means getting your body leaner and reducing your chances of getting an obesity related disease.

I would add that it would seem to make sense to reduce the excessive intake of calories most people consume (they eat too much and move too little), which I think is the real plague of today's society. When you think that most people struggle to be active for three hours per week and use this strategy as "their balanced approach for food intake or calorie consumed vs calories burned" then I am seeing this as a HUGE problem (pardon the pun).

Now if you are doing more activity then three hours a week - great, as it is likely that you are already conscious of your nutritional intake, however for the majority of the world's overweight population this over abundance / no movement mentality is a real problem.

Here is one thought for you to consider. If you are not exercising everyday then how can you consume the same amount of calories and NOT expect it to impact on your waistlines ?
(TONY - I answer that in the book)

Bottom line - there is a saying that if you continue to do the same as you have always done you will continue to get the same result. In other words CHANGE MUST HAPPEN because the world can't afford the global health bill that is coming if we continue on the same path.