It is beautiful.

Thanks–

MRE 

It would be good if you could compile a list of famous people like Fixx and Hoyt who have cardiovascular problems in spite of their rigorous exercise regimens. It would be a good list to show to the highcarb/lowfat crowd when they want to argue about how well their diet works.

Hi LC–

It would be nice to have such a list.  Maybe someone out there will have the time to compile it because I don’t right now.

The problems of Jim Fixx and Dick Hoyt bring up an interesting situation that I wrote about in Slow Burn.  Although most people equate the two, there is a big difference between health and conditioning.  Both Fixx and Hoyt were (are) in terrific condition, but were (are) they healthy?  I wouldn’t think so since both had heart attacks.  Winston Churchill certainly wasn’t in very good condition, but he was pretty healthy since he lived to be 90+ years old.

The trick is to be both in good condition and be healthy.  Exercise leads to conditioning.  Diet leads to good health.  Both, working together, give us the optimal situation.

Cheers–

MRE 

I’m glad you and your co-workers enjoyed and were inspired by it.

Cheers–

MRE 

Hi John–

I agree about the exercise giving this man great satisfaction and I admire him tremendously, but it doesn’t change the fact that hard core endurance exercise is not without risk.

Cheers–

MRE 

It’s really frustrating to watch how this guy changed one word in the phrase “low carb diet”, and everybody pays attention ! By calling it the “anti-inflammatory diet” and selling it as a way for women to get a beautiful complexion, he sidestepped all the low carb controversy.

Sigh. Maybe I should just tell my friends to go use the “anti-inflammatory diet” to get a beautiful face and forget bringing up their obesity and heart problems! They’ll be getting rid of them anyway!

Hi LC–

The South Beach Diet guy did the same thing.  He adamantly insists that his diet is NOT a low-carb diet, but it certainly is.  Same with Perricone.  At this point – at least in the publishing biz – low carb is a dirty word.

Cheers–

MRE 

Is there some chance that all that steady-state cardio exercise is not good for your ticker ? I wonder about the chronic low grade inflammation, oxidative stress and immune suppression that comes from multi-hour workouts. Are there any scientific studies that show damage from this sort of exercise ? I expect someone doing a slowburn/interval training type of workout a couple times a week would be better off.

Hi Paul–

There is a plethora of scientific information showing that hard, continuous endurance exercise causes a host of problems including increased inflammation, immune suppression, more frequent illnesses, joint problems, and a host of others.  But telling people who are deeply committed to such exercise that it’s bad for them is like telling vegetarians that their diet isn’t healthful.  They don’t believe it.

Cheers–

MRE 

However, I have a cautionary tale as well, as I wonder if the large volume of training required and the shear stress placed upon the body by these sorts of extreme endurance events didn’t contribute to his condition. Current medical dogma places too much emphasis on long, slow, steady-state aerobic activity for health, and I won’t be the least bit surprised if we find out someday that these extremes are in fact detrimental.

Interval training has been shown to do everything steady-state aerobics can without the negative side effects like muscle atrophy.

It’s time to stop running yourselves into the grave.

Hi Neal–

Good points all.  I agree completely.

Cheers–

MRE 

I am the Mom of a disabled child and I see many parents of severely disabled children devoting their lives to their children. They are heros, like this dad. I have an easy life because my daughter just has Down Syndrome and my biggest battle with her is trying to get her on a low carb diet!

Thanks again,
Joanna Crombie

Hi Joanna–

I’m glad you enjoyed them.  Keep working on the low-carb diet with your daughter.  It will pay off.

Best–

MRE 

I’m glad you enjoyed it.

MRE 

Hi Steve–

My pleasure.

Cheers–

MRE