This article was originally published as an op-ed The Jerusalem Post on 13 June 2023: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-746056 “It’s déjà vu all over again”—Yogi Berra This story seems to play itself out repeatedly. Will this have the same ending? Is this really the answer to the overweight and obesity epidemic? This time, it comes in the form an [...]
The following article appeared as an op-ed written by Alan in The Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-706248 Paradigms! They are a set of ideas. A standard way of looking at something. Most paradigms are formed over a long period of time, even years or decades. The problem is that when something becomes very ingrained in our [...]
A few years ago, I wrote two articles about a lady named Aviva. Aviva started working with me, 5 years ago, while weighing 155 kilograms—that’s 341 pounds. I last wrote about Aviva’s progress two and a half years ago. At that point Aviva had dropped 39 kilograms, or 86 pounds. Without going into detail, her [...]
Here we go again! Yet another study trying to figure out what is more important, being thin or being fit. Last month, The New York Times published a summary of a new study by Dr. Glenn Gaesser, a professor of physiology at Arizona State University. Dr. Gaesser’s expertise is on the effects of physical activity [...]
Been there—done that! Yes, I am talking about weight loss and supposedly improving health through diet. We all start with the best intentions and actually lose weight. Sometimes maybe even lot of weight. But inevitably, we fall into the 95% group and we gain it back –and more. What did we do and why didn’t [...]
All of us have felt the ramification of the Covid-19 virus in one way or another. Unfortunately, I think we all know someone who has succumbed to this terrible plague. Many people are suffering financially and socially from the various restrictions that we have all needed to follow. But like any situation, good or bad, [...]
The phone rings in my office. A mother is calling about her teenage daughter or son who is, at this early age, struggling with being overweight or obese. Sometimes the teenager already has high cholesterol or even high blood pressure. This is unfortunately becoming too commonplace. Adolescent obesity has been linked to depression, anxiety, suicidal [...]
We all know that Western society is basically ill and it’s because of the lifestyle we have been subjected to over the last 50 years. There is more junk food and processed food than ever, a sedentary existence, chronic overeating and we lack the basic nutrition that would allow our bodies to fight off disease [...]
What we see on the outside is not necessarily the whole picture. Both as a personal trainer and a coach, I know this well. The picture very rarely tells the whole story. Here are two people who lead successful and happy lives—at least when you see them from the outside. But they are also suffering [...]
There was very significant health news a few weeks ago. When news about health makes it to the headlines, it usually means we have to pay attention. For over 100 years, the average life expectancy of people who live in the United States has increased, with the exception of 1993 and that aberration occurred because [...]
