Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Struggling

I'm struggling bit with this blog. I'm feeling pretty down anyway with the loss of my Dad, but I'm finding it hard to get much motivation to post here.  Partly I think I am learning that it is the basics that are important anyway.  I am tired of all the fads and the personalities, the drama and the seeking after novelty. 

Eat real food, get enough sleep, do some strength training, walk lots.  

Diet - I used to think it was all about low carb, or high fat, or paleo....now I am not so sure.  I avoid wheat because it makes my stomach unhappy, but otherwise I eat all sorts.

Exercise - some basic, safe strength training goes a long long way to promoting all sorts of health.  However, there are so many fads and crazes out there.  So much too which is written as if we are all elite athletes or physiotherapy patients. 


29 comments:

bluntobject said...

For what it's worth, I appreciate your blog as a tonic against all the novelty-seeking self-aggrandizement out there. Thanks for what you've done.

Anonymous said...

I hope you will find a way to continue in a way that is fulfilling to yourself, as I greatly enjoy this blog.

As many have said in one form or another, an expert is a *master* of the basics... basics are interesting!

Allison said...

Please don't give up! Your reasoned and knowledgeable voice is such a valuable resource!

Anonymous said...

thanks for everything you've done for us mate, hang in there

Anonymous said...

Whatever your decision, thanks for what you've been doing here. The basics are interesting, and are the perfect tonic for all the BS the "experts" out there spout.

Chris said...

Just for clarity, I will keep posting. It is just that I am not finding as much interesting stuff out there.

Ben said...

Yes! This is one of the few blogs in my reader where I read nearly every post. You are succinct and to the point.

My question is: what to you is the difference between real food and paleo?

Aileen said...

Without complication, spin and differentiation there would be no marketing edge!

Go easy on yourself and give yourself time to grieve. Your blog saves me a lot of trawling through literature, keep up the good work - but in your time, not ours.

Chris Sturdy said...

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your father. I am amazed that you are posting anything at all.

I know what you mean about the "drama", which seems to have been particularly high of late; it get a bit tiresome and distracts from the main messages upon which we should be focussing: eat real food and exercise.

Chris Sturdy said...

I meant to say in that last bit, the messages that you so nicely have summarized here about food and movement. Guess I should have previewed before posting.

annlee said...

I think you're coming to a more or less similar approach to that of Mark Sisson - eat real food (and some food is better for us than other food), walk, lift heavy things, sprint, PLAY, and SLEEP.

I find both versions of that perspective useful. We are subtly conditioned to accept what we read at face value, and yet the older we get, the more realize that's a serious mistake. Your skepticism is valuable! and because you write things differently than others, you reach some different people.

Finally, I find it useful to remember there are multiple audiences out there, who need different things. Some folks are severely broken - maybe gross motor function damage, maybe trashed mitochondria, maybe depressed that following the rules they were given hasn't worked. There are blogs for them, and even blog posts for them. But there are also a lot of us who have taken the stricter approaches and we're getting better - we're healing as we age.

Isn't that astonishing?

Your posts - full of maturity and hard gained wisdom - remind us sometimes how far we've come.

Write for you -- and we'll appreciate what that brings.

Doug McGuff, MD said...

Chris,

You are grieving. Give it time. Your blog is a daily "go to" for me. I learn more here than just about anywhere.

I lost both my parents in 2004 and it is the strangest kind of grief imaginable. You feel like a child that has let go of a cherished balloon. All you can do is watch it float away and hope that you will remember what it looked like.

You will remember what your dad looked like. He is in you. He is in this blog.

Take your time and come back when you are ready.

In Sympathy,
Doug

Peter D said...

I enjoy your blog. Just keep posting when you can, and if you need to slow down a bit because of a lack of drive, that's fine. I'll be here when you come back to full posting speed. :)

KD said...

Chris,

The wisdom of this post shows why your blog is so well done. Take your time. The way you approach things makes what you say valuable, I'm sure that whatever motivates you and catches your interest will be interesting and helpful to your readers.

Best,

Karl

Anonymous said...

"Diet - I used to think it was all about low carb, or high fat, or paleo....now I am not so sure. I avoid wheat because it makes my stomach unhappy, but otherwise I eat all sorts."

Yep! kind of a let down isn't it? No magic bullets, no holy grail. Moderation and variety still stands as the best diet advice I've ever received-but it seems too simple.

Condolences on your Father. You feel all too human when someone that close passes. You'll recover; give it time.

FeelGoodEating said...

I couldn't agree more with your "basic" summary.
The secret to a good, happy and fulfilling life does not hide or lie in the minutae of how to exercsie and what to eat.

I left this comment below earlier...

Chris,

Get to the hills and quick!
Love the shit out of your mate!!!!!!!

One of the greatest things you can hope to accomplish in this life is true detachment. When you go through things like you just have been through, you get a REAL feel for it. Savor it and treasure it.....
Life is different now you think but it's NOT. It always has been the same and always will be.
Sobering yes, but liberating and extremely comforting if you accept it.

Hope that is not too cryptic.

Enjoy every second and keep talking to your dad....he's still around just in different form.

Sending you nothing but good thoughts.

Marc

Anonymous said...

Chris

This too shall pass, thanks for your great blog.

Alan

Monica said...

I appreciate your blog so much. Thank you for all that you've shared with your readers so far! Your voice is honest, your ego nowhere to be seen. I hope you keep posting. Thanks for keeping it real. My condolences for your loss from the bottom of my heart.

Beth@WeightMaven said...

Chris, I'm so sorry for your loss. My mom passed in '94, way, way earlier than I was ready to lose her. It's a surreal time, but it gets easier. Take good care of yourself!

Martyn said...

A great summary post. The only thing I would add is avoid chronic stress.

All best wishes.

Ivan said...

First of all, I'm so sorry for your loss.

And like many others here, I cherish your blog and hope you'll keep it up - at your own pace.

Last, but not least, this was in itself a great post! Wise words indeed.

All the best

CarbSane said...

Chris,

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Hang in there and celebrate your father's life.

Hopefully the inspiration returns to blog more.

Mostly I just wanted to offer my condolences here.

Ev

Chris said...

Again, thanks for all the comments. I wasn't fishing for support but it is nice to be in receipt of such good wishes and good advice.

Jorge said...

I am very sorry for your loss Chris. Glad to read you´ll still be around.

Some chalenges I still perceive for the paleosphere are:
- Tweaks on Paleo to help the treatment of different metabolic dissorders or diseases (Cancer comes to mind)
- The convenience of "orthodox paleo" vs more relaxed versions of it (modernly palatable foods (Guyenet's palatability thesis), seasonality and macronutrient ratios, etc)
- The real role of the gut flora in health and ways to promote its health
- How to deliver the message to "the masses" in a more compelling and effective way
- Sustainability issues (real and perceived) related to an omnivore, real food diet)
- Promotion of the good players inthe market (local farmers, good products, etc)

There's still a lot of work to do and many look forward to your future posts.

All the best

Craig said...

Losing a parent sometimes is an occasion to reexamine things in your own life. Give yourself time to absorb the event.

Regarding the comments about diet and nutrition, I wonder if the "problem" is that it really is just that simple: Eat real food, get enough sleep, do some strength training, walk lots. (To borrow a phrase from Dan John: Simple doesn't mean easy.)

That simplicity could be a problem for some aspiring diet and nutrition guru's, because there are only so many ways to repackage and resell that simple message. So they craft increasing more complex systems built on top of that simple message, which make it appear as if there are some additional secrets worth paying for.

And even if you aren't trying to sell something, the perpetual quest to make things just a little better inevitably to more and more complex tweaks and tinkering that makes it feel (momentarily) like progress is being made. Whether the progress is really that significant or worth the effort is often not clear.

Home Bistro Reviews said...

Keep your head up. Don't give up.

mattbeath said...

Your blog is superb Chris. Your inspiration will return in time, dont force it, just let it come back naturally. Sorry about your Dad.

Anonymous said...

I hope you take the time you need to grieve and heal. Your blog is wonderful, and it really is an antidote to the egoism and cynicism of the fitness industry right now. True honesty, especially when it's about feelings that are hard to have (like sadness), is so valuable. Thank you for your writing- remember that you're adding real value to people's lives!

Ian said...

Times can be tough and I won't bore you with a cliche- I hope you feel better in time though.

From a selfish perspective I respect and enjoy your work and hope that you continue to contribute to health, nutrition and fitness, just perhaps remember the reasons why you do what you do.