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| Less is more than enough! |
Isabelle and I are often asked what we do in terms of maintaining a healthy body. People are stunned at how little exercise we do (45 minutes/week) and how we keep it simple to achieve our results. I’ll go over the basics of our nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and exercise.
Nutrition first: We follow what resembles a mediterranean diet for two reasons:
Food variety (makes it easier follow as part of your lifestyle)
Nutritional science continues to show the benefits of food variety.
In short, the best diet anyone can follow is the one that involves healthy foods, reasonable portions and one that you will be able to follow as part of your lifestyle.
TIP on nutrition: If you want to lose weight, just start by reducing ONE meal a day by 1/4 in size, add another meal after a you plateau in your weight loss.
Great resource on eating habits (no diets involved):
Fat Loss Habits: The No Bullsh*t Guide to Losing Weight
Sleep: Research over the past 100 years overwhelmingly shows that we all need 7 hours of sleep (for most it’s 8 hours) and a fixed schedule where we go to sleep at the same time daily. We focus on doing both.
Great resource on the science of sleep: Why We Sleep
Physical activity: We aim to get 10 000 steps per day via walking. We get our steps through walking to work, going for walks, but you can add steps from just parking farther away, using stairs instead of elevators, and finding any excuse to add a few extra steps throughout the day. It all adds up.
TIP on physical activity: Try adding 1000 steps/day for 4 weeks; then add another 1000 until you get to 8000. This has been shown to give excellent benefits. From there, decide if you want to do more or keep it at 8000.
Exercise: Resistance training is key. If you were going to change just one of the 4 habits listed, this is the one studies have shown to be most beneficial and important for long term health benefits.
People are stunned that we spend only around 45 minutes per week in the gym. How is that possible? Simple - results with resistance training are about effort and not time.
Key concepts:
Push your muscles to their limit (going to failure)
Do one set per muscle, until you can’t do another repetition.
This type of training delivers a ton of full-body benefits: cardiovascular, hormones, bones, brain, strength, muscles, and so forth.
When people ask for a “wonder drug” for health, research since the early 1900s has shown it to be resistance training; it takes VERY little time per week to get PROFOUND benefits, as long as you tax your muscles to their limit.
Here is an example of Isabelle going to failure for biceps using dumbbells.
That was one set and the only exercise she did for her biceps that week.
Anyone of any age can do this! See how Barbara Walters started doing this style of resistance training at 80.
TIPS on training:
Aim for one total body workout per week, doing 1 slow and controlled set per muscle, lasting approx. 90 seconds before you reach failure. Be sure to train the following muscle groups:
Back, chest, shoulders, abdominals, triceps, biceps, legs, and calves. It can be done with free weights, machines, bands, or just your body weight.
A workout can be done in under 30 minutes. If you’re interested in a more in-depth look, click here for a post I made that shows what we did from 2018-2024. (In 2025, we added a second mini-workout per week.)
Do exercises YOU enjoy. If you don’t like it, you won’t be motivated. There are easily 10 or more exercises per body part you can choose from that are effective; stick with the ones you like. Here’s a database of exercise videos using free weights and machines.
Focus on getting 1 good quality workout/week; if you have energy for more, a second workout will provide optimal benefits.
A short article on resistance training: Strength Training Frequency, Less is more than enough
A book on the science of resistance training with exercises suggestions: Body by Science
That’s it!
To sum it up, the keys to healthy aging are:
Nutrition
Sleep
Physical activity (i.e. walking)
Brief and infrequent resistance training at a high intensity
