Personal trainer Karl Henry: 'If you need to lose a stone, you don't need to go on weight-loss medication'

"It was early July this year and Karl Henry was feeling about as fit as he ever had been. He had done a lot of work to prepare for a unique challenge - swimming from Baltimore to Fastnet Lighthouse and back - and then, his whole world was turned on its head. He came down with a viral infection, which he now thinks could have been Covid-19, and while he expected to beat it quickly, his immune system had alternative plans. He was soon diagnosed with pneumonia and ended up in Cork's Bon Secours Hospital for a week."

""I was lucky to be as fit as I am," he says, "because while it knocked me out, that did help with recovery." It took considerable time to regain his strength and fitness and the experience shook him. "It's unnerving," he says, speaking from his light-filled home in West Cork. "You don't expect something like that to happen to you, especially at my age [he is 43], and it really hit me hard.""

Karl Henry is a wellness expert and award-winning podcaster who experienced a severe illness after preparing for a major open-water swim. He contracted a viral infection that likely was Covid-19, developed pneumonia and spent a week in Cork's Bon Secours Hospital before beginning a slow recovery. The episode left him shaken and highlighted vulnerability even for fit people in their forties. Henry expresses reservations about fear-mongering fitness influencers and raises caution about trends such as Ozempic. He has written The Walking Effect to offer accessible, practical steps for weight loss and sustained long-term health.

Read at Independent