Archives
Barbara Mezeske| Community Community
Do you know a person who doesnt like her body? Someone who catches a glimpse of herself in a store window and turns away? Who always thinks her thighs are fat? Her chest too flat? Her stomach bloated? The condition is called body dysmorphia, and mostly affects women, but can affect young men as well.
It is caused by our culture, which celebrates slimness and bombards us with images of perfect bodies, even though lots of those images are photo-shopped. There are serious consequences of hating your own body: shame, radical dieting or radical exercise, and lack of self-confidence.
Repeated exposure to images or ideas embeds those ideas in our conscious and subconscious minds.
Thats what has happened to our country. We are suffering from a kind of political dysmorphia, one that makes us question the very fundamentals of our democracy.
Lets start with the biggest elephant in the room: The belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. This assertion has been tested again and again in local election precincts, by local sheriffs and state police, by the Department of Homeland Security, and by more than 60 lawsuits in multiple states. Every time, every investigative body and every court concluded that the election was fair, and decisively won by Joe Biden.
Nevertheless, public figures continue to proclaim their belief or suspicion that the election was stolen. The chief of these is the former president. There is also the wife of a Supreme Court justice, and the GOP candidates for all three major Michigan offices: governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Sometimes all it takes is a whisper of doubt, repeated often and amplified in social and commercial media. The old proverb says a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is pulling on its boots.
Next is the assertion that the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are not trustworthy that they are, in fact, corrupt and politicized. The FBIs search of Mar-a-Lago followed months of back-and-forth between the former president and his lawyers, and the National Archives. The raid was not a sudden descent of jack-booted troops: It was the culmination of well-founded suspicion that documents that belonged in government hands were squirreled away at the Florida mansion. And the suspicion was true.
The DOJ investigations of the former presidents business dealings in New York and his attempts to interfere with vote counting in Georgia are what happens if you inflate and deflate property values in order to gain a tax advantage, or if you try to pressure election officials to put their thumbs on the scale in your favor. This is how the law works for any citizen, though most are not as likely to have a national platform to complain that everything is a witch hunt by a corrupt system. One has to wonder how many crooks and criminals would like to claim that the system was rigged against them personally, and that they should therefore go free.
Are there corrupt or incompetent people serving in the DOJ or the FBI? Almost certainly. Any large organization, be it educational, religious, or corporate, has to guard against corruption and incompetence. That doesnt mean that such organizations are wholly degraded or ineffective. We have seen over and over since the 2020 election that there are Republicans who know how to lose without trying to overturn the democratic institutions that framed the contest. Peter Meijer is one of them. So are Adam Kinzinger, Chris Sununu and Liz Cheney.
When a major cable network like FOX is wedded to a single point of view, is complicit in repeating conspiracy theories and lies, and willing to sacrifice objectivity to ratings then, by virtue of repetition, the accusations and insinuations, the cries of unfair! and witch hunt!, settle in peoples minds. FOX News is the No. 1 cable news channel, watched in prime time by over 2.2 million viewers. It is a major source of our current political dysmorphia.
The ideas being embedded in our public consciousness are a distrust of government, a belief that public servants are corrupt, and the idea that institutions must be resisted or overthrown, sometimes with violence, as on Jan. 6, 2021.
The consequences of these embedded and for the most part false ideas is this: If people dont believe in the institutions of democracy, and behave as though those institutions have already failed, then they contribute to the destruction of that democracy. Like women looking into the mirror, they see what they have been conditioned to see, and the consequences are deep despair, cynicism and anger.
The bottom line is this: We need to think critically about what we hear. We need to learn to distinguish between truth and lies, and between facts and opinions. We need to broaden our sources of information everyone, not just FOX viewers to include alternate points of view.
What we take into our heads matters to our mental and physical health, and to the health of our democratic institutions.
Community Columnist Barbara Mezeske is a retired teacher and resident of Park Township. She can be reached at bamezeske@gmail.com.
See more here:
Barbara Mezeske: We need to think critically about what we hear. - HollandSentinel.com
San Diego battalion chief David Picone has been a firefighter for 25 years. He was the departments point man on a survey that examined how a restricted eating schedule impacted the cardiovascular health of firefighters.
He said if you believe that people who work at all hours have to eat at all hours, this study proved that is not true.
When youre on a 24-hour shift you might get another three or four calls in the evening and you feel like, 'Maybe I need to eat something to have more energy,' Picone said. But the study showed that its completely opposite. You actually get more tired and less healthy by eating at those odd hours.
Time restricted eating often means only eating within a 10-hour window each day, and fasting for 14 hours. It has shown health benefits among many people. But its been unclear whether its practical or even feasible to impose that restriction on shift workers, like firefighters, nurses and late night service employees.
Which is a problem, since people who do shift work are very vulnerable to health problems.
Shift work is known to be associated with increased risk of many chronic diseases, including mental health issues, cardiometabolic disease and anything related to inflammation, said Emily Manoogian, a staff scientist at the Salk Institute and the lead author of the study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
So for example, the World Health Organization even lists shift work as a carcinogen, she said.
For shift workers, getting enough sleep is a concern and the bodys circadian rhythms are disrupted. However it helps if you maintain an eating schedule that conforms to a 10 hour window, and takes place between about 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thats what 137 San Diego firefighters did, and the results were reductions in both blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
In the overall group what we saw was that this was tolerated, it was safe, they had improvements in quality of life measures and in a specific type of bad cholesterol called VLDL, said UC San Diego cardiologist Pam Taub, a co-author of the study.
Shift work isnt going away, Taub said. Its a really important part of society. Its what keeps so many things functioning well. So within the confines of shift work, we need to come up with better strategies to optimize the health of our shift workers, and that includes time restricted eating.
Chief Picone said both the control group and the study group of firefighters ate a Mediterranean diet. Some health benefits may have come from that, but it wasnt because they were eating any less than they had been. It was a matter of when they were eating, not how much.
It wasnt that they were dieting. They were eating the same amount of food that they would normally spread throughout the day, in an 11-hour window, Picone said. So just by doing that, they still lost weight and they still had better outcomes.
Chief Picone said most firefighters dont typically die in the line of duty. They commonly die from cancer, heart disease or suicide. He hopes the study is getting the word out and will result in better health among the people he calls his brothers and sisters, in fire brigades throughout the country.
Continued here:
Survey of firefighters shows benefits of restricted eating during a 24-hour shift - KPBS
In this section:
Being overweight or having obesity may make you more likely to develop gallstones, especially if you are a woman. Researchers have found that people who have obesity may have higher levels of cholesterol in their bile, which can cause gallstones. People who have obesity may also have large gallbladders that do not work well. Some studies have shown that people who carry large amounts of fat around their waist may be more likely to develop gallstones than those who carry fat around their hips and thighs.
Losing weight very quickly may raise your chances of forming gallstones, however. Talk with your health care professional about how to lose weight safely.
When you dont eat for a long period of time or you lose weight quickly, your liver releases extra cholesterol into the bile. Fast weight loss can also prevent the gallbladder from emptying properly. Weight-loss surgery may lead to fast weight loss and higher risk of gallstones.
Your chances of developing gallstones may depend on the type of weight-loss treatment you choose. Diets or surgeries that cause fast weight loss may be more likely to lead to gallstone problems than diets or surgeries that lead to slower weight loss. If you have silent gallstones, you may also be more likely to develop gallstone symptoms.
Several factors may raise your chances of having problems with gallstones after weight-loss surgery or a very low-calorie diet. These factors include
If you are starting a very low-calorie diet or having weight-loss surgery, talk with your doctor about how to lower your chances of developing gallstones. The medicine ursodiol can help prevent gallstones in people who lose weight rapidly through very low-calorie diets or weight-loss surgery.
Weight cycling, or losing and regaining weight repeatedly, may also lead to gallstones. The more weight you lose and regain during a cycle, the greater your chances of developing gallstones.
Stay away from "crash diets" that promise to help you drop the pounds quickly. Aim for losing weight at a slower pace and keeping it off over time.
Losing weight at a slow pace may make it less likely that you will develop gallstones. For people who are overweight or have obesity, experts recommend beginning with a weight loss of 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight over a period of 6 months.4 In addition, weight loss may bring you other benefits such as better mood, more energy, and positive self-image.
When making healthy food choices to help you lose weight, you can choose food that may also lower your chances of developing gallstones.
Regular physical activity, which will improve your overall health, may also lower your chances of developing gallstones. To improve health or prevent weight gain, aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, like brisk walking or fast dancing. Adults also need muscle-strengthening activity, like lifting weights or doing push-ups, at least 2 days a week.5
Talk with your doctor before you start an eating and physical activity plan to improve your health or maintain your weight loss. View weight management resources from the NIDDK.
[4] Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society. Circulation. 2014;129(25 Suppl 2):S102S138.
[5] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2018. https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/. Updated January 14, 2019. Accessed January 14, 2019.
Read the original here:
Dieting & Gallstones | NIDDK - National Institute of Diabetes and ...
If youve ever heard of intuitive eating, you might assume that its just another diet trend but youd be wrong. In a world full of fad diets, this eating philosophy offers something completely different. Something kinder, gentler and more sustainable.
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy
Psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD, explains what intuitive eating is, what it can do for you and how to begin working its philosophies into your life.
Intuitive eating is the polar opposite of dieting, Dr. Albers says. Instead of following rules and restricting what you eat, you trust your internal hunger, fullness and satiety cues to help you decide what and how much to eat. No food is off the table.
Registered dietitian Evelyn Tribole and nutrition therapist Elyse Resch coined the term in their 1995 book Intuitive Eating, which took into account research and clinical work done by others before them.
More than 125 studies explore intuitive eating. A review of 97 of them found that its associated with:
Intuitive eating is about making peace with food, Dr. Albers says. Its about learning how to listen to your body and how to honor your hunger.
Intuitive eating asks you to unlearn the negative messages about food and eating that society has taught you to believe. We all have an internal eater in us, but its buried under diet culture, Dr. Albers says. With dieting, you follow rules; with intuitive eating, you listen to your hunger cues.
If youve spent years dieting and following self-imposed food rules, it can be a challenge to learn to identify and trust your hunger cues. Rather than trying to start all at once, Dr. Albers suggests trying a 10-day challenge.
Each day, focus on one of the principles, she suggests. Notice how it comes up, how you can put it into practice, some of your challenges and struggles, and how it improves your life.
She explains the principles of intuitive eating and how to incorporate them into your life.
Have you ever noticed all of the messages you receive about food and dieting? From social media, advertisements and even chit-chat among friends, talk about the latest trendy diets and diet products is everywhere.
Rejecting diet mentality means letting go of everything related to dieting, Dr. Albers explains. Its recognizing and actively rejecting diet culture and everything it stands for that is harmful to your body.
Example: You see an advertisement that indicates peanut butter is fattening. You recognize this as diet culture and continue to eat peanut butter because you love it.
Put it into action: Try to identify and recognize when youre being influenced by diet culture. Dr. Albers recommends an activity she calls I Spy Diet Culture. Notice how often you see diet ads, articles about unhealthy eating styles and even language that celebrates weight loss, like skinny jeans.
Youll be amazed how often it pops up, seemingly everywhere you look, she says.
Longtime dieting teaches us to ignore our hunger cues. But hunger is a biological response, and you wouldnt ignore your bodys other biological responses, would you? You dont try to suppress breathing, blinking or your urge to pee yet we try to ignore our hunger all the time.
Hunger is not your enemy or something to be avoided, Dr. Albers says. Intuitive eating is about listening to your hunger and learning to respond to what it needs.
Example: You know you have a tendency to get hangry, so you put some mixed nuts in your purse to eat when you start to feel cranky.
Put it into action: Dr. Albers explains, The key to living this principle is to ask yourself: What are you hungry for? And what is your hunger telling you that you need or want? As simple as it sounds, practice eating when youre hungry and trying to figure out what food your body is asking for.
Maybe you havent eaten bread for years, or you never eat after 7 p.m. This principle asks you to start breaking those rules and doing away with them entirely.
To make peace with food is to stop fighting with food, Dr. Albers says. This includes putting an end to language that indicates that youre at war with food, like, I cant eat that, or I shouldnt have this.
Example: You have a hard-and-fast rule about only eating brown rice, even though you love the taste of white rice. Recognizing that your overall pattern of eating impacts your health more than any one meal, you start to occasionally swap in white rice.
Put it into action: Its time to start saying I can instead of I could never. Be gentle with yourself as you try to recognize and do away with judgmental, guilt-ridden thoughts.
This can be a radical shift for people who avoid certain foods out of shame or guilt, Dr. Albers notes.
Have you ever had a slice of cake at a birthday party and then beat yourself up about how bad you were? Or eaten a salad for lunch and praised yourself for being good?
If so, youre well-acquainted with the food police the voice in your head that criticizes and judges what you eat. These food rules arent laws, but they can feel very punitive if you dont follow them, Dr. Albers says. Food isnt good or bad, but this is a shift in language if you grew up thinking about it that way.
Example: Youre craving chocolate, so you buy a small chocolate bar and enjoy every bite. You feel happy and satisfied instead of guilty or ashamed.
Put it into action: Try to identify where the voice of the food police comes from. Sometimes, its your own internal judgment; other times, its an external voice, like a partner or parent making critical comments about your size.
Once you identify these rules, you can begin to dismantle them. You have to ask: Why are you creating these food rules? And importantly, are these rules helpful to you or not? Dr. Albers says. Often, theyre unhelpful and arbitrary.
Do you eat what you feel like youre supposed to eat, or do you eat what will satisfy you? For many of us, its the former. And while eating is a biological requirement, the foods you choose should also bring you some joy.
Eating should be an enjoyable experience, Dr. Albers says. This includes tasting pleasurable foods. If youre eating something that just isnt satisfying you, its probably a sign that youre not eating whats right for you in the moment.
Example: Youre in the mood for something crunchy and healthy, so you aim to find a snack to satisfy that taste maybe celery with peanut butter or carrots with hummus.
Put it into action: As you begin a meal or while youre eating, ask yourself: Is this the food I want? Does it make me feel satisfied? Is there anything that might better satisfy me?
If principle five is all about mental satisfaction, then principle six is about physical satisfaction. Is your body getting what it needs from the food youre eating? Your body gives you signals that it is hungry and full, Dr. Albers says.
Example: You havent eaten everything on your plate, but youre feeling full, so you stop eating instead of pressuring yourself to join the clean plate club of your youth.
Put it into action: Check in with your body to listen for cues of fullness and whether youre feeling physically satisfied, Dr. Albers advises. Does what youre eating resonate with your body and your hunger?
Using a scale from 1 to 10, ask yourself how youd rate your hunger level in this moment. One is extremely hungry, and 10 is stuffed.
Heres a mantra to remember: Food doesnt fix feelings. But often, we eat because were bored, stressed, anxious or sad in other words, for emotional reasons.
Food and feelings are so intertwined with each other, Dr. Albers says. This principle is about finding kind ways to nurture, distract, comfort and cope with your feelings with activities that help you to reduce your stress rather than with food.
Example: Youre feeling stressed and start to look for some candy. When you pause, though, you realize its not candy you need but a way to relax and destress. You do a meditation instead.
Put it into action: Make a list of other ways to respond to your emotions: yoga, reading a book, going for a walk, etc. Then, when youre compelled to stress-eat, spend some time thinking about how youre feeling.
Instead of making a beeline for food, pause and ask, What am I feeling? And what does this feeling need? Dr. Albers advises. This will help you differentiate between physical hunger cues and emotion-driven eating.
Oh, and by the way: Sometimes, the answer is food, and thats all right, too. A little bit of stress-eating now and then can be OK, Dr. Albers reassures. But when we turn to food over and over again to soothe or comfort our feelings, it becomes a bigger issue.
While diet and exercise do play a big role in the size and shape of your body, theres a lot more to it than that including your genes.
Everybody is different, and we are influenced heavily by our genetic blueprint, Dr. Albers says. We cant diet our way into a body that is not made for us.
Intuitive eating recognizes and respects size diversity and the idea that all bodies are worthy of celebration.
Example: Some of your clothes no longer fit. Instead of holding onto them and hoping youre eventually small enough to wear them again, you donate them. Then, you fill your closet with clothes that fit and make you feel good.
Put it into action: If body positivity seems too far-fetched for you, work toward body neutrality. Because of diet culture, jumping right into loving your body can be so difficult for people, Dr. Albers says. Instead, it might be easier to start with accepting your body as it is what it does for you, how it helps you.
If you equate movement with exercise and subsequently, with dread you can probably blame diet culture. But theres another way. Rather than exercising to burn calories, this principle recognizes that it feels good to move.
Intuitive eating encourages you to do movements that bring you joy, Dr. Albers explains. And notice that its about movement, not exercise because sometimes exercise makes people think, Ive got to sweat and lose calories.
Example: You decide to go for a walk instead of running. You know running burns more calories, but you cant stand doing it, whereas walking makes you happy.
Put it into action: Explore ways to move that you enjoy and that make you feel strong and energized, whether its dancing, walking your dog, surfing or playing tennis.Notice how your body feels when its active, adds Dr. Albers.
The other nine principles are about tuning in to your internal needs, but intuitive eating isnt asking you to forget everything youve been taught about nutrition. This principle asks you to turn to science to understand your bodys needs.
Food science informs us about how certain foods impact our appetite, health and fullness, Dr. Albers says.
Example: You notice that whenever you have toast for breakfast, you become hungry almost immediately afterward. You start putting peanut butter on your morning toast, which keeps you fuller for longer.
Put it into action: Work on melding the internal (how you feel about what you eat) with the external (food science) to figure out what food choices will satisfy your overlapping needs.
Theres a lot of overlap between intuitive eating and mindful eating, which encourages awareness of your internal and external experiences related to food. Mindful eating means paying attention to every experience related to eating, including taste, emotions, thoughts and how your body responds to the food you eat.
The main difference between the two is that intuitive eating has 10 principles and specifically calls for the rejection of diet culture.
They both aim to help people honor, hear and respond to their hunger in conscious ways, Dr. Albers says. You can be eating intuitively and mindfully at the same time.
If youre looking to intuitive eating for weight loss, you may not initially like this answer: The goal of intuitive eating is not weight loss, Dr. Albers says. Weight loss is part of diet culture. It pushes you into shame and guilt in a way that focusing on improving your health and your joy around food do not.
Some people, she says, do lose weight because theyre able to stop unhealthy behaviors like binge-eating. But other people gain weight, especially if theyve been restricting or dieting for a long time.
It comes down to the fact that your body will do whatever it needs to do, Dr. Albers says. That can be tough to wrap our minds around because its so different from the diet mentality that promises youll lose 10 pounds in 10 days.
Intuitive eating doesnt make those kinds of promises. But what it does promise is a better relationship with your body and with food which actually sounds a lot healthier, happier and more sustainable, doesnt it?
To learn more from Dr. Albers about intuitive eating, listen to the Health Essentials podcast episodeUnderstanding Intuitive Eating.New episodes of the Health Essentials podcast publish every Wednesday.
See more here:
Cleveland Clinic
Health coach Tracy Dejardins
You may be dieting and not even realize it. Check-in with the following questions:
Are you:
Living with certain self-imposed food rules, like low-carb or fat-free?
Dreading upcoming holidays because you fear loss of control?
Rescheduling your annual physical until you lose the weight?
Eating foods that are not truly satisfying, then experiencing a binge?
Continually falling off the wagon on the weekends?
Starting your eating plan over each Monday morning after indulging?
Trying to control your portions by obsessing, weighing and measuring?
Believing that you are good or bad based on something you ate?
Getting caught up in the media hype about what works for weight loss?
And the list goes on. If you can identify with even one of the above points, then, my friend, you are dieting. Simply stated, dieting does not just mean following some popular, commercial plan (although, yes, that, of course, is a diet). If you are trying to follow through with your own set of food rules, restrictions, and control that is leaving you defeated and frustrated, you are dieting.
However, if you feel a sense of powerlessness over this relationship you have with food, I am here to tell you that it is not your fault. We have been conditioned for decades to fight our weight with the scale, to harness willpower to help us suffer through eating boring, tasteless food in mouse-sized portions and judge ourselves harshly when we mess up and eat the thing we told ourselves was off limits.
What happens then? We dust ourselves off, re-group, and undertake the same restrictive tactics again, only to repeat the same try, fail, repeat the experience all at the grand price of our self-respect, dignity and self-trust with food. In essence, we create a toxic reference for controlling food to achieve an outcome that improves our health. What happens, frankly, is that dieting promotes a weight-regain problem, not a solution to weight loss.
Based on current data that indicates a 95 percent failure rate, this is cause for pondering. To add to the dreaded phenomenon, the current weight-loss industry cashes in at a whopping $72 billion and growing.
Lets be clear about something. Diets for weight loss do work, if the rules are followed with a laser-sharp focus, leading up to an endpoint typically a weigh-in date. Many of us have achieved the gold standard of our goal weight, only to land in an emotionally panicked state, because our truth often is that we have no idea how to sustain our tactics that led to the so-called weight loss success.
Many times, we then relapse into old food habits upon the first holiday, vacation or Sunday family dinner, because while we lost the weight, we did not learn any tools to help us keep our results and we actually intensified an already damaged relationship with food and our bodies. We eat in a no-holds-barred fashion, with our inner rebel celebrating like wild animal that has been let out of a cage for the first time, and you know what happens next: the weight returns, and we sit in a sea of shame and self-loathing.
So what is the solution, then, to weight loss, improving health and learning to eat healthier in general?
It is rather simple. Stop dieting.
Vow to end living in a war with food rules and consider adopting a mindset of open curiosity with your food choices.
You see, dieting teaches us to check out when we eat. To disembody and follow a set of rigid boundaries with food that keep us in stress mode internally. When we choose to let go of food rules and take on an attitude of curiosity with our food, we then begin to repair the damaged relationship with eating by learning to pay attention to all aspects of the eating experience.This is becoming embodied in our relationship with food.
This is where the healing opportunity begins. How does this food choice make me feel? How do I want to feel in my body as I live my life? Those two questions have the wisdom and power to help us eat to nourish ourselves with self-love and care, not fighting for weight loss.
In this manner, it makes it easier to want to eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods that are chock full of loving vitamins, minerals and fiber to help us feel better from the inside out, rather than appease an out-of-control palate that has been hijacked with standard American salt- and sugar-laden foods.
OK so if you are thinking, But I love my sweets, or pizza, etc., consider the thought of saving your treats for occasions, rather than so frequently. That seems like a reasonable, responsible gesture that is health-promoting, right? This is different from dieting-restrictive rules. When we consider what vibrant health looks like and feels like to us, we can begin to be curious as to how our food choices react in our bodies and make us feel.
Once we become curious in our food choice approach, we are on the road to re-wiring our brains to connect with what is truly best for us, on our terms, not some restrictive plan that the world says we should follow. When we stop the war on food, we learn to connect with ourselves at a deep level and take back our self-trust, upon which we can rely to truly nourish and support us in the mission of self-care.
Its funny how, when we say no to diet culture, and yes to our own wisdom and food intuition, those stubborn, excess pounds that we fought for decades, begin to shed in their own timing, revealing a natural, healthy weight that is sustainable.
Continued here:
How to find peace with food and leave dieting behind - Coastal Point
Sixers guard James Harden opens up on his prolonged hamstring injury and working on his body over the recent off-season.
Entering his 14th season, James Harden is more excited than ever, looking in good shape post putting in the work during the off-season. The last two seasons have been rough for the former MVP, struggling with injuries and his fitness levels as he moved between three teams.
In what many believed, The Beards prime was over way before expected, with him struggling from the field. Harden was no more the scoring beast from Houston, shifting more towards the role of a facilitator. What made matters worse was his performance in the 2022 playoffs.
Looking to get rid of his choker tag, Hardens been grinding in the gym during the off-season, improving his conditioning. The three-time scoring champion, who recently took a $15 million pay cut, aims to make a run for the championship alongside the seven-foot Joel Embiid.
Also read: James Harden takes it to a different level with the steps: Reggie Miller, who once took Jordan to game 7, swoons over NBA stars step back
Having dealt with a career-threatening injury, Harden shared an insight into his rehab time, revealing the dark times during the process.
There is no doubt that Harden is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. However, the absence of a championship ring on his resume continues to bother him. The last two years havent been easy for the ten-time All-Star dealing with endless scrutiny as he jumped from one team to another.
The former Rockets superstars nagging hamstring injury made him seem sluggish on the court, hampering his performances in the last back-to-back playoffs. Currently, in great shape, Harden opened up on his fitness regime in a conversation with NBCs Noah Levick.
At this point, its dieting, its proper rest, and then gaining more muscle mass, which Ive always had, said Harden. Its just the last year and a half, I wasnt healthy enough to put the proper work in like Im used to. This summer was huge for me in that aspect, the hill runs, and the weightlifting, and then adding the skill on the court, as well.
The 33-year-old reflected upon the scrutiny he has been subjected to off-late, saying the following.
For the most part, Im to myself. Media or whoever, they talk and shoot their little jabs and shots or whatever the case may be. And I never respond, just because I know who I am and I know what Im about.
But mentally, it was very, very difficult for me just because Im in love with the game of basketball. If the money wasnt involved, Id be playing basketball. And before the injuries, I think everybody knows that. It was very difficult. A lot of tough times, lot of dark moments, which Ive never really went through because I was always healthy and playing the game of basketball. But Im in a really good space and I feel like Im back to where I needed to be, where Im supposed to be. The feeling is great.
There is no doubt that if Harden returns to his old self, its scary hours for the NBA.
Also read: We are going to see the Houston version of James Harden in Philadelphia: Former Nets assistant GM hints at 6ft 5 guard having redemption
Read the original post:
"Dieting, Hill Runs, and Weightlifting": James Harden Spills The Beans On His Rehab Process - The Sportsrush
Cutting calories is generally regarded as the best way to lose weight.
But a new study from Harvard University suggests that, in the longer term, exercise is the best and the only way to keep weight down.
As anyone who has tried to lose a meaningful amount of weight will know, shedding the pounds in the first place is the relatively easy bit. Keeping them off is an even greater challenge.
Now, the first study to comprehensively examine the seven most commonly practised weight-loss strategies (WLS) finds that there is simply no substitute for exercise, in the longer term.
That is partly because it is harder to keep up a diet than it is to carry on exercising while regular exercise fundamentally changes the way the body works in a way that helps to sustain weight loss, researchers suggest.
Harvard University researchers studied the effect of seven ways to lose weight over the course of three decades, looking at people who lost 4.5kg or more as a result of their chosen weight loss programme and focusing mainly on those who are obese and overweight.
They looked at low-calorie diet, exercise, low-calorie diet plus exercise, fasting, commercial weight loss programme, diet pills and a combination of fasting, commercial and diet pills (FCP).
And they found that the obesity exercise group, who had opted for regular walking, running, cycling, and other aerobic activities, as their method for shedding the pounds, were most likely to keep the weight off.
This group recorded a 4.2 per cent decline in weight, on average, after four years compared to a 2.5 per cent weight loss in overweight people, and 0.4 per cent decline in lean people.
By contrast, obese people who focused on fasting, commercial and diet pills (FCPs) lost only 0.3 per cent of their weight over the same period, while overweight people gained 2 per cent more weight and lean individuals put on an extra 3.7 per cent.
Calorie cutters, meanwhile, were the next least successful group over the four years among obese participants a finding that tallies with a previous study in the journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which found that after a one-year intervention a group of dieters had lost 6.8kg but after another year they had regained 7.7kg.
Weight maintenance after weight loss is notoriously challenging. We found that most individuals who had lost at least 5 per cent of body weight using diet, diet and exercise, or cognitive behavioral treatmentregained that weight, said Qi Sun, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr Sun said its unclear exactly why exercise is the best way to lose weight in the long term but believes it is a combination of practicality and science for example by helping the body to counteract some of the weight-gaining processes that are triggered after the loss of a few pounds as it seeks to compensate for the loss of calories it is used to, such as burning energy at a slower rate.
A series of compensatory physiological adaptations favouring weight regain are triggered by weight loss, such as increases in orexigenic hormones (such as ghrelin) and fat accumulation and decreases in anorexigenic hormones (such as leptin, cholecystokinin, peptide YY) and energy expenditure, he said.
Exercise was demonstrated to mitigate weight regain by counteracting some of these adaptations. For example, exercise has been reported to restore the hormone perturbations and increase energy expenditure and fat oxidation.
In addition, exercise was suggested to help weight maintenance by breaking the vicious cycle of stress and obesity [from the resulting comfort eating]. And, importantly, exercise might be more sustainable.
He pointed to a separate weight loss trial in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which showed that 44 per cent of participants in the exercise group reported exercising often after starting to try to lose weight, but only 6.7 per cent in the diet group reported adhering often to dietary recommendations.
David Ray, Professor of Endocrinology at Oxford University, who was not involved in the research, said the study was important and nicely doneThe gain in effect you get with exercise is powerful.
He cautions that the study is observational, meaning that there could be other reasons for weight loss beyond the methods participants used to lose weight. But he he says the researchers have taken care to factor in confounding factors where they can, to establish as clear a cause-and-effect as they are able.
The researchers used data on almost 200,000 people aged from 24 to 78 from three long-running studies between 1988 and 2017.
The study also showed that individuals with obesity who attempted to lose weight, regardless of the WLSs used, tended to gain less body weight and have a lower diabetes risk.
Emma Elvin, senior clinical adviser at Diabetes UK, said: Living with overweight or obesity are important risk factors for type 2 diabetes ,but while increasing exercise levels can help with weight loss, this alone is not the most effective way to lose weight.However, with the right support, through combined lifestyle interventions including diet, physical activity and weight loss, up to half of cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed.
Its important to remember that theres no one-size-fits-all diet for people living with, or at risk of type 2 diabetes. Diets such as lower-carb or Mediterranean can help some people with or at risk of type 2 diabetes to lose weight, but ultimately the best diet is one that is nutritionally balanced, that you can stick to in the long term.
If youre living with type 2 diabetes and are thinking about making changes to your diet or physical activity, its important to do so with the support of healthcare professionals. For those at risk of type 2 diabetes, your healthcare team can signpost to appropriate support and prevention programmes, she said.
The research is published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
1 Exercise
2 Low-calorie diet & exercise
3 Diet pills
4 Fasting
5 Commerical Weight loss programme
6 Low-calorie diet
7 Fasting, commercial and diet pills (FCP)
Continue reading here:
The 7 ways to lose weight and why exercise is better than dieting in the long run - iNews
TORONTO, Ontario On the lookout for a fresh diet plan? Researchers from St. Michaels Hospital report that adopting a low-carb vegan diet offers virtually the same health benefits as going vegetarian. Moreover, the team finds a low-carb vegan diet is also much better for the environment.
Study authors report a low-carbohydrate vegan diet resulted in a much lower potential carbon emission value than a high-carb vegetarian approach to eating. Interestingly, researchers also found that the lower the potential carbon emission value of the diet, the larger the reduction in blood cholesterol. Overall, the research team believes this work showcases the importance of diet regarding both better health outcomes and lower carbon emissions.
We showed that you actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a diet, that is effective, and that the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is related to the fall in LDL cholesterol often called the bad cholesterol, says principal study author Dr. David Jenkins, director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre and a scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michaels Hospital, in a media release. So as you reduce the impact of your diet on the environment, you also benefit by lowering your cholesterol.
Researchers placed the study participants in one of two different plant-based dieting groups. One group had to eat a low-carb vegan diet featuring absolutely no meat, dairy, or eggs supplemented with a variety of canola oil-enriched breads and high-protein vegan meat alternatives. This diet attempted to recreate popular low carb diets that usually include lots of meat and animal fats using only plant ingredients.
The second group had to follow a vegetarian version of the clinical standard diet for lowering blood pressure, called the Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension diet or DASH diet. This type of diet includes egg whites and low-fat dairy, but no meat. Doctors usually prescribe the DASH diet to people with high blood pressure, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases. However, the exact diet followed by participants in this study cut out cholesterol sources, differing from the typical DASH diet.
Next, study authors compared the effects of the diets on each persons health, as well as the carbon emission potential of both diets. To achieve this, they used multiple greenhouse gas emission databases that obtained mean values for each food.
By the end of the three-month experimental period, researchers noted that the two diets resulted in very similar levels of weight loss, lower blood pressure, and reduced blood cholesterol. Study participants on the vegan diet lost 13 pounds, while those on the vegetarian diet lost 11.5. Additionally, dieters in both groups experienced a decline in hemoglobin A1c, a marker of glycemic control.
Dr. Jenkins adds that participants reduced their hemoglobin A1c by roughly one percent, which is the type of reduction produced by most drugs. This suggests these diets had an almost drug-like effect.
While this study only tracked dieters for three months, earlier projects including participants with high cholesterol have shown that people can successfully maintain weight loss for much longer than three months. Researchers say this means that three months is likely an adequate amount of time for ones metabolism to adapt to a new diet.
All study participants were healthy at the start of the experiment, which means further reductions in risk factors like blood cholesterol and blood pressure would have been difficult. However, participants did display declines in relevant risk factors on both the vegan and vegetarian diets.
We have got to start changing the way were doing things in life, Dr. Jenkins concludes. This is just a small example that you can do it, it can be healthy. It is palatable. And you can reduce at least one risk factor, too.
The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Link:
Low-carb vegan diets just as healthy as going vegetarian -- and better for the planet - Study Finds
Gwyneth Paltrowone of the leading names in the wellness worldis turning 50 on September 27th and looks as youthful as ever, thanks in part to her daily health practices. (Granted, some are a bit unconventional and potentially dangerous). In fact, Brad Pitt just announced that his detailed skincare routine is all thanks to Paltrow, his ex-fianc and dear friend.
With health and wellness in mind, in 2008, the actor and entrepreneur started Goop, a lifestyle brand that provides people with everything from articles, to podcasts, to television series, to both online and physical shops where you can buy many of the products the team purports to support your health. Thisempire has helped many people pursue their own health journey, but Paltrow has also experienced heavy amounts of pushback for things like making her products inaccessible to the average person's income, as well as potentially promoting harmful dieting.
Regardless of the pushback she's received about her and her company, Paltrow seems to be entering into her 50s with an appreciation for aging and caring for her body as best as she can.
In a recent Goop article about her 50th birthday coming up, Paltrow says, "it's important to have some grace around the aging of your body, to be forgiving," she says. "Okay, well, maybe my skin or my muscle won't bounce back here the way it used to, and that's okay. You have to recalibrate."6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
With this added appreciation of her aging body, she notes that she's grateful for the health choices she's made throughout the previous decades."I actually feel great turning 50," she says in Goop. "I feel really lucky that I have my health (touch wood) and strength in my body. I feel like many of the decisions I made in my late 20s, my 30s, and my 40s are paying dividends now."
Because the star looks and feels amazing at 50, it's no surprise that Paltrow's fans would be wondering about which "decisions" the star is glad she made in the years approaching this milestone birthday.
One of the eating habits that Paltrow has consistently stuck with as of late, and the one that she has used to help lower inflammation in her body, is eating clean (for the most part).
RELATED:10 Celebs Who Look Exactly the Same As They Did 20 Years Ago
Another aspect of aging that Paltrow noted in the Goop piece is how much it's motivated her to care for specific aspects of her health.
"I notice that the older I get, the more drawn I am toward monitoring my health, doing blood work, and collecting data about inflammation levels, blood sugar levels, sleep, vitamins, etc.," she says. "Your body rebounds a little less quickly from overindulging staying healthy takes a little more intentionality."
Paltrow notes that a clean diet is what has helped her focus on these health aspects in a closer way. She says in Goop,"I maintain a very clean diet. Last year, I cut down on alcohol and focused on lowering inflammation. What's turned out to be best for me is [the] paleo [diet], so I'm grain-free, sugar-free, eating lots of vegetables and clean protein. Lots of fish, lots of olive oil."
The important thing to note here is that Paltrow's diet is what works for her, something she even admits in the article. This way of eating, especially since paleo is fairly strict, is not for everyone. If you're curious about implementing some of these habits into your own daily life, you may want to talk with your doctor or a dietitian first.
Sign up for our newsletter!
Some of Paltrow's eating habits also seem to resemble the practices of people in the Blue Zones, which are regions of the world with the highest concentrations of centenarians. These regions focus on healthy fat sources, fruits and veggies, low consumption of meat and added sugar, and whole grains.
Paltrow is familiar with these Blue Zones and mentions that she tries to borrow their habits whenever she can."We're [she and her husband] always getting some exercise in, even if it's just a nice long walk, trying to follow the patterns people do in the Blue Zones: spend time with people we love and keep nurturing our own relationship."
With these inflammation-fighting eating habits, it's no wonder Paltrow is entering her 50s looking as healthy and happy as ever!
View original post here:
Gwyneth Paltrow Swears by This Health Habit at 50 To Look Ageless - Eat This, Not That
Losing weight is not an easy process! While it is well known that being overweight or obese increases the chance of developing persistent headaches, sometimes it can these can also develop as a result of weight loss plans. Yes, thats true, ladies! You may be eating fewer calories than your body or needs or maybe youre not hydrating yourself adequately. But you must avoid weight loss headaches. Lets find out how!
Sometimes having a headache doesnt cause any serious suffering and can be managed with the use of some natural cures. The issue arises, though, if it becomes an everyday occurrence! Additionally, those who are trying to lose weight frequently get headaches.
HealthShot s spoke to Dr Brahm Datt Pathak, Director general Surgery, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad, to find out how to relieve headache while dieting and losing weight. Before that, lets read why it happens!
Headaches are a common condition that many people deal with on a daily basis. But those who are trying to reduce weight are more likely to go through it. Dr Pathak says, Headaches can be a painful side-effect of your efforts to slim down. It can occur for a variety of reasons, including vitamin deficiencies due to dieting, calories deficit diet, skipping meals, stress, lack of hydration or even an irregular sleep pattern. As a result, sticking to a healthy weight loss plan is crucial. No matter the cause, there are numerous ways to ease headache symptoms.
1. Exercise before dieting: Start dieting at least a week after you start exercising to let your body get adjusted with the routine
2. Do not skip breakfast: Well, first of all, skipping meals is not the right way to lose weight. This can result in lower metabolism, less energy in your body and headache due to the lack of calories in your body.
3. Limit alcohol: If youre prone to headache and migraine attacks, you shouldnt drink alcohol. Alcohol is known to either exacerbate or cause pain. So, limit the consumption.
Also, read: Headache due to gas? Try these 5 home remedies
4. Increase fibre food intake: According to a small 2014 study published in the Journal of Headache and Pain, participants had migraine symptoms relief from a low-fat, high-fiber diet consisting solely of plant foods.
5. Never compromise on protein: Although the benefits of protein in managing headaches have not yet been proven, a diet deficient in protein may make them worse. Therefore, be sure to get enough protein.
6. Foods and drinks: Green leafy vegetables, nuts, fatty fish, fruits, and seeds are the most frequently consumed meals and beverages that can ease headaches. Foods high in salt, such as potato chips, processed foods, aged cheeses, smoked or dried salmon, cultured dairy products, and foods high in carbohydrates and sugar should be avoided.
7. Drink water: Drinking enough water is essential for greater overall health. Inadequate hydration leads to headaches and many other health issues. Fatigue, a feeling of unease, and a very dry mouth are other signs of dehydration.
8. Relax and relieve stress: Headaches are more likely to occur when youre stressed. You should seek medical help if youre dealing with severe headaches, along with fever and vision issues.
9. Stop over-restricting your caloric intake: You go into calorie deficit mode when you eat less calories. A research article published in PubMed Central claims that having a calorie deficit can help you lose weight. But it can also lead to a number of problems, such as headaches.
10. Avoid foods high in histamine: Histamine present in foods such as tuna, spinach, wine, cheese, fermented foods and eggplant. This compound is known to cause a vascular type headache.
11. Relax with yoga/meditation: Practicing yoga and meditation are known to relieve stress and calm the mind. Therefore, it can help manage headaches.
12. Chew on basil leaves: Chewing 7-8 basil leaves will ease a headache and relax your muscles because they have analgesic, calming effects.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is also essential for managing headaches. For relief, you shouldnt just rely on prescription drugs. Address the stressors in your life as they are a common source of headaches. Eat a balanced, healthy diet, avoid skipping meals, drink plenty of water every day, get regular, sound sleep, and exercise frequently. These actions can be taken by everyone and will help to prevent headaches and/or lessen their discomfort.
See more here:
If your weight-loss diet is giving you a recurring headache, turn to these 12 tips for relief - Health shots
