Within minutes this week, two articles crossed my Twitter feed, both telling me how difficult it is to study some very important things.

One was on diet (Why Diet Research Is So Spectacularly Thin, by David S. Ludwig and Steven B. Heymsfield) and the other was on teaching writing (Scientific Evidence on How to Teach Writing Is Slim, by Jill Barshay).

The similarities beyond the headlines ("Thin"/"Slim") are striking. Both articles focus on the lack of high-quality research in their respective areas.

Conducting research on the effectiveness of diets is apparently quite difficult. While we may think that theres an easy metric against which were measuring (weight loss), the confounding variables make it very difficult to attribute any single outcome to a change. As the authors say, High quality trials are hard to do because diets, and the behavior of humans who consume them, are so complicated.

Diet interventions that may work in the short term may do long-term harm. Contestants on the reality show The Biggest Loser lost hundreds of pounds in a matter of months, but many of them quickly gained the weight back, sometimes surpassing their previous levels.

The extreme amounts of exercise and highly restricted diets are not sustainable. Theyre probably not healthy, either. Conflating weight loss with increasing health is probably a category-error mistake to begin with.

The authors close with a call for a Manhattan Project to find definitive answers to epidemics of diet-related disease. They want the research to have the same quality and rigor as pharmaceutical research that is meant to treat disease, rather than prevent it, as good diet can.

Im not in medicine, but I am a researcher. I wonder about that last bit, but lets table it while we look at the article on the research on teaching writing.

Jill Barshay quotes Robert Slavin of the Center for Research and Reform of Education at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, saying, Theres remarkably very little high-quality evidence of what works in writing.

The research problems in measuring writing are similar to dieting. It is difficult to find a true control group. And unlike diets, where we at least have weight loss (as problematic as that may be as our criteria), evaluating writing is inherently subjective.

Tested methodologies for writing show mixed and/or inconclusive results. What works in one group may not in another.

The commonality that Slavin did find is that Motivation seems to be the key: If students love to write, because their peers as well as their teachers are eager to see what they have to say, then they will write with energy and pleasure.

The research shows that the atmosphere in which students are learning makes a difference. What they are doing and who they are doing it for goes a long way to helping students write better because theyre more engaged to write more.

As to the lack of high-quality research, Im wondering if this is truly the problem we should be tackling or rather if we should expand our notion of what high-quality research looks like in these sorts of complicated human endeavors.

Isnt it possible, even likely, that in realms where human variability is at play, we are unlikely to find a single common approach that works best for all, or even most? As anyone who has tried diet and/or exercise has experienced, the chief problem is not necessarily whether or not the diet works -- the principle of taking in fewer calories than your body burns is pretty rock solid -- but whether or not the person can maintain the program itself.

The limiting factor on the success of a diet is not the quality of the diet, but the attitudes and experiences of the person.

The same is true, in my view, of writing. The key to improving as a writer is persistence. Good writers simply keep writing, and anything that keeps one writing is good. Trying to design experiments around these complicated things that meet these "high-quality" standards often involves moving the participants further and further away from the genuine, organic behaviors that attach to these activities in the real world. The diet or writing method that seems to work in the controlled lab experiment may not translate to the wider world. This is the exact problem with the highly prescriptive practice surrounding the use of the five-paragraph essay. Training students to pass the assessment that has become privileged has made them less capable as writers in general, while killing their spirits to boot.

Now that my own approach to teaching writing is out in the world, as embodied in Why They Cant Write and The Writers Practice, I am confronted with questions about how I know if my approach works.

I mean, I know it works. Ive refined it over years of working with students through a continuous process of qualitative research. Because it is not generalizable, qualitative research is not considered high quality, but this does not mean it is inherently low quality. When were looking at these complicated things where solutions are unlikely to be wholly generalizable, it is, in fact, invaluable.

One of the ways I measure the effectiveness of my approach is to ask students whether or not they think theyre learning. I find this to be meaningful data.

Another method I use is to ask students how they would approach an unfamiliar writing task. Here I am assessing the development of the writing practices, the skills, attitudes, knowledge and habits of mind of writers. If they can articulate an approach to a new writing problem, I know that eventually, through practice, the written artifact itself will become better and better.

I want to know how students feel about their writing abilities, whether or not they perceive an increase in their writing power. If I were a nutritionist, I would also want to know how my patients feel when on my program of diet and exercise. If they feel like crap and the experience is miserable, how could I ever expect them to persist?

A generalizable, quantifiable measurement simply doesnt apply here. It is a mismatch between desired information and methodology. The problem were studying is too complex, and what happens when it comes to writing and developing as a writer is a little different inside everyone.

I suspect this is why the available research finds that the writing atmosphere is important seem to be the most promising. Inside a good atmosphere, different students can travel different paths toward similar (yet still different in important ways) destinations.

As to the evidence I look for to see if The Writers Practice is working as I hoped, Im feeling pretty good about this.

Read the rest here:
When "High-Quality" Evidence Maybe Shouldn't Be the Goal | Just Visiting - Inside Higher Ed

Winter superfoods: It's time to bring back rice on your plate, even if you are trying to lose weight

Categorising food into fats, carbs and proteins can take away the joy of eating it. A by-product of the food industry and the urge to lose weight quickly have made people give up on some time-tested, natural and healthy foods-which they probably grew up eating. Some of these foods include rice, ghee, chapati and even home-cooked deep-fried food. Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, in one of her recent posts on Instagram and Facebook, talks about 3 such foods that should definitely be a part of your diet for good health.

These foods have always been a part of your lifestyle. But the constant urge to lose weight has probably made you give up on them. Keep reading to know what these foods are and how you can include them in your diet.

According to Rujuta, rice-which are now blamed to be high in carbs and cause weight gain-should make a comeback on your plate. She says that you need to get back to eating traditional white rice. It is easy to digest and works as a prebiotic (which provides good bacteria to your gut). What's more is that rice is easy to cook and super delicious to taste. Rice is the staple of food of eastern and southern parts of India.

Rice are best eaten in combination with different kinds of legumes or lentils and pulses. There are as many as 65,000 variety of pulses grown and cultivated in India. The celebrity nutritionist recommends that you should include at least 12 to 15 kinds pulses in your diet. Pulses which you should be eating in winter include moong dal, toor (arhar) dal and kulith (horsegram) dal. Kulith dal is particularly good for your skin, for those suffering from gall bladder or kidney stone issues. You can also eat red chawli dal, black chana or green chana dal. Legumes like kidney beans or rajma, white chana, lobia etc can be eaten along with rice.

Make sure you include a variety of lentils and legumes in your diet. It is important for bacterial diversity, which is an essential perquisite for good health.

Dal rice is a protein-rich meal with a complete amino acid profilePhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:5 Clever Food Swaps To Keep You Warm And Healthier This Winter!

Winter is the perfect time to include a variety of root vegetables in your diet. Sweet potatoes, arbi (taro root), yam, beetroot, turnips, potatoes, radishes, carrots etc. They are beneficial for diabetics, women with PCOD and thyroid issues, people with Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 deficiency.

Rujuta highlights the fact that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to lack of microbial diversity in the gut. Deficiency of the sunshine vitamin can make you feel bloated, cause sleep disturbances, etc. Root vegetables are an excellent source of prebiotic bacteria, which can facilitate diversity of bacteria in gut, and keep Vitamin D deficiency at bay.

For cooking these root vegetables, you should use rock salt or black salt or sea salt. Doing this can reduce bloating effectively.

Root vegetables like sweet potatoes can provide good bacteria to your gutPhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:6 Reasons Why You Must Include Amla In Your Daily Diet, Especially During Winter

Ghee is an extremely important inclusion in your diet. You can also eat white butter regularly. Ghee is a kind of clarified butter, which is made by heating butter to separate liquid and milk solid portions from the fat. It contains polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids.

Ghee includes fats that can promote assimilation of Vitamins A, D, E and KPhoto Credit: iStock

"This winter, try to eat millets at least twice a week. Prepare them at home, in the traditional way," recommends Rujuta.

The idea is to get back to eating the way our family and past generations used to eat and learning traditional and cultural methods of cooking food.

Also read:Sweet Potatoes For Weight Loss: 12 Reasons Why You Must Include This Superfood In Your Diet

(Rujuta Diwekar is a celebrity nutritionist based in Mumbai)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates.

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Winter Superfoods: Rujuta Diwekar Recommends 3 Superfoods For Optimum Nutrition And Good Health - NDTV News

It looks like Red Dead Redemption 2 has fallen victim to the ol tying-game-logic-to-framerate bug.

The PC port of Red Dead Redemption 2 is far from perfect, that much is clear. But, even knowing the games questionable technical state, players didnt count on seeing the return of this classic bug.

Reddit user Jimmyoneshot has discovered a link between the games framerate, and how quickly Arthurs cores drain. Red Dead Redemption 2, as anyone who played it will know, keeps track of your overall health and fitness, represented in three cores: health, stamina, and Dead Eye.

Food and exercise greatly affect the first two. Eating too much without exercising will cause Arthur to visibly gain weight, which increases his stamina consumption. By the same token, not eating enough will slow health regeneration.

That said, players started to notice that cores are draining much faster on PC than they do on consoles. After picking up on this disparity, Jimmyoneshot decided to perform a few tests. They created a new save file that starts off at the beginning of Chapter 2, and proceeded to play the same missions and eat four steaks at the exact point during the day.

Then, Jimmyoneshot locked the framerate to 30fps, well below his usual 100-130fps, and it was then they saw a massive gulf in weight loss rate. Playing at a high framerate, Arthur lost 0.75 of his weight the next day. When locking the framerate to 30fps, Arthur gained 1.5, all from the same routine of food and activity.

The Reddit thread where Jimmyoneshot shared their findings is full of other examples of how the passage of time is different on PC compared to consoles. Time of day progresses much faster on PC, and weather conditions such as lightning and rain dont last very long.

In fact, I myself noticed how shadows appeared to be moving too fast when riding across open plains, which I assumed was a bug in shadow draw distance. Many others also pointed out that the time of day would change multiple times in long journeys, which didnt happen on consoles.

Something is clearly wrong with how Red Dead Redemption 2 calculates time on PC which, for now, appears to be tied to your framerate.

This particular problem should be familiar to PC players, who more recently had faced it with the PC port of Dark Souls 2, which rant at 60fps compared to consoles 30fps, causing weapon durability to degrade twice as fast.

The rest is here:
Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur cores drain rate seems to be tied to framerate on PC - VG247

The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images; Twentieth Century Fox

Hailed as one of the masterminds behind Ford Motor Co.'s success, Carroll Hall Shelby's career path was anything but straightforward. As a young man, Shelby took on various jobs, like training incoming pilots in United States Air Force to unsuccessfully running a chicken ranch, before starting what would become a lifelong relationship with Ford.

Once Shelby got a taste of the race-car scene in 1952, he quickly became a star driver for top names like Aston Marton. But when health complications forced him to retire from the tracks, Shelby switched gears and became a car designer.

He opened up his business, Shelby American, where he created the Cobra a car with an American engine that mirrored the sleekness of a European sports vehicle. Ford Motor Co. reached out to Shelby, and the two collaborated to build more innovative cars one of them being the winning GT40 featured in Ford v Ferrari.

But financial concerns and creative differences arose, forcing Shelby to part ways with Ford in 1969, and he went on to work for Dodge. After undergoing a heart transplant in 1990, Shelby reunited with Ford, ending their respite. The designer would go on to work with the company up until his death in 2012.

In an interview with GQ UK, Damon, who plays Shelby, said he was touched by his character's life-long concern for Miles.

"I always found it interesting that every time I stumbled upon a clip on YouTube of Carroll Shelby talking about Ken Miles, he would get choked up a little bit, even as an old man," the actor said. "It would just catch his throat and he'd say something like, 'Ken Miles is a hell of an engineer.' It was quite a loss for all those guys."

Read the rest here:
The True Story of 'Ford v Ferrari': How Accurate Are the Characters? - Hollywood Reporter

When my college peers were plunging into bowls of unlimited soft-serve and debriefing nights out over pepperoni pizza, I was running miles around an indoor track, going to bed just early enough to avoid the inevitable hunger pangs that would otherwise keep me awake.

I remember once watching another young woman order a thick-breaded sandwich with turkey, cheese, and avocado from a cafe and thinking, quite matter-of-factly, that I would never be able to do that. That I simply wasn't one of those people who could, well, eat.

I always let the bowl of bite-sized chocolates pass by me in French class, and gave my once-hip-hugging jeans to my roommate. I lost the weight people typically gain freshman year and then some, despite being a perfectly healthy weight for my frame beforehand.

Still, I was convinced I was in the best shape of my life. After all, when you barely have body fat, you can see all your abs and isn't that the picture of health and fitness? Never mind that I also didn't have a period, or sanity.

What I did have was relative energy deficiency in sport RED-S for short a condition that's now attracting attention thanks to elite runner Mary Cain's recent New York Times video. She says her experience with RED-S was brought on by what she saw as an abusive coaching system at the now-shuttered Nike Oregon Project, leading to injuries, a derailed career, and even self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

(Nike has said it is looking into "the deeply troubling allegations" and the coach at the center of the accusations, Alberto Salazar, has said while he may have made "callous" or "insensitive" comments, he disputes notions of abuse.)

Statistics and other elite athletes' testimonies suggest the dangerous condition is disturbingly pervasive in top-tier athletics. But my experience as a recreational athlete one who never advanced out of junior varsity swimming in high school demonstrates that the condition can also affect people who are simply active. It's not only caused by sports programs that emphasize results above all else, but by unrealistic societal ideals of what healthy looks like.

No period means low estrogen, which can lead to permanently weakened bones that are prone to injury. Brian Snyder/Reuters

"Relative energy deficiency in sports syndrome" is a fancy way of explaining what happens when you don't eat enough to fuel your activity level. (Back when I was diagnosed, it was known as female athlete triad, which more specifically involved women and girls, and disordered eating. But most professionals now call it RED-S, in part to include male athletes, and recognize that undereating isn't always related to an eating disorder.)

People with the condition can experience fatigue, a lack of progression in their training, stress fractures, and, eventually, a disruption in their menstrual cycles because their bodies aren't equipped to handle a theoretical pregnancy.

Without a menstrual cycle, their bodies "aren't going to be able to get the necessary levels of estrogen to maintain strong bone health," Cain explained in the New York Times video.

For Cain, that meant five broken bones, poor performance in career-defining events, suicidal thoughts, and, eventually, a need to drop out of the elite training program that had once been a dream come true. For me, it meant developing osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. I was 18 going on 80, according to a startling scan of my bones.

The consequences of RED-S for elite and recreational athletes alike can continue for years. Research suggests it raises the risk for heart disease, and a disrupted menstrual cycle can lead to fertility issues and an increased risk of certain cancers, Insider previously reported, as well as permanent bone damage.

"It's not just that bone density is lower, it's that the bones have changed, and that's really hard to fix," Mary Jane De Souza, a professor of kinesiology and physiology at Penn State who specializes in the syndrome, previously told Insider.

Estimates of the ubiquity of RED-S vary widely, but studies suggest it's especially common in sports that emphasize aesthetics or leanness, like running and gymnastics, with as many as 69% of female athletes in those types of sports missing their periods.

High-level athletes' anecdotal reports reflect these findings.

Four-time obstacle course racing world champion Amelia Boone, for example, recently spoke out about her 20-year-long struggle with anorexia, leading to stress fractures that eventually woke up her up to the need for treatment.

The hardest things to talk about are also the most important to share. . After my last stress fracture in March, I finally admitted that it was time to make changes. Im not dense: Ive known for a long time that the reason I keep breaking bones is because of my 20-year history with anorexia. . So Ive spent the last three months at an eating disorder treatment facility, working to restore the health of both my body and my mind. . Theres a crippling shame that comes with knowing the reason you keep breaking your body but feeling incapable of changing that on your own. Theres an embarrassment that, at 35, Im still battling this. Theres a paralysis that comes with the cognitive dissonance of knowing what you need to do, but continually falling short of that. . But theres also a great freedom that comes in complete surrender. A quiet confidence that starts to build when you reach out for help. A calm when you realize theres nothing to be ashamed of. And a peace that overcomes as you realize that, finally, you are learning to live again. . This is, hands down, the most important journey in my life, and one Im ready to share. Link to full blog in my bio (one blog post cant do it justice, so this will be an ongoing process). . To those who have been with me every step of the way, thank you. My journey is only just beginning, but Ive never been more excited for what the future has to hold. : @codypickens . #edrecovery #hope

A post shared by Amelia Boone (@arboone11) on Jul 8, 2019 at 4:08pm PDTJul 8, 2019 at 4:08pm PDT

Olympic figure skater Gracie Gold "got caught in a system" that compelled her to become thinner and thinner, the New York Times reported, and eventually had such severe disordered eating she, like Cain, imagined taking her life.

Now, Cain's video has inspired more elite athletes to join the chorus. Olympic swimmer Caroline Burckle wrote on Instagram that "not having a monthly cycle was a badge of honor," and that she missed hers for 10 years, while also suffering from depression and broken bones.

Hi. I have something to say and admittedly have no clue how to speak about this important and timely topic. Rather than craft the perfect message or post in a way that doesnt feel authentic to me, Ill just speak from my heart. This photo was taken at the Olympic Games in 2008, one of the highlights of my many years of swimming. I am proud of it! Additionally, I struggled with a large amount of body image issues that were largely driven by the culture of endurance sports, specifically surrounding opinions of what a womans body should look like... smaller, skinnier, lighter, cuter, leaner. Not having a monthly cycle was a badge of honor, and I didnt have one for a decade (my retirement years included). Before I knew it, I had dipped scarily low in body weight, was in treatment for depression and body dysmorphia, and later broke a few bones because of my lack of nourishment and self-love. Ill be honest, I am shaking writing this because I dont know everything and everyone has something going on, and YEAH, they do. However I literally lead a business based around mental health for teenage athletes and Olympic athletes so why the hell wouldnt I speak of this importance? I am learning that I dont need to apologize for my experience or downplay it but rather support the positive movement around change. So... it is in NO way okay to negatively push young athletes to become physically unhealthy in their sport in order to perform. While I understand there are varying standards in several realms, the overall mindset that one is not good enough if they arent skinny enough has got to stop. Becoming a better athlete is working with the tools and body that you were given and learning how to fuel it properly, stay hormonally healthy, and create a mindset of a abundance surrounding what it is CAPABLE of doing. From my personal experience, many women in varying body sizes can perform at the same level, proving it is about becoming aware and tending to what works for you, with support systems and environments for positive accountability rather than fostering shame. It comes from WITHIN, so lets cultivate spaces that encourage that. (Continued below)

A post shared by Caroline Burckle (@caroburckle) on Nov 8, 2019 at 1:25pm PSTNov 8, 2019 at 1:25pm PST

Cate Barrett, a former Division 1 track athlete, posted that "college programs today are still preaching thinner is fast, and telling women to lose weight, or that low weight and lost periods aren't a problem."

For so long, I thought I was the problem. To me, the silence of others meant that pushing my body past its healthy limits was the only way. But I know we were all scared, and fear keeps us silent. @runmarycain Mary Cain's expos of abuse she suffered while training as a young pro runner is shocking and upsetting. A decorated coach at Nike, Alberto Salazar, pressured her to lose weight to run faster. This is an inexcusable abuse of power. Salazar had nearly every resource available to boost Marys performance, yet chose to emphasize a strategy that risked her health. And it didn't even fucking work. It drove her to slow races, self-harm and quitting the sport. Marys story resonates with the amateur and collegiate running community all too well. We've experienced the same thing. Being shamed for our size. Told that our poor performances were because of weight. And that we were lucky to be here, so we shouldnt complain. That this is part of the sport. I competed for a D1 NCAA track team for all four years of college. While this was a great experience, it did leave me with a disordered view of my body and food. 11 years after I entered the NCCA, I still feel the strain that Im not small enough. I know this is not factual and rational, but my mindset is a work in progress. I do not know any teammates who emerged from the NCAA system unaffected by the pressure to be thinner. It may seem like the entire running community is already woke to this issue, but please listen: IT IS WILD how deep this goes. It is still happening. Girls still need help. College programs today are still preaching thinner is faster, and telling women to lose weight, or that low weight and lost periods arent a problem. College sports are not the only offenders here, but they have to do better. They, along with the whole running world, have the opportunity and obligation to make a positive impact in young peoples lives. I am thankful that Mary Cain and many others have faced their fear and brought their stories to light. This is how we change.

A post shared by Cate Barrett (@beingcate) on Nov 8, 2019 at 12:39pm PSTNov 8, 2019 at 12:39pm PST

My run-in with RED-S demonstrates the issue can affect anyone who doesn't eat enough to support their activity level.

"We need to be studying the prevalence of RED-S in a variety of populations," including in non-athletes, Dr. Kathryn E. Ackerman, a sports medicine physician who directs the female athlete program at Boston's Children's Hospital, told Insider.

One of her recent studies included 1,000 teens and women between ages 15- to 30-year-old who exercised at least four hours a week, whether on their own or in an organized environment. She and colleagues found that 47% had disordered eating patterns and experienced more negative health and performance consequences as a result.

Most of the attention and outrage in reaction to Cain's video is related to what she described as abuse by Nike-affiliated coaches and a male-dominated system that doesn't understand or respect the female athlete's body.

The push for which I cheer loudly is for the running world to take a different approach to training young girls. This should include putting more women in coaching and leadership positions, and ensuring psychologists and nutritionists are integral parts of the teams as well.

"Too many teams are led by older men, who seem unable to have an appropriate, supportive conversation about weight and periods with young girls. As a result, we need to educate people on how to have these conversations," Cain previously old Insider.

But it's not just the running community, or even the athletic community in general. I didn't have a coach weighing me and shaming me, Olympic trials to qualify for, sponsorships to keep, or a career and reputation at stake. I had a pair of running shoes, time and new freedom, and a culture reinforcing my addiction to both exercise and its "results."

"There is a myth that all ultra-lean athletes are the epitome of health," Ackerman told me. "This is not always the case."

"There's a lot of ignorance as to how this works; that endurance sports and running is not necessarily weight loss," runner Latoya Shauntay Snell previously told Insider. Snell, who has become a role model for runners of all sizes, has done 15 marathons, five ultramarathons, and is training for a 100-mile race.

"You have to eat to go out there over and over and do those grueling miles," she said.

That's me earlier this year, about to participate in my first half-Ironman triathlon. Ryan Lynch

Thanks to my parents' insistence I talk to a therapist after seeing my bony body when I returned home for the holidays, I was referred to a physician who worked with athletes. She ordered the bone scan revealing osteopenia, and diagnosed me with female athlete triad, which I doubt many doctors had even heard of back then.

Many still don't, Ackerman told Insider. One 2018 study reported that less than half of clinicians, physiotherapists, and coaches could correctly define the disorder.

I was steered back on track, physically and mentally, within a year, and quickly made up for my semester sans ice cream and late-night pizza. Today, about 14 years later, I look back on my college years with pride bordering on obsession.

I've maintained a love of fitness, and even completed my first half-Ironman triathlon this summer, which I chased with a thick-breaded turkey and cheese sandwich. (I'd have gladly added avocado if it was available.)Still, I don't know how my bones look today or if my fertility was compromised.

Other girls and women, both serious and recreational athletes, are surely struggling, even if only their bones know it. So as the running community addresses this critical and uncomfortable issue, let's remember that this isn't just their issue to solve.

See the article here:
I had the condition that broke down Nike runner Mary Cain's body, and I wasn't even an elite athlete - INSIDER

A year ago, Blaine Allen was at home watching game film over and over. It wasnt in preparation for the next week, it was an attempt to figure out what happened the week before.

He was watching Thunder Basins 14-7 Class 4A state football semifinal loss to Sheridan, a game in which the Bolts were the home-field favorites. A win would have meant a chance to play for a state title.

I watched that semifinal game three or four times, said Allen, a senior receiver and safety for the Bolts. That game was so hard. We were the 2 seed. We beat them in the regular season. We thought we were going to the state championship.

The agony resonated throughout the whole team, but few took it harder than Tanner Richards. It was his man who scored the game-winning touchdown for Sheridan.

After we lost to Sheridan, I kind of locked myself in my room for a couple days, Richards said. I felt like I let my team down.

The 14-7 loss soon turned from a painful reminder to a rallying cry for the Bolts. They watched as their senior teammates ended empty handed. Nobody wanted to feel that again.

When the Bolts showed up for the first practice of the 2019 season Aug. 12, sheets of paper with 14-7 emblazoned on them were hanging from the walls in the locker room and halls. Richards has had the reminder hanging in his room since the semifinal loss.

Ive had a 14-7 score in my room all year long since the semifinal. It really drove me, said Richards, a TBHS senior receiver and defensive back.

Now a year later, that loss still motivates Thunder Basin as the now No. 1-ranked Bolts prepare to play Sheridan, ranked No. 2, in the Class 4A state title game Saturday in Laramie.

Still hungry

The loss that ended their season last year has pushed the Bolts to be a better team, and hitting the weight room played a big part. Erik Shepherd, Thunder Basins strength coach, said it was a total team effort to dedicate the offseason to conditioning.

This was just a great group in the weight room, Shepherd said. Everyone pushed each other to higher levels and didnt let each other slack off. The coaches didnt have to force feed anything. The kids wanted to be in there and wanted to be getting better.

During the summer evenings, it wasnt unusual to see senior quarterback Mason Hamilton and a group of receivers at the TBHS football field. Every chance he had he was throwing to Allen, Richards and Warren Carr to get ready for their final seasons.

If it were up to Mason, we would have been throwing every single day, TBHS coach Trent Pikula said.

Sheridan was the team that lit the fire under the Bolts. However, as the season progressed, the goal became all about Nov. 16 the date of the 4A state championship in Laramie.

A 1-0 start quickly blossomed into 5-0 at the midpoint, and then 9-0 at the end of the regular season. At each of those points, senior linebacker Caleb Driskill would say, This is step 1, and later, This is step 9 in the process.

Step 11 was crossed off the list last week when Thunder Basin beat Cheyenne East 27-21 in the semifinal. Seniors Allen and Richards, who both took the previous years semifinal loss hard, were two of the games heroes.

Richards had a dream performance. He caught three touchdowns from Hamilton on three straight drives, while Allen put the win on ice with a diving interception on Easts final drive.

Now the process has come full circle and the Bolts have the opportunity to win the schools first state football title Saturday.

I feel super blessed to have another chance, because last year we were so close to the state championship (game), Allen said. This time we have a chance to win it all.

Inside the game

While Sheridan handed the Bolts the painful semifinal loss last year, this isnt a redemption game, Pikula said. Now that theyre here, playing for a state championship is all the motivation they need.

After we played them (in the fourth week of the season), I thought, If we get to the championship, its going to be Sheridan, Pikula said. I havent said a single thing about the fact that they beat us out last year. The kids know it. We have the 14-7 signs all over the school.

But to me, and hopefully to them, its not a revenge game. We want to go win a state championship and thats just the team we have to beat.

Sheridans postseason success has been well documented. The Broncs have played in 16 state championship games since 1982 and won 12 of them. This will be their fifth straight trip to War Memorial Stadium for the title game and theyll be looking to win the schools fourth title out of the last five.

The Broncs are coming off a 62-35 thrashing of Cheyenne Central in their semifinal game and have outscored opponents 363-107 since TBHS beat them in week 4 their only loss of the season. As usual, Sheridan seems to be peaking at the right time.

For Thunder Basin, its been a different week of practice as the team tries to prepare for the possibility of playing without one of the states top quarterbacks in Hamilton. Hes been day-to-day with a shoulder injury suffered in the semifinal. Sophomore Ryan Baker has seen a lot of first-team reps in practice.

The game plan would certainly change if Hamilton cant play, but he still has not been ruled out for the title game.

If Mason doesnt play, were obviously going to run the ball more, Pikula said Wednesday. But if Mason can throw, it just goes back to the regular game plan that weve been doing all year long.

The team has rallied around Baker in practice to make sure hes ready for the big moment if he needs to be. One of the biggest priorities was getting used to the speed of No. 1 receivers.Allen said Baker has improved a lot in that area.

Baker started one game this season, a 68-13 win over Cheyenne South, but as Pikula said, thats different than a state championship.

If the Bolts have to rely on the run game, junior Jaxon Pikula will likely see a heavy load. Hes been one of the most consistent pieces for the TBHS offense this season, piling up 1,165 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Hes been especially effective in the last three weeks with 493 yards and five touchdowns. Looking at Sheridans defense, Jaxon Pikula sees super active linebackers that can fill the holes well. But he likes his chances running behind a much-improved offensive line.

I feel pretty good about it. Our O-lines clicking and just making big holes for me to run through, he said.

That offensive line will have to contend with a quick and athletic defensive front from Sheridan. Alec Ehrhard, Thunder Basins most experienced lineman, thinks that composure and physicality will be key.

Their linebackers are fast, their linemen are fast, he said. A big part of their defense is speed. Well just to try to get off the ball fast and put them in the linebackers laps.

Defensively, the Broncs are No. 1 in the state in rush defense, ahead of Thunder Basin by a fraction. However, the improvement on the offensive side of the ball has stood out the most to coach Pikula.

Sheridan has added a weapon named Izak Aksamit to the backfield since losing to the Bolts 37-31 in week four. Garrett Coon is still the Broncs undisputed No. 1 running back. He leads 4A with 1,459 yards and 27 touchdowns, but Aksamit gives the TBHS defense one more thing to worry about.

Theyve moved some guys around offensively, so that theyre not just the Garrett Coon show, coach Pikula said. (Aksamit) placed in the 400 (meter dash) last year, so hes a fast kid. They moved him in the backfield and their offense became more multi-faceted.

Thunder Basins top-ranked defense was one of the few to hold Coon in check this season. He only had 76 rushing yards and a touchdown when the teams met this year, but he found other ways to hurt the Bolts, like a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Since that game, the Bolts have affirmed themselves as the states No. 1 overall defense, with Driskills 135 tackles leading the way. On top of only giving up 222 yards per game, they lead 4A in touchdowns allowed (21), first downs per game (8.5) and yards per play (4). They also rank second in the state for takeaways at 24.

The 11-0 Bolts have checked every box to get to this point. Now its time to play football and let the chips fall where they may.

Weve been talking about a state championship since Aug. 12. Thats been our goal since Day One, coach Pikula said. Now when the kids get out on the field, its the old Hoosier thing. Its just a 100-yard field and its no different than our field or anybody elses.

Theres only been two undefeated seasons credited to Gillette football teams one in 1964 and one in 2000 according to Wyoming-Football. Both were completed when Campbell County was the only high school.

Now, Thunder Basin has the chance to do the same in just its third season.

The only thing standing in its way is the Sheridan Broncs and their unrelenting postseason pedigree.

See the original post:
A year in the making: Bolts are in the state championship 12 months after semifinal loss - Gillette News Record

New miraculous drugs against colon cancer are being discovered and tested in clinical trials as we speak.

Heresoneexample:

Just a few months ago, in June 2019, at the age of 57, Michael felt unwell with low-grade fever,loss of appetite and diarrhea. At that time, he was in Portugal on vacation with his wife and thought he might havesimply caught a virus.But these nondescript symptoms persisted.

So he found a doctor who gave him a five-day course of antibiotics.The fever went down but he still had diarrhea. A few days later, having reached Lisbon, his symptoms got worse: his diarrhea became bloody, he had intestinal cramps, and he feltand could seea mass in his right upper abdomen below the ribs.Alarmed, he went to a local hospital in Lisbon. A CT scan was performed that detected a tumor in his right colon.

Was it cancerous? Maybe not because Michaels last colonoscopythree and a half years prior was clear and he had no history of colon cancer in his family.

But since Michael needed surgery to remove the tumor, he flew back home to Boston and had surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

It turned out that Michaels tumor was a large cancerous one with a diameter of about 10 centimeterscompletely blocking the right upper colon.Eight out of 10 lymph nodes were positive for cancer, makingitstage 3C.Fortunately, there were no other metastasis.A PET/CT scan showed no other tumors or hot spots.The prognosis was not bad at that time.Michael began chemotherapy with FOLFOX, the gold standard in this situation.

Yet, after surgery andsix weeks ofchemotherapy, suddenly, while doing yoga, Michael felt a stabbing pain in his right lower ribs.He went straight to the hospital.AnotherCT scan was performed. Itshowed that despite surgery and aggressive chemo, there were more than 12 liver metastasis in addition to a cracked rib (which was the one responsible for Michaels stabbing pain). This was now metastatic colon cancer, stage 4.

How could Michaels cancer have progressed so quickly despite being on chemotherapy?Michael and his doctors were puzzled.

Had Michael been in a small town in the countryside,or had it been just a few years ago, his doctorsmight wellhave told him that nothing more could be done for him and that he only had a few months to live.

But fortunately, Michael was treated in one of the best hospitals in the United States by one of the best colorectal cancerteamsin the country.

Theyhad done a DNA analysis of Michaels tumor and realized that Michaels cancer cells had a specific BRAF V600e mutation, which could make the cancer cells sensitive to a new type of immunotherapy drugs calledCheckpoint Inhibitors.Checkpoint Inhibitorsunmaskcancer cellsso the bodys immune system can detect and destroy them.

Quickly, Michaelwas enrolled ina small phase 2 clinical trial using a combination of 3 Checkpoints Inhibitors.

Those drugs worked quickly: After just 6 weeks of taking those new medications, Michaels cancer markers are down, and Michael feels spectacularly better.

Michael is not yet out of the woods and cancers can be sneaky, but a number of patients with similar cancers who are taking this therapy are in complete remission, and the early signs in Michaels case are hopeful.

It is the miracle of new medicine.

What can we learn from Michaels story?

If Michael had not been treated by one of the best colorectal cancer specialists in the country, he might not be with us anymore today.

So, if you oraloved oneisdiagnosed with cancer, always get a DNA analysis of the cancer cells and get a copy of your results.The underlying genetic mutations driving cancer are targeted by new drugs.

If thecancer cells have a BRAF V600e mutation, they will likely be very sensitive to Checkpoint Inhibitors.Those drugs are taken in the form of oral pillsand sometimes a monthly infusion, they dont have too many side effects and can work spectacularly.

It doesnt matter where those cancer cells are.There are studies showing BRAF V600e mutations in many different organs of the body.

The FDA has approved the use of Checkpoint Inhibitors for metastatic melanoma, metastatic bladder cancer, kidney cancer, head and neck cancer, lymphomas and non-small cell lung cancer because they had cases of spectacular results with tumor shrinkage and sometimes complete disappearance of metastasis.

Studies show that a few patients with metastatic melanoma to the brain are still alive after 5 years of being on the drugs when a few years ago, they would only have survived a couple of months.

Stephanie Toll from the Childrens hospital in Los Angeles described (OncoTarget January 2019) that Checkpoint Inhibitors werehighlyeffective in 3 cases of very aggressive brain tumors in children with 2 of the 3 children having no detectable cancer after 2 years of treatment.

If a doctor tells you there is nothing more that can be done, take your fate in your own hands and get a second, a third and/or a fourth opinion in major teaching hospitals wheregenetic diagnostics are done and clinical trials are conducted.

Get into a clinical trial usingimmunotherapyor participate in gene-editing studies that useCRISPR/cas9 and CAR-T cells to genetically modify the immune cells of the patient,enablingthoseimmune cellsto attack cancer cells.

Michaels previous colonoscopy was three and a halfyearsprior and wasclear.His doctors recommendations were to get a colonoscopy every 10 years.Yet a 10-year interval between colonoscopies is clearly too much because some cancers grow very fast.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women in the United States (according to the American Cancer Society) so we need to detect it early.

How can colorectal cancer be detected early?

Well, the American College of Physicians just published (November 5th, 2019) their screening guidelines for prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer:

Peopleoverthe age of 50 should have their stools tested every 2 years to make sure the stools dont contain any blood, or those people should have a colonoscopy every 10 years.They should do this even if they dont have any symptoms and even if they dont have any family history of colon cancer.

My personal take on this, considering Michaels story, is that people should really do both: Get a colonoscopy every 10 yearsandhave their stools checked every 2 years for blood.In fact, if you really want more peace in mind, have your stools checked for microscopic blood every year starting at the age of 45 years old (instead of 50).

Chances are that if there is early cancer, it will start oozing a little bit of blood every day, too little to be caught by a naked eye, but big enough to be diagnosed by the lab.

Another early detection of colon cancer is to do a stool DNA test (the one approved by the FDA is called Cologuard).

Those early detection tests can be lifesavers.

Detecting colon cancer early is good but better yet would be to prevent it from happening in the first place.

The way to do this is to be aware of the risk factors for colon cancer and actively work on reducing them:

The risk factors for colon cancer are:

Also, a family history of colon cancer, a personal history of colon polyps or an inflammatory bowel condition will put you more at risk for colon cancer and you will need get more frequent colonoscopies (every 3 to 5 years depending on your condition).

Lets stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol every day, lets lose weight and eat less processed food, smoked and charbroiled meats and lets start exercising at least 45 minutes3 times a week.

And thanks to Michaels story, lets use the lessons we learned today to save our life or the life of a loved one.

Read more here:
New Ways to Fight Against Colon Cancer - Psychology Today

Take advice from a gal who knows: Your weight loss journey can be really empowering.Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson toldLife & Style exclusively about her best advice for loving yourself during every moment of your transformation plus, she dished on her progress in the gym.

I feel like the most important thing is even if youre on a weight loss journey, it doesnt mean you cant embrace where you are in that moment and still dress nice and feel good about yourself and feel sexy, the 43-year-old exclusively explained during Guess Who B*tch Game Night at Moxy Chelsea. Even though you know your goal is to lose 20 pounds, it doesnt mean you have to wear sweats every day and feel like st about yourself. Own every single step of the way. Even when I was bigger and I was filming, I was like, Im still going to dress nice, Im still going to put makeup on.

Because of that attitude, the Ohio native has attracted a lot of curvy fans who are really happy to see someone like Em representing them on screen and shes proud of that fact.

Being on the show, Ive had so many women reach out to me and say thank you for having a lot of confidence and dressing nice and being bigger than the other women. I see myself in you and I relate to you more and now I feel better about myself, she revealed. So when women send me those messages, it makes me feel good and like I can be a champion for curvy girls. You can be beautiful, you can be sexy. You dont have to have a certain weight on the scale or a certain size dress. Be a 12, be a 14, be an 8. I dont give a fk. Just rock it! If you rock it, thats it.

But just because shes found herself in a position to be a role model for bigger babes, it doesnt mean she isnt making strides in her own health and fitness journey still. In fact, shes really glad she had that moment of clarity on screen when she weighed herself during the October 8 episode.

I hadnt weighed myself in about a year. And I knew I gained weight but I had no idea how much. Ive never weighed that much in my life. I didnt want to do it but Im glad I did because it was an a-ha moment where I was like, OK, you cant keep living in denial, she explained. So when we were done filming in May, I hired a personal trainer and I worked out with her over the summer and I did the best I could.

Despite her hip injury, she did the damn thing. I worked out with her three times a week at 6 a.m. I was never late. And I knew I had to hire a personal trainer because otherwise I would hit snooze, snooze, snooze. But knowing that she was sitting there waiting for me, it made me get up and go. It was consistency. So just doing that over and over and over, it started to come off and I lost 15 pounds before the reunion.

Though her current weight loss accomplishments are, well, serious accomplishments, shes realistic about how far she can go and wants other women to, too. Im not skinny, Ive never been built skinny. Ive never had a skinny frame. Ive always been tall and big boned and wide shoulders, she said. So another thing is just embracing that youre built differently than other people and just saying it is what it is. Im not going to weigh 120 pounds. Ever. And thats OK.

Amen!

See the rest here:
'RHOC' Star Emily Simpson Shares Weight Loss Progress and Advice - Life&Style Weekly