POPSUGAR Photography / Sarah Wasilak I Almost Gave Up on Working Out, but Then I Tried Swimming

Let's make one thing clear: I'm a runner, not a swimmer. The last time I felt like I knew what I was doing in a pool, I was pretending to be a mermaid with my swim floaties on, both of my legs stuffed into one side of my dad's jogging pants capped off with fins. This was, naturally, my mermaid tail. Man, I wish I still had that confidence.

Anyway, runners are crazy (like, bats*** crazy), and when I suffered through plantar fasciitis in my foot a few years ago, I thought I'd never be able to exercise again. "If I can't run, what can I dooooo?" I wailed to my family and friends. For me, running provides mental sanity - the two go hand in hand. I had never dealt with an injury before, but it's only natural that the time would come since the sport involves a lot of pounding on the joints, which is obviously not ideal for our bodies. Nevertheless, runners are crazy. Runners do it anyway.

"What about swimming laps?" my dad asked me one day as I sulked at the kitchen table in my plantar fasciitis boot, which was meant to keep my foot straight and stretched, thereby breaking up the pain area.

I immediately recited my uncle's perspective on swimming (he is a fellow crazy marathon runner and may or may not have encouraged me to "run through the pain" at some points in my life): "But the pool gets you all wet."

I remember the next morning vividly. I was still living at home with my parents at the time, and my awesome dad woke up at 5 a.m. to drive me to the pool. I definitely didn't have a proper one-piece, so imagine a fashion editor strolling into the lap pool in a plunging monokini, only to be greeted by the lifeguard: "You have to wear a swim cap." A what now?

It took a few weeks, but once I got into the thick of it, I had my own goggles, silicone ear plugs, swim cap, and Speedo, and I had taught myself the two strokes I still rely on today: freestyle and breast stroke. I watched YouTube videos to perfect my form, and in order to feel like I got in a good workout, I routinely swam for 40 minutes every single morning. You'd think that'd be boring, but it wasn't.

Swimming quickly became a form of meditation for me. I felt relaxed and at peace under the water. I was sweating without, you know, physically feeling it, and I was definitely getting my heart rate up - swimming is an aerobic activity after all. Every morning as I unstrapped my plantar fasciitis boot and tucked my hair into the swim cap, I felt better and better about my situation. I had found a way to release endorphins and simultaneously become a mermaid again!

I told myself that after enough physical therapy sessions and rest, I'd be running again and wouldn't need to practice swimming any longer, but then I reasoned with myself and figured it'd be beneficial to take a few days off from running. Mixing up your workouts is the best thing you can do for your body, and I had been majorly failing in that area before I introduced swimming into my routine.

Now I swim at Hamilton Health and Fitness in Jersey City, NJ, which has the most peaceful, spa-like atmosphere. I do some laps, then I might mix in a quick HIIT workout in the shallow end with flutter kicks, bicycles, jumps, and hops to get my heart rate going.

I still consider myself a beginner - I'm no professional - but at the start, I had the same questions you probably do about swimming. Can swimming help you tone any areas of your body? How many calories do you burn? Can swimming be part of a weight-loss program? It took me long enough to ask! I checked in with Scott Riewald, senior director of high performance at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and Teri McKeever, UC Berkeley's head coach of women's swimming and diving, and got some answers. Keep reading for some useful information and beginner tips that'll help you get into the low-impact sport that's so good for your body.

"The benefit of swimming over running is that you don't have the gravity and pounding of your joints. It's great for people with injuries or for people as they get older," Teri said. Meanwhile, Scott highlighted the pros and cons to both activities, just to put it into perspective for you. "Swimming is a full-body exercise, and you engage muscles throughout the body - from the legs, to the core, to the upper back. It is also a low-impact form of exercise, and for people who experience knee or other lower-body joint pain, swimming provides relief from the pounding those joints take when running and allows you to still train. With that said, there are also challenges faced by swimmers. Technique is important - flaws in technique can lead to overuse types of injuries, particularly in the shoulders, after hundreds or thousands of strokes."

Scott said that how many calories each person burns depends on a number of variables, including their gender, their weight, the exercise intensity, and the muscle groups used. However, he estimated that an hour of slow swimming (something that might be indicative of a beginner swimmer) likely will burn around 400-500 calories.

"Swimming is a great exercise that can improve fitness and become a part of a weight-loss program," Scott said. "As with any type of exercise, if you want to use swimming to build health or lose weight, the key is commitment and consistency. One workout will not make a significant change in any health or performance variables." It may come as no surprise, but actual results from swimming come with time, he added.

While swimming is an excellent cardio exercise, it can help you tone your body, too. Scott said it can tone muscles all throughout the body but that the areas most targeted are the shoulders and upper back. "Serious swimmers often have well-developed deltoids, lats, and trapezius muscles - and have that classic 'V' upper-body shape," he said. Like with almost all physical activity, swimming requires a strong core to maintain a proper position in the water, and swimming can help strengthen core muscles.

Teri tapped into an idea I had when I first started swimming: "I think you can go to the pool and just watch what others are doing and give it a try," she said. At first, I did this a lot. But if you're looking to maintain proper form and really enjoy the activity, Scott said to learn more than one stroke to add variety. "Swimming freestyle is the most popular and easiest way to go, but being able to throw some backstroke in or breaststroke will increase the enjoyment and also allow you to train some additional muscle groups."

And while it may be tempting to jump in the pool and swim at a steady pace for 30 minutes, it's important to mix up your speed and intensity, Scott said, adding that a swimming workout should include intervals and a mix of speeds. "Not only will it train all of the energy systems, but it will help you get faster as a swimmer at all paces," he said.

Ultimately, these are the reasons I will continue to keep swimming in my workout regimen, even though my injury has healed. In fact, when my quad tightens up and my joints feel that first hint of pain from too many days of high-intensity work, I skip a run, even if I had originally planned to lace up my sneakers. Instead, I jump into the pool and embrace the change of a calming activity, even though it involves getting all wet.

Related video: Poll: Three in 10 adults haven't swam in more than ten years [via Buzz60]

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I Almost Gave Up on Working Out, but Then I Tried Swimming - msnNOW

TWO years ago, having spent some time living a quiet life in the countryside away from the limelight, Kelly Brook stepped out on the red carpet once again.

It was a film premiere at the Royal Albert Hall and she had picked out a slinky black sequinned dress to wear for the occasion.

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But as she posed in front of the flashing cameras something shed done countless times in the past she got a jolt. Because the bank of photographers were yelling at her to breathe in.

As she tells the story, its impossible not to gasp at the rudeness. The cheek! But Kelly is quite sanguine about it.

Well, Im glad they told me! she laughs. They actually thought they were doing me a favour, but yeah, it was a bit of a shock.

But they knew me as skinny, and all of a sudden Id turned up with bigger boobs, a bigger bum, bigger arms just a lot bigger, so I think it was a shock for them as well!

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Kelly was aware that shed crept up to a size 16, thanks to enjoying the slower pace of life in Kent, regular hearty pub lunches and finally feeling settled in her personal life. But nevertheless, that red carpet experience proved a wake-up call, as she puts it.

It dawned on me then that even though I felt the same, I was obviously bigger and maybe I should do something about it, she says.

Since then, Kelly has made several lifestyle changes, losing 2st and going down to a size 12.

Its been a gradual process, which has seen her take up running three times a week and following a SlimFast eating plan to achieve her Size Sexy all in time for her milestone 40th birthday later this month.

The Size Sexy thing really resonated with me because if you get to an age where youre fitting into a large or extra large and you actually feel really happy and healthy, then why should there be a stigma?

Although Ive lost weight on my SlimFast journey, Im still not the thinnest Ive ever been in my life. But nor would I ever want to go back there, because some of my thinnest times were also my saddest.

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Its certainly true that Kelly has battled through some incredibly difficult periods in her life. Quite apart from the well-documented career highs and lows, there has been much personal heartbreak and tragedy.

She has spoken before about the devastating impact of her miscarriages and of losing her dad Kenneth very suddenly when she was just 28.

Some of my thinnest times were also my saddest.

His death during her run on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 forced her to pull out of the show, too grief-stricken to carry on.

There were also several energy-sapping off/on relationships with the likes of Danny Cipriani and Thom Evans, before French/Italian model and actor Jeremy Parisi, 33, came into her life four years ago, bringing with him some much-needed calm and stability.

I breezed through my 20s and had loads of amazing experiences, but I feel my 30s they were quite bad, she says candidly.

I put a lot of pressure on myself in my career, in my relationships and I dont know, sometimes it was like banging my head against a brick wall.

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"I didnt feel like things worked out particularly well. It felt like everything I started failed. I was sacked from big TV shows and Id be caught in these really turbulent relationships with boyfriends.

And I wasnt able to manage those relationships very well because I was always on a plane between here and Los Angeles. I tried to juggle so much and I think the anxiety and stress of always being on the go kept my weight down.

"You end up really thin because of whats happening in your life. As soon as I started slowing down and found a nice, happy relationship living in the countryside, everything changed. And my body changed with that.

"I was eating at my local pub and being with an Italian boyfriend who just wants to eat pasta all day and all night. But whereas he was going out for a five-mile run every day I was just lazing around!

Part of Kellys journey and the idea behind Size Sexy has been to embrace her naturally curvy body shape rather than striving for what she recognises is no longer possible.

My body likes being curvy, she says. It would be really difficult for me to be a skinny girl cos its not my shape or who I am and Im not going to aspire to be something thats unattainable.

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It was finding that middle ground and being healthy rather than what people would consider a size zero or super-skinny. It was about being the best version of myself, and for me a size 12 is a good size. And now its about maintaining a healthy, happy weight.

Her weight loss and new outlook have also given Kelly back some of the confidence she can now see she lost. When she was at her biggest, she would use editing apps to slim herself down on social media selfies.

It would be really difficult for me to be a skinny girl cos its not my shape or who I am.

I feel better in clothes now. I feel better in my underwear. I feel better on the beach. I dont feel I have to retouch my Instagram pictures like I used to, giving myself these stupid long giraffe necks. She whoops with laughter.

Everyone was busy going on about me slimming down my waist, but no one actually realised Id made my neck smaller as well! Thats the real trick. If you want to look young and thin, pull your neck in! No, no, thats bad advice. I dont do that now.

She doesnt need to. She never needed to. Whether at her slimmest or at her most curvy, Kelly has always oozed beauty and sex appeal. Its effortless.

While her body might have generated a lot of headlines over the years, her face is just as gorgeous, and its refreshing to see such natural radiance without the aid of fillers and Botox.

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Im more into skincare than anything else, she says. Retinol is my best friend. Its all about the retinol. I dont know what it is about lip fillers, but young girls just want that look.

"I dont know, its not really my generation. I dont want those big silly lips. Im very 90s, so Im still drawing mine on with lipliner. I still love the 90s supermodel look whats not to love about that?!

Kelly was just 19 but already a lads mag favourite when she was chosen to replace Denise Van Outen as Johnny Vaughans Big Breakfast co-presenter a lifetime ago, she says.

It began what she describes as a rollercoaster ride with both the media and the showbiz industry itself.

She only lasted five months in that job, but the lampooning and slingshots and sexist accusations of airheadedness continued long afterwards, with history pretty much repeating itself 10 years later when she joined Britains Got Talent as the fourth judge but was axed after less than a week.

That 19-year-old girl wasnt treated very well in the beginning, she agrees. I kind of feel sorry for her.

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"She was vulnerable and naive going into this industry with no idea about the impact it was going to have on her life and her family. I dont even feel like that was me because Ive learned so much since then.

I think people just wanted to write me off. They didnt want me to succeed and did everything they could to make me fail. It was pure sabotage for so many years.

"But Im stronger now and I can put that negativity to bed by having a happy, healthy life. Its taken a long time to get there but Im here.

Her ability to bounce back from each setback is impressive and shows theres true grit behind the megawatt smile and bubbly personality.

Undeterred by her Big Breakfast battering, she kept going and went on to land other TV jobs, including fronting Celebrity Love Island as well as finding success as an actress both this side of the pond and in Hollywood with parts in Smallville and movies The Italian Job and School For Seduction.

But if shed known then what she knows now, would she have chosen a different career? She looks taken aback. It doesnt appear shes ever even considered this.

The last...

Movie you watched?

Fractured. It was a Netflix movie. I like a good horror film.

Box set you watched?

The Widower, about the guy who killed all his wives. Oh, and Fleabag.

WhatsApp message?

From my friend asking if I want to go pumpkin- picking.

Time you cried?

At my uncles funeral a couple of weeks ago.

Time you lost your temper?

Oh god, every day. I only really lose it when Im tired.

Kiss?

Probably this morning with Jeremy.

Well, it was my livelihood and so you have to keep going because what else are you going to do? Its all I ever knew. I went to stage school and there wasnt an option to do anything else.

Ask her if shes ever had therapy to guide her through the more challenging periods in her life and she shakes her head.

No. This interview is like therapy, just sitting and talking about it. So no, Ive never had therapy or anything like that. Probably should have but I didnt.

But I think working at Global [where Kelly co-hosts Heart FMs drive-time show] is great because Ive got a job where I talk to people every day and connect with them. And to stay in a job for longer than a few weeks without getting sacked

She laughs again. Its like: Ah, I can do this! Im not a bad person. Im nice. People do like talking to me. People do like working with me. Because that self-doubt makes you start to wonder. You think: God, theres something wrong with me. Why isnt this working out?

With hindsight, can she see that self-doubt was misplaced?

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No! With hindsight I can see sometimes it was me, but Id also like to think Ive learnt from that. Im older and wiser. Were all still making mistakes, but you just dont want to make the same one twice.

Like, I probably made a few reckless decisions in terms of my personal life, too, but they were quite fun at the time dating crazy people who didnt have my best interests at heart, but whatever.

"I dont regret things. I just think I could have been kinder to myself over the years. I think we could all do that.

She did eventually grow jaded with the industry, though, hence the recent years she spent in semi-retirement in the Kent countryside.

It was the job offer at Heart at the start of this year that coaxed her back into the public eye, and in radio shes found a new career she loves and can see a real future in. Turning 40 puts the cherry on top of her new beginning.

I feel like Im finally growing up. I had Peter Pan syndrome, running around like a teenager. Id go home and see my old school friends and they all seemed so grown-up, married with children while I was still single, hadnt quite found The One.

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I feel that now Im hitting 40, a lot of that drama and stress has kind of melted away. I was always torn over what to do and I had a lot of guilt, but now Im actually like: Its not the be all and end all if I dont get married and I dont have children.

"If I do, its amazing and Im excited for that. But if I dont, its fine. When you hit a milestone birthday like this you do start thinking about your career, your relationships, where you live, those debts youve still not paid off.

I feel that now Im hitting 40, a lot of drama and stress has kind of melted away.

"All those things. Am I happy? Am I where I thought I was going to be? So Im thinking about everything.

Which obviously begs the question: is she where she thought shed be? She smiles. And then skilfully avoids giving a straight answer.

I love my life, I love my boyfriend, I love living back in London and Im focused. So I think things are quite good! Ive found a new kind of happiness.

"I think I associated drama and fireworks with happiness, but it all fizzes out quite quickly. Now Ive found a more slow-growing, longer-lasting, healthier happiness thats going to see me through the next 10 years. Hopefully longer!

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The birthday celebrations involve a trip to the States with Jeremy followed by a family meal in central London on their return. Shes not bothered about presents, preferring experiences over stuff that clutters up her life.

I just like to travel so if he books a nice hotel or takes me somewhere, thats perfect for me. I dont really like things like jewellery Im always getting rid of things and clearing my life out. I dont want to accumulate any more s**t!

The streamlining applies to the professional side of things, too. Theres no real desire to go back to acting Kelly says she was offered a part in a film recently, but turned it down because it would have eaten into her annual holiday allowance at Heart.

Im not as thirsty as I was, she says. Less is more at the moment. I dont feel like I need to be out every night or on every red carpet or be on telly all the time or do pilot season in LA.

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"Im not burnt out from it, but I feel like Ive been there and done it. I want to spend more time on myself, looking after Jeremy, looking after our home and doing my job and thats it. Thats my focus.

The last time we met, she described herself as a survivor. It seems like a fair assessment and when reminded of this, she nods.

I mean, gosh, when I look at the people who have come in and out of my life over the years and Ive just navigated my way through. Its like a jungle really, isnt it? I feel like Ive come out the other side, like: Ahh Ive made it.

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Kelly Brook on embracing her curves, finding The One and why life definitely begins at 40 - The Sun

The Giants play the Jets on Sunday. One thing not resting on the outcome of the game: New York football bragging rights.

Who is going to feel boastful after this matchup of the browbeaten? If a winning player is walking with a swagger afterward, its probably just a knee, hip or foot injury.

In the 50 seasons that these teams have been meeting in the regular season, many of the games have carried significant weight. Sometimes playoff berths have been on the line, or a path could be cleared to the postseason, even to the Super Bowl. At the very least, there was a sense that the winners left the game knowing they were kings of their domain.

No one is going to be crowning the Jets (1-7) or the Giants (2-7) as any kind of sovereign this weekend (and truth be told, the Buffalo Bills at 6-2 can credibly claim to be the kings of New York). The rest of the N.F.L. will be tuning into the action at MetLife Stadium to find out which New York team can add a gut-wrenching defeat to an already demoralizing season.

For the Giants, a victory would be their first since September. The Jets have lost only three games in a row, but each has been uglier than the last. This game will be hosted by the Jets, and it will be interesting to see how many of their fans sell tickets on the secondary market to Giants fans. When your team has won only two of its last 18 games, as the Jets have, such a transaction does not signify greed as much as common sense.

Sundays game is not without intrigue, however. It will probably be a three-hour window into which team is further along in a tortuously slow rebuild and which team is more lost and wandering in the woods. Without question, each teams downtrodden fan base will be taking notice. Its been a humiliating season for both Giants and Jets fans, but for one of the two, its about to get so much worse.

Most notably, the game will be the first head-to-head meeting of their 22-year-old quarterbacks: the Jets Sam Darnold and the Giants Daniel Jones, who were born nine days apart in 1997.

Now in his second year, Darnold has a season of N.F.L. experience on Jones, but instead of maturing, Darnold appears to be unraveling before our eyes.

He was brilliant in the Jets lone bright spot this year: a 2-point upset of the Dallas Cowboys. But in the three games since then, Darnold has thrown eight interceptions, fumbled twice and been sacked 12 times. Against the Patriots three weeks ago, a live microphone on the Jets sideline caught him talking about seeing ghosts as he stood in the passing pocket, and his on-the-field body language lately has been shouting dejection and gloom.

When Darnolds center snapped the ball too quickly late in the Jets loss last weekend at Miami, sending the ball whizzing past Darnold and bouncing toward the back of the Jets end zone, the quarterback did not chase after it, which is the least of his duties on the play but still a vital one. Darnold was instead inert, staring at the football as if he were watching the awful play unfold on video in a darkened room and surely, he has glumly reviewed a lot of such scenes in just that way this season.

Jones has been given something of a free pass as a rookie. But in his last five games, all losses, he has fumbled seven times and been intercepted six times. In seven starts, Jones has managed to vault into a tie atop the leagues turnover standings, with 16.

Jones made for a winsome story when he was drafted, and he seemed like a godsend when he rallied the Giants to victory against the Buccaneers on Sept. 22. But he has been erratic at best since then and has yet to prove that he can be more secure with the football another of those slight but pivotal duties for a quarterback.

Sundays game is not only an opportunity to compare the teams emergent quarterbacks. The Giants second-year coach, Pat Shurmur, and the Jets first-year coach, Adam Gase, have had their decision-making and in-game acumen questioned, with good reason. The spotlight that shines on a Jets-Giants game is still bright enough that a prominent sideline gaffe by a coach could be devastating to his career. In Gases case, perhaps even in the near future. And Shurmur hasnt exactly been embraced by Giants fans.

In the end, its more than a little sad that both franchises have fallen as far as they have in what has been, for the most part, a depressing eight-year stretch for each.

Its hard to recall that when the teams met on Christmas Eve in 2011, the Jets were coming off back-to-back appearances in the A.F.C. championship game. The Giants, four seasons removed from a Super Bowl victory, had a 7-7 record. The Jets were 8-6, and both teams needed a win to preserve bona fide playoff hopes. The Giants, thanks largely to Victor Cruzs stunning, 99-yard touchdown reception, won, 29-14, a victory that helped catapult them to a fourth Super Bowl title.

Those were the days. The Jets havent been in the playoffs since. The Giants havent won a playoff game since the 2011 postseason, and have qualified for the playoffs only once.

The Jets and Giants meet in the regular season for a 14th time Sunday. The game will surely be entertaining in its own way. But it will be nothing to brag about.

The rest is here:
Jets and Giants Vie for Best New York Team Not Named the Bills - The New York Times

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, after Thanos had defeated the Avengers and killed half of the universe too, most people expected the super-villain to be even more formidable in its follow-up.

However, just 15 minutes intoAvengers: Endgame it was revealed that Thanos had become incapacitated after using the Infinity Gauntlet.

Then he was easily located by Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and James Rhodes on a distant planet, before literally being decapitated by the Prince Of Asgard.

Infinity War and Endgames co-writer Stephen McFeely, who scribed the blockbuster with Christopher Markus, has now spoken toIndiewireabout the decision to kill off Thanos so early on in the film.

The idea of killing your villain 15 minutes into the movie came out of banging our heads against the wall for weeks and weeks. Because how can you fight a villain who is truly unstoppable. So what would it mean if you did kill him? What if he let you kill him? It allowed you to deal with their feeling of loss.

SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 30: Josh Brolin speaks on stage during ACE Comic Con at Century Link Field Event Center on June 28, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images)

What made the decision to kill Thanos even more remarkable was that after we watched him die, Avengers: Endgame then moved forward 5 years into the future to show that even after killing the heinous mass-murderer the living Avengers were still over-come with grief and struggling to exist in post-Snap world.

Read more: Kevin Feige reckons one Avenger could have defeated Thanos solo

As a result, Endgame unfolded with much more weight and poignancy than its predecessors, something that critics and audiences alike enjoyed, as it scored94%on Rotten Tomatoes and went on to become the highest grossing movie of all time.

Read the original post:
Why Thanos was decapitated after just 15 minutes of 'Avengers: Endgame' - Yahoo Lifestyle

November 10 2019, 12:01am,The Sunday Times

Adam Boulton

They were falling thick and fast ahead of the close of nominations at the end of last week. More than 70 sitting members of parliament have decided they wont risk coming back for more. Its difficult to keep up. Nicky Morgan, the work and pensions secretary, and her former cabinet colleague Amber Rudd are both standing down as candidates. Boris Johnson lost his third cabinet minister in as many months when the Welsh secretary resigned, caught out over what he knew about a protgs misconduct in a rape trial. Alun Cairns is still hoping to put his name before the voters in the marginal seat of Vale of Glamorgan.

In this deluge of departures the most politically significant is the surprise retirement of the deputy

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Tom Watson fancied himself a fixer, but he has smashed the hopes of fellow moderates - The Times

Instagram Ree Drummond said she lost weight by following a low-carb diet, walking each night, and doing the row machine while watching TV. The New Frontier is out now.

Gone are the days of waiting until the New Year to make some healthy changes! Ree Drummond recently debuted a slimmer figure in October, and the Pioneer Woman star wrote on Instagram that it took her "two full seasons" to achieve her goal.

Drummond shared a boho-inspired elevator selfie wearing black jeans and high, tan boots. "These jeans are a size smaller than Ive worn for (quite) awhile and even though they were skin tight (as you can probably see) and a long top was required, they buttoned," she wrote in the caption.

The Food Network star went on to say that she attributes her ability to fit into her dream jeans to watching her favorite show, as long as she did so while working out on a rowing machine. It seems like the system worked for the celebrity chef! "It just took two full seasons for the buttoning to be successful," she wrote.

Here are the secrets behind Drummond's recent weight loss. (Hint: A low-carb diet is involved!)

The rowing machine isn't the only way Drummond stays active. She began her most recent weight loss journey last summer. In July 2018, the celebrity chef wrote on her Facebook page that she slimmed downnot by endorsing any weight loss pillsbut by staying active.

I am a regular gal who loves food and whose jeans periodically get too tight. Right now, I am losing weight and my jeans are fitting better, but its because I am eating fewer carbs and walking/sweating with my dogs every night," she wrote.

Going for walks on the regular can not only help you burn belly fat and increase your metabolism to lose weight, but it can also improve your mood and decrease your risk of chronic disease. Plus, we'll take any excuse to spend quality time with a fur baby!

Easter nap.

A post shared by Ree Drummond - Pioneer Woman (@thepioneerwoman) on Apr 1, 2018 at 1:04pm PDT

In the past, Drummond has admitted to drinking Slim Fast shakes to lose weight. In 2012, she wrote on her blog that she lost seven pounds by drinking the shakes.

Her recent weight loss is attributed to following a low-carb diet. In July 2018, the Food Network star decided to switch up her lifestyle by hopping on the keto train. Last summer, I kind of dove into the keto world and enjoyed it, Drummond told People in April. It was a good exercise.

"I have been eating low carb for a couple of months, but there's still plenty of calamity and chaos going on under my blousy top, which is why I have an undying loyalty to blousy tops," she wrote in an Instagram caption from July 2018.

This isn't so much a selfie as an outfit selfie, so I hope my teenagers don't look at it as a violation of the one-mom-selfie-per-month rule. And anyway, I gave them life, so they should be okay with it. I'm not trying to pose flirtatiously with my hand delicately resting in my hair. My bangs will not stay out of my face today because of a curling iron mishap, and I was just holding them out of the way. Also, my little toe is splurging out the side of my otherwise-cute shoes, which really hurts my feelings. In other news, I have been eating low carb for a couple of months, but there's still plenty of calamity and chaos going on under my blousy top, which is why I have an undying loyalty to blousy tops. And this is my favorite color of red. It's like a cherry and a watermelon had a baby. Thank you for listening.

A post shared by Ree Drummond - Pioneer Woman (@thepioneerwoman) on Jul 28, 2018 at 2:33pm PDT

The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat plan that aims to induce ketosis, a metabolic process where your body uses fat storage for energy instead of carbs (carbs in the form of glucose are the body's go-to source for energy). The keto diet has been shown to result in weight loss, yet more research is needed to understand its long-term effects.

Drummond told People that she has since settled back into a more sustainable, realistic way of eating," but her keto experience influenced her latest cookbook, The New Frontier.

The Food Network star told the outlet that her new book is not a keto cookbook or a low-carb cookbook, but it's packed with suggestions for how to lighten up an otherwise really carb-heavy dish."

She added that she enjoyed coming up with lower-carb versions of delicious dishes in The New Frontier. More than any cookbook before this one, this really reflects my life in terms of what Im eating, she said. Some days Im like, You know what? Im going to use spaghetti squash instead of pasta, and the next day I eat, like, a big lasagna roll up with creamy shrimp scampi.

You can pick up a copy of The New Frontier now.

Related video: The Pioneer Woman will not be serving this dessert [via Buzz60]

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Ree Drummond Says a Low-Carb Diet Is the Secret to Her Incredible Weight Loss - msnNOW

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Helping my clients to lose weight is only half of my job. Its important to me that I not only support people with their weight loss, but also help them to maintaintheir ideal weight once theyve reached it.

Why? Because weight regain is not uncommon. Its easy to reach your goal weight, feel fantastic and think Ive done it!! but the reality is not so simple. Weight maintenance is the start of a new journey altogether.

So what makes people who lose weight, and keep it off, successful?

Why it's time to start incorporating a SkiErg into your gym sessions

The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) was developed to identify the characteristics of people who have succeeded at long-term weight loss. Established in 1994 by Dr Rena Wing,from Brown Medical School, and Dr James O. Hill,from the University of Colorado, its currently tracking over 10,000 individuals who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off for extended periods of time. Members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years.

The researchers have identified seven traits common to most of these successful losers. Three of the factors were dietary, whereas the remaining four were behavioural, which shows that it isnt simply a case of calories in vs calories out when it comes to maintaining weight loss.

1. All successful dieters consumed a relatively low calorie diet. The amount they ate was limited on average to between 1,300 and 1,680 kilocalories per day and thediet didnt end when the weight was lost, the careful, portion-controlled eating continued.

2. Dieters ate roughly four to five times per day, and had a consistent food intake. Striking the balance between regular, balanced meals, and avoiding constant grazing, is key.

High-intensity exercise best for improving memory, new study suggests

3. Most of the dieters ate breakfastevery day. As well as preventing cravings and overeating eating later in the day, its thought that eating breakfast elevates basal metabolic rate, so you burn more calories throughout the day. Base your breakfast on a source of protein, like eggs, which will provide you with slow releasing energy.

4. Exercise. It will come as no surprise that all the successful dieters were very physically active. The average person in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) exercised for about 60-90 minutes per day.

5. They also weighed themselves frequently to track their progress, stepping onto the scales weekly or even daily. Being aware of your weight is key to making sure it doesnt creep up on you again.

6. 60 per centof the dieters watched less than 10 hours of television per week, while the national average was reported to be 28 hours. It doesnt take a scientist to work out why sitting in front of the television isnt the healthiest lifestyle choice. It can be easy to succumb to the lure of a Netflix binge after a long day, but aim to watch no more than two hours a day maximum.

7. Finally, the successful dieters took action as soon as they noticed small weight gains. They would either adjust their food intake or increase their level of exercise at the first sign of weight gain.

These might not seem like ground-breaking weight loss revelations, but it goes to show that a rounded approach to weight loss achieves the most long-lasting results. A shift in attitude and lifestyle is requiredalongside nutritional adjustments to achieve your goals, and its worth considering the moment you achieve your goal weight as a key marker on the journey, rather than the finishing line.

Kim Pearson is a qualified nutritionist and weight loss specialist based on Londons Harley Street. She consults clients in London and internationally via her virtual consulting room. For more information about Kim and the services she offers, visit her website kim-pearson.com

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A nutritionist shares the secrets to long-term weight loss - Evening Standard

Gone are the days of waiting until the New Year to make some healthy changes! Ree Drummond recently debuted a slimmer figure in October, and the Pioneer Woman star wrote on Instagram that it took her "two full seasons" to achieve her goal.

Drummond shared a boho-inspired elevator selfie wearing black jeans and high, tan boots. "These jeans are a size smaller than Ive worn for (quite) awhile and even though they were skin tight (as you can probably see) and a long top was required, they buttoned," she wrote in the caption.

The Food Network star went on to say that she attributes her ability to fit into her dream jeans to watching her favorite show, as long as she did so while working out on a rowing machine. It seems like the system worked for the celebrity chef! "It just took two full seasons for the buttoning to be successful," she wrote.

Here are the secrets behind Drummond's recent weight loss. (Hint: A low-carb diet is involved!)

The rowing machine isn't the only way Drummond stays active. She began her most recent weight loss journey last summer. In July 2018, the celebrity chef wrote on her Facebook page that she slimmed downnot by endorsing any weight loss pillsbut by staying active.

I am a regular gal who loves food and whose jeans periodically get too tight. Right now, I am losing weight and my jeans are fitting better, but its because I am eating fewer carbs and walking/sweating with my dogs every night," she wrote.

Going for walks on the regular can not only help you burn belly fat and increase your metabolism to lose weight, but it can also improve your mood and decrease your risk of chronic disease. Plus, we'll take any excuse to spend quality time with a fur baby!

In the past, Drummond has admitted to drinking Slim Fast shakes to lose weight. In 2012, she wrote on her blog that she lost seven pounds by drinking the shakes.

Her recent weight loss is attributed to following a low-carb diet. In July 2018, the Food Network star decided to switch up her lifestyle by hopping on the keto train. Last summer, I kind of dove into the keto world and enjoyed it, Drummond told People in April. It was a good exercise.

"I have been eating low carb for a couple of months, but there's still plenty of calamity and chaos going on under my blousy top, which is why I have an undying loyalty to blousy tops," she wrote in an Instagram caption from July 2018.

The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat plan that aims to induce ketosis, a metabolic process where your body uses fat storage for energy instead of carbs (carbs in the form of glucose are the body's go-to source for energy). The keto diet has been shown to result in weight loss, yet more research is needed to understand its long-term effects.

Drummond told People that she has since settled back into a more sustainable, realistic way of eating," but her keto experience influenced her latest cookbook, The New Frontier.

The Food Network star told the outlet that her new book is not a keto cookbook or a low-carb cookbook, but it's packed with suggestions for how to lighten up an otherwise really carb-heavy dish."

She added that she enjoyed coming up with lower-carb versions of delicious dishes in The New Frontier. More than any cookbook before this one, this really reflects my life in terms of what Im eating, she said. Some days Im like, You know what? Im going to use spaghetti squash instead of pasta, and the next day I eat, like, a big lasagna roll up with creamy shrimp scampi.

You can pick up a copy of The New Frontier now.

Like what you just read? Youll love our magazine! Go here to subscribe. Dont miss a thing by downloading Apple News here and following Prevention. Oh, and were on Instagram too.

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Ree Drummond Lost an Impressive Amount of Weight Thanks to a Low-Carb Diet - Prevention.com

While many people have credited the keto diet for setting them on a healthier, happier path, experts say there are unfortunate side effects to such a drastic diet, a key one being hair loss.

By Lauren Meisner

How does this help you lose weight? Science-based nutrition website, Bulletproof, explains: "The keto diet forces your body to burn fat, rather than glucose, for energy.

"When your body can't get glucose from bread and pasta, your liver converts body fat and fat from your diet into molecules called ketones, an alternative source of fuel. This puts you into ketosis, aka prime weight loss mode."

But like most things in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

While the keto diet has certainly changed many lives, setting people on a healthier, happier path, experts are now saying there are many unfortunate side effects to such a drastic diet, a key one being hair loss.

We set out to investigate why this happens and what measures you can take to save your hair if you're thinking about going keto, and while the jury is still out on the health risks associated with the keto diet, many experts agree that hair loss and damage to your hair's integrity is a very real possibility and can happen because of three main reasons: stress, lack of nutrients, and lack of protein.

The keto diet is restrictive in nature and can put a lot of stress on both your mind and body. Dr. Anthony Gustin of Perfect Keto outlines six main reasons you may be experiencing stress on keto, including: nutritional deficiencies, caloric deficit, calorie restriction, psychological stress, keto flu, and keto rash.

"The keto diet may put stress on a person in more ways than you might actually be thinking, Keri Gans, RDN, told Health.com.

"It's a diet of restriction. That takes effort and could be causing stress."

This may be particularly true for those trying to micromanage other aspects of their lives or who might be going through a big life change outside of the keto diet.

Physiologically, followers of the keto diet often experience rapid weight loss, which can lead to hair loss.

Ali Miller, R.D., and keto dieter herself, told Mind Body Green that eating in such a calorie deficit way can put your body into constant fight or flight mode, "That can stress your thyroid, which can impact your adrenals, that can even drive an autoimmune reaction - all of which could contribute to hair loss."

Essentially extreme calorie restriction (in any form) will cause the body to go into conservation mode, spending less energy on hair growth.

Lack of nutrients can play a big factor in hair loss and unfortunately with keto, both calorie restriction and food restrictions can lead to nutrient deficiency.

Alina Petre, MS, RD of Healthline outlines five nutrients that are critical to healthy hair growth: iron, zinc, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, vitamin B3 and biotin.

"Fruits and vegetables are good for us; they're high in antioxidants and full of vitamins and minerals," explains Annette Frain, RD, to Health.com.

"If you eliminate those, you aren't getting those nutrients over time."

Dr. Gustin says the problem with low-carb diets is they flush out essential vitamins and minerals within the first few days, and many people don't realise they need to replenish these while on the diet.

"As you eat fewer carbs, your body produces less insulin, and glycogen stores get depleted. When glycogen stores are depleted, your kidneys excrete water and electrolytes like sodium, zinc, magnesium, potassium and iodine in large amounts."

And if you're not replenishing, your hair will suffer.

Finally, protein deficiency is a big concern for those starting out on keto and can lead to hair loss. This often occurs because those who aren't consuming enough protein are actually iron deficient. Low iron can lead to hypothyroidism which directly impacts hair health and growth.

Miller explains that the classic keto diet was developed for those with epilepsy and neurological disease and is often extremely protein-restricted. "What happens, often with women, is that their appetite is regulated and they don't have organic hunger. So they under-eatand they under-eat protein pretty dramaticallyand the first sign of protein malnourishment is hair loss."

Dr. Gustin elaborates on this, stating that many beginners believe eating too much protein will knock them out of ketosis, which is not true. However, Dr. Joshua Zeichner told Women's Health that while inadequate protein consumption may lead to hair loss (among other issues with skin and nails), in his experience, most people on the keto diet do consume enough protein and that the extreme calorie restriction is likely the bigger culprit for hair loss on keto.

Most experts recommend taking daily supplements, like a multivitamin or biotin, when on the keto diet and having regular doctor visits to ensure your electrolytes and nutrients remain stable during the diet.

Dr. Gustin provides a list of six essential foods and supplements you should consume on the keto diet to prevent hair loss and other adverse side effects including biotin, MSM, bone broth, collagen, zinc, coconut oil.

For most women, Miller suggests consuming 60-90 grams of protein per day, while both Dr. Gustin and Dr. Zeichner stress the importance of eating enough calories and replenishing your electrolytes.

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Will going on the keto diet cause hair loss? - Now To Love

BANGED up 90 Day Fianc star Jorge Nava has lifted the lid on the secret to his 125lb weight loss in jail.

The star of the TLC show is currently serving a two and half year sentence for possession of drugs but has left people shocked by the dramatic change in his appearance.

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Earlier this week a new mug-shot showed that he had shed nearly nine stone since being sent to prison in 2018.

Jorge has lost all the weight after entering the Arizona State Prison Complex in Phoenix last September - and now we know why.

Speaking to E! from behind bars Jorge said: "I am glad that people are noticing some positivity out of such a negative outcome.

"Hopefully people can see that I am able to turn things around even though I am at the lowest point in my life."

He then went on to reveal how he did it.

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According to Jorge, he and a fellow inmate work out together every day - once at 4 a.m. and again in the afternoon.

"We both motivate each other and we push ourselves to the limit pretty much," the reality star explained, adding that he's focused primarily on "military-based" workouts and "a lot of jogging."

As for meals, Jorge eats plenty of oatmeal and peanut butter.

Due to him being incarcerated, he is no longer able to gorge on fast food and fizzy drinks, he said: "I had a really bad diet when I was out in the free world.

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"I wanted to be in the best physical and healthiest shape possible," Jorge also shares. "I feel healthy and energetic. I feel overall more confident with myself."

Jorge went to prison in September 2018 after being found with 132kg of marijuana in his car.

Speaking at the time about his sentence, he told TMZ: When I first started, with the charges against me, I was looking at around 24 years, something like that, some ridiculous number.

But luckily, my lawyer was able to work out a plea agreement and I got the charges dropped and I ended up pleading to a class four felony in Arizona.

I feel like its really harsh of a penalty for the crime being, Nava added. Just because its marijuana-related and right now, its going legal I feel like the whole fact of it, going to prison over the same stuff thats legal is kinda crazy to me.

Jorge rose to fame on season 4 of 90 Day Fiance in 2016 when he marred Russian model Anfisa Arkhipchenko, who he met on Facebook.

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Since being locked up Anfisa has undergone her own body transformation and has started competing in bodybuilding competitions.

She revealed: To fill the void that I felt after Jorge was sentenced and I was left on my own I decided to try to stay busy and do what I enjoy the most and it was working out.

And ONE DAY I want to take it on a higher level and compete in NPC bikini division.

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90 Day Fianc star Jorge Nava reveals the secret to his 125lb weight loss in jail - The Sun