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Stuck at home? Here’s how you can keep your body and mind fit. – Android Authority

Posted: April 9, 2020 at 5:44 pm

The global Coronavirus pandemic has most of us spending a lot of time indoors these days. If youre anything like me, youre probably starting to feel a bit lethargic. Without access to the gym or your favorite running trails, it is easy to get complacent and let go of your workout routine. However, it doesnt have to be that way. Here are some of the best ways you can try to stay fit and healthy right at home.

Coronavirus has struck and that means many aspects of our daily lives have come to a grinding halt. That includes working out at the gym, with facilities around the country closing their doors right

Weve covered the best ways to build out a quick home-gym, and have even talked about apps that help you track your fitness levels, but what about the ever-ubiquitous fitness tracker? With one in five Americans sporting one, theres a good chance you have one strapped on your wrist right now. Between heart rate sensors, step tracking, sleep tracking, Spo2 data, theres more than enough data here to help you keep motivated and stay fit at home. Additionally, did you know that your fitness tracker (well, most fitness trackers) comes with a whole range of guided workouts loaded up out of the box?

One of the first things you enter when setting up your smartwatch is a daily step goal. Serious athletes might scoff at it, but getting 8-10,000 steps in a day is no joke when you are living under home quarantine. Almost every fitness tracker can be set up to alert you if youve been sitting too long. Combined with a realistic step goal, this is a great way to ensure you getsomeactivity spread over the course of the day.

Fitness trackers have come an extremely long way over the years. No longer are they glorified pedometers; most standard fitness trackers nowadays can track your steps taken, distance traveled, how many calories you've burned for

That said, if you are working from home, theres a good chance that you are still spending a lot of time on a desk. This likely wont leave you much time to get all those steps in. Having lived the remote work life for over a decade, I know how hard it can be to maintain some semblance of a routine and activity level when theres little reason to step out of the house. This makes it even more important to take proactive measures to increase movement, activity levels to stay fit while at home.

Enter, guided workouts. I, like many users of fitness trackers, am guilty of jumping straight into my preferred workout mode and setting off. For me, usually, this is a run or the occasional weight training session. Quarantined at home, Ive come to realize that guided workouts can be a very effective means to mix things up or even try out something new, all while getting in a bit of physical activity.

Fitbit might be king of the fitness trackers, but Garmin is untouchable when it comes to fitness watches. Whether you're looking for a running watch, a golf watch, a fitness tracker, or a smartwatch that

Your options will vary depending on your choice of fitness tracker and this function is usually restricted to higher-end trackers equipped with a display. That said, Garmin does a really good job here with the included, on-device workouts on the Garmin Venu and Garmin Vivoactive 4.

My colleague Jimmy reviewed the Garmin Venu last year and found the on-device workouts easy to follow. Be it yoga or pilates or even strength training, these are exercises that can be easily used to stay fit at home. Additionally, having fully animated models ensures that you know exactly what you are doing. A light buzz informs you when it is time to move to the next position which makes sure that things keep moving along at a decent clip.

Over on the Fitbit side of things, you need to look for the Coach app on your Ionic or Versa. Either watch ships with a few basic workouts preloaded on the device to get you started off. The premise is similar to Garmins on-device workouts. Full-motion video helps you get the posture just right and guides you through the motions right on cue. Elsewhere, the included breathing exercise app is a little short on features but works very well if you need to cool down after a workout or to catch a bit of breath in the middle of a busy day.

Charging a premium for advanced health metrics isn't anything new, but it's new to Fitbit. Last year, the San Francisco-based company launched Fitbit Premium, a paid membership service that offers Fitbit diehards detailed insights into

To further sweeten the deal, Fitbit is tossing in 90 days of Fitbit Premium service for free which makes it a no-brainer to try out. The premium service gives you access to more in-depth analytics as well as hundreds of workout videos. While hardcore enthusiasts might find the wider library of workout videos a bit easy, they are perfectly geared towards beginners and intermediate level users looking to get a bit of activity and movement in to stay fit while home.

Im a big fan of the social features of the Fitbit app. The ability to compare daily step count and workouts can be a pretty good motivator if youre the competitive kind.

While were on the topic of social features, Strava definitely deserves a mention. One of the biggest fitness communities out there, it can pull in data from most popular fitness trackers. I prefer to use the Strava app on my Fitbit to sync my workout data across services so that I can keep up with friends who might not be using a Fitbit. Admittedly, Strava works best with outdoor exercises and I would recommend that you follow local guidance and practices in case you are planning to head out for cycling or a run. If youve been longing to get back to your local running group, Strava can go a long way to fill that void.

Whether youre into hiking, biking, photography, or drone piloting getting started and making the right equipment decisions can be a serious investment. But sometimes its hard to know where to get started, especially if

Here in India, stepping out during the lockdown is an absolute no-go and so Ive turned to calisthenics to replace my running schedule alongside weight training. Calisthenics uses a variety of muscles to give you a full-body workout using just your bodyweight. This makes it a nearly perfect workout technique to stay fit while at home.

Now, Im a complete novice to bodyweight exercises so I turned to YouTube in the hope of finding some quality training videos. As it turns out, there is a world of YouTubers giving out quality information on how to get fit with no equipment at all.

My personal favorite is Pamela Reif. Ive been following her ab- and leg-training videos over on YouTube and the results have been fantastic. The channel has something for everyone. From beginner-focussed workouts to more intensive HIIT and upper body exercises, theres enough content here to keep you occupied for days. I thought that I was in pretty good shape, but almost every workout has had me sweating and feeling the burn.

Exercise fads may come and go, but if theres one thing that experts can universally attest to, it is the fact that diet is one of the most important aspects of fitness. As it turns out, sticking to a diet is just as hard in a lockdown than outside one.

Apps are a fantastic way of keeping a tab on what you are taking in. Sitting at home, your body doesnt really need as many calories as it would on a regular day. Using your favorite diet tracking app to keep track of a more sedentary lifestyle is a good idea right now so that it can automatically adjust your daily caloric goals. Weve got a list of fantastic diet tracking and management apps to try out. Personally, I prefer MyFitnessPal for the excellent food database and ease of tracking micro and macronutrients.

Growing up as a stereotypical geeky kid who cared more about computers than sports, I've always struggled with weight issues. For lack of motivation and proper guidance, I found it extremely hard to get into

Listen, I get it. Being stuck indoors is no fun. In fact, if you are prone to getting anxious, this is probably not the best time for you. Meditation and mindfulness can play a big role in easing stress, at least to a degree. Once again, there are apps to help you stay mentally fit while at home.

Headspace is widely considered one of the best mindfulness apps around. It promises to help you better deal with anxiety and to sleep better. In fact, the company is opening up access to a range of services and exercises that should help you find a bit of peace of mind.

Lately, Ive also started dabbling in yoga. Our very own Jimmy Westenberg recommended the Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel and Ive found her exercises and technique to be approachable for a beginner. In fact, the ongoing 30 days of Yoga series is a fantastic way to get started off and acquainted with yoga. Ive been pairing up yoga with calisthenics and better diet management to stay fit and nimble during this extended lockdown.

Sound apps are a surprisingly popular genre of app. Kids and adults both enjoy animal sound apps. Nature sounds and sleep sounds work great for getting deeper, more peaceful sleep for some folks. Thankfully, developers

As a bonus, I would highly recommend trying out apps like Sleepa if youve been having trouble sleep. Ive dealt with insomnia for over a decade and believe me, good sleep is precious. It is understandable to be anxious with all the uncertainty in the world right now, but a good nights sleep can go a long way towards perking you up.

Be it the gentle sound of a babbling brook, or in my case, the constant low drone of an airplane engine, comforting sounds are a good way to help you drift off to sleep. I swear by Sleepa. However, there are dozens of similar apps on the Play Store and they all do roughly the same job. Fitbit Premium also has a variety of ambient soundtracks if youre a subscriber.

What about you? Are you maintaining an exercise schedule to stay fit at home or are you taking the time off to sit back and relax? Wed love to know.

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Stuck at home? Here's how you can keep your body and mind fit. - Android Authority

Anne Hegerty weight loss: How she lost 3 stone in weight revealed – Express.co.uk

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:46 am

Anne Hegerty has opened up about how her weight loss has boosted her confidence and how it was important to her when it came to dating again. The Chase star revealed that dating with her diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome has been a struggle in the past for her. However, her weight loss has helped her build the confidence to enter the dating scene again.

Anne also went on to appear in Im a CelebrityGet Me Out of Here! where campmates eat a basic diet of rice and beans.

Campmates are able to win a more luxurious meal for the camp undertaking bush tucker trials but the amount of food they receive depends on how many stars were retrieved during the trials.

She said that this experience really helped her lose weight where she lost a stone in just three weeks.

Appearing on ITVs This Morning, Anne told Philip Schofield and Rochelle Humes that she believes the lack of salt in her diet on the show helped to kick off her weight.

READ MORE:Catherine Tyldesley weight loss: How the Coronation Street star lost huge amount of weight

The shows challenges involved competing for food, and many contestants on the show lose a huge amount of weight due to the limited amount of food.

A source told The Sun: What the celebs are eating is very healthy.

From veg to meat protein and fish and that is absorbed quickly by the body. The weight loss doesnt do any permanent damage, and most pile it back on within three weeks.

The celebs see it as a detox, although at the same time it is very difficult as they have nothing to distract them from the hunger.

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The star also spoke to Jeremy Vine in 2019 about her weight and said that she is not unhealthy.

She told him: I do not have big bones. I do not have a glandular issue. Im fat because I eat enormously. Thats why. And I love cake, its brilliant.

However, The Governess has managed to keep the weight off she lost on Im A Celeb and has since spoken out about how she has managed to build her confidence and start dating again.

Anne was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome when she was 44 and has found it hard to enter any relationships.

She said: It took years of psychotherapy before I even considered dating.

I lost weight, replaced my glasses with contact lenses and felt a lot more confident. But I find it really hard to hold down a relationship.

Another TV star who has impressed many with his weight loss is The Beast, also from The Chase.

Mark Labbett managed to lose three stone on his weight loss journey and he initially weighed 27 stone.

The star previously appeared on weight loss programme Sugar Free Farm and turned down an Im A CelebrityGet Me Out of Here! opportunity. He turned down the show in 2016 due to the lack of food campmates famously get to eat.

Kate Garraway, Good Morning Britain presenter entered Im A Celeb last year and she shed one stone in three weeks during her time on the show.

After Kate left the jungle she told The Mirror: They weigh you before you go in and they weigh you when you come out and Ive lost a stoneI was really eating in there as well, so rice and beans is kind of the way to go.

Prior to the show, Kate had lost two stone, which brought her total weight loss to three stone.

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Anne Hegerty weight loss: How she lost 3 stone in weight revealed - Express.co.uk

Meditation and Pandemic Recovery – Thrive Global

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:46 am

Ive heard plenty of comments rushing toward silver linings these days, and as a mindfulness and meditation practitioner, Im prone to curiosity about my experience. Thankfully, we are forced to slow down, is a common refrain. At least our carbon footprint is radically reduced, is another common mantra. We are encouraged to Have fun, clean out your closets, and try a puzzle with the extra time we would have spent commuting. More hopefully, others have even noted that COVID-19 has raised awareness about the gross inequities faced by historically marginalized communities and has mobilized leaders to act with a new sense of urgency. I certainly hope this is true, but Im curious if theres a shadow side to this rush to silver line our struggle.

The problem with silver linings is not that were seeking them, but that we may be finding them too early. I hope whatever upside we are sensing in both our personal lives and on the global scale are real and enduring. Yet, in these early days of the pandemic, I confess that most of these silver words feel as heavy as lead. I cant help but fear that these wishful words are only uttered in the desperate hope that they might be true.

The luxury to glean a silver lining amid this crisis is a privilege that many marginalized and struggling communities often do not have. The gift of perspective is robbed from folks when they are in the trenches fighting for their lives. This is understandablebasic survival trumps the silver lining every time. Still, most of us Americans are a pragmatic bunchwe want there to be some utility for all this discomfort, economic loss, and social distancing. We want to quickly draw up the life lessons garnered in the Great Pandemic of 2020 so we can feel okay about binge watching the next series.

Lasting happy endings cannot be manufactured. Only when we give ourselves permission to sit with our own heartbreak, will we be able to embrace, with integrity and true depth, the important lessons our world needs to learn.We simply cannot rush the silver lining. Finding the lesson amid the hardship too soon can be a clever form of spiritual bypass, a convenient way to avoid the important inner work that this crisis requires. While the move to avoid sadness is understandable, it only deepens the struggle. A common teaching in the world of meditation comes in the form of a simple math equation. Suffering = Pain X Resistance. Running away from the pain simply multiplies the pain. What we resist, persists, the saying goes.

Only in grieving fully for whats been lost can we welcome fully whats been gained. Grieving is empowering, and feeling is the gateway to healing. By feeling the full weight of sadness, anger, resentment, and heartache, we will be able to fully unlock the deep lessons and transformative wisdom that this moment holds for us.

Its not that positivity is bad or finding lessons in hardship is inappropriate; its just not the entire story. When we too quickly jump over pain to positivity, we risk living by platitudes rather than by our actual experience. Can we give ourselves permission to admit that we might not yet be ready to learn a lesson from this hardship? Sometimes we just need to be sad and grieve what weve lost in order to create the receptivity to embrace the wisdom that this challenge has come to teach us.

Grieving makes space for wisdom. The more permission you grant yourself to grieve, the more deeply you can welcome the silver lining. Otherwise, without sufficient grieving, the upside lesson is cheapa shallow intellectual platitude that we parrot back to ourselves as a form of self-encouragement. This is cold comfort. The wisdom that our world needs is deep, radical, and not easily reduced to social media posts.

So, lets join together and honor the ancient human need to feel the weight of loss and grieve the job, the birthday celebration, the vacation, the raise, the freedom, the embrace, the wedding, or the graduation that has been lost. In doing so, we may discover that grief itself is a kind of superpower building within us at least three essential capacities necessary to journey through the Pandemic of 2020:

My meditation practice has taught me that while the good vibes only mantra is tempting, it can also become a trapa kind of self-rejecting pop-psychology that can leave us in conflict with ourselves. We cannot hate or resist our emotions and expect to feel at peace. As a meditation practitioner, Ive come to understand that a full and healthy life is filled with the entire spectrum of emotion.

To be fully alive is to not only experience what the mind categorizes as positive, but to live grounded and present for both pleasant and unpleasant emotions. Alienating any part of our experience will feel confining and imprisoning to the heart, which is always much larger than any duality the mind invents. Pretending to be happy is one of the greatest obstacles to being happy. Mindfulness and meditation offer a universal permission slip to feel.

So, when you feel happy, feel happy. When you feel sad, feel sad. When you are angry, feel angry. The courage to be honest will lead to the wholeheartedness that we all seek. Meditation practice increases the window of tolerance for grief and all challenging emotions.

Of course, none of us relishes unpleasant feelings. Whether it arrives as a pounding in the chest, a pit in the stomach, or the dull ache of dread, fear is an emotion many of us spend a lot of energy avoiding. Yet, running from fear only amplifies fears intensity. Grieving offers us a powerful way to make space for fear in our lives so we can stop running. In fact, this is why most of us began practicing meditationbecause we were tired of running away from our experience. When we stop running away, we discover that there is a deep reservoir of strength within us. When we can learn to lean into fear, we can harness its energy for growth, learning, and compassion.

Meditation has taught me that my life isnt my own; its given to all of us to share. Your capacity to make space for your own challenging emotions grows your capacity to make space for others uncomfortable emotions. Compassion is being with the unique suffering of others along with the willingness to alleviate it. So, your courageous decision to allow yourself to grieve, over time, becomes an act of love and compassion for others.

This is the paradox in grievingwe not only grieve for ourselves, we grieve for a world in pain. We offer our grieving in loving service to all beings. We stand with all people who are suffering in any way and with the courageous voices that have been suppressed over time.

Our bold and compassionate action is needed today. Our courage is needed to look clearly at our own suffering and the suffering of others and speak honestly, live humbly, and continue serving others, even in isolation. This path is not always comfortable, and we will need to learn to speak even when our voice shakes in fear. This way of life will certainly require sacrifice, but it will also bring love, connection, and joy beyond measure. Remember, we are in this together. We practice meditation to remember this tender web of interconnection.

Life is not binary, and we do not need to choose between grieving OR silver linings. We can grieve and we can find the silver lining. Living the paradox of AND is at the heart of wisdom. We can often get trapped in EITHER/OR thinking, yet the mystery of life cannot be so easily categorized into dualities. Meditation expands your capacity to contain many emotions simultaneously so that the following statements are possible.

I can feel joy and disappointment.

I can enjoy the silver linings of COVID-19 and still feel grave concern.

I can enjoy extra time with loved ones and feel like I need space from them.

I can feel peaceful and like the world as I know it is coming to an end.

I can practice self-care in meditation and dedicate myself to serving others.

If you look closely at your experience, can you see that there is more there than one single side of a duality? To be alive is to experience many things all at once. When we categorize life into one side of duality, we will make enemies of others, because we have made an enemy of part of our own experience. Life then becomes the relentless craving of one kind of experience while we frantically run from its opposite. We will be at war with life, caught up in an endless cycle of craving and aversion. We will suffer until we recognize this pattern.

All we need to begin healing is mindful awareness. By growing our awareness, we come to realize that all of our experience belongs. We are larger than EITHER/OR dualism. AND is a sacred word. Can you live the AND by embracing the fullness of your experience? In the end, the word AND will bring the true healing and liberation that we all crave.

Meditation is not magic, but it is a gateway to your fullest life. Whether youre grieving or joyful, meditation and mindfulness are like breadcrumbs leading you back home. During a time when weve been ordered to stay home, I cant think of a more nourishing practice.

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Meditation and Pandemic Recovery - Thrive Global

The top 15 regional wrestlers of the Class of 2023 – lehighvalleylive.com

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:46 am

With the 2019-20 wrestling season in the books, and with most other activity at a standstill, lets take a way-too-early look at the 2020-21 wrestling season.

Today, we rank the top 15 wrestlers from the Class of 2023 -- in other words, next years sophomores.

These rankings, like any cross-weight-class rankings, are more for fun and discussion than our weekly rankings of each weight class would be. So enjoy.

Last seasons record and weight are used.

Bethlehem Catholic's Tyler Kasak (top) and Mifflin County's Nick Allison wrestle during their 106-pound bout during the PIAA 3A individual tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2020.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

1. Tyler Kasak (106 pounds, 18-2) Bethlehem Catholic

He finished fifth at PIAA 3A, defeating Northamptons Carson Wagner by fall for fifth, to cap what had been a very impressive mid-season debut after recovering from an injury. He won District 11 and Northeast Regional titles and was undefeated entering states, having beaten several of the states top-ranked wrestlers. Kasak was involved in one of the top fan highlights in Hershey, a 14-10 back-and-forth donnybrook of semifinal loss to eventual champion Vincent Kilkeary of Greater Latrobe. The Golden Hawk, who combined speed, power and a non-stop motor, will be a major player at states for the next three seasons.

Nazareth's Charlie Bunting (right) and Dallastown's Caden Dobbins wrestle during their 106-pound bout, in the PIAA Class 3A team wrestling championship semifinals on Feb. 7, 2020.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

2. Charlie Bunting (106 pounds, 38-7) Nazareth

Had Bunting not been injured at the District 11 meet, he very likely would have been a state medalist. The Blue Eagle defeated Becahis Cael McIntyre and Northamptons Carson Wagner twice each during the season. He lost 11-5 to Kasak at districts, but hes pretty clearly the class of everybody else, even of the wrestlers who made the state tournaments further up the weight ladder. Hes a good bet to be a three-time PIAA placewinner.

Bethlehem Catholics Cael McIntyre (right) and Freedoms C.J. Horvath wrestles during their 106-pound bout during the District 11 team wrestling quarterfinals on Jan 30, 2020, at Liberty High School. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

3. Cael McIntyre (106 pounds, 25-8) Bethlehem Catholic

McIntyre is a hard wrestler to know where to put in these rankings. He was outstanding all season as the Golden Hawks 106-pounder until Kasaks return -- his only losses in Pennsylvania were to Bunting and Father Judges Sean Logue (7th in PIAA 3A). If Becahi could have had two entries at 106 in the postseason, McIntyre would have been a strong contender for PIAA honors. Jeff Karam will be hoping his lineup will spread itself out better for 2020-21.

Nazareth's Sonny Sasso (top) and Seneca Valley's Conor Hayes wrestle during their 195-pound bout in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A team wrestling championship quarterfinals on Feb. 7, 2020. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

4. Sonny Sasso (195 pounds, 13-5) Nazareth

Wed have loved to have seen what Sasso would have done at 182, his natural weight. He had to wrestle up a class to get into the lineup, where he finished second in District 11 and fifth in the Northeast Regional. And wed have loved to have seen what he could have done with a full season, instead of missing much of the year with an injury. Expect Sasso to explode on the scene next season.

Northampton's Carson Wagner (right).Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

5. Carson Wagner (106 pounds, 37-13) Northampton

The only other Class of 2023 state medalist other than Kasak was Wagner, who was sixth at 106 in PIAA 3A. 106 was a jungle of a weight class at D-11 and the Northeast Regional, and Wagners third place finish in both showed his season-long progress and his ability to come up big in the clutch. Konkrete Kid fans have much to be excited about with Wagner to watch for three more seasons.

Nazareth's Dominic Wheatley and Northampton's Dagen Condomitti (right) wrestle during their 132-pound bout on Jan 15, 2020. Condomitti went onto win the bout. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

6. Dagen Condomitti (126 pounds, 34-10) Northampton

And heres another reason for Northampton fans to want 2020-21 to come quickly. Condomitti was a Northeast Regional champion and District 11 runner-up as a freshman. He lost to Pottsvilles Wiley Kahler in the D-11 final but reversed that result in the regional final, always a good sign. Dagen went just 1-2 at states, but hell be a good bet to considerably improve on that finish as a sophomore.

Saucon Valley's Jake Jones (left) and Curwensville's Zach Holland wrestle during their 138-pound bout during the PIAA 2A individual tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2020.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

7. Jake Jones (138 pounds, 42-8) Saucon Valley

The region was blessed with two outstanding 138-pound freshmen this season. Jones and Notre Dames Holden Garcia (see next entry) had a terrific rivalry, with Jones winning 2 of the 3 meetings though Garcia did win the District 11 2A final; Jones bounced back to win the Southeast Regional title. Jones lost in the blood round at states. When at his bg-move best, Jones is as exciting a wrestler as the area has. As he matures and gains more offense on his feet, he could well follow his older brother, Josh, as being a state champion.

Notre Dame's Holden Garcia (left) and Trinity's Patrick Demark wrestle during their 138-pound bout during the PIAA 2A individual tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2020.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

8. Holden Garcia (138 pounds, 43-14) Notre Dame

As noted above, theres not much separating Garcia and Jones. The Crusader was District 11 champion, fifth at the Southeast Region and, like Jones, fell in the 2A blood round. Garcia, as technically secure and mentally calm a ninth grader as youll ever see, posted some very impressive wins during the season, including defeats of PIAA medalists Blake Showers of Biglerville and Bryce Brennan of Red Land. The sky is really the limit here.

Nazareth's Jake Doone (right).Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

9. Jake Doone (113 pounds, 25-7) Nazareth

Like McIntyre, Doones problem was not being able to get in his own lineup. He didnt wrestle in the individual postseason but played a key role in the Blue Eagles run to the 3A team title as he was undefeated at state duals. Doone had a rough patch in December but lost just twice after -- to a pair of state medalists (Kasak and Easton sophomore Braxton Appello). Wed not bet against Doone being a three-time state medalist.

Freedoms CJ Horvath.Tim Wynkoop | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

10. CJ Horvath (106 pounds, 34-7) Freedom

Another of the outstanding wrestlers caught in the maelstrom that was 106 at the District 11 and Northeast Regional. Horvath was second at District 11 but then finished fifth at the regional and did not make states. He won the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic and won two of three meetings with Wagner (who pinned him in the regionals, though). Horvath has everything it takes to become Freedoms first PIAA medalist since 2016.

Bethlehem Catholic's Andrew Harmon adjusts his headgear as he faces Norwin's Kurtis Phipps during their 126-pound bout during day one of the PIAA 3A individual wrestling championships on March 5, 2020.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

11. Andrew Harmon (126 pounds, 22-17) Bethlehem Catholic

Heres another top-level wrestler who had to fight his way into a very crowded lightweight lineup, but once he found his spot he did just fine, finishing fourth in District 11 and the Northeast Regional and falling in the blood round at 3A states. Hes really a 120-pounder, so well be excited to see Harmon compete at a more natural weight next season -- and does he ever compete! Harmon has a high-octane motor few can match.

Notre Dame's Bryson Vaughn gets up after defeating Westmont Hilltop's Tanner Kushner during their 120-pound bout, in the second round consolations of the PIAA Class 2A team wrestling championships on Feb. 7, 2020.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

12. Bryson Vaughn (113 pounds, 13-3) Notre Dame

Vaughn was caught in the lineup squeeze that is the Crusader lightweights -- from 106 to 126 two state champions and two state medalists. When Vaughn got a chance, he was extremely effective (he lost in OT to Reynolds state medalist Cole Bayless, for example) and no one gets better practice partners, to be sure. We expect him to make a real name for himself as a sophomore.

Alex Uryniak of North Hunterdon (right).Scott Faytok | For NJ Advance Media

13. Alex Uryniak (195 pounds, 28-7) North Hunterdon

195 isnt an easy weight for a freshman to compete at, and Uryniak had his ups and downs. He was third at District 20, but only sixth at Region 5 and did not make states. He was a John Goles Tournament champion, and seventh at Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex. But at his best -- and he often was in duals - he delivered clutch wins over solid foes. Uryniak has all the physical tools to be an elite wrestler and as he matures into his weight, look out.

Logan Wadle (left) of North Hunterdon.Scott Faytok | For NJ Advance Media

14. Logan Wadle (106 pounds, 29-6) North Hunterdon

Wadle won the H/W/S championship and District 20 and came up big in the Group 4 final against Kingsway as well. Unusually quick, yet still quite strong, he certainly looked as if he might make a postseason run but was eliminated at Region 5. That result should provide Wadle all the motivation he needs for a standout sophomore season.

Saucon Valley's Tyler Pfizenmayer (left).Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

15. Tyler Pfizenmayer (152 pounds, 31-15) Saucon Valley

The Panthers boasted a very strong ninth grade group and Pfizenmayer was a big part of it. He was second at District 11; he didnt place at regionals but due to an injury made 2A states, where he went 1-2. Almost half his wins (15) were by fall, and he has the physical strength to become a real power on top.

Next five: Evan Camire (126 pounds, 14-7) Emmaus; Ashton Campbell (120 pounds, 30-16) Palisades; Aiden Compton (220 pounds, 28-11) Pen Argyl; Oliver Fairchild (120 pounds, 14-12) Easton; Jarrett Pantuso (182 pounds, 9-3) Warren Hills.

Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

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The top 15 regional wrestlers of the Class of 2023 - lehighvalleylive.com

Weight loss tips: How can you lose weight without going on a diet? Simple trick revealed – Express

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:44 am

Losing weight is not only essential for your health if you're obese or overweight, but it's also a great way to boost your confidence and make you feel better about yourself. Finding the motivation to reach your goal weight is tricky, and 95 percent of diets fail. You need to make healthy eating a lifestyle change in order to keep the weight off. So how is this done?Express.co.ukhas searched through expert advice and compiled a list of top tips that will enable you to lose weight without sacrificing too much.

It can be tempting to skip breakfast in order to reduce calorie intake, but this is almost never effective.Have you ever missed breakfast? A few hours later you are extremely hungry and need a snack to function.You will then make poorer lunch choices and are more likely to fill up on unhealthy junk.Even if you don't feel hungry, have a whole-grain cereal, or fruit and low-fat yoghurt.

READ MORE- Lose weight fast: Best way to kickstart your metabolism

If you love a midnight feast, that's the first thing you need to cut out of your lifestyle.You need to establish a time when you will stop eating for the day in order to avoid late-night snacking.After you've had your dinner, you are free to have something sweet as long as it is before this time.Make sure you brush your teeth after, so you won't be tempted to consume anything else.

Those who chew quickly are 115 percent more likely to be obese than slow eaters.Chewing more slowly will ensure you eat less.

Most experts suggest chewing a piece of food 32 times before you swallow it.

However, it takes less chews to break down softer food that is more water-based. After eating, your gut suppresses the ghrelin hormone which controls hunger.Your body will also releases fullness hormones, which tell your brain you have eaten.This, in turn, makes you feel full and helps you to stop eating.This process takes about 20 minutes, so if you eat slowly you give your brain a chance to catch up.

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If you cut portion size by 10 to 20 percent you will lose weight without realising you're missing anything.Stop when you're full, put less on your plate to start and go back for more if you are still hungry.Before you go back for another portion, think about why you are doing this.Are you bored, anxious, lonely, upset, stressed?Only eat more than the portion you have set out for yourself if you genuinely need it.

Lean or low-fat protein is a great way to keep you feeling full.Protein increases the levels of satiety (appetite reducing hormones), leaving you feeling satisfied after a meal, as well as slowing the rise in blood sugar.If you eat protein in every meal, you will feel full and less likely to binge on sugary treats.After you eat, some calories are used in the digesting and metabolising of food, and this is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF).Protein has a much higher TEF sitting at about 20 to 30 percent, compared to carbs (five to 10 percent) or fat (zero to three percent).If you eat protein in most meals, more calories will be burned while you're digesting it.

An easy way to lose weight is practising mindful eating.If you aren't paying attention to what you eat, it will take longer for you to feel full.Paying attention to what you eat will help you to eat less, more slowly, and make better food choices.This means no eating in front of the TV or while on the phone.

Calories can be hidden in drinks without you realising it.Don't waste calories on what you drink, as they don't reduce hunger like food does.Satisfy your thirst with healthy drinks like cold water, sparkling water, low-fat milk, or a little bit of 100 percent fruit juice.Cut sugary drinks and alcohol out of your life as much as you can.

Originally posted here:
Weight loss tips: How can you lose weight without going on a diet? Simple trick revealed - Express

How to lose weight at home and avoid weight gain: 7 tips and essential equipment for home weight loss – T3

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:44 am

Weight loss at home or perhaps more accurately, avoiding weight gain at home is suddenly a big deal for a lot of us. A few weeks into self isolation and/or social distancing and you start noticing something peculiar: although you are not eating more, your favourite jogging pants feel a bit tighter than they used to. That's because you do less physical activity than before; but even that is the case, with our handy tips, you'll see that it is not all that difficult to avoid weight gain in isolation.

Managing your weight is beneficial for both your physical and mental wellbeing. With a few simple tricks and lifestyle adjustments, you can make sure the pounds stay off and who knows, you might even shed a few kilos in the process. The fact is, the best way to lose weight fast is to pay close attention to your diet. Not surprisingly, the best way to get a six pack is to eat right (and, to some degree, to work out).

The tips below can be used on their own or you can even combine them as you see fit. Very important, however, is not to overdo it and do vigorous exercising while not eating much at all. That is just plain dangerous and can get you injured in no time. Be sensible and if you had any issues with obesity before or are really unfit, consider talking to a health professional before you implement any drastic changes in your lifestyle.

(Image credit: The Protein Works)

It's really not rocket science: if you don't want to out on weight, you have to stop eating more than your body needs. Even if before the mandatory isolation you have been living a relative sedentary lifestyle, being indoors for 99% of time means you are burning less calories than you used to. And this means you should eat less to adjust to this new lifestyle.

Of course, you can offset the lack of outdoor exercising with indoor exercising but there are other ways to keep the waist slim that doesn't involve gruelling physical activity. And the best of them all is to be more mindful about how and what you eat.

Without trying to convert anybody to mindfulness and being present, try stopping for a second anytime before you raid your cupboard for some food. Ask yourself the question: am I hungry or just bored? Was there anything I was supposed to do before I decided to eat? Something I had to deal with? Unhealthy eating habits often stem from procrastination and us not wanting to deal with the task at hand.

If you are a big fan of fried food, one obvious way to reduce calorie and fat intake is to get one a best air fryer. Air fried food isn't necessarily as delicious as deep- or even shallow-fried, but it does retain a fried/roasted taste and mouth-feel whilst using as little as a tenth of the fat of frying or roasting. We know they're in demand right now, cos they keep selling out.

Tefal Actifry Genius 2in1 Air Fryer | Sale price 270 | Was 300| Save 30 at AmazonThis air fryer is also a slow cooker and casserole/curry maker, with a robotic stirring paddle doing all the actual work for you while you work out. With a 1.2 kg capacity, it's very family friendly, and that dome on top is actually see-through, so you can view your dinner as it cooks.View Deal

Tefal Optigrill | Sale price 120 | Was 170 | Save 50 at VeryJust like a George Foreman grill, but without the George Foreman element, this has presets for cooking burgers, chicken, bacon, sausage, 'red meat' and fish, with a further setting for cooking food from frozen. There's 600 square centimetres of non-stick, die-cast aluminium cooking surface, and a large juice tray to catch all that fat you are now not consuming. Serves 2-4.View Deal

Another way to to eat less is to face how much we eat in general. Considering the amount of processed food we eat, it's easy to count the amount of caloriesand macronutrients (lipids[fat]/carbs/protein) we consume by using apps that scan barcodes of food items and does the adding up for us.

The best known of these apps is MyFitnessPal, but there are many other apps that can do the same thing. Garmin watches can integrate with it o you can see calories consumed vs calories burned on your wrist. Fitbit does a similar thing with its Fitbit Premium service. You can currently grab a free, three-month trial of Fitbit Premium, which should hopefully belong enough

By realising just how many calories are in certain food items we eat, we can make more educated decisions about snacking in the future. Can you eat a box of Jaffa cakes in one sitting? That's 450 'bad' calories consumed and to burn it off, you would have to do an hour of HIIT workouts. Which you probably won't.

Fitbit Versa 2 | Sale price 159.99 | Was 199.99 | Save 40 at AmazonThe Fitbit Versa 2 is always getting price cuts and is currently 40 off at Amazon UK. See below for the best prices in your country. The stylish Versa 2 features advanced cardio tracking as well as step and sleep tracking, and has Alexa built in. It's not got GPS but, of course, you don't need that indoors anywayView Deal

Fitbit Charge 3 | was 149.99 | now 89.99 at AmazonThe new Fitbit Charge 4 with GPS will be on sale shortly but as we noted, if you are concerned with activity and avoiding weight gain at home, that is less useful. So why not try to snap up one of the remaining stocks of the Charge 3 at a knockdown price instead? If you're outside the UK, see below for the best prices for Fitbits near you!View Deal

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Even if you don't want to swap out Mars bars for kale and broccoli, you can drastically reduce calorie consumption by only eating in a certain time-window a day. Probably the most popular way is to do intermittent fasting. There are two ways to go about it: either the 5:2 diet or the 16:8 fast diet.

With the 5:2 diet, you restrict calorie intake for two days a week, down to 700-800 calories, while for the rest of the weeks you eat normally. The 16:8 diet is a daily fast, where you eat only in an 8-hour window. With the latter, the most convenient way is to fast while you sleep: have your last meal at around 8 pm, and have the next one at 12 pm the next day. This way, you sleep through most of the fats, making it super easy to do so. Well, somewhat easier anyway.

Wild West Original Jerky, 12 x 35g bags | 21 at AmazonFor a calorie-dense but nutritious snack, nothing beats jerky or biltong cured meat snacks high in protein. This Wild West Original comes in handy 35g bags, to keep yourself fuller for longer. It's packed full of protein to help build muscle after a workout (13.2g per pack, to be precise), and is gluten free.View Deal

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(Image credit: Sundried)

Drinking more water is beneficial for a lot of reasons and now that we are all grounded in our homes, people can't really use the usual excuse not to drink more, which is "I'll need to go to the toilet more often", since the loo is really always available at home (we hope so anyway).

Drinking plenty of water can help metabolism and, most importantly, it can also help you feel fuller for longer. The best combination is eating more fibrous food more vegetables, mainly and drinking plenty of water. Cold-pressed bars are okay as a snack too with lots of water, although they are by nature quite high in sugar.

Low-sugar protein bars and savoury snacks like beef or vegan jerky are a great alternative to chocolate bars as a mid-afternoon snack. Nuts are okay although they are very energy dense (high in good fats) so you should only eat a small portion at the time.

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(Image credit: Fitbit)

Although we are stuck indoors, having a fitness tracker or running watch around your wrist can still be beneficial. One of the more casual feature of these fitness wearables is the 'movement reminder' that prompts you, once every hour, to get up and walk for a bit. Now, being in isolation doesn't help but getting off from the sofa periodically can be beneficial for your overall wellbeing nevertheless, even if it is just to have a stretch or to put away some washing.

Fitness trackers and running watches also measure calories burned so you it can adjust your calorie consumption to your calorie expenditure. These devices are not ultra precise but they will give you a good estimate nevertheless.

Garmin Forerunner 645 Music 249 | Was 349 at Wiggle | Save 100|Not the best Forerunner watch perhaps, but the 645 Music is an excellent deal at this price. Offering advanced calorie tracking as well as expert analysis of your steps, cardio, running, cycling and sleep, this Garmin watch has long battery life and looks great. It also doubles as a smartwatch, with alerts for messages, calendar appointments etc.View Deal

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(Image credit: Sixpad)

SIXPAD Abs Fit 2 | Buy it for 222 at AmazonAs used by Cristiano Ronaldo, no less, this is certainly not going to help you avoid weight gain on its own, but it could help add the finishing touches to your six-pack, if your home weight-loss drive is really successful. Amazon also sells all manner of abs belts by brands we have never heard of, for about 20. Needless to say we dont recommend these.View Deal

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Just like fitness trackers, bathroom scales the smart scale variety can also measure energy expenditure and tell you how many calories you burn, as well as other deets about your body, like bone/muscle mass and, most importantly, body fat percentage. They don't even cost the earth either: the Tanita BC-401 body composition monitor is less than 80 and measures 10 different body metrics. Cheaper than getting a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro, for sure, although the Tanita BC-401 won't be that much of a help when it comes to navigating forest trails, unlike the Garmin's offline topographic maps.

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(Image credit: Fitbit)

HIIT workouts have never really gone out of fashion but they are definitely 'in' at the moment, mainly because they are an effective way to burn calories and can be done indoors, using your bodyweight only, a kettlebell, dumbbells, treadmills, exercise bikes, rowing machines and basically everything you can think off. We have seen a gym water bottle tabata workout before, too.

Should you be considering doing HIIT workouts, we have an article about why should you try HIIT and also an ever expanding list of free apps and online workouts that can help you get started. Or you can follow along Joe Wicks' daily HIIT workouts for kids on Youtube as well.

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How to lose weight at home and avoid weight gain: 7 tips and essential equipment for home weight loss - T3

Can harnessing the psychological power of video games make you healthier? – Pacific Northwest Inlander

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:44 am

click to enlarge

Ali Blackwood Illustration

Growing up, Luke Parker played sports. To be clear, not so much actual live sweat-and-sneaker sports though he did occasionally shoot hoops in the backyard. We're talking about video game sports. Nintendo Ice Hockey and Nintendo Little League Baseball: Championship Series.

"I'm sort of an indoor kid," Parker says. "I'm more of a band, and music and theater type of guy."

Sure, he knows that exercising is important, but it's not like he particularly enjoyed it.

"I was never a regular exercise person," Parker says. "I never feel like I can get the catharsis out of it that I think a lot of people do. The 'Yeah, I feel really good now that I've exercised [feeling].'"

And so Parker, like most every 26-year-old, is faced with a daily dilemma: Does he exercise, which is difficult? Or does he play video games?

But today, Parker chooses C all of the above, all at the same time.

He already has his Nintendo Switch turned on in the living room of his small Spokane apartment. He just has to strap one of his Switch controllers onto his leg, and stick the other in a big circular peripheral called the "Ring-Con."

Initially, Ring Fit Adventure looks like a generic knock-off of a game like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Your character runs around a brightly colored world, battling fantasy monsters. But here's the difference: The only way Parker can make his character run in the game is to run in real life. He runs in place in his apartment, and the motion sensors in the Switch controller on his leg detect the running motion, and his character runs too his hair lighting up to show just how much on fire his exercising is.

When he wants to shoot fireballs all he has to do is to squeeze the Ring-Con, a hybrid video game controller and resistance-training device. And when he faces off against the boss Dragaux, a dragon with the physique and style of a steroid pumping gym rat, Parker selects a move, and then twists his body back and forth and voila, a ghostly manifestation of a glowing six-pack abbed torso pops up to slap Dragaux, gradually whittling down the monster's health bar.

"It does give you a pretty good workout," Parker says. "I knew that having it around would encourage me to be more active."

By now, video games have mastered the art of behavioral psychology, the secret of getting you to play longer, play more and have more fun by doing it. And so, in our sedentary screen-addicted nation, game and app developers have been asking: What if we put a little bit of exercise in our video games, and a little bit of video game in our exercise?

Nintendo

Exercise at home - and have fun doing it - with Nintendo Switchs Ring Fit Aventure.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Exercise video games didn't start with Ring Fit Adventure, of course. In 2008, Wii Fit allowed players to use a balance board controller to exercise on the Wii console. Millennials will remember the days of Dance Dance Revolution, where introverted middle and high schoolers flocked to arcades and worked up a sweat, players' feets scurrying to keep up with a stream of musical prompts.

The "exergame" traditions go back even further, says Ben Sawyer, a consultant to exercise-based video game and app developers, who spent around a decade immersed in this topic with the Games for Health Project.

In 1984, Atari even nearly released a game system called the "Puffer," that allowed you to play as a character on an exercise bike but was thwarted by the video game crash. As educational games like Reader Rabbit and SimCity showed that games could be used to teach people as well as entertain them, Sawyer says, researchers started to experiment with using games as therapy measuring how they could impact, not just a person's brain, but their galvanic skin response and other biomarkers. Games could treat things like ADHD or fear of spiders, researchers realized, and maybe encourage us to work out more.

"If you heard tomorrow that a pharma company was making an investment in a game company, I think 20 years ago people would say, 'What are you talking about?'" Sawyer says. But today, he says, that makes a logical kind of sense.

As some exercise games became mainstream hits, Sawyer says, researchers found that the games didn't just get kids exercising in video games it whetted their appetites for more traditional forms of fitness.

"The kids that got hooked on playing Dance Dance Revolution for gym class, they were starting to participate in other forms of exercising," Sawyer says. "They were riding their bikes more."

Not only that, but he says that researchers learned that games could push people further and have them work harder.

"When we put people into an exercise game, for the most part, we know they'll exercise longer," Sawyer says. "We ask them, 'How much did they exert themselves,' and they go, 'Seven.''' Well, actually it was a nine."

But for now, Sawyer says, video games still have too many barriers standing between exercise and play: If you want to play Ring Fit Adventure, you have to not only put on your workout clothes but also strap on the controller onto your leg and sometimes wait for your Switch to update.

And just as you get bored of a game or just like you find that you've abandoned your New Year's resolution exercise routine by mid-March it's easy to abandon even a fun exercise game after a while.

"It's a month later, and the Wii Fit board is sitting under the couch," Sawyer says.

Already, some reviewers of Ring Fit Adventure have found that, after a few weeks, the game no longer had enough allure to keep them doing crunches and jogging in place.

"I'd not reckoned with how a gaming adventure driven by exercise would be prone to the accidental abandonment that can befall any workout routine," writes Stephen Totilo, a gaming critic at Kotaku.

The Gamification of Everything

Spokane resident Mark Meredith already knows how to exercise. He's in the Naval reserves. He's a mailman, so his job consists of walking 11 miles a day. But losing weight was a little trickier.

While stationed with the Navy in Bahrain, he says, he'd ballooned up on a bit too much Persian Gulf fast food. At his heaviest, he was at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds. But today, he says, he's at 185. He recently uploaded a before/after picture to social media to a chorus of compliments.

"On Facebook everybody was like, you look amazing. What are you doing for your skin-care routine?" Meredith says. "It's just weight loss. I feel a lot better."

The secret, it turned out, was an app on his phone called Lose It!

"It tells you how many calories you can have per day," Meredith says. "When you exercise, you can punch in what your exercise had been."

At its core, it was little more than calorie tracking and recording what he ate, a basic premise of dieting.

It wasn't really a video game. But it just added just enough video game-style elements, like badges and progress bars, to apply some simple motivational hacks to his brain and get him to stick with it. Perhaps most powerfully, Meredith says, it tracks your "streaks" rewarding you each time you log into the app in a row. At his best, Meredith managed to get his streak up to 200 days.

"It's that addictive element you get when you're playing a game," he says. Your natural loss aversion means you don't want to lose your streak, so you keep playing.

Lose It! is not a game. But it is gamification.

"Gamification" dresses up our more difficult arduous tasks in life in flashy accessories of video games community leaderboards, badges, achievements, points and levels and grafts them onto other tasks.

"Gaming's dark secret," writes former gaming critic Kieron Gillen about traditional games, is that "sometimes watching a bunch of numbers get bigger is enough."

The same motivational power that convinced adult professionals to set their alarms to wake up in the middle of the night to harvest blueberries in the FarmVille Facebook game, could be used for tougher tasks, like exercise, dieting or learning a new language.

"Games are very, very good at showing your progress," says Gabe Zichermann, chair of the Gamification Summit. "You're always aware of your score, what level you're on."

Back in 2011, Zichermann was predicting in the Globe and Mail how that concept could be harnessed to keep people going to the gym regularly: The rewarding results of exercise and dieting can take weeks, or even months to show up. Instead, apps can dole out rewards, even tiny symbolic ones, more often for things like consistent gym attendance. In a way, it's no different than a second-grade teacher awarding stickers to kids for good behavior.

In games, the human desire to complete sets can make people try to find every feather in Assassin's Creed or to catch 'em all in Pokmon, but Zichermann says the same instinct is at work driving people to take enough steps every day to complete the activity rings on their Apple Watch.

"The core neurobiological evolutionary part of the human condition has nothing to do with the ring," Zichermann says. "It has to do with once you've decided that set was worth completing, you have the powerful drive to want to complete that set."

The Next Level

Sawyer says we're only at the start of what games can accomplish for exercise and health.

"Ultimately, over time, what you'll see is more and more of the melding of video games and exercising," Sawyer says.

Sawyer imagines a world where you walk into your house, start doing jumping jacks at a whim, and "immediately the screen in front of you says, "I'm guessing you want to play So-and-So Fit Adventure."

You'd step on the treadmill at the gym and be asked if you want to watch CNN or play a game. Or, you'd be on a run and your Apple Air Pods would offer an audio adventure game you could play while you ran.

"There's a dragon behind you! Run a little faster!" Sawyer says. "Now you have a sword."

In theory, the more we can chip away at the barrier between what's healthy and what's fun, the more we can turn our bad habits into good ones. And if not? At least we've had some fun and worked up some sweat by doing it.

danielw@inlander.com

Read more from the original source:
Can harnessing the psychological power of video games make you healthier? - Pacific Northwest Inlander

Diabetics, Eliminate These Foods From Your Diet To Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar Levels – NDTV News

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:43 am

Diabetes diet should include foods that can help control blood sugar levels naturally

To fight the complications of diabetes, it is extremely necessary to control blood sugar levels. Diabetes is a chronic condition that requires constant management of blood sugar levels. A healthy diet is one of the most effective ways to manage blood sugar levels. Foods you consume majorly affect your blood sugar levels. A diabetic-friendly diet includes foods that do not affect blood sugar levels negatively. Whereas there are some foods you should avoid. Diabetics, here's a list of foods you should stop consuming to avoid major fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Most drinks are loaded with added sugar especially carbonated drinks and aerated beverages. Added sugar is more harmful. These drinks can disturb your blood sugar levels. You should choose healthy options like herbal teas.

Diabetes: Avoid drinks with added sugar to maintain healthy blood sugar levelsPhoto Credit: iStock

Fruits contain natural sugar. Diabetics are advised to consume fruits in moderation. But fruit juices should be avoided as much as possible. Juices are deprived of fibre. To prepare one glass of juice, you need fruits in more quantity that can add more sugar to your diet. It is better to eat fruit.

Also read:Diabetes Diet: Can Diabetics Eat Fruits? Know Tips To Choose The Right Fruits

Packed snacks are might be a tasty treat but these can be harmful for your blood sugar levels. These snacks are loaded with artificial flavours and are highly processed. To beat hunger pangs you should choose healthy snacks including hard-boiled egg, chickpeas, almonds, protein bars or popcorn.

Also read:5 Diabetes-Friendly Snacks That Can Help You Beat Hunger Pangs

Yogurt is a healthy snack that can provide several health benefits. Diabetics can also consume yogurt. But flavoured yogurts are loaded with added sugar. Avoid yogurt with added sugar and choose natural and low-fat options.

Choose yogurt without added sugar and flavourPhoto Credit: iStock

White bread is high in carbs. It is highly processed. These processed foods can slow down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. Choose healthy options for your breakfast.

Also read:Diabetes: These Leaves Can Lower Your Blood Sugar Levels Effectively; Learn How To Use Them

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.

Excerpt from:
Diabetics, Eliminate These Foods From Your Diet To Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar Levels - NDTV News

How to lose weight in 7 days you’re still in lockdown? Follow this diet in quarantine to prevent belly fat – Times Now

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:43 am

arantine diet plan that will boost your weight loss, help you stay healthy  |  Photo Credit: Getty Images

New Delhi: Adopting a daily routine that includes eating a balanced diet can help you stay healthy and fit whether you are in self-isolation or quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As countries take stricter measures to curb the spread of novel coronavirus, temporary shutdown of businesses may affect your chances of eating a varied diet, which is essential for healthy weight loss. Planning and prepping a 7-day quarantine meal plan in advance will help you make the right food choices while saving more time and stress.

Following general advice for healthy living and ensuring that you add fresh produce to your daily diet (even if thats canned or frozen) can help you continue eating a healthy diet. Besides this, practicing mindful eating and establishing a fitness routine at home can help you lose weight, manage stress during a quarantine.

If youre looking for a sensible diet to prevent gaining belly fat while youre in quarantine, heres a 7-day meal plan designed by nutritionist Avni Kaul that will help you stick to your weight loss plan.The week-long diet plan of early morning, breakfast, lunch, evening snack, dinner, and before bed is not only delicious but affordable as well.

Day 1

Day 2

1 cup milk + tsp haldi

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.

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How to lose weight in 7 days you're still in lockdown? Follow this diet in quarantine to prevent belly fat - Times Now

What is a fruitarian diet? Pros and cons – The Standard

Posted: April 8, 2020 at 9:43 am

Followers of this diet are insistent on the fact that the fruit has to be raw (Photo: Shutterstock)

The fruitarian diet is a subset of veganism where fruit forms the main part of ones diet. It has grown in popularity just as the raw-food diet has. The diet includes eating fruit, nuts and seeds. Others include vegetables as well.

ALSO READ: Easy recipe: How to make hard-boiled eggs

The type of fruit eaten depends on each individual but followers of this diet are insistent on the fact that the fruit has to be raw. In its strictest form, fruitarians only eat fruit that has fallen rather than that that has been picked.

According to Healthline, fruitarians can eat freely from any of the fruit groups throughout the day. These include:

Acidic fruits like oranges, tomatoes, plums

Sub-acidic fruits like apples

Melons

Vegetable fruits like bell peppers and cucumbers

Sweet fruits like bananas, dates and grapes

ALSO READ: Five items you should not put in a microwave

Oily fruits like coconuts and avocados

For beverages, fruitarians are permitted to drink water, fruit juice and coconut water.

They dont eat tubers, beans or legumes and, obviously, processed food or fruits animal protein and dairy products.Fruits contain many health benefits but when eaten exclusively can lead to malnutrition (Photo: Shutterstock)

Benefits of eating fruits

Fruits form an essential part of ones diet. They provide various health benefits such as:

Source of vitamins and minerals. Oranges have vitamin C which is necessary for healthy teeth and gums and beneficial to the immune system. Folate which is contained in tropical fruits helps in the production of red blood cells. Potassium found in bananas, cantaloupes and mangoes helps regulate fluid balance in the body and maintain a healthy blood pressure.

They contain fibre which aids in bowel movement and helps to lower cholesterol.

ALSO READ: Foods that prevent magnesium deficiency

They are rich in antioxidants. Fruits such as berries can help protect the body against free radicals, protect the skin and fight off infections.

Disadvantages of eating only a fruit-based diet

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In spite of fruits having so many health benefits, eating a diet that is strictly based on fruits can have detrimental effects on one's overall health.

This diet restricts other food groups that are necessary for good health and can lead to malnourishment. Healthline states that because you arent eating all your food groups, your body can go into starvation mode, slowing down the process of metabolism as it tries to store up food and conserve energy.

A weakened immune system, anaemia, osteoporosis, and fatigue can occur as a result of eliminating iron, calcium from the body.

While sugar from fruit is natural and therefore healthy, eating too much of it poses a danger to those suffering from insulin resistance, diabetes, pre-diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Too much sugar can also lead to tooth decay.

Unlike other diets that require participants to eat at specific times, the fruitarian diet encourages them to eat when theyre hungry.

Just like other diets out there, its important to consult your doctor before you decide to become a fruitarian.

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See the article here:
What is a fruitarian diet? Pros and cons - The Standard


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