Category Archives: Lose Weight Fast

Intermittent fasting is one of the more popular (and argument-provoking) diet trends of recent yearsit was even the most-searched diet term on Google last year. Its not hard to guess what it entails: abstaining from food, or at least most food, for specific intervals. It's been taken up by everyone from Silicon Valley biohackers to TikTok models. Diets based on it have been touted for a huge list of benefits: It might be good for weight loss. It might work to balance out ones blood sugar. Some even follow it for mental clarity, the idea being that by not eating a big lunch, youll avoid the grogginess that hits a couple hours later.

But what can anyone legitimately expect to gain from taking on an intermittent fasting diet? Those benefits are all related: The number one reason people do it is for weight loss, but when you lose weight, that helps lower blood pressure, which helps to prevent heart disease and diabetes, says Krista Varady, nutrition professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

As GQ has explored before, paying attention to when you eat is just as important as what youre eating, and intermittent fasting is one of the simplest ways to start experimenting with a diet.

The Fast Track

When it comes to the specifics of intermittent fasting, there are generally three different approaches to take. Some people opt for alternate-day fasting: Eat whatever you want on off days, but limit calories to around 500 on fasting days. Some try the 5:2 diet, which involves fasting during the week and making the weekend your off days.

But taking entire days off is on the extreme end of things. According to Varady, the most popular kind of intermittent fasting is time-restricted eating. In the most popular form, eating is limited to an eight-hour window each day. Depending on your schedule, you can put the window wherever you want, although Varady says making it from noon to 8 p.m. is generally easiest for most people.

The minute you take dinner out, people get upset about it, because then they cant socialize with friends or eat with family, she says.

The beauty of the diet is that it doesn't specify what you should be eating, only when. Pick a schedule that works for you and there isn't much more to it than that. Many people find that easier than cutting out certain foods or counting calories. And while this isn't explicitly the goal, Varady's research indicates that people end up cutting out anywhere from 300 to 500 calories each day without counting them. She also finds that about 80 percent of people who try a time-restricted eating fast say they plan on continuing it.

Why Eating Less Means More

Typical Western diets are heavy on simple carbohydrates. (Think of the sandwiches or slices of pizza you might eat for lunch or dinner.) These food items provide the glucose the body uses as fuel. But spiking glucose is accompanied by a rise in insulin, which the body uses to process blood sugars. Thats often what causes a sluggish feeling as the day goes on.

According to proponents of the diet, fasting for 16 hours evens these spikes out and recalibrates the body. A longer fast leads to lower blood pressure, and several studies show that time-restricted eating is associated with better cardiovascular health because of what the body ends up burning for fuel. In the absence of glucose, the body switches to burning fat, and as the body releases more fat into the bloodstream, the level of insulin drops accordingly. This, in turn, provides a needed break for cells to rest. In effect, fasting tricks the body into thinking its time to conserve its resources.

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Intermittent Fasting: The Beginners Guide to Time-Restricted Eating, 5:2 Diets, and Other Forms of Intermittent Fasting - GQ

Losing weight in a sustainable way means making lifestyle changes that you can stick to. Dramatic diet restrictions and changes to your exercise routine do not work for long, and usually leave you feeling even worse.

Instead, try incorporating simple lifestyle changes into your routine that you will actually be able to do on a regular basis.Here are 4 ways to get started:

100+ Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your Holiday List

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When it comes to weight loss, you might have heard that you should be skipping breakfast, but that couldn't be further from the truth. For tangible and sustainable weight loss, it's crucial that you start your day with a high-protein breakfast that will keep you full.

A good breakfast can help jumpstart your metabolism first thing in the morning and can keep your appetite satisfied until it's time to eat again.

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It might be hard to believe, but your sleep routine can have an impact on your weight.

According to Psychology Today, "When you sleep less than 6 hours a night, your body produces a 'hunger hormone' ghrelin, which stimulates your appetite and causes you to crave carbohydrate-rich and fatty foods...When you get enough sleep, your body produces a satiety hormone, leptin, which naturally curbs your appetite."

With that in mind, if you are hoping to lose weight, it's a good idea to start thinking about your sleep schedule and make the necessary adjustments.

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Getting in your steps everyday is a great way to keep your body moving, even if you are working on the computer all day. Taking breaks to go for a walk outside, pacing while on the phone, and staying active are all important aspects to breaking up a more sedentary lifestyle.

Plus, walking can help regulate your blood sugar. Dr. Robert Zembroski, DC, DACNB, MS tells Bustle, "Data out of Diabetes Care revealed that a 15 minute walk after eating a meal significantly improves blood sugar."

It can also help improve digestion and help keep your cardiovascular system running properly.

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Finding an accountability partner--whether at home or online--can be a huge component to successful weight loss.

First, decide what you want to be held accountable for: weekly workouts? cutting junk food? eating more whole foods? drinking the right amount of water? Then, find someone you trust who will help hold you to that; it's even better if have things they want you to be held accountable for too.

This can help you stay on track, but it can also help you make your goals more reasonable when you know someone will be supporting you through them.

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4 Simple Lifestyle Changes You Can Make To Lose Weight By The Holidays - SheFinds

There are many different microorganisms in and on the human body, mainly in the form of friendly bacteria. Some of these bacteria may play a role in weight loss and gain. In the gut, beneficial bacteria help break down and digest food. They also help create nutrients and vitamins for the body to use. The probiotic bacteria feed on fibres and turn them into helpful compounds.

Research in The British Journal of Nutrition studied the effects of Lactobacillus on people with obesity. Women who took the probiotic supplement lost more weight during the study than women who didnt. Additionally, the group taking a probiotic supplement continued to lose more weight in the weight-maintenance stage, after they finished dieting. The same effects did not occur in men, however.

Another 2013 study published in the Journal of Functional Foods looked at the effects of Lactobacillus on individuals who were overweight but otherwise healthy ate the yoghurt that contained these Lactobacillus strains for 6 weeks. At the end of this period, the participants had lost an average of 34% body fat.

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What are probiotic foods and how they help lose weight and belly fat - Times of India

TLC TO CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR WITH THE RETURN OF THREE FAN-FAVORITE SERIES

-- UNPOLISHED Premieres on Tuesday, January 12 at 10pm ET/PT --

-- 1,000-LB SISTERS Premieres on Monday, January 4 at 10pm ET/PT --

-- MY 600-LB LIFE Premieres on Wednesday, December 30 at 8pm ET/PT --

(Los Angeles, CA) -- It may be cold outside, but things are heating up on TLC with the return of three fan-favorite series. MY 600-LB LIFE follows all-new patients as they embark upon their weight loss journey, 1,000-LB SISTERS debuts with a surprise pregnancy and the new season of UNPOLISHED has a wedding on the horizon. More information on each series is below:

UNPOLISHED - Premieres on TLC on Tuesday, January 12 at 10pm ET/PT

It's been a year of extreme highs and lows for the Martones and the glitziest family-owned and operated salon on Long Island. Always hard at work for their beauty business, Lexi, a cutting-edge nail artist, and her sister Bria, a hair colorist and makeup artist, saw their routines come crashing down as the pandemic arrived earlier this year. Then, in the thick of it all, the tragic and unexpected passing of their father and biggest supporter, Big Mike, left the family in shambles. Mother and administrative lead at the salon, Jennifer, is forced to step up to help make ends meet, taking control of the family's obligations. Despite all the personal and financial turmoil, and to Lexi's dismay, Bria and her fianc Matt are still planning to have their wedding as the extravagant affair she and her father dreamed of, but coronavirus restrictions get in the way of Bria's dream wedding. Meanwhile, once the green light is given to safely resume services while adhering to health and safety guidelines, Lexi must put the personal aside and continue to deliver for her special clients' extreme requests, from a "mer-mazing" set of nautical nails to an amusement park-themed look. But as Bria's big day approaches, Lexi starts to crack and reveal some long-suppressed emotions about her tight-knit family. Additionally, in the digital mid-form series Unpolished: Extensions, premiering on TLC Go on January 5, the Martone ladies dive into their beauty routings, wedding prep, and how to create the perfect blowout. Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #Unpolished. UNPOLISHED is produced by Cakehouse Media for TLC.

1,000-LB SISTERS - Premieres on TLC on Monday, January 4 at 10pm ET/P

Last season, viewers were introduced to Amy and Tammy Slaton, spunky sisters from Kentucky who have built an online presence sharing their lives, weight struggles and larger-than-life personalities. Fans watched them attempt their biggest endeavor yet, losing enough weight to qualify for and undergo life-changing bariatric surgery. Amy, 33, qualified and went through with the surgery, while Tammy, 34, struggled to reach her goal weight. This season, a few months after her successful surgery, Amy learns more good news - that she and her husband Michael are expecting their first baby. Having a child of their own is everything Amy has always dreamed of, but Tammy is concerned that Amy is still recovering from her procedure, and that her doctor had warned her to wait at least two years to get pregnant. Meanwhile, Tammy has moved in next door to Amy and Michael and relies on them for her basic daily needs. Amy worries that with a baby on the way, she won't have time to care for Tammy, and hopes her sister can learn to become more independent. During quarantine, Tammy's weight has fluctuated, worrying Amy and her family that Tammy's recent weight gain means that she has fallen into old habits. The sisters' older brother Chris decides to join Tammy on her journey in the hopes of getting approved for weight loss surgery himself and to hold Tammy accountable. They hope they can motivate her to get back on track in order to qualify for weight loss surgery. Meanwhile, Tammy is head over heels for her boyfriend Jerry, who she met in person once last year in Atlanta. Now, he's agreed to visit her in Kentucky and Tammy hopes this means he's ready to take their relationship to the next level. However, when Tammy's siblings discover the details of how they met, they worry that Jerry could sabotage Tammy's weight loss goals and distract her from making her health a priority. Additionally, in a short-form series premiering December 11 exclusively on social, Tammy and Amy will give viewers a fun-filled experience cooking healthy foods, attempting the "Hot and Sour" challenge, and even giving Amy's husband, Michael, a makeover! Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #1000lbSisters. 1,000-LB SISTERS is produced by Crazy Legs Productions for TLC.

MY 600-LB LIFE - Premieres on TLC on Wednesday, December 30 at 8pm ET/P

MY 600-LB LIFE follows the journeys of morbidly obese people as they fight to save their own lives by making the courageous decision to undergo high-risk gastric bypass surgery. Chronicling lifelong hardships with addiction and the inevitable impact their condition has on their closest relationships, each episode gives an inside look at the extreme emotional and physical journeys each person must undergo to qualify for life-saving surgery with Dr. Nowzaradan. Join the conversation using #My600lbLife. MY 600-LB LIFE is produced for TLC by Megalomedia.

Follow TLC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube for the latest on these series and more.

ABOUT TLC

Offering remarkable real-life stories without judgment, TLC shares everyday heart, humor, hope, and human connection with programming genres that include fascinating families, heartwarming transformations and life's milestone moments. TLC is the #1 primetime ad-supported cable network across key female demos.TLC is a global brand available in more than 84 million homes in the US and 279 million households around the world. Viewers can enjoy their favorite shows anytime, anywhere through TLC GO - the network's TVE offering featuring live and on demand access to complete seasons. A destination online, TLC.com offers in-depth fan sites and exclusive original video content. Fans can also interact with TLC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest. TLC is part of Discovery (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), reaching 3 billion cumulative viewers in more than 220 countries and territories to satisfy curiosity and captivate superfans with a portfolio of premium nonfiction, lifestyle, sports and kids content brands.

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Breaking News - TLC to Celebrate the New Year with the Return of Three Fan-Favorite Series - The Futon Critic

With 2020coming to a close,the first line ofAuld LangSyne Shouldauld acquaintance beforgot?is on our minds.In this pandemic age,now-familiartermslike testing, mask, and work-from-homehaveearnedentirely new and deeper meanings.And newertermslike social distancingand COVID circlehavebecomedaily (hourly?) utterances.As a leader in your organization, you may bewondering:Shouldtheauldannual party beforgot?

Rather than lament that things are not the same,though,why notfind a silver lining? After all, COVID-19 wontstopthe holidays from coming.A remote or virtual celebration presents opportunities thatyour organization might not have with an in-person, traditional event.This is a leadership opportunity.Holding an engaging, rewarding eventwill requireout-of-the-box thinking,positivity,and strong leadership.This will be true from the highest level of management through all members ofthe party planning committee.

But we have confidence you can host a virtual celebration that could be used to recognize hard effort,support a charitable cause, or just simply add some levity to these otherwise dark times.And you can do so in a way that does not havecolleagues feelingleft outof the fun because oftheir age,gender, religious views, race, or health concerns.

A Holiday Party(At Home)Is Important,NowMore Than Ever

In arecent surveyof189 companies,only 23%reportedthat theyare planning a holiday partythis year;54% are not,and 23%are undecided or waiting for guidance.Of the 23%planning to celebrate,74% willdo so virtually.While it appears thata very small number of companiesstill anticipate holding in-person events, given the multitude of new,revived, or anticipatedCOVID-19mitigation orders, we wouldexpect many of those in-person plans to soon change.

Top 4 Suggestions For 2020 Holiday Celebrations

Withmany employeesathome,generally, and everyonemissingcoffee station camaraderie,organizations are looking for morale-boosting ideas. Here are our how-to tips for a virtual event.

1. Make events voluntary. From whether your employees show up at all to how much they participate, remember that while year-end company celebrations are professional, work-related events, they are optional. Dont put pressure on already stressed staff to add one more thing to their list. Everyone wont be interested, just like in any other year and thats okay.

2. Offer multiple options. Inclusivitycreates space for people to be their authentic selves. And some peoplewould rather watch hours of made-for-TV movies alone than hop on another video happy hour.Consider offering more than one way for yourteamto celebrateso everyone can feel special.

For example, virtual mixology classes and wine tastings are proving to be popular, but they can exclude those who dont drink alcoholbecause of their age, religious beliefs, or experience withsubstance or alcohol use disorders.Gather input from a diverse group of employeesto ensure your plans arent unintentionally excluding anyone.Perhaps your workforce could opt into one of several options:a mixology class, a cooking experience, a craft project, or a gift card toa food delivery service.

3. Remind everyone about company policies. Now is a good opportunity to remind everyone that, even in a remote celebration, company policiesapply.For example,any event, whether in person or on a screen, might be recorded, photographed, or turned into an unflattering screenshot. Harassmentcan bemore prevalent online than it is in person.

Andeven at home and behind a camera, employees should be appropriately dressed andtake it easy on the drinks. Send out your harassment, drug and alcohol, and social media policies(you do have a social media policy,yes?)in advance of your events.Before doing so, consider whether updates to your policies are warranted,to more specifically address the current nature of work in your organization.

4. Get creative. There are lots of great ideas out there to make youremployeesfeel special and often for far less than the cost of a traditional in-person event. Heres a list of what our clients (and we!) arebooking and looking into:

Inclosing, this has beena year of unprecedented pivots.From our perspective, organizations that pivot,once more,toward a virtual year-end or holiday event areon the mark. With strong leadership, some measure of creativity, and a determined purpose, your virtual eventcanbemore memorable than the auld parties of the past.

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Theres No Place But Home for the Holiday Party: How To Safely Celebrate Your Organization This Year - JD Supra

DENVER (CBS4) If youre feeling like holiday treats are getting your healthy habits off track, you arent the only one. A study from the New England Journal of Medicine estimates most adults gain close to a pound during the holiday season.

Certified Health Coach Erica Ballard says its easy to overindulge during holidays like Thanksgiving. But that doesnt mean you cant quickly get back on track.

Thanksgiving is one day out of 365 days. So, if you overindulge, you just have to know that its not going to affect your overall health, says Ballard. If you did it, give yourself some grace. Stop beating yourself up for what you did, and instead focus on what you can do today and moving forward to improve your overall health.

Before Christmas comes around, Ballard does have some tips to avoid the temptation of treats. She says the first thing to do is give yourself permission to overindulge. That way it helps take your mind off sweets.

Now if you do overindulge, one of the things you can do is an intermittent fast for 14 to 16 hours after you have sweet treats, pies, and cakes. That will give your body enough time to get the sugar and toxins out of you and reset it, so you dont overindulge for multiple days on end.

She says drinking water is also key. Water will also help flush out the sugar and toxins, while helping you stay healthy.

Doing that is going to help you not only move those items out of your body but also make you less hungry throughout the day.

With the New Year just around the corner, many people may be making resolutions to lose weight. So how do you make a weight loss plan that lasts? Ballard says dont only make one big goal to lose a massive amount of weight. She says its important to set smaller goals along the way.

Theres a reason businesses create annual goals and quarterly goals. Those quarterly goals let them know if theyre on track. In order for us to create these resolutions, we want to create a big, lofty goal but we also want to set quarterly goals every three months so we can check in on our progress.

Ballard says another key to making a successful weight loss resolution is to start small, by creating good daily habits and routines. Instead of saying you will work out 45 minutes daily and eat clean five days a week, start with a 20 minute workout and a healthy meal one day a week.

Doing that will set the routine up in your body so that its used to doing that, and then the more you do it, the more your body will crave it.

For more healthy living tips, check out Ericas website.

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How To Keep Those Healthy Habits Going Over The Holidays - CBS Denver

If no stars are won during the trial, campmates are required to live off beans and rice.

The NHS recommends around 2,000 calories a day for females and 2,500 for males.

For those wanting to lose weight, their deficit should be around 500 calories.

While on the show, campmates also spoke of their concern towards Vernons weight.

Yeah, he is doing brilliantly and its lovely watching him but its nerve-wracking, it really is.

I worry about him being cold, about him not eating.

Campmate Russel Watson, who left three days before the final, also shed around 1.5 stone while in the castle.

Speaking on Vernons weight loss, he explained: Vernon was telling me before the show he was eating 5,000 calories a day and he has gone down to 600-700 calories.

Campmate Hollie Arnold MBE also revealed that she lost a stone in two weeks while being in the castle.

Speaking to Vick Hope on Im A CelebrityThe Daily Drop, she said: Ive currently lost nearly a stone so Im actually really happy.

I also kind of feel bad as I feel like Ive lost a bit of muscle mass, too.She explained that she even struggled to eat the treats she was met with after leaving the castle.

However the celebrities diet is significantly below the recommended guidance and explains that crash dieting is unsafe.

The website states: People can lose weight very quickly initially, but soon get fed up and return to old eating habits, and end up putting the weight back on.

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Vernon Kay weight loss: Tess impressed by 'few ripples' he didn't have before I'm A Celeb - Express

Keeping our bodies fit and healthy should be a priority for us all at the best of times, but in the midst of a global pandemic these things could be lifesaving.

Alongside doing plenty of exercise, taking time out to look after our mental health and ensuring we continue to visit the GP, something as simple as adopting a healthy, well-balanced diet can be a vital step towards ensuring our bodies are as well equipped to fight off infection as possible.

We know all too well that our age and any underlying health issues such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease can contribute to how well our bodies are able to fight off the coronavirus. But statistics also show that those who are overweight are more likely to suffer the serious and potentially devastating symptoms of Covid-19 than those with a healthy BMI.

With our collective motivation feeling like it has hit an all-time nadir, the thought of laying low, abandoning our daily exercise and self-medicating with junk food is all too tempting.

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Many of us put on weight during the first lockdown, as the novelty of going for daily jogs and joining in Zoom exercise classes quickly wore off. As we continue into the cold and wet of winter, moving anywhere outside of the comfort of our beds or sofa becomes even more of a mental struggle.

But losing weight doesnt have to be a miserable slog and eating a healthy diet doesnt need to mean grains and lettuce leaves it can be truly delicious.

So how can we ensure we maintain a healthy, balanced diet while lockdowns and tier systems keep us cooped up inside?

Know what healthy looks like

We are all familiar with the advice that we are supposed to eat five helpings of fruit and veg every day for a healthy diet, but what does this actually look like? Are carbohydrates really a no-no? And is all fat bad?

When it comes to our food intake, the NHS has put together an Eat Well Guide designed to help us make healthier choices when it comes to our food. The guide uses helpful illustrations to show us what types of food and drink we should be having each day and how to strike a healthy balance. And carbohydrates and fat are by no means banned.

Try to choose a variety of different food from each of the groups to help you get the wide range of nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, recommends the NHS.

Dieting doesnt have to mean saying sayonara to all your favourite foods. The Easy Meals app compiles over 150 delicious, easy and healthy recipes for you to peruse at your leisure. You can search by mealtime depending on whether youre after a quick lunchtime snack or a heartier evening meal and it helps you to compile shopping lists for when youre next heading to the supermarket.

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Knowing what to look out for when youre reading food labels at the supermarket can also really help us make better choices. Check out the NHS food labels guide for more information.

Dieting doesnt have to mean missing out on the foods you love completely - just make sure you have everything in moderation. Reducing the unhealthy part of our diets and changing our habits is a key first step to living a healthier life.

The Drink Free Days app can help you track your drinking, encourage you to skip alcohol days and get practical support if your alcohol intake has gone from an occasional treat to a concerning crutch.

A tailor-made regime

On average, women should aim to consume around 2,000 calories a day and men, 2,500 but according to the NHS, most of us are consuming more than we need.

Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the best way of knowing if you need to lose weight. This is a measurement that uses your height and weight to determine if you are a healthy weight. For most adults, an ideal BMI is between 18.5 to 24.9. To calculate your BMI you can use the NHS tool here.

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Fad diets can be dangerous and stressful but developing healthy habits and losing weight in a safe way doesnt have to be a slog.

The NHS free weight loss app will enable you to record your calories and progress and gives tips and advice on healthy, sustainable weight loss.

Finding ways of reducing your intake of unhealthy snacks or substituting your favourite treats with easy alternatives makes you feel as though youre not missing out.

Plan your meals

We all know the process: we kick off Monday with all the best intentions in the world, but after a barrage of emails, back-to-back meetings and the to-do list piling up, that quinoa salad wed planned for lunch suddenly feels uninspiring and too time-consuming to make. We reach for whatever we can find in the cupboard or make a hasty takeaway order. By the end of the week any modicum of healthiness has completely disintegrated.

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Enter meal planning. Something as simple as knowing what youre going to eat for lunch is half the battle. Whether it be through bulk cooking or signing up to a healthy meal-delivery box, getting into a regular routine is the easiest way to kick-start a new eating plan and makes a healthy diet all the more appealing. The NHS meal planner in the Easy Meals app is a good place to start.

Drinking lots of water can also help. The government recommends drinking between six and eight glasses of water every day and more in hot weather or while exercising, to prevent dehydration.

Make sure to line up some rewards for yourself at the end of a successful week.

Get active

Of course, another great way to improve our mental and physical health is to get moving.

Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses from heart disease to stroke, type 2 diabetes. Just two and a half hours of activity each week (or 30 minutes every day) is all we need for our bodies to feel the benefit.

Keep fit by picking up free or discounted classes - gloating Instagram posts optional

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For it to be beneficial, the NHS says, you need to be moving quick enough to raise your heart rate, breathe faster and feel warmer.

It doesnt have to be a high intensity cardio work out (though the popularity of Joe Wicks HIIT classes is a glowing endorsement of how enjoyable this can be). The Active 10 walking app can help you get started by adding regular bursts of brisk walking to your daily routine, tracking your movement and helping you reach achievable milestones.

Remember all your friends and family using the Couch to 5k running app during the summer? Why not join them, it really is as easy as it looks to follow.

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Eat well to stay well: How to lead a healthy life in lockdown - The Independent

TikTok has launched an investigation and banned some search terms after the Guardian found harmful pro-anorexia content was still easily searchable despite measures taken by the social media company to prohibit the advertising of weight-loss products.

The video app one of the most popular in the world with more than 800 million users, almost half of whom are between the ages of 16 and 24 has imposed new restrictions on weight-loss ads after criticism for promoting dangerous diets.

But harmful accounts that promote potentially life-threatening eating disorders were still easy to find. While the company had blocked some hashtags, putting the same words into a search for profiles brought up dozens of accounts promoting eating disorders.

Those searching for content via hashtags can also get around restrictions by using slight misspellings or variants on common terms.

After being presented with the findings, TikTok launched an investigation and said it had taken action to ban harmful phrases across all search verticals, including when searching for users.

One account showed messages from a girl saying she wanted tips on losing a lot of weight, in a healthy or unhealthy way. Another account said: This is a warning if you dont like stuff about starving leave please.

Another user asked people to follow for low calorie safe food when you dont want to purge, a form of an eating disorder that involves self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives or medications.

TikTok said it had banned six accounts flagged to them for violating the community guidelines on posting content that promotes eating habits that are likely to cause health problems.

Dr Jon Goldin, vice-chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, described the findings as deeply disturbing. He urged social media companies to do more and said regulators needed strong powers to sanction inaction.

Ysabel Gerrard, a lecturer in digital media and society at the University of Sheffield, said: It takes little more than 30 seconds to find a pro-eating disorder account on TikTok and, once a user is following the right people, their For You page will quickly be flooded with content from similar users. This is because TikTok is essentially designed to show you what it thinks you want to see.

TikToks For You page is a feed of videos not always from people you follow recommended by an algorithm based on your history. People have reported being served up accounts that regularly post about eating disorders, weight loss or diets.

Gerrard said that since the first wave of press coverage about pro-eating disorder content on TikTok, the company had taken steps to address the issue by banning ads for fasting apps and weight-loss supplements. I applaud the company for making it. However, there are some more things that TikTok urgently needs to do to make the platform even safer, she said. She added that restricting the results for hashtag searches is not enough, and hashtag searches might not even be the way users find new content anyway.

At present, TikTok doesnt send resources to people in the UK searching for pro-eating disorder terms. It simply says no results found or directs you to the platforms community guidelines their rulebook for user behaviour, Gerrard said.

She acknowledged that removing content was tricky. In particular, TikTok would need to be careful when limiting search results for usernames because some accounts might be pro-recovery, and theres plenty of evidence to tell us how helpful social media can be for people with eating disorders.

Tom Quinn, director of external affairs for Beat, the UKs eating disorder charity, said: So-called pro-ana or pro-mia content can be very attractive to people affected by eating disorders and has the potential to be devastating.

Quinn said they had shared their concerns with TikTok, and the company had been receptive to hearing from people with experience of eating disorders in order to make their platform safer. We welcome the steps they have taken against advertising weight-loss products, and we urge them to take further action against harmful content, he said.

The Conservative MP, Damian Collins, the former chair of a parliamentary committee charged with investigating social platforms, said it was not clear howTikToks algorithm worked. Its amazing how fast TikTok has grown I would like for them tackle this [pro eating disorder content] and explain what policies they will be put in place to more effectively spot and not promote harmful content.

A spokesperson for TikTok said: As soon as this issue was brought to our attention, we took action banning the accounts and removing the content that violated those guidelines, as well as banning particular search terms. As content changes, we continue to work with expert partners, update our technology and review our processes to ensure we can respond to emerging and new harmful activities.

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TikTok investigating videos promoting starvation and anorexia - The Guardian

The Conversation

The world is eagerly awaiting the release of several COVID-19 vaccines, but Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is not. Im not going to take it. Its my right, he said in a Nov. 26 social media broadcast. Bolsonaro, who came down with COVID-19 in July, has also criticized face masks. He and his more faithful supporters oppose any suggestion of mandatory coronavirus vaccinations. Vaccine resistance has a long history in Brazil. In November 1904, thousands of people in the city of Rio de Janeiro protested government-mandated smallpox vaccinations in a famous revolt that nearly ended with a coup. Making modern BrazilThe smallpox vaccine had arrived in Brazil almost a century earlier. But the syringes were long, left skin pockmarked and could transmit other diseases such as syphilis. Between 1898 and 1904, only 2% to 10% of Rios population was vaccinated yearly, according to historian Sidney Chalhoub. In 1904, smallpox killed 0.4% of Rio residents a higher percentage of the population than COVID-19s victims in New York City this year.But these were not the only reasons Brazil made vaccinations mandatory in 1904. As part of a modernization plan to attract European immigration and foreign investment, President Rodrigues Alves was committed to eradicating epidemics not just smallpox, but also yellow fever and the bubonic plague.To rid Rio de Janeiro, then the nations capital, of sanitary hazards while opening space for Parisian-style avenues and buildings, hundreds of tenements were demolished between 1903 and 1909. Almost 40,000 people mostly Afro-Brazilians but also poor Italian, Portuguese and Spanish immigrants were evicted and removed from downtown Rio. Many were left homeless, forced to resettle on nearby hillsides or in distant rural areas. Meanwhile, public health agents accompanied by armed police systematically disinfected homes with sulfur that destroyed furniture and other belongings whether residents welcomed them or not. Conspiracy and barricadesPoliticians and military officers who opposed President Alves saw opportunity in the outrage these health initiatives caused. They stoked discontent.With the help of labor organizers and news editors, Alves opponents led a campaign against Brazils public health mandates throughout 1904. Newspapers reported on violent home disinfections and forced vaccinations. Senators and other public figures declared that mandatory vaccinations encroached on peoples homes and bodies.In mid-November of that year, thousands of protesters gathered in public squares to rally against public health efforts. Rio police reacted with disproportionate force, triggering six days of unrest in the city. A racially diverse crowd of students, construction workers, port workers and other residents fought back, armed with rocks, housewares or the tools of their trade, flipping over streetcars to barricade the streets. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, conspirators were mobilizing young military cadets. Their plan: to overthrow Alves government. Their scheme was foiled when the president called upon both the Army and the Navy to contain protesters and detain alleged insurgents. Brazils great vaccine revolt was soon suppressed. The language of rightsAfterward, newspapers portrayed protesters as an ignorant mass, manipulated by cunning politicians. They deemed one of the uprisings popular leaders, Horcio Jos da Silva known as Black Silver a disorderly thug.But Brazils vaccine revolt was more than a cynical political manipulation. Digging into archives, historians like me are learning what really motivated the uprising.The violent and segregationist features of Alves urban plan are one obvious answer. In early 20th-century Brazil, most people women, those who couldnt read, the unemployed couldnt vote. For these Brazilians, the streets were the only place to have their voices heard.But why would they so virulently oppose methods that controlled the spread of disease?Delving into newspapers and legal records, I have found that critics of Brazils 1904 public health drive often expressed their opposition in terms of inviolability of the home, both on the streets and in courts.For elite Brazilians, invoking this constitutional right was about protecting the privacy of their households, where men ruled over wives, children and servants. Public health agents threatened this patriarchal authority by demanding access to homes and womens bodies.Poor men and women in Rio also held patriarchal values. But for them there was more than privacy at stake in 1904. Throughout the 19th century, enslaved Afro-Brazilians had formed families and built homes, even on plantations, carving out spaces of relative freedom from their masters. After slavery was abolished in 1888, many freed Afro-Brazilians shared crowded tenements with immigrants. By the time of Alvess vaccination drive, the poor of Rio had been fighting eviction and police violence for decades. For Black Brazilians, then, defending their rights to choose what to do or not to do with their homes and bodies was part of a much longer struggle for social, economic and political inclusion. Deadly learning experienceFour years after the 1904 revolt, Rio was struck by another smallpox epidemic. With so many people unvaccinated, deaths doubled; almost 1% of the city perished.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]It was a deadly learning experience. From then on, Brazilian leaders framed mandatory smallpox, measles and other vaccines as a means to protect the common good, and invested in educational campaigns to explain why. Throughout the 20th century, vaccinations were extremely successful in Brazil. Since the 1990s, 95% of children have been vaccinated, though the numbers are dropping.Today, Brazil is one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As in the past, Afro-Brazilians are hurting more than others.By invoking Brazilians individual right not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, President Bolsonaro is ignoring the lessons of 1904 undermining a century of hard work fighting disease in Brazil.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Pedro Cantisano, University of Nebraska Omaha.Read more: * COVID-19 is deadlier for black Brazilians, a legacy of structural racism that dates back toslavery * In Brazils raging pandemic, domestic workers fear for their lives and theirjobsPedro Cantisano does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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