Category Archives: Lose Weight Fast

Hi Hayley,

Im a 49-year-old woman, average height, average bone size, but have been overweight by about 30 pounds for 15 years. I LOVE food. I know my portions are probably too big, and my willpower is not fantastic. If there is cheesecake, I will have a piece. When Im in a restaurant, I want the fries. I do eat a lot of vegetables, and we eat quinoa a lot. I dont even care for meat that much. If I eat any meat, it is lean. However, I do have teenagers and a super carnivore husband, so no vegetarianism is in my future. I have epilepsy, so I cant drink. Even before I knew that, I didnt drink much. I drink no pop.

I have joined online Weight Watchers twice and lost 10 pounds, then plateaued and given up because I was already eating the minimum points and couldnt cut down further (to below their minimum) or I would have been even more miserable. All I ate was chicken breasts...I dont like steak or salmon that much.

For exercise: I have joined bootcamps in the past,I walk the short walk to work. I have a large dog and with the pandemic, I can walk her for an hour a day, through wooded trails and up hills, etc. It will get harder in the summer as she is very thick coated, so I must get up quite early to walk her safely.

I have had some sort of disc problemin my back and my epilepsy meds make me more tired. I was doing hot yoga once a week before the pandemic. I used to love floor hockey, but it isnt available in my small community. I am not much of a swimmer, I can dog paddle, but I dont love it.

I have trouble sticking with things like diets and exercise regimens that arent integrated into my life (like dog walking). I do have a treadmill and a TRX. Also, a big yard with trees that need pruning, etc. I do have a Fitbit and find it somewhat motivating. My fave hobbies are knitting and reading, with tv a close second, getting sweaty has not ever been my thing (unless I was playing floor hockey, or mixed softball, which I dont think will be in the cards for me anymore).

I know to be healthier I should shed some weight. I would love to go back to 130, but I think 150 is a more reachable goal. Could you tell me what you think of Noom? It seems like it might be a more livable version of WW, but I really hesitate to pay for something that may be just a gimmick.

Thank you,

Interior BC Mom

Hi Interior Mom,

Thank you for your question and I wanted to step away from the weekly workouts this week to give this some attention as I think you are not the only one struggling with this.

For some of us food is like a drug and on some scale, I feel like many of us struggle to find a balance between eating healthy and allowing ourselves to whatever we like. During this pandemic, it is extra hard to be balanced as we are stuck inside, food is very easily accessible, and it really is the only thing we can look forward to these days (or at least that is the case for me). I am going to answer your Noom question in a moment, but I want to share something personal that I struggle with as it may help with what youre dealing with.

As much as I have struggled with my relationship with food throughout my entire life I have also struggled with my relationship with alcohol, mainly wine. I could hardly wait to get home after work and pour myself a glass of wine. Sometimes it would just be one, but usually two glasses during the week and many on the weekends. I could easily polish off a bottle of wine on a Friday night, and then again on a Saturday without thinking about it. It was the weekend! To me this meant it was time to relax and socialize and that meant drinking.

I didnt like that about myself though, the fact that I couldnt go to a family dinner without having a drink or two, maybe three. I didnt like how uncomfortable I felt on the nights I tried not to have drink. I felt like I was taking away one of my rights, but I didnt want to be this way. I just didnt know how to live without having wine at least four days out of the week.

Since beginning on my fertility journey, I have had no choice but to stop. And to be honest, I dont miss it.Not one bit. Having something I am truly working towards, creating a family, has given me the reason to put my health first. No longer am I uncomfortable sticking to mocktails and soda water on Friday and Saturday nights. That reward of a beer after a mountain bike ride has turned into a lovely decaf coffee. I have stopped associating joy and happiness with the ability to have a drink. I feel like a better human and I am so happy. Will I give up alcohol forever? Probably not. But I am so grateful that I no longer feel that the only way I can truly relax and enjoy myself is with a cocktail in hand.

So, lets bring this back to you now and what you say is overconsuming. I will be honest with you right out of the gate, you will not succeed unless you want to succeed. No food tracking app or program will help you. All they are going to do is remind you that you are failing every time you order fries at a restaurant or eat cheesecake. (There is nothing wrong with ordering fries or having cheesecake but when you are trying to lose weight, foods like that need to be enjoyed in small and limited quantities.)

What you should to do is disassociate food with an emotion like guilt. But if you do want to be healthier, you should accept that we dont get to have what we want all the time. Trust me, I wish I could live off my homemade oatmeal chocolate cookies, but I know I cant.

You dont have to diet. You dont have to count calories. You dont have to meal prep and eat ground turkey and boiled vegetables all week. But you should make the right decisions one at a time. If you do it all at once it is way too overwhelming and you wont succeed. So, you need a little patience when approaching weight loss this way. Understand that it will not happen overnight, and this is something that you have to continue focusing on every single day.

Your workout routine sounds perfect. Hiking with your dog is great and honestly that is all you need to do. If you are walking an hour a day at a brisk pace you are getting way more than the 150 minutes of weekly exercise recommended by Health Canada. But how different would your life be if after you get home you head to your TRX and you do 3 rounds of 10 pull ups, 10 pushups, 10 squats and 10 lunges? Probably not that much, right? And while you are on your morning walk spend some of it thinking of how you are going to tackle your day. We dont really have to worry about making the right choices at a restaurant right now, but where else may you encounter a roadblock and how will you overcome it, without allowing yourself to feel deprived. Create your plan and your strategy and stick to it. Make this about youand creating the life you want to live.

Dont waste your money on that app if you havent succeeded with other programs, so why would this one be any different? I see this so many times, people thinking if they just pay something to tell them what to do, they will shed the pounds. It doesnt work like that. It doesnt matter if you have an app telling you what to do, a dietician telling you what to do, a personal trainer telling you what to do, or me telling you what to do, YOU still have to do the work. Nobody will do it for you. You know, and I know, that you want to make changes because if you didnt you would not have taken the time to write me. So, start doing the work. Fill your morning up with fruit, berries, oats and lots of water and fill your evening up with all the yummy vegetables you can stand. And if you want a piece of cheesecake, have it, dont beat yourself up over it but also dont swing too far on the other side and associate it with all your happiness. Your health and well-being are your happiness.

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For Your Fitness: When you want to be healthier - LaineyGossip

Time for yet another (groan) pandemic walk? Here's how to switch things up.

From left, Lisa Hibbs and her step-children Penelope Stone, 9, and Sebastian Stone, 7, walk together a long the train tracks in Frontier Park in St. Charles on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Photo by Rachel Ellis, rellis@post-dispatch.com

Robin Burnside of Affton takes a walk at Laumeier Sculpture Parkon April 3.

Jane Smith, of Olivette, takes advantage of a large, empty Creve Coeur parking lot on April 6 and walks with her daughter Hannah Smith.

A resident walks the perimeter of the Suson Park lake on April 28.

Fatima Isa, 22, and Nasumba Albert, 8, walk past James Fote as he fishes in the small pond in Fox Hill Park in St. Charles on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Fox Hill park is one one location doing storybook walks, where people can read a book throughout their walk. Photo by Rachel Ellis, rellis@post-dispatch.com

Joce Figueroa of Clayton walks on the brick pavement of downtown St. Charles on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Photo by Rachel Ellis, rellis@post-dispatch.com

Signs along the trail at Veterans Tribute Park in St. Charles hold pages of a storybook families can read as they walk.

Walking feels a bit different during a pandemic, and its likely youve been doing more of it, whether or not youre forcing yourself or your family to get moving.

Youre walking to exercise, socialize, escape, pass the time, indulge the dog (who has absolutely zero problem with any of this, the last we checked), or all of the above.

A lot of folks are discovering a different way of interacting with the community when they are walking, said Emma Klues, vice president of communications and outreach for Great Rivers Greenway, which has seen a significant surge of people on its 125 greenways throughout the area. When theyre walking, theyre seeing houses differently, or they can stop and check something out. You cant do that with a car as much.

Walking improves cardiovascular health, helps you maintain and lose weight, and allows you to get valuable Vitamin D.

During a pandemic, walks simply help.

These walking experiences can really reduce your stress, and thats really whats important right now, said Joyce Millner, a certified personal trainer and fitness consultant who is co-executive director of the Fit and Food Connection, which provides fitness and food resources to communities in need.

Dont just go through the motions. Look around, take in a new tree, a new flower, a smiling face. There are so many benefits to absorbing goodness. It can just be a wonderful experience.

So lace up some supportive shoes, fellow bipeds. Well guide you through a few steps to getting the most out your walk.

Be a polite walker:Viruses cant walk, but they can spread through the air. So its important to maintain a social distance of six feet from other walkers. If you come to an intersection or a crosspoint, be clear in your verbal or body language about where you are going to go next, Klues said.

Stay to the far right of a path except when you are safely passing, advises Forest Park Forever, which put together a guide for visitors, with tips that apply to other outdoor spaces (forestparkforever.org/coronavirus). However, when walking on a road, walk on the left side, so oncoming traffic can see you.

The Victorian Footbridge was built in 1885 to provide a pedestrian route into Forest Park from the nearby streetcar stop. Today, the Victorian Bridge has been restored and is nestled within the park's northeast corner. Jim Backus of Richmond Heights rides his bike across it here. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com

If youre crossing a bridge, make sure there is nobody else oncoming before crossing. If you are passing someone, let them know by calling on your left so the other person can give you space, and get out of the way if possible.

Also, dont use trails or go out if you are sick or showing symptoms, and if you do go out, dont touch things like park benches, handrails and bike racks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a face mask in areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain, so if youre going to a crowded path, keep one with you.

Bring a bottle of water as many public park water fountains may not be available.

Also, listen to your mother and use the bathroom before you leave the house. Many parks have closed public restrooms during the pandemic.

Keep a walk interesting:Any scout leader keeps a few tricks in his or her rucksack to keep scouts interested during walks and hikes.

Dave Chambliss with the St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America suggests using walks for teaching opportunities: how to identify trees and trail markers, how to build an emergency shelter, as well as learning about first aid or navigational skills.

Hes had someone in his group pretend to fall and sprain an ankle. The first person in line behind that person has to tend to the fallen. After a few hikes like this, scouts figure out they have to be prepared for any emergency. They didnt know when it would happen next, he said. Youd hear one say, I wonder if we are going to do bee stings?

Go on an ABC walk where you and your companions identify things beginning with each letter of the alphabet. For more challenging letters, like X, look for two sticks or tree branches that make the shape. For a monogram walk, each person has to find something that begins with their initials.

Rainbow walk: Go through the colors of the rainbow and identify as many things as you can with that color.

Ray and Audrey Behrendes walk together on the trail at Fox Hill Park in St. Charles on Wednesday. The trail in Fox Hill is one of the St. Charles Library Foundation's Storybook Walks. Pages are posted at several stations along the trail, allowing families and friends to enjoy a story as they walk.

Story walk:Each person on the walk starts a story, then the next person adds a sentence, then the next person. Pick a park that offers a Storybook Walk, where pages of a childrens book are posted alongside a trail. The St. Charles Library Foundation lists some here: stchlibraryfoundation.org/StorybookWalk

Night walk: Go on a walk at night, and leave the flashlights at home. See if the light of the moon or the light of the streetlights is enough to get you by, and listen to the sounds of the night.

Penny walk: When you reach a corner, flip a coin. Heads go right, tails go left. Once you get to a spot, give your kids a penny and see how many things they can find that will fit onto it.

Bring drawing and coloring materials and when you get to your destination, sketch what you see.

Creek walk: Find a creek and walk up it or alongside it.

Theme and treat days: change up your walk with different drinks, genres of music, treats and meals. You can enjoy disco music on one day, cucumber-infused water another day, or look forward to a coffee or ice cream at a destination, says Millner.

Walk with an app

Besides listening to a new podcast, audiobook or music, you can download an app to help put a spring in your step. Youve heard of Pokemon Go, but you can also play augmented reality games like Harry Potter: Wizards United, Ingress or Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs.

Pokemon Go

Use the app Walk the Distance to virtually walk the Appalachian Trail, New York City, the National Mall and more, learning about landmarks and passing others along the way.

Slay zombies and ghosts with Zombies, Run, The Walking Dead: Our World and Ghostbusters World.

Use an app like Strava or MapMyWalk to draw a virtual picture as you walk, and use the hashtag #DrawWithYourFeet or #GPSART to share your creation on social media.

To hunt for or leave treasure, download Geocaching.

Support a local cause by walking a virtual race youll probably still come away with a T-shirt and medal. The Gateway Resilience Run & Ride, through June 30, is a virtual event that will help small businesses and charities in the St. Louis region get through the coronavirus crisis. For more information, visit Gatewayresiliencerun.com.

Download an app like Charity Miles to track your movement to make money for a favorite charity. The money comes from corporate sponsors or you can get pledges and donations from friends and family.

Walk somewhere interesting

Find a main street or historic town, peek in the windows or shop and eat if you can: try St. Charles; Kimmswick; Old Town Florissant; Kirkwood; Lebanon; Columbia, Illinois; and Belleville.

Visit a cemetery or the grave of a loved one: Bellefontaine offers a GPS-enabled map and suggested walking tours. Calvary Cemetery next door and Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery are also beautiful and historical. (cemeteries.archstl.org/Locations/Calvary#485742-maps)

St. Louis Walk of Fame Next to Blueberry Hill on Delmar 5/21/00 Civil War General William T. Sherman was inducted into the Walk of Fame on Sunday afternoon. His star is located at 6687 Delmar. Photo by Aaron Burg

Take a stroll along the St. Louis Walk of Fame, which honors more than 150 prominent St. Louisans along six blocks of the Delmar Loop. The St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation Walk of Fame in downtown St. Louis, in the 2000 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, honors prominent African Americans.

Be a good social distancing citizen and visit lesser-known parks and parts of them, or visit during weekdays or off hours to avoid crowds. Inside Forest Park, places like Successional Forest, Kennedy Forest, the circle around Jefferson Lake, Murphy Lake, West Pine Woodland, Round Lake Vista, Deer Lake Natural Area are usually quiet.

If you live in the city, try walking the alleys to discover backyard chickens, flower and vegetable gardens, carriage house architecture or basement treasures left beside trash bins.

Maureen O'Day, of St. Louis, takes photo while standing in the east bound lane of the Eads Bridge during a event celebrating the completion of a repair project to the bridge, Friday, October 7, 2016. Pedestrians were allowed to walk on the bridge while it was closed to vehicular traffic. Photo by Roberto Rodriguez

Find a bridge that has pedestrian access and enjoy the views: the Eads Bridge, Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, the old Chain of Rocks Bridge, and the Page Avenue Bridge all allow pedestrians. The Sandy Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site in Jefferson County spans a creek that welcomes waders.

Find a spot to use your walk for contemplation or prayer. The Centenary Methodist Church in downtown St. Louis and the St. Peters UCC Church and cemetery in Washington, Missouri, have labyrinths. The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville has outdoor stations of the cross.

Challenge yourself

Humorist David Sedaris grew obsessed with walking once he got a Fitbit, reaching a point where he scoffed at himself for doing a mere 15,000 steps a day. Not bad if youre on a business trip or youre just getting used to a new prosthetic leg, he wrote. Fitness experts and pedometer makers recommend 10,000 steps a day, or roughly 5 miles.

There are any number of apps and gadgets to measure distance and prod you to challenge yourself or a friend.

Fitbits, like this Fitbit Flex, track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes, and the device monitors your sleep and wakes you with a silent vibrating alarm.

The St. Louis County parks 30 trails-30 minutes program encourages you to print a map, punch out a piece of it at the start of designated trails, and turn in the completed map for a prize. (stlouisco.com/Parks-and-Recreation/Trails/30-30-Hikes-Program)

Great Rivers Greenway advertises 10 more walks you can do in 30 minutes. (greatriversgreenway.org/30-walks-30-minutes-plus-10/)

The Missouri Civil War Passport Program points you to about 40 significant sites across the state. (mo-passport.org)

The Gateway Arch Park Foundation recently launched a challenge for fans to climb the steps of the Gateway Arch from home. There are 1,076 steps inside of each leg, and the foundation wants you to climb up and down the Arch as fast as you can to complete a total of 2,152 steps, just over one mile. Post your efforts on social media, tag @GatewayArchPark and use #GatewayArchStepChallenge.

No matter where or how long you walk, see if you can up your intensity to get the most health benefits, said Millner of the Fit and Food Connection.

I recommend quality over quantity, she said.

Even if youre just beginning, set small goals to get your heart rate up so that youre not exactly comfortable, and it might be difficult to carry on part of a conversation, she said. You can add lunges, jumping jacks, go at a faster pace, walk up and down a hill or steps.

Thats how you make it fun she said. It wont really feel terrible, but the results will be huge. I teach that small changes yield big results.

Walk with a friend, or make new ones

If you can maintain a social distance, you can still walk with a friend, chat with a neighbor, or take a moment to smile at rather than ignore the people in your path. Were just hearing from a lot of people they obviously want to maintain their physical health, but also their emotional well-being, Klues said.

Robert and Beverly Brozanski pass Elizabeth Dilg and Frank Youkhana enjoying an evening cocktail as the Brozankis take Lady Belle for her nightly walk on Thursday, April 30, 2020, along Delmar Blvd in University City. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com

Even if people arent talking to others directly, just to see people outside helps maintain a sense of community, she said.

Lois La Fleur is the president of the Gateway Milers, a walking club that is a chapter of the American Volksport Association. Volksport is German for sport of the people. While the clubs organized walks have been on hold since the pandemic, they maintain lists of recommended walks people can take anytime. Detailed maps for these walks cost $3 and are found in binders at designated starting points like libraries and YMCAs, though many binders arent accessible now because the locations are closed.

A man takes a walk on the gravel pavement in Frontier Park in St. Charles on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, La Fleur stays in touch with the friends shes made through the club through Zoom meetings and socially distant walks with one or two friends.

The AVA motto is fun, fitness and friendship. And were kinda like, walk, talk and lets go eat somewhere. And when I started they were all strangers to me, she said.

The club welcomes new members and tries a new walk in a different spot every Saturday. She and other members have built vacations around walks in other cities, saying its a great way to see places locals recommend.

For more information, visit ava.org.

For some of the best views in St. Louis, check out some of these places

Everyone knows the best place to get a look at St. Louis is through one of 32 windows at the top of the Gateway Arch. Luckily, the trams that carry passengers to the observation deck 630 feet in the air reopened Wednesday after having been closed since November for upgrades.

But the Archs view isnt the only one in town. There are others to appreciate, with many providing a look at our favorite metal monument.

We came up with 50 St. Louis-area locations to admire the scenic surroundings. Most are open to the public, some offer a look at downtown and others show off nothin but nature.

Do you have your own great photos of these views? Or maybe you have more suggestions for our list? Tell us about them on social media by using the hashtag #stlviews.

The supermoon rises over the Arch in St. Louis as seen from the Compton Hill Water Tower on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016. A supermoon happens when a full moon makes its closest pass to Earth appearing up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter in the sky. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

1700 South Grand Boulevard Several fabulous views are to be had here: Walk the stairs up to the perimeter of the reservoir, which is great for running. One side runs along Interstate 44. Or wait until the water tower is open, usually on the first Saturday of the month or during a full moon, and climb up 198 steps for spectacular views in all directions.

The Malcolm W. Martin statue overlooks a foggy St. Louis skyline, as seen from Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Martin was a lawyer and civic booster in St. Louis who championed expanding the Arch grounds to the East Side. He died in 2004 at age 91. Photo by Cristina M. Fletes, cfletes@post-dispatch.com

185 West Trendley Avenue, East St. Louis This tiered Mississippi River overlook opened to the public in 2009 and offers a striking view of the St. Louis riverfront. Watch for the Gateway Geyser, the tallest water fountain in the country, which gushes up to 630 feet at noon, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. from April through October.

Fog lifts from a row of trees along the east banks of the Mississippi River at sunrise on the Illinois side of the river as seen from the bluff in Bellerive Park in St. Louis on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Photo By David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

5570 South Broadway Enjoy sweeping views of the Mississippi River from benches or the overlook at the pavilion.

A Mississippi River overlook at Jefferson Barracks County Park (photo courtesy of St. Louis County Parks)

345 North Road Several overlooks at this former military barracks will give you views of the Mississippi River and visiting deer. Check out the view from the patio of the free Powder Magazine museum.

Saturday, June 2, 2007 - Mark Abels, of St. Louis, crosses the Chain of Rocks Bridge which is part of the new Route 66 bike trail, that spans from The Chain of Rocks Bridge to Chicago. Abels and his wife, Merri, started riding at 10:00 a.m. at The Chain of Rocks Bridge, stopped in Edwardsville, Ill., and then biked back to the bridge. The whole trip was about 30 miles. "It was a good ride," said Merri Abels in Edwardsville, "ask me that again on the way back." The entire route spans 438 miles. On Saturday there were about 500 riders biking the route. Karen Stockman | Post-Dispatch

Parallelling Interstate 270 along West Chain of Rocks Road between Riverview Drive in St. Louis and Illinois 3 in Madison County This historic bridge is open to bikes and pedestrians. Watch for the 30-degree bend in the middle of the bridge and for the castle-like pump station in the middle of the Mississippi River.

Joe Hansen, 78, of University City takes in the view near the top of the Weldon Spring Disposal Cell during a visit with his church group Monday in St. Charles County. "It almost brings a tear to my eye," Hansen says, who was a metal engineer at the Weldon Springs Site from 1958 to 1966. "We had a pretty good time here." The disposal cell, part of the Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center, covers about 45 acres and provides isolation of chemically and radioactively contaminated waste material. 2005 PHOTO BY HUY RICHARD MACH/PD

7295 Highway 94 South, Weldon Spring Climb to the top of the 75-foot-high Weldon Spring Disposal Cell (yes, the government built this site atop old TNT, DNT and uranium ore processing facilities) and you can see panoramic views of St. Charles County and the Hamburg Prairie.

A press-box view of the Busch Stadium outfield on Monday. (Photo by Derrick Goold)

700 Clark Avenue If St. Louis has the best fans in baseball, we might have the best views, too. The view of downtown when you glance up from a Cardinals game cant be beat. Go to cardinals.com to see the view from your seat.

The Gateway Arch serves as a distant backdrop during the Stop the Violence 4 Peace Festival on Saturday, July 18, 2015 in the Old North neighborhood of St. Louis. The festival, in its first year, featured live music, crafts for kids, and booth from local vendors. Photo by Huy Mach, hmach@post-dispatch.com

14th Street between St. Louis Avenue and Warren Street If youre in this neighborhood just northwest of downtown, perhaps grabbing a chocolate-banana shake at Crown Candy Kitchen, you might have a moment where you look up and say, Oh, hey. Just to the south youll see a familiar friend, the Arch, rising above the Dome at Americas Center.

View of Busch Stadium old and new on Dec. 5, 2005, from the Eagleton Federal Courthouse building in St. Louis, Mo. POST-DISPATCH PHOTO BY CHRIS LEE

111 South 10th Street Tours are available of this 29-story building, but provided you go through security, the views of the city are vastly different whether you look out a west-facing window on the 10th floor or an east-facing window on the top floor.

A view of the newly completed Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard from the Eads Bridge on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, at the St. Louis riverfront. Work on the Arch grounds continues. Photo by J.B. Forbes, jforbes@post-dispatch.com

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Time for yet another (groan) pandemic walk? Here's how to switch things up. - STLtoday.com

For $.28 a pound, Shorty Hofer doesnt want to sell his hogs, but in a farrow-to-finish operation where new litters of piglets are born every week, you run out of room in your barn.

We farrow every week, said Hofer, a hog farmer and business manager of the Hutterite Midway Colony near Conrad. We keep farrowing, so weve got to keep them moving. Theyve got to go somewhere every week.

So Hofer keeps taking the losses.

Its better than killing them, he said.

With many meat processing plants still offline because of COVID-19 outbreaks at facilities, farmers across the country have had to euthanize millions of animals. In Montana, most hogs go to West Coast facilities that have seen less disruption, so hog farmers have not yet taken the step of euthanizing animals. Still, the state Department of Livestock is gearing up its carcass disposal facility in anticipation of the possibility.

Those that are sold are bringing prices near zero. The average cost to raise a hog from farrow to finish is about $125 per head, according to Iowa State University.

Its been a world of hurt, Hofer said.

Hofer decided to do something different with his most recent load of finished hogs. Rather than sell all of them at a loss, Hofer made a deal with Independent Meat Company, his regular processor in Twin Falls, Idaho. If Independent Meat would slaughter 10 hogs without charge, the processor could keep the prime cuts for resale, and Hofer would take the equivalent weight in hot dogs and ground pork. Hofer then would donate the 800 pounds of pork to local food banks.

Seven other Montana Hutterite colonies have made similar deals.

We cant take care of the whole state, but we figured well help locally and start locally.

With livestock prices falling and food banks facing increased need, farmers and ranchers across Montana have increasingly been figuring out ways to share their products locally.

I am so proud of what our farmers are doing, said Anne Miller, executive director of the Montana Pork Producers Council. Were getting more animals directly into the food supply.

Montana is a net exporter of pork. At Hutterite colonies, which produce more than 95% of the hogs in Montana, as well as significant amounts of eggs and dairy and other crops including potatoes, the donations are wide-ranging. Twenty-nine Montana Hutterite colonies have each donated about 12,000 gallons of milk to the Montana Food Bank Network. Some Hutterite donations also include fresh-baked bread, Miller said.

We cant take care of the whole state, but we figured well help locally and start locally, Hofer said.

Joel Schumacher, an extension economics associate specialist at Montana State University, said any food kept in-state is a net positive for Montana consumers. Montana-raised hogs are typically sold to out-of-state markets.

In Park County, with the Livingston Food Resource Center seeing a 300% increase in need, rancher Matt Pierson decided to donate a few of his older cows to be locally butchered for donation to food banks in Livingston and Big Timber. Pierson organized more than a dozen local ranchers to donate more than 20 animals, he said. The Park County Community Foundation raised money to help pay for the processing fees.

Like most cattle ranches in the state, Piersons Highland Livestock sells its cattle as feeders that will go to an out-of-state feedlot to be fattened and later be processed at a large processing facility.

Some ranchers have also sought out local markets for their livestock, Miller said, but there is a limited number of in-state cattle and hog processors, which must be federally or state inspected.

Montana politicians, at the request of farming and ranching organizations, have asked the USDA to allow custom exempt processors, who often slaughter deer and elk for hunters, to temporarily process meat for ranchers to donate to food banks.

It will be a critical issue in the future, Miller said. There is an extremely limited amount of slaughter capacity right now.

Montana Department of Livestock Executive Director Mike Honeycutt said the state is pushing hard for the exemption, and has created new temporary regulations to ensure meat is processed safely.

The Montana Department of Livestock has identified a rigorous set of criteria to ensure food safety and humane slaughter, and would not allow such exempted meat products to enter general commerce, Sen. Jon Tester wrote in a letter to the USDA earlier this month. This proposal aims to close the gap between food banks and producers, eliminate food waste, and ensure that we can keep food on the table for Montana families.

Wyoming, which similarly lacks in-state commercial processors, recently amended its Food Freedom Law to allow ranchers to sell cuts of meat directly to in-state consumers by making those consumers part-owners of the cattle.

Pierson said he has heard some interest in that idea in Montana, but he wants to ensure customer confidence that the meat is safe to eat.

All of the regulations we have have been implemented for a reason, he said.

For now, Pierson said, hes glad to be helping at a time when there is so much uncertainty in the cattle market. The Department of Livestock has said it expects some ranchers to go out of business due to the pandemic-driven economic downturn.

That downturn is expected to especially impact rural communities. In some counties in central and eastern Montana, agriculture is tied to up to 80% of the economy, Schumacher said.

Cattle producers, along with wheat and barley farmers, are among the most impacted, said George Haynes, a professor and agricultural policy specialist in extension economics at Montana State University. The cow-calf business, in combination with wheat and barley, makes up more than 80% of the agriculture economy in the state.

With prices having dropped about 30% for cattle and even more for hogs during the pandemic, Miller said, she can tell the donations are helping farmers deal with a time of incredible stress.

That will provide a significant mental health boost when theyre faced with the hardest decision theyve ever made, Miller said of farmers choosing whether to euthanize animals or take significant losses on their sale. For every hog that goes straight to the food supply, farmers will walk that much taller in the barn.

This story is part of continuing Montana Free Press coverage of community responses to COVID-19 supported by theSolutions Journalism Network.

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With livestock prices falling and food banks in need, ag producers find new ways to share - Montana Free Press

My dating profile picture, a blurry, distant figure in a desert landscape, suggested a great deal about my ambivalence: I wanted, and I didnt want. At 47, divorced for nearly two decades and with my daughters grown, I cherished my solitude, but sometimes when I heard the mice rustling in the attic, I thought of the newspaper story I had read about a man not far from where I lived who had been found dead in his flat, partly eaten by rats.

Sometimes I tired of my own company; occasionally I was lonely. I had forgotten what it felt like to touch someone or to be touched. When I held my own hand in the dark to remind myself, my hand seemed small and cool, as if it belonged to someone else.

I wanted connection, but I didnt want what it always seemed to cost: the men who turned me into the sole focus of their lives (Youre the only thing worth living for); the men who told me what I wanted and didnt want rather than what they wanted or didnt want; the men whose expression of concern for my safety revealed itself to be a mask for control and coercion whose words moved from You shouldnt to You cant as they stood blocking the door, preventing me from leaving.

If the profile picture I chose suggested my ambivalence, then the fact that I chose Edinburgh for my location drove it home. Edinburgh lies two national borders and a seven-hour train journey from where I live in a rural part of Wales.

In reality, trying out online dating at a distance of 350 miles seemed a good deal safer than trying it out near home. Doing so could let me test the water without really taking a risk. And even if online dating was only a modern version of my widowed aunt matchmaking at an 18th-century barn-dance or ball, it seemed so artificial, so antithetical to the spontaneity and accident that creates romance, that I thought it would be safe.

There were the usual suspects who ignored my photo and what it said about my ambivalence. The plump accountant who told me I was beautiful despite not knowing what I looked like. The purported U.S. marine in Iraq who used all caps and would no doubt be sending some scammer message about needing me to transfer money. A slightly alarming New York banker wanted to meet me, had to meet me, would get on a plane to come meet me the minute I replied.

I looked at the profile of a man at sea; he seemed safely distant. And there was a climber with a kind face who was good at chopping wood. He lived in Carlisle, a five-hour drive away.

I am fair with an ax but terrified of heights, so he seemed safe too. I didnt answer the accountant or the marine or the banker, and the man at sea didnt reply to me, but the climber did. Soon we were writing to each other regularly across the shortening days of early autumn.

Our correspondence reminded me of having a pen-pal: We told each other little details of our day-to-day lives, of things we had seen or done, but we never mentioned meeting. I asked him about the climbing, but I really didnt want to know. I experience vertigo at the top of a flight of stairs, and the pictures of him inching along a crag above a 100-foot drop gave me palpitations. Even if we ever were to meet, I knew we wouldnt get beyond that first coffee in a caf, or his preference a pint of real ale in a pub.

Ten months later, Im stepping up to the foot of a crag. Everything has left my mind but fear. In my peripheral vision: a void, a nightmare of nothingness. Beneath me, a black slab descends steeply to a limpet-crusted causeway of broken columns.

I tamp down the fear, but halfway up this sea-stack off the coast of Mull, I lose control of it and get stuck. My feet are wedged into a vertical crack. Theres a foothold to my left, a bit higher up, but my left foot is pinned beneath my right, and I cant move it. I cant move my right foot either: theres nowhere else to place it. I cant shift my weight so that I might free my left foot. And I cant step back down, because that way is the void, the nothingness.

I am stuck, and I cannot see a way that I can ever move. My brain toys with me, tells me its insoluble. Even supposing my right foot finds a foothold beneath me, where can I put my left foot but back in this crack? My feet do a little dance in the crack but only end up wedged in more tightly.

Ive got you, he calls down, from far above, out of sight. Youre safe.

He has me secured by a rope, but his words just sound like meaningless noise. My heart races; I cant breathe. I have only the jangled sense of catastrophe.

He takes in the rope a little, so that I can feel hes there at the other end, holding me, but I am frozen, panicking. My hands grip the rock convulsively, and my left leg begins to cramp.

Somehow, though, remembering being in labor, I get my breathing under control. My heart slows from its mad race to a fast, painful pounding. I tell the disembodied voice above me to shut up, to stop making noise. I swear out loud that if I get out of this I will never, ever do it again. I jiggle my feet, lodging my right foot a little higher in the crack, and manage to slip my left foot out from under it. Then I jam it in somehow, scrabbling and slipping, as I bring my right foot back down and in under the left.

My left foot is free to move, but now I have to lunge upward to get it onto the foothold to the left, and that means letting go of what Im gripping so tightly. I dont know what Ill be able to grab hold of higher up when I lunge. I cant let go, and I know I have to let go to be able to move on, and this seems both a profound truth and at the same time the most trite and redundant thought Ive ever had.

This isnt some personal growth seminar, I think, enraged at myself. This is a disaster. And then, because in the end I have to, though I might have nothing to hold onto, I launch myself into the unknown.

Miraculously, my left hand finds a great lumpy protrusion, and then theres a hold for my right, and suddenly everything is possible. The rest has its own logic, almost as though the handholds and footholds appear as I need them, a known thing before its known. And with a kind of exquisite economy, Im lifting myself from one hold to the next, and I am at the lip, and at the top, and there he is, the man who all along has been keeping me safe, whose voice has been carrying me, even though I told him to shut up, while I took the time to find my way and keep going.

Trust, I say, gabbling in the release of endorphins, in a delirium, lying on my back on the wide, flat rock. Trust. Its all about trust.

I watch him, this man who is not afraid of being afraid, who does not need to keep me from taking risks I watch him coiling the rope with which he kept me safe, shaking his head resignedly over the slimy puddle of guano he landed it in, and I realize that, remarkably, he trusted me too. He placed his trust in me to keep him safe as he climbed first, even though I hardly knew what I was doing.

Where next? I say, euphoric at having overcome fear, and now hes looking at me with something like pride and delight in my delight, and warm affection, and deep recognition of me that has nothing to do with words. And I think, So this is what love is.

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You Have to Let Go to Move On - The New York Times

Yogurt is a fermented dairy product thats enjoyed worldwide as a creamy breakfast or snack.

Moreover, its associated with bone health and digestive benefits. Some people even claim that it supports weight loss (1, 2).

In fact, several diets center solely around yogurt, asserting that its key to helping you shed weight. Still, you may wonder how these claims stand up to scientific scrutiny.

This article explains everything you need to know about specific yogurt diets and whether this popular dairy product helps you lose weight.

Multiple diets feature yogurt as a key component, insisting that this food helps you lose weight quickly.

This section reviews two of these diets to determine whether theyre based on sound science.

One such diet, promoted by actress Jeannie Mai, is known as the Yoplait Yogurt Diet or Yoplait Light Two Week Tune Up. Launched by the yogurt company Yoplait, it claims to help individuals lose 25 pounds (12.5 kg) over 14 days.

This diet has you eating yogurt at least twice a day. Its rules include specific instructions for meals and snacks:

The diet reduces your calorie intake to just 1,200 calories per day and recommends that you increase your physical activity by walking 3040 minutes every day. Together, these factors result in a calorie deficit, which may help you lose weight (3, 4).

Some proponents of the diet maintain that the focus on fat-free yogurt is also beneficial, claiming that the fat in other yogurts ups your bodys production of the stress hormone cortisol. This increase is thought to boost levels of anxiety and hunger.

While research links higher cortisol levels to an increase in appetite and obesity risk, dietary fat has not been tied to a significant increase in cortisol levels (5, 6, 7).

In fact, fat-free yogurts like Yoplait Light are often higher in sugar, which has been shown to raise cortisol levels and hunger. Additionally, studies associate full fat dairy products with a reduced risk of obesity (8, 9, 10).

Furthermore, as the diet only lasts 2 weeks and is quite restrictive, youre likely to regain any weight lost if you dont transition into a more sustainable eating pattern afterward.

Overall, the Yoplait Light Two Week Tune Up is primarily a marketing campaign that isnt based on scientific evidence.

While you may lose some weight, this is a result of cutting calories not eating yogurt. This diet is unlikely to lead to meaningful or long-term weight loss.

Nutritionist Ana Luque promotes an eating pattern called the Yogurt Diet in her book of the same name, which says that yogurt is the secret to losing weight and supporting overall health.

Specifically, she declares that the probiotics in yogurt help treat obesity, lactose intolerance, digestive problems, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), allergies, diabetes, gum disease, yeast infections, slow metabolism, and ulcers.

The book also includes a 5-week detox diet that involves eating several servings of yogurt each day.

While the author asserts that this diet helped her overcome digestive issues and lactose intolerance, theres currently no evidence to support the effectiveness of her diet plan.

Both Yoplaits and Ana Luques yogurt diets are based on the notion that yogurt promotes weight loss. However, neither diet has been studied for its short- or long-term effectiveness, and the Yoplait diet, in particular, is packed with added sugar.

Several theories suggest that yogurt supports weight loss due to its various nutrients.

Dairy yogurt is considered an excellent source of calcium, with 1 cup (245 grams) providing approximately 23% of the Daily Value (DV) (11).

Calcium is an essential mineral thats important for bone health. It has also been studied for its weight loss effects (12, 13).

Test-tube studies reveal that higher blood levels of calcium may reduce fat cell growth. Similarly, animal studies link calcium supplements to significant reductions in body weight and fat mass (13).

However, the effect of calcium on weight loss in humans is mixed.

A study in 4,733 people associated calcium supplements with significantly less weight gain over time in children, adolescents, adult men, premenopausal women, and adults with a healthy body mass index (BMI) (14).

However, the overall effect of the supplements was quite small. On average, those taking calcium gained 2.2 pounds (1 kg) less than those not taking the supplements (14).

A few other studies suggest that dietary or supplementary calcium may aid weight and fat loss in children, post-menopausal women with obesity, and men with type 2 diabetes (15, 16, 17).

Yet, several other studies dont show a significant link between increased calcium intake and weight loss (13, 18, 19, 20, 21).

As such, more research on yogurts calcium content is needed.

Yogurts protein content may aid weight loss in various ways. These include:

One cup (245 grams) of yogurt boasts anywhere from 8 grams of protein in regular yogurt to 22 grams in Greek yogurt (11, 32).

However, this dairy product isnt unique in its protein content. Foods like lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, and soy are also excellent sources of protein (33).

Yogurt is a good source of probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that support gut health (34, 35).

While research is limited, early studies suggest that probiotics especially those containing Lactobacillus bacteria, which is common in yogurt may help you lose weight and belly fat (36, 37, 38).

A 43-day study in 28 overweight adults found that eating 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of yogurt with Lactobacillus amylovorus per day resulted in greater reductions in body fat than yogurt without probiotics (38).

While these results are promising, further research is needed.

Yogurt is a good source of calcium, protein, and probiotics. While more studies on calcium and probiotics are necessary, its protein content may support weight loss.

Its nutrients aside, you may wonder what studies show about yogurt and weight loss. Notably, various ways of including it in your diet may change how it affects your weight.

In a 2-year study in 8,516 adults, those who ate more than 7 servings of yogurt per week were less likely to have overweight or obesity than individuals who ate 2 or fewer servings per week (39).

Similarly, a study in 3,440 people found that those who ate at least 3 servings of yogurt per week gained less weight and had smaller changes in waist circumference than those who ate less than 1 serving per week (40).

While intriguing, these studies are observational and cannot prove cause and effect.

In a review of six randomized controlled trials the gold standard of scientific research only one study determined that yogurt had a significant effect on weight loss (2, 41).

As such, while those who regularly consume yogurt may be less likely to have overweight or obesity, research doesnt currently show that simply adding it to your diet aids weight loss.

Interestingly, replacing a high fat, low protein food with yogurt may boost weight loss.

One study gave 20 healthy women either 160 calories (6 ounces or 159 grams) of yogurt as an afternoon snack or the same number of calories from high fat crackers and chocolate (42).

When eating yogurt, the women reported feeling fuller for longer. Furthermore, they consumed an average of 100 fewer calories at dinner (42).

Thus, replacing other snack foods with yogurt may help you control your appetite and consume fewer calories.

While regularly eating yogurt is linked to a reduced risk of excess weight and obesity, its unclear whether simply adding it to your diet aids weight loss. That said, replacing low protein, high calorie snacks with yogurt is likely to help.

Although yogurt can be part of a nutritious diet, not all products are healthy.

In fact, many yogurts pack high amounts of added sugar, especially fat-free and low fat flavored varieties.

Diets high in added sugars are associated with an increased risk of obesity and weight gain, as well as conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes (43, 44, 45, 46).

Thus, you should read the label on yogurt before buying it. Plain and unsweetened yogurts are best, as they dont contain added sugars.

As many yogurts are high in added sugars, its important to read labels and opt for plain or unsweetened varieties.

Yogurt can make a nutritious and versatile addition to your diet. Here are some healthy ways to incorporate it into your routine:

Yogurt is a versatile ingredient that can be enjoyed on its own as a breakfast or snack. It can also be used in cooking and baking.

As an excellent source of calcium, protein, and probiotics, yogurt has been lauded as a weight loss aid.

Still, fad diets like the Yoplait Two Week Tune Up and Ana Luques Yogurt Diet arent well studied and may even have negative health effects.

Yogurt may be most beneficial for weight loss when used to replace high calorie, low protein foods rather than when simply added to your diet. As it may help you feel full for longer, this dairy product could naturally lead you to eat fewer calories throughout the day.

Furthermore, regular yogurt intake is tied to a reduced risk of excess weight and obesity.

Overall, eating yogurt as part of a balanced diet can be a nutritious and satisfying way to support weight loss.

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The Yogurt Diet: Weight Loss Fact or Fiction? - Healthline

Every day, food influencer Eloise Head posts photos of treats like doubled-up burgers dripping with cheese, gooey brownies stuffed with peanut butter cups, and stacks of pancakes piled high with toppings and smothered in lashings of melted chocolate.

But the most common questions Head gets asked by the 400,000 people who follow Fit Waffle (and her newly-launched cooking account Fit Waffle Kitchen) aren't about her recipes or favorite restaurants, but her body.

"The most common questions I get asked are, 'Do you eat all this food?' and, 'How do you eat all this food and stay in shape?'" she told Insider.

Eloise Head's Snickers Cookie Bars. Eloise Head

While 26-year-old Head doesn't post photos of herself that often, she shares enough for her followers to see that she has an enviable physique.

And the trouble is, many people believe that to look like Head, you can't eat any of the foods she posts.

Through going on her own journey with food, fitness, and her body, Head learned that this simply isn't the case there's no such thing as "good" or "bad" foods, no single food will make you gain weight, and everything can be enjoyed in moderation.

Eating too much of any food, thus being in a calorie surplus and taking in more energy than you burn, leads to weight gain.

While some foods are more calorie-dense than others, that doesn't mean you can't still eat them and maintain or even lose weight.

"There are no specific foods that make you gain weight," Head, who is a qualified personal trainer, told Insider.

"Everything can be enjoyed in moderation, without feeling guilty afterward or feeling like you're moving further away from your goals. Even if your goal is fat loss."

Head says everything can be enjoyed in moderation. Eloise Head

Weight loss specialist and board-certified cardiologist Dr. Luiza Petre previously reinforced this point to Insider's Sophia Mistrokostas when explaining how even "healthy" foods like those prioritized on the Mediterranean diet can lead to weight gain if overconsumed.

"Calorie-loaded foods that have a healthy halo like avocado, nuts and excessive amounts of olive oil are very caloric dense and can pack fat quickly on your waistline," Petre said.

When it comes to losing weight, nutritionist Graeme Tomlinson previously stressed to Insider that "a calorie deficit is the only exercise required," regardless of which foods you eat.

"Ensuring you enjoy what you eat, and can sustain the deficit and mode of energy expenditure, you have a greater chance of consistently losing fat over time," he said.

Of course, eating lower-calorie foods will allow you to eat larger quantities while remaining in a calorie deficit, but it'll be a lot easier to maintain that deficit if you let yourself enjoy some of your favorite foods every once in a while.

While Head, of course, enjoys the foods on her Instagram pages, she doesn't eat the whole tray of brownies in one sitting she eats a portion. And this moderation is the key.

"I definitely don't eat the whole of everything I bake," she said. "I generally eat the bits I want, then share the rest with my family.

"Once lockdown is over, I hope to share it with my friends that live further away, too."

Oreo-layered brownies feature on Fit Waffle Kitchen. Eloise Head

Head also points out that she has been running Fit Waffle full-time since July 2019 the brand is her job, it's not a food diary.

"It's important to understand that Fit Waffle is my business," she said.

"The page is to showcase my recipes and foods I have tried from restaurants and food traders. The page does not showcase my diet."

She added: "I eat my food in moderation alongside a balanced diet and I stay active. There really are no secrets."

Although Head works out a lot, she trains because she loves fitness, and not to "counteract" the food she's eating.

"I generally train five to six times a week for about an hour and a half. All my workouts are weights focused, as opposed to cardio," she said.

A post shared by London Food Content Creators (@fitwaffle)Apr 15, 2020 at 1:23pm PDT

Each workout begins with a 10-minute warm-up, then stretching and foam rolling.

"I'm usually training to gain or maintain muscle and improve my strength and performance, rather than to lose weight," Head added.

She also walks every day, but mainly for her mental health, and just because she enjoys it.

Head admits that she hasn't always had such a good relationship with food.

About eight years ago when she was 18 and at college, Head, like many people, decided to go on a diet before a holiday.

"I basically cut out all foods I decided were 'bad' for me and only ate foods that I considered to be 'healthy,'" she said.

"For example, I would allow myself to eat sweet potatoes, but not white potatoes. Anything like chocolate, cookies, or fried food was completely off-limits."

Eloise Head when she followed a restrictive diet (left) and now. Eloise Head

Needless to say, Head lost a lot of weight by eating very few calories of the foods she deemed "good," and said her blood pressure was very low. She'd even get a head-rush multiple times a day where she'd black out for a few seconds at a time.

"My friends and family started to voice their concerns about my weight, but in my eyes, I still wasn't lean enough," Head said.

"After my holiday, I continued with my 'diet' and lost even more weight.

"I had fights with my mum when I wouldn't eat what she gave me for dinner. I told her that I was being healthy, because I wasn't eating 'bad' foods and I frowned on her own diet."

Head's turning point came when she first learned about a way of eating called "If it fits your macros" (IIFYM), also known as Flexible Dieting, while studying for her personal training qualification.

Macros are the three macronutrients your body needs in large amounts: carbohydrates, fat, and protein.

IIFYM or Flexible Dieting is a way of approaching nutrition that's popular in the fitness community, and essentially shows you how you can fit any food into your diet and still hit your calorie and macro targets.

"This completely changed my mindset about food being 'healthy' or 'unhealthy,'" said Head." I could see foods broken down into their macronutrient values; protein, fats, and carbohydrates."

The more Head educated herself, the more she realized her goals had shifted.

No foods are off-limits any more. Eloise Head

"I did a lot of research and started to eat towards my goals, which were now to gain muscle and start putting on weight," she said.

It took Head some years of educating herself to get to a position where she felt she could relax and eat intuitively though.

"I tracked my calories and macronutrients religiously for about four years before I felt comfortable enough to listen to my body and enjoy all foods in moderation," she said.

"My relationship with food and my body is still not perfect, but I've come a long way from where I started and have gained a lot of knowledge along the way."

Read more:

How calorie-counting actually helped me develop a healthier relationship with food

I lost 35 pounds in 6 months without going on a diet, and it taught me 7 lessons about eating for healthy fat loss

A self-taught baker's 3-ingredient dessert recipes have made her a TikTok sensation

The rest is here:
Food influencer on how to eat indulgent foods and not gain weight - Insider - INSIDER

CC Sabathia has a right, like any of us, to pursue the body he wants.

Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images

This week, a picture went viral that showed former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia in a Jordan Brand tank top suddenly looking like a prizefighter:

When Sabathia retired at the end of the 2019 MLB season, he was listed at 300 pounds. Even on his 66 frame, that usually meant a proud, hefty gut, which Yankee fans came to know well after 11 years of seeing the southpaw take the mound in form-fitting pinstripes. So the internet was understandably confused by this picture. It took confirmation from Ryan Ruocco, the other half of Sabathias sports-talk podcast R2C2 for people to believe it. Ruocco tweeted: Not Photoshopped. The big fella has been getting after it during quarantine!

Acceptance, though, quickly turned to annoyance, as baseball fans bemoaned Sabathia waiting until retirement to get in shape. The takes are endless, but can be summed up with a tweet from one commenter, who wrote, Great, the Yankees pay him millions and millions of dollars for years and years, and now he decides he should get in shape. Excellent.

There is a lot wrong with that line of thinking. For starters, the implied laziness is completely uncalled for; Sabathia was a workhorse during his tenure with the Yankees, pushing past the all-important 200-innings-pitched mark in five straight seasons. He held down an average ERA of 3.81 (for reference, the league average has been well above 4.0 the last four years), and won 134 games and a ring. He also had a fierce penchant for defending his teammates, and once got tossed out of a game knowing full well hed sacrifice a $5 million performance incentive for not completing it.

But more significantly, baseball bodies look different than those in other sports, and even vary by position. Sabathia tried various diets over the years. He lost 30 pounds before the 2012 season, and switched to a vegan diet to expedite his recovery process from knee surgery before the 2018 campaign. His lone Cy Young Award, though, came when when he was well over 300 pounds, during his 2007 season with the Cleveland Indians. Sabathia was absolutely dominant that year. And his greatest success with the Yankees two straight 19-win seasons also came when he was at his heaviest. According to data from FanGraphs, thats because Sabathias fastball lost velocity as he lost weight. He began to rely more on secondary breaking ball pitches and lose more games.

The most frustrating misconception about Sabathias post-retirement body changes is this concept that he still owes anyone anything. The 39-year-old has a right, like any of us, to pursue the body he wants. During his career, MLB Hall of Famer Jim Rice made fun of him for his donut and chicken weight. That was wrong. But so is claiming that a different physique means Sabathia is obligated to head back onto a baseball field once this lockdown ends, and perform for fans again. He did his time and he did it well. Now let the man get his squats in and post about it, if he wants in peace.

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CC Sabathia Is Jacked Now. That Doesnt Mean He Should Return to the Yankees. - InsideHook

Drinking alcohol and losing weight might sound like one of those "you can't have your cake and eat it too" scenarios (sorry for the cake visual!), but it doesn't have to be. If imbibing is part of your social schedule or just a go-to way to unwind, you don't have to give it up entirely.

Can you really drink alcohol and lose weight? You bet, if you follow these six steps.

Image Credit: martin-dm/E+/GettyImages

But (of course there's a but) if your average night out or Zoom happy hour currently features more than a few margaritas or craft beers, you may need to rethink your drinking.

Alcohol is a source of calories, after all. And one way those calories differ from, say, macronutrients like carbs, fat and protein, is that they can impair your judgment which can affect the food choices you make while drinking. Regularly pairing your drinks with fried bar food or late-night pizza and nursing a hangover with an epic breakfast the next morning will most certainly sabotage your weight-loss goals.

Wondering how to calculate your calories for weight loss? Download the MyPlate app to do the job and help you track your intake, so you can stay focused and achieve your goals!

It is possible to drink alcohol in a healthy way and still lose weight, though. Here are six tips to make it happen.

We know, this one seems obvious, but it still needs to be said. The published research on the health benefits of drinking are on moderate drinking, not binge drinking.

So, what is moderate? This means one drink per day for women and up to two drinks a day for men, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The one- or two-drink rule isn't intended as an average, but rather the amount you consume on any single day.

The other key factor is understanding what "one drink" really means:

Sticking to these servings and moderate drinking guidelines will help you with your weight-loss goals.

In fact, an August 2019 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that male and female drinkers have lower odds of developing obesity compared to non-drinkers, but heavier drinking, especially in women, is associated with higher odds of becoming obese.

If you're trying to lose weight, knowing which drinks are lower in calories and sugar will definitely serve you.

Mixing up a tequila on the rocks with lime rather than a margarita will save you almost 200 calories and a whole lot of sugar.

Image Credit: bhofack2/iStock/GettyImages

Ditch drinks with multiple liquors or high-calorie mixers. A Long Island iced tea, for example, has a whopping 240 calories and 20 grams of carbs, and a margarita clocks in at 275 calories and 36 grams of carbs.

Instead, opt for some of the lower-calorie options mentioned earlier. Try a vodka and soda, and add a splash of grapefruit juice or lime juice if you're looking for more flavor. You can also try tequila on the rocks with lime, which has just 96 calories.

If you're sacrificing food calories for booze calories, you may think it's perfectly fine to skip a meal in lieu of a "liquid dinner." Not the case.

Science shows having food in your stomach slows alcohol absorption. In fact, your alcohol blood content may not reach a quarter of what it would on an empty stomach.

Plus, it can help you avoid the "drinking munchies," which is when you feel hungry after a couple of drinks. There's actually a very good scientific reason why they occur: If you have a few drinks on an empty stomach, your liver can be blocked from releasing stored glucose into the bloodstream, which can lead to low blood sugar and cause you to feel hungry, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Instead, eat a meal balanced with fiber and protein before drinking. This will help absorb the alcohol and stabilize your blood sugar levels.

When you're imbibing in a drink that "goes down easy," that likely means it'll go down quickly, too. And when that happens, especially if you're out with friends, you might be looking for a second or third drink.

Instead, go for a drink that's meant to be sipped slowly; a stronger drink like a dry martini or even one of your favorite liquors served neat or straight up. This will slow down your drinking, which will allow you to enjoy your drink and company more without overdoing it.

If you're drinking more than your one or two drinks per day, alternating your cocktails with water is a good idea, even if you aren't trying to lose weight. This trick slows down your drinking and keeps you hydrated (bye-bye, hangover!). You can even sip soda water the bubbles may help you feel full and ultimately help you drink less.

More here:
How to Drink Alcohol and Still Lose Weight - LIVESTRONG.COM

Editors note: At a time when sports are shut down, we take a look (in no particular order) at some of the bizarre moments from Georgia sports history.

It was a season for the ages.

The Falcons 2007 season was the low point for the franchise during owner Arthur Blanks tenure.

Things got so bad that the head coach walked out the door with three games remaning in the season.

Listen, I havent heard from Bobby since then, retired Falcons wide receiver Roddy White said this week. I have yet to hear one thing from Bobby since he left up out of the facility.

Petrino bolted during the early evening Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007, the players off day.

The Falcons had just been pummeled 34-14 by the Saints on Monday Night Football. Earlier that Monday,quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison in Richmond in a dogfighting case.

More would go wrong the next day.

MORE:Atlantas bizarre moments in sports

Petrino told Blank twice that he planned to stay. Instead he escaped. He left the team, coaching staff and city in the lurch. He was next seen on television as Arkansas' new head coach in a late-night news conference in Fayetteville, Ark., later that Tuesday night. He even did the school's "Woo Pig Sooey" chant complete with cheerleaders after his opening remarks.

Petrino said he stayed up all night Monday after the Falcons loss talking with his wife. I knew I wanted to come back to coach college, Petrino said at the time. It wasn't a change in mind; it was a matter of working out details.

Blank signed Petrino to a five-year, $24.5 million contract Jan. 8 that year after dumping Jim Mora.

Petrino left the players a typewritten Dear John letter announcing his departure. Safety Lawyer Milloy wrote Coward over his name with a red marker. The players were irate.

Tight end Alge Crumpler blasted Petrino. Even the mild-mannered Warrick Dunn laid into the departed coach. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer called Petrino a coward for the leaving the coaches and their families in limbo.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Falcons beat writer Steve Wyche confirmed with a team official, who declined to be quoted by name, that Petrino was in fact quitting his job with the Falcons to accept the job at the University of Arkansas.

In later years, it was reported that Blank and Dallas owner Jerry Jones had a frosty relationship. It may have started with Petrinos departure. Jones, who played at Arkansas, had a hand in luring Petrino away.

In 25 seasons as an NFL player, Falcons kicker Morten Andersen thought he had seen just about everything.

The amount of things, the misfortune that has happened to us and affected the football team andorganization, has been unprecedented," Andersen said after Petrino left.

The players went into survival mode.

It's too much for the players to worry about, Dunn said back then. Just try to play good football and go out and not get embarrassed.

Morale in the organization was at a new low in a season rife with scandal.

Everybody is questioning everything, Dunn said. There's a lot of uncertainty from top to bottom. Its not just the players; its management, too.

Dunn would later become a part-owner of the franchise.

I cant think of another sports franchise that has gone through what weve gone through this year, Andersen said. Losing our franchise quarterback. Then having the issues with the head coach. Other personnel issues along the way ... it's been very challenging, for sure.

Defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas was named the interim coach for the final three games (two of them Falcons losses) as the Falcons finished 4-12.

We're going to make the best out of it, Thomas said.

Even the opponents felt sorry for the Falcons.

My hat goes off to those guys, Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Clayton said. They've had to endure a lot of stuff, and players should not be put in that position.

The only good thing to come out of the 2007 debacle was the development of White, who was coached by wide receivers coach Paul Petrino, Bobbys brother.

My very first two years playing for the Falcons was a lot of pressure, White said. Going into that year, it was just a different feel. When I sat down and talked to Bobby and Paul, they wanted me to be the man. They wanted me to be the guy. So, I already knew going into the season, they wanted me to be the guy.

Petrino planned to center the offense around White and Vick.

It was a lot of things they asked of me, White said. They wanted me to lose weight. They wanted me to come in in better shape. I worked extremely hard that offseason. I think I weighed in at 205. Prior to that, I was like 215. So, I had lost 10 pounds going into that year. I was just much more quicker, faster and explosive.

White, who was a first-round pick in 2005 out of Alabama-Birmingham, had talent. Paul Petrino pulled it out of him.

I had fun, White said. Being with Coach P was fun. Bobby was cool, too, through all that mess and all that nonsense. Having to deal with the Mike Vick incident and going through that offseason, it was kind of crazy, but at the same time I felt like even though we didnt know what Mike was going to do, I felt like offensively we were going to be pretty good because of the play-calling and the way we were going to practice and stuff like that.

There have long been whispers around Flowery Branch that Vick looked spectacular in secret workouts that were allegedly voluntary at the time. White confirmed those reports.

Absolutely, when we were going through meetings and stuff like that, Mike was picking up the offense so fast, White said. In that offense, you had so many different checks, out of two-by-two and three-by-one sets, that we could check to that were colors that were actually plays.

Vick was looking forward to playing for Petrino.

Mike was like really grasping that joint and just checking down, White said. We would just go, two-minute drills and stuff like that, blue, green, black, different colors for different plays and he was looking really, really good.

Everything was looking smooth. The ball was coming out of his hand quickly.

But with the federal dogfighting case hanging over his head, the public and the media never got to see Vick in Petrinos offense.

He was getting the ball out quickly, White said. We had better quick-game stuff than we did from the old regime and a lot more play-action pass. A lot more max protection. Our offense was looking really, really good man up until that point.

It was difficult on Petrino and the team once Vicks case went sideways.

It was tough for us, White said. We always thought he was coming back. We thought this thing was going to blow over and by (exhibition) season that he would be back. Thats how we kind of took it.

Once it became clear that Vick was in deep trouble, it was too late.

The biggest blow was when we knew he wasnt coming back, we didnt know how we were going to look offensively, White said. We had literally over OTAs and everything, put in everything as if Mike was the quarterback. All of the play calls and stuff like that.

We had to go back and change a lot of that stuff when we started with Joey (Harrington) and Chris Redman and them competing for the spot because they were different kind of guys. We literally had to go back and revamp the whole system. It was a big change.

White had 63 catches going into that Monday night game. He would finish with 83 catches for 1,202 yards and six touchdowns in his breakthrough season.

The craziest part about that is that when he left, it was in the middle of the night, White said. When I woke up, I had five missed calls early in the morning from Paul. I got up and answered the phone and he was like, Hey Roddy, Bobby quit. And I was like, Man, what are you talking about? He said, Yeah, man. He just quit.

White wanted to know if Paul Petrino was staying. Paul Petrino said he wanted to stay, but went with his brother to Arkansas. He did stay in touch with White for the rest of the season.

He called every week to make sure White had the game plan down and was ready to play.

I appreciated and loved Paul for that, White said. Even to this day we still stay in contact with each other. I appreciate him for even reaching out to me the rest of that season and for being a real man and being in the meeting. He didnt have to do that.

As far as Bobby Petrino, White isnt exactly waiting for a call.

Petrinos bumpy football ride is not over. He was named the head coach at Division II Missouri State in January. During stops at Arkansas, Western Kentucky and Louisville, Petrino has posted a 119-56 record over 14 seasons.

After leaving the Falcons, Petrino had the Razorbacks rolling until he was injured in a motorcycle accident that revealed an extramarital affair with an athletic department employee. Petrino originally said he was alone, but it was later discovered that he had a female passenger and they were involved in a relationship.

After he was fired by Arkansas, he was off a year before resurfacing at Western Kentucky.

He went back to Louisville in 2014 for a second stint.

He was fired a year after quarterback Lamar Jackson, running some of the plays that were designed for Vick, won the 2016 Heisman Trophy. In addition to becoming the school's first Heisman winner, Jackson and Petrino had the program as high as No. 3 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll and within reach of the college football playoffs.

A freefall the following season led to his dismissal.

Petrino did not return an email or phone call to his Missouri State office for this article.

--

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Excerpt from:
Atlantas bizarre sports moments: Wheres the coach? On TV calling the pigs - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have demonstrated a new gene therapy that builds strength and muscle mass quickly while preventing obesity even when the recipient is eating a high-fat diet. This isnt some crazy new bodybuilding tool, though, but rather something that could be used as a physical therapy aid for people with muscle-weakening arthritis or those suffering from osteoarthritis-related joint pain.

We know that obesity and joint injury are the primary risk factors for osteoarthritis, Farshid Guilak, professor of orthopedic surgery and director of research at Shriners Hospitals for Children in St. Louis, told Digital Trends. However, in cases of severe obesity or muscle loss, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to lose weight or improve muscle strength through normal exercise and diet. The goal of this study was to show the importance of muscle strength in overriding many of the harmful effects of obesity on the joint.

So far, the gene therapy approach has only been demonstrated in mice. The researchers delivered the gene for a molecule called follistatin to the muscle of eight-week-old mice, via injection. The protein blocks myostatin, a molecule normally responsible for stopping muscle growth. The mice in the experiment gained around twice their normal muscle mass and were able to completely burn off all the extra energy from an unhealthy high-fat diet. This prevented almost all the metabolic complications of obesity, such as systemic inflammation and high blood sugar, while also reducing arthritis and pain significantly.

The researchers worried that the gene therapy could potentially have a negative effect on the mices hearts. However, these fears proved unfounded and heart function in the mice actually improved, along with overall cardiovascular health.

These first studies in mice have shown that the procedure has excellent efficacy and safety, Guilak said. The next steps will be to do longer-term studies in mice and possibly larger animals to ensure safety of this procedure.

Guilak said that, should these steps prove successful, the researchers would consider testing the approach in humans with the initial trials in those with severe, possibly life-threatening diseases of the muscles, such as muscular dystrophy.

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Science Advances.

Originally posted here:
New gene therapy cuts fat and builds muscle with ease. But theres a catch - Digital Trends