CNN It's 3 a.m. and you're wide awake for the second night in a row. You get up and stumble to the kitchen for some warm milk mom swears will put you to sleep.

So why are you eating a bowl of ice cream with a side of cookies?

"When you're sleep deprived, you're not like, 'Oh, you know what, I want some carrots,' " said behavioral neuroscientist Erin Hanlon, who studies the connection between brain systems and behavior at the University of Chicago.

"You're craving sweets and salty and starchy things," she added. "You want those chips, you want a cookie, you want some candy, you know?"

What is it about sleep exhaustion and junk food? The answer lies in history, back when we dug in the dirt for starchy tubers, foraged for sweet berries and gorged on fatty fish.

Simply put, a lack of sleep triggers ancient instincts that yearn for rich, sweet, fatty foods.

"Evolutionarily speaking, it was a big deal to have a high carb, high fat meal, because you didn't necessarily have those all of the time," explained Hanlon, also a research assistant professor.

"If you think back to feast or famine times, having a meal with lots of carbs or fat was something that your brain would say, 'Hey, we want to have that.'

"It's only the last bit of humanity that we have been able to have food around the clock or food that is high in saturated fats and high in carbs," Hanlon continued. "And our brain has not evolved as quickly as the food choices that have become available."

You may have heard about two hormones that control our urge to eat: leptin and ghrelin.

"I always tell my patients to think about them by their first letter," said sleep specialist Dr. Raj Dasgupta, the associate program director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship at Keck Medicine of USC.

"The 'l' in leptin stands for lose: It suppresses appetite and therefore contributes to weight loss," he said. "The 'g' in ghrelin stands for gain: This fast-acting hormone increases hunger and leads to weight gain."

When you're sleep deprived, research shows, ghrelin levels spike while leptin takes a nose dive. The result is an increase in hunger.

But food is food, so that doesn't explain why we crave candy instead of carrots.

To answer that, you have to look at another system of the body: The endocannabinoid system. Its job is to keep our body in homeostasis, or equilibrium and it regulates everything from sleep to appetite to inflammation to pain and more.

Science only discovered the first cannabinoid receptor in 1988, in the brain of a rat. Within a few years, they found two receptors, CB1 and CB2, and discovered it was present in all vertebrates -- mammals, birds, reptiles and fish -- and possibly some invertebrates.

Now we know it's an ancient system, evolving eons ago. In fact, the most primitive animal known to have cannabinoid receptors is the sea squirt, which lived more than 600 million years ago.

What does this system have to do with eating? Endocannabinoids bind to the same receptors as the active ingredient in marijuana, which as we know, often triggers the "munchies."

"We know that you can infuse endocannabinoids into specific regions of animals' brains and make them eat," said Hanlon. "They will eat specific things, more palatable things. They will choose sucrose over saccharin, despite the fact that in theory both taste the same, but the sucrose has more carbs."

Researchers now believe it could be the endocannabinoid system that triggers our hedonistic cravings for fatty, starchy and sugary foods.

And just like with leptin and ghrelin, sleep deprivation seems to make it worse.

In a study published in 2016, Hanlon compared the circulating levels of 2-AG, one of the most abundant endocannabinoids, in people who got four nights of normal sleep (more than eight hours) to people who only got 4.5 hours.

People who were sleep-deprived reported greater increases in hunger and appetite and had higher afternoon concentrations of 2-AG than those who slept well. They also had a rough time controlling their urges for high-carb, high-calorie snacks.

Why? "We don't know," Hanlon said.

All of this research is so new that science doesn't yet know how it all fits together or what can be done about it.

And that brings us to the bottom line: There's not gonna be a pill any time soon for the sleep-deprived junk-food junkies that we are.

Instead, you'll have to do what the doctor says to reduce your illicit cravings in the middle of the night: Get more sleep.

The-CNN-Wire & 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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There's a scientific reason you crave junk food when you don't get enough sleep - KSL.com

Could changing something relatively small a 5-ounce glass of wine is only 120 calories make a difference? Over the course of three months, the answer unfolded: Yes, in fact, it did make a difference, and I lost the 10 pounds I had slowly gained. My clothes fit nicely again, I no longer felt bloated after dinner, and I was just more energetic.

If youre wondering how this math could possibly add up, I should mention that cutting out wine meant I also cut out the mini plate of cheese and crackers I had started making to go along with the wine, which was easily 250 calories. I also stopped eating an extra portion at dinner another 300 to 400 calories because I had my wits about me and better recognized that I was feeling full. I did boost my exercise a bit, increasing my running mileage from about 12 miles a week to about 18, but other than that, I didnt do anything else differently.

There were other physical benefits, too. The worsening small red patches on my cheekbones, rosacea, mostly vanished, consistent with research findings that drinking wine, and especially white wine, can aggravate the condition. There is also evidence that just one alcoholic drink a day increases a womans risk for breast cancer by 5 to 9 percent. I know cancer risk is a complicated thing, but Ill take every opportunity to tip the odds in my favor.

Weight loss may have been my impetus, but the truth is, what happened on the scale is the least interesting part. Paying attention to my alcohol intake made me realize how many unexamined statements I uttered about needing wine to get through something. Cutting back on drinking helped me get back to the person who didnt need to look outside herself for comfort. It also made me feel like less of a hypocrite as a parent.

My project isnt to be mistaken for sobriety. Ive watched too many friends claw their way through recovery, and grieved a brother who never could. I wouldnt dare appropriate their journey. Im not sober curious. Im just drinking less.

Now, if I order a glass of pinot grigio when Im out with my family for Saturday night pizza, I sip it slowly and feel gratitude that the genes didnt fall down on the side they so easily could have. I also feel gratitude that I decided I didnt need to have a problem to start solving some problems.

Judi Ketteler is the author of Would I Lie to You? The Amazing Power of Being Honest in a World That Lies, due out Dec. 31.

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How Drinking Less Solved a Lot of Problems - The New York Times

We need to start focusing attention on two issues in particular: the prevalence of weight stigma and our relationship with food (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

The psychiatric disorder with the highest mortality rate isnt depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but anorexia nervosa.

With close to a six-fold increase in mortality rates compared to the general population, a study suggesting that incidence rates of anorexia in children aged between eight and 12 have doubled since 2006 should give us all cause for concern.

However, through my work as a hospital doctor and social media influencer I believe that we need to start focusing attention on two issues in particular: the prevalence of weight stigma and our relationship with food.

The two are intrinsically linked. When people are stereotyped and discriminated against because of their weight and size, the numerous negative mental and physical effects include a direct association with the development of eating disorders.

Anorexia is a condition characterised by persistent restricted food intake, an intense fear of weight gain, and a distorted body image. Despite stereotypically being associated with a very low body weight, these characteristics can also be met in those with a higher BMI.

The causes are multifactorial so we need to be careful about pointing to a single reason for the results of this latest research.

Its also difficult to say whether weight stigma has increased over the last decade but it has been more blatant in the public sphere.

Only last month American talk show host Bill Maher postulated on TV that fat shaming needs to make a comeback, with the likes of Piers Morgan quickly voicing his support the next day. Its not surprising that we have a society with an intense fear of weight gain when high-profile figures are encouraging that kind of message.

Weight stigma is also associated with disordered eating, a phrase that describes a range of irregular eating behaviours including frequent dieting, preoccupation with food, chronic weight fluctuations and feelings of guilt or shame.

We use the same language when parenting our children: You cant have that, its bad for you and rarely think twice about the fact this could be harmful.

Its incredibly common to hear people talk about bad food its something I used to do myself. When we use moralistic language to describe what we are eating, guilt and shame follow close behind. That guilt then leads to an attempt to undo the action, often with the punishment of exercise or restriction of food. People that resonate with these patterns can be at higher risk of them developing into an eating disorder.

We use the same language when parenting our children: You cant have that, its bad for you and rarely think twice about the fact this could be harmful.

A 2016 survey by Mintel found that 48 per cent of UK adults had dieted in the previous year and of those, 64 per cent do so all or most of the time. With one of the criteria for anorexia being persistent restricted food intake, its concerning that a third of the population would fall under that umbrella with many not realising how harmful their habits can be.

In fact, its so common for persistent dieting to be normalised in adults that these statistics might not have much of an impact on first reading but look at similar statistics with children. A review by Common Sense Media in 2015 found that one in four children had actively tried some form of dieting behaviour by the age of seven, and 80 per cent of 10-year-old American girls had dieted.

When you consider that dieting is consistently found to be the single largest predictor of eating disorders when occurring in adolescents, those numbers are incredibly scary.

As a society obsessed with social media, distorted body image is far too commonplace and children are much more sensitive to social evaluations and body comparisons than adults all phenomenon that social media use encourages.

But while it may be partially to blame for body image issues, it doesnt form the whole picture and its not all doom and gloom. Discussions around positive body image are becoming more frequent and Instagram is reportedly testing ways to remove like counts from images, which should alleivate pressure from its user base to rack up likes. Its all movement in the right direction.

The advice from the medical community is clear: we should avoid weight talk and discourage dieting in children, instead focusing on promoting healthy behaviours.

Our relationship with food is important and we need to start treating it as such. Its not necessarily that weve stopping caring, its that we never realised it was something to care about in the first place.

We need to start talking about this because ignoring harmful behaviours around food that occur three times a day, seven days a week, isnt a valid option anymore.

If we are going to start reducing the rates of anorexia, we cant continue to normalise eating disorder techniques in the pursuit of weight loss and health (Im looking at you intermittent starving sorry fasting).

Children are a product of their environment, and their environment is currently doing them a disservice. Harmful language around food, constant dieting messages, aggressive weight stigma in the public sphere all mean children start imitating the behaviour they see from a very young age.

Lets stop setting them a bad example.

MORE: Your before and after weight loss photos are fuelling fatphobia

MORE: Please dont say anorexic when you mean thin. My illness was more than my appearance

MORE: My daughter is an adult but Im still her best ally against her eating disorder

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Kids will keep developing eating disorders until we address our relationship with food - Metro.co.uk

Getz Ice Shelf in West Antarctica. Image via NASA/Jeremy Harbeck/MIT.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge weighed in this month on the potential of ice cliffs in Antarctica to collapse suddenly due to Earth warming, and thereby contribute to extreme sea level rise by the end of this century. This subject called marine ice cliff instability by scientists was first proposed in the 1970s but entered a new period of scientific scrutiny when a 2016 study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature suggested the fast collapse of tall Antarctic ice cliffs might cause 6 feet (2 meters) of sea-level rise by the end of this century:

enough to completely flood Boston and other coastal cities.

Since that 2016 study, scientists have been looking hard at the hypothesis that giant blocks falling into the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, from crumbling ice cliffs at the coast, would create a kind of domino effect, exposing more ice cliffs that would, in turn, crumble. If this did happen, sea level would rise rapidly. But will it happen? No one knows, of course, but scientists have been turning their best tools toward the question. A February 2019 statistical study, also in Nature, suggested a rapid collapse of Antarctic ice cliffs was unlikely to have happened in the past, even during some of Earths warmest episodes over the last 3 million years. The new MIT study published October 21, 2019, reaches its conclusions in a different way, but also suggests the earlier estimate of 6 feet (2 meters) of sea level rise by 2100 may have been too high.

In the new study, the effect of collapsing ice cliffs to contribute to rapid sea level rise is shown to depend heavily on how fast the cliffs themselves collapse. A relatively slow collapse would, in these scientists words:

mitigate runaway cliff collapse.

EarthSky 2020 lunar calendars are available! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!

View larger. | Ice shelves in Antarctica. These are places where tall ice cliffs calve icebergs into the Southern Ocean that completely surrounds the continent. Image via Wikipedia.

You probably know that Antarctica is a true land continent, in contrast to the Arctic, whose only solid surface is floating sea ice. As MIT explained in a statement:

Antarcticas ice sheet spans close to twice the area of the contiguous United States, and its land boundary is buttressed by massive, floating ice shelves extending hundreds of miles out over the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean. When these ice shelves collapse into the ocean, they expose towering cliffs of ice along Antarcticas edge.

Scientists have assumed that ice cliffs taller than 90 meters (about 300 feet, or the height of the Statue of Liberty) would rapidly collapse under their own weight, contributing to more than 6 feet of sea-level rise by the end of the century enough to completely flood Boston and other coastal cities. But now MIT researchers have found that this particular prediction may be overestimated.

In a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, the team reports that in order for a 90-meter ice cliff to collapse entirely, the ice shelves supporting the cliff would have to break apart extremely quickly, within a matter of hours a rate of ice loss that has not been observed in the modern record.

MIT graduate student Fiona Clerc the studys first author said:

Ice shelves are about a kilometer (0.6 miles) thick, and some are the size of Texas. To get into catastrophic failures of really tall ice cliffs, you would have to remove these ice shelves within hours, which seems unlikely no matter what the climate-change scenario.

Fiona Clerc is a graduate study in MITs Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. Shes 1st author on the new study about collapsing ice cliffs in Antarctica. Image via MIT.

If a supporting ice shelf were to melt away over a longer period of days or weeks, rather than hours, the researchers found that the remaining ice cliff wouldnt suddenly crack and collapse under its own weight, but instead would slowly flow out, like a mountain of cold honey thats been released from a dam.

Brent Minchew of MIT one of the new studys co-authors said:

The current worst-case scenario of sea-level rise from Antarctica is based on the idea that cliffs higher than 90 meters would fail catastrophically. Were saying that scenario, based on cliff failure, is probably not going to play out. Thats something of a silver lining.

That said, we have to be careful about breathing a sigh of relief. There are plenty of other ways to get rapid sea-level rise.

Heres how these scientists reached their conclusion. MIT explained:

Today, there are no ice cliffs on Earth that are taller than 90 meters, and scientists assumed this is because cliffs any taller than that would be unable to support their own weight.

Clerc, Minchew, and Behn took on this assumption, wondering whether and under what conditions ice cliffs 90 meters and taller would physically collapse. To answer this, they developed a simple simulation of a rectangular block of ice to represent an idealized ice sheet (ice over land) supported initially by an equally tall ice shelf (ice over water). They ran the simulation forward by shrinking the ice shelf at different rates and seeing how the exposed ice cliff responds over time.

In their simulation, they set the mechanical properties, or behavior of ice, according to Maxwells model for viscoelasticity, which describes the way a material can transition from an elastic, rubbery response, to a viscous, honey-like behavior depending on whether it is quickly or slowly loaded. A classic example of viscoelasticity is silly putty: If you leave a ball of silly putty on a table, it slowly slumps into a puddle, like a viscous liquid; if you quickly pull it apart, it tears like an elastic solid.

As it turns out, ice is also a viscoelastic material, and the researchers incorporated Maxwell viscoelasticity into their simulation. They varied the rate at which the buttressing ice shelf was removed, and predicted whether the ice cliff would fracture and collapse like an elastic material or flow like a viscous liquid.

They model the effects of various starting heights, or thicknesses of ice, from 0 to 1,000 meters, along with various timescales of ice shelf collapse. In the end, they found that when a 90-meter cliff is exposed, it will quickly collapse in brittle chunks only if the supporting ice shelf has been removed quickly, over a period of hours. In fact, they found that this behavior holds true for cliffs as tall as 500 meters (1,640 feet). If ice shelves are removed over longer periods of days or weeks, ice cliffs as tall as 500 meters will not collapse under their own weight, but instead will slowly slough away, like cold honey.

The results suggest that the Earths tallest ice cliffs are unlikely to collapse catastrophically and trigger a runaway ice sheet retreat. Thats because the fastest rate at which ice shelves are disappearing, at least as documented in the modern record, is on the order of weeks, not hours, as scientists observed in 2002, when they captured satellite imagery of the collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf a chunk of ice as large as Rhode Island that broke away from Antarctica, shattering into thousands of icebergs over the span of two weeks.

Clerc commented:

When Larsen B collapsed, that was quite an extreme event that occurred over two weeks, and that is a tiny ice shelf compared to the ones that we would be particularly worried about. So our work shows that cliff failure is probably not the mechanism by which we would get a lot of sea level rise in the near future.

That said, scientists do know sea level is rising. Between 1900 and 2016, it rose by about 6 to 8 inches (16-21 cm), according to a 2017 study by the U.S. Global Change Research Program. More precise data gathered from satellite radar measurements revealed an accelerating rise of about 3 inches (7.5 cm) from 1993 to 2017, according to data presented by the World Climate Research Program. Those last numbers indicate a trend of roughly one foot (30 cm) of sea level rise per century. So theres a baseline for you. We might expect about a foot of sea level rise in this century, according to the most conservative estimates. But of course the rate of sea level rise is increasing. Ice is melting faster, and sea water itself is expanding via thermal expansion, as climate warms.

So if someone tells you, for example, that they know how much sea level will rise between now and 2100 dont believe them. No one knows. These studies are an attempt to place a net of human knowledge atop a highly complex natural system (the climate system). Scientists do their best, continually cross-checking each other. If we didnt have science, what would we have instead? Without scientists struggle to understand Earths changing climate and its effects, wed truly be at sea.

Bottom line: New research suggests that Antarctic ice shelf collapse might not lead to as rapid a rise in sea level as predicted, in the 21st century.

Source (2016 study in Nature): Contribution of Antarctica to past and future sea-level rise

Source (February 2019 in Nature): Revisiting Antarctic ice loss due to marine ice-cliff instability

Source (October 2019 study in Geophysical Research Letters): Marine ice cliff instability mitigated by slow removal of ice shelves

Via MIT

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Ice cliffs in Antarctica might not contribute to extreme sea-level rise in this century - EarthSky

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) The federal government is speeding up its processes to allow homeowners along the lakeshore to combat erosion more quickly.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has committed to a 24-hour turnaround time on permit requestsfor things like sea wall repairs and other changes to save homes threatened by erosion along Lake Michigan.

It allows homeowners to do these emergency repairs fast, Nick Bonstell, the director of emergency managementfor Ottawa County, explained Thursday.

Normally to get a permit, lakeshore have to get permission from their neighbors and go through a monthslong process. But the Army Corps has acknowledged that this is an emergency.

I dont think there is any question of the severity of what we have going on, Bonstell said.

Bonstell says he and other officials have been working diligently to contact people to go over plans to save their homes. Some are moving their homes farther away from the lake onto new foundations and others are building sea walls. Some are dangling dangerously close to the edge of bluffs.

If we do end up having to retrieve it from Lake Michigan, thats a pretty costly process and thats why we are really trying to work with homeowners to make sure they are getting it taken care of, Bonstell said.

With waters rising and beaches narrowing, there are no signs of the issue getting any better. Officials say that historically, November and December mean storms and that means more erosion.

The rapid rate of erosions is really whats catching a homeowners and a lot of people off guard, Bonstell said.

1986 was the last time we saw such a substantial loss along the lakeshore. Officials says this time, the erosion could affect utilities and septic system.

If you have a gas line that starts to pull away, you could damage the entire infrastructure of that service, Bonstell said of homes falling into Lake Michigan.

Sparse, sandy beaches mean a decline in tourism dollars.

For Ottawa County, obviously the visitors and the tourism that we see as a county is a pretty large portion of what we do here, he said.

Emergency officials stressed that people shouldnt take trips to the lakeshore simply to view the erosion. The sand is fragile and any additional weight and or movement could be dangerous.

Bonstells department is planning another flyover of the lakeshore in the coming days to get an updated assessment of the damage.

Its something that we will continue to watch. Obviously, we will get through it and find a way to respond to it and deal with it, Bonstell said.

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Faster permits aim to curb erosion threat to homes - WOODTV.com

Less than a month before he was scheduled to fight for the world title, a milestone he had dreamed about achieving for much of his life,Shakur Stevensonsuffered a terrible loss.

His father, Alfredo Rivera, died on Sept. 29.

Rivera was absent for much of his sons life, but the two reconnected when Stevenson was about 16 years old. Never, though, was there a total forgiveness and a full acceptance into each others lives.

There were old wounds that were difficult to heal. So while theyd spoken over the last six years or so, their relationship wasnt typical.

We had a little bit of a relationship, is how Stevenson put it.

Stevenson will fight Joet Gonzalez for the vacant WBO featherweight world title on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+) in Reno, Nevada, in the main event of a Top Rank-promoted card. Stevenson, a silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has the potential to be a breakout star.

Hes fast-handed and slick in the ring and his power is quickly developing. Hes so gifted that he held his own in a recent sparring session with pound-for-pound elite Vasiliy Lomachenko in Oxnard, California, in which the Top Rank brass was mesmerized.

Our matchmakers were blown away by how well Stevenson did, Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. They were absolutely blown away. It was like, Wow!

The fight with Gonzalez will be his biggest since he was beaten in the gold medal match by Cuban Robeisy Ramrez in 2016. Stevenson vowed that this time things will be different, but he faces a turbulent time.

Not only is he still grieving over the loss of his father and coming to grips with their relationship, but there are personal issues between Gonzalez and he that complicate matters.

Stevenson is dating Gonzalezs sister, Jajaira, much to the dismay of Joet, who is no fan of Stevensons.

Its all stuff that could be problematic for a boxer on the verge of a major fight, even one as talented as Stevenson.

Anything outside forces that come up on a fighter, the things that normal people deal with in their everyday lives, has the potential to be a distraction, especially for a fighter coming up on the biggest fight of his life, said former world champion Andre Ward, one of Stevensons co-managers. We wont know until the fight actually happens, obviously, but what Ive seen from our interactions and the things weve talked about, I think hes doing a phenomenal job dealing with it. Hes only 22 years old so I think hes taken a lot of stuff and kind of compartmentalized it.

He has some built-in defense mechanisms and he just presses forward. At some point, hell have to look at himself and his father and address it. Im guessing hell do that after the fight. The stuff with Joet, thats kind of out of a movie. I dont even know where to begin with that. But Im happy and pleased that he seems to be dealing with it the right away.

Asked if he was going to be able to perform at his usual level because hes grieving over his fathers loss, Stevenson took the conversation in an unexpected direction and said it impacted the way he felt about his father as he tried to deal with the pain he felt over his absence from his childhood.

If Im being honest with you, Im bipolar, Stevenson said of his relationship with his father. Im a bipolar type of person. Sometimes me and him would talk, and sometimes hed reach out to me and Id kind of shy away from him because I still had some anger inside of me. Im dealing with it well. Im hurting because thats my blood. Thats my Dad and I cant go and look him in the face, knowing hes not here no more. At the end of the day, he did love me and with my boxing, he loved what I became.

Shakur Stevenson (L) and Joet Gonzalez will fight for the vacant WBO featherweight title on Oct. 26 in Reno, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Story continues

Hes a brilliant talent who is good enough to be on the pound-for-pound list someday, and perhaps soon.

The issue for Stevenson is whether hed lost out-of-the-ring issues prevent him from fulfilling his potential.He was arrested after a brawl in Miamion his 21st birthday last year. In June,he pleaded guilty and was given a year of probation.

Its only a blip, but Ward, a notoriously clean person who was unusually focused, even as a young man, on what he needed to do, was not pleased.

Was I upset by that? Ward asked rhetorically. Oh man, absolutely. Absolutely I was upset. Myself, James Prince, Josh Dubin, we all co-manage him and its like a family. Its not just business. We talk to him about life. I dont want to say we saw that coming, but you see certain things. You live long enough and you see certain things and you kind of know where theyre going. Unfortunately, he went through that and the whole world saw it.

Im just happy with the way hes dealt with it. He cant undo what happened. People saw it, but hes facing it and dealing with it head on, just like hes doing with the situation with Joets family.

Stevenson insists hes on the right track and is focused fully on his career and getting past Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is no pushover and is himself one of the bright young prospects in the sport. That said, Stevenson has the opportunity to stand apart among the best fighters in the world given his talent.

Not only did he spar with Lomachenko, but hes been in with a number of other highly regarded established veterans, Ward said, and held his own. And Stevenson vows to make up for what he said was a slip-up in the Olympic finale.

I wont let myself down again, Stevenson said. That keeps coming up in my head. This whole time, I keep thinking about when I failed in the Olympics. Its motivating to me. I wasnt 100 percent. I think if I were 100 percent then, not giving myself any excuses, there was a lot going on around me. I was cutting weight and I had to cut a lot of weight, and things were happening leading up to that.

If I had been 100 percent and went into that fight that way, I honestly think I would have beaten him. But the thing its done, its helped me as I am ready for this fight. I know what to look out for. I got to to this point pretty quickly, but I have learned a lot along the way and I know I am ready for this moment. This is going to be my time.

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Shakur Stevenson heads into title fight with heavy heart after his father's death - Yahoo Sports

Joe Giudice committed a felony, got sentenced to 41 months in jail and is about to be deported from the United States forever.

One can safely say the Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member made a monumental mistake back when he lied to the government and defrauded his adopted country via an intricate and illegal bankruptcy scheme.

But there's at least a silver lining for Giudice:

He now looks great!

The reality star lost a crapload of weight while a warden of the state, proudly showing off his physique in a handful of new social media photos.

Check out the dramatic changes below and then ask yourself:

Is a stint behind bars worth it for this sort of figure?

Here he is on a 2012 episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, likely talking to Teresa about their scheme to defraud American taxpayers... while also looking pretty overweight.

He's holding hands with his wife in 2013 in this snapshot, walking into a courtroom for a hearing after his arrest.

As you can see here (also from 2013), Joe was always a bulky dude. But he has some muscle behind all those pounds.

That, we don't know. But we do know he weighed 215 pounds when he entered prison.

Joe is down to 165 pounds, posting videos of himself online doing kickboxing and other types of exercise.

Joe's kids have also been sharing snapshots of their thin and ripped dad, such as the one here.

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Joe Giudice Lost a TON of Weight In Prison! Here's How He Did It ... - The Hollywood Gossip

Fasting has been hailed as the all diet Messiah, for some time now. Since this dietary method became a trend there have been numerous people that have gone to great lengths to test it, and even take it to the extreme. One thing is certain, this form of diet which sprung right out of religious history is here to stay.

Like any popular trend, fasting for weight loss has its fair share of detractors. Many admit that fasting over long periods can have a visible effect when it comes to losing weight. But that the method itself may be very detrimental to your health.

As fasting begins to gather more and more followers the methods it uses begins to diversify as well. The most common method remains the 16/8 fasting method. Anything beyond that can be considered long fasting, with periods extending from a couple of extra hours to 30 day fasting programs that use supplements to keep you alive. But what does this mean for you if you are among the men who have a regular gym attendance, or you are just planning your steps to a daily workout routine?

Well, workouts and fasting can go hand in hand. But they will not be the happiest duo out there.This change in your eating habits is bound to affect your blood pressure, energy levels and the way your metabolism works.

But how does long fasting affect you when it comes to your muscle mass? Is there really such a thing as mass gains while fasting? And what are the dangers and benefits of long fasting?

Well, you are going to read all bout that right away but first, lets take a look back and see where fasting began and how it has suddenly been reinvented into what appears to be the easiest and most effective diet plan in the world.

It varied in length and restrictions, from one religion to another and was considered a pivotal and sacred experience. In other words, its nothing new. Over time religions traditions changed and fasting periods changed with them. Yet somehow, unlike religion, fasting is now more talked about than ever.

For that, we have the United Kingdom to thank. Because it was here in 2012 that the modern type of fasting began. The intermittent fasting. And thus began the journey of fasting as a caloric restriction diet.

And because miracles are rarely interpreted in the same way, there are three types of fasting readily available: Alternate-day fasting, Periodic fasting and Time-restricted feeding. They are all based on the idea that restricting your food intake for a day or for a specific part of the day, will help you reduce the number of calories you consume, speed up your metabolism and ultimately lead to weight loss.

Hence the reasons why people started experimenting with the idea of fasting and going all out in search of the ultimate weight loss fasting diet. And the idea behind it is pretty simple. If intermittent fasting seems to work, a longer fast may actually be even better. It sounds like the ultimate battle against all cravings. But is it too good to be true? And will winning the battle over your cravings mean killing your muscle growth?

Even more so for people who take up weight lifting routines, or that already use body mass supplements in their training. Although the science behind it is only in the making, we can safely say that fasting will help you detox, lose weight and get rid of the excess water in your body. And that you can safely train while fasting. But how will it impact your muscles?

1. Protein loss

Long fasting makes your body gradually lose the very substance you need the most when trying to gain mass. You will lose protein gradually starting with the second day of fasting. And the explanation is simple. Your body needs to run on what it has stored. And that is either fat or protein. In the first couple of days, it will run on fat and then slowly supplement that with protein. The longer the fast the bigger the protein loses.

2. Muscle breakdown

Losing protein comes with an added bonus. Not only that your body will be depleted of its protein reserves, but it will soon cannibalize your muscles to get it. Your muscles are the biggest deposit of protein you carry around daily. So. like a scrapyard boss, it will start chipping away at those last formed, prime, muscle fibers you have been working so hard for.

3. Metabolism craze

Your metabolic rate will skyrocket in your first few days of long fasting. Over time the body will adjust to the frequency and length of your fasting sessions. But in the beginning, your higher metabolic rate will not only speed up the weight loss process but also the speed with which your body loses that all-important protein.

4. Your heart is also a muscle

Your body will have a tendency to burn fat to get energy and then add on some protein just for good measure. Well, your heart is one of those muscles that will be required to give up some of that protein. In the long run, your heart will weaken and your body will be forced to slow down your metabolism thus acting as a kill switch on weight loss.

5. Loss of minerals

Muscle doesnt just use protein to maintain or grow. If you really are trying to grow muscle you know how important magnesium, potassium and other minerals are to the entire muscle forming process. Long fasting periods mean that you will have lots of hours with no food intake, so water consumption will be bigger than your body is used too. That means that you will eliminate many more minerals than usual. Which is the opposite of good when it comes to muscle growth.

6. Low energy

Although your metabolic rate and your heart rate may go up at first, in time, you will experience a decrease in your energy levels. That is basically because long fasting brings about low blood pressure. And the decrease in blood pressure will deprive you of the energy you need to build muscles.

7. Vitamin deficiency

Long fasting is not only responsible for causing your body to lose minerals, you will lose plenty of vitamins as well. If you think you already saw this coming think again. Because among the vitamins that you are going to lose, none are more important than B12, D and C. The levels of these vitamins are among those that will be the most affected by your sudden change in lifestyle.

8. It will lower your morale

Training at the gym can be quite draining over long periods of time. Even more so, if you do not get adequate amounts of sleep and food when you are allowed to eat. Long fasting will upset your workout schedule and with it your mood. Gone will be the days when you had all that energy to go on and on. It is very difficult to balance out your training routine and your mood when you feel too hungry. And that will eat away at your morale.

9. It will give you a negative nitrogen balance

When fasting, the body will find it almost impossible to keep a positive nitrogen balance. Therefore even if you were to gain muscle mass, by upgrading your workout or using more protein shakes, you will not be able to hold on to your muscle gains. Nitrogen balance is the difference between nitrogen excreted from the body and nitrogen ingested in the diet. And your loss in natural protein intake will affect that balance.

10. It can substitute your muscles for fat

No, that doesnt happen literally, or overnight. But the longer the fasting diet is, the more likely you are to burn through your muscle tissue. Once you have decided that fasting does not go hand in hand with your goals of building your muscle mass, you will more than likely gain all your weight back. It's just that it is much easier for the body to store fat than to store muscle. So much of the weight you gain back will be made out of fat. It will be like chasing after two rabbits and catching none.

Fasting will bring some benefits to your workout regime. It will help you eliminate toxins and allow your body to slow down and rest for a while. But it is not the best when it comes to gaining muscle. To supplement the things on our list you must find a way to add more protein to your diet in the periods before and after your long fast, as well as supplement with personalized quantities of vitamins and minerals.

In the end, the investment may not be worth the effort and this diet may not be the one to support you on your way to your goals. And as any iconic man should know, staying focused on your goals is more important than temporary weight loss.

Read more:
10 reasons long fasting will kill your muscle growth - The ultimate deal about long fasting - IconicMan Magazine

MAPLE GROVE, Minn., Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC (Upsher-Smith) today announced that it will be attending the 48th Annual Meeting of the Child Neurology Society (CNS) October 23-26, 2019 in Charlotte, NC. Meeting attendees are encouraged to visit booth #414 to learn more about Vigadrone (vigabatrin) for Oral Solution, 500 mg a fully substitutable, AA-rated generic version of Sabril (vigabatrin) powder for oral solution*. Representatives will also be on hand to discuss Upsher-Smith's Access Pathways Program, a program designed to reduce the barriers associated with prescribing vigabatrin by providing brand-quality support to physicians, patients, and caregivers.

Vigadrone is indicated for the treatment of:

Please see Important Safety Information, including Boxed Warning for Risk of Permanent Vision Loss at the end of this communication.

"At this year's Child Neurology Society meeting, we look forward to discussing with healthcare professionals how Upsher-Smith's Access Pathways Program can help overcome the obstacles of prescribing vigabatrin," said Rusty Field, President and CEO of Upsher-Smith. "Since treating infantile spams requires early intervention, our priority is to ensure that physicians are able to start their patients on Vigadrone as quickly as possible."

Access Pathways is fully committed to providing the support patients and caregivers need, regardless of when they need it. The program includes:

To learn more about Access Pathways, visit vigadrone.com. Access Pathways Program Support can be reached at 1-866-923-1954 Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. EST or at 1-866-923-1954 on weekends and after hours.

Vigabatrin REMS Program The U.S. FDA has approved a single shared system Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for all vigabatrin products called the Vigabatrin REMS Program. It is required by the FDA to ensure informed risk-benefit decisions before initiating treatment and to ensure appropriate use of vigabatrin while patients are treated.

Healthcare providers must be certified in the Vigabatrin REMS Program to prescribe Vigadrone and patients must be enrolled in the Vigabatrin REMS Program to receive Vigadrone. All certified prescribers and enrolled patients in the SABRIL REMS Program have been transitioned to the Vigabatrin REMS Program and do not need to recertify or re-enroll.

WHAT IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT VIGADRONE?

WARNING: PERMANENT VISION LOSSSee Medication Guide and full Prescribing Information for complete information.

All people who take VIGADRONE:* You are at risk for permanent vision loss with any amount of VIGADRONE.* Your risk of vision loss may be higher the more VIGADRONE you take daily and the longer you take it. * It is not possible for your healthcare provider to know when vision loss will happen. It could happensoon after starting VIGADRONE or any time during treatment. It may even happenaftertreatment hasstopped.

VIGADRONE can cause serious side effects such as low red blood cell counts (anemia), sleepiness and tiredness, nerve problems, weight gain, and swelling. BecauseVIGADRONE causes sleepiness and tiredness, do not drive, operate machinery, or perform any hazardous task, unless it is decided that these things can be done safely. VIGADRONE may make certain types of seizures worse. Tell your healthcare provider right away if seizures get worse.

Before starting VIGADRONE,tell your doctor about all of your (or your child's) medical conditions, including mental illnesses, and all the medicines you (or your child) take.

If you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed, VIGADRONE can pass into breast milk and may harm your baby.

If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, it is not known if VIGADRONE will harm your unborn baby. You and your healthcare provider will have to decide if you should take VIGADRONE while you are pregnant.

The most common side effects of VIGADRONE in adults include:problems walking or feeling uncoordinated, feeling dizzy, shaking (tremor), joint pain, memory problems and not thinking clearly, and eye problems like blurry vision, double vision, and eye movements that cannot be controlled.

The most common side effects of VIGADRONE in children 10 to 16 years of ageinclude weight gain, upper respiratory tract infection, tiredness, and aggression. Also expect side effects like those seen in adults.

The most common side effects of VIGADRONE in babies include:sleepinesssome babies may have a harder time suckling and feeding or may be irritable, swelling in the bronchial tubes (bronchitis), ear infection, and irritability.

Tell your healthcare provider if you or your child have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

This is the most important information to know about VIGADRONE, but not all of the possible side effects of VIGADRONE. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist, or please visit vigadrone.com/PI for VIGADRONE Medication Guide,full Prescribing Informationincluding Boxed Warning for risk of permanent vision loss, andInstructions for Use. You can also visit upsher-smith.com or call 1-888-650-3789.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visitwww.fda.gov/medwatch, or call1-800-332-1088.

About Upsher-Smith Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC is a trusted U.S. pharmaceutical company that strives to improve the health and lives of patients through an unwavering commitment to high-quality products and sustainable growth. Since 1919, it has brought generics and brands to a wide array of customers backed by an attentive level of service, strong industry relationships, and dedication to uninterrupted supply.

As Upsher-Smith celebrates its 100-year anniversary, the company enters a new ambitious era that has been accelerated by its 2017 acquisition by Sawai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Upsher-Smith and Sawai plan to leverage each other for growth worldwide and embark on an exciting new chapter as they seek to deliver the best value for their stakeholders, and most importantly, Do More Good for the patients they serve. For more information, visit http://www.upsher-smith.com.

*Sabril is a registered trademark of Lundbeck. Prior authorization support can be provided only for indicated disease states.**Medicare, Medicaid and other state and federal health care program patients are not eligible.

Vigadrone, Access Pathways and Do More Good are trademarks of Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/upsher-smith-to-attend-the-48th-annual-meeting-of-the-child-neurology-society-300943183.html

SOURCE Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC

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Upsher-Smith To Attend The 48th Annual Meeting Of The Child Neurology Society - P&T Community

After Kaitlynn Carter posted a steamy selfie to Instagram on Tuesday, October 22, fans noticed that the 31-year-old was looking a little thin. Kaitlynn alluded that her recent weight loss is the result of her traumatic breakups from husband Brody Jenner and girlfriendMiley Cyrus.

Oh, Kaitlynn you look too thin, are you ok? commented a concerned fan. You are so beautiful hope all is okay. It was nice to see you healthy for a bit modeling. It was normal, it seems like the new norm is being shown as super thin.

I mean, Ive been through some st lately LOL, the blonde beauty replied to the user. Kaitlynn can be seen lounging on a plush white towel in a pink bikini. Her toned tummy was on full display as well as her stunning blue eyes and perfect pout. In real life, she captioned the photo with the location as Palm Springs, California.

In recent weeks, Kaitlynn has definitely gone through some st to say the least. Back in August, Kaitlynn andThe Hillsstar, 36, announced theirsplitafter five years together and one year of marriage. After tying the knot on Indonesia, the two failed to make their marriage legal in the states.

Kaitlynnquickly moved onwith Miley, 26, hours after she announced hersplitfrom husbandLiam Hemsworth. The beauties were spotted getting cozy on anItalian getawayin Lake Como. In the following weeks, Miley and Kaitlynn were inseparable and were seen at supporting one another. Miley was by her ladys side at her 31stbirthday partyand Kaitlynn was backstage at Mileys epicVMA performanceof Slide Away.

After only one month of dating, the two went their separate ways. Their romance didnt fizzle out,it just ran its course. Thats it, an insider toldIn Touchexclusively. Miley wasted no time moving on and is currently dating singerCody Simpson. Fans have speculated that Kaitlynnmight be a little saltythat Miley bounced back so quickly. One day after Mileybasically confirmedshe was going steady with the 22-year-old Aussie, Kaitlynn posted a photo with the caption THAT WAS WAY HARSH. As we all know, the iconic line comes from the 1995 filmClueless, but some thought there was a deeper meaning. Breakups are hard but youre handling yours with stride, Kaitlynn!

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Kaitlynn Carter Claims Her Weight Loss Is the Result of Recent Breakups - Life&Style Weekly