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This Guy Followed the Diet Plan That Tom Ellis Used to Get Shredded for Lucifer – menshealth.com

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:58 am

Actor Tom Ellis has been playing the devil himself on the supernatural drama Lucifer since 2016, but the last couple of years have seen him get even more ripped for the role, thanks to a suitably hellish workout routine and diet. In honor of the fifth season of Lucifer dropping on Netflix, YouTuber Aseel Soueid recently decided to spend 24 hours following the meal plan that Tom Ellis used to help him get into devilishly good shape for the role.

The first meal of the day is a hearty one: a 5-egg omelet with an extra 5 egg whites, filled with mushrooms, onions and peppers. This is swiftly followed by the second meal/snack, 2 servings of almonds.

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The third meal of the day is a pretty classic pre-workout meal: boneless, 8 ounces of cooked skinless chicken breast with brown rice and salad. After getting pumped as hell in the gym, it's time for meal number 4, a post-workout protein smoothie, with whey protein and frozen strawberries. The recipe for this one ends up creating a lot, and with the day's meals adding up, Soueid has to split it into a few sittings before he can finish it.

Meal number 5 is another "bro meal" standard: chicken breast, brown rice, and steamed broccoli. Soueid shovels it down with the help of some hot sauce, and then

"I'm just about done with chicken breast for the day," he says. "For me personally, I need a lot of variety in my diet when it comes to my protein sources, like I'll have lean ground beef for one meal, some chicken breast for the next, I just cannot do over 10 ounces of chicken breast in one day, and I've already had like 16."

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The sixth and final meal is another whey protein shake, bringing Soueid's total food intake for the day up to 2,056 calories. That's 114 grams of carbs, 78 grams of fat, and a whopping 231 grams of protein.

Upon completing the challenge, Souid's main takeaway from the Lucifer diet is that it's... actually kind of boring.

"You don't have to eat nothing but chicken breast, broccoli, salad, brown rice and almonds just to get in shape," he says. "You just need to make sure you dial in your total calorie intake goal for the day, along with the specific macronutrients that your individual body needs."

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This Guy Followed the Diet Plan That Tom Ellis Used to Get Shredded for Lucifer - menshealth.com

‘Fitness Classes And A Balanced Diet Helped Me Lose 90 Lbs.’ – Women’s Health

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:58 am

My name is Tameika Gentles (@tameikag),and I am 34 years old. I live in Toronto, Canada, and I'm a wellness and weight loss coach as well as an entrepreneur. I lost 90 pounds by finding my love for weightlifting and living a balanced lifestyle that works for me.

Growing up, I was perceived as the stereotypical fun, jolly, overweight friend that everyone loved. My family is of Caribbean descent, so our house was always filled with joy, food and most importantly, fun! Traditional Caribbean foods were a huge part of my culture and lifestyle.

As I got older, though, the weight piled on. I went from being the cute, chubby Tameika to becoming severely overweight. After my first year of university and gaining yet another twenty pounds, Id reached my highest weight yet: 230 pounds.

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I've experienced a number of unfortunate, embarrassing things because of my weight, which absolutely no one deserves. For one, I wasn't able to fit comfortably in my airplane seat on my first international trip, and in another instance, I was rejected from a ride at an amusement park because of my size. This world isn't designed to fit big people, which is simply unfair and wrong.

My turning point came when I realized that because the world is built like this, I couldn't feel comfortable in my own skin. I knew deep down that there was so much I wanted out of life, and I just knew in my heart I was destined for a great, fulfilling life. I decided that changing my lifestyle was the first thing that was going to get me there.

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I started with research. This was during a time when Instagram, blogs, and the wealth of information available today just wasnt there. I went to the library and checked out books on weight loss. I studied the science of weight loss, caloric intake, macros, fitness, weight training and the psychology of obesity. I was basically a sponge, absorbing everything I could.

Because of all the newfound information that I was learning, I made the decision that I was going to cook my own food. As a student, that consisted of very basic and very affordable meals. But I knew making and preparing my own meals was a first step. Over time it evolved into making my meals fun, buying healthy cookbooks, and trying new recipes.

Eventually, I gave up all restrictions and truly developed a lifestyle of balance. I recognized how dreadful a diet felt (not to mention it never lasted!) and was determined to figure out a lifestyle of balance. Taking the balanced approach may take longer, but youll be able to maintain it long term.

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Honestly, I had a nonexistent relationship with exercise before my journey began. I would try certain programs to see if I'd lose weight, but nothing stuck. I even tried sports but was never really committed to anything.

But then I began to take fitness classes at my local gym. Through research, I knew how important strength training was toward muscle-building. Initially I just did cardio, but I quickly learned that if I wanted a toned and strong physique, with minimal loose skin, strength training was going to be a super important part of my routine.

Fitness classes taught me the basics: What a bicep curl was, how to properly squat, how to target different muscle groups. I couldnt afford a personal trainer back then, so learning in classes was a perfect alternative.

After nine very dedicated months, I lost nearly 100 pounds.

Now, I love strength training. I weight train four days per week and have for the last 14 years. I feel so empowered when I hit new PRs, and I only want to get stronger. When Im not in the gym hitting the weights, I love getting outdoors. I often try to find new hikes or trails that can keep me active while seeing new places. Im also developing a new love for yoga and stretching. I love what its doing for my mental health.

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The key to my weight loss was taking what I learned to really build a lifestyle that worked for me. Another massive win was slowly integrating these new learnings into my lifestyle, free from extremes and fads. I knew that wouldn't work as it hadn't in the past.

I tried time and time again to start this journey and failed. The main problem was lack of patience and consistency. I would always try to find quick wins that put me in a nasty yo-yo cycle. It wasnt an easy road, but Im so glad I went through it and got here because I believe my approach has helped tremendously with weight loss maintenance.

Most importantly, though, I stopped worrying about end goals. Truth is, after losing the weight and keeping it off for 14 years, Ive come to realize that there is no end date to this journey. Once you lose the weight, you still have to maintain it. It really isnt about the destination, because there is none.

This is lifestyle I am creating forever, so I started enjoying the process.

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'Fitness Classes And A Balanced Diet Helped Me Lose 90 Lbs.' - Women's Health

Weight loss: The low carb keto diet plan can help burn fat – here’s what you can eat – Express

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:58 am

When trying to hit a weight loss goal, a diet plan and exercise can help achieve this. The keto, or ketogenic, plan has grown in popularity in recent years.Slimmers who follow it must eat low carb and high fat foods.

Dieters on the plan will usually try to eat less than 25 grams of net carbs a day.

Instead of carbs, they can fill up on foods high in healthy fats and with a moderate protein content.

Doing this is thought to help the body enter into a fat-burning state called ketosis, according to personal trainer and health and fitness tutor for The Training Room Daniel Reilly.

READ MORE:Best foods to eat before a workout

He said: "The theory behind the ketogenic diet is that if you deprive your body of its main source of energy and bring carbohydrates down to less than 10 percent of a person's daily caloric intake, it goes into a state of ketosis, where it burns fat stored in the body for fuel instead.

"During this process, by-products called ketones are produced, which are then used by the body's muscles, tissues, and brain.

"Unlike many fad diets that come and go, the keto diet has been practised since the 1920s and is based upon a solid understanding of physiology and nutrition science.

"This diet works well for so many people because it targets several key, underlying causes of weight gain including hormonal imbalances, elevated insulin, and high blood sugar levels."

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Keto-friendly foods include meat, fish, nuts, eggs, dairy, vegetables and low-carb fruits.

Those hoping to lose weight should avoid foods high in sugar and carbs such as bread, pasta, rice, some fruits and sweet treats.

While the diet has worked in some cases, the expert explained it may not be any better than other plans out there.

He added: "A review study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that after a year, the effects weren't significantly different to those achieved via conventional weight loss methods.

"Research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition has also shown that drop-out rates are high among people following a keto diet because it's restrictive."

Although the keto diet can help some people lose weight but it may not be sustainable long-term, the expert said.

He warned dieters to consider the impacts before using the keto plan.

"While restrictive weight-loss diets might work in the short-term, the majority of people using them regain that weight and often more," Daniel explained.

"This is partly because restrictive behaviours and eating plans aren't sustainable.

"The carbohydrate restriction may cause nutritional deficiencies, fatigue, low mood, irritability, headaches, constipation, and brain fog."

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Weight loss: The low carb keto diet plan can help burn fat - here's what you can eat - Express

Eat A Vegetarian Diet If It Suits You, It Won’t Make You Healthier – Only Fewer Calories Will – Science 2.0

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:58 am

People often adopt vegetarian or even vegan diets because they are told it will make them healthier, but the same epidemiological correlation that tried to link butter with heart disease claimed trans fats would prevent it, and now statistical links claim just the opposite.

Without a plausible biological mechanism for how meat or trans fats might impact health, such claims always remain "exploratory" but in a 24-hour news cycle a big name like Harvard School of Public Health or International Agency for Research on Cancer will get media attention, and most covering science journalism don't know the difference between correlation and causation. IARC, for its part, even tries to make its findings seem more authoritative than they are and use causal verbiage in their media kits while their actual monagraphs note they can't show causation.

But 'meat is bad for you' is now big business. So big that if studies debunk it, "True Health Initiative" and epidemiologists like Walter Willett and Frank Hu, who've made their careers undermining a normal diet, will call any scientist who undermines them shills for Big Meat; the kind of ethically suspect technique that is unfortunately common among activist academics. True Health Initiative will even try to pressure journals into censorship or lobby law enforcement to investigate critics. Their dozens of corporate sponsors won't continue to fund them if they don't.

This risotto and shrimp looks delicious, and it is delicious, and it is vegetarian, but it is not health food just because some people in Greece eat it and have slightly better health. Calories matter most. Credit: flickr user avlxyz.

A vegetarian diet can be healthy for you. Just like any diet. Even if you only eat salads or any food at McDonald's. It can also be bad for you, just like any diet. If you want to eat Big Mac's in obscene quantities every day as a publicity stunt for a documentary, you can, and you will feel awful, but you can more easily find unhealthy looking vegetarians.

Statistical correlation claims that the "least processed" foods are healthier but the definition of such is unclear. All bread is processed but matching white bread to diseases led to claims that whole grain bread is healthier. There is no scientific basis for it. It's all bread, a lot of carbohydrates and calories. Eat too much of it without additional exercise and you will gain weight. Orange juice is basically Coca-Cola with some vitamin C but if it's squeezed by hand it's considered less processed and therefore healthier.

A recent analysis using 10 years of the 2001 and 2002 ATTICA study in Greece - begun after the Mediterranean Diet again became the latest craze - brought some sense into the matter, and it concludes that if you engage in a vegetarian diet, you won't end up more healthy than when you ate meat, if you stay obese. And that affirms calories are the problem, not the type of calories.

The results were what common sense would tell you. Higher calorie foods like juices and potatoes and chocolate are all vegetarian, but they don't make you healthier than eating a steak. The weakness of this study is the same as in all Food Frequency Questionnaire claims; it relies on memory of diet, in this case over the past year, and has so many outcomes and foods almost anything can be linked with statistical significance; 156 foods. And this analysis used a very small sample, 146, so small changes could have a big impact.

They were also obese so even though they had normal blood pressure and blood sugar when the study began it's not a surprise they developed higher numbers later. Yet even those two things are simply risk factors, not diseases themselves. So a potato can be a risk factor for a risk factor for a disease but that is no reason to give up potatoes. Eat one instead of two. The obesity is still the problem.

If you want to eat vegetarian to get healthier, make sure you pay attention to the calories. A giant salad slathered in dressing is not going to make you healthy, nor is chocolate cake. Like Einstein's Theory of Relativity, energy balance has survived all challenges. In 100 percent of studies, people who consumer fewer calories than they burn lose weight, and if you maintain a healthy weight it does not matter whether you eat a typical diet or that of a Greek peasant in the 1950s, your odds of being healthier in old age go up.

Citation: Matina Kouvari, Harokopio University, Athens, 'Healthful and unhealthful plant-based dietary patterns and their role on 10-year transition to metabolically unhealthy status in obese participants of the ATTICA prospective (2002-2012) study.' ESC Congress 2020 The Digital Experience

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Eat A Vegetarian Diet If It Suits You, It Won't Make You Healthier - Only Fewer Calories Will - Science 2.0

Modern diet and its impact on health – The New Times

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:58 am

Harvesting food while conserving natural resources, and meeting the demands of a growing global population, is the goal of modern farming and ranching practices.

Some of these practices include; food biotechnology - which involves a range of processes used to enhance foods through various breeding and other techniques.

There is also local food production, which is most often produced, processed, packaged, distributed, and consumed within a smaller, defined area, experts say.

In addition to this, there is processed food which consumers associate with being less nutritious or containing artificial ingredients or other added substances.

According to Dr Christophe W. Ngendahayo, air and climate health expert, and founder of Air Health Now working at Kibagabaga Hospital, the term processed is commonly used to describe certain foods with low nutritional value, including snacks, desserts, and carbonated beverages.

Dr Kirimi Sindi, an agricultural economist, says highly processed foods like sugar, maize flour, wheat flour, cassava, spaghetti, noodles, are full of carbohydrates and most of the other nutrients have been removed. Therefore, he says, most people are eating too much energy.

He notes that when it comes to dining out, people eat foods like French fries, bread, burgers, ice cream, and drink soda and beer, all of which are full of sugar.

This, Sindi says, combined with our sedentary lifestyle, becomes an issue.

When this happens, the excess energy taken in is converted to fat, creating high chances of becoming obese, he says.

Dr Sindi goes on to add that these foods, coupled with sedentary lifestyles, lead to many non-communicable ailments.

Ngendahayo says food is a fundamental part of society; however, it is also at the centre of many challenges we face now, and will likely face in the future from a health, social, economic and environmental perspective.

Ngendahayo points out that for many, traditional diets are being replaced by processed fast foods where fat and sugar have become the cheapest way to get calories, cheaper than staples like grains, beans, lentils, or fruits and vegetables.

These factors encourage a higher intake of calories while decreasing the energy (calories) spent through physical activity, he says.

The implications

World Health Organization (WHO) defines overweight and obesity as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health.

Body mass index (BMI) is used to classify overweight and obesity in adults.

Overweight is when BMI is greater than or equal to 25; and obesity is BMI greater than or equal to 30.

The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended.

According to WHO, nowadays there is an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars; and an increase in physical inactivity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanisation.

Changes in dietary and physical activity patterns, WHO notes, are often the result of environmental and societal changes associated with the development, and lack of supportive policies in sectors such as health, agriculture, transport, and food processing, among others.

Overweight and obesity is a new epidemic globally, Ngendahayo says, we are experiencing health and environmental disasters, with rising rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases and severe challenges posed by climate change.

Globally, more than 1.9 billion adults aged 18 and older were overweight in 2016. Of these, over 650 million adults were obese.

In Rwanda, according to the available statistics from Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC); overall, the Rwanda NCD survey found that 2.8 per cent are obese, 14.3 percent are overweight and 7.8 per cent underweight.

Obesity is prevalent in the age group 35 to 54 and females account for 4.7 per cent.

Additionally, the prevalence of obesity is more predominant in urban areas with 10.2 per cent and Kigali City with 7.7 per cent.

Overweight and obesity are linked to millions of deaths worldwide more than underweight and are the fifth highest risk factor for death, according to WHO.

Low-income economies are also the most vulnerable to the loss of productivity caused by early death and disability, while it can affect people from all levels of society.

Ngendahayo says that overweight and obesity exposes people to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. NCDs kill more people than all other causes combined.

These diseases cause enormous human loss and impose heavy costs on health systems. They also reduce overall productivity by killing and disabling people in their productive years, he adds.

Way forward

Private Kamanzi, a nutritionist at Amazon Nutrition Cabinet, Kigali, says eating a healthy diet and being physically active is essential as it will keep these conditions at bay.

He notes that turning to organic food reduces, or cutting off processed and sugary drinks, is vital as well.

Given the threats we are faced by obesity and overweight, Ngendahayo says urgent radical change is required.

Government and non-government organisations have vital roles to play in changing the policies and practices that shape behaviour around diet and physical activity, he says.

These, he says, include the trade, agriculture, transport and other urban planning policies that determine whether people have healthy options, as well as investment in education, media, and marketing that influence peoples choices.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com

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Modern diet and its impact on health - The New Times

Jenna Dewan Explains Her 80/20 Diet: Ive Gotta Be Able to Indulge and Have a Glass of Wine – Us Weekly

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:58 am

Dishing on her diet! Jenna Dewan sticks to a vegan or vegetarian eating regimen that includes plenty of healthy meals and snacks, with the occasional indulgence thrown in.

I believe in eating 80/20, the Flirty Dancing host, 39, said on Wednesday, August 26, while promoting her Renew Life probiotics partnership. I do 80 percent as healthy as possible vegetarian and vegan, as healthy as I can.

While she eats nutritious foods like lots of vegetables and lots of smoothies the majority of the time, Dewan noted the other 20 percent of her meals arent quite as healthy. And then 20 percent Im eating Mexican food if I want it, she declared. You know, Ive gotta be able to indulge and have a glass of wine and feel good in that way, so that helps me not be so strict and so focused in one way.

As the Resident star alluded to, the 80/20 diet, which also counts Kristin Cavallari and Olivia Munn as fans, focuses on eating healthfully 80 percent of the time and eating what you want during the other 20 percent.

At the start of each day, the Gracefully You author has a whole routine that she sticks to that involves a cleansing beverage and spending time with her son with fianc Steve Kazee, 5-month-old Callum. I wake up, I go downstairs, I have my baby we kinda, like, roll out of bed together [and] I get my supplements for the morning, she explained. While Dewan said she takes her supplements on an empty stomach, she does wash them down with a soothing hot cup of water with lemon.

I love healthy living, the Step Up star added. Ive taken quite a lot of supplements, I make quite a lot of smoothies. Im, like, really about trying to keep myself in balance and healthy as much as possible.

Aside from eating well, Dewan noted that meditation has been another game changer in her life, especially since things have been particularly hectic for the Witches of East End alum in coronavirus quarantine. I do breathwork meditation, I do [transcendental meditation] style mantras, I do lots of things that sort of bring me back to a place of connection with myself, she said.

In addition to Callum, the Connecticut native shares 7-year-old daughter Everly with her ex-husband, Channing Tatum. Having a baby, a 7-year-old who goes back and forth through two homes [is hard], Dewan explained. We cant control whether were gonna come in contact with COVID-19 necessarily, but we can control boosting our immune system to the level that we can. For me, Im making sure Im taking my supplements, getting as much rest and balance as I can.

With reporting by Carly Sloane

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Jenna Dewan Explains Her 80/20 Diet: Ive Gotta Be Able to Indulge and Have a Glass of Wine - Us Weekly

Study Shows a 3rd of World Population Follow a Diet Based on Reduction or Elimination of Meat – vegconomist – the vegan business magazine

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:58 am

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A recent study carried out in Q3 of this year reveals that a total of 11% of global consumers are vegetarian, 20% are flexitarian, and 3% identify as vegan, signifying that one third of consumers around the world are following a diet that is based around the moderation or elimination of animal produce.

The FMCG Gurus Foodservice survey was carried out in 26 countries amongst 31,000 respondents, and centred around the subject of foodservice and consumer satisfaction therein. The results found that when questioned, vegans are significantly less likely to be satisfied with menus within the foodservice sector compared to vegetarians and flexitarians. This indicates that more plant-based food and drink should be available in the channel, especially as they will appeal to other consumers looking to limit intake of animal produce.

A total of 24% of all consumers say that they would like to see foodservice outlets promote products that are suitable for plant-based diets, whilst 27% said that they think foodservice outlets could better capture their attention through promoting plant-based products.

The report concludes that whilst appealing to vegans is important, vegan-inspired menus will not just be limited to this group in terms of appeal, and that positioning plant-based food and drink products around health and sustainability benefits is an initiative that will have appeal and positive repercussions around the world.

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Study Shows a 3rd of World Population Follow a Diet Based on Reduction or Elimination of Meat - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Tia Mowry Shows off Her Fit Figure in Shorts after Losing Weight See Her Powerful Message – AmoMama

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:57 am

Tia Mowry is showing off herfigure after losing weight followingthe birth of her daughter, and she has a powerful message for new mothers. Here is what she had to say.

Tia Mowry is showing off her figureafter going on a weight loss journey following the birth of her daughter Cairo last year.

The star took to Instagram to share a mirror selfiewearing a gray turtle neck sweater and denim shorts, and she looks terrific.

The mother of two had a special message for new mothers, opening up to them about the pressure they faceto "snapback" after giving birth.

After Mowry was fat-shamed during and after her pregnancy, she wanted to empower women and remind them that they should do things in their time. She said:

"Im very proud that I did it my way and in my time. I didnt feel rushed to snap back. I enjoyed breastfeeding and spending quality time with#cairoand my son#cree."

Last year, Mowry spoke about her weight loss journey and revealed that she had faced criticism after she did not lose the weight as fast as people thought she should have.

However, she said that it was not about looking great, adding that if it took a while to get to her goal weight, then so be it.

Mowry often speaks about body positivity, revealing that during her pregnancy, she had suffered from diastasis recti, a condition that causes the abs to separate.

The "Sister, Sister" star shared the news with a photo posted six months after giving birth to her daughterand revealedthat it was the cause of her "little pouch." She added:

"Shining a spotlight on this because I had never heard of it. Have to go hard with core work to restore. We will work on that later 🙂 "

She revealed that she had chosen to document her journey to show others that it was ok to go at your own pace and not fold to societal pressure.

This is not the first time that female celebrities have faced unreasonable pressures to lose weight after giving birth.

After her second child, Chrissy Teigentook to Instagram opening up about her journey, joking that she was 20 pounds heavier than before getting pregnant as she loves food too much.

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Tia Mowry Shows off Her Fit Figure in Shorts after Losing Weight See Her Powerful Message - AmoMama

Been hitting the gym too hard after the lockdown? Take it easy, warn trainers – Times of India

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:57 am

After months of being homebound and gaining all that extra body weight, when gyms in the city finally opened its door again, its quite obvious that people are in a hurry to get back in shape. But health experts are urging people to exercise caution before getting into rigorous workouts at gyms or fitness clubs. And they have a reason to say so.Take this recent incident, for instance: Eighteen-year-old fitness enthusiast Lakshay Bindra was in such a hurry to lose those extra kilos he had put on during the lockdown that he decided to go for rigorous exercise the day he hit the gym after months. Result: The same evening, he started experiencing extreme muscle fatigue, followed by body stiffness, pain and vomiting. Things worsened and he had to be admitted to the ICU, as he suffered from acute abdomen pain, dark urine and weak kidney and liver functioning. It took him some time to recover after sessions of dialysis and physiotherapy, to be precise.

Rigorous exercising may damage your kidneys

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Been hitting the gym too hard after the lockdown? Take it easy, warn trainers - Times of India

Whats Really The Best Way To Maintain A Healthy Weight Over 50? – British Vogue

Posted: August 31, 2020 at 6:57 am

My working title for this story was Fat at 50, Forever, and you can hardly blame me. While it was definitely tongue-in-cheek, for those of us whove gained a few pounds in midlife, maintaining a healthy size becomes and theres no way to sugar-coat it increasingly difficult. As you age, you put on weight, says the founder of the diagnostic clinic Viavi:be Dr Sabine Donnai, who specialises in health and exercise programmes for the over fifties. And thats if youre just standing still, not eating, not doing anything, just purely because your metabolism goes down each year.

Tempting as it is to accept this as an unavoidable part of getting older, there is (vanity aside) good reason for resisting this seemingly inexorable increase. As well as the surface weight were amassing, were also accumulating visceral fat, which surrounds our organs and stops them functioning as well as they should, which leads to a shorter lifespan.

Women have it twice as bad: along with the ageing process, during which the body swaps muscle for fat, we have the menopause to deal with. The loss of oestrogen has a particular effect on the way your fat is distributed, says Dr Donnai. Firstly, when oestrogen drops, you get mood swings, and frequently you overeat to compensate. You sleep badly as your progesterone drops, and your stress levels rise, often because its easy at this age to lose a sense of purpose especially if youve had children and theyre growing up and relying on you less.

Additionally, your body stores fat differently, as its lipoprotein lipase (which sits on the surface of the fat cells, pulling in fat from the blood) goes into overproduction, no longer kept in check by the now declining oestrogen. If the fat gets pulled into a muscle cell, it gets burnt off as fuel; but if it gets pulled into a fat cell, it just makes the fat cell bigger. You get the idea.

At this point, youre probably expecting a paragraph starting with the word fortunately, followed by a quick-fix diet with, quite possibly, some new gadget or machine promising that the whole sorry situation will be resolved in no time. Im sorry to disappoint. You need to get into the gym and lift weights, says Dr Donnai matter-of-factly. I know this is often alien to mature women, who are more used to yoga and some Pilates, both of which play a part, but its weights that will slow down the ageing process.

The physiological explanation behind this is that when you start training and lifting weights that feel like theyre too much for you, your body responds by making more muscle, in order to prevent what it perceives as damage. It stimulates a growth hormone, which in turn stimulates testosterone, and lifting that weight each time causes your metabolism to speed up. The lipoprotein lipase now pulls the fat into muscle cells, and because you have more muscle now anyway, thanks to lifting weights, your basic metabolic rate goes up, so you can eat without gaining weight, or lose weight if you eat slightly less.

Are weights the only option? Women really need to create high muscular overload on two fronts: to burn more calories, and raise the metabolism; but also to maintain bone density, says Matt Roberts, founder of the Matt Roberts Evolution personal training gym. When you stress the muscles, the tendons which are attached to the bone pull on it; the bone thinks it needs assistance and stores more calcium, and your bone density increases. High-impact exercise, going for a run, jumping, landing and moving, all also increase bone density. The impact of boxing is really good for bone density in the upper body, whereas running is good for the lower body. But you need a strategy in place for injury prevention this is where the yoga and Pilates come in as they create elasticity in the muscle tissue around the joints.

Sooner rather than later, we also have to address diet. To kick-start weight loss before a surf trip on which I didnt want to be carrying excess pounds, I embarked on a metabolic balancing diet under the guidance of Amanda Griggs at the Khera-Griggs clinic. I lost 8lbs in two weeks, and Id do it again, but perhaps only once a year it was tough.

You have to look at taking out starches and carbohydrates, rethink your portions, says Griggs. You have to realise, This is my meal. If that sounds a little grim, it has the advantage of reintroducing discipline. With a ban on snacking between meals, the diet which is restrictive for a fortnight but moves on to a maintenance plan thats all about mindful eating is healthy and delivers results. My BMI dropped to bang-on healthy. Of course, how you keep up those results is another matter. Youre quite disobedient, says Griggs, who guided me through the two weeks with plenty of stern, kind and highly motivating WhatsApp messages. Sometimes you only ate two meals a day, and Im not sure you always stuck to the quantities of protein you needed.

Roberts also homes in on protein. If you focus on eating enough protein, you just wont have the appetite for carbs. A womans protein intake is woefully low, he says. Government guidelines suggest 45g of protein for a 60kg woman, but Roberts explains, One egg is about 5g. So shifting away from carbs and loading up on beans and quinoa or eating sardines, as theyre high in calcium, will help control your blood sugar, raise your metabolism, and activate fat burn.

As well as advising abstaining from alcohol It gives you nothing other than a hangover and strips away Vitamin B13, which is vital for brain function hes also a fan of intermittent fasting. As women get older, they tend to think they need to eat less, and go on extreme low-calorie diets, but they dont work. You just add on more weight than you did before. Women have greater levels of visceral fat if you fast for 16 hours (from around 8pm until midday) for two to four days a week, for up to four weeks, and for the rest of the week take out the obvious foods that build up blood sugar, and increase protein, your body gets into a state of ketosis (where your metabolism is more energised due to lower blood sugar levels) and youll be burning away your visceral fat.

It all sounds easy enough, but as an inveterate carb-loading snacker who has eaten two and a half croissants while writing this I apparently still have a way to go.

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Whats Really The Best Way To Maintain A Healthy Weight Over 50? - British Vogue


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