Adele has reportedly lost weight, and is being lauded for it but there are many other reasons why we should admire her
Adele may have dubious positions on taxation, but one thing is for certain: the rest of her resume is nearly flawless. Her first album, some of which she wrote at age 16, went platinum 11 hours- an achievement surpassed by her second album. She is the only artist in Grammy history to have taken home the three biggest awardings in one night , not once but twice. And let’s not forget the time she accepted her album of the year award while calling out the establishment for not giving it to Beyonce.
Adele achieved all of these things while being criticized for being too fat. In a jolt to health guru everywhere, she even did it while smoking 25 cigarettes and drinking 10 sugary cups of tea a day. But she has now lost some weight– paparazzi pictures taken this week while she was on holiday made it clear- and is now celebrated and criticised for it( females can’t win, remember ?).
How predictable. Instead, may I suggest that Adele should be celebrated for her apparently healthy relationship to fame. Since becoming famous, she has gone through at least one album-worthy breakup and a divorce. She has had a child, gone through post-partum depression, and has get over has become a” massive drinker “. She did so with grace and an insistence on keeping strong bounds around her private life( she intentionally dedicates very few interviews ).
And yet, she hasn’t said too many stupid things in the media( outside her aforementioned tax remarks) and seems largely unconcerned with the rumor mill. She has escaped many of the toxicities of fame: she hasn’t paid for sex, fought with hard drug or had to take a break from social media.
In short, Adele seems to handle life better than I do when I forget to have breakfast. She has built hundreds, probably thousands of healthy choices in the last few years. So why are concentrated on her weight loss? Aren’t there ample other things to applaud?
Of course, we shouldn’t berate women for weight loss either( or weight gain, for that matter ). It is an unbelievably personal achievement, and there still is huge pressure for women to be slim. Sometimes weight loss is about health benefits, confidence, ill health or all three. Sometimes, it’s not even a decision. Any or none of these things may be why Adele lost weight.
But significant weight loss does not come without restriction. Ordinarily, a person has to cut out at least 500 calories a day to lose 1lb a week- that’s a quarter of a woman’s daily diet. Some people say that exercising is a healthier way to lose weight, but the average US woman would need to run over 21 miles a week to achieve that calorie deficit.
Sure, applaud the willpower, but let’s be clear: there is no miracle diet , no special hypnotherapy or diet pill that achieves weight-loss. There is surgery, but let’s not feign that’s pain-free.
I’d rather celebrate Adele for other things. Like the route she manages her divorce with humor; tells a mob of famous actors that she’s just at the Golden Globes for a night out; and managed to pen an entire album about an ex without ever publicly dragging his name through the dirt. Those things are proof of character- her weight, at best, is incidental.
An extreme, all animal-based diet is gaining followers in search of heightened productivity, mental lucidity, and a boosted libido. But experts convey doubts
For the past 18 months, Shawn Baker has eaten about 4lb of steak every day.
” I’ve got two rib-eye steaks waiting for me when I get off this call ,” said Baker, a developed orthopaedic surgeon, from Orange County, California.” It can be monotonous eating the same thing over and over again, but as hour goes by you start to crave it .”
The 6ft 5in bodybuilder, in his 50 s, is one of a growing number of people experimenting with the “carnivore diet”, a regimen that involves eating merely animal products like meat, offal and eggs, and no plant-based foods. It’s an extreme version of the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet– which trains the body to run on fat rather than carbohydrates- that has become popular in recent years. Proponents of the diet “re saying it” reduces inflammation and blood pressure while increasing libido and mental clarity.
Baker, who is nicknamed the “Carnivore King” and has amassed a cult following on social media, says the diet is easy because he doesn’t have to plan meals or count calories.” I simply have to think: how hungry am I and how many steaks do I want to eat ,” he said.
A post shared by Shawn Baker (@ shawnbaker1 967) on May 1, 2018 at 8: 22 am PDT
Before becoming a pure carnivore, Baker was also eating salads, spinach, dairy and nuts. Trenching these plant-based foods has been transformative for his body and athletic performance, he says.
” My joint pain and tendinitis is away, my sleep became excellent, my skin improved. I no longer had any bloating, cramping or other digestive problems, my libido went back to what it was in my 20 s and my blood pressure normalised ,” he said.
Although most medical practitioners balk at the idea of their patients ditching fruit and vegetables, the all-meat diet has been embraced by a cluster of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, who describe themselves as” bitcoin carnivores”, a phenomenon previously reported by Motherboard.
A post shared by Shawn Baker (@ shawnbaker1 967) on Apr 21, 2018 at 4:31 pm PDT
” Bitcoin is a rebellion against fiat[ government-backed] fund, and an all-meat diet is a revolt against fiat food ,” said Michael Goldstein, a” bitcoin and meat maximalist” based in Austin, Texas.” Once someone has grown capable of seeing beyond the lies and myths that experts peddle in one domain, it becomes easier to see beyond them in other domains as well .”
Goldstein, who runs a website dedicated to carnivory called Justmeat.co, eats 2-2. 5lb of “very rare” rib-eye steak each day, at a cost of about $400 a few months. He says he never has cravings for pizza, chocolate or veggies.” They don’t even register in my brain as food .”
He argues that eating merely meat has freed up his time to get more work done.” Grocery shopping takes all of 10 minutes, most of which is standing in the checkout line. I spend little time thinking about food. I only need to eat once or twice a day( no snacking or cravings ). Basically, it’s the greatest productivity hack, and Silicon Valley should have listened to me about it while I was there .”
Saifedean Ammous, a bitcoin economist, agrees, citing a” huge improvement” in productivity.
” The ability to focus for long periods has been life transforming, and was the reason that I managed to write a 300 -page book, on bitcoin, fittingly enough !” he said.
Lily Chien-Davis, a social media specialist at San Francisco-based startup Heads Up Health, says that the enhanced productivity and mental clarity explains why this diet, like intermittent fasting, is popular in Silicon Valley.
She started feeing a very low carb diet when her husband was diagnosed with cancer- some studies indicate that a ketogenic diet can help the body fight cancers. However, Chien-Davis found that changing her eating habits alleviated her pre-diabetes.
Participants who ate the most vegetables and consumed the fewest processed foods, sugary drinks and unhealthy fats shed the most kilograms
The amount and quality of food and not a person’s genetics will lead to weight loss, a US study has found.
It has been suggested that variations in genetic makeup make it easier for some people to lose weight than others on certain diets.
To test this theory researchers at Stanford University conducted a randomised control trial involving 609 overweight adults, who all underwent genetic and insulin testing before being randomly assigned to either a low-fat or low-carb diet for 12 months.
Gene analysis identified differences are connected with how the body processes fats or carbohydrates. But weight loss averaged around 5kg to 6kg at follow-up regardless of genes, insulin levels or diet type.
What seemed to make a difference was healthy eating, researchers said.
Participants who ate the most vegetables and devoured the fewest processed foods, sugary drinks and unhealthy fats lost the most weight.
Prof Lennert Veerman from the School of Medicine at Griffith University in Queensland said the study presented there was probably no such thing as a diet right for a particular genetic make-up.
” We feed to fill our belly and, if that’s with veggies, we tend to lose weight, whereas if it’s with chocolate or French fries, flushed down with a soda, we gain weight ,” Veerman said.
The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Participants had 22 health education class during the study and were encouraged to be physically active but the focus was on what they ate.
They were advised to choose high-quality foods but were not given indicated calorie restrictions nor were they provided with specific foods. Outcomes are based on what they reported eating.
Fat intake in the low-fat group averaged 57 grams during the study versus 87 grams beforehand, while carb intake in the low-carb group averaged 132 grams versus 247 grams previously.
Both groups reduced their daily calorie intake by an average of about 500 calories.
The leading Australian nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton, from the school of medical sciences at the University of New South Wales, said the “excellent” study highlighted the importance of eating plenty of vegetables.
Stanton advises people to attempt professional help to choose quality foods because the macronutrient content of of a diet” does not really matter “.
” Some previous studies that have damned carbohydrates have not taken note of the foods that rendered it ,” Stanton said.” For instance, lentils and lollies are both’ carbs’ but one is a nutrient-dense high quality food while the other is junk. Simply calling them’ carbs’ does not provide this vital distinction .”
While most diets worked, the real challenge was sticking with them, Veerman said.
” Instead of’ going on a diet’ it would be better to find new, healthier habits ,” he said.
Its the most recent developments trend in the worlds tech capital. But is it really possible to cut yourself off from everything in life that excites you and can it be any good for you?
They have done biohacking, clean sleeping and the keto diet, but now Silicon Valley types have coined a new health tendency- dopamine fasting. It is thought that depriving yourself of the neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger that motivates us to do things, can help to reboot or rebalance the brain. Fasting might necessitate abstinence from technology, artificial lighting, food, drink, conversation, eye contact- basically anything that an individual discovers inducing. But is there any sense to the fad?
” Retreating from life probably attains life more interesting when you come back to it ,” says David Nutt, director of the neuropsychopharmacology unit in the division of brain sciences at Imperial College London.” Monks have been doing it for thousands of years. Whether that has anything to do with dopamine is unclear .”
It is possible to manipulate the production of dopamine through diet, Nutt says. He mentions the velvet bean, which contains high concentrations of a precursor to dopamine.” There is no question that you can have a dietary influence on the production of dopamine ,” he says. “Starvation would probably reduce dopamine to some extent.”
Dopamine is often thought of as a reward, but Joydeep Bhattacharya, who results the research group of cognitive and neuroscience at Goldsmiths, University of London, points out that dopamine is really” about learning the anticipation of the reward, and not the pleasure itself. It is primarily released in this anticipation phase .”
This could counteract dopamine fasting because abstinence might trigger a greater number of thoughts about the things from which a person is abstaining.” The moment we try to abstain, naturally our brain will crave that- so there will be more of a dopamine release .” Similarly, anyone who abstains and has a sense of occasion about the abstinence would be in danger of triggering the production of dopamine, as would a person who periodically congratulates themselves on their abstinence during the course of its abstinence.
Rather than casting this sort of intense, time-limited disengagement as a dopamine fast, it may be better seen as meditation. But dopamine-related hazards lurk there, too. As Nutt, who has studied the production of dopamine in monks, says:” If you transcend in meditation, you might get euphoria, a release of dopamine .” It would seem nowhere is safe.
An extreme, all animal-based diet is gaining followers in search of heightened productivity, mental clarity, and a boosted libido. But experts carry doubts
For the past 18 months, Shawn Baker has eaten about 4lb of steak every day.
” I’ve got two rib-eye steaks waiting for me when I get off this call ,” said Baker, a developed orthopaedic surgeon, from Orange County, California.” It can be monotonous eating the same thing over and over again, but as hour goes by you start to crave it .”
The 6ft 5in bodybuilder, in his 50 s, is one of a growing number of people experimenting with the “carnivore diet”, a regimen that involves eating merely animal products like meat, offal and eggs, and no plant-based foods. It’s an extreme version of the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet– which develops the body to run on fat rather than carbohydrates- that has become popular in recent years. Proponents of the diet say it reduces rednes and blood pressure while increasing libido and mental clarity.
Baker, who is nicknamed the “Carnivore King” and has amassed a cult following on social media, says the diet is easy because he doesn’t have to plan meals or count calories.” I just have to think: how hungry am I and how many steaks do I want to eat ,” he said.
A post shared by Shawn Baker (@ shawnbaker1 967) on May 1, 2018 at 8: 22 am PDT
Before becoming a pure carnivore, Baker was also eating salads, spinach, dairy and nuts. Trenching these plant-based foods has been transformative for his body and athletic performance, he says.
” My joint pain and tendinitis went away, my sleep became excellent, my scalp improved. I no longer had any bloating, cramping or other digestive problems, my libido went back to what it was in my 20 s and my blood pressure normalised ,” he said.
Although most medical practitioners balk at the idea of their patients ditching fruit and vegetables, the all-meat diet has been embraced by a cluster of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, who describe themselves as” bitcoin carnivores”, a phenomenon previously reported by Motherboard.
A post shared by Shawn Baker (@ shawnbaker1 967) on Apr 21, 2018 at 4:31 pm PDT
” Bitcoin is a revolt against fiat[ government-backed] fund, and an all-meat diet is a insurrection against fiat food ,” said Michael Goldstein, a” bitcoin and meat maximalist” based in Austin, Texas.” Once someone has grown capable of see beyond the lies and myths that experts peddle in one domain, it becomes easier to see beyond them in other domains as well .”
Goldstein, who runs a website dedicated to carnivory called Justmeat.co, feeds 2-2. 5lb of “very rare” rib-eye steak each day, at a cost of about $400 a month. He says he never has cravings for pizza, chocolate or veggies.” They don’t even register in my brain as food .”
He argues that eating merely meat has freed up his time to get more work done.” Grocery shopping takes all of 10 minutes, most of which is standing in the checkout line. I spend little time thinking about food. I merely need to eat once or twice a day( no snacking or cravings ). Basically, it’s the greatest productivity hack, and Silicon Valley should have listened to me about it while I was there .”
Saifedean Ammous, a bitcoin economist, concurs, quoting a” huge improvement” in productivity.
” The ability to focus for long periods has been life transforming, and was the reason that I managed to write a 300 -page book, on bitcoin, fittingly enough !” he said.
Lily Chien-Davis, a social media specialist at San Francisco-based startup Heads Up Health, says that the enhanced productivity and mental clarity explains why this diet, like intermittent fasting, is popular in Silicon Valley.
She started eating a very low carb diet when her husband was diagnosed with cancer- some studies indicate that a ketogenic diet can help the body fight cancers. However, Chien-Davis found that changing her eating habits alleviated her pre-diabetes.
An extreme, all animal-based diet is gaining followers in search of heightened productivity, mental clarity, and a boosted libido. But experts express doubts
For the past 18 months, Shawn Baker has eaten about 4lb of steak every day.
” I’ve got two rib-eye steaks waiting for me when I get off this call ,” said Baker, a developed orthopaedic surgeon, from Orange County, California.” It can be monotonous eating the same thing over and over again, but as hour goes by you start to crave it .”
The 6ft 5in bodybuilder, in his 50 s, is one of a growing number of people experimenting with the “carnivore diet”, a regimen that involves eating merely animal products like meat, offal and eggs, and no plant-based foods. It’s an extreme version of the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet– which develops the body to run on fat rather than carbohydrates- that has become popular in recent years. Proponents of the diet say it reduces rednes and blood pressure while enhancing libido and mental clarity.
Baker, who is nicknamed the “Carnivore King” and has amassed a cult following on social media, says the diet is easy because he doesn’t have to plan snacks or count calories.” I simply have to think: how hungry am I and how many steaks do I want to eat ,” he said.
A post shared by Shawn Baker (@ shawnbaker1 967) on May 1, 2018 at 8: 22 am PDT
Before becoming a pure carnivore, Baker was also eating salads, spinach, dairy and nuts. Trenching these plant-based foods has been transformative for his body and athletic performance, he says.
” My joint pain and tendinitis went away, my sleep became excellent, my scalp improved. I no longer had any bloating, cramping or other digestive problems, my libido went back to what it was in my 20 s and my blood pressure normalised ,” he said.
Although most medical practitioners balk at the idea of their patients ditching fruit and veggies, the all-meat diet has been embraced by a cluster of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, who describe themselves as” bitcoin carnivores”, a phenomenon previously reported by Motherboard.
A post shared by Shawn Baker (@ shawnbaker1 967) on Apr 21, 2018 at 4:31 pm PDT
” Bitcoin is a revolt against fiat[ government-backed] money, and an all-meat diet is a insurrection against fiat food ,” said Michael Goldstein, a” bitcoin and meat maximalist” based in Austin, Texas.” Once someone has grown capable of assure beyond the lies and myths that experts peddle in one domain, it becomes easier to see beyond them in other domains as well .”
Goldstein, who runs a website dedicated to carnivory called Justmeat.co, feeds 2-2. 5lb of “very rare” rib-eye steak each day, at a cost of about $400 a month. He says he never has cravings for pizza, chocolate or vegetables.” They don’t even register in my brain as food .”
He argues that eating only meat has freed up his time to get more run done.” Grocery shopping takes all of 10 minutes, most of which is standing in the checkout line. I spend little time thinking about food. I only need to eat once or twice a day( no snacking or cravings ). Basically, it’s the greatest productivity hack, and Silicon Valley should have listened to me about it while I was there .”
Saifedean Ammous, a bitcoin economist, agrees, citing a” huge improvement” in productivity.
” The ability to focus for long periods has been life transforming, and was the reason that I managed to write a 300 -page book, on bitcoin, fittingly enough !” he said.
Lily Chien-Davis, a social media specialist at San Francisco-based startup Heads Up Health, says that the enhanced productivity and mental clarity explains why this diet, like intermittent fasting, is popular in Silicon Valley.
She started eating a very low carb diet when her husband was diagnosed with cancer- some studies indicate that a ketogenic diet can help the body fight tumors. However, Chien-Davis found that changing her eating habits alleviated her pre-diabetes.
Participants who ate the most veggies and ingested the fewest processed foods, sugary drinks and unhealthy fats shed the most kilograms
The amount and quality of food and not a person’s genetics will lead to weight loss, a US study has found.
It has been suggested that variations in genetic makeup make it easier for some people to lose weight than others on certain diets.
To test this theory researchers at Stanford University conducted a randomised control trial involving 609 overweight adults, who all underwent genetic and insulin testing before being haphazardly assigned to either a low-fat or low-carb diet for 12 months.
Gene analyses identified differences are connected with how the body processes fats or carbohydrates. But weight loss averaged around 5kg to 6kg at follow-up regardless of genes, insulin levels or diet type.
What seemed to make a difference was healthy eating, researchers said.
Participants who ate the most veggies and ate the fewest processed foods, sugary beverages and unhealthy fats lost the most weight.
Prof Lennert Veerman from the School of Medicine at Griffith University in Queensland said the study demonstrated there was probably no such thing as a diet right for a particular genetic make-up.
” We feed to fill our stomach and, if that’s with vegetables, we tend to lose weight, whereas if it’s with chocolate or French fries, flushed down with a soda, we gain weight ,” Veerman said.
The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Participants had 22 health education class during the study and were encouraged to be physically active but the focus was on what they ate.
They were advised to choose high-quality foods but were not given suggested calorie limits nor were they supplied with specific foods. Results are based on what they reported eating.
Fat intake in the low-fat group averaged 57 grams during the study versus 87 grams beforehand, while carb intake in the low-carb group averaged 132 grams versus 247 grams previously.
Both groups reduced their daily calorie intake by an average of about 500 calories.
The resulting Australian nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton, from the school of medical sciences at the University of New South Wales, said the “excellent” study highlighted the importance of eating plenty of vegetables.
Stanton advises people to attempt professional help to choose quality foods because the macronutrient content of of a diet” does not really matter “.
” Some previous studies that have damned carbohydrates have not taken note of the foods that furnished it ,” Stanton said.” For instance, lentils and lollies are both’ carbs’ but one is a nutrient-dense high quality food while the other is junk. Simply calling them’ carbs’ does not provide this vital distinction .”
While most diets ran, the real challenge was sticking with them, Veerman said.
” Instead of’ going on a diet’ it would be better to find new, healthier habits ,” he said.
Eating a moderate amount of carbohydrates best for healthy lifespan, say researchers
Eating either a low-carb diet or a high-carb diet creates the risk of an early death, according to a major new study which will dismay the many people who have ditched the likes of bread, rice and potatoes for weight loss or health reasons.
Researchers who pooled the results of eight big studies have found that eating a moderate sum of carbohydrates is best for a healthy lifespan. Less than 40% or more than 70% of calories from carbohydrates carried a higher risk of mortality.
Not all low-carb diets are equal, however. People who ate a lot of meat and fats instead of carbohydrates, such as lamb, chicken, steak, butter and cheese, had a higher mortality risk than those who got their protein and fats from plant-based foods such as avocados, legumes and nuts. Popular weight loss diets such as Atkins and Dukan include a substantial amount of meat-based foods.
Quick guide
Carbohydrates in your diet
Low carb diets have become a trend. Cutting the carbs can lead to weight loss for a few weeks, but while there are bad carbs we don’t need, such as sugary beverages and sweets, there are also good “starchy” carbs that we do, because they are high in fiber and vitamins and minerals and give us a slow and steady release of energy throughout the day. These include wholewheat pasta and flour, vegetables with their skins on, and beans and lentils.
Low carb diet
Low carb diets have become very popular for weight loss, but you have to make up for the loss of filling carbs with extra protein and fats. Low carb diets tend to advocate animal proteins and fats, like steak and cheese. While they don’t include sugary treats and soft drinks, they are also usually light on vegetables and fibre. Popular low carb diets include: Atkins, Paleo, South Beach, Dukan and ketogenic.
High carb diet
Not a weight loss diet, clearly, but a way of life. The general diet of people in Asian countries, particularly those with low incomes, tends to be high in carbs because of the amount of white rice that is eaten. Those in more affluent western countries who eat a lot of carbs are likely to be overdoing the sugary beverages and snacks.
Moderate carb diet
Most people in the western world get around half their calories from carbohydrates, which is how it should be, say nutritionists. That’s 50 -5 5% of your energy from carbs. The issue, however, is over which carbs these are. The famously healthy Mediterranean diet, for example, contains lots of fibre-rich whole grains and beans. A diet in which the carbs come from biscuits and soft drinks and has little in the way of fruit and veg is not good, however moderate the carbohydrate uptake is.
” Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight loss strategy ,” said Dr Sara Seidelmann, a clinical and research fellow in cardiovascular medication from Brigham and Women’s Hospital inBoston, who led the research published in the Lancetpublichealth journal.
” However, our data suggests that animal-based low-carbohydrate diets, which are prevalent in North America and Europe, might be associated with shorter overall life span and should be discouraged. Instead, if one chooses to follow a low-carbohydrate diet, then exchanging carbohydrates for more plant-based fats and proteins might actually promote healthy ageing in the long term .”
Seidelmann, who is both a cardiologist and a nutritionist, told the Guardian the team had published a substantial body of work” to exhaustively answer a question and not simply offer merely one piece of the picture “.
” Nutrition is high up on everybody’s intellect but there is such embarrassment about what we should eat. One day, a study is coming out telling us high carb is better, another day a study is telling us low carb is better .”
Trials to compare low-carb and high-carb diets immediately are not possible, because they have to be carried out over many years and people find it hard to stick to a diet over any duration of period. Instead, her squad carried out observational research with more than 15,400 people, aged 45 to 64, from diverse socio-economic backgrounds from four US communities who were enrolled in the atherosclerosis risk in communities study. Those people filled out questionnaires on their eating patterns on two occasions, six years apart. Their health was followed up for 25 years, allowing for factors that might alter the results, such as smoking, income and diabetes.
These results were pooled with seven other observational studies carried out in various regions of the world, involving a total of more than 430,000 people.
They found that 50 -year-olds eating a moderate carb diet, with half their energy coming from carbohydrates, had a further life expectancy of 33 years, which was four years longer than those on low-carb diets and one year longer than those who feed a high-carb diet.
The writers said they could not prove cause and effect, because of the nature of the studies. However, they said people who embraced western-type diets that heavily restricted carbohydrates often ate fewer veggies, fruit, and grains and more animal proteins and fats. Some of those animal products have been implicated in stimulating inflammatory pathways, biological ageing and oxidative stress, and could be a contributing factor to the increased risk of mortality.
High-carb diets are common in Asian and poorer nations, they said, where people eat a lot of refined carbohydrates such as white rice. Those also contribute to a chronically high glycaemic load and worse metabolic outcomes.
” These findings bring together several strands that ought to have controversial. Too much and too little carbohydrate can be harmful but what counts most is the type of fat, protein, and carbohydrate ,” said Walter Willett, a prof of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health and the co-author of the study.
Low-carb diets are popular for weight loss because they work quite well in the short term, said Seidelmann, and they are usually meat-based. The study was not set up in a way that would make it possible to compare moderate carb with low-carb plant-based diets but, said Seidelmann,” the more plant-based[ the diet was ], the lower the mortality “.
” No facet of nutrition is so heatedly argued on social media than the carb versus fat debate, despite the long term evidence on health benefits firmly supporting the higher carb argument ,” said Catherine Collins, an NHS dietitian.
The” cult of low carb high fat eating” was based on a lifestyle choice and the flimsiest of evidence, she said. Its devotees were” at odds with advice from WHO and government health bodies globally- including the UK’s Public Health England- that recommend a carb intake to provide around half our daily calorie needs “.
She added that it the findings raise questions about the current hyping of low-carb diets for people with diabetes.” The feting and promotion of GPs promoting often bizarre low carb diets to manage diabetes has gained much media traction ,” she said.” If nothing else, this study offer some redress to this one-sided debate, and adds caution to such practice for long term management .”
In a commentary in the publication, Dr Andrew Mente and Dr Salim Yusuf, from McMaster University in Canada, said it was not possible to rule out altogether all the factors that might skewed the results, but that the findings were that logical and moderate carbohydrate intake was likely to be better for people than low or high-carb diets.
” Essential nutrients should be consumed above a minimal level to avoid deficiency and below a maximal level to avoid toxicity. This approach maintains physiological processes and health( ie, a so-called sweet spot ). Although carbohydrates are technically not an essential nutrient( unlike protein and fats ), a certain amount is probably required to meet short-term energy demands during physical activity and to maintain fat and protein uptakes within their respective sweet places ,” they wrote.
Adverts for weight-loss and cosmetic procedures bombard us on social media, undermining our self-confidence, says the Guardian columnist Dawn Foster
In the early 2000 s, the internet was a key component of my teenage life: many evenings we annoyed my friends’ mothers by hogging the phone line and spending hours talking to schoolmates on MSN Messenger. But during the day, we didn’t use the internet: we had clunky phones that could only call and text. So I wasn’t bombarded 24/7 with images of purportedly perfect-looking women. Few of us bothered with teen magazines bar read the problem pages.
Today on social media adolescents and adults are spate with images of traditionally “beautiful” people, along with endless adverts for cosmetic procedures such as Botox, and lip and cheek fillers. And this week a survey for the Mental Health Foundation found that one in eight adults has thought about killing themselves because they were distressed over their body image. The foundation’s chief executive, Mark Rowland, said:” There has always been idealised body representation across media, but it’s the quantity of those images and the frequency in which we consider them- that’s what we’re worried about .” He also warned that social media platforms were” increasingly consumerist, increasingly celebrity-orientated, increasingly focused on external appearances “.
People have always worried about their appearance, but the survey confirms what many have long suspected: being bombarded with images of the “perfect” body shape, together with adverts for weight- loss apps and cosmetic procedures, can have a huge negative effect. One in five people told the foundation that images on social media had made them worry about their body image, and one in ten females said they had self-harmed because of this.
And it isn’t just the imagery. Any woman who speaks out on social question can face victimisation. One of my friends recently had a man write extensive abuse under photos of her brother’s wedding on her Facebook page. My Instagram is locked after a spate of people wrote eugenicist arguments under photos I had taken in hospital, stating that disabled people should die out.
It’s obvious, too, that more and more females are having cosmetic procedures at a younger age. Many nail bars, hairdressers and beauty parlours offer Botox injections. The adverts that target young women normalise the procedures: surely they should not be seen as akin to getting your nails done.
We all deserve to have confidence in our body image. Social media platforms have to be more responsible over the adverts they carry, especially those targeted at young people; and television and film should show a greater diversity of bodies. We all predominately share photos where we think we look our best. Without being mawkish, everyone is attractive and beautiful to someone else, and we all deserve to have confidence in our body image. Casting directors should work to include those who look like the general public- those shows that do so, such as Line of Duty and EastEnders, are a welcome change from the norm. Real beauty is far more encompassing than the images we are deluged with.
And the industry promoting Botox and other cosmetic procedures should be more strongly governed. One company has bombarded me with adverts offering interest-fee credit for several procedures. Young women should not be targeted by these messages , normalising painful procedures by persuading people they are ugly, that they have flaws in their face that should be eliminated.
Teenagers are notoriously image-conscious and also intensely worried about their body as it goes through changes. But adults, too, are not immune. Ultimately, different people find different people attractive: we should all remember that beauty and attraction are wide-ranging- even if you don’t love yourself, the chances are that someone else will find you beautiful.
* Dawn Foster is a Guardian columnist.
In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo @samaritans. org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Sick of being overweight and worried about his health, Andy Welch knew it was time for drastic action. Then he stumbled across Man v Fat
I have always been overweight. I was 10 lb( 4.5 kg) when I was born and it kind of ran from there. I was 10 stone( 64 kg) by the age of 10, 13 st (8 3kg) at 13 and 16 st( 102 kg) by 16. My age and weight matching was a worry- and lasted until I was 21.
There were diets along the way. When I was younger, my parents tried various approaches to get me to lose weight- gentle persuasion, desperate pleas, even financial bribes. I was referred to a hospital dietitian who had a go, too. When I was a bit older, I joined a gym, and throughout my teens and at university I tried whatever fad was going: SlimFast, the Atkins, the GI diet and its closely related Low GL version. I went through a phase of drinking grapefruit juice after every meal because I had read it stopped any fat eat being absorbed, and I once spent a hungry fortnight eating nothing but Rice Krispies after vaguely recollecting the Olympic sprinter John Regis explaining how he had managed his weight by eating only cereal. Unsurprisingly, it did not work.
When I was 21, a friend at university told me he was concerned about my weight, that I was attaining life difficult for myself. I wasn’t offended, but those words were a kicking-off point. I lost almost four stone over the course of that summer.
Yet the manner in which I had lost it- walking eight to 10 miles a day in my summer task as a hospital porter and going to the gym most days- couldn’t last and, within two years, the weight had returned. I made countless resolutions to slim down over the next few years, but nothing stuck.
At 30, I tried Weight Watchers for the first time. Again, I lost 4st in a matter of months but, happy in a new relationship, I took my eye off the ball, enjoying eating out and cosy, snack-filled nights in. The weight crept back on. By the middle of 2016, aged 35, I reached my heaviest ever- 21 st 4lb( 135 kg ).
Something felt different this time. I was unhappier than ever about my weight and, as I marched towards 40( sweating and out of breath ), I felt I was being stalked by the twin spectres of diabetes and heart disease. A lifestyle overhaul was needed , not just a diet.
In my youth, despite my sizing, I had always been active. I was in the school and town football and rugby squads and I was a county tennis player. But that was a long time ago. According to a 2017 report by the European Commission, 37% of people in the UK don’t do any exert, and I was among them. I softly longed to get back to sport but had convinced myself that my knees couldn’t take it, or that I should lose some weight first, then run operating, or that I would let the side down and no one would play football with a big fat man. There’s always an excuse when you are trapped in a cycle of remorse, self-hatred and emotional overeating. Much easier to buy another container of wine gums, fire up Netflix and promise to start afresh on Monday.
Then I stumbled upon Man v Fat, a weight-loss football league where overweight humen can play against each other, safe in the knowledge some skinny wunderkind isn’t going to show up and run rings around them. Players are rewarded for weight lost with goals added to their team’s score on the pitching. There are hat-trick bonuses for losing three weeks in a row, and further rewards for reaching 5% and 10% weight-loss milestones.
I signed up in January 2017, unsure what to expect and having not kicked a ball since my late teens. The enrollment meeting was heartening for a number of reasons: I was far from the biggest man in the room- a rare feeling- and most of the players returning for their second run had lost 10% of their body weight during the previous season, depicting me that change was possible. After the initial introductions, we began swapping tales of our struggles with weight and our reasons for wanting to lose some. It felt more like a therapy group than a Sunday-morning kickabout.
At my first weigh-in, the scales read 20 st 7lb( 130 kg ). Six seasons later, I have, as of last week, broken through the 100 kg barrier for the first time since I was about 15. My blood pressure has dropped( from 140/90 to 120/80 ); I am in 34 in jeans, whereas I once wore 44 in, and I have a resting pulse of about 50. I also bought the Baracuta G9 Harrington jacket I had lusted after since my teens but could never squeeze myself into without looking like a explode sausage.
I now play football three times a week, have taken up operating, go to boxing class and have started playing tennis again, 20 years after I stopped because get around the court was too difficult. Another new pastime is, when I’m in a supermarket, piling up sacks of potatoes so I can lift my missing 35 kg and try to remember what it was like lugging it around. I’m sure the staff members detest me, but at least I am enjoying myself.
Gaining control of my diet greatly improved my mental health, too, boosting my confidence, resilience and previously nonexistent self-esteem. It was tested to the extreme during a devastating 10 -week period last year that assured the breakup of a long-term relationship and the deaths of a grandparent and a dear friend. The more life events spiralled beyond my control, the tighter my grip on the double distractions of meal planning and exercise. In traumatic hours of old, I reached for drink and ice-cream. Now, I feed fruit and play football.
” When I was losing weight, I could never understand why something didn’t exist specifically for men ,” he says.” I’d tried Weight Watchers and Slimming World but fought with their approach. Not that they weren’t welcome but, institutionally, they weren’t suited to me. I was often the only man in the meetings, which wasn’t conducive to opening up about my weight.
A paper published in the periodical Obesity Research and Clinical Practice in 2016 found that men and women dieted more successfully in single-sex groups. A study of more than 2,000 people published last year in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism also reported that humen typically lose weight faster and in greater quantities than girls. There are differing attitudes regarding intake and exert, too, with humen by and large preferring to work out more in order to eat more, while women would rather eat less to avoid lengthy sessions of exercise.
“Culturally,” adds Shanahan,” having a big appetite as a man has historically been seen as a positive thing, whereas for women, that hasn’t been the case. Men and women face different challenges when dieting, and Man v Fat reflects that .”
The first league comprehend 1,000 men apply for 80 league places, with about 90% of those participants losing weight over the course of the 14 -week season. That is a figure Man v Fat has more or less maintained in the three years since launching, with more than 70 leagues now operating all over the UK. The Australian franchise is in its second season, while talks are under way to launch Man v Fat in the US. Players have so far lost a blended 188,000 lb. That’s 85 tonnes.
” It’s quite unusual for men to go into any situation admitting some kind of weakness ,” says Shanahan.” Being fat is quite a good one because we can all see it. And when we’re in that group, it undoes any machismo around that dialogue. With that comes this positivity that you’re all doing it together and it opens up all sorts of dialogues you’d never commonly have. It’s an odd dynamic, but it’s very empowering .”
Suhal Miah is an immigration officer from north London. He joined Man v Fat in June 2017 weighing 22 st 7lb( 143 kg ). He has now almost halved his body weight. Miah says he was always” the fat kid at school”, but his weight shot up after his dad passed away in 2013.” I was suffering from depression and I began constantly feeing junk food. I simply remember looking in the mirror one day and thinking:’ What the hell have you done to yourself ?'”
