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You probably first came across it with a pale-looking colleague slumped over their office desk. Or with The Fast Diet author Michael Mosely speaking effusively about it on television. Fasting, theyd have told you, is a great way to lose weight. It makes sense: eat fewer calories a couple of days a week, and dont overeat on the others, and youll slim down. Whats less clear is the assumption that fasting from time to time can bring other benefits such as avoiding disease, keeping your brain sharp and even letting you live longer. With all this for the price of just a sprinkle of willpower though, surely its all too good to be true?

The answer is not straightforward. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the evidence is strongest with type 2 diabetes a disease often caused by overeating. The disease means that a person can no longer control their blood sugar levels. Once diagnosed they are left staring down the barrel of a lifetime on medication, unless, think researchers at Newcastle University, they begin to fast.

Theyve tested an extreme low-calorie diet a hunger-panging 600 calories a day for eight weeks in 11 people with type 2 diabetes: all were disease-free by the end of the fast; seven were still disease-free three months on. Later studies suggest that the sooner people fast, the better their chances of reversing their disease. Roy Taylor, who leads the group, thinks that fasting is beneficial because it gets rid of dangerous fat in and around your organs, including two that are important in sugar control the pancreas and the liver.

When an otherwise healthy persons blood sugars get too high, their pancreas makes a hormone called insulin that tells the liver to remove the sugar and store it safely. If you have fat around these organs it clogs up the way they work and your body cant control its blood sugars, says Taylor. After about 12 hours of fasting, he says, the body uses up all the glycogen in the liver, its go-to source of energy, and starts to dip into its fat deposits. The first type of fat to go is that dangerous fat around the organs, freeing them up to do their job properly. He stresses that people with diabetes should not fast without consulting their doctor a combination of insulin drugsandfasting can be lethal.

Taylor and his colleagues are now testing their fasting diet in around 300 people with type 2 diabetes. The results of that study will give a better idea of how beneficial the diet can be. The question is how much of the effect is down to fasting and how much is down to just the weight loss? Its almost certain that other forms of dieting will do the same, says Taylor. But this low-calorie diet is one that I was confident would let people lose the roughly two and a half stone, or a sixth of their body weight, that we werelooking for.

There is, though, reason to believe that fasting might have benefits over and above weight loss. Its down to what happens to all living organisms when they dont have food they begin to eat themselves. Gruesome, maybe, but its beneficial: it lets the body recycle energy and do some housekeeping the first cells to go are the faulty ones.

Valter Longo is a scientist at the University of Southern California who believes that, because of this process, periodic fasting can help people stay healthy. Faulty immune cells, for instance, could be pruned back so that when a person starts to feed again, new cells are spawned from only the strongest and the fittest.

In experiments in mouse models of multiple sclerosis, a disease in which rogue immune cells erroneously attack a persons nerve cells, hes seen that periodic, low-calorie fasting can slow down the destruction of cells and even lead to some regeneration. His preliminary work in people with the disease suggests it could improve their quality of life.

The potential reaches further. Fasting-mimicking diets can help people with cancer undergoing radiation chemotherapy, presumably by promoting the growth of healthy cells and restricting the growth of cancerous ones. Restricting the amount a mouse eats by about 30-40% can extend its lifespan by a third.

This year Longo showed that a fasting-mimicking diet could help mice with diabetes regain blood sugar control, not only those with type 2 but also those with type 1 diabetes, caused not by overeating but by a faulty immune system. The benefits, he says, were down to a reprogramming of beta cells, a type of cell in the pancreas that makes insulin. He also starved cells taken from people with type 1 diabetes and saw a similar reprogramming.

Experiments in mice suggest that fasting could slow the onset of brain diseases such Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease

These results are surprising and completely new territory, warns Gordon Weir, a diabetes researcher at Harvard Medical School. Id be cautious about assuming that fasting will help people with type 1 diabetes until the mouse studies are replicated in other laboratories and it has gone on to be shown to work in human beings, not just in human cells.

Longo, too, is wary of giving false hope but is bullish about the potential of fasting. In research over 25 years weve seen it in E coli bacteria, in yeast, in human cells, and in mice, he says. The foundations are so deep that its as old as life itself, but we have to respect the complexity a yeast is a yeast, a mouse is a mouse, and a person is a person.

The difficulty in transferring a theory from mouse to man is that people live much longer than mice. At middle age we are much farther from when our stem cells, the type of cells that make other cells, are most active, so our ability to generate new cells might not be as strong.

We dont have conclusive data that any of this works in humans, Longo says, but we do have some promising data. Hes referring to a study of 100 generally healthy people given a fasting-mimicking diet low in calories, sugars and protein but high in unsaturated fats. Despite only a minor reduction in weight loss, he says, risk factors for ageing, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke were all improved. Hes planning a bigger trial in 250 people to confirm these findings and to figure out which benefits are the result purely of the act of fasting and not just the result of weight loss.

Other tests will take a little longer. Whether fasting will ever make us live longer, given the time needed to prove it, will be for only Dracula and Dorian Gray to know. What could be more compelling is the idea that fasting can keep us in better mental shape.

When the body metabolises its fat deposits during fasting, says Mark Mattson, a neuroscientist at the US National Institute on Ageing and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, it produces acids called ketones, a source of food for brain cells. Ketones also trigger the production of a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which encourages the brain to make newconnections.

Its not an entirely new concept; in fact, the ancient Romans stumbled across it. Roman doctors found that by locking epileptics in a room with no food for a few days they could cure them of their disease. They thought they were causing demons to go away but really these peoples ketones were increasing and suppressing their seizures, says Mattson. Today, ketogenic diets that increase ketones by mimicking fasting are increasingly prescribed to people with epilepsy to help them control their seizures.

Mattsons experiments in mice suggest that fasting could slow the onset of brain diseases such Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease. Weve also got evidence in mice that fasting reduces anxiety and depression, he says.

So far so good, but mouse does not equal man. The way you test anxiety or depression in a mouse is by chucking it into a beaker of water or dangling it by its tail. While we can all empathise with how that mouse might feel, the relevance of these studies to us with our more complicated lives and more complicated brains remains to be seen. Still, these are the same tests drug companies use to find promising antidepressants, so there might be something in it.

That fasting might have a beneficial effect on our brain makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. If our caveman ancestors hadnt eaten for a few days it would make sense for them to do something about it. This ketone signal tells the brain hey, brain, you better figure out how to get some food because if you dont theres going to be a problem soon, says Mattson. Now were eating three meals a day plus snacks so were never going to raise our ketones. If we fast from time to time, maybe we can take advantage of this evolutionary adaptation to help us in modern life.

Like most people, if Im going to skip a sandwich to help my inner caveman, I want him to be as pumped up and raring to go as Rocky at the end of a training montage. The problem is that nobody knows exactly how youd do that.

Simply too few studies have been done to know the long-term effects in people, says Susan Jebb, a nutrition scientist at the University of Oxford. Theres clearly something about not putting food in your system thats beneficial, especially for diabetes, but how close to fasting do we need to get? Is it the 5:2 diet or is it long periods of a low-calorie intake? Do we need to eat only 600 calories or can we get away with 1,200?

One reason for the paucity of studies is the lack of money to be made. With no drugs to sell, drug companies are not testing it. Nobody is suggesting they are sitting on data or getting skinny professors whacked, its just that its not their responsibility. Pharmaceutical companies are there to make useful drugs and to turn a profit, says Taylor. Its as simple as that.

In lieu of evidence that periodic fasting is beneficial, we should consider the potential harms which are few for overweight people. People with medical conditions, especially diabetes, should consult their doctor first. People should not do water-only fasts, which cause your body to start breaking down its own proteins. Messaging needs to be careful not to condone eating disorders such asanorexia.

With so much unknown about the relationship between fasting and health, Jebb urges that we dont lose sight of the basics. We know that if youre overweight, losing weight will reduce your risk of disease, she says. For many people an intermittent fasting diet will help them lose weight, for others eating a few less biscuits every day will be better. The trick is to find the diet that works for you and go for it.

Fast habit, free A no-nonsense stopwatch app. Tell it how many hours you want to fast for then press a button to start. It tracks your fasting over time and, helpfully, lets you edit your record in case you forget to log a fast.

Zero Fasting Tracker, free Zero has two predefined fasting plans: 5:2 and another one based on work done by US researchers that suggests fasting has added benefits if done at night. It uses your phones location to remind you when the sun will set. You can download your data to a spreadsheet and geek out over long-term performance analyses.

5:2 Diet TrackMyFast, 99p Despite having 5:2 its title, this app has other plans including alternate day fasts and the frankly weirdly named Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet. The usual weight and fasting tracking functions are supplemented with recipe ideas, which you can contribute to and share with otherusers.

5:2 Diet Complete Meal Planner, 1.99 This app is just a collection of recipes within different calorie brackets. Useful, but its tough to justify the price given that lots of recipes are available for free online. Warning: the recipes look incredible but when you make them they come out tiny.

MyFitness Pal Calorie Counter, free Not a fasting tracker per se but contains a massive database of foods more than 4m can be scanned by barcode to help you manage your calorie intake.

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Is fasting a free health fix or is it just a fad? - The Guardian

The issue of extreme weight cutting in MMA has been a bone of contention for many years now. It is still an all too common, yet hugely dangerous practice, which can be fatal if fighters get it wrong.

Essentially, weight cutting is the process of rapid weight loss in the hours before a fight. The fighter wants to qualify for as low a weight division as possible so they can gain a size and strength advantage over their opponent. The fighter does this by using various methods to extract as much water from their body as possible.

Whilst the dangers associated with extreme weight cutting can easily affect the professional athlete that competes on the global stage, it is fighters that compete on the regional circuit that are arguably more at risk as the vast majority of up and coming fighters do not have access to the appropriate level of nutritional or medical expertise necessary to guide them safely through an extreme weight cut.

This is something David Galbraith, a former professional MMA fighter and current owner of NewLife Gym, Resurgence Fight Team and MMA promotion SOMMA wants to change. For Galbraith, a fighters safety, both short and long term, is paramount and he plans on leading the charge in the UK to eliminate extreme weight cutting from the sport.

Galbraith said: NewLife Gym, Resurgence Fight Team and SOMMA are taking major steps to ensure the welfare of our fighters and to protect the longevity of our sport.

We have decided to formally implement a no dehydration policy for weight cuts. That means no saunas, no salt baths, no water loading or any other means of excessive heat based practice to ensure a fighter makes weight.

As a retired pro fighter myself, I have learnt from my past mistakes and over the course of the last three years I have actively taken steps to phase out excessive weight cutting. Our team is matched at a realistic weight and where appropriate we favour catch-weight fights.

Our athletes are supported throughout their entire fight camp to ensure they are on track to make weight. On our last show, SOMMA2, 90% of the team made weight via diet and nutrition alone with no need for heat based tactics.

We fully recognise the requirement for expert guidance when it comes to making fight weight and we are in talks with a well-regarded nutrition expert who shares our passion for safe and responsible weight cuts. Additionally, we have brought on board PK Fitness who are strength and conditioning specialists to work closely with our team to ensure we are not only reaching, but delivering on the above goals.

Unfortunately, weight cutting is something that has touched the hearts of many people due to the recent events which took place in Thailand with young Jordan Coe. I want to be clear that this isnt a reaction to his situation as we had already made these plans and have been putting measures in place over the last three years. It was by chance that our situation has coincided with this tragedy.

We are also implementing guidelines set by the The Scottish Government, Safe MMA & IMMAF which means our full Fight Team will be Safe MMA registered. NewLife Gym will pay each fighters membership for the first 12 months - but our intention is that we can continue to finance the membership for the duration of the fighters career with Resurgence.

In addition, all of our fighters and all the fighters competing on SOMMA will undergo blood tests taken by our in house doctor - who was the former doctor for major European promotion ACB.

We will be testing for blood borne viruses; Hep B, Hep C and HIV. The cost of the blood testing will initially be absorbed by NewLife Gym so the fighters wont need to dig into their own pockets. Furthermore, each fighter will be required to undergo the routine medical checks as advised by Safe MMA & IMMAF.

I firmly believe the above actions are truly in the best interests of fighter safety and this sentiment is echoed by my team of coaches, students and key players with in the MMA community. This is not an exhaustive list of actions. This is simply the start of a much larger campaign to raise the standards of quality and safety of MMA in Scotland and beyond.

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Scottish MMA promoter David Galbraith looking to end extreme weight cutting with no dehydration policy - Scottish Daily Record

Storytime with Miss Bonnie

The Brigantine branch of the Atlantic County Library, 201 15th St. South, hosts a weekly storytime 10:30 a.m. Fridaysthrough March 31for children 3 1/2 to 5 years old. Join Miss Bonnie to hear stories, sing songs and make a quick craft. The free programs are held in the kids' room. For information call 609-266-0110.

The Brigantine Green Team will hold a tree seedling giveaway 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 1 at the Department of Public Works, 3605 Bayshore Ave.

The Women's Club of St. Thomas is sponsoring an evening of reflection event 7 p.m. Wednesday,April 5in St. Philip Hall. Guest speaker is Joan Dollinger will talk about a woman's role as both a "doer" and a "contemplative," hence Mary and Martha, Perfect Together. Admission is open to all women of Brigantine and should especially appeal to those who strive to maintain a Mary/Martha balance in their lives. Call Winnie at 609-264-1435 or Kathy at 609-266-3646 for additional information.

Brigantine CER is sponsoring a trip to see Miss Saigon at the Broadway Theatre in New York City Wednesday,April 5. Bus leaves 8 a.m. from the Community Center for the 2 p.m. show and will depart immediately after the performance for the return trip. The musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. is based on Giacomo Puccinis opera "Madame Butterfly" and similarly tells the tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The setting is relocated to 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and Madame Butterflys story of marriage between an American lieutenant and a geisha is replaced by a romance between an American GI and a Vietnamese bar girl. Limit is four tickets per person. Cost is $135.

The Brigantine Beach Chamber of Commerce will hold an Easter egg hunt and spring celebration 1:30 p.m. Saturday,April 8at the 42nd Street field. Age groups are toddlers and preschoolers, kindergarten and first grade, and second through fourth grade. The spring celebration will follow in the community center featuring photo opportunities with the Easter Bunny, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Ariel, Snow White, Elsa and Anna, Elena of Avalon and Moana. The event is rain or shine. For information call 609-517-3908.

Brigantine Flotilla 85 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will conduct About Boating Safely classes 9 a.m. Saturdays,April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8 and Aug. 12at the Brigantine Beach Community Center, 265 42nd St. Each class lasts eight hours and includes lunch. Upon passing the test at the end of the class, a NJ Boating Safety certificate will be issued. A $60 prepaid registration is required. To register call 609-926-7607 and leave a message or email boatsafely@comcast.net. For class information see uscgaux-brigantine-nj.org.

The Brigantine Beach Cultural Arts Commission will present Afternoon of the Arts Sunday,April 23 at Laguana Grill. Guest speaker and watercolor artist Sister Celeste Mokrzycki will create an original painting, and the work of local artists who have been featured as the artist of the month in the Artists Showcase at the Brigantine Community Center will be on display. Tickets are $25. Call Pam Carchidi 609-266-3808 for reservations.

The Brigantine North Middle School will have its 20th National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony 7 p.m. Friday,May 19in the Middle School auditorium. All former members are invited and encouraged to attend. Jen Daniels, the first Honor Society president and current Comcast Sports anchor, will be the guest speaker. For information call Larry DiGiovanni at 609-264-9505 or email ldigiovanni@brigantineschools.org.

The Brigantine CER sponsors an eight-day, seven-night bus trip to Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara Falls,June 3-10, 2017. There will be guided tours in each of the cities. The tour price is $1,680 per person, double occupancy, $2,330 for singles and $1,500 for triples. For information call the CER Office at 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

Brigantine CER is sponsoring a seven-day, five-night trip to LondonSept. 7-13. Flight leaves from Philadelphia Airport. Bus transportation to and from the airport is provided. Guests will stay at the Copthome Tara, a four-star hotel in the Kensington section of London. Price includes daily breakfast, two dinners with water and wine or beer, one pub lunch with beer and one additional lunch with beverages. There will be a full-day guided orientation tour of Londons highlights with a visit to the British Museum; a full-day guided tour of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Blenheim Palace and a visit to Oxford; a half-day guided tour to Windsor and a visit to Windsor Castle; and a musical theater performance in Londons Theatre District. The price is $2,299 double occupancy. For single occupancy add $425. For a brochure or information, call at 609-264-7350, ext. 1 or stop by the Community Center and pick up a brochure.

The Brigantine CER sponsors a trip to the Canyon Country featuring Arizona and UtahOct. 9-17. Fly from Philadelphia International to Phoenix/Scottsdale. Cities to be visited include Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Las Vegas. The price is $2,999 for doubles, $3,749 for singles and $2,969 for triples. For information call the CER Office at 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

Crossroads Youth Group meets 7-8 p.m. every Sunday. Sponsored by the Community Presbyterian Church, the group is open to sixth- through eighth-grade youths in Brigantine. They meet weekly, and the meetings or outings consist of community service, fun and fellowship, spirituality and current issues. It is a positive atmosphere that stresses acceptance and is a true example of how to have fun without drugs or alcohol. Crossroads sponsors a Halloween hayride, an Easter egg hunt and the junior high dances that are held once a month. Open registration is extended each Sunday.

The Brigantine Community Center offers mahjong games 1-4 p.m. Thursdays on the second floor at the Community Center. For information call 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

Weight Watcher Meetings are held every Tuesday morning starting with weigh-in at 9:30 a.m. followed by a meeting at 10 a.m. Come in and learn how to successfully lose weight by following a customized food and activity plan to help you look and feel better and have more energy. Weight Watchers also offers a handy food and activity tracker, thousands of meal ideas and practically every healthy-living tool you can imagine. For information call the CER Office at 609-264-7350 ext. 1.

If you like to paint or have a craft you enjoy, you are invited to join the Art Club at the Community Center 2-5 p.m. every Tuesday in the Art Room. There will be various mediums of art such as watercolor, acrylic, oil and various crafts. Club members are all at different levels. There is no fee to be a part of the club. For more information call the Community Center, 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

The thrift shop of the Community Presbyterian Church, 1501 W. Brigantine Ave., is open 5-8 p.m. Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays. Shop for bargains on gently used clothing for men, women and children, as well as shoes, small appliances, household items and jewelry. New items are received daily. Call the church office at 609-266-7942.

Quizzo will be held 7-9 p.m. every Wednesday in the Brigantine Elks Lodge lounge, 400 W. Shore Drive. Prizes will be awarded. See http://www.brigantineelks.com.

The Running Center is partnering with the Brigantine Fitness Center to present a fitness class for active adults. Treadmilling for Walkers is offered noon Mondays and Wednesdays at the Brigantine Fitness Center. The class is led by Mindy Solkin, owner and head coach of The Running Center. She created the class to give seniors a full-body workout. The one-hour classes are open to members and nonmembers of the fitness center. Registration for one or two days per week is available at therunningcenter.com/checkout/. The fee is $15 for one class per week, or $25 for two per week. For information call 609-246-6974 or email info@therunningcenter.com.

The Brigantine Beach Community Center hosts senior bingo 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For information call 609-264-7350.

Submit event notices, including date, time, location, any fees, and contact information to jim.miller@catamaranmedia.com.

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It's Happening in Brigantine, events beginning March 31 - Shore News Today

By Garrett Ohlmeyer Staff Writer

The Fitness Center of Thibodaux Regional announced a new expanded cycling studio this week with 54stationary exercise bicycles for 14 classes.

The new bikes on the fourth floor are a part of a $400,000 reinvestment into equipment and technology into the wellness center, Greg Stock, CEO of Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, said in a video on Twitter.

Thebikes are easy for novices and experts to use, Stock said.

This area here is a really nice area for people to come into, Stock said. It has the feel that cyclists like where they are sort of close together on a journey. Theres a video that they play where they go up and down hills, so on and so forth to make it as real as possible.

Cycling gives similar benefits to riding a bicycle outside, including contributing to lower blood pressure, weight loss, increased joint mobility and improved heart health.

Chrisy Myhand, director of the wellness center, said she enjoys seeing people become healthier from cycling.

You really can lose weight, but more importantly, decrease stress and decrease blood pressure, Myhand said. Ive seen a lot of results of people getting off of their blood pressure meds just from cycling two or three times a week."

Myhand said cycling is a low impact type of cardio workout, so people with knee and hip injuries can exercise safely.

There are different types of cycling classes offered, including high-intensity workouts, lower-intensity workouts and some that combine cycling and other activitiessuch as yoga and core exercises.

For information, visit http://www.fitnesscenterofthibodauxregional.com ordownload the free app, Fit@ThibReg.

Story: The Fitness Center of Thibodaux Regional announced a new expanded cycling studio this week with 54 new stationary exercise bicycles, making a total of 14 classes.

The new bikes on the fourth floor of the wellness center are a part of a $400,000 reinvestment into equipment and technology into the wellness center, said Greg Stock, CEO of Thibodaux Regional, in a video on Twitter.

The new bikes are easy for both novices and experts to accommodate to, said Stock.

This area here is a really nice area for people to come into, Stock said in the video. It has the feel that cyclists like where they are sort of close together on a journey. Theres a video that they play where they go up and down hills, so on and so forth to make it as real as possible.

Cycling gives similar benefits to riding a bicycle outside, including contribution to lower blood pressure, weight loss, increased joint mobility and improved heart health.

Chrisy Myhand, director of the wellness center, said she enjoys seeing people become healthier from cycling.

You really can lose weight, but more importantly, decrease stress and decrease blood pressure, Myhand said. Ive seen a lot of results of people getting off of their blood pressure meds just from cycling two or three times a week.

Myhand said cycling is a low impact type of cardio workout, so people with knee and hip injuries can exercise safely.

There are different types of cycling classes offered, including high intensity workouts, lower intensity workouts, and some that combine cycling and other activities like yoga and core exercises.

More information about the classes can be found at http://www.fitnesscenterofthibodauxregional.com or by downloading the free app, Fit@ThibReg.

Original post:
Thibodaux Regional adds stationary bikes - Daily Comet

WRBL

Olympic stars testify to Congress about sex abuse at USA Gymnastics program WRBL Failures to report would be a federal crime, she said, adding that the bill would ensure that victims can safely and easily report abuse. ... I was told to lose weight. At one point, I started making myself throw up. Jamie Dantzscher, former gymnast ... and more »

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Olympic stars testify to Congress about sex abuse at USA Gymnastics program - WRBL

BBC News

Combat sports: How to lose weight without damaging your health BBC News Richard adds: "In the last 5-10 years, trainers have become a lot more educated on how to lose weight and how to do it safely." However, many "old school" coaches still recommend reducing the amount of water you drink and training in heavy clothing, ... Scottish Muay Thai boxer dies probably from heat strokeBangkok Post Crowdfunding to help cover the costs of bringing our beloved warrior Jordan home & to help towards the funeral to ...JustGiving all 40 news articles »

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Combat sports: How to lose weight without damaging your health - BBC News

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Gemma Collins has confessed why she is so desperate to lose weight so she can safely conceive a baby.

The 36-year-old TOWIE star has publicly battled with her weight for years, trying out different diets and exercise regimes. But now, she has openly spoken about the real reason she is so desperate to shift the pounds this time around.

During a conversation with ex-boyfriend Charlie King, who has said he would be Gemmas sperm donor if needed, Gemma admitted: Everythings good Charlie, I still havent met the love of my life yet. Being the new found woman that I am, Ive decided to take the route of freezing my eggs.

But you know, if you are overweight and youre trying to have a baby, youre at a 40 per cent chance, basically. So less than half way.

I need to lose weight.

Charlie, who is a personal trainer, offered to help Gemma lose weight, but told her shehad to sort it when she admitted shed had a takeaway the day before as she had gone all day without eating.

If I had the body to match Id be the fittest girl in Essex, I know I would, she went on. Id be pregnant in five minutes.

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Gemma was seen speaking to a fertility doctor about her options in last weeks episode of TOWIE, which airs on ITVBe.

She was told that the clock was ticking as, aged 36, shes nearing the top of the age bracket recommended for freezing eggs.

So desperate is she to have children, Gemma admitted earlier this month that she had intentionally had unprotected sex with James Arg Argentin a bid to fall pregnant.

Gemma was previously engaged toRami Hawash. The pair became engaged to marry in 2013, but split the following year.

MORE: Gemma Collinss ex Charlie King would consider being a sperm donor if she asked

MORE: TOWIEs Gemma Collins admits she had unprotected sex with James Arg Argent in a bid to get pregnant

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TOWIE's Gemma Collins desperate to lose weight so she can have finally have a baby - Metro

2016 was a year of tremendous highs and tremendous lows, a year that should be remembered for all the highs will forever be remembered as the year I lost my mum, writes Sarah Woodside, sharing her 'diary of a fat English girl' blog with Cornwall Live for Mother's Day.

I walked in to my first Slimming World meeting on May 2, 2016, and five months later as I prepared for a holiday of a life time I was six stone lighter and I couldn't have been prouder.

Many people asked me along the way what my motivation was and I told them, "it's finally clicked", "I want this for me", and whilst that wasn't a lie, it also wasn't the full truth.

Read more: Here's how parents can register for an extra 2,000 tax-free childcare

Sarah Woodside has charted her battle with weight loss through her blog, Diary of a Fat English Girl.

Everyone always says do it for yourself, you have to want it. I always wanted it but the truth is I never loved myself enough to really believe I could do it, to really fight for it and make the change for good. I did however love my mum enough. So from the day I walked in I did it for her.

My mum was diagnosed with the cruel illness that is Motor Neurone Disease and as her health deteriorated I didn't want to be the burden I had always been. I wanted her full focus to be on herself to keep strong and keep fighting in spite of there being no cure. I didn't want her final moments being spent in tears worrying whether I'd be alive to celebrate my thirtieth birthday.

Read more: Bus stop crash victim tells full story of horrific crash that left him with serious injuries

Each week I climbed those scales with hope, for 22 weeks straight I lost weight, I relished leaving group and dialling my mum's number and telling her how I'd got on. Was it easy? No. I wanted to eat my feelings most weeks, the side of the story that you didn't see was the struggle and reality of my mum's health and how this really impacted me and my journey.

She always was a proud woman, she barely told her own friends and our extended family the extent of her illness, she certainly didn't want me telling the world.

If she's reading this now I hope she forgives me for finally sharing her story. From her diagnosis to her untimely death I watched my beautiful proud courageous mother become a shell of the woman she was.

She was trapped in a body that no longer wanted to work for her. Each time I visited my mum she had deteriorated. We all put on a brave face determined to be strong for her.

But I wasn't strong, she would see me smile and tell her that she had better stick around because we were going to find a cure, I would be the positive person she needed.

Read more: Mum thanks the team that saved her baby after he stopped breathing and turned blue

I'd hug her as she cried and I would tell her how much I loved her. Then I would leave and go home to my partner, spend evenings crying on him only to retire to bed and cry myself to sleep, this beautiful woman that I had spent so many years loving was slowly leaving me.

I didn't have control over my mum's illness, I couldn't make her walk again, I couldn't make her speak again, I couldn't take away her pain or make it easier for her, but I could make her proud. So I thrived on the control I had over my weight loss and made every day count.

Then something changed, I found out I was pregnant and what a shock that was. I was overjoyed but equally so scared. How could I continue to lose weight and make my mum proud whilst safely growing a baby? How could I tell my mum that I was having a baby when none of us knew if she would still be here to see that same baby be born?

Don't get me wrong, the plan had always been to lose weight and to have children. But I wasn't done yet. I'd finally cracked this weight loss and now a new little life was forming that was going to change everything.

So many people spend so long trying to have children and I would never want to seem ungrateful, but this little one was a big surprise, albeit a very welcome one and it took a while for it to sink in.

Read more: Loads of ideas for last-minute stuff to do for Mother's Day in Cornwall

I'm 26 + 3 weeks now and I still find it hard to believe that my very own baby is growing away inside of me.

I plucked up the courage to tell my mum a few days after we found out, it was way before 12 weeks, and the time people usually wait, but I knew I wanted her to know from the start.

I was so scared. I didn't want my mum to think that I was carrying on with my life like normal when she struggled every moment of the day. My mum's partner tells me that learning that I was pregnant gave her a new sense of fight and happiness right when she needed it, this brings me comfort even now.

So now my mum knew I could focus back on Slimming World, let's face it I was (and still am) a long way from target so all the midwives were ecstatic that I was hoping to continue to lose weight, safely and healthily and so was my mum. She wanted me to keep going, so I did.

Sarah takes a pregnant selfie.

In the first 6 weeks of my pregnancy I continued to lose weight and then I went on holiday and ever since then it's been a struggle.

Just prior to holiday my mum had moved into a hospice, it was only ever meant to be a temporary stay in order to get her pain management under control, she didn't want to go in, and she was so scared.

I can still see the fear in her eyes now, she was convinced that she wouldn't make it home again, we all told her that of course she would, looking back that seems cruel, but it was the truth, we truly believed she would come home again.

Before I jetted off I was filled with emotion, I felt so guilty about leaving for a holiday when my mum needed me. But ever the stubborn woman she told me not to be silly, to go and have an amazing time and that she would be waiting for my return to hear all about our adventures. It also brought her much amusement knowing that I'd lost all this weight to finally feel comfortable going on all of the rollercoasters only to discover I was pregnant so I couldn't go on any!

The holiday was amazing and it was topped off with my handsome man proposing in front of my favourite place, Hogwarts Castle. What a lot of people don't know is that almost every day I woke up crying, I was in this amazing place, having an incredible time, but something just didn't feel right.

I was convinced that I would arrive home and my mum would no longer be here. Things couldn't be going this well. We're having a baby, we're engaged something has to happen. And then it did.

We flew back on the Sunday, and from the airport I went straight to the hospice and I didn't leave again until Thursday. I had left my mum confident that she was in the right place and that she was well enough for me to go, nothing could have prepared me for what happened.

In the week I was away, my mum contracted a chest infection, which developed into pneumonia and then began to shut her lung downs. No one could have prepared us for that, no one saw it coming.

By the time I returned home on cloud nine after my proposal and eager to tell my mum all about it, she had already begun to slip away.

Four days after I returned from holiday, my beautiful mum passed away surrounded by those who loved her.

One of the very first things I said was, "how am I going to do this without her?" and even now I don't know the answer.

I had gone from the happiest girl on the planet to the most desperate and sad. It doesn't get any easier. The past few months have been a blur and my weight loss has suffered along with it.

A lot of people tell me to enjoy my pregnancy and worry about weight afterwards but I want to make my mum proud, I need to keep doing this for her. But she was my main reason, who do I call now each week? Who am I fighting for?

The answer has to be me and this innocent little boy whose due date is fast approaching.

The past few months have been filled with every emotion possible and each day is a struggle to make the right choice.

If you had asked me six months ago where I'd be by now, I would have told you confidently that I'd be approaching my target. But the reality is I'm further away from it than I was a few months ago.

Read more: Haka humilation helps woman drop two dress sizes

People always say "sometimes life gets in the way" and if I'm honest 90 per cent of the time I just thought that was an elaborate excuse, now I see how wrong I was.

Weight loss isn't one straight line, it's a road filled with speed bumps, sharp turns, and u turns, you go back on yourself, and you go in the wrong direction just as much as you go in the right direction.

I may not be closing in on my target but I will get there, my beautiful mum will be watching over me the day I receive my shiny target sticker, and I will have done it all with a pregnancy and baby thrown in the middle and having faced my hardest moment to date. Losing my hero.

If I am half the mother she was then I will be doing alright.

This post is dedicated to my beautiful, brave and courageous mummy. Who had so much love to give and life left to live but was cruelly taken away too soon.

If anyone wishes to donate to find a cure for the horrible disease, please do so here [ https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Tanya-Harrison4?utm_id=13 ] and show your support to my fantastic cousin who is running the London Marathon this year for her favourite Aunty, my mum.

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Mother's Day: Pregnant 'fat English girl' Sarah Woodside on facing motherhood without her mum - Cornwall Live

Storytime with Miss Bonnie

The Brigantine branch of the Atlantic County Library, 201 15th St. South, hosts a weekly storytime 10:30 a.m. Fridaysthrough March 31for children 3 1/2 to 5 years old. Join Miss Bonnie to hear stories, sing songs and make a quick craft. The free programs are held in the kids' room. For information call 609-266-0110.

The Brigantine branch of the Atlantic County Library, 201 15th St. South, will hold Makers Day events during branch hoursFriday and Saturday,March 24and 25. All are welcome to pick up a free craft kit to take home and make. Stop by during branch hours and participate in the creative process for NJ Makers Day. For information call 609-266-0110.

The Brigantine Beach Cultural Arts Commission will present A Trip Down Memory Lane 1-4 p.m. Sunday,March 26at the Community Center cafeteria. This trip is the second in the series recalling the past of Brigantine that share sentimental stories and fascinating history of the old days. There will be several guest speakers & light refreshments will be served. A $10 donation is requested. For information call Mary at 609-266-1685.

The Women's Club of St. Thomas is sponsoring an evening of reflection event 7 p.m. Wednesday,April 5in St. Philip Hall. Guest speaker is Joan Dollinger will talk about a woman's role as both a "doer" and a "contemplative," hence Mary and Martha, Perfect Together. Admission is open to all women of Brigantine and should especially appeal to those who strive to maintain a Mary/Martha balance in their lives. Call Winnie at 609-264-1435 or Kathy at 609-266-3646 for additional information.

Brigantine CER is sponsoring a trip to see Miss Saigon at the Broadway Theatre in New York City Wednesday,April 5. Bus leaves 8 a.m. from the Community Center for the 2 p.m. show and will depart immediately after the performance for the return trip. The musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. is based on Giacomo Puccinis opera "Madame Butterfly" and similarly tells the tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The setting is relocated to 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and Madame Butterflys story of marriage between an American lieutenant and a geisha is replaced by a romance between an American GI and a Vietnamese bar girl. Limit is four tickets per person. Cost is $135.

The Brigantine Beach Chamber of Commerce will hold an Easter egg hunt and spring celebration 1:30 p.m. Saturday,April 8at the 42nd Street field. Age groups are toddlers and preschoolers, kindergarten and first grade, and second through fourth grade. The spring celebration will follow in the community center featuring photo opportunities with the Easter Bunny, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Ariel, Snow White, Elsa and Anna, Elena of Avalon and Moana. The event is rain or shine. For information call 609-517-3908.

Brigantine Flotilla 85 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will conduct About Boating Safely classes 9 a.m. Saturdays,April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8 and Aug. 12at the Brigantine Beach Community Center, 265 42nd St. Each class lasts eight hours and includes lunch. Upon passing the test at the end of the class, a NJ Boating Safety certificate will be issued. A $60 prepaid registration is required. To register call 609-926-7607 and leave a message or email boatsafely@comcast.net. For class information see uscgaux-brigantine-nj.org.

The Brigantine North Middle School will have its 20th National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony 7 p.m. Friday,May 19in the Middle School auditorium. All former members are invited and encouraged to attend. Jen Daniels, the first Honor Society president and current Comcast Sports anchor, will be the guest speaker. For information call Larry DiGiovanni at 609-264-9505 or email ldigiovanni@brigantineschools.org.

The Brigantine CER sponsors an eight-day, seven-night bus trip to Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara Falls,June 3-10, 2017. There will be guided tours in each of the cities. The tour price is $1,680 per person, double occupancy, $2,330 for singles and $1,500 for triples. For information call the CER Office at 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

Brigantine CER is sponsoring a seven-day, five-night trip to LondonSept. 7-13. Flight leaves from Philadelphia Airport. Bus transportation to and from the airport is provided. Guests will stay at the Copthome Tara, a four-star hotel in the Kensington section of London. Price includes daily breakfast, two dinners with water and wine or beer, one pub lunch with beer and one additional lunch with beverages. There will be a full-day guided orientation tour of Londons highlights with a visit to the British Museum; a full-day guided tour of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Blenheim Palace and a visit to Oxford; a half-day guided tour to Windsor and a visit to Windsor Castle; and a musical theater performance in Londons Theatre District. The price is $2,299 double occupancy. For single occupancy add $425. For a brochure or information, call at 609-264-7350, ext. 1 or stop by the Community Center and pick up a brochure.

The Brigantine CER sponsors a trip to the Canyon Country featuring Arizona and UtahOct. 9-17. Fly from Philadelphia International to Phoenix/Scottsdale. Cities to be visited include Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Las Vegas. The price is $2,999 for doubles, $3,749 for singles and $2,969 for triples. For information call the CER Office at 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

Crossroads Youth Group meets 7-8 p.m. every Sunday. Sponsored by the Community Presbyterian Church, the group is open to sixth- through eighth-grade youths in Brigantine. They meet weekly, and the meetings or outings consist of community service, fun and fellowship, spirituality and current issues. It is a positive atmosphere that stresses acceptance and is a true example of how to have fun without drugs or alcohol. Crossroads sponsors a Halloween hayride, an Easter egg hunt and the junior high dances that are held once a month. Open registration is extended each Sunday.

The Brigantine Community Center offers mahjong games 1-4 p.m. Thursdays on the second floor at the Community Center. For information call 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

Weight Watcher Meetings are held every Tuesday morning starting with weigh-in at 9:30 a.m. followed by a meeting at 10 a.m. Come in and learn how to successfully lose weight by following a customized food and activity plan to help you look and feel better and have more energy. Weight Watchers also offers a handy food and activity tracker, thousands of meal ideas and practically every healthy-living tool you can imagine. For information call the CER Office at 609-264-7350 ext. 1.

If you like to paint or have a craft you enjoy, you are invited to join the Art Club at the Community Center 2-5 p.m. every Tuesday in the Art Room. There will be various mediums of art such as watercolor, acrylic, oil and various crafts. Club members are all at different levels. There is no fee to be a part of the club. For more information call the Community Center, 609-264-7350, ext. 1.

The thrift shop of the Community Presbyterian Church, 1501 W. Brigantine Ave., is open 5-8 p.m. Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays. Shop for bargains on gently used clothing for men, women and children, as well as shoes, small appliances, household items and jewelry. New items are received daily. Call the church office at 609-266-7942.

Quizzo will be held 7-9 p.m. every Wednesday in the Brigantine Elks Lodge lounge, 400 W. Shore Drive. Prizes will be awarded. See http://www.brigantineelks.com.

The Running Center is partnering with the Brigantine Fitness Center to present a fitness class for active adults. Treadmilling for Walkers is offered noon Mondays and Wednesdays at the Brigantine Fitness Center. The class is led by Mindy Solkin, owner and head coach of The Running Center. She created the class to give seniors a full-body workout. The one-hour classes are open to members and nonmembers of the fitness center. Registration for one or two days per week is available at therunningcenter.com/checkout/. The fee is $15 for one class per week, or $25 for two per week. For information call 609-246-6974 or email info@therunningcenter.com.

The Brigantine Beach Community Center hosts senior bingo 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For information call 609-264-7350.

Submit event notices, including date, time, location, any fees, and contact information to jim.miller@catamaranmedia.com.

Excerpt from:
It's Happening in Brigantine, events beginning March 24 - Shore News Today

Blake Richardson | Published 1 hour ago

Studies have shown athletes have a greater risk of developing an eating disorder, but weight cutting heightens this issue in wrestling.

J remembers sitting in an elementary school cafeteria, surrounded by friends who were devouring chicken nuggets and french fries.

He ate carrots and lettuce from the salad bar.

J, a former North Carolina wrestler who asked to remain anonymous, weighed 70 pounds and was dieting to make a 65-pound weigh-in for a wrestling match. Cutting weight was a part of his life for most of his career.

Its just the sport in general, he said. I mean, everybody does it, and its just like to get the competitive edge.

NCAA regulations and improving attitudes among coaches have made wrestling safer, but problems persist with cutting weight. Studies have found that male wrestlers have a higher risk of developing eating disorders than other men the same age.

This trend concerned Anna Bardone-Cone, a UNC professor who researches eating disorders.

This kind of yo-yo from weight gain, weight loss, weight gain, weight loss, is very unhealthy, very unhealthy, she said. And so that was very startling to me.

***

Jeff Reese was pedaling a stationary bike when he collapsed, suffering kidney failure and heart malfunction. He died on Dec. 9, 1997. He was 21 years old.

A wrestler at Michigan, Reese was wearing a sauna suit shirt and pants made from trashbag material that expedite the process of sweating out water weight. He was completing a two-hour workout in a 92-degree room, trying to lose 12 pounds.

Reese was the third collegiate wrestler in a month to die from cutting weight.

Before Reeses death, sports medicine experts and coaches conflicted. Coaches encouraged unsafe measures to have wrestlers compete at the lowest weight possible; a 1994 study found that in the 20 hours between the weigh-in and the match, wrestlers gained 7.3 pounds on average (mostly in water weight).

Brian Hendrickson, the executive editor of NCAA Champion Magazine who wrote the story Wrestling Away From a Troubled Past, said coaches were attached to unsafe weight cutting practices because they believed the measures gave a competitive advantage. Mistrusting sports scientists, they refused to heed warnings of the dangers of sauna suits.

What was really kind of behind the scenes was this war going on, Hendrickson said.

After the three wrestlers died, coaches complied with reform because the future of the sport was in jeopardy.

The NCAA raised weight classes, moved weigh-ins to one hour before the match and banned sauna suits. Weight certifications testing hydration, body fat percentage and other variables set a minimum weight that players cannot fall below during the season.

One of the biggest changes is in attitude within the sport. Hendrickson saw this manifest in the responses to his story.

What I was surprised by was how much they embraced having the story out there and were glad to have the conversation he said. I think they felt like they could show how much they changed.

***

Though regulations paved the way for improvements, problems persist. J saw wrestlers use sauna suits in high school. UNC wrestler Troy Heilmann said he can tell when a wrestler is cutting weight unsafely.

They have a what you say in the wrestling world sucked out, Heilmann said. They look skinny. You can see their cheekbones and stuff like that.

Research studies have found high school wrestlers are more likely to have an eating disorder or engage in disordered eating than other men of similar ages. Bardone-Cone said some wrestlers will restrict and then binge eat in the offseason.

Theyre very irritable, you know, when theyre in this kind of restricting their food and trying to lose weight, Bardone-Cone said. And we see that with anorexia.

Athletes as a whole aremore likely to develop eating disorders, but this risk rises for sports that emphasize slimness in conjunction with success, like running, gymnastics and wrestling.

While most eating disorder research focuses on women and girls, a 2004 study published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found that eight percent of male athletes exhibited the symptoms of an eating disorder, compared with 0.5 percent of male non-athletes.

Males are not immune, Bardone-Cone said. And this is a thing that happens, and it causes them physiologically and psychologically the same kind of problems.

***

When Heilmann lost the 141-pound spot his sophomore year at UNC, he had to drop to a lower weight class 133 pounds if he wanted to start.

I went down for the team, basically, Heilmann said.

Head coach Coleman Scott walked him through the process to make sure he was safe. Scott took Heilmann grocery shopping to show him healthy foods and recipes and consulted a dietician who works with MMA fighters. Heilmann, who struggled with weight in high school because of a lack of knowledge and resources, said he learned how to balance making weight and being healthy through Scott.

As a wrestling coach, Im not here to make a kid cut a bunch of weight or get him to do something that he physically cant do Scott said. Im here to promote a healthy lifestyle and make sure that the kids are doing the right thing and educate them about their body.

The team meets with UNC nutritionists at the start of the season. Scott meets with them regularly, too, along with researching online and talking with outside nutritionists to hone his knowledge.

The frequent meetings with Scott have made it easier for UNC sports dietician Rachel Stratton to work toward a safer competing environment for UNC wrestlers than there was in the past.

I only have positive things to say about Coach Scott, Stratton said. He is an advocate for long-term health and an advocate for safe nutrition practices, so Id say that our values of nutrition align.

***

For wrestlers who are struggling, Bardone-Cone ponders one question: Then what?

Bardone-Cone is concerned with life after wrestling for those who engage in disordered eating. While some wrestlers, like J, can transition back to a normal diet, she said others might struggle to quit the issues that stem from unsafe weight cutting.

As researchers, we want to know who takes which path, Bardone-Cone said, so we can help figure out who do we need to intervene with to make sure that someone whos probably going to keep with those behaviors doesnt.

Heilmann has seen improvement in the sport firsthand. Hes noticed an emphasis on education and healthy weight loss; his younger brother, a high school wrestler in New Jersey, has benefitted from access to a nutritionist and information about how to safely manage weight.

My brother does it the right way Heilmann said. Ive heard a lot of other kids are doing the same thing

I think that the problems becoming fixed because people are learning more about it.

@rblakerich_

sports@dailytarheel.com

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