Search Weight Loss Topics:

Page 1,198«..1020..1,1971,1981,1991,200..1,2101,220..»

Home » Page 1198

Did you know that the popular Diet Coke and Mentos soda geyser experiment works better at higher altitudes? Or that the average size of the bubbles formed on the scotch mints is about 6m? Now you do, thanks to the wonders of science and those with a bubbling passion for it.

A chemistry professor and a high school teacher climbed mountains and hiked across deserts in America to find the perfect spot to spike bottles of Diet Coke with Mentos.

I decided to do these experiments because I not only love the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment, but I have been studying all about it for 15 years now, Tom Kuntzleman, a chemistry professor at Spring Arbor University, Michigan, told The Register this week.

This made me wonder if the decreased air pressure at higher elevation allowed the experiment to work better

A few years ago I did the Coke and Mentos experiment at a friends house who lived at 6,000-feet elevation in Colorado. I was surprised at how well it worked compared to my normal experience. I live in Michigan at about 1,000-feet elevation. This made me wonder if the decreased air pressure at higher elevation allowed the experiment to work better.

The chewy confectionery acts as a catalyst, accelerating the release of carbon dioxide dissolved in the fizzy drink as a gas in a process known as nucleation. This rapid production of CO2 gas bubbles, particularly after the candy has sunk to the bottom of the bottle, forces the liquid out of the coke bottle, and forms a Coca-Cola geyser. It's a physical rather than a chemical reaction.

Now, the aforementioned duo have gathered enough data to figure out the equation that measures the critical size of the bubbles that have to form on the piece of candy to create the frothy eruption. They have to be larger than 3m any smaller and they wont grow big enough to rise up and out of the bottle.

Fizzy drinks including Diet Coke are pumped with carbon dioxide and sealed under pressure. Cracking open a can of the stuff releases that pressure and some of the CO2 dissolved in the sweet liquid makes its way back out as gas, creating the hissing sound. Most of it stays inside the drink, creating the tingling foamy sensation when its consumed.

Adding a Mentos candy to the Diet Coke causes more carbon dioxide to escape. The rocky surface of the candy has countless little cavities to trap little bubbles of gas, giving them a space to accumulate until they become buoyant enough to float to the surface. After each bubble escapes, another forms in its wake; the process is repeated numerous times to create a powerful release of carbon dioxide gas. This is amusing to many internet users.

Kuntzleman and his school teacher colleague Ryan Johnson teamed up to see if higher altitudes did indeed produce more powerful soda geysers. Johnson trekked up Pikes Peak, part of the Rocky Mountain range in Colorado 14,108 feet above sea level, and recorded his results.

Meanwhile, Kuntzleman drove across the Death Valley desert, 43 feet below sea level, and up Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains, 6,638 feet above sea level to perform more experiments.

"If you only count Diet Coke, Mentos, and materials associated with running the experiments it probably cost around $150," Kuntzleman said. "If you start factoring in travel, payment for entrance to national and state parks, cost of gas Id rather not think about it."

The Diet Coke bottles were kept at 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Each one produced much more foam at higher elevations, likely due to lower air pressures that allow the bubbles to expand more easily, though that explanation is not confirmed.

The duo measuring the foam output at a low altitude, left, and high altitude. Credit: Kuntzleman and Johnson

The study has been published in the Journal of Chemical Education. While it may not be Nobel Prize worthy research, Kuntzleman said the experiment is still a neat way of demonstrating fundamental processes like the ideal gas law.

Because Im a chemistry teacher, I find the results to be very useful in my classroom. For example, the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment is strongly related to how CO2 gas pressure affects the amount of CO2 that dissolves in water," he told us.

"Therefore, discussing the results of my Coke and Mentos experiments provides a great platform to introduce students to various impacts such as ocean acidification associated with increased CO2 in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.

Sponsored: Webcast: Build the next generation of your business in the public cloud

Read the original post:
Where's the best place to add Mentos to Diet Coke for the most foam? How big are the individual bubbles? Has science gone too far? - The Register

Read More..

The 52-year-old food writer and broadcaster, from Aghadowey, is a Taste Causeway ambassador and has championed the region's food and drink at numerous showcase events.

Q: Do you take regular exercise, and if so, what?

A: In December 2018 I started sea swimming in Portrush. A friend of mine had developed osteoarthritis and read that cold water swimming helped the condition.

Depending on how busy I am, I try to swim at least three times a week - although at the minute that's not an issue. It takes about 90 seconds to adjust to the icy water at this time of year but once you do, it's fantastic. It's so invigorating and really sets you up for the day.

Apart from sea swimming, I try to walk for at least an hour a day, although I find it difficult when it's pouring with rain.

I'm lucky that I live in Portstewart and love a walk on the beach. I find that whatever trouble you think you have has dissipated by the time you've walked to the Bar Mouth at the end of the beach and back.

Q: What's the worst illness you've had?

A: I had asthma when I was a child but outgrew it as I got older. Apart from a couple of flus, I've been lucky so far... but I take nothing for granted.

Q: How healthy is your diet?

A: I used to eat out a lot through work and got to sample a lot of decadent and calorific products so I've always tried to balance that out. I try to eat a balanced diet that's heavy on locally sourced, seasonal vegetables.

I've cut down on my meat consumption recently and try to eat rare breed, ethically sourced meat as much as possible. I eat fresh fish as much as I can and buy sustainable, locally sourced varieties like mackerel, gurnard, and hake when it's in season. I eat a lot of pulses and beans to supplement cutting down on the meat. I do, however, love cheese and bread - they would be my downfall and I find both very hard to resist.

Q: Any bad habits?

A: When I'm travelling around the place I often succumb to a sandwich from a service station. It's more out of necessity than anything and I always feel bad afterwards. I'm very partial to a sausage roll too... and a Tunnock's teacake.

Q: Do you drink and smoke? If so how much?

A: I don't smoke. Last year I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and had to start medication to lower it. I used to love red wine but have had to cut it out because it now gives me palpitations. I've cut down my drinking a lot. That's not to say I don't let my hair down either on occasion.

Q: Do you take any supplements?

A: I'm a firm believer in getting your essential nutrients from a decent diet rather than from a bottle. I wouldn't waste money on buying them.

Q: How do you take time out?

A: I really enjoy travel but the current Covid-19 crisis has put paid to that. I love reading and when I get the time it's lovely to get lost in a book. I find swimming in the sea, and the social activity around it, very relaxing and good fun.

Even though I cook for a living, I do find it relaxing when there's no pressure for results. I love cooking for people and I'm at my happiest at a table, full of good food and wine, surrounded by people I love. I'll never take that for granted again.

Q: How well do you sleep?

A: I'm normally asleep within 10 seconds of my head hitting the pillow. Usually I'll be wide awake a couple of hours later and find it hard to get back to sleep. I need to be completely exhausted to sleep right through for eight hours. In the summer, with the shorter days, I find a late evening swim knocks me right out.

Q: Do you worry about getting old?

A: I worry more about not getting old. I do worry about the logistics of being old and that I probably won't get access to any pension until I'm 70. I'm determined not to be defined by a number and want to carry on being stimulated and interested for as long as possible.

Q: What is your go-to product that keeps you feeling healthy?

A: Alicia Breslin has a stand in St George's market in Belfast (just inside the door beside the fish counters) at the weekend selling fresh vegetables and healthy ferments. Her Ginger Bug probiotic drink is amazing. I take a shot in the morning and it's really good for settling your gut and giving you a wake-up buzz at the same time. She does a Kick Syrup too that's bright yellow and full of healing turmeric. I also eat a lot of raw beetroot - grated in a salad with ginger, pomegranate molasses and cumin.

Paula is a Taste Causeway ambassador and is about to launch a mobile shop with food from the region along with videos of herself cooking the produce. To find out more, visit tastecauseway.com

Belfast Telegraph

See more here:
Me and my health: Paula McIntyre on her lifestyle - Belfast Telegraph

Read More..

It's natural - and often sensible - to turn to medicine to help treat health problems, but have you considered the role food could play too?

hysiotherapist Louise Blanchfield was desperate to help improve her husband Richard's health after he developed a form of inflammatory arthritis that led to him walking with a stick and being told by his doctor he'd eventually need to use a wheelchair.

He already had the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis, so was faced with a lot of pain. Blanchfield began researching the links between inflammation in the body and diet and lifestyle.

She eventually devised a diet designed to reduce inflammation and promote gut health. Although sceptical at first, within weeks, Richard had started noticing improvements, and over the following year or so slowly got better and better.

"His joint pain cleared, movement got easier and function improved," says Blanchfield. "Little did we know that what we did was going to actually reverse his symptoms."

These improvements were shown in a colonoscopy the following year too; Richard's bowel looked normal and the scarring from previous ulcerative colitis attacks had repaired.

Louise (45) was so impressed that she trained as a nutritional therapist and is now known as 'the food physio'. She and Richard (49) have also shared their recipe ideas in their book - Eating My Way Back To Health.

Blanchfield believes it could be beneficial for people suffering with a range of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease and coeliac disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, endometriosis, vasculitis, lupus, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.

"Modern medicine had run out of answers, except take the tablet and get worse," she says. "Believing the root cause to Richard's problems was a damaged gut barrier, and a consequent overreaction of his immune system to food getting into his bloodstream that shouldn't have been able to get through, we set about trying to eat to heal the damage, settle the immune system reaction and calm the inflammation.

"We did this by removing foods we believed may be causing the gut damage, eating foods which contain nutrients needed for the gut to repair itself, and eating foods which are anti-inflammatory in nature," she adds. "Richard is now totally pain-free without any medication. I would never have dreamed this was possible. Our bodies are amazing and, given the right environment, it's incredible what they can achieve. Richard is proof of that."

Of course, it's important to remember everybody is different, and our health and dietary needs aren't always the same. It's never advisable to make any changes to your treatment regime, or any big diet changes without consulting your doctor.

"Our guts are as individual as our hair and our eye colour - what one person can eat and thrive on just doesn't work for someone else. It's about finding what works for you," says Blanchfield.

These dietary changes worked for Richard...

1. Go gluten and dairy-free

This helps to prevent probable food intolerances inflaming or damaging the gut, and proved beneficial for Richard. However, this doesn't mean ditching gluten and dairy is right for everyone.

2. Eat raw garlic

"This is to help balance gut bacteria, as it kills bad bacteria," explains Blanchfield.

3. Eat more than 'five a day'

Eating eight to 10 fruit and vegetables per day, rather than the standard five a day, can boost antioxidant levels and provide extra vitamins and minerals needed for optimum body function.

4. Make homemade sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is said to help boost good gut bacteria. "This is due to it being a fermented vegetable containing good bacteria, and because cabbage contains glutamine, which is needed as a fuel by gut cells," explains Blanchfield.

5. Ditch white rice and potatoes

Blanchfield suggests avoiding white potatoes and white rice, as they can feed harmful bacteria in the gut and help the bacteria multiply.

6. Eat the rainbow

Eat a variety of coloured fruit and veg, as this will give a good mix of vitamins and minerals. Include beetroot, turnip and carrots, as they feed beneficial bacteria and help them grow in numbers.

7. Fill up on chicken bone broth

Make and eat chicken bone broth; the collagen in it helps the gut to heal.

8. No processed food

They "contain additives that add to the toxic load in our bodies, increasing inflammation and making digestion harder," says Blanchfield.

9. Avoid alcohol

Alcohol is also inflammatory and adds to the toxic load.

10. Avoid fizzy drinks

But don't replace alcohol with carbonated drinks. Fizzy drinks are inflammatory too.

11. Pull the pork

Avoid all pork products as they're very inflammatory.

12. No crisps, cakes or biscuits

Steer clear of baked goodies - even if they're gluten and dairy-free - as well as crisps, as they're made from inflammatory fats.

13. Steer clear of vegetable oils

These can be very inflammatory, says Blanchfield.

14. Use Indian spices

Include spices like ginger and turmeric regularly in your diet, as they are highly anti-inflammatory.

Re-introduce certain things when symptoms settle

Richard followed the diet for nine months, before easing off some of the strict measures. Now, he can eat gluten and dairy on a rotational basis (once every four days) with no resurgence of his symptoms, and can go off the plan on holiday for two to three weeks and have no symptoms, resuming gluten and dairy-free eating on his return to ensure his symptoms don't return.

"Observe the diet strictly until symptoms have cleared fully," Blanchfield suggests, "and then to try a reintroduction test to see how flexible you can be with your diet on an ongoing basis. It then depends on the individual."

Eating My Way Back to Health by Louise and Richard Blanchfield is published by Purple Star Publishing, priced 29.99 on Amazon

Belfast Telegraph

See original here:
Can food play a role in reducing inflammation? - Belfast Telegraph

Read More..

We may be currently stuck at home due to the 21-day lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic but it is very important to have a fitness regime in place.

According to various researches, being sedentary not only has a detrimental effect on physical health, but also affects mental health. Working out regularly and being physically active can help lower stress and blood pressure, reduce the risk of stroke, and prevent the onset of diabetes.

Our immune system works effectively when it flushes out bacteria from our lungs and airways, increases white blood cell counts, and raises our body temperature.

Many of us might also be feeling bogged and getting depressed during the lockdown. Being active helps in lowering the stress hormones like cortisol and helps in releasing the feel-good hormone, endorphin.

Shaun T, an American fitness trainer, motivator, and television personality led on with some motivation for the week for people who have been self-isolating themselves.

While we are at home and we try to learn one skill or the other, cooking has emerged as one of the top favourites among the lot.

A healthy diet can help in reducing the chances of cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, obesity, as well as depression and anxiety.

As long as we keep the processed foods that are high in sugar at arms length and follow a diet that comprises complex carbohydrates that are found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, we will be on the road to good health.

Yogurt can also help in keeping our gut healthy.

Maintaining a proper sleep cycle should be a top priority during this period. A good night of sleep will help our bodies repair its cells, clear toxins, consolidate our memories, and process information.

Sleep deprivation can have major health impacts such as negatively affecting our psychological health and emotional intelligence. For most people, six to nine hours of sleep per night is enough.

During the lockdown, remember to maintain a proper sleep pattern and wake up at a proper time. This will help in maintaining a normal routine throughout the day. Further, limiting the electronic screen time before going to sleep can also help.

While working out in the open is not an option now, there are a lot of home workouts that can keep our physical and mental health in optimum condition,

Taking a dig on the word quarantine, Cricketer Hardik Pandya motivated his fans to not just sit around, but also workout.

You can also walk up and down the staircase in your home or building (if you have one), jog in one place, do jumping jacks, sit-ups, and push-ups at home. You can also take out your skipping rope and start skipping in an open area in your home.

Though we cannot meet our friends and family freely now social media has helped us stay connected with each other.

We can still keep in touch with our friends and families over voice calls, video calls, messengers, and social media platforms.

Now more than ever, staying connected with our loved ones is as important as following a healthy diet, sleeping well, and engaging in physical exercise.

How has the coronavirus outbreak disrupted your life? And how are you dealing with it? Write to us or send us a video with subject line 'Coronavirus Disruption' to editorial@yourstory.com

Go here to read the rest:
Stay safe, stay fit: Here are 4 ways to stay healthy during the coronavirus lockdown on World Health Day - YourStory

Read More..

Tahlia Hope aboard Zed Em (Image: Racing Photos)

The coronavirus has not come along at a good time for anyone, but the timing is particularly bad for those who have recently battled a severe illness.

Apprentice jockey Tahlia Hope most certainly fits into that category.

Only last Saturday she returned to the saddle at Werribee - where she celebrated victory aboard champion fencer Zed Em - after 10 months on the sidelines following a bout of viral meningitis.

The 21-year-old had recovered from the viral meningitis before COVID-19 really hit but said it has not escaped the attention of her doctors.

"It definitely crossed their minds," Hope said. "I've still got a very low immune system, so they've just upped my medication for that.

"I have to go to the doctor's every week for a check-up anyway, and we did discuss it, but I'm a lot healthier now."

That is in contrast to mid-winter last year, when viral meningitis flattened her.

Hope felt unwell the day after riding a double - for which she said she 'wasted pretty hard' - at Morphettville on Saturday, July 6, developed a headache two days later and then endured constant vomiting on the Tuesday night before the headaches became unbearable on the following Wednesday.

"Everything is just a blur after that," she said.

After being rushed to hospital, Hope was placed in ICU, which included being unconscious for four days, before the road to recovery began.

It was at least three months before she started to feel better and not until a few months after that that she contemplated a return to riding.

But her body had other ideas.

"I didn't really think I was going to come back, more so because I'd been through so much and it really scared the family," she said.

"I was in ICU and that was a really hard time and then I put on a fair bit weight.

"But then I started riding trackwork and thought 'I really want to come back', but I just couldn't lose the weight no matter what."

A change in routine while working for Patrick Payne, to whom she is apprenticed and was working for, proved the impetus for shedding the excess kilos.

"I started travelling a bit with Paddy's horses, I went to the Gold Coast, went to Tasmania and then to Adelaide and all of a sudden the weight dropped off," Hope said.

"I think once I stopped stressing the weight started coming off."

Hope progressed quickly from there to the point that she was able to return to the races on Saturday, where she teamed with Zed Em for a memorable win in a 2000-metre Benchmark 58.

The gelding's deeds over jumps are well known, having won the past two editions of the Great Eastern Steeplechase and last year's Grand Annual, but he hadn't won on the flat since victory in New Zealand in February 2016.

"I wasn't really expecting it," she said. "Obviously he's a great jumper and the race wasn't that strong, but I still thought he would have needed more ground.

"Anyway, it was an amazing result and a massive relief."

WATCH: Hope's win aboard Zed Em

After just four additional rides, two at Echuca on Sunday and two at Ballarat the following day, Hope will make what even she concedes is a surprising return to the metropolitan stage.

She rides debut Terang maiden winner Little Mermaid ($20 with BetEasy) in Race 4, resuming steeplechaser Slowpoke Rodriguez ($71) in Race 7 and Big Hammer ($26), who is first-up at 2100m in the final event on the eight-race card.

"I wasn't really expecting it, but obviously Patrick thinks I'm ready and they are quite suitable horses," Hope said.

"I think Little Mermaid will really appreciate having just 55 kilos and I don't mind her. She's a nice filly.

"Big Hammer, with the two kilos off his back and at that distance I think he can go close and Slowpoke will be hitting the line late. I'm just excited to be riding him."

Here is the original post:
Comeback win fast tracks Hope's city return - Racing.com

Read More..

click to enlarge

Ali Blackwood Illustration

Growing up, Luke Parker played sports. To be clear, not so much actual live sweat-and-sneaker sports though he did occasionally shoot hoops in the backyard. We're talking about video game sports. Nintendo Ice Hockey and Nintendo Little League Baseball: Championship Series.

"I'm sort of an indoor kid," Parker says. "I'm more of a band, and music and theater type of guy."

Sure, he knows that exercising is important, but it's not like he particularly enjoyed it.

"I was never a regular exercise person," Parker says. "I never feel like I can get the catharsis out of it that I think a lot of people do. The 'Yeah, I feel really good now that I've exercised [feeling].'"

And so Parker, like most every 26-year-old, is faced with a daily dilemma: Does he exercise, which is difficult? Or does he play video games?

But today, Parker chooses C all of the above, all at the same time.

He already has his Nintendo Switch turned on in the living room of his small Spokane apartment. He just has to strap one of his Switch controllers onto his leg, and stick the other in a big circular peripheral called the "Ring-Con."

Initially, Ring Fit Adventure looks like a generic knock-off of a game like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Your character runs around a brightly colored world, battling fantasy monsters. But here's the difference: The only way Parker can make his character run in the game is to run in real life. He runs in place in his apartment, and the motion sensors in the Switch controller on his leg detect the running motion, and his character runs too his hair lighting up to show just how much on fire his exercising is.

When he wants to shoot fireballs all he has to do is to squeeze the Ring-Con, a hybrid video game controller and resistance-training device. And when he faces off against the boss Dragaux, a dragon with the physique and style of a steroid pumping gym rat, Parker selects a move, and then twists his body back and forth and voila, a ghostly manifestation of a glowing six-pack abbed torso pops up to slap Dragaux, gradually whittling down the monster's health bar.

"It does give you a pretty good workout," Parker says. "I knew that having it around would encourage me to be more active."

By now, video games have mastered the art of behavioral psychology, the secret of getting you to play longer, play more and have more fun by doing it. And so, in our sedentary screen-addicted nation, game and app developers have been asking: What if we put a little bit of exercise in our video games, and a little bit of video game in our exercise?

Nintendo

Exercise at home - and have fun doing it - with Nintendo Switchs Ring Fit Aventure.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Exercise video games didn't start with Ring Fit Adventure, of course. In 2008, Wii Fit allowed players to use a balance board controller to exercise on the Wii console. Millennials will remember the days of Dance Dance Revolution, where introverted middle and high schoolers flocked to arcades and worked up a sweat, players' feets scurrying to keep up with a stream of musical prompts.

The "exergame" traditions go back even further, says Ben Sawyer, a consultant to exercise-based video game and app developers, who spent around a decade immersed in this topic with the Games for Health Project.

In 1984, Atari even nearly released a game system called the "Puffer," that allowed you to play as a character on an exercise bike but was thwarted by the video game crash. As educational games like Reader Rabbit and SimCity showed that games could be used to teach people as well as entertain them, Sawyer says, researchers started to experiment with using games as therapy measuring how they could impact, not just a person's brain, but their galvanic skin response and other biomarkers. Games could treat things like ADHD or fear of spiders, researchers realized, and maybe encourage us to work out more.

"If you heard tomorrow that a pharma company was making an investment in a game company, I think 20 years ago people would say, 'What are you talking about?'" Sawyer says. But today, he says, that makes a logical kind of sense.

As some exercise games became mainstream hits, Sawyer says, researchers found that the games didn't just get kids exercising in video games it whetted their appetites for more traditional forms of fitness.

"The kids that got hooked on playing Dance Dance Revolution for gym class, they were starting to participate in other forms of exercising," Sawyer says. "They were riding their bikes more."

Not only that, but he says that researchers learned that games could push people further and have them work harder.

"When we put people into an exercise game, for the most part, we know they'll exercise longer," Sawyer says. "We ask them, 'How much did they exert themselves,' and they go, 'Seven.''' Well, actually it was a nine."

But for now, Sawyer says, video games still have too many barriers standing between exercise and play: If you want to play Ring Fit Adventure, you have to not only put on your workout clothes but also strap on the controller onto your leg and sometimes wait for your Switch to update.

And just as you get bored of a game or just like you find that you've abandoned your New Year's resolution exercise routine by mid-March it's easy to abandon even a fun exercise game after a while.

"It's a month later, and the Wii Fit board is sitting under the couch," Sawyer says.

Already, some reviewers of Ring Fit Adventure have found that, after a few weeks, the game no longer had enough allure to keep them doing crunches and jogging in place.

"I'd not reckoned with how a gaming adventure driven by exercise would be prone to the accidental abandonment that can befall any workout routine," writes Stephen Totilo, a gaming critic at Kotaku.

The Gamification of Everything

Spokane resident Mark Meredith already knows how to exercise. He's in the Naval reserves. He's a mailman, so his job consists of walking 11 miles a day. But losing weight was a little trickier.

While stationed with the Navy in Bahrain, he says, he'd ballooned up on a bit too much Persian Gulf fast food. At his heaviest, he was at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds. But today, he says, he's at 185. He recently uploaded a before/after picture to social media to a chorus of compliments.

"On Facebook everybody was like, you look amazing. What are you doing for your skin-care routine?" Meredith says. "It's just weight loss. I feel a lot better."

The secret, it turned out, was an app on his phone called Lose It!

"It tells you how many calories you can have per day," Meredith says. "When you exercise, you can punch in what your exercise had been."

At its core, it was little more than calorie tracking and recording what he ate, a basic premise of dieting.

It wasn't really a video game. But it just added just enough video game-style elements, like badges and progress bars, to apply some simple motivational hacks to his brain and get him to stick with it. Perhaps most powerfully, Meredith says, it tracks your "streaks" rewarding you each time you log into the app in a row. At his best, Meredith managed to get his streak up to 200 days.

"It's that addictive element you get when you're playing a game," he says. Your natural loss aversion means you don't want to lose your streak, so you keep playing.

Lose It! is not a game. But it is gamification.

"Gamification" dresses up our more difficult arduous tasks in life in flashy accessories of video games community leaderboards, badges, achievements, points and levels and grafts them onto other tasks.

"Gaming's dark secret," writes former gaming critic Kieron Gillen about traditional games, is that "sometimes watching a bunch of numbers get bigger is enough."

The same motivational power that convinced adult professionals to set their alarms to wake up in the middle of the night to harvest blueberries in the FarmVille Facebook game, could be used for tougher tasks, like exercise, dieting or learning a new language.

"Games are very, very good at showing your progress," says Gabe Zichermann, chair of the Gamification Summit. "You're always aware of your score, what level you're on."

Back in 2011, Zichermann was predicting in the Globe and Mail how that concept could be harnessed to keep people going to the gym regularly: The rewarding results of exercise and dieting can take weeks, or even months to show up. Instead, apps can dole out rewards, even tiny symbolic ones, more often for things like consistent gym attendance. In a way, it's no different than a second-grade teacher awarding stickers to kids for good behavior.

In games, the human desire to complete sets can make people try to find every feather in Assassin's Creed or to catch 'em all in Pokmon, but Zichermann says the same instinct is at work driving people to take enough steps every day to complete the activity rings on their Apple Watch.

"The core neurobiological evolutionary part of the human condition has nothing to do with the ring," Zichermann says. "It has to do with once you've decided that set was worth completing, you have the powerful drive to want to complete that set."

The Next Level

Sawyer says we're only at the start of what games can accomplish for exercise and health.

"Ultimately, over time, what you'll see is more and more of the melding of video games and exercising," Sawyer says.

Sawyer imagines a world where you walk into your house, start doing jumping jacks at a whim, and "immediately the screen in front of you says, "I'm guessing you want to play So-and-So Fit Adventure."

You'd step on the treadmill at the gym and be asked if you want to watch CNN or play a game. Or, you'd be on a run and your Apple Air Pods would offer an audio adventure game you could play while you ran.

"There's a dragon behind you! Run a little faster!" Sawyer says. "Now you have a sword."

In theory, the more we can chip away at the barrier between what's healthy and what's fun, the more we can turn our bad habits into good ones. And if not? At least we've had some fun and worked up some sweat by doing it.

danielw@inlander.com

See the article here:
Can harnessing the psychological power of video games make you healthier? - Pacific Northwest Inlander

Read More..

If you want a longer healthier life, read this carefully. The more fit you are when you start a weight-loss programme, the more weight you could lose, compared to those who are very out of shape, say researchers.

"This research could help us improve the design of our weight loss programs and suggests that adults with very poor fitness may benefit from additional exercise support during a weight loss program to achieve higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and improve long-term weight loss," said study lead researcher Adnin Zaman, from the University of Colorado in the US.

For the findings, published in the journal Journal of the Endocrine Society, researchers examined the relationship between a person's level of fitness at the beginning of the study and weight loss at the end of an 18-month behavioural weight loss programme.

The programme combined a calorie-restricted diet, group-based behavioural support, and six months of supervised exercise. The study included 60 adults with obesity or overweight. Participants exercised under supervision for the first six months of the study. The participants wore an armband that measured their activity levels over one week at the beginning of the study, and then for a week during months 6, 12 and 18.

Their cardiovascular fitness was measured during a graded exercise test on a motorised treadmill. Participants were divided into two groups: "very poor fitness" and "poor or better fitness."

Twenty (33 percent) of the adults who completed the 18-month study were classified as having very poor fitness at the beginning of the study, while 40 (67 percent) were categorised as having poor or better fitness, according to the study.

Body mass index--a measure of body fat based on height and weight--was higher in those with very poor fitness at the beginning of the study compared with those in the poor or better fitness group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in weight change at six or 12 months. At 18 months, however, those in the poor or better category lost nearly twice as much weight as those who had very poor fitness at the start of the study--an average of 18 pounds versus 9.5 pounds.

"Future studies are needed to evaluate whether providing additional exercise support or focusing specifically on improving fitness in adults with low levels of fitness would improve weight loss," Zaman said.

Read the original here:
Want long term weight loss? Fitness is the mantra - International Business Times, Singapore Edition

Read More..

Losing weight is not only essential for your health if you're obese or overweight, but it's also a great way to boost your confidence and make you feel better about yourself. Finding the motivation to reach your goal weight is tricky, and 95 percent of diets fail. You need to make healthy eating a lifestyle change in order to keep the weight off. So how is this done?Express.co.ukhas searched through expert advice and compiled a list of top tips that will enable you to lose weight without sacrificing too much.

It can be tempting to skip breakfast in order to reduce calorie intake, but this is almost never effective.Have you ever missed breakfast? A few hours later you are extremely hungry and need a snack to function.You will then make poorer lunch choices and are more likely to fill up on unhealthy junk.Even if you don't feel hungry, have a whole-grain cereal, or fruit and low-fat yoghurt.

READ MORE- Lose weight fast: Best way to kickstart your metabolism

If you love a midnight feast, that's the first thing you need to cut out of your lifestyle.You need to establish a time when you will stop eating for the day in order to avoid late-night snacking.After you've had your dinner, you are free to have something sweet as long as it is before this time.Make sure you brush your teeth after, so you won't be tempted to consume anything else.

Those who chew quickly are 115 percent more likely to be obese than slow eaters.Chewing more slowly will ensure you eat less.

Most experts suggest chewing a piece of food 32 times before you swallow it.

However, it takes less chews to break down softer food that is more water-based. After eating, your gut suppresses the ghrelin hormone which controls hunger.Your body will also releases fullness hormones, which tell your brain you have eaten.This, in turn, makes you feel full and helps you to stop eating.This process takes about 20 minutes, so if you eat slowly you give your brain a chance to catch up.

DON'T MISS...How to sleep - the best snack to eat before bed [INFORMER]How to lose visceral fat: Eating this way to lose weight [INFORMER]Bloating stomach: Five changes you can make to stop a bloated belly [INSIGHT]

If you cut portion size by 10 to 20 percent you will lose weight without realising you're missing anything.Stop when you're full, put less on your plate to start and go back for more if you are still hungry.Before you go back for another portion, think about why you are doing this.Are you bored, anxious, lonely, upset, stressed?Only eat more than the portion you have set out for yourself if you genuinely need it.

Lean or low-fat protein is a great way to keep you feeling full.Protein increases the levels of satiety (appetite reducing hormones), leaving you feeling satisfied after a meal, as well as slowing the rise in blood sugar.If you eat protein in every meal, you will feel full and less likely to binge on sugary treats.After you eat, some calories are used in the digesting and metabolising of food, and this is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF).Protein has a much higher TEF sitting at about 20 to 30 percent, compared to carbs (five to 10 percent) or fat (zero to three percent).If you eat protein in most meals, more calories will be burned while you're digesting it.

An easy way to lose weight is practising mindful eating.If you aren't paying attention to what you eat, it will take longer for you to feel full.Paying attention to what you eat will help you to eat less, more slowly, and make better food choices.This means no eating in front of the TV or while on the phone.

Calories can be hidden in drinks without you realising it.Don't waste calories on what you drink, as they don't reduce hunger like food does.Satisfy your thirst with healthy drinks like cold water, sparkling water, low-fat milk, or a little bit of 100 percent fruit juice.Cut sugary drinks and alcohol out of your life as much as you can.

More here:
Weight loss tips: How can you lose weight without going on a diet? Simple trick revealed - Express

Read More..

So dont take my next sentence to be offensive. It is just a fact. If you look around you, that is if you are in Nigeria, you will see a lot of overweight and obese people, including my self. Now, look at the image above, that is exactly what you should not be eating for dinner. Read below and you will understand what I am trying to say.

I tried to lose weight for years without success, in fact, I kept gaining weight despite all my endeavours, but in the past 8 months, I have successfully lost 7 kg. I have realized that the key to losing weight is not approaching it like a sprint but like a marathon. You should approach it like a 3-5 year plan, not like something you want to do in 3 months.

This is because you need a strategy that you can continue for many years to come. If you rush to lose weight, you will rush to gain it back.

So first, what about exercise? Yes, it is important to exercise if you can. If indeed you can exercise on a regular basis then kudos to you. For many, exercise is a luxury especially if you are older or have bad knees, some are simply just too busy to make time to exercise.

The main thing I have done so far is work on what I am eating. This has worked wonders for me and my goal is to lose another 10 kg over the next year.

So what exactly did I do?

I was fortunate to meet with a nutritionist and would like to share what I learnt with you. If you have any questions, leave them below, and I will do my best to answer them.

How To Lose Weight On A Nigerian Diet? A Step-by-Step Guide Towards A Healthier Breakfast

The first thing I did was cutting out carbohydrates from my diet. This included removing anything that tastes sweet. I removed bread, reduced rice. Yes, I know these are difficult to do but if you want to lose weight, you have to take the bull by the horn.

My breakfast was just tea and oranges. When I make my tea, I avoid sugar. Sugar is the enemy. I barely used any milk in my tea. That was my approach. In fact, I havent used sugar in over a year. If you are lucky to get zero-calorie sweetener, you can use that as a substitute.

I would like to focus on dinner because this is the part I struggled with during the weight loss process. The foods you eat after the hours of 6 pm have a great impact on your metabolism. The typical Nigerian dinner is very heavy in carbohydrates typically eba, yams, and rice.

You see, that is where the problem was and what my nutritionist pointed out. I was eating too many calories in the evening with the carbohydrates, and as I have gotten older my metabolism has changed, and as such, maybe I cannot handle those calories as well. Also, I am certainly not exercising as much as I would have done so many years ago when I was younger.

So now that you have read the above paragraph, you need to ask your self how many calories are you eating especially at night. You have to realize that eating late can be challenging as the food you eat at night may not be broken down calorie-wise the same way you break down calories you eat during the day.

When you make your dinner, how many carbohydrate calories do you have in it? You need to eat fewer carbohydrate calories.

So how do you do this- you have to reduce your ration of eba, reduce the rice, reduce the yam and increase the protein and vegetable. It is also helpful to avoid eating late at night- eating at least 2-3 hours before your go to bed is healthier than eating just before you sleep.

Especially, eating in the middle of the night is certainly a bad idea. So, easier said than done right? How do you reduce the carbohydrate calories in your dinner without getting hungry?

Here is what I did. I knew that I was going to get hungry by reducing the eba, rice and yams. So instead, I substituted with some beans. I also bought a lot of carrots and fruits. These foods have a lot of fibre and keep you full longer. I also got more protein by eating more fish and boiled chicken. I also onlyate healthy snacks.

However, the most helpful thing I did was to get a calendar, and every day that I ate a low carbohydrate diet, I marked it on the calendar, and slowly and surely, the weight started to come off.

Yes, I did try to exercise whenever I could, because exercise increases fat burning and accelerates the process. However, I wasnt regular at exercising. Well, that is what I did and it worked for me, so hope it works for you.

Let me summarize the steps I took to lose 7 kilograms.

1. Reduce the calories in your diet especially at dinner and at night. You can do this by substituting rice, yam, eba, with proteins, vegetables. Your carbohydrate portion should be less than one-third of your total meal. If you can completely exclude them, by all means, do so. I also avoided any fried foods.

2. Avoid eating late dinners.

3. Avoid sugar completely in your diet.

4. Get a calendar, every day you go successfully reduce the carbohydrates in your meals, mark it and somehow it continues to motivate you to do so. Some people give themselves a cheat day. I didnt.

5. If you can exercise, this will accelerate the weight loss process. Exercise as simple as walking will be helpful. If you can run, even better.

Qwenu!publishes opinions, stories, reflections, and experiences on contemporary issues. Clickhereto read articles from many Africans at home and in the diaspora. Embedded tweets and guest articles do not represent the opinions ofQwenu!as we only provide a platform for writers to express themselves. Email your articles toeditor@qwenu.comFollow us@qwenu_mediaFeatured image: Ke Vin/Unsplash

Follow this link:
Here are my secrets to losing weight on a Nigerian diet | By Tomiwa Abina - Qwenu!

Read More..

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: It's Day One of your weight-loss journey, and you've never felt more motivated. You've got a goal in mind and a plan to get there, and it feels like nothing can stop you. You've. Got. This.

Let these weight-loss success stories inspire your own journey to better health.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

That gung-ho attitude sustains you through a week or maybe even two, and then you hit a snag. Maybe stress at work causes you to overeat, or a scheduling conflict prevents you from getting to the gym. Or maybe the results you saw at first start to slow down, and your mental grit takes a hit.

These people have been there, done that and come out the other side.

If your motivation is flagging, draw inspiration from these weight-loss success stories starring people who have overcome all kinds of personal hurdles to successfully transform their bodies and their health.

Women share the simple changes that have helped them on their weight-loss journeys.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

Women face their own physical challenges when trying to lose weight and then factors like age, family obligations and everyday stressors can all come into play, as well. But women are strong and resilient, too, which means these obstacles are no match for a woman who's set on overcoming them.

Those qualities are definitely on display in these weight-loss success stories from Rachel Nipper, who lost 70 pounds at age 49, to Rachel Sharp, who credits her incredible 108-pound weight loss to alternate-day fasting and show what women can achieve when they set goals and stick with them.

Learn weight-loss tips from men with their own before-and-after weight-loss stories.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

Every guy (every person!) is different, and there's no one "right" way for men to lose weight. What works for one person may not work for another.

With that in mind, we tapped men with inspiring weight-loss stories to share their successes and the step-by-step plans they followed to drop to a healthy size.

For Jeffrey Hadley, cutting processed foods and walking every day were the two key factors that helped him lose 100 pounds in a year. For Daniel Johns, shedding 60 pounds was possible after he adopted intermittent fasting and a running routine.

These strong mamas transformed their bodies after pregnancy.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

Women face a lot of social expectations when it comes to their weight, but that pressure can become even more hyper-focused after pregnancy.

Between tabloid headlines praising celebrity moms for "bouncing back after baby" and the seemingly endless stream of Instagram influencers showing off six packs mere moments after giving birth, it can be hard to keep a realistic perspective on postpartum weight loss.

That's why we asked moms to share their stories, struggles and all. Maranda Boiter overcame years of unhealthy eating habits to lose 100 pounds after pregnancy, and Lauren Mead dropped more than 200 pounds despite a host of health challenges. They didn't lose the weight overnight, but they're proof of just what can be accomplished when you make small, healthy changes.

Finding a sustainable fitness plan helped these people lose weight and keep it off in the long run.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

There's no question that nutrition is crucial when it comes to losing weight. Nailing down a sustainable weight-loss diet that works with your lifestyle is key to success.

But for some people, finding an exercise regimen they love is also central to dropping pounds and just as importantly keeping them off.

That may be easier said than done, though, especially if you're a complete newbie when it comes to working out. But we have proof it's possible: Take Kerri Hwang, who went from barely being able to walk around the block to deadlifting 300 pounds.

Bariatric surgery isn't for everyone, but it led to weight-loss success for these people.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

Anyone who says bariatric surgery is the "easy way out" when it comes to losing weight clearly hasn't had any experience with it. Weight-loss surgery is both mentally and physically challenging, and, as anyone who's been through it will attest, isn't a decision to be taken lightly.

But for those who qualify and commit to the process and embrace the lifestyle changes that come along with it bariatric surgery can be a life-altering tool. Not only can it help with weight loss, but it can be a springboard into a totally new and healthier way of living.

"Extreme weight loss seemed so unreachable. I'd see people with their transformations and think, 'That could never be me,'" says Tina Minasyan, who lost 171 pounds after gastric sleeve surgery. "Don't ever compare someone else's highlight reel to your behind-the-scenes. Everybody struggles, it's hard work but boy is it sweet at the end."

Read more from the original source:
Weight-Loss Success Stories: Before-and-After Transformations - LIVESTRONG.COM

Read More..

Contact Us Today

Page 1,198«..1020..1,1971,1981,1991,200..1,2101,220..»

Home » Page 1198