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Tom Brady's diet might not be glamorous, but it's slowly winning over some New England Patriots teammates.

For example, take Rob Gronkowski. After watching the 39-year-old Brady play through the entire 2016 season without missing a game to injury -- Gronk missed eight games -- Gronkowski decided that he wanted to emulate Brady's lifestyle, so he could be as healthy as possible.

"Just looking at Tom, seeing what he does every day, what he eats, talking to him, personally one-on-one, just learning about the body with him, just seeing how flexible he is, how pliable he is, how loose he is all the time, every day and ready to go," Gronkowski said in arecent interview with the Boston Herald. "I just felt like it was the time in my career where I needed to devote myself at all levels,"

So what does that mean?

It means that Gronk has spent the past three months working with Brady's body coach (Alex Guerrero) and eating the same type of food that Brady eats.

Since Gronk's career started in 2010, Brady has missed zero games due to injury while Gronkowski has missed 24 out of 112 regular-season games. For Gronk, the hope is that by implementing Brady's way of life into his life, there will be less injuries down the road.

"I just felt like I had to add on to what I was doing. Find a way that my body will respond so I can perform every day. Be in prevention mode for injuries happening," Gronkowski said. "I definitely feel like a brand new guy just being able to do exercises here [at the TB12 center]."

Since most of Brady's meals are plant-based, it means that Gronk has had to mostly give up on meat, which seems to be working out for him so far, thanks in large part to Brady's cooking skills.

"Tom's my chef. I told him I'm only eating them if you have them ready for me," Gronkowski said. "And he said, 'Deal.'"

Brady might not be much of a cook, but we do know that he can make a mean beluga lentil taco, so I'm guessing that's what he eats with Gronk every night.

Although it seems that Gronk has been willing to mostly give up meat, there's one thing he hasn't necessarily been willing to give up: Alcohol.

Unlike Brady, who isn't really known to ever drink, Gronk still has the occasional adult beverage. Under Guerrero's watch, Gronk is allowed to drink alcohol, there's just one catch: He has to clean out his body afterward.

For every one drink of alcohol, Gronk is expected to drink three glasses of water to offset the damage he's doing to his body. The three glasses of water rule also applies if Gronk were to drink coffee.

So far, Guerrero has been impressed with his new client. "Rob has been really committed," Guerrero told the Herald. "He's done a great job. The foundation has been set. Certainly, we're not done."

If you want to eat like Brady, all you need to do is shell out $78 a week and joinhis at-home food delivery service. If $78 is too steep of a price for you, then you can buy something cheaper: Bradyalso sells a $50 bag of nuts.

I'm not sure if $50 is a good price for nuts, but it must be, because those things always seem to sell out just seconds after they get more stock.

Finally, if you're looking to embrace the entire Brady diet and you have $200 to spare, youcan buy his cookbook, which isn't actually a cookbook, because it's a "Nutrition manual," according to Brady. If you follow Brady's diet plan, there's no guarantee that you'll also marry a supermodel and win five Super Bowls, but it seems like it could be worth a try.

Excerpt from:
Rob Gronkowski is trying Tom Brady's diet plan, but skipping one key part - CBSSports.com

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The Coca-Cola Company recently announced that its going to discontinue Coke Zero and replace it with Coke Zero Sugarto give it an even better unique blend of flavors than what gave Coke Zero its real Coca-Cola taste.

Even though the whole release seemsmore like a marketing move than an actual new product release, people were not too pleased with the news. (Ahem, they were livid.) We cant claim to know the motivation behind the new release, but one things for sure: Coca-Cola is getting in on the anti-sugar train right on time.

This upset got us thinking: what is the actual difference between Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Coke Zero Sugar? If you look at the ingredients between the three, they arent actually all that different. And, in fact, Coke Zero and Coke Zero Sugar have exactly the same ingredient list.

Heres the list of ingredients in Diet Coke:

Carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, natural flavors, citric acid, caffeine.

Heres the list of ingredients inCoke Zero:

Carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, aspartame, potassium benzoate, natural flavors, potassium citrate, acesulfame potassium, caffeine.

And heres the list of ingredients in Coke Zero Sugar:

Carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, aspartame, potassium benzoate, natural flavors, potassium citrate, acesulfame potassium, caffeine,

Diet Coke is missing two ingredients that the other two sugar-free options have: potassium citrate and acesulfame potassium. Acesulfame potassium is a calorie-free sugar substitute and potassium citrate is a common additive in beverages.

How do these ingredients differentiate them nutritionally? Not at all, actually.

But what about the difference in flavor between the drinks?

Many diet soda drinkers swear their allegiance to either Diet Coke or Coke Zero (now Coke Zero Sugar), but in a previous taste test that HuffPost did between Diet Coke and Coke Zeroback in 2012, only 54 percent of tasters were able to tell the difference between Diet Coke and Coke Zero.

Now, Coke Zero Sugar claims to taste just like Coke Zero, but the verdict is still out:

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Here's The Difference Between Diet Coke, Coke Zero And Coke Zero Sugar - HuffPost

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WFAA 2:57 PM. CDT July 31, 2017

istock(Photo: Leoshoot)

8 Mental Hurdles Keeping You from Losing Weight

By Melody Foster

Its easy to identify the tangible reasons youre not losing weight. Eating too much (or too little), eating the wrong kinds of foods, stress eating, not getting enough exercise (or exercising too much but not getting enough nutrition) can cause you to gain weight or make it difficult to lose weight.

Whats harder to put your finger on are the psychological factors that come into play and the ways in which your mental state and emotions may be holding you back from reaching your goal. If you are overweight and are ready to lose weight, its time to address these psychological hurdles preventing you from shedding those unwanted pounds.

Youve Developed Bad Habits It may be the little things you do day in and day out the daily habits you do without thinking, such as not getting enough sleep, drinking too much coffee, not drinking enough water, grabbing a handful of candy on your way past your co-workers desk, hitting up the drive-thru on your way home, your evening cocktail that are keeping you from losing weight. Not only do you need to learn to recognize these habits, but understand the underlying cause that may be the driving force for these habits. Evaluate your emotions and circumstances surrounding these habits. Address those context clues to help you break the cycle of bad habits and replace them with new, healthier habits, such as exercising when youre stressed, rather than reaching for another glass of wine.

You Worry About What Others Think If youre more worried about being accepted and not offending those around you, then you may struggle to make the choices that are right for you and your health goals. Its time to learn you dont have to say yes to every invitation to Happy Hour or to eat the cookies your coworker brought to work today. When you do find yourself in social situations, have a plan of attack. Drink water, situate yourself as far from the food as you can, and focus on conversations with those around you rather than the buffet of food thats in front of you. Over time, youll learn that most people dont notice and youre not as strange as you think.

Youre Afraid of Fat Say it with me, all fat is not bad. Weve been so conditioned to assume all fat is bad, but there is such a thing as healthy fats, and consuming a high fat, low carb diet can be healthy. Eating the right amounts of healthy fats such as fatty fish like salmon, hummus, avocado, Greek yogurt, grass-fed beef, coconut oil and nut butters can help improve your blood cholesterol levels and lower your risk of developing heart disease. You may even find that when you watch your carbs and eat the right amounts of fat, youll have more energy and lose weight more quickly.

Youre an Emotional Eater Were all guilty of eating for comfort from time to time. Its ingrained in our culture. We both celebrate and mourn with food. When youre stressed or upset, eating food can make you feel better, but developing a habit of emotional eating will only lead you down the road to obesity. If youre struggling with emotional eating, talk to your doctor or seek help from a psychologist who may be able to help you address the underlying issues of your comfort eating.

Youre Too Embarrassed to Go to the Gym First of all, its important to remember that everyone at the gym is there because they are trying to lose weight, build muscle or simply stay healthy. And many of them are just as self-conscious as you. Dont be so embarrassed by what you see in the mirror that you hold yourself back from changing your reflection. Schedule an appointment with a personal trainer who can help you develop a plan that suits your body type, abilities and needs. Working with a trainer can also help give you the confidence you need to make exercising a habit. If you cant overcome your fear of the gym, dedicate yourself to working out at home, going on regular hikes or bike rides. Theres plenty you can do outside the gym to get your workout in.

Youve Given Up As long as you have breath in your lungs, its never too late to get healthy. Hitting a weight loss plateau is completely normal, and its even normal for a stall to last months on end. When you have a lot to lose, the weight may fall off quickly at first, but those last 10 or 20 pounds could take months. Although this is discouraging, do not give up. Stay focused on the milestones youve accomplished. Keep working at improving your fitness level and take measurements, as it isnt uncommon to lose inches while the number on the scale stays the same. Stay committed and you will reach your goal.

You Have an All-or-Nothing Mindset Having one bad day doesnt mean youve fallen off the bandwagon altogether. Dont bail because you cant afford what you deem to be the healthiest food. Simply make better choices with what you have in front of you, and youll reap the benefits. Its possible to be less than perfect and still lose weight.

You Play the Comparison Game Its instinct to constantly compare ourselves to others, but that doesnt mean its healthy. Basing your choices on other peoples experiences will keep you running from one diet or fitness plan to the next. Stop worrying about what your friend is doing and instead focus on what works (or doesnt work) for you.

If you need help finding a weight loss solution that works for you, contact Nicholson Clinic today.

About the Author

Melody Foster is a Dallas-based freelance writer and contributing author to the Nicholson Clinic blog. Melody researches and creates content for clients in industries ranging from health care, fitness and nutrition to interior decorating, legal and social good.

2017 WFAA-TV

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The Three Requirements before Starting Weight Loss Programn (healthcentral)

JAKARTA, NETRALNEWS.COM - Many people think that when they want to lose weight quickly, they must do lot of physical activity. Whereas according to dr. Rika Haryono, SpKO, sports medicine specialist, lose weight quickly will be very dangerous for the body.

So the recommended weight loss is gradually and still maintaining the rules of health. Excessive weight loss, eg with excessive exercise can cause muscle injury.

While an unbalanced diet causes indigestion, to take slimming drugs that can cause interference in the body.

There are at least three conditions a person needs to meet to lose weight. The first condition is indeed a condition of weight gain and obesity. The second requirement is to do diet and exercise properly and correctly.

While the third condition is to commit and responsibility to yourself so that goal can be achieved.

Then, the speed of weight loss was no normal physiology. To get rid of fats that already stick in the body requires a time of burning metabolism, which requires physical activity.

If weight loss is too fast, it is feared not fat loss, but water or other components in the body such as glycogen or muscle reserves.

In addition, weight loss too quickly will make the body surprised. As a result metabolism becomes slower and weight loss becomes bad. If the weight loss program is done properly then it will not cause side effects that endanger the body.

But if done wrongly, such as not consuming enough energy and other nutrients it can cause the body to experience hypoglycemic or blood sugar levels fall below normal. This is what makes the body weak, shaking, even fainted.

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The Three Requirements before Starting Weight Loss Program - Netralnews

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Carbohydrates are the macronutrient that fuels your body. In fact, they represent over 50 percent of Americas daily calories. Carbs are a complicated mixture of sugars, nutrients, fiber and calories. But all carbs are not created equally. Too much pasta, cookies and starchy carbs can lead you down the road to stress, weight gain and overall poor health. So, when I found myself packing on the pounds, depressed and retaining water due to a sluggish thyroid, I decided to go cold turkey literally.

For some, cutting out carbs may seem drastic. For me, I needed to see positive changes, fast. When it comes to dieting, Im more of a fast and furious type of gal. After a drastic reduction in carbs I noticed some extreme changes in my body and health. Some were awesome and motivated me to push on. Others, not so awesome, which is why I only chose to follow this diet for one month.

The carbs I chose to cut from my diet included sugar (and anything that contains sugar), potatoes and all starchy vegetables, rice and pasta, wheat breads, crackers and cookies, legumes, fruit, milk and of course all junk food. Although, I cut out the starchy and sugary carbs from my diet, I still included lots of healthy greens like broccoli, kale and spinach. I also indulged in homemade ground almond or coconut flour biscuits. However, I also eliminated any extra salt from my diet, and even avoided salty foods like bacon and processed meat. Heres what happened.

For someone like myself who struggles to lose a pound due to hypothyroidism, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself losing weight, quickly. In fact, in the first week, I lost eight pounds! I know what youre thinking water weight. Lets face it, we are much more diet-savvy these days. So, its understandable that critics of low-carb diets would suggest the weight loss is attributed to water weight. And they would be right, at first anyway. But, thats not such a bad thing. Retained water can add 10, 20 or more pounds to a persons body, depending on how large the person is.

The initial weight loss is exciting and a definite motivator, but it eventually slows to one, two or three pounds per week. By reducing calorie-dense carbs, you reduce the calories you consume daily, which forces your body to burn fat stored around your midsection. After one month, I lost 19 pounds in total!

After long days in front of the computer, it was common for me to look down and see that my feet were somewhat swollen. The Mayo Clinic suggests that mild cases of edema or water weight may be the result of sitting or staying in one position for too long, eating too much salty food and even premenstrual symptoms. For me, it was all the above. I propped my tootsies up and tried various herbs, but nothing seemed to relieve the swelling. However, when I cut carbs from my diet, I noticed that my feet no longer swelled up.

Theres good reason for that. Diets high in carbs and sodium force the body to store water between cells. The average person retains about 1.5 pounds of water weight just from carbs on a regular basis. When you overdo the carbs, your body naturally increases water. But, your body doesnt really need this extra water. So, when you cut out carbs, your body eliminates the excess water, resulting in weight loss.

When you cut carbs to the bare minimum, your body enters a state called ketosis, where your start burning fat for fuel instead of the usual carbs. Funny thing about ketosis, it turns your breath a bit funky. And, since it comes from within, no amount of brushing or flossing can change that.

No surprise here, sugar is highly addictive and extremely difficult to quit. Ive never smoked, but I imagine that it may be as difficult as quitting cigarettes. In fact, it may be worse. And boy did I struggle through cravings. One study from France shows that sugar addiction may induce reward and craving that are comparable in magnitude to those induced by addictive drugs. In retrospect, cutting carbs and increasing good fat is probably one of the healthiest and easiest ways to quit sugar. After one month, sugar had lost its appeal. I now prefer natural sweeteners and rarely choose processed sugar.

Few carbs and too much protein left me bloated and constipated. I was no longer getting the fiber I was used to and that meant I was no longer regular. Its probably the worst thing I experienced when cutting carbs. However, a little senna tea went a long way for relieving my symptoms.

When youve been living off carbs as a primary fuel source, its no wonder that your body needs to adjust to a low-carb diet. If it wasnt for my morning coffee, you probably would have found me snoring, face-down on my keyboard. When carbs are limited, the body begins to feel weak and energy becomes depleted. As your body adjusts to the lack of carbs, it soon switches from burning carbohydrates for fuel to burning fat. This requires extra energy, which not only left me feeling lethargic but also a little brain dead.

My brain needed carbs to stimulate the production of the mood-regulating hormone serotonin. When I removed carbs from my diet I felt irritable. And Im clearly not alone on this one. An Australian study published in JAMA evaluated overweight adults. They found that those who followed a strict low-carb diet for one year reported more crankiness compared to those who followed a higher-carb, low-fat diet, even though both groups lost similar amounts of weight.

Theres something to be said for taking control of your diet, rather than allowing your diet to control you. The simple (or not so simple) act of eliminating carbs gave me back a sense of control that my diet was sorely missing. Yes, there were cons to eliminating carbs from my diet, but for what its worth, it also gave me a sense of empowerment.

Katherine Marko

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I Cut Carbs Out Of My Diet For 30 Days, Here's What Happened - The Alternative Daily (blog)

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I'd always believed that things like coconut oil and olive oil were part of a healthy diet. I ate them regularly with just about every meal I cooked with olive oil, spread coconut oil on my toast, and drizzled avocado oil on my hummus. A few months ago, though, I learned that oil is technically not part of a whole-foods, plant-based diet. I was shocked to learn that there was virtually no nutritional value to the oils that we're so used to eating on a daily basis.

Julieanna Hever, MS, RD, CPT, a plant-based dietician and health and fitness expert, confirmed that this is true. "Oils are a processed food," Hever told POPSUGAR. "Basically, the fat is stripped out of the intact food (be it an olive, coconut, or avocado), leaving behind the fiber and many other nutrients."

Hever also reminded us that oil "contains 120 calories per tablespoon, almost 2,000 calories per cup!" But even worse than that, there isn't any satiating fiber in oil, so eating oil regularly is an easy way to consume way more calories than your body needs and that can quickly lead to weight gain.

This was hard for me to believe at first, but I decided to go cold turkey and cut out all oil from my diet. It was strange at the beginning. I thought I wouldn't be able to roast vegetables or even saut an onion. You'd be surprised, though, to find that lots of foods release their own natural water or oil, so you don't even need something like olive oil to cook most things. For example, onion naturally contains oil that's responsible for its smell and taste, and you can see it being slightly released when you saut it in a pan with nothing else. Besides, if I felt like some foods were sticking too much to the pan while I was cooking, I would simply add a little bit of water.

After two months of eating no oil at home and very little oil while eating out, I noticed my belly was a bit flatter than it was before. It was a small change, but it was a gradual one that became more noticeable over time.

That being said, healthy fats are an important part of our diet, and Hever says we shouldn't ignore them completely. "The best food sources of healthy, disease-fighting fats are nuts and seeds," she said. "We only need about one to two ounces a day to meet our essential fatty acid requirements." You can also opt in for some avocado in your dish rather than cooking with oil.

I upped my intake of avocado after I gave up oil, while also logging in all my food to the macros app on my phone to make sure I was getting enough healthy fats. Between avocado, almonds, and chia and flaxseeds, I was getting more than enough of what I needed.

"Because of their high caloric density, I recommend minimizing intake of oils," Hever said. It could save you a lot of empty calories that you really don't need.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts

Continued here:
I Cut This Out of My Diet to Lose Weight, and No, It's Not Carbs - POPSUGAR

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In 2014, Indian sprinter Dutee Chand was barred from competing in the Commonwealth Games, an international sporting tournament between former territories of the British Empire. Chand hadnt dopeda rampant problem in the sportor consumed any illicit substances.

But officials deemed that Chand, who was not favored to win the competition, had a seemingly unfair advantage: her body naturally produced a lot of testosterone.

At least, thats according to a regulation issued by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). Suspended in 2015 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the regulation was aimed at females whose bodies produce unusually high levels of androgens, a group of hormones that includes testosterone. Concerned in part that this condition, called hyperandrogenism, gave female athletes an unfair competitive advantage, the IAAF ruled that if athletes were unable to prove their body was incapable of using the testosterone, women with over 10 nanomoles of testosterone per liter of blood would either have to undergo surgery or take hormone suppressants before they would be allowed to return to competition.

IAAF president Sebastian Coe announced last summer that the governing body would appeal the CAS's suspension.

Men typically have much higher testosterone levels then women, and the IAAF believes that this is part of the reason why, on average, elite men outperform elite women by about 10% in track and field events. Take, for example, Genzebe Dibaba, an Ethiopian distance runner who holds five womens world records between indoor and outdoor track and field. While Dibaba runs a blazing fast 4:13 mile, all twelve American high school boys at this years Brooks P.R. Invitational, the premiere high school meet of the summer, bettered Dibabas fastest career time. It would seem that we segregate men and women in track and field events with good reasonotherwise, one of the best female milers the world has seen in years would struggle to compete in national meets at the high school level.

The IAAF argues that to uphold the integrity of womens athletics, testosterone levels require greater scrutiny. The organization has until today to present evidence to the CAS that they hope will convince the court to reinstate the regulation.

Its expected that the IAAF will include in its package of evidence a study published earlier this month in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that links testosterone levels to athletic performance in a subset of womens track and field events. While the authors conclude that their findings suggest that female athletes with high testosterone levels have a competitive advantage in these events and imply that they support the IAAFs regulation, other scientists argue that the study is limited, lacks conclusive evidence, and that these conclusions about the researchs broader implications are unsubstantiated.

Most experts agree that the IAAFs body of evidence is unlikely to convince the CAS to end the suspension. But the bans ethical complications are manifoldand thats where opinions differ.

Just about everyone agrees that the sports governing body should regulate athletes use of unnatural substances, like steroids. But to what degree should they control what occurs naturally in peoples bodies?

Sorting people into one of two of categories isnt easy, because sex is not a neat binary of male and female, says Katrina Karkazis, an anthropologist, bioethicist, and senior researcher at Stanford Universitys Center for Biomedical Ethics whose research focuses on intersex traits. Scientists used to think people could either have an X and a Y sex chromosome, and were therefore male, or two X chromosomes, and were therefore female. But as Karkazis explains in her 2012 paper in The American Journal of Bioethics, those arent the only two options. Some people are born with two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome. Also, not everyone has the same sex chromosome pairing in every cellsome people have some cells with an XY pairing and other cells with an XX pairing.

There are also at least five other markers of sex, including hormones, internal genitalia, and external genitalia, and the way that these markerslike chromosomesexpress themselves is also not black and white. To further complicate things, a person might have one of these markers present as male, another presentas female, and a third presentas something in betweenan intersex trait.

Sports governing bodies struggled for decades with what to do with athletes who cant be sorted into one of these two categories, resulting in numerous horror stories. Jaime Schultz, a professor of kinesiology at Penn State, described in The Conversationnude parades in the 1960s in which female athletes were forced to present themselves naked to gynecologists at the 1966 European Championships and the 1967 Commonwealth Games. Later, the IAAF switched their chromosome testing to a less invasive but still ethically questionable cheek swabbing.

The IAAF and International Olympics Committee (IOC) ended systematic sex testing in the 1990s. But individual athletes have still been subject to scrutiny by the sports governing bodies, most recently Chandthe Indian sprinterand South African 800-meter runner Caster Semenya. Because of her dominant performance at the 2009 World Championships and her stereotypically masculine build, Semenya, a teenager at the time, was reportedly subjected to a two-hour examination during which doctors put her legs in stirrups and photographed her genitalia. After the championships, intensely intimate details about Semenyas body became a topic for public debate and scrutiny, Karkazis wrote in her 2012 paper.

Semenya, competing here in Berlin in 2011, won the gold medal in the 800 meters at last summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

After Chand appealed the 2014 ban, the CAS reinstated her and suspended the hyperandrogenism regulation. The CAS wrote in its decision that the Hyperandrogenism Regulations are based on an implicit assumption that hyperandrogenic females enjoy a significant performance advantage over their non-hyperandrogenic peers, which outranks the influence of any other single genetic or biological factor. It gave the IAAF two years to gather evidence supporting this assumption.

Joanna Harper, a medical physicist and the only transgender person ever to be an advisor to the IOC on matters of gender and sport, says that the IAAF is likely to include a study by Stphane Bermon, a physician and exercise physiologist, thats receiving a lot of public attention.

The study divided athletes in each track and field event at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships into three groups based on their fT levels (fT stands functional testosterone, or testosterone that the body can use). The authors then tested for a statistically significant difference between the average times of athletes in the upper third of fT levels and those in the lower third. It concluded that female athletes with high fT levels have a significant competitive advantage over those with low fT in five track and field events, and that this advantage should be considered by those writing legislation.

While its published in the peer-reviewed and highly respected BJSM, the study has raised a few eyebrows. Schultz is skeptical of the researchs merit because of the authors ties to the IAAF. Bermon, the lead author, is a member of the IAAFs Medical and Antidoping Commission, and co-author Pierre-Yves Garnier is the Director of the IAAFs Health and Science Department. Schultz says that the federation has been clear that it intends to return to court with proof that testosterone is linked to improved athletic performance, so the IAAF has a vested interest in producing results that favor the regulation. Its very clear that the article is written with a purpose of[defending] that particular regulation, Karkazis echoes. They have a dog in this fight. Neither author was available for comment.

Beyond the conflict of interest, Garniers reputation has recently taken a hitaccording to Reuters, the IAAF suspended Garnier last summer for allegedly receiving cash payments in a cover-up of Russian doping cases.

Three statisticians who did not contribute to the researchDorit Hammerling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Joe Guinness of North Carolina State University, and Richard Smith of the University of North Carolinasay that the paper does have some statistical merits. They wrote in a group email with NOVA Next that the paper successfully demonstrates a measurable difference in performance between female athletes with high testosterone and those with low testosterone in the five relevant events.

But these findings do come with a few caveats. First, the authors ran tests on 43 events (21 womens and 22 mens events), so its possible that a few of the five statistically significant results are due to random error. Second, the authors didnt account for the fact that almost a fifth of the female athletes competed in both World Championships, so a significant number of subjects are counted twice. The authors also only had access to one time and one fT level for each athlete, so they could only analyze a narrow sliver of each athletes career. Smith thought a different type of analysis would have been better given the limited amount of available data, but he said that would require a much higher level of statistical expertise than is show in the rest of the paper. Smith said he would have liked to see the analysis performed excluding known dopers, whose artificially boosted T levels could have skewed the results.

While the authors are justified in arguing that they found five significant results, some of their other claims are harder to defend. Smith points out that theres a difference between a statistically significant result and a practically significant result. Two runners can have different times without one having a significant competitive advantage over the other. And while most in the track and field community would consider the two-second difference found between low-T 800 meter runners and high-T 800 meter runners to be significant, thats only the authors best guess for the time differenceit could be a difference as small as a fraction of a second, or as large as four or five seconds. As Smith says, the broader implications are unclear.

This distinction is pivotal for the IAAF. Karkazis says the CAS didnt say you needed a statistically significant finding, but a finding of a performance difference of a particular magnitude, a magnitude that the study did not find. The three statisticians agree that the paper doesnt [settle] the issues regarding athletes such as Chand or Semenya whose eligibility to participate in female events has been challenged.

Finally, while the authors make clear in one part of the paper that what theyve found is merely a correlation and that they cant conclude that the higher fT levels are causing the better performances, their implication that this evidence is in support of the regulation makes it sound like they actually have found causation. Karkazis says that these are conclusions that support the regulation but which the science itself in the study doesnt support.

Harper acknowledges the limitations of the study but argues that youd see even a more robust difference between the low T and the high T athletes if the authors had more data to work with. Much of the performance difference between men and women can be prescribed to testosterone differences, she says.

But Karkazis begs to differ. There are plenty of studies that show a much more complicated and equivocal relationship than what policy makers would like to claim, she says.

Schultz agrees, saying that so many different variablesinternal and externalhave to align for top performance. But Harper argues that its misleading to compare testosterone advantages to other natural advantages, saying the advantages of testosterone far outstrip those of other biological components. She references as evidence studies conducted in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s showing that increases in exogenous testosterone were spectacularly effective at improving performances in elite female athletes.

The IAAF claims that the hyperandrogenism regulation protects the integrity of female athletics and promotes fair sport. But Karkazis says that by focusing on testosterone, a singular biological component, the IAAF overlooks not just other biological factors, but also inevitable social and economic inequalities in athletics. Athletes in richer countries, for example, have access to better training facilities, coaches, and equipment, and can afford to dedicate more time to training. Professional athletics will always be littered with people who have incredible genetic gifts and socioeconomic benefits. The existence of professional sports itself may even dependon that un-level playing field.

Regardless of where experts align themselves in the debate over testosterone, most seem to agree that the IAAFs package of evidence will not be enough to convince the CAS to reinstate the hyperandrogenism regulation. Ross Tucker, an exercise physiologist and strong advocate for the regulation, wrote on his blog The Science of Sport following the publication of the new Bermon study that the IAAF evidence does not go far enough, either in terms of the depth or the range.

To reduce an athletes excellence to her androgen serum level or to disqualify an athlete because of her biology doesnt strike me as appropriate, says Schultz. Karkazis, too, argues that women shouldnt be forced to undergo medical treatment just so they can continue to compete. The athletes that were talking about are no different than any of the other women who are born and lived as women for their entire lives. And I just cannot for the life of me see a reason to treat those women differently.

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Should Testosterone Be Regulated in Female Athletes? - NOVA Next

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On his radio program last week, right-wing commentator, conspiracy theorist and Donald Trumpobsessed sycophant Wayne Allyn Root heaped praise on new White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci for the vulgar tirade he recently unleashed against several of his own White House colleagues.

Root, who just last month repeatedly voiced his disgust that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had cursed during a speech, couldnt stop praising Scaramuccis vulgarity or his amazing manliness.

It looks like were getting the trannies out of the military and were getting the real men in the White House, Root crowed as he bragged that he, like Scaramucci, grew up in New York and therefore knows how to fight and has no problem knocking peoples teeth out.

Real men with testosterone, thats what needs to run America, he said. Hes my kind of guy, hes a real man with testosterone We finally got people in office with personality instead of a bunch of country club losers and the whole world is freaking out that Trump is going to block transgenders from being in the military and that youve got guys like Trump and Scaramucci with our locker room conversation. You know what? This is the real world! Wake up. This is how you become successful. Ive made millions of dollars in the business world and everyone Ive dealt with talks like this.

In private, this is how guys talk, Root continued, and unfortunately, we have a society that doesnt want men to be men anymore. You want men to be women! Im sorry, men arent supposed to be women, men arent supposed to be gay, men arent supposed to be transgender, men are men! And you gotta let us be. We like football, we like wrestling, we like MMA, we like boxing, we like beautiful women in bikinis and we say it out loud and if you dont like it, we dont really give a damn. Thats what guys are like and Anthony Scaramucci and Donald Trump and Wayne Root are men and you know what? Tough.

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WFAA 2:58 PM. CDT July 31, 2017

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Strategies to Avoid Weight Regain

By Melody Foster

When youve worked hard to lose weight, stepping on the scale to see youve gained back some weight can be discouraging. While some fluctuation (give or take a few pounds) can be expected, nobody wants to lose weight, only to find it again in a few years.

If you want to maintain your weight loss long-term, here are some strategies to help you avoid rebound gains down the road.

Get support for long-term success. Setting up a support network is key to your success. Family and friends can help encourage you and hold you accountable as you strive to make healthy choices months and years after surgery. A certified professional fitness expert and a nutritionist can also be valuable members to have on your support team.

Keep your doctor in the loop. Whether youve lost 10lbs or 100lbs, keep your primary care physician apprised of your weight loss goals. Your doctor will be able to monitor your weight, answer questions and refer you to the appropriate professionals should you need to address any issues pertaining to food, weight loss or weight gain, such as emotional eating.

Learn to think differently about food. The relationship with food is often a complicated one. When food dependencies or abuse are the root cause of weight gain, getting help to address the root problem is a must, as is learning to develop healthier eating habits overall. Addressing issues may take time, but once good habits are developed they can prove as difficult to break as bad ones and can help prevent weight regain.

Create new habits. Develop new eating habits early on in your weight loss process, including focusing on nutrient-dense food and lean protein. Eating low-calorie, filling foods like vegetables can help you avoid weight gain but keep satisfied when your appetite returns.

Get active. Take advantage of your new, slimmer physique and greater energy levels and develop strong exercise habits. You should be physically active most days of the week (at least five days a week). The American Heart Association recommends adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise weekly. Regular exercise can make a big difference in preventing weight gain.

Most importantly, remember that we all face setbacks. Dont let a little slipup throw you off course. If you have a bad day, week or month, get up, dust yourself off, and get back on track.

About the Author

Melody Foster is a Dallas-based freelance writer and contributing author to the Nicholson Clinic blog. Melody researches and creates content for clients in industries ranging from health care, fitness and nutrition to interior decorating, legal and social good.

2017 WFAA-TV

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Getting healthy and in shape is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.

Not only will you look good, but your whole body will be healthier and happier as well.

Although there's conflicting advice about how to get into shape, here are five recommendations from doctors, scientists and medical professionals that can get you on track to being in the best shape of your life.

Exercise is great for you, and once you find an activity you like, your overall health and fitness will benefit.

Exercise strengthens the entire human machine the heart, the brain, the blood vessels, the bones, the muscles. The most important thing you can do for your long-term health is lead an active life, according to Dr. Timothy Church, director of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

You may not believe it, but exercising shouldnt feel like a chore. If you like the exercise you do, youll end up getting into better shape.

With all of the choices and options out there, you can find one that fits your schedule, budget and ability to commit, as long as you stay open-minded.

If you want to tone your muscles, yoga has been popular for thousands of years because of its physical and mental benefits.

Cycling, hiking, swimming and sports can all be done outside, and that is great if you love sunshine and the fresh air motivates you to move.

In general, pay attention to what exercise makes you feel great and then commit to increasing the amount of time and the intensity level you do it.

You may have heard the quote that weight loss is 80 percent about diet and 20 percent exercise.

This statement, while a generalization, is based on scientific findings. Medical professionals and researchers have used systematic analysis of subjects in weight-loss programs to determine that exercise alone is not enough to achieve significant weight loss.

A long-standing consistent observation is that regular exercise by itself is prescribed in small to moderate amounts resulting in modest weight loss or in some cases weight gain, according to a 2013 study.

Scientists have observed that peoples bodies become more efficient at doing specific exercises over time and require less calories for the same activities.

At the same time, exercising stimulates your bodys appetite, so many people who exercise often may burn calories, but they eat more calories and counteract the overall fat burning.

This doesnt mean that you shouldnt exercise; it means that you should focus a lot of your energy making sure you are fueling your body with healthy meals at specific times.

The foods you eat are the building blocks of your body, so it's no wonder that the wholesomeness of your food and eating schedule are critical for getting into shape and looking great.

Of course, its not always easy to identify healthy foods or know exactly what you should be eating, but some simple rules can help you.

Many nutritionist support the general rule to get as much of your nutrition as possible from totally unprocessed foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs and low-fat protein like chicken. Eating processed foods, like doughnuts, packaged chips or frozen dinners, should be done very seldom.

In addition to the types of foods you choose, learning to be mindful of your hunger level and controlling it with strategic eating can prevent your self-control from failing because you're famished.

When youre looking to get into shape, monitor your hunger level and eat frequent healthy snacks. This will keep you on the right track and stop cupcakes or cookies from being irresistible.

Everyone has those spots that never seem to shrink, no matter how great our diets and exercise regimens are.

In fact, as people age, scientists have proven that hormones encourage weight gain in specific parts of individuals' bodies. It's difficult to reverse the process, even with a healthy lifestyle.

After you've remodeled your diet and exercise routine, for help with those last trouble spots, consult the professionals at Alpine Plastic Surgery.

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