Gerze is a place where the bluest of the Black Sea meets the endless green. There is a reason why Sinop, where the slow city of Gerze is located, has been chosen as the happiest city in Turkey it is almost impossible to not be happy after witnessing the gifts Mother Nature has bestowed upon us. The peace that Gerze offers is something so precious for the modern man that people from around the world are willing to give up their fortunes for a mere visit.

The moment you step inside this lovely fishing town, you are welcomed by the fragrance of different flowers that adorn the gardens of local houses. Despite being close to Turkey's largest coal mines and industrial cities, Gerze is blessed with the cleanest air you can breathe. As you walk down the coast, breathing fresh air in the winter breeze, do not be surprised if you are invited to dine with one of the warm-hearted locals. This is what makes Gerze a unique place the locals welcome you not just as tourists but as brothers and sisters, trying everything in their power to make you feel at home.

What to do in Gerze?

If you want to visit Gerze, make sure you are around the town on a Friday when produce markets are setup. At the lovely open-air market, you can find organic foods that are grown by local farmers inspired by the slow food movement. You can also taste some of the finest examples of the local delicacies at the market where the locals prepare and cook onsite.

Gerze's craftsmanship is also world-renowned. You can find different workshops specialized in wooden toys, model ship making or tile, at every corner of the town. You can also visit the workshops for an in-depth understanding of the crafts.

Although this little fishing town has made a name for itself through its tranquility, there are many opportunities for sports lovers to pump up their adrenalin. Thanks to its natural wonders and location right on the coast of the Black Sea, Gerze is suitable for many alternative sports.

The village of Hacselli and Yelken Hill are favorites with paragliders. Those who want to experience what it is like to float in the sky prefer to spread their wings at these locations.

Nature lovers can also find some hidden gems around the town. Located 15 kilometers from downtown Gerze, the Saklky Waterfall is paradise on earth with its creek bed hidden in the slope of the Asar Hill. It is home to hundreds of plant species and butterflies so you can also bring out your inner botanist.

What is the slow city movement?

Cittaslow, which means "Slow City," is an international municipal association movement founded in 1999 in Italy. It aims to improve the quality of urban life as well as the overall well-being of urban-dwellers through cultural preservation and healthy lifestyle initiatives. "Slow cities" are known for their beautiful natural surroundings, organic foods and tranquil daily life.

To qualify for a Cittaslow certificate, each city must act per the philosophy of the movement, have a population of under 50,000, and complete an application file to be submitted to the Union. The Cittaslow movement, which became widespread among Italian cities during its early years, now has 262 members in 30 countries.

Link:

Slow cities of Turkey: Gerze - Daily Sabah

The interior of Carter & Co. Richard Carter's store was one of a handful of successful news businesses in 2019.

Everything at St. Helenas Carter & Co. is artisanal, handmade, environmentally sensitive and unique.

Welcome to the anti-Costco.

People are tired of meaningless, fake stuff from China things without stories, said Pope Valley-based artist, potter, and sculptor Richard Carter. People want a story and they want to meet makers.

Since opening in May, Carter & Co. has been one of downtown St. Helenas biggest success stories. It offers everything from Joy Braces table linens to Susan Kims deerskin jackets to Mike Thompsons olive oil to Carters own dinnerware.

An antique stove at Carter & Co.

Carter leases the space at 1231 Main St. from Richard Larson of Angwin, who used to operate St. Helena Antiques. Carter said Larson understood his idea for the space and supported him from the start.

Another potential tenant wanted to open a restaurant with a million-dollar kitchen, Larson said. I said no way.

Larson was relieved when Carter came along pledging to preserve the historic building.

A dinnerware display at Carter & Co.

I knew his style and his taste, but I didnt know hed do such a fantastic job, Larson said. Im so happy and so proud of him.

The story of the Carter & Co. store began with the success of the 2017 St. Helena Winter Market, where local artisans offered their wares at the Native Sons Hall.

The Winter Market, now entering its third year, started because I got tired of myself and other people in St. Helena complaining about the lack of community, complaining about the shops, Carter said. Were the ones who have to make the change.

A sculpture at Carter & Co.

Through pop-ups and his ranch/studio in Pope Valley, Carter had developed a network of interesting people like potter Chelsea Radcliffe, a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Carters old alma mater, who used to work at the Model Bakery. (Carter also thanked Model Bakery owners Karen and John Mitchell for being beyond generous with their support.)

Carter compared his network of makers to the hippie movement of the 1960s, when young people sought to escape a homogenized world of processed TV dinners, synthetic materials and artificial colors in favor of organic food, handmade arts and crafts and a more meaningful way of living.

The idea of bringing that network together under the same roof originated when Carter and a friend toured a vacant commercial space down the street. Carter said he was disappointed that a fabulous old historical building had been converted into something that felt like a generic mall space.

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Richard Carter's dinnerware, on display at Carter & Co.

After leaving, Carter noticed that St. Helena Antiques, owned by his old friend Richard Larson, was advertising a retirement sale.

I looked into his window, and I just saw this store, Carter said, referring to Carter & Co. I had this feeling that I had to save the interior of this historic building. I have a thing about history. Its foolish to erase it because it can never return.

As Carter agreed to lease Larsens building, his network of artisans first Radcliffe and then others came on board. Some of them, like Toby Hanson and Sue Volkel, had worked at Doug Lipton and Cindy Daniels SHED Modern Grange in Healdsburg, which closed at the end of 2018.

Syd Kato and Lucas Moderacki of Houtskool Dumplings, who also worked with SHED, serve dumplings at Carter & Co. every Friday and Saturday, attracting long lines.

Our dumplings are influenced by Japanese Gyoza, but we took them in a modern direction, Kato said. We have so many farmers around us that we work with, so we ended up making a farm-fresh modern dumpling versus traditional.

Stoneware wine tumblers by Carter & Co.

Many of the makers featured at Carter & Co. are zero-waste, and they all share an ethos of environmental sustainability. Some of their work has a clear social message, like Carters own wood-fired clay artwork showing the face of the late transgender teen Leelah Alcorn superimposed over her own suicide note, which went viral after her death and drew attention to transphobia.

Carter credits much of the stores success to social media, especially Instagram. The store and each of its artisans have active social media accounts that drum up interest and draw people to the store.

Social media is crucial for todays makers, Carter said.

Part of the key to the success of the Winter Market is that there are 26 sellers, all of whom have Instagram, all of whom have their own followers, some of whom are very famous and super-connected, Carter said. All that advertising is essentially free.

Carter & Co. also embraces the pop-up aesthetic of temporary mini-stores that feed on social media buzz and allow entrepreneurs to be more creative, without the long-term obligations of a permanent store.

Richard Carter, second from left, with ceramicist Chelsea Radcliffe, landlord Richard Larson and designer Susan Kim.

Thats a perfect model for people like Marin-based designer Susan Kim, who sells her deerskin jackets, produced in Texas, exclusively at Carter & Co. and various pop-ups.

The deer are hunted and eaten for meat, said Kim. She described herself as a pescatarian, pro-gun control person, but noted that venison is a low-fat protein, and Im all about feeding the people.

I met Richard as one of the vendors at the first St. Helena Winter Market and I thought, Im gonna stick really close to him because thats a man that I can learn from, Kim said. So Im still stuck next to him.

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!

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Artisans at St. Helenas Carter & Co. produce merchandise with meaning - Napa Valley Register

environment

Auckland Council just announced kerbside food waste collections from 2021, taking up to 100,000 tonnes of scraps out of landfill. But wheres that rotting waste mountain going to go? Business editor Nikki Mandow tracked down the guy with the plan and asked him. Spoiler alert: Its not compost, and its quite cool. Or hot. Warmish maybe.

It sounds corny, but Andrew Fisher is a man on a mission. Several missions. As a former NZ Army special air services officer, he has done stints in Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor.

And the week I meet him at his far-from-swish office/factory in the Auckland industrial suburb of Wiri, hes off to give as much of his in-demand O blood group blood as he can, following pressure on supplies after the volcanic eruption at Whakaari-White Island.

But Fishers main job these days is trying to tackle the problem of food waste. And hopefully make money out of it.

For the last 12 years his company, EcoStock Supplies, has taken up to 35,000 tonnes of waste food a year from supermarkets and manufacturers - bread, chips, vegetable scraps, breakfast cereals, pasta etc - and turned it into animal feed.

But theres a whole lot you cant put into animal feed. Meat, for example, or pizza boxes with that scraping of Hawaiian in the bottom.

So from next year, EcoStock will be heading into a whole new league - establishing in New Zealand a process which could in the end turn the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food waste produced each year in this country into an alternative for natural gas.

Fisher is the driving force behind Ecogas, a joint venture company which has just started building a $10 million-plus anaerobic digestion plant in Reporoa, between Rotorua and Taupo. The other partner is renewable electricity and gas company Pioneer Energy.

Imagine an enormous black compost bin with a dome and youre on the right track. You put the food in, let the micro-organisms chomp on it for a while, and you get methane gas, CO2 and fertiliser.

The main difference between composting and the anaerobic digestion process is, as the name suggests, the presence or absence of oxygen.

Composting is aerobic = with air; anaerobic is the opposite. With the anaerobic digester, the biogas produced from the closed system rises into the dome and gets captured, piped out and used.

How it works

You have a big tank and you are continuously feeding it with what looks like a thick spirulina thats made out of food waste. And then bugs much like the ones in human stomachs start converting it to energy, Fisher says.

At set mealtimes, maybe up to 12 a day, you take the fertiliser from the bottom - it looks like weak tea - and you add the same weight of waste food. We cultivate our own bugs, like yogurt.

Each lot of food waste takes 30-70 days to get through.

Once completed, hopefully in 2020,Fishers Ecogas anaerobic digester will collect around 20,000 tonnes of organic food waste from manufacturers in the Rotorua/Taupo area (dairy factories, commercial bakeries, cool stores, milk sheds, fruit graders and the like), break it down using the natural micro-organisms in the food at 37-41 degrees, then collect the methane and CO2 and turn it into biogas, which can be used as an alternative for natural gas.

(Just in case you are as clueless as I am, methane is the main ingredient in natural gas).

The really cunning part is that the Reporoa anaerobic digester is being built right next to Turners & Growers massive greenhouses, and will send its biogas straight across.

T&G will use the gas to provide heat for the greenhouses at night and CO2 for the tomatoes, peppers and the like during the day.

Which is apparently just what vegetables like best.

The biogas will replace the natural gas which T&G and many food producers and industry use at the moment.

Fisher hopes Reporoa will be the model for a swathe of anaerobic digesters to be built around the country to deal with food and other organic waste.

Including Aucklands food waste.

As Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said when he announced $7 millionof Provincial Growth Fund loans for the Ecogas project:

Every year 327,000 tonnes of food waste goes to landfills in New Zealand, which could be turned into biogas energy to fuel an engine for electricity or heat, as well as help us achieve lower carbon emission targets.

The Auckland plan

The Auckland collection should see bins given to half the citys households from October 2021 and the other half in 2022.

A fleet of electric trucks will pick up the food waste and bring it back to a couple of depots in Auckland. Where, initially at least, the waste will head down to the anaerobic digester in Reporoa, Fisher says.

The councils best case scenario is to collect 75,000 tonnes from Auckland households - 25,000 tonnes in the 12 months.

We have plenty of capacity at Reporoa to deal with that.

But once tonnage from the Auckland collection reaches a certain trigger point, Ecogas wants to build a couple of anaerobic digestion facilities in Auckland.

Weve identified sites, but we wont start building until weve got community buy-in in terms of the collection.

He says overseas experience suggests some communities really take food separation and collection on board. But some dont.

We hope Auckland shoots for the world best, not the worst, in terms of households using the bins. But the difference between the most engaged places overseas and the least engaged can be huge in terms of volume.

Greenhouse gas

Fisher says the Reparoaplant will sequester 3,500 tonnes of carbon in the first year, building as volumes increase.

It can help methane emissions too. In Europe and the US, one of the main drivers for the increasing number of anaerobic digestion plants is greenhouse gas reduction - capturing the methane that would otherwise have come out of decomposing food in a landfill and gone straight into the atmosphere.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates 30 percent of food is wasted globally across the supply chain, contributing 8 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

As The Washington Post writes: If food waste were a country, it would come in third after the United States and China in terms of impact on global warming."

To be fair, methane from landfills is only part of that 8 percent figure - it also includes the production, transport, packaging and refrigeration emissionswasted when you throw your now-blackened bag of salad greens away uneaten.

In the UK, supermarket Waitrose announced recently it would be using compressed natural gas (CNG) made from biomethane to fuel 58 specially adapted trucks.

The company has been using anaerobic digestion to deal with food waste from its stores since 2008.

And farmers in the US are putting anaerobic digesters on their farms, taking food and organic waste from local businesses, combining it with manure from their own cows, and using the gas to power their farm, and to sell into the grid.

Fisher reckons Ecogas should be in a good position to expand its digester business once the first ones up and running.

The company has been running a small-scale pilot for the last two years and is working with digester operators in Perth and the UK to hone the process for New Zealand conditions.

In five years time Fisher would like Ecogas to be operating five plants across the country.

Our growth will be driven by supply-side demand - big New Zealand manufacturers that need energy. Well be co-locating withlarge companies looking for long-term energy security."

Any excess gas could go into the national grid, he says.

But keeping a digester working smoothly isnt always easy.

Delicate digestion

Think: feeding a baby, Fisher says.

You start on liquids, not solids. And you have to change your feed very gradually, maybe 1-2 percent a day. You cant go from feeding it vegetables to curry overnight - it will start burping.

When your baby rolls its eyes and changes colour, you know things arent right. Same with a digester, you have to get a feel for it.

There are also plenty of external things that can go wrong, he says.

There are so many critical points and points of failure. Feedstock, collections, contaminations, public holidays.

Public holidays?

If you dont have enough food for your digester and it shuts down, it can take weeks to get it up to speed again, he says.

Thats not good.

Not your average manufacturer

Meanwhile, the waste business model takes a bit of time to get your head around too.

A normal manufacturer will buy stuff from suppliers, and turn it into products they sell to customers.

But with Fishers EcoStock business, most of the revenue is generated at the supply end - companies and councils paying him to take food waste away.

His main competitors are not other animal-feed producers, but landfill operators, who fight, sometimes ruthlessly, for the waste contracts.

I have to be the same price as landfills.

And what if we all got on board and started reducing the amount of food waste we produce?

Fisher reckons New Zealand produces up to 120 million tonnes of food and food production-related waste a year, if you combine agricultural waste (including manure) with other household, factory and restaurant/cafe waste.

That means theres some way to go before New Zealand runs out.

In the meantime, the funs just starting in terms of scaling up the waste-to-gas business.

I think Id rather run around in Afghanistan than apply for resource consents.

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Food scraps: The man turning our waste into natural gas - Newsroom

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. TheFitbit Versa health and fitness smartwatch is on sale for 127.99 on Amazon.

Image: Amazon

TL;DR: The Fitbit Versa health and fitness smartwatch is on sale for 127.99 on Amazon, saving you 36% on list price.

You may have overindulged over the festive period and you're looking to make healthier decisions in 2020. If this sounds like you, a smartwatch could be beneficial.

These clever devices can help you to reach your goals by tracking your steps, distance, and active minutes. They can even monitor your light, deep, and REM sleep stages, to give you a complete picture of your health.

It's a great time to invest in a smartwatch, because you can start your fitness journey with a big saving on Amazon. The Fitbit Versa health and fitness smartwatch is on sale for just 127.99 right now, saving you 36% on list price.

Give yourself a helping hand this year with the Fitbit Versa.

Originally posted here:
Best smartwatch and fitness tracker deal on Amazon (UK deal) - Mashable

Daytime television talk shows, popular podcasts and diet books on the New York Times best-seller list would have you believe that being healthy is complicated. You need to eat the latest superfood, buy the perfect supplements or join the hippest fitness cult. These theories are particularly popular right now, as people commit to New Years resolutions.

But after practicing family medicine for 16 years, with a focus on nutrition and obesity, Ive learned that the keys to good health are quite simple to describe. In fact, I believe the best health advice can be boiled down to 48 words.

So what are these 48 words? In no particular order:

Dont smoke (2).

Get vaccinated (4).

Avoid trans fats (7).

Replace saturated fats with unsaturated if you can (15).

Cook from whole ingredients and minimize restaurant meals (23).

Minimize ultraprocessed foods (26).

Cultivate relationships (28).

Nurture sleep (30).

Drink alcohol at most moderately (35).

Exercise as often as you can enjoy (42).

Drink only the calories you love (48).

Theres not much that needs to be said here. Smoking remains the leading worldwide cause of preventable death, including 480,000 deaths per year in the United States alone. If youre not a smoker, dont start. If you are a smoker, 1-800-QUIT-NOW will direct you to local resources to help with quitting.

The world is facing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases that had been well on their way to eradication. Take measles, which in 2018 killed 140,000 people worldwide, with most of the fatalities occurring in children under the age of 5. Or influenza, which is responsible for between 290,000 and 650,000 global deaths per year. Ensure your children receive their full vaccination schedules, including the HPV vaccine, and everyone an annual flu shot. And check with your physician that your vaccinations are up to date and that you dont require any boosting or adult vaccines, such as those that prevent shingles and pneumonia.

Nonnaturally occurring trans fats increase your risk of heart disease. Though products often claim to be free from trans fats, labeling laws allow them to make that claim if they contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. To be certain, have a peek at the ingredient list, and if you see partially hydrogenated on it, put it back on the shelf.

Though you need not get hung up on the total fat content of your diet, whenever possible, you should substitute unsaturated fats (e.g., olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and fish) for saturated fats (e.g., meat and dairy). This is a point of consensus between the staunch low-carbohydrate diet advocate David Ludwig and the whole-grain proponent Walter Willett.

Though you wouldnt know it from reading magazines, nutritional epidemiology isnt capable of providing us with specific best diets. Home cooking however, associates with broadly healthier dietary patterns, including the consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as with less risky body weights. Additionally, restaurant meals regularly contain staggeringly large amounts of calories and sodium. Youll get bonus marks if you eat the meals you cook at a table, free from distractions, with friends or family. And cooking might also save you a small annual fortune, which in turn might benefit your health. Remember, too, cooking is a life skill. Consider making sure your children learn it before they leave home.

Ultraprocessed foods may well play a large role in our global struggles with obesity, as recently demonstrated by a National Institutes of Health study led by Kevin Hall. The study found that people were eating roughly a meals worth of calories more per day when the food they ate was ultraprocessed. The smallest amount that you need to enjoy your life is your goal.

Whether its with your friends or your family, socializing appears crucial to good health. A 2010 metanalysis involving more than 300,000 people found that the mortality risks associated with loneliness were comparable to those associated with smoking and exceeded those seen with a lack of physical activity or with obesity. Theres no right way to do this, but options may include connecting with long-lost friends, getting active in an online community or with an in-person club, volunteering for a cause you feel strongly about or joining a recreational sports team.

In a systematic review of over five million people, short sleep durations were associated with mortality, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity. Dark, cool and quiet rooms, regular bedtimes, decreased caffeine and more can help to improve your sleep. You might also want to take a quick online STOPBANG quiz, and if you score 3 or higher, get an overnight sleep study to rule out the greatly underdiagnosed and easily treatable condition called obstructive sleep apnea.

Alcohol is thought to lead directly to nearly 90,000 deaths a year in the United States, by way of increasing the risk of injuries, violence, heart disease, liver disease and cancer. As with any indulgence, the goal should be the smallest amount you need to like your life. If thats more than a drink per day for women and two for men, and youre concerned that you may have a dependence on alcohol, consider seeking help from your physician or primary care pro

Though commonly only considered in the name of weight (where its often less helpful than feels fair), the overall health benefits of exercise are difficult to overstate. Exercise increases life span and treats or prevents many, if not most, chronic noncommunicable diseases. My exercise mantra is simple: Some is good, more is better, everything counts. Its also most likely better to do a small amount of exercise consistently than a large amount of exercise temporarily.

Liquid calories dont fill you up, meaning no matter the calories in your meals associated beverages, youll likely eat the same amount of food. There are no beverages with sufficiently proven health benefits to warrant going out of your way to drink them, and beverage calories in large part come from sugar and alcohol. So make sure if you do drink calories, you love the ones youre drinking, and then, again, only in the smallest quantity you need to be happily satisfied.

Though far from sexy, spending your energy and willpower on the actions described by these 48 words is likely to have a far greater impact on your health than jumping on the latest zealots restrictive bandwagon. If youre great at them, they could be the only 48 words of health advice that youll ever need.

Yoni Freedhoff is an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, the founder and medical director of Ottawas Bariatric Medical Institute, blogger at Weighty Matters and the author of The Diet Fix: Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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How to Be Healthy, in Just 48 Words - The New York Times

When John Gallagher, 51, got married in 1994, he weighed 225 pounds and felt in decent shape. For the next 20 years or so, though, his weight would go up and down. I would eat whatever I wanted; there was really nothing that was off-limits. One summer, I printed out the list of the top 10 burger places in my hometown area and tried every one of them over the summer. Of course, Id accessorize the burgers with French fries and beer. Not the best weight-loss food plan, he says. On top of that, besides playing pickup basketball once a week with the guys from church, I was not very active.

He gained weight and lost it a few times, but it never stuck because I wasnt consistent about it, he says, even though hed wake up with knee and foot pain and hated how he looked in clothes. A health scareseverely high blood pressureconvinced him he heeded to make a change (ending up in the ER thinking he was having a heart attack, having a family history of early heart attack deaths, and wanting to be around to see his college-age sons grow and planning to be active with potential grandchildren didnt hurt, either). When he stepped on the scale, he was shocked to see it read 260.

So he made a commitment, which turned out to have a whole cascade of positive effects on his weight, his health, and his life. He realized that as a consultant and executive coach, he teaches others to improve in business and in life, yet I wasnt living out those principles myself. Hed tried the Lose It! app previously, but I hadnt really used it to its fullest extent. So I decided to use my Fitbit alongside Lose It!. My motto was what you measure, you controlwhat you dont measure, you accept.

That commitment led to his making one small change that led to another small change that led to him not only dropping 80 pounds and getting past his high school football weight of 190 pounds (he reached 180), but also getting his blood pressure down to the normal range after a lifetime of borderline hypertension.

His tips for change:

Track what you eat through an app to monitor calories, macros, and other nutritional milestones, he says. And track what you burn with a fitness tracker. I also started to track my sleep, blood pressure, water intake, and resting heart rate with my Fitbit.

After I plateaued in the first year, I added another personal challenge, he says. I called it #FatBoyFriday, where I wore the same shirt to my workout each Friday and took a picture at the end of the workout. It was amazing to see the progress, especially when I started to couple the exercise with better nutrition.

Having someone to guide you is important, Gallagher says. To get a workout habit going, I knew that if I was going to transform the way I needed to, I needed a coach. I started looking online and found a gym called 180 Fitness in my hometown of Roanoake. Id driven by it for years. I walked in the front door and said I needed help, and the rest is history.

But the first few days wereinteresting. The first workout was miserable, and I was sore and tired the next two workouts. But I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I went back! I knew it would be worth it, he says.

To stay motivated, he put some skin in the game, buying a 20-session package (10 with a Groupon discount) so I had to go back.

If youve had a lifetime of bad eating habits, it might be hard to go cold turkey overnight. I started with cutting out one thingfrieswhich turned into cutting out fat, he says. That was the gateway to a more healthy eating lifestyle. From there, I cut out white bread, large desserts, and certain breakfast cereals, and reduced my alcohol intake. And before I knew it, I weighed less than I thought I could get to.

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Its so much more fun to have someone go on the journey with you, he says. My brother, Michael, joined my transformation journey with me. We friended each other on Lose It! to follow each others progress on exercise, weight loss, and badges earned. We used the tracking app to hold each other accountable and share milestones. Because of this, I became much more diligent about tracking.

Gallagher had a new breakthrough in 2019 when he was introduced to Jeremy Scott Fitness through a Mens Health video series. His program helped him drop 79 pounds.

If you really commit to the process, the results will take care of themselves, he says. To say that I feel better would be a total understatement. I sleep better, my digestive system works better. I feel better just walking around, Ive grown closer to my familyits been an all-around improvement. I travel a good deal for work and Im quite sure I used to be that guy who folks prayed wouldnt have to sit next to me on the plane. Not anymore!

Continued here:
This Guy Lost 80 Pounds With a Little Help and a Fitness Tracker - menshealth.com

Carrie Underwood is best known as a music superstar,but since launching her activewear line, Calia, in 2015 the "Drinking Alone" singer has also become synonymous with health and wellness.

Underwood recently opened up to People,revealing what motivates her passion for health and wellness. "Its been more about health, and being strong, and setting a good example for my kids, and working out because it makes me feel good," she says.

"And just kind of shifting my mindset about why Im into health and fitness,"Underwood adds.

As for her diet,the longtime vegetarian doesn't follow trendy fad diets and instead focuses on moderation. "I dont eat meat because its kind of a conscious decision that I make, but anytime anybodys like, 'I dont eat carbs,' Im like, 'Oh, but carbs are important!'" she says.

"I eat my carbs. Most of the time I eat more quinoa, rice, veggie carbs, but I eat my cake too."

When it comes to her famous leg muscles, Underwood attributes genetics, as well as the hard work she puts into her exercise routine.

"I have to make sure and work extra hard on my hamstrings and my glutes and stuff like that, because whatever Im doing, a lot of times my quads will take over," she explains. "I dont feel like anything is super complicated. I dont do anything crazy."

Underwood is gearing up to release a fitness book on March, 3 2020, calledFind Your Path.She recentlyrevealed the cover on her Instagram account.

We Think Carrie Underwood Fans Will Love Caylee Hammack!

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Carrie Underwood Doesn't Work Out to Be Thin: 'It's About Health' - Taste of Country

Its the beginning of a new decade and change is in the air!

Of course, January is traditionally a time for reflection and self-improvement but it feels even more relevant as we look ahead to the 2020s.

To help you start your journey, weve got a supplement free with this Sundays paper, packed with achievable, practical advice from real experts.

Inside, youll find tips on everything from diet and fitness to health and wellbeing, as well as inspirational real-life stories.

Our cover star, Jackie Bird, embodies the ethos of facing your fears and doing it anyway. She left Reporting Scotland after 30 years in the job and is stepping into the new decade with a clean slate.

She explains why 2020 marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in her life and reveals how her passion for running keeps her mentally and physically fit.

You can find out how to turn the next 10 years into your own Power Decade and discover why quitting could be the best move you make.

Scottish Food Doctor Graeme Tomlinson offers a simple, down-to-earth approach to weight loss and The Kilted Coaches share the easy steps you can take to become fitter and happier, whatever age you are.

Whether you are planning a complete life overhaul or simply want to improve on what you have, the message here is that small changes can make a huge difference now and for many years to come.

So heres to a happy new decade and happy new you!

Continued here:
New Decade New You: 24 pages of life-changing advice on health, food, fitness and happiness free inside tomorrow's Sunday Post - The Sunday Post

Mens Journal aims to feature only the best products and services. We update when possible, but deals expire and prices can change. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission. Questions? Reach us at shop@mensjournal.com.

Choosing to get fit and trim in the new year? Good for you! If you made your New Years resolution one of getting in shape, weve got news for you: Just deciding to work out more aint gonna cut it. You need to track your progress and hold yourself accountable, day in and day out. To ensure you crush your new years fitness resolution, pick up this Body Analyzer and Digital Scale. Its on sale right now at Amazon.

Its been proven time and again that the most effective way to maintain a healthy exercise program is to see results. Simply choosing to be more fit is a fine place to start. But if you dont keep on it and stick with your new regimen, it just wont do any good. With this My Life My Shop Body Analyzer, youll be able to track your weight loss and your progress.

Thats right. Youll see results every day. What better way to stay focused and committed by noting a daily improvement in your health, thanks to your new years fitness regimen?

The My Life My Shop Digital Scale and Body Analyzer($48; was $62) is not just a scale. Sure, itll tell you how much you weigh. But weight aint nothin but a number. Through an undetectable electrical current transmitted through your body via the stainless steel pads on the scales platformalso known as Bio Impedance Analysis, or BIAthe My Life My Shop Digital Scale and Body Analyzer measures your body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone density, and water weight.

Individually, these vital body composition statistics can indicate changes you need to make to your lifestyle, workout, or daily routine. But all of them together? Youll get an accurate and complete picture of your overall health. And youll have a better chance to crush your new years fitness resolution.

And if youre just beginning a new weight loss and fitness plan, gauging your measurements and tracking your progress will show you exactly how much progress youre making.

Its like having a personal trainer and life coach, right on your bathroom floor!

The My Life My Shop Digital Scale and Body Analyzer has a weight capacity of 397 pounds, so it should be perfect for most anyone. It has a sleek, minimalist design that will complement any decor in the home. Pick it up today! Youll save $14, and youll get 2020 started off right by crushing your new years fitness resolution.

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Crush Your New Year's Fitness Resolution and See Results with This Body Analyzer On Sale - Men's Journal

January 2 has arrived once again and around something has happened that has not occurred for nearly a month: finally, we feel full. And like we need to take a walk. A really, really long one.

While the idea of getting healthy in January is hardly novel, that doesnt make it any less of a good one. And while in days of old, the fast-track to health would have entailed spending time outside in the cold, thanks to the brilliance of smartphone apps, we can now do things like get fit and eat better without even leaving the house.

There are a number of truly fantastic health apps available and the below is by no means an exhaustive list.

But if youre struggling to know where to start, keep reading.

Johnson & Johnson Official 7-Minute Workout

Designed by Chris Jordan, director of exercise physiology at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, this app centres on high intensity circuit training programmes, featuring 72 exercises and 22 workouts, which can be customised to create a grand total of more than 1,000 variations.

Best of all, each is just seven minutes long. And can be done from virtually anywhere. No excuses now!

Nike Training Club

With over 100 workouts to choose from, you are bound to find one to suit. Be it yoga or strength training, this app will deliver plus it allows you to customise your own regime, complete with goals.

And if that wasnt enough, it dispenses nutritional and wellness pointers too.

MyFitnessPal

The journey begins with your diet. This app enables you to keep a nutritional diary to keep track of your calorie intake so you know your body is getting what it needs.

It also helps you log what exercise you are taking, such as cardio sessions, strength training and step-tracking.

Plus it has active forums to offer advice and support. See why its called a pal?

Noom

It's been used by over 47 million people safe to say, it's popular. Noom is a health food app that centres on lifestyle changes, not extreme dietary ones.

It helps you set and reach a series of goals with the help of a Goal Specialist. Through the development of new skills, the aim is to master your mindset so users can make more informed decisions about eating.

Headspace

Needs little introduction. This meditation app, co-founded by Andy Puddicombe and Richard Pierson, has been used by numerous stars, including Emma Watson and Gwyneth Paltrow.

It teaches users how to meditate and achieve mindfulness through a series of guided meditations. Great at relieving stress.

Calm

Because who wouldnt want to be on a regular basis? Through a number of programmes, including guided meditations and Daily Calm sessions, this app helps users travel towards relaxation.

It also offers a range of sleep stories to help you on your way to slumber. Some of them are read by celebrities. Let Matthew McConaughey send you to sleep

Excerpt from:
These are the health and fitness apps you need to know about for 2020 - Evening Standard