Executive Summary

Work stress is inevitable, but it doesnt have to get in the way of a good nights sleep. To avoid thinking about work in the middle of the night, the author offers five strategies: 1) Make a to-do list.The act of writing down uncompleted tasks decreases cognitive arousal, rumination, and worry. 2) Keep a journal. Writing down your thoughts and feelings, rather than just thinking about them, has been shown to help process emotions and reduce stress and anxiety 3) Exercise self-compassion.Practicing self-compassion allows you to break the cycle of negative thoughts that come with rumination, which is linked to insomnia. 4) Engage in physical activity.Research shows that a single instance of moderately intense exercise can decrease rumination 5) Practice meditation. Researchers in the Netherlands found that even small amounts of mindful meditation (10 minutes before and after work for two work weeks) helped calm racing minds, improve sleep quality, and sleep duration.

Many of us think about work outside of the office thats where some of our best ideas emerge. However, thinking about work often means stressing about work, which can keep us up at night or have us waking up feeling anxious, hours before the alarm clock sounds. According to a Korn Ferry study, stress caused sleep deprivation for 66% of American workers in 2018. Moreover, sleep deprivation can exacerbate our work stress, by negatively impacting cognitive functions such as judgment, critical thinking, problem solving, planning, and organization.

To avoid thinking about work in the middle of the night, try the following strategies:

Make a to-do list. There is always more work to be done. Research by Baylor University and Emory University shows that making a to-do list for the following day before bed helps you to fall asleep faster by virtually as much as taking a sleep aid as well as helps you to wake up fewer times during the night. Unfinished tasks cycling through your mind stay at a heightened level of cognitive activation, explains Michael Scullin, the lead author of the study. This isessentially what is causing you to stay up at night. The act of writing down these uncompleted tasks decreases cognitive arousal, rumination, and worry. And if you do wake up in the middle of the night, suddenly remembering a pressing task, keep a piece of paper and pen on your nightstand to capture it so you can let it go from your mind and go back to sleep.

Keep a journal. Toby, a client of mine at a professional services firm, was experiencing significant work stress due to friction with a difficult colleague. After a particularly distressing incident, he wrote an email to me describing what had happened and what made him so upset about it. While his initial purpose was to update me and to give me a heads up of what he wanted to talk about in our next meeting, he shared that by writing about his experience and how it made him feel, he was able to offload it and sleep peacefully that evening. Journaling or writing down your thoughts and feelings, rather than just thinking about them, has been shown to help process emotions and reduce stress and anxiety, as it requires a greater level of psychological processing. Also including more positive events and what you are grateful for in your writing can help in getting longer, more refreshing sleep. In a study of college students who suffered from worrying at bedtime, the group of students who were randomly assigned to journal every night for a week before bed, experienced reduced bedtime stress and worry, in addition to improved sleep duration and quality.

Exercise self-compassion. Sara was head of strategy at a tech company whose stock was struggling. She presented their M&A strategy to the board and got pummeled with tough questions that she didnt anticipate or answer as well as she could have. She choked. Instead of looking at this as a learning experience, albeit a painful one, for future board meetings, she played it back in her mind over and over again, beating herself up, and lost sleep over it for weeks. Kristin Neff, author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, describes self-compassion as showing yourself the same kindness, care and concern you would show a good friend. Practicing self-compassion and recognizing that we are all imperfect human beings allows you to break the cycle of negative thoughts and self-judgment that come with rumination, which is linked to several negative effects, including insomnia. Additional research from Texas State University and Sun-yat Sen University reinforced findings that self-compassion reduces stress-related poor sleep.

Engage in physical activity. Research shows that a single instance of moderately intense exercise can decrease the rumination that keeps us up at night. There is also strong evidence that, in general, as little as 30 minutes of aerobic exercise can help us fall asleep faster, and improves sleep quality. Not only does exercise increase the amount of deep sleep we get, it decompresses the mind, which Charlene Gamaldo, Medical Director for the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep, calls a cognitive process that is important for naturally transitioning to sleep. For some people, however, exercising too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep. If you are one of these people, it is recommended to exercise at least one to two hours before bedtime.

Practice meditation. Similar to self-compassion, mindfulness the practice of being fully present and focusing your attention on thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations without judgment is also an antidote to the rumination that can keep you up at night. By being fully present in the moment, you are not rehashing past events or worrying about future events. There is ample research on the positive effects of meditation on anxiety and stress. Further, researchers in the Netherlands found that even small amounts of mindful meditation (10 minutes before and after work for two work weeks) helped calm racing minds, improve sleep quality, and sleep duration.

Work stress is inevitable, but it doesnt have to get in the way of a good nights sleep. By employing the strategies above, you can increase your ability to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the workday.

Read more:

How to Stop Thinking About Work at 3am - Harvard Business Review

It was an early Christmas present for the plummily-named Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (henceforth Nepo) and a lump of coal for some of the biggest names in the game.

Defeating Chinese GM Wei Yi in the finals of the just-concluded Jerusalem FIDE Grand Prix knockout event Sunday, the 29-year-old Nepo secured one of the last two slots in the eight-player 2020 candidates tournament in March for the right to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway

The tournaments host country, Russia, gets to fill the final slot and all indications are that Russian GM Kirill Alekseenko, rated 37th in the world, will get the coveted final golden ticket.

Carlsens 2018 challenger, GM Fabiano Caruana, gets an automatic bid, but two other American stars GMs Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura are on the outside looking in, as are such stalwarts as former world champ Vishy Anand of India, Armenian star Levon Aronian and Russias own longtime champion Peter Svidler.

Perhaps the most painful omission for chess fans will be the absence of French super-GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the worlds No. 4 player by rating, who also missed out on the last candidates cycle. MVL has some sterling results this year, but just missed out in the qualifying events and fell short on FIDEs complex point system.

With Nepo and fellow Russian Alexander Grischuk already in the field, theres a movement afoot to lobby the Russian Chess Federation to reconsider Alekseenkos automatic entry and give the Frenchman the slot. We shall see.

Nepomniachtchis worthiness as a candidate isnt in question. A former Russian and European individual champion, hes ranked ninth in the world and eliminated both Vachier-Lagrave and So in Jerusalem before defeating Wei.

Nepo all but punched his ticket to Yekaterinburg with a grueling, 96-move win over Wei in the first game of the finals. It was a devastating result for the Chinese player, who simply handed the initiative to Black by declining a queen trade on Move 12, and then, in deep time trouble, inexplicably rejected a dead-certain threefold repetition with 29. Qg4+ Kh8 30. Qh5 Kg8 31. Nb5??! (see diagram).

Black doesnt hesitate, sacrificing the exchange to reach an ending only he can realistically win: 31Rxb5! 32. Qxb5 Qxb2 33. Rb1 (and not 33. Qxd7?? Ra2! with unstoppable mate) Qc2 34. Rfc1 Qd2 35. Qxb4 Qxe3+ 36. Kh1 Ra2 the Black knight shuts down all Whites threats, while Weis king is in constant danger and the Black d-pawn is ready to roll.

A lengthy bit of shadow-boxing ends when the black pawn finally advances: 84. Qb2 d4 85. Rd2 Qd5+ 86. Kg1 d3 87. Qe5? (Qa3!?, angling for a queen-and pawn ending, appears to be Whites last best hope) Qe4! 88. Qxe4 fxe4, and the White rook is no match for the Black knight and connected passed pawns. In the final position, Black now has three connected passers and cant be held back much longer; Wei resigned.

Heres a warm holiday greeting to chess lovers everywhere and to all this columns faithful readers. Hope to see many of you at the 46th annual Eastern Open Chess Congress, the regions traditional four-day, year-end blowout, being held this year at the Westin Hotel in Tysons Corner starting Dec. 27.

Spectating is free and there will be chess books, equipment and other swag for sale. Check out the schedule at EasternOpenChess.com.

May you have victories aplenty in 2020!

Wei-Nepomniachtchi, FIDE Grand Prix, Jerusalem, December 2019

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8. Bg2 a6 9. Qa4 Rb8 10. Na3 Bc5 11. O-O O-O 12. Rb1 Qb4 13. Qd1 d6 14. Na4 b5 15. Nxc5 Qxc5 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Bg5 Ba6 18. Nc2 b4 19. Nd4 Bb7 20. Rc1 Qa5 21. Bxb7 Rxb7 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Qb3 Ra8 24. f4 Qa7 25. e3 Nd7 26. Qd1 Qxa2 27. Qg4+ Kh8 28. Qh5 Kg8 29. Qg4+ Kh8 30. Qh5 Kg8 31. Nb5 Rxb5 32. Qxb5 Qxb2 33. Rb1 Qc2 34. Rfc1 Qd2 35. Qxb4 Qxe3+ 36. Kh1 Ra2 37. Rc8+ Kg7 38. Rb2 Qf3+ 39. Kg1 Qd1+ 40. Kg2 Ra1 41. Qb5 f5 42. Qe2 Qd5+ 43. Kh3 Nf6 44. Rbb8 Ra2 45. Rc2 Rxc2 46. Qxc2 f3 47. Rb3 Qf1+ 48. Qg2 Qe1 49. Qb2 Kg6 50. Kg2 d5 51. Rb8 Qe4+ 52. Kh3 Qf3 53. Rb3 Qf1+ 54. Qg2 Qe1 55. Qc2 Qf1+ 56. Qg2 Qc4 57. Rb8 h6 58. Kh4 Qd3 59. Rb2 Ng4 60. Qe2 Qd4 61. Kh3 Qg1 62. Qg2 Qd4 63. Qe2 Qc5 64. Qc2 Qg1 65. Qg2 Qe3 66. Qe2 Qd4 67. Qc2 Ne3 68. Qb3 Nd1 69. Re2 Nf2+ 70. Kg2 Ng4 71. Qb8 Nf6 72. Qb2 Qc5 73. Rc2 Qe3 74. Re2 Qa7 75. Qa2 Qc5 76. Qc2 Qd6 77. Qb2 Ne4 78. Qd4 Qa6 79. Rc2 Nf6 80. Rd2 Qa5 81. Re2 Qa3 82. Qb2 Qa7 83. Qa2 Qd7 84. Qb2 d4 85. Rd2 Qd5+ 86. Kg1 d3 87. Qe5 Qe4 88. Qxe4 fxe4 89. Kf2 Nd5 90. Ke1 Kf5 91. Rd1 e5 92. Kd2 exf4 93. gxf4 Nxf4 94. Ra1 Ke5 95. Ra6 h5 96. Ra8 f5 White resigns.

David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email [emailprotected].

See original here:

Big names off the board as 2020 chess title cycle takes shape - Washington Times

Legal battles require the same skills seen at the highest levels of chess.

Paul Morphy was a 19th-century New Orleans chess prodigy who was the de facto world chess champion during much of his short life. He rarely lost when he played throughout Europe and the United States. He was also a lawyer who graduated from what is now Tulane Law School. As a student, he was said to have memorized the Louisiana Civil Code in English and French.

His father was a prominent Louisiana judge.

There are other talented chess-playing lawyers, though none, in my view, as brilliant at chess as Morphy. Three 20th century champions all agree that Morphy was among the greatest chess players of any era.

The general view is that he would have the chess grandmaster title, the highest title in the world of chess, if he were alive today.

As a law professor and high-level amateur player, I believe that playing chess is great training to be a successful law student and lawyer. Here are five reasons why.

1. Intellectually rigorous

Much like law school, chess is intellectually rigorous. Playing chess at the highest level is so hard that Microsoft founder Bill Gates lost after only nine moves in an exhibition blitz game with the current world champion, Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen. One might have expected Gates to last longer given his genius.

A chess player must concentrate for as many as five or six hours in serious tournaments, and a single lapse can cause a loss. Learning to concentrate is also invaluable for law school.

Aspiring law students often take undergraduate classes that are part of a pre-law program. Government or criminal justice majors are typical since they involve some focus on the legal system. These are important intellectual fields.

Yet, informal studies suggest that students who major in especially difficult areas, such as philosophy or mathematics, perform better on the LSAT the exam required for entrance into law school. Just as math and logic serve lawyers well in the courtroom as they fashion their arguments, so, too, is it with chess players on the chessboard as they make their moves.

2. Requires identifying issues

Students who perform well on law school exams and the bar exam must succeed at issue spotting. That is to say, unlike undergraduate exams, which may require the student to summarize what they have learned, law school exams require students to figure out what legal issues are buried within the facts of a given case. Then the student should apply the right legal principles to the facts. The student often must draw analogies and see patterns. Lawyers must also spot issues and draw analogies when their clients present problems.

Similarly, good chess players survey the chess board, with a clock ticking, and must find a strong move among many possible candidate moves. They will look for patterns, such as typical methods of attacking a king. Sometimes, the move will be a tactical strike, such as the bold sacrifice of a queen leading to checkmate. Those players who cannot see many possibilities will not win many games. Both the chess player and lawyer must discover the key aspects of a situation.

3. Strategies essential

Strong performance in law and chess involves strategizing effectively. Chess may therefore be laws most common metaphor.

Success requires the ability to plan, envision how ones opponent will respond, and then figure out how to reply. As a former litigator, I not only had to think about what to do, but I also had to assess whether my adversary would have an effective contrary plan. I also had to know the weaknesses in my case. Similarly, a strong chess player will know the problems in their position.

4. Principles and rules apply

Both law and chess have rules, general principles, and exceptions or loopholes. The law is often codified as a statute. Likewise, chess has rules, though they often lack the ambiguity of statutes. Beginning chess players then learn accepted principles. For instance, they are taught that during the opening part of the game, they should get certain pieces into play, use those pieces and pawns to control the center of the board, place their prized king in a safe position by making a special move known as castling, and keep moves by their valuable queen in reserve. Yet strong chess players may violate these principles, for surprise or other purposes.

Prosecutors also have common approaches. In criminal cases with multiple defendants, prosecutors are trained to go after the small fish first, and then use those successes to land the big fish. This is like capturing the pawns before checkmating the king in chess. The press even uses these chess terms in describing criminal cases.

5. Takes competitive zeal

Success in both law and chess requires competitive instincts. Indeed, chess has a rating system for players and law school has class rank for students. Chess requires a will to win strong enough to maintain concentration.

Chess players often experience ups and downs during single games, as well as tournaments. They must cope with adversity, including losing. Similarly, a single law school exam can be the only basis for the students class grade, so everything is at stake at once, though the student has likely worked all semester. Lawsuits can also take years and require persistence. My cases and trials were always roller coasters with good and bad days.

Another similarity is that the chess player and lawyer must be well prepared. In chess, one can often find an opponents games online and see their playing style. In law, one can learn about the judge who will be hearing a case and alter ones approach accordingly.

Admittedly chess is just a game so most people play it for fun, whereas practicing law is a profession. Few chess players will reach the heights of Paul Morphy. Nevertheless, as one who has played chess at high levels and litigated federal and state court cases, I believe that chess develops important intellectual, emotional and competitive skills that are very useful in the legal field.

[ Like what youve read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversations daily newsletter. ]

Mark Kende, Professor of Law, Drake University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image: Reuters

Read this article:

Chess Can Turn You Into a Better Law Student and Lawyer - The National Interest Online

It sounds like a great idea. To solve your financial woes, you temporarily change your habits and hope that will result in more cash and better habits.

Problem is, it may backfire. At best, the key word is "temporary." Just like with food or health diets, whatever you do to make some kind of change has to be sustainable and permanent.

If you merely cut calories for a month, the weight will come back when you resume your old eating habits.

If you ramp down spending for a month, your financial picture is going to return to its former dim view when you go back to dinners out and shopping sprees.

Whether or not any diet works is up for grabs.

Monica Sipes, a certified financial planner and senior wealth advisor at Exencial Wealth Advisors in Frisco, Texas, never recommends this strategy.

"It usually follows an overspend or a bad financial situation," Sipes said. "It's a restriction, often temporary, and I haven't ever seen it work well."

You're better off with a budget and some financial goals, which you support with some type of savings and perhaps a sacrifice. "Ultimately, it comes down to why you are making the decisions around your money, not a temporary restriction to undo bad spending habits," Sipes said.

Alicia McElhaney, founder of She Spends, a personal finance website aimed at women, says there's nothing wrong with comparing saving with healthy eating. "It's described as an investment in your future, which is great," McElhaney said.

What McElhaney doesn't like is when people equate not saving money with being overweight or lazy. "I've seen quite a bit more talk about dieting, body hate and discomfort with fatness on social media in personal finance circles than I expected when I first got into this," McElhaney said.

Weight is a fraught subject in our culture, McElhaney said, "so, of course, it seeps into everything, including personal finance."

The standard diet advice do it sensibly holds true for your finances.

A budget doesn't have to be restrictive. It just means you create a plan for your money. Your goal is to become more aware of how you spend, says Lauren Anastasio, a CFP at New York personal finance company SoFi.

More from Invest in You: Almost no one has these three things in place for emergencies Avoid 6 financial mistakes when you teach kids about money Try these surprising strategies to use up flex spending

The best time to restrict your spending in a determined, short-term way is when you have a specific financial goal. Whether you'd like to pay off credit card debt or save for a vacation, reducing your discretionary spending frees some income to allocate toward those goals, Anastasio says.

Her firm encourages members to divide their income into three parts commonly known as the 50/30/20 rule of budgeting: 50% should go to fixed, essential expenses such as rent, utilities and insurance; 20% goes into savings; and 30% is for discretionary spending.

As can happen with food dieting, being too restrictive financially can end in a binge. Whether it's money or calories, the goal should be something practical and sustainable.

"Reevaluate your plan and make adjustments," Anastasio said. You can taper off regular check-ins after you've established some good habits.

Definitely tweak your plan as you go along. "Sometimes we like to think we can make it to the gym every morning before work but find that we're more likely to go to the group exercise classes offered in the evening," Anastasio said.

Spending diets, no-buys and no-spends aren't on Pauline Yan's radar. "The brain doesn't process the negative part that well," said Yan, a portfolio manager in Toronto who has a personal finance blog. Instead, all your brain is likely to hear is "spending," "buy" and "spend."

Pauline Yan, 42, says managing your money starts with scouting your feelings.

Source: Pauline Yan

And your brain will then notice all the opportunities to buy and spend.

That's why people boomerang after a diet. "They used up a lot of willpower to make it through," Yan said. "But I find the yo-yoing back and forth to be worse for my overall budget."

It helps to dig into the "why" of a purchase. After all, most of us have pretty much everything we already need. New lipstick? Yan says she's got plenty. "I don't need a new one," Yan said. "Same with clothes. No one needs another little black dress."

Purchases often come on the heels of a feeling. "People are not in touch with what they're feeling," Yan said. "We don't want to admit we feel bad. If we do, we're trained to buy our way out of it."

The solution is to get in touch with your feelings. Why do you want to make a certain purchase?

Yan does two things when she wants to buy something. First, she scouts whether she already owns a similar item. If she does, she writes it down, which sparks her to ask why she'd like to buy it again.

She found herself eyeing a makeup palette that she might use on a trip and had a light-bulb moment. "The reason I liked it is, I really enjoy traveling," she said. "That's going to be perfect when I go somewhere.I was trying to buy the feeling I have when I go on vacation."

Her solution was to plan a trip and find a picture of a destination. Yan kept it in her wallet as a reminder of her true goal. "I feel like a lot of the buying [we do] has to do with a value that we want in our lives," she said. "We're just going about it in a very consumeristic fashion."

Go here to see the original:
Going on a so-called cash diet may not be the best way to fatten your wallet - CNBC

'How Not to Diet' author Dr. Michael Greger discusses the approach people should take to effectively lose weight.

The year 2020 is just days away and people are getting ready to commit to their New Years resolutions.

Online learning company GoSkills revealed that the top two most popular New Years resolutions include exercising more and losing weight, but only 46 percentof people with resolutions were successful. So what makes the pursuit so difficult?

Dr. Michael Greger, author of How Not to Diet, told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo that losing weight just wont happen with poor eating.

You cant outrun a bad diet, he said. In a few minutes, you can wipe out a whole hour of exercise.

Greger said this is why theres more power in controlling caloric intake than outtake.

PELOTON RIVAL ECHELON CYCLES INTO MARKET WITH LOWER PRICE TAG

In How Not to Diet, Greger discusses exactly how to form a diet that delivers optimal results, based on researching thousands of other dietary flops.

I just wanted there to finally be an evidence-based diet book, he said. I [dug] up every possible tip, trick andtechnique proven to accelerate the loss of body fat, to give people every possible advantage and basically build the optimal weight loss solution from the ground up.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The criteria for Gregers plan include a commitment to permanent dietary change but itmay be the safest and cheapest approach, he said.

Permanent weight loss requires permanent dietary change

The optimal weight loss diet should be anti-inflammatory, clean, free from hormone-disrupting chemicals, filled with fiber-rich foods to trap calories and flush them out of the body, he said. Bottom line, we should eat real foods that grow out of the ground. A diet centered around whole plant foods.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

Greger said the healthiest food options include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.

Modeling studies suggest that if half of Americans ate a single more serving of fruits and vegetables a day, it would prevent 20,000 cases of cancer every year, he said. That's how powerful produce is."

Read more here:
New Years resolution: 'How Not to Diet' author on trick to successful weight loss - Fox Business

Lets start with what to eat and the foods to avoid eating. What follows will likely sound familiar to aficionados of a Mediterranean-style diet: a plant-based diet focused on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and cold-water fish and plants like soybeans and flax seeds that contain omega-3 fatty acids.

A Mediterranean-style diet is rich in micronutrients like magnesium, vitamin E and selenium that have anti-inflammatory effects, and its high-fiber content fosters lower levels of two potent inflammatory substances, IL-6 and TNF-alpha.

Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, strongly recommends limiting or eliminating consumption of foods known to have a pro-inflammatory effect. These include all refined carbohydrates like white bread, white rice and pastries; sugar-sweetened beverages; deep-fried foods; and red meat and processed meats. They are the very same foods with well-established links to obesity (itself a risk factor for inflammation), heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

In their stead, Dr. Hu recommends frequent consumption of foods known to have an anti-inflammatory effect. They include green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and collards; fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines; fruits like strawberries, blueberries, apples, grapes, oranges and cherries; nuts like almonds and walnuts; and olive oil. The recommended plant foods contain natural antioxidants and polyphenols, and the fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, all of which counter inflammation.

Coffee and tea also contain protective polyphenols, among other anti-inflammatory compounds.

The bottom line: the less processed your diet, the better.

At the same time, dont neglect regular exercise, which Dr. James Gray, cardiologist at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, calls an excellent way to prevent inflammation. He recommends 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise and 10 to 25 minutes of weight or resistance training at least four to five times a week.

Although exercise is pro-inflammatory while youre doing it, during the rest of the time it leaves you better off by reducing inflammation, and after all you live most of your life not exercising, Stephen Kritchevsky, professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, told me. Independent of any effect on weight, exercise has been shown to lower multiple pro-inflammatory molecules and cytokines.

More:
Tackling Inflammation to Fight Age-Related Ailments - The New York Times

Nothing can kickstart your weight loss and fitness journey faster than a bout of self realisation. 22-year-old Pankaj Kumar tells us that he started hitting the gym to not just lose weight but also get ripped to overcome an inactive lifestyle. I wanted to invest my time in bettering my life, my confidence and also my mental well-being.

When I began my weight loss and fitness journey, I weighed 77 kgs with a fat accumulation of 27-30 per cent, he says. To build a ripped body, the first thing that you need to do is get rid of your bodys excess fat and then work towards building lean muscles, which Pankaj was able to do by losing 11 kgs, courtesy of one genius diet hack calorie deficit.

A calorie deficit is a specific diet pattern that revolves around the number of calories you consume in a day. According to Healthline, the concept is based on the idea that as long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, youre bound to lose weight.

This diet pattern requires you to calculate the number of calories your body needs to consume to function smoothly without feeling hungry, and how much deficit you need create without harming your health.

The deficit can then be created by cutting down empty calories and unhealthy fats. Keep in mind that the number of calories required to create a deficit is different for different body types. You can calculate yours online via a calorie calculator.

QUICK READ: How many calories should you eat every day to lose weight?

I am an eggetarian, my calorie deficit diet was a combination of vegetarian sources (mostly paneer, tofu, low-fat milk, sprouts, dal, nuts, low-fat curd, fruit salads, rice, fresh veggies, brown bread, peanut butter) and eggs.

QUICK READ: This is how eating eggs daily will help you lose weight without compromising on flavour

Since the number of calories one needs to consume will keep changing as per your goals, the quantity of the foods will also change, as it did for me. But these foods comprised my daily diet. The same is also true for your exercise regime, I followed the below exercise regime to lose 11 kgs before switching the routine again to build my body up.

I used to workout 5-6 days/week and the basic routine comprised Weight Training + HIIT/Sprints. More importantly, I used to train 2 body parts in a day and focused more on Compound Movements such as Bench press, Overhead press, Push ups, Deadlift, Pull ups and Squats.

QUICK READ: You're truly fit if you can do these 10 pushup variations

My body transformation has gone through whats popularly known as 'a weight recycle'. Simply put, I lost 11 kgs in 4months (77 kgs to 66 kgs) by following the above diet and exercise regime, which essentially also meant that I lost a lot of the excess body fat. So with the excess body fat gone, I became lean and then started to work on gaining healthy muscle mass. So, now I am 76 kgs with lots of muscle mass and very less fat percentage.

1. Follow a calorie deficit diet

2. Track your calories daily (if you don't want to do that then work on a trial and error method by reducing your portion size and checking your weight weekly, if your weight goes down then voila this is perfect portion size for you!)

3. Eat more vegetables and protein-rich food. Vegetables are loaded with minerals and vitamins. Protein-rich food will help retain muscle mass and also help burn calories.

4. Drink more water.

5. Do weight training. It helps shape the body and retain muscle while losing weight and also walk more (at least 10,000 steps). Walking strengthens the joints and also promotes heart health.

6. Be consistent and stay disciplined.

Disclaimer: The diet and workout routines shared by the respondents may or may not be approved by diet and fitness experts. GQ India doesn't encourage or endorse the weight loss tips & tricks shared by the person in the article. Please consult an authorised medical professional before following any specific diet or workout routine mentioned above.

NOW READ

5 ways to lose weight by walking with these effective, easy-to-do health tricks

How to lose weight like this 42-year-old who lost 18 kgs by tweaking his eating habits instead of crash dieting

We tried Varun Dhawans workout with his trainer, Kuldeep Shashi

More on Fitness

Continue reading here:
How to lose weight and get fit like this guy who lost fat by following this one genius diet hack - GQ India - What a man's got to do

This time of year can be a trigger for many women to want to lose weight (hello, New Year's resolutions). It's exhausting, isn't it? If the idea of restrictive diets and unsustainable workout schedules makes you cringe, there is a solution: intuitive eating. It's a way of eating that makes you give up diets forever and encourages you to listen to your body, eat the foods you love, and not obsess over calories and carbs. With intuitive eating, you'll have a healthy relationship with food and freedom and peace from the pressures food and dieting may have put on you in the past. Sounds amazing, doesn't it?

Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN, an anti-diet registered dietitian nutritionist, certified intuitive eating counselor, and host of the Food Psych Podcast, knows that giving up years or maybe even decades of dieting can feel overwhelming. Here are the steps she recommends to start intuitive eating.

See the rest here:
An Anti-Diet Dietitian Shares the 5 Steps You Can Take to Become an Intuitive Eater - POPSUGAR

Many males experience sexual concerns such as premature ejaculation. Premature ejaculation occurs when someone has an orgasm very quickly or orgasms without control. Males with premature ejaculation may also have very little warning before their orgasm, so they may not be able to delay it.

Premature ejaculation may lead to lower sexual satisfaction for both the person experiencing it and their partner. Some home remedies and exercises may help delay ejaculation or help someone become more aware of their sensations and how to control them.

Some estimates suggest that around 439% of males experience premature ejaculation, though some estimates are higher. Part of the reason that so many people experience this is because premature ejaculation can be complex, involving both mental and physical aspects.

Some medical treatments may help with premature ejaculation, but there is no permanent cure for it. However, males may learn to control their ejaculation and find more sexual satisfaction using a number of remedies, including supplements and exercise. Keep reading to learn more.

Certain minerals may help with premature ejaculation. These include:

There may be a link between supplements such as zinc and sexual dysfunction. Zinc also seems to play a role in male fertility.

As an article in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences notes, some studies have reported reduced quantities of zinc in the seminal fluid of males with infertility.

Zinc supplementation improves sexual dysfunction and increases serum testosterone levels in the body. This may improve libido in general and help improve sexual dysfunction, which may include premature ejaculation.

Taking zinc supplements may, therefore, promote overall sexual health in many ways, though no direct research has linked zinc to stopping or improving premature ejaculation.

Magnesium is another important mineral for healthy sperm production and reproductive health.

A review in the Asian Journal of Andrology notes that low magnesium levels are a contributing factor to premature ejaculation, as they may increase certain muscle contractions common in orgasms.

For this reason, getting enough magnesium in the diet may help with premature ejaculation.

As a study in the journal Reviews on Environmental Health notes, a number of other minerals also play important roles in sperm function and overall male fertility.

Those with sexual issues such as erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation may look to take a number of other minerals to improve their reproductive health in general. These may include:

For a temporary approach, many males find success in using topical creams and sprays that contain anesthetics such as lidocaine. These help numb the penis. They do this by delaying sensation to the penis, which may increase the time it takes to climax.

Typically, a male should apply these creams to the head of the penis about 30 minutes before sex, and then wash the penis around 5 minutes before sex.

Various pelvic floor exercises may help train the muscles involved in ejaculation. By becoming aware of and strengthening these muscles, it may be possible to increase orgasm control.

One study found that a 12 week program of pelvic floor exercises helped males with premature ejaculation control their ejaculatory reflexes and increase their time to climax.

The pelvic floor muscles are the same muscles involved in cutting off the flow of urine. To find them, a male should urinate and then cut off the urine flow midstream.

To perform pelvic floor exercises, lie or sit in a comfortable position without putting pressure on the perineum, which is the area between the anus and the genitals.

Tighten the muscles involved in cutting off the flow of urine, holding them as tight as possible for 5 seconds. The muscles should feel as though they are lifting up. There may also be a pressure sensation inside the body, near the muscles.

Release the muscles and rest for 5 seconds. Repeat this process 10 times for one session. Do two or three sessions each day.

Wearing a condom during sex may work in a similar way to using topical creams, by temporarily dulling the sensation in the penis. In some cases, this may increase the time it takes to orgasm.

Some companies make thicker condoms or condoms with a numbing agent on the inside to help decrease sensitivity further and help increase a male's time to orgasm.

Those worried about sexual control and early ejaculation may simply not have had very much sexual practice. Teenagers tend to learn about their sexual responses and physical sensations from their early practices with masturbation.

Some people may not have as much experience with masturbation or sexual acts, which may be due to religious or cultural beliefs about them, or a sense of personal shame.

Openly exploring pleasure through masturbation helps a person identify the sensations their body experiences leading up to orgasm. Regular practice may also help someone learn the signs of an impending orgasm and to find ways to stop the stimulation before orgasm.

Also, some may recommend masturbating an hour or two before engaging in sexual activity. This may take advantage of the body's refractory period, which is the period of time in which it is impossible or difficult to orgasm. The length of the refractory period varies from person to person.

Learn more about masturbating before sex here.

There are some techniques and methods that a male can try during sex that may help with premature ejaculation. These include:

The squeeze technique helps physically control an orgasm. It may also help a male identify the sensation of orgasm and learn how to control it.

During this method, a male or their partner should stimulate the penis until they are close to ejaculation. They must then firmly squeeze the shaft of the penis, so that the erection partially goes away and the impending orgasm subsides.

Going through these steps may help a male identify the sensations that lead to orgasm. Understanding these sensations can lead to better control over ejaculation.

The stop-start method is another physical technique for sexual practice.

During this method, the male or their partner should stimulate the penis until climax is imminent. They should then stop all stimulation and allow the feeling of the upcoming orgasm to go away completely.

After the pleasure subsides, the male or their partner should stimulate the penis again and stop again just before the orgasm. Continue the cycle a third time, and allow the ejaculation on the fourth.

This practice may help a male identify the sensations that occur just before orgasm. Exploring them in this way can make it easier to identify or control ejaculation.

There is no single way to treat or cure premature ejaculation. As the Urology Care Foundation point out, there are no approved drugs in the United States for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

The standard treatment typically includes a few different approaches. Psychological therapy, for example, helps address any negative thoughts or feelings that may lead to sexual issues.

Behavioral therapy, such as the squeeze and stop-start methods, helps build a tolerance to the pleasurable sensations that lead to orgasm.

Some over-the-counter or prescription creams and sprays may also help numb the head of the penis, which could decrease sensitivity temporarily.

In some cases, a doctor may also recommend using some forms of antidepressant drugs to treat premature ejaculation. Antidepressants such as fluoxetine and paroxetine may alter serotonin levels in the body, which could delay orgasm. However, there is no approval for this use of these drugs.

Premature ejaculation is common and affects many people at one time or another.

When premature ejaculation becomes an issue, however, some males may find that they can better control it using various home remedies and techniques. Some doctors may suggest other forms of physical, psychological, or medical treatment to help control the issue.

If premature ejaculation continues or gets worse, it is best to see a doctor for a full diagnosis. There may be an underlying health condition causing it.

Read the original:
Stopping premature ejaculation: Remedies and exercise - Medical News Today

I was a fat kid. When I got on the school bus, a miserable littleblister called Ben used to make everyone scrabble to the opposite side, pretending that they needed to balance the bus from capsizing like a boat against my weight. He alsonicknamed me the blob but I dont mind so much these days because Ben seems to spend most of his time posting petitions about Chris Packham onFacebook, and that is justice enough.

Still, weight. A childhood of angst about it, of not wanting to peel my clothes off in the changing rooms, causes a ripple effect down the years. The singer Sam Smith talked about this last week in an Instagram post. Another tubster when young (no shrieking please, Sam has admitted this), Sam wrote online that Christmas was triggering because it provokes body issues.

True. I look forward to Christmas with the greedy anticipation of BruceBogtrotter but, by this point in December, am already worrying about the number of pigs-in-blankets and glasses of wine that Ive swallowed and their effect on the scales. And this is why my friend Katie persuaded me into going to a SoulCycle class a couple of weeks ago.

SoulCycle is the US indoor cycling chain which arrived in London in June and has been referred to as a cult. I thought cults involved dangerous figures such as Charles Manson, not women in Lycra bras at a 45-minute exercise class, but since opening in New York in 2006 its proved phenomenally popular, especially among celebrities including the Beckhams and Tom Cruise. Two studios have opened here (Soho and Notting Hill), two more are planned for early 2020 (Chelsea and Marylebone) and I wanted to hate it.

At 24 a go, its too expensive. Also, cheesy. We aspire to inspire, says a slogan on the Soho studios wall. In the past decade, London has becomesaturated with these places. The likes of Equinox, Barrys, F45, 1Rebel and CrossFit have arrived, not justpromising tighter glutes but intimating that your life as a whole will be more fulfilled should you fork out for the pleasure. Forget church on a Sunday, come sweat with us in a class called Weights Before Dates instead.

The best fitness, wellness and nutrition podcasts

Anyway, I went and spent my first soul session being told by a perky American not to hold back because if I held back on my stationary bike, I would hold back on my entire week. Hmm. But I went to a second one and a third because you get a signing-up deal and obviously now Im hooked. Im no stranger to a faddy exercise craze and the classes are properly tough. Plus, sweating in the dark to Janet Jackson while an instructor/therapist shouts from the front has unquestionably helped assuage my seasonal anxiety about weight gain.

Is that tragic? Am I obsessing about the wrong thing right now? Maybe. But its a peculiar time of year for anyone plagued by similar insecurities. We are all urged constantly to guzzle like foie gras geese all month and then, come January, drink watercress soup every day as penance.

Diets are complete rubbish, exercise is good and SoulCycle is simply very good exercise.

Im delighted my handsome future husband James Nortonis about to appear on our TV screens again. He doesnt know about our engagement yet but Ive long been a fan and look forward to his role as osteopath Stephen Ward in the new Profumo drama, The Trial Of Christine Keeler, which kicks off on BBC1 this Sunday.

Keep your eyes peeled for his dad Hugh, a retired lecturer, since Norton senior always has a cameo role in his sons projects. He appeared in white tie in Lady Chatterleys Lover, as a passer-by in Grantchester, a sugar daddy in the series McMafia and a moustachioed Cossack in War And Peace, although James says his father was a bit disappointed by this because he wanted to play a Russian count. On that set, filmed partly in Lithuania, he became so loved by the cast and crew that they dubbed him Papa Norton and treated him like a mega-star.

He even got a car once, which he was really pleased with. He gets special treatment, definitely, said Norton junior in an interview afterwards.

I love everything about this and cant wait until Papa Norton is my father-in-law.

*Are you a Santa or a Father Christmas family? My mother always insisted it was the latter because Santa was an Americanism. But last week I heard my young nieces speak only of Santa and wondered whether this was creeping wokeism, an attempt by teachers to slay the patriarchy.

Or perhaps Father Christmas now identifies as a woman and feels Santa is more appropriate? Needless to say the debate rages in several Mumsnet threads, with the Scots and Irish hitting back that they call him Santa too, or sometimes Santy, which I suspect would cause my mother a migraine. One user offers a definitive answer: Father Christmas is his formal title. Santa is his name. One to remember when you send him a thank you letter.

New: Daily podcast from the Evening Standard

Subscribe to The Leader on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or your chosen podcast provider. New episodes every weekday from 4pm.

View original post here:
Feast now, diet later? This festive paradox is making me anxious its time to hit the exercise bike - Evening Standard