#but what does work is performing intermittent miracles

[nydescynt]

Adhd at work is like. I do functionally nothing for multiple days bc there's no immediate deadlines. My boss asks me if I can just grab what I already had written on xyz topic and send it over. I perfectly edit it down from the existing specific context, rewrite portions for the new audience, and share it within an hour.

I'm by no means the perfect employee but it is kind of nice figuring out how to minmax my adhd (excellent under a perceived deadline or challenge). Then when I fuck up and forget Routine Task everyone's like.. well they're hyper competent in this other area so it's fine

[chaniters]

Reaper and the Fiend- Epilogue.

Epilogue for @kruk-art‘s Awan Cormac’s second series.

As usual, looking back id the realization that the more characters and elements you add up, the harder it gets for the plot to keep cohesion. Many times I almost call it quits, but somehow I pulled trough to the end. 

Hope you enjoy it!

Awan and “The Question”, the precognitive surviving member of the Phoenix Rangers, reflect on the aftermath of it all before Ortega joins them. 

Spoilers inside too, for Rebirth.

_______________________________________________________

The first rays of sunlight touch your Sidestep mask, as the cloud begins to recede. Ashfall and Sentinel have been working together to try and ground the toxins into a nearby landfill for hours now.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” The Question comments. 

“I think it’s working,” 

“Me too” He says while checking the air analyzer’s readings. “This is the real miracle”

“You still believe in miracles?”

“Magical miracles? No. But miracles made true by people with flesh, blood, and bone? Of course.”

“Interesting way to put it”

“When you’re like me, it’s the only way to put it”

“Right, I forget you’re supposed to know the future or something?” You didn’t forget. His mind is a maze that rivals yours, but he’s got a truly calm attitude about it that’s making you envious. 

“It depends. Do you believe in fate?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you believe our lives have been predetermined from before we were made? That, someone, decided who you’re supposed to be for the rest of your existence and that’s that?”

That’s a very specific question to ask to you… 

“No. I don’t believe in fate”

“Good. Me neither.”

“But you see it. The future, I mean.”

“I like to believe we are masters of our own destiny”

“That doesn’t really answer anything.”

“Well there’s a reason I didn’t call myself ‘The Answer’, you know?”

“Shut the fuck up” you laugh, unwrapping a candy bar. “I just came here to lie down, not to have a philosophical debate”. 

“You really aren’t going to ask me about your future? Everyone does.” Is he baiting you? You get the impression he knows a lot more about you just by looking. He knows too much about... everyone. You are just another speck of dust in a sea of information. 

“No. I won’t ask” you say pulling your mask above your mouth and taking a bite of candy. 

“Huh. That’s probably wise”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. Once I tell someone how their future will look like, then it’s set in stone for them and not even I can change it. I really don’t like doing it”

“But you would have.”

“Oh, I would. I do it, more than I probably should, you know for people who need it” 

“Do I look like I need it?”

He gives you a long look.

“No. I think you’ll be just fine without it. I mean, you won’t of course, but you will.”

“That’s both ambiguous and terrifying. How do you know the future’s not set in stone even before you look?”

“I really try not to think too hard about that. I think you didn’t want a debate?”

“Fine. I just want to relax” you say retreating and straightening an overturned sunbathing chair. “It’s been a shitty day”

The door to the staircase leading to the top opens, and Ortega comes in, in full suit. 

“Sidestep. I see you’ve made yourself comfortable up here. You know, Steel could have really used your help with all the angry civs though.” 

“Funny way of showing it. He said I wasn’t part of the team when you asked me to stay.”

“Yes but… well, you know he didn’t think you would actually walk away… he thought you wouldn’t listen and help anyways like you always do.”

“Well I guess we all learned something new from that experience, didn’t we?” 

“You just wanted to piss him off that badly?”

“Ugh… no… well, maybe I did, but you know I don’t do well with crowds with strong emotions, and I had more than my fair share today. I need some peace” 

“Fine. I understand… But just so you know, you did a darn good job in there”

“... a lot of the people who got killed might disagree” you point out.

“And a lot of people who lived will be thanking you. We saved them. You saved them. No one could have predicted how this would go”

“I could. I did” the Question states while looking at the analyzer he’s been fiddling with.

“What? You did? The only thing you did was call us! Why didn’t you say shit? A lot of executives died” Ortega points out.

“If I had told you, you would have saved them, and those are the ones who would have voted not to open the Archology to the civs, and we would be having a civil war right now. Thank me later”

“You let them die!”

“I didn’t do anything. You’re the ones with fighting powers, It was you who couldn’t rescue them, remember?”

“Wow. you really are full of shit” You interject.

“Look I lost my team to that monster ok? Could’ve lost the entire city too. I don’t like it but it’s how my stupid powers work, I’m not a fighter like you two, so give me a fucking break.”

“... fine” you say, too tired to argue with this jerk. 

“Good. Ashfall’s plan is working, pollution levels are coming down… I’ll go coordinate some stuff, If you’re staying here seek me out once it goes below 33% alright?”

“We don’t work for you!” you complain. 

“We’ll do it” Ortega interrupts you.

“Ugh. Whatever”

The Question nods and leaves, letting you two alone up here at the zenith of the Arcology. The monotonous beeps of the analyzer repeat intermittently over the strong winds.

“Funny guy” you comment

“Don’t get me started on that asshole.”

“I was just finished with him anyways.”

“So it’s working?” he says changing the subject and looking down at Sentinel and Ashfall working in the distance. 

“Seems like it” you answer.

“Nice to have some good news, finally,” he says approaching the edge. 

“Join me. Nothing compares to sunbathing under a toxic cloud with your suit on.” you offer.  

“Receding, toxic cloud you mean” he clarifies taking the chair next to you and laying over it. 

“Right. Receding” you snort. 

“Not going to lie. This is the biggest fucking mess I’ve ever been into since I got into the capes business”

“Same here” you agree. Nothing you did for the farm compares to this clusterfuck.

The aftermath wasn’t pretty. Not by a longshot.

Letting Catastrofiend into the core worked, as the beast consumed enough of the gas to allow the scientists to stabilize it somewhat, and turn the lights back on essential systems through the facility. The computers were toast, however, as Charon wiped all data and OS before erasing himself, commiting digital suicide upon it’s master’s death. Everything’s working on manual overrides right now. 

There was a big scare when the Fiend came out of the core’s container, glowing like it had the power of an evil purple sun ready to burn you all, but to everyone’s surprise, it didn’t survive long after saving performing its single heroic feat. The glow became blinding, and then it disappeared, only the echoes of its roars remaining as a reminder of its presence along with a pair of purple footprints. 

You caught a glimpse of your least favorite asshole, The Void, holding some sort of gun and hiding back into it’s cloaking device, walking away. Whatever it is he wanted, you’re sure he got it, and if your scans were to be trusted, he left the arcology immediately after that. 

Your work to convince the remaining executives to let the people in was much easier now that all the surviving scientists were focused on having the building not explode. They couldn’t afford combat on the outside when their tech was unreliable, and Reaper managed to remind them of their own mortality by dusting a couple of them. All it took was a small nudge on the mind of the deciding vote and the gates were reopened. 

“We lost Psychopathor” Ortega says laying down on a chair next to yours. “A lot of the crowd still backs him and he just got lost among them.” 

“We’ll get him next time” you reassure him. “We couldn’t fight him in the middle of this civilian mess anyways or it’ would be Halloween with Catastrofiend all over again”

“... Too soon man. Too soon” he says bending his arms and putting his hands behind his head, relaxing.

“Sorry.”

“You’re right. Not a damn thing we could do about old shitface, so It’s time to lie down and wait”

He stretches, crossing his legs as he looks up, just as you were doing earlier.

“They’re doing a fantastic job” you comment.

“Sentinel I had no doubts about, but Ashfall? He really came through working with those creepy scientists about the sand-whirlpool shenanigan”

“It was a good idea” you say peeking down. As the polluted air comes down into the landfill, it goes trough a series of sand walls of that Ashfall keeps raising, coming clean on the other side. Several trucks come in with sand refills while others take the polluted compounds away. 

“Good for him. His publicity wasn’t very good before this” 

“What about your publicity?” his mask looking your way

“My last publicity stunt with you guys was with Reaper and he turned to be a homicidal maniac so I’m thinking I’ll give that a pass from now on. Please don’t get me into that shit again?” 

“That’s fair” he concedes. 

 “... anyways… they stole a bunch of tec shit from the lower levels and left. Some sort of targeting device and many plasma weapon prototypes”

“We’ll get him” you repeat. 

A news helicopter flies by, taking pictures. It turns to take one of you two. Fuck. That’s tomorrow’s cover right there... 

“I know what you’re thinking… but we’re not going to be the top news tomorrow.” 

“No? Who is?” 

“I talked to my agents… Reaper, and The Fiend it is. Geni-Tech’s minimizing  company’s responsibility for the toxins and making them the focus.”

“They  kind of had a lot to do with it anyways”

“True…”

“That’s not what’s bothering you tough?”

“How do you know?” he asks turning towards you.

“It’s pretty obvious. What happened with Elyise?”

“... mierda. You’re good. You sure you can’t read my mind?”

“I can read Idiot easy enough. It’s my favorite language”

“... she left. I can’t find her. Didn’t want to talk to me”

“Understandable. Her mother just died for real this time”

“I just… I didn’t see another way... “

“That’s because there wasn’t.” 

“And now she’s going to hate me forever for it”

“Yup, pretty much” you add looking into the distance.

“Would you had done the same?”

“You’re asking me of all people?”

“Yeah. I want to know”

“Would I sacrifice a lab monster to save countless human lives…” Shit. That should be the farm’s motto. Would you sacrifice yourself to save lives? That’d be a better question.  “Yeah. I guess I would… Look, just because you do the right thing doesn’t mean people can’t hate you for it”

“Ha. The right thing…. What even is that”

“Good question,” you say closing your eyes. “So fucking tired”

“Me too. You should get those cuts checked...”

“Later. It’s just a scratch really. And you know I don’t like”

“Hospitals, yeah I know” 

“Good”

He doesn’t reply, and you both stay silent for the longest while, just listening to the wind as Sentinel keeps the small inverted tornado pulling the cloud into the landfill with Ashfall grounding the chemicals in it.

When you finally open your eyes again, the sky has shifted and there are large patches of open sky in the cloud. Checking your watch, you realize it’s been almost an hour since you sat down here. 

Ortega’s still next to you, so it was both of you who fell asleep. 

Since when are you so careless? Lowering your guard so much next to the Marshall’s a recipe for disaster. Standing up, you take a final look at the Sentinel’s work, and the deserted streets of the city below. 

“We should get back down” you add tapping Ortega’s shoulder.

“Eh… what’s the rush?” he asks looking up. 

“Air toxicity’s down 30%,” you say pointing at the analyzer the scientists gave you, your main reason for staying up here. “I’d bet GeniTech’s going to kick everyone out in minutes”

“Yeah… at gunpoint probably.”

You open the door, letting him in first and follow up to the elevator. He makes a call with his intercom to let The Question know. 

The floors of the Arcology are packed with people from Phoenix taking refuge from the cloud. Just as you see them, they can see you too inside the glass elevator. Without warning, they explode in a thunderous roar of...cheers?

There are some boos in it as well, possibly Psychopathor’s fans, but overall it’s just deafening hero worship. 

The kind Reaper talked about. The kind that makes more people take hero drugs. Focused on you and Ortega. You’re not sure how to feel about it anymore. 

The next few hours go really quickly, and you barely manage to say goodbye to the Rangers before leaving back for Los Diablos on the first bus you can get.  You need to get back to your place and rest for a couple of days while you heal up. You definitely lied to Ortega, Catastrofiend left a bit more than just a scratch and the wound is itching all over even after you disinfected it.

Being a hero is exhausting and you’re taking a brief small vacation while you consider what to do with the mess that your life’s become since you decided to mingle with the Rangers. 

__________ Somewhere, in a parking lot in Phoenix____________

“I’m sorry Dr. I couldn’t recover your disintegration gun” The Void states while studying the small weapon in his hand. “It wasn’t in their labs by the time I got there, and with all the city going upside down it was just impossible”

“Disappointing, but not unexpected. I thank you four your services anyways and…” 

“Dr. I’ll return my initial fee to you.”

“That’s not really necessary”

“I care about my reputation. I won’t  take  payment on something I failed to deliver.” 

“That is surprisingly refreshing to hear in this line of business. Very well Void.”

“Of course. Once again, I’m sorry”

He hung up, setting the gun back inside the briefcase, before calling another number, with the San Francisco area code upfront.

“Who are you? Who gave you this number?” a female voice asked. 

“They call me, The Void. And I know all the numbers” 

“That’s very unlikely. So you say your name is Void?”

“No, I’m not just ‘Void’.  There’s a THE before it. The. It’s ‘The’ Void, you hear me?!”

“Alright, alright, calm down you freak, I got it the first time.”

“And don’t you forget it”

“Whatever. What do you want THE VOID?” she made a point to pronounce it in a very passive-aggressive way.

“I need to arrange a meeting with Big Fire about a business proposal. I think I have something he could definitely find a use for” Void added looking at the shining red dot on the disintegration gun. 

“Big fire has a use for lots of things, but no time for everything. What am I supposed to say you’re offering that’ll make him call you back?”

“Oh he’ll call me back, you can bet on it.”

“I don’t like betting honey. Now speak or fuck off” 

“Well, you’re no fun. Ok, tell him I have… a fiend in a bottle,”

“A fiend in a … wait what does that mea-… “

Void hung up without answering, a smile on his lips as he closed the briefcase.

____________________________________________________

My Fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

[thefalse9]

Spurs Sack Mauricio Pochettino, Descent Into Mediocrity Inevitable.

-K

Wooo, boy. It’s been a while since I typed one of these up and got ye olde Tumblr fingers working, so let’s see if I still got it, shall we?

Yesterday, reports came out of North London that Tottenham Hotspur had done the unthinkable and sacked Mauricio Pochettino after the better part of a decade with a club, raising the profile of the lesser of the London clubs to the point that they were actively competing and thriving in the Champions League spots while becoming part of the Premier League’s “Big Six”. Pochettino modeled a team of overachieving players that lacked the profile and pedigree of World Class players (yes, I’m including Harry Kane and Dele Alli in that too), and he brought them up a level due to industrious coaching, a pragmatic strategy that involved outpacing on the wings, constant pressing, and a dedication to work ethic and perseverance.

Football operates in cycles. It’s become a bit of a trope in coaching cicles and within the industry, but many have identified the third year as fatal, the moment when a critical mass of players tire of the techniques and idiosyncrasies of their manager, when one or the other has to change. Managers, like Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United are/were able to sustain their success for so long because they were ruthless in refreshing their squads. Pochettino was never afforded that luxury by those above him, ownership refusing to give him the backing or the financial breathing room to refresh the squad or re-invent the team in a way better suited for results. Put quite bluntly, Pochettino was hamstrung by an owner in Daniel Levy who refused to invest in the squad, handed a shoestring budget and told to rub shit together real tight and make diamonds. For the better part of six years, he did.

It’s also not like Pochettino was naive to the issues that had befallen Tottenham. He had identified the problem. He knew it was not just about building a good squad and letting it run. For two years he has been urging rejuvenation but when it came this summer with three signings, two of whom have struggled with injury, it was too little too late. What has happened to Tottenham this season – 14th in the table after three wins in 12 games – is the price of last season when they did not make a single senior signing. It’s the result of a notoriously stingy owner not giving Pochettino the ability to refresh and renew his squad, a dogged insistence of the board to make due with what they have and refuse to invest in the team in manners which would benefit the club on the field; worrying far too much about the wage bill and the debts of player wages when Champions League football was seemingly at the grasp.

Even with all that working against him, this was a man who led this team to consecutive finishes within the Top 4 of the Premier League. Worse yet, this was a team that had made the Champions League final 6 months ago without having made a single new singing or reinforcement to the team. He was told, essentially, to perform a coaching masterclass to get the best possible result out of his club, and he did. Once the players grew complacent, most notably Christian Eriksen, ownership and the board turned on him and decided that it was pragmatic and ideally to fire a manager who had lifted the team from mediocrity into a bonafide top club in Europe. To fire a manager based on those circumstances is madness. To replace him with someone like Jose Mourinho? That’s downright criminal. I’ll get to Jose in a moment, however. More on that in a bit, but let’s really drill home the point on the Argentine.

Looking back now, it is hard not to wonder if perhaps Pochettino saw something like coming; maybe the writing was on the wall as far back as May of 2019 and Pochettino saw signs of this happening sooner rather than later. Maybe he saw this as the eventual outcome of his tenure, perhaps not to this scale, or with this immediacy, but perhaps the Argentine knew enough then to wonder if the Champions League Final in Madrid had actually signified if not the high point of his time at Spurs, then certainly the end of the road; the end of the aforementioned cycle.

Let’s not knock the merits of his accomplishments either. Pochettino had arrived in London in 2014, fresh from 18 months in which he had gained a treasure trove of admirers for his work at Southampton. He found, in Tottenham, a team that had finished sixth the season before, its campaign so devoid of meaning and mired in mediocrity, that in its final home game, its manager, Tim Sherwood, had invited a fan to sit in his place on the bench, “for the banter.” A Premier League club had legitimately sat a fan on the bench “for the banter”. It’s so damn Spursy that it hurts.

Back then, Spurs then occupied a very specific place in English soccer’s landscape:they were a powerhouse that was simultaneously a joke; a team that could be relied upon to fail in new and innovative and often hilarious ways; one of a handful, along with the Evertons and West Hams of the world, that saw a place in the Champions League as a hope more than an expectation. Spurs was then and is now the sixth-richest team in England. Sherwood’s Spurs then, had finished par for the course and met expectations. Mediocre to a fault, as was/is the Spurs way.

Pochettino took that team and transformed it completely. He mounted two serious challenges for the Premier League title, in 2016 and 2017, missing out first to the miracle of Leicester City and then the more status-quo triumph of Chelsea. Over that two-year period, no other team took as many points as Tottenham. Not Liverpool, not Manchester City. 

Pochettino prioritized youth whenever he could, turning Harry Kane into England’s leading forward — and the national team captain — and nurturing the likes of Dele Alli and Harry Winks. He managed to compete when Spurs had to play its home games at Wembley Stadium while its White Hart Lane stadium was demolished and a new, space-age home was constructed next door, dealing with delays to the stadium, an inability of the ownership group to find them a place to train and uncertainty regarding the future of the stadium and skyrocketing building costs that Pochettino would inevitably be hindered by; the cost of the stadium and the debt of construction cost precluding Spurs to make an investment in the actual team due to a debt their still paying off when it comes to the building of their new stadium.

In the end, the Argentine took Spurs to the Champions League final for the first time a few weeks after the stadium opened; the two events seemingly proof that the club was now part of Europe’s elite, both in terms of infrastructure and horizon. Ownership can take credit for some of that infrastructure, but much of the success, much of Tottenham’s new reality, is down to Pochettino and what he was able to coerce from the magician’s hat and out of the players at his disposal.

He was less concerned by the players he wanted to sign than the ones he needed to lose; several members of his team were coming to the end of their contracts, and to an extent to the end of the natural cycle in football. “Four years is a long time in football,” Pochettino said last year. He wanted not so much new faces as a fresh feel, a sense that another cycle was beginning. 

Spurs was always unwilling to provide him that. The reality is that Tottenahm inhabits a very different reality now than the Tottenham that Pochettino had inhertied. Elite clubs do not have time for rebuilds, renewals or refreshment of squads, for better or worse. They are averse to risk. Tottenham has loan obligations to meet and a stadium to pay off. It needs to be in the Champions League; it needs to be winning games; it needs to be filling its seats and luxury boxes and restaurants with fans scenting glory. It no longer has time to wait, and impatience, right or wrong, became the new status quo. Loyalty and prior results be damned.

And all of that is down to Pochettino. The club he leaves is fundamentally different from the one he found — almost unrecognizable, in fact. It is a club that does not see the Champions League as an ambition so much as a requirement. It is a club that cannot indulge a slump, a club that cannot wait for a team to become good. It will be no solace at all to Pochettino now, but it is true: The best measure of the work he has done, of all that he has achieved, is the circumstances of his departure. The ultimate proof of his success is his demise. In short, he raised his club to an elite level and was sacked because they wouldn’t give him the time to rebuild or restructure the club to the new level he had achieved. Pochettino, for better or worse, was a victim of own success.

Thus, we finally come to what comes next. Jose Mourinho was hired by Tottenham in light of Pochettino’s dismissal and you can’t help but feel that for a team that was hellbent on not giving funding to a manager or a team that was reluctant to working through a cycle, hiring Jose Mourinho is a move lacking of direction and developed solely out of desperation. Mourinho was a talented manager and a gifted analyst, but the jury is still out on whether the game itself has passed him by as a manager.

Mourinho has his trophies and his success, but recent history has not been kind to the “Special One” as along with his ego and his bravado, and intermittent success comes multiple reports of Mourinho falling out with ownership over a lack of funding provided to get new transfer targets and a near obsessive approach to fighting with ownership when he does not get the financial backing to implement his system with his players. Considering Pochettino is for all intents and purposes a better manager, and considering he was fired after being told to work with nothing and a budget that consisted of a paperclip and a piece of gum, time will tell if anything will be different with Mourinho at the helm. If Spurs are suddenly willing to spend with Mourinho at the helm when they were steadfast against giving Pochettino the ability to bring in reinforcements? It would come across as hypocritical to a mind-blowing degree.

That isn’t to say that Mourinho won’t be successful. As he does everywhere he goes, Mourinho will install a defensive system that will grind out victories over the course of this season and bring the team up from the depths of the bottom of the table. Next season, the team will flourish and be in the thick of the Champions League spots. Come the third season however, as Mourinho has proven, Jose will be looking for reinforcements, will have outstayed his welcome and his training ground methods, which are decidedly more intense and demanding than those of Pochettino will have grown thin. If Pochettino, who for all accounts was a “player’s message” need to change a message, how can we count on the message of a manager who was known to have been combative with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, known to have dust-ups with Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid and put forth ultimatums regarding Paul Pogba at Manchester United?

Future aside, Tottenham have fired Mauricio Pochettino, for reasons only they can justify. Over 6 years, he brought the team to a level of success that had been foreign to the club. By refusing to give him the opportunity to renew or refesh the club in the mold of the new reality that had become their norm - that of an elite club -, Pochettino was done a disservice and Tottenham returned to their roots - that of the mediocre club punching above their weight and finding new and innovative ways to fail.

[lalalizzy16fitness]

80lbs Later Here Are Some (Simple) Diet Rules I Stuck By on My Weight Loss Journey

When describing how you really feel about the latest miracle fix in the diet and fitness world, you’d probably like to drop an f-bomb-as in, what the fad? After all, how many times have you trusted logical sounding ideas, put all your faith in diet strategy, only to find out that the time you invested was a waste and you still haven’t dropped the weight?

There’s nothing fancy here, no excluded food groups or juice cleanses. Just simple calorie counting. I’ve lost 80lbs so far following these pretty straightforward rules, and I thought maybe I’d write them down for when I inevitably return from the future and need to follow my own advice. But if you need a little help you can also borrow some of these ideas as well.

One of the diet rules I’ve heard for weight loss is to start your day with a great protein packed breakfast. However, a good breakfast doesn’t guarantee an overall healthy diet. And timing isn’t as important as you think, you don’t need to eat immediately after you wake up, your metabolism won’t be harmed. Eating an early breakfast means you’re creating a bigger eating window (you eat more total hours during the day), which might lead to more fat storage and more health problems. No one meal is more important than any other. What matters most is total calorie intake, food selection, and then how much time you spend eating each day. If you don’t love breakfast, skip that bitch.

It’s okay to eat a big dinner. Most people think that eating dinner after dark is the cardinal sin of weight loss. Timing didn’t seem to matter for me. Eating too many calories causes weight gain regardless of when you eat them. Living in a world where you can’t eat at night and can’t enjoy food with your friends and family is restrictive and doesn’t adhere to any science-backed rules of weight loss. You won’t become fat by eating at night-that will only happen if you overeat at night. If you’re aware of how much you should be eating within any given day, you can place those calories in whatever meal works best for your body.

When you eat, you burn calories. If you’re told to eat 2000 calories per day, it doesn’t matter if it’s separated into five 400-calorie meals or two 1000-calorie feasts. (However, the composition of those meals does matter-that’s the science of dieting.) What works best for your schedule should determine the number of meals you eat.

From Atkins to the Paleo movement, carbohydrates have been criticized more than all of the ladies on the Real Housewives shows combined. Up to 50% of the carbohydrate intake of the typical American diet is in the form of highly processed carbs and sugar. So when people say carbs are bad, they’re usually talking about eating lots of sugar. That’s not really fair to every other food that also is labeled a carbohydrate. I ate more carbs on the days I was MORE active and fewer carbs on the days I was sedentary. The carbs of course coming from whole foods like fruits and vegetables.

I exercise with high intensity, and there was NOTHING worse than feeling sick to my stomach because I felt forced to eat or drink a huge preworkout shake before going to the gym or going for a run. Eating before a workout is important but “before a workout” is a much wider time range than you might think. If you eat many hours before you train, there’s still plenty of fuel to help you perform and feel great.

Eating fat is not against healthy diet rules. Cholesterol actually acts as an antioxidant against dangerous free radicals within the blood. When there are high levels of undesirable substances in the blood (caused by inflammation in your arteries from eating highly processed foods and large quantities of sugar), cholesterol levels rise in order to combat these substances. Cholesterol is also necessary for the production of a number of hormones, some of which help fight against heart disease.

Any diet that has you not eating at all is not a diet-its starvation. But there IS a difference between withholding what your body needs and reprogramming your body so that you can control your hunger and let your body recharge. The idea of fasting is far from crazy, I did bouts of intermittent fasting and it worked great for me! You do it without trying every night. When done correctly, fasting can actually help your body burn fat, recharge, and stay healthy.

Slapping “organic” on a label does not mean it will help you lose weight, and in some instances, it won’t even guarantee that food is healthy. Organic sources of sugar, are still sugar. Organic products loaded with 1000 calories, are still 1000 calories.

Protein is the key to the universe. If you’re healthy, you are clear to eat protein and not worry about any health problems because there are none. What’s more, protein is one of the most metabolic macronutrients, meaning that the more protein you eat, the more calories you burn. Just remember the science of dieting: those calories are still calories so the rules of total intake still apply.

[imjustthemechanic]

Natalie Jones and the Golden Ship

Part 1/? - A Meeting at the Palace Part 2/? - Curry Talk Part 3/? - Princess Sitamun Part 4/? - Not At Rest Part 5/? - Dead Men Tell no Tales Part 6/? - Sitamun Rises Again Part 7/? - The Curse of Madame Desrosiers Part 8/? - Sabotage at Guedelon Part 9/? - A Miracle Part 10/? - Desrosiers’ Elixir Part 11/? - Athens in October Part 12/? - The Man in Black Part 13/? - Mr. Neustadt Part 14/? - The Other Side of the Story Part 15/? - A Favour Part 16/? - A Knock on the Window Part 17/? - Sir Stephen and Buckeye Part 18/? - Books of Alchemy Part 19/? - The Answers Part 20/? - A Gift Left Behind Part 21/? - Santorini Part 22/? - What the Doves Found Part 23/? - A Thief in the Night Part 24/? - Healing Part 25/? - Newton’s Code Part 26/? - Montenegro Part 27/? - The Lost Relic Part 28/? - The Homunculinus Part 29/? - The End is Near Part 30/? - The Face of Evil Part 31/? - The Morning After Part 32/? - Next Stop Part 33/? - A Sighting in Messina Part 34/? - Taormina

They finally catch up with Madame Desrosiers, and she has something surprising to say.

As they rumbled along the road to Taormina, Sir Stephen refused to let his argument against archaeology go.  “For another thing,” he went on, “the people and places you go to see did not ask to be objects of wonder.  Your Princess Sitamun, from what I have read of the Egyptians, hoped to have her funerary temple tended while her body and its sarcophagus rested undisturbed.  Or think of the villages we saw on the island of Santorini.  The people living there do nothing but serve the needs of visitors.  They have no industries of their own – I heard a woman tell her tour group that even water must be brought in, for there is none native to the island.”

“Pilgrimage towns were the same,” said Nat.  “During the high middle ages, tourism was almost the only industry in Santiago de Compostela.”

“But the people there were doing God’s work,” Sir Stephen said.  “And the relics of Saint James were meant to be seen, so that they could perform their miracles.  Saint James himself, were he able to watch, would be pleased.  Could you say the same thing of the Egyptians?”

Natasha just sighed.  They’d had this argument a dozen times before and they would doubtless have it again.  Sir Stephen just didn’t like digging up the dead.

“You can’t speak for them,” Jim spoke up.  “You’re not an ancient Egyptian.  You only know what you think.”

“I think I have a better understanding of the peoples of old than any of you,” said Sir Stephen, in a voice that rejected the entire twenty-first century.

“Princess Sitamun lived nearly three thousand years ago,” said Natasha.  “You were born nearly a thousand years ago, but that’s still closer to now than it was to her.  Even if it wasn’t, two millennia is such a long time, I don’t think it matters.  None of us know what the ancient Egyptians would have thought of us.”

“Then none of us should presume to speak for them,” said Sir Stephen.

“Let it go,” said Sharon, patting his arm.  “You won’t convince them and they won’t convince you.  Personally, I think the Egyptians don’t care, because they’re dead.”

Mount Etna itself had not been visible from Messina, only its towering column of cloud.  As they got closer, with dusk closing in, the volcano itself emerged from among the hills, taller than all of them and with its peak shrouded in mist lit eerily red from within.  The town of Taormina below it was a tiny place among a dozen similar tourist towns that looked down on the beach.  It was all arranged along one narrow, meandering medieval street behind a city wall, where shops sold everything from cheesy souvenir magnets and keychains to expensive designer jewelry, beach gear to hand-made marionettes and everything in between.

With the volcano currently putting on such a show, the population of the little town had swollen to capacity and beyond.  Not only was the main street full of shoppers, diners, and people enjoying various entertainments, roofs and balconies were covered with people, many of them with binoculars to view the mountain peak.  The whole place felt like it was having a party… but there was also an undercurrent of something much more ominous.  In particular, there were signs set up at the sides of the roads to direct people who were evacuating from higher up the slopes.

The six members of the CAAP and Jim made their way through the crowds of tourists, locals, and intermittent stray dogs to the Hotel Isabella.  Like the Europa Palace in Messina, this one had four stars, but as rather unprepossessing from the outside.  Its façade was a narrow stone building with an arched door, wedged in between a place selling football merchandise and another offering designer purses.  Nat went to the front desk, and asked if Mrs. Desrosiers were there.

“You missed her,” the clerk, a balding man wizened from a lifetime in the sun, replied.  It had become a depressingly familiar phrase, but what followed gave Nat renewed hope.  “Only by about ten or fifteen minutes, though – she met a friend and they went out for supper.  I don’t know when they’ll be back, but we have a bar if you’d like to wait for her.”

“What friend?” asked Natasha.  He couldn’t mean Newton, could he?  Every indication thad been that the two alchemists despised one another.  If it weren’t Newton, though, that suggested there was a third person involved here and that was the last thing they needed.  “Was it a German, with long white hair and a very ugly hat?”

“It was an older man,” the clerk said, “but I didn’t hear his voice enough to know if he were German.”

Newton was far from being history’s only famous alchemist.  Desrosiers had said her husband was dead, but history and legend were full of characters like Paracelsus or Agricola who, if alchemy were a real thing, might well be still around causing trouble.  That was a depressing thought, and it was mainly on that account that Nat decided to stick to believing Desrosiers’ friend was Newton until she saw evidence to the contrary.

“We’re gonna have to split up and search again,” she told her companions.  “If we’re only a few minutes behind her, we can’t lose the opportunity.”

“Somebody’s gonna need to stay here in case she comes back,” said Allen.

“Then you do that,” Nat told him.  “The rest of us will have to search the nearby restaurants.”  Unlike in Kotor and Santorini, most of the restaurants in Taormina were indoors, rather than spilling out into the streets.  There simply wasn’t room for them here.  That would slow them down considerably.

Sharon and Sir Stephen went together, of course, as did Sam and Clint, who seemed to have bonded in mutual mistrust of Jim.  That left Jim himself with Natasha – and that, she realized, meant they were going to have to talk about their sexual dalliance and what the rest of the group thought of it.  Nat would definitely pass on what Allen had told her, but she wondered whether Jim would believe her.  Would he think she was just sparing his feelings?

Sure enough, once they were away from the others, Jim brought it up almost immediately.

“I think I need to apologize,” he said.  “I didn’t realize they were gonna be so… it was selfish of me to ask you, and…”

“Don’t,” said Nat.  “I can’t take any more apologies.  You asked my permission, I gave it to you, we both enjoyed it, and they don’t care as much as it looked like.  I talked to Dad about it.”

It seemed he did believe the explanation when she passed it on, because he looked relieved.  “That’s… still really awkward.  But I wouldn’t want your colleagues to think less of you.”

“Oh, they wouldn’t,” said Nat.  “Trust me, I wouldn’t let them.”

Jim had to smile a little at that.  “I believe you.”

Meanwhile, Natasha had realized that the two of them were clearly marching down the street with a purpose – they were not blending in.  “We look too much like we’re on a mission,” she said.  “Slow down, and put an arm around me.”

Jim laughed.

“Seriously,” she gave him a poke.

“Just for the mission, huh?” asked Jim.  He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in, until their hips touched.  “Wouldn’t want to stand out.”

Nat smiled, too – she could have stopped herself, but right now it could be part of their act.  She rarely got to enjoy this kind of closeness.  Allen hugged her, but there was still a level on which he had to love her because he was, in whatever sense the word was meaningful, her father.  It was possible to argue that Jim didn’t have much choice, either.  He had no family or friends of his own, so if he needed human contact, his options to get it were extremely limited.

Yet at the same time… this was nice.  Maybe the honesty had something to do with it.  As Natasha had noted earlier, she rarely got to be honest with people.  Allen encouraged her to be honest no matter how terrible the truth might be, and yet she rarely did, just because she was afraid of hurting him with it.  Now, here she was and here was Jim, and they were both whatever they were.  If either of them had wanted to get close to anybody else, they would have had to lie about it, but not with each other.

Nat’s phone buzzed.  She stopped and pulled it out, and found a text message from Sharon.

We’ve got Desrosiers, it said.  She’s alone at the sushi place above the bus parking.

On our way, Nat texted back.  “Looks like we have to turn around,” she told Jim.

“Yeah, I saw,” he said.  “Does this mean we stop blending in?”

“Of course not,” Nat said, and patted his hand on her hip, indicating she wanted it to stay right there.

Just outside the city gate, next to the self-consciously spectacular Excelsior Palace Hotel, was a very tiny mobile midway consisting of a merry-go-round and a bouncy castle in a car park.  Just beyond those was a petrol station with a row of bank machines and a couple of elevators to go down to the parking garage below.  Beside that was a little restaurant serving sushi and antipasto on a balcony overlooking the bay, and Madame Desrosiers was sitting there as if waiting for somebody.

She was, as always, flawlessly dressed in a flowing gray dress and very tall heels, with a tortoiseshell comb in her hair.  She was sipping at a glass of water while staring out across the water at the lights on the Calabrian coast.  Every so often, she would glance at her watch, but she kept her back to them at all times, which Natasha thought was suspicious in itself.  If she were really expecting somebody, she ought to be facing the car park so she could see them coming.

Natasha approached.  The others, who’d been waiting for her, Jim, and Allen to join them, followed her.  When she got close to Desrosiers’ table, the woman looked up and said, “oh, it’s you again.”

“You say that as if you haven’t been sitting here for half an hour waiting for us,” said Nat.

Desrosiers sighed.  “Very well, sit down,” she said.  “I was worried I’d made it too difficult for you to find me, but I thought if I made it easy you’d get suspicious.”

“You’re right,” Nat said.  “Right now I’m extremely suspicious.”

They arranged themselves around her.  Natasha, Jim, and Sir Stephen sat with Madame Desrosiers, the other four at the table next to them.  Nat did notice that although her back was to the door, Desrosiers was also sitting closest to it, with the least furniture in the way.

She didn’t try to run immediately, though.  Instead, she looked at Jim and nodded.  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Fine so far,” he replied.  “I’d like to stay that way.”

Desrosiers shook her head.  “There’s not much to be done for that.  You can only continue to exist by being regularly replenished – and even then, you won’t change the way a human being would.  You won’t get older, your hair won’t grow… you will look the way you do now for however long you last.”

Jim looked crushed.  “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” he asked.

“Because you were already upset,” Desrosiers said.

He must feel like yet another bit of humanity had been stolen from him, Natasha thought.  She felt sorry for him – and yet they had to stick to the point and learn as much as they could before Desrosiers ran off again.  “Why did you want to meet us?” Nat asked.  “Was it to give Jim more doses?”  If it were only that, she would be… delighted on one level, deeply disappointed on another.

“No.  The rest is at home in my workshop and I can’t spare it on short notice,” said Desrosiers.  “I’m here to ask a favour.  You have Neustadt’s notebooks.  That’s why you went to Santorini, isn’t it?  I need them.”

[theinquisitivej]

The New Century Multiverse Reactions – Let Them Go FINALE: Episode 17, A Woman’s Work

You can listen to the full episode here.

The final episode begins with Rebecca entering Amanda’s room to reveal a scene of devastation. Seeing everything torn and demolished in this area is like seeing the scattered bones of the room’s skeleton, as if the black ink on the floor represents the very lifeblood of the room having been spilt. As Rebecca moves with determined purpose, the two creatures that remain are specifically named as “female Barghest”. This demonstrates her current mindset towards Elsie and Amanda, but it also illustrates how this climax is purely female driven. The episode’s title, ‘A Woman’s Work’, is most likely referring to Rebecca, but it could also refer to the vicious behaviour of either of the two Barghest she’s hunting. The destruction of the master bedroom is indeed Amanda’s work, after all.

         Before leaving Ravenwood for good, Rebecca retrieves a lemonade bottle cork that she seems to deeply treasure. This is almost certainly from the lemonade bottle she shared with Rafe beside the River Avon on the day they first met. What I find interesting is that, unless I’m mistaken, this is the first time the audience is shown that Rebecca kept this cork as a memento. We’ve gotten to know Rebecca very well over the course of this story, but this moment is a sign that there are many facets to her life of which we are still unaware. It’s not a huge revelation that upheaves everything we’ve known about her until now, but it’s nevertheless a small moment which adds even more depth to Rebecca by suggesting that we might not know everything about her, even as late into the story as this, the final chapter. It’s comparable to the chapter epilogues which provide mysterious glimpses into the hidden corners of the world presented in this text. The environments and characters of this story have their secrets, and that creates an implicit scope to this world which tells the reader that things are going on beyond the main events detailed in this narrative. As the new entry point to this series, Let Them Go demonstrates an immersive and captivating approach to selling the reader on the world of New Century.

         The surprise of this finale for me was the discovery of Amanda’s letter. It seems only right that a departing letter from a loved one is featured in the close of this story as Rebecca leaves Ravenwood, as it was the final will from a deceased father that began this story and drew Rebecca to Ravenwood at the start of Let Them Go. Not being told what the letter says straight away builds up the listener’s anticipation even further, so when it’s finally read aloud to us in the novel’s closing moments the emotional intensity of what’s being said feels even more tragic. Amanda’s blessing is simultaneously a comforting reassurance that she doesn’t hate Rebecca for how she feels, as well as a cruel glimpse at the life that might have awaited Rebecca had things not happened the way they did. After the episode, once I knew what the letter said, I went back to re-listen to how Rebecca reacts once she finishes reading the letter after discovering it. Amanda’s words leave Rebecca feeling frozen in place, “unable to move forwards, unable to go back”. Rebecca wants to rewind to a point in time where the happy future Amanda envisions for her can come to pass, but she can’t. She wants what happened to her sister, what’s happened to all of them, to have been for something, anything, but she knows that the comfort her sister took in her closing moments of humanity, documented in this letter, was built on a false hope. She cannot return to the past, the beautiful dream of a future with Rafe has been lost forever, and even the more real and achievable short-term future she has decided for herself through her present course of action is momentarily out of reach as she struggles to press ahead. In this moment, Rebecca comes across as being suspended in time, caught between the pain of past memories and a hesitant dread of what uncertain future awaits her.

         As the letter is read to us with intermittent updates on Rebecca’s progress as she moves outside, we’re treated to Theo Leigh’s final performance as Amanda. For a character who has been out of commission for the bulk of this narrative, Amanda has felt remarkably defined as a significant presence in Let Them Go’s story. Despite this letter detailing her vulnerability and fearful thoughts as her humanity drifted away from her, Amanda’s compassion, insight, and sincerity nevertheless shines through as the letter is read, and Theo’s shaking yet gently reassuring delivery solidifies the character as one of the brightest sparks of this story. The emotional intensity of this finale hinges on Theo’s performance as she reads this letter, and she successfully brings this story to a tearful, bittersweet, and memorable close.

         And all of a sudden we’re at the end, and all that’s left is Rebecca facing the now fully transformed Barghest Amanda, “at once beautiful and terrible”. I did not expect that Rebecca wouldn’t end up killing Amanda, and yet this ending makes it so clear why she could never bring herself to kill her dear sister, even in this state. Even so, they belong to two different worlds now, and she has to let her sister go as she departs Ravenwood forever. Rebecca doesn’t leave in triumph; she quietly retreats, taking each step slowly as Amanda gradually shrinks in the distance. When Rebecca finally crosses the stream, this acts as the last border between the outside world that awaits her and this sad place she must leave behind. Once she crosses, Amanda disappears, confirming that the transition is complete. Amanda has left Rebecca’s world.

         We close unexpectedly on the Miracle of Sound song ‘Force of Nature’, which, I will admit, took me aback. Despite not having played Horizon: Zero Dawn, the game that originally inspired that song, I’ve listened to it many times, so hearing it in this new context as it’s connected with Rebecca, her journey, and the new worlds that await her took a little bit of adjusting for me. I think ‘London Town’ clicked with me a little more easily when it was used in The Princess Thieves because it matched the setting, themes, and tone of that story. By comparison, ‘Force of Nature’ is used not to evoke the Gothic Romance that defines much of Let Them Go, but instead calls to mind the struggles that Rebecca has faced up till now as she rushes into this new world, reforged and full of determination. It definitely works, and I find it to be more and more of a suitable song choice to close out the story each time I listen to this ending, but the song placement of ‘London Town’ in The Princess Thieves takes a lot to beat for me.

         Rebecca Wolverton will one day return. As I feel at the close of every New Century story, I can’t wait to be reunited and see what awaits this character that I’ve grown to care for. After this reassurance that we will see Rebecca again, however, we hear a mysterious tease in the epilogue; in a hidden place in the damaged and haunting ruins of the house once known as Ravenwood, it is revealed to us that the forgotten thing that troubled Rebecca was the hatch in the cellar being open. Has something secret been unleashed? Does a spark of some sinister life yet remain in this concealed corner of this abandoned place? I’m honestly unsure, and I’m both curious and trepidatious about what the answer might be.

         And that was Let Them Go. Even after taking a week to process this final chapter, the ending still stays with me, and I find myself in need of further reflection. Some closing thoughts are in order, I think. If you will permit me one last entry in this series of posts, I’d like to finish next week with some overarching thoughts on Let Them Go as a whole.

[olgagarmash]

The Hierarchy of Nutrition

“I don’t know what to believe.”

If you’ve ever read a fitness magazine or searched for any health-related information on the Internet, this is probably how you feel. Or, maybe it’s more like, “WTF! Why does every piece of information contradict one another?”

Every day, it can seem like something is bad…and then good…and then bad again. At some point, you might even wonder what is safe to eat. 

First carbs are bad, then fats, and even protein is criticized (wrongly) for causing kidney issues.  

The campaigns to push dietary agendas are enough to make you think Paleo and Atkins are running against Mediterranean and Low-Sugar for the office of diet supremacy. Like any election, all candidates have their flaws, but that doesn’t mean they are fundamentally flawed. The diets that work are the ones that align with food preferences and lifestyle in a way that just fits. 

And while you can safely assume any plan that includes the words “cookie” or “miracle” is full of shit, trying to tackle every new diet trend would be an impossible task.

Instead of naming names, here are three simple tips to help you figure out what actually works and what might work best for you.

Table of Contents

Don’t believe any plan that points out one “enemy.”

So many new trends in the health and fitness world use smart marketing techniques to both scare you and promise quick results. 

Weight loss is a complex topic. If something promises to change one thing and everything will get better, then it’s probably a lie.

That’s because your ability to lose fat will be determined by calories, but that’s only a small piece of the picture. It’s also influenced by the quality of those calories, your hormones, stress levels, your health history, genetics, the exercise you perform, age, your family history, and a host of other factors. 

Does that mean you need to become an expert in nutrition in order to start a new eating plan? Most definitely not. But, it does mean that if any diet suggests changing one element is the “key to success,” you should be skeptical.

And yet, look for any diet book, and any of the following are singled out as the “primary” cause of weight gain:

Carbs

Fat

Wheat

Dairy

Gluten

Lactose

Sugar

Late-night eating

Fasting

Elimination of overnight meals

Processed and/or packaged foods

Can adjusting your diet around these principles lead to weight loss? Of course. But, it’s likely not the long-term solution. 

In general, you want to limit unnecessary restriction of foods you might enjoy. Completely removal limits the likelihood that you’ll stick with the plan, and that means it’s designed to fail. 

For example, some people might have to avoid certain foods or ingredients because of food allergies (this topic is an entirely different and fascinating beast), but most people are overreacting and cutting foods from their diet because they’ve been tricked into believing these “bad foods” are a health problem. They’re not. 

For the most part, odds are you don’t have a food allergy — no matter how much the latest book might try to convince you otherwise.

Case in point: Research found that 86 percent of people who thought they were gluten intolerant were not.  And scientists estimate that only one to two percent of people in the world actually suffer from gluten intolerance. 

If you’re truly allergic to a food, then you’ll experience a reaction in your body similar to how pollen crushes my sinuses every summer when you eat them.

But, this is where reality ends. If you’re trying to understand nutrition, it’s best to consider the words of Dr. Mike Israetel, a professor of exercise science.

“Ultimately, successfully countering weight gain and obesity is a combination of many nutrition and behavioral principles that keep the fundamentals (like calorie balance) in mind. Catchphrase demonization of a single nutrient as a magic-bullet cure is unlikely to ever be the solution, and–in fact–more likely to create problems and confusion about how to fight obesity.”

Think of dieting like dating (hear me out).

Looking at what works for your friend, sister, co-worker, or favorite Instagram star is a bad idea. And yet, that’s often how a lot of people get inspired to start a new diet. Instead, think of healthy eating like dating .

You wouldn’t choose to be in a relationship with someone who you despise from day one, so why would you do that with the foods you have to eat. Every. Single. Day.

Anything that sounds like it would make your life miserable is going to be a problem. Because while your body might survive just fine, your mind won’t. You will quit the plan, you will learn to hate nutrition, and you’ll probably end up more confused and a few pounds heavier than when you started.   

After working with hundreds of clients over the past 10 years, here are a few things I’ve seen:

Bad relationship No. 1: Molly wants to try a low-carb diet but loves pasta. She’ll be OK for four to six weeks, snap, pay rent at her favorite Italian spot for the next month, and then think dieting can’t work.

Bad relationship No. 2: Paul loves dessert. He tries a clean eating plan of chicken and broccoli… which satisfies him for about two weeks, before he becomes grumpy and hates his life.

Bad relationship No. 3: Rebecca loves breakfast. It’s her favorite meal of the day. But she’s heard that intermittent fasting works and that she needs to start her meals at 12 p.m. every day and only eat for an eight-hour window. This relationship does not go well.

The problems repeat over and over (and over) again. Choosing a diet because it sounds good or because it worked for your BFF and not prioritizing your personality, preferences, and lifestyle sets you up to fail before you’ve even stocked your fridge full of raw meat and vegetables (Paleo, anyone?).

You can build a healthy diet that’s higher-carb, allows dessert, and may or may not include breakfast (some mornings are crazy).

“Do what works for your body” is simple advice, but it works incredibly well. And it makes perfect sense. You have a different body from your friends or siblings, so why wouldn’t you want to make slight, personalized adjustments that seem to fit?

If you want to live a healthy, low-stress life, you need to consider whether a plan is a good fit for you. If it’s not, look for something else. There are a lot of options and a lot of them work, no matter how much certain experts may try to condemn competing ideologies.

At the end of the day, weight loss starts with burning more calories than you eat (science nerds call this a “caloric deficit.”) It doesn’t end there, and many other factors must be considered. But start with something doable and you won’t be finding yourself exhausted and frustrated in just a few weeks.

Don’t buy the hype

The most important parts of any healthy eating plan–whether low-carb, low-sugar, or anything in between–are consistency and sustainability. I’ve written about it many times, but four-week fat-loss plans are full of lies. 

“Thirty-day solutions” sound great on paper, but they don’t play out so well after the first 30 days. You can lose weight quickly, but most of those “get-fit quick” plans are all smoke and mirrors. 

Eating is social, fun, and should bring happiness. You should feel in control and know that your healthy choices are making a difference and helping in the ways you want.

The hardest thing about consistently eating healthy is the fact that no one wants to “be on a diet.” That’s why we’re often drawn to the quickest solution available, so we can get the results we want and return to our “normal” existence.

My suggestion: Do everything possible to ignore the instant gratification. It only leads to more frustration. It’s OK if you’re confused by food and nutrition and/or have no idea where to even begin. At some point, this is a struggle for everyone.

When it comes to nutrition and your body, you must see the bigger picture. Just as you don’t transform your body by doing one exercise repeatedly for 30 days, you won’t change your body permanently by committing to something for such a short period of time.

Exceptions exist, but if healthy weight loss is your goal, one to two pounds per week — on average — is a great goal. Anything faster than that usually means you’re losing more muscle (and not fat).

And the average part is important. One week you might lose 4 pounds. The next week you might lose zero pounds. Think of weight loss in 2-4 week periods but mini-stalls are part of the process. 

Many people quit their weight loss journey because they think they are stuck when, in reality, they are still on track. 

The 1-2 pounds per week might not sound like much, but it adds up fast. Think about it: you can stick with it for three months, you could be looking at as much as 25 pounds of fat loss. Not too bad, right? And because it was done progressively, focusing on what works instead of hype and false promises, you’re more likely to keep it off for good.

Need help figuring out the best diet plan for your needs?

Get your questions answered. Sign up for Born Fitness online coaching. To learn more, click here.

READ MORE: 

Why 99% of Diet Plans Really Fail (Hint: It’s Not Dessert)

FLAWED: The Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen Diet Plan

Do You Really Need To Eat Chicken And Broccoli?

source https://wealthch.com/the-hierarchy-of-nutrition/

[careerzonestudyabroad]

Top 10 Study Abroad Destinations

There's likely a valid justification (or, rather, a ton of them) that the greater part of the world is keen on investing their investigation abroad energy in one of the accompanying ten nations. Regardless of whether it is a brilliant price:service proportion, the character of local people, widely acclaimed training guidelines, or a unique scene you can't discover elsewhere on the planet (Cappadocia, anyone?!), these are the nations to concentrate abroad in case you're prepared for a decent time with your schooling interests. From gelatos to mochis, we have you covered.

1. Italy

With its astounding food, attractive language, delightful workmanship, and dynamic history, Italy is the most sought-after objective for hopeful examination abroad understudies. Study abroad projects in Italy have an interesting mix of Italian social examinations and courses in an assortment of majors from business to expressive arts.

Professionals: Most projects expect almost no Italian language study, making Italy available to understudies. Likewise, there's the realistic scenes, notable recorded locales in each corner, and gelatos in shadings you didn't know existed.

Cons: Not learning the public language makes incorporating into the neighborhood culture troublesome and this is one culture you would prefer not to pass up. And keeping in mind that eating all that gelato isn't really your midriff line's closest companion, it does some amazing things for the spirit.

Especially Awesome Study Abroad Programs:

Lorenzo de' Medici

Performing Arts Abroad

Sant'Anna Institute

2. Spain

Spain flaunts noteworthy celebrations, breaks, and flamenco artists. What's more, significantly something beyond the cliché stuff; there's additionally incredible climbs everywhere on the country, astonishing sea shores for all sea shore assortment types, and an unending assortment of jamón serrano. Every year a huge number of understudies excursion to Spain to learn Spanish (duh!) and to take classes in worldwide business, European examinations, and that's just the beginning.

Stars: The variety of study abroad projects in Spain ensures lodging and homeroom conditions straight up your own rear entryway. The segment of study abroad understudies will be different, however on the off chance that you just wanna kick back with local people over a glass of sangria, no concerns. Individuals of this nation love just to talk, share food, and absorb the sun.

Cons: Spain is a particularly mainstream concentrate abroad objective among American understudies that it can now and again be difficult to drench in the neighborhood culture. Global understudies should be purposeful about going off in an unexpected direction and investigating outside their usual ranges of familiarity; go for certain tapas with local people, require roadtrips to little towns, and become more acquainted with your local area.

Especially Awesome Study Abroad Programs:

CEA Study Abroad

Scholarly Programs International (API)

Alba Study Abroad

3. Britain

Not certain if it's England's authentic binds with such countless pieces of the world… or David Beckham's profile… or the peculiar language… or Harry Potter's stronghold… however for reasons unknown, understudies simply love concentrating abroad in England.

Geniuses: Ideal for understudies who've never been out of the country, England offers a more unpretentious invasion into the universe of social contrasts. English is spoken all over the place (regardless of whether there are nearby tongues you can get in case you're up for the test!) and finding your number one brands from back home likely will not be an issue here.

Cons: It may be a tad excessively "simple" for understudies looking for a drastically changed social experience. Likewise, the UK is costly; there's no way to avoid that. Whenever cost is a worry, understudies should search for programs outside of London for more moderate alternatives.

Especially Awesome Study Abroad Programs:

College London

Shower Spa University

College of Roehampton

4. France

From the amazing city lights and sights of Paris to the seaside sun and fun of the French Riviera, understudies love the sentimentalism of France. That is not in any event, getting into the style explanations or culinary experiences. La compete en rose.

Masters: Programs are accessible in such different areas as cosmopolitan Paris or archaic Avignon, with choices in one or the other French or English. You can decide for yourself how testing the following semester will be. We previously referenced the extravagant food sources and lyricism of the language, isn't that so?

Cons: Even in the event that you decided to join up with an investigation abroad program in France instructed in English, some earlier French language study is enthusiastically suggested, particularly in the event that you are living outside of the principle habitats. Know that intermittent association fights can close the nation down. In any case, hello, it's all essential for the experience.

Especially Awesome Study Abroad Programs:

Esmod Paris

Scholastic Studies Abroad

CEA Study Abroad

5. Germany

Perhaps in light of the fact that Germany is home to the world well known Oktoberfest and the Neuschwanstein Castle (Disney's motivation), yet there's no rejecting that understudies are attracted to the numerous delights of German culture and its top notch training.

Stars: This is an incredible spot to examine business, hard sciences, and German (natürlich). It's additionally an extraordinary spot for scholarly entry level positions, with base camp of a portion of the world's greatest organizations and devotion to advancement. Inside and outside of the study hall, productivity is high, so there's no compelling reason to sit around idly with administrative burdens.

Cons: Some earlier German investigation is suggested, however numerous projects offer a blend of German language and courses instructed in English. The most amazing aspect the two universes!

Especially Awesome Study Abroad Programs:

Worldwide Studies Abroad (ISA)

European Study Center (ESC)

IES Abroad

6. Australia

From swimming in the Great Barrier Reef to climbing in the Outback and investigating metropolitan Sydney, a huge number of understudies fly south to visit the land down under: Australia. Also, feel like they're large and in charge.

Experts: Australia is home to the absolute best colleges on the planet. Here, understudies can concentrate essentially every major, except star points incorporate business, humanities, and the entirety of the science fields. In your leisure time, get a tan, pursue some wild critters, and hit those Bondi Blue waters.

Cons: Being in the southern half of the globe, Australia's scholastic schedule is inverse to that of North America/Europe. This can be a bummer for understudies with occasional responsibilities back home, (for example, sports and summer temporary jobs). Simultaneously, this offers the chance of a year-long summer, so it's not all awful.

Especially Awesome Study Abroad Programs:

Pacific Discovery

CAPA International Education 

CIEE

7. Japan

With lovely zen-like engineering, a portion of the world's most innovative contraptions, and sushi, Japan offers understudies a magnificently rich culture to investigate. Take a spin under the cherry bloom trees and become familiar with the exquisite draw of this little archipelago.

Geniuses: Japan has the ideal crossing point of present day comforts (look at the shinkansen, Japan's insane quick train) and chronicled environmental factors (practically every city has an antiquated Buddhist sanctuary), so whether you're an advanced manga fan or an old samurai hero, there's an only thing for you.

Cons: Japan can be really costly, regardless of whether you're not pigging out on extravagant sushi consistently. Draft up a spending plan, and attempt to learn probably a portion of the fundamentals of the Japanese language prior to intersection the lake.

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Place for Study Abroad (CSA)

KCP International Japanese Language School

8. China

Understudies run to concentrate in urban communities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong for the upper hand it will bring to their resumes. Outside of the homeroom, there's end of the week mass movements to renowned locales like the Great Wall or Terracotta Warriors.

Aces: Being the biggest arising economy on the planet, language capacity in Mandarin or Cantonese gives understudies a serious edge in the work market. You'll likewise have the option to see direct how unpredictably China is associated with the worldwide market (and to eat the entirety of the delectable treats).

Cons: Some understudies can encounter some culture stun because of significantly unique language and social viewpoints. Which, thinking back, can likewise be simply the feature of the encounters, so let yourself make a plunge profound. Remember to heft around an extra face veil in case you're living in a greater city.

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Travel to another country China Ltd.

Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University

College Studies Abroad Consortium

9. Argentina

Argentina is a stunning encounter from start to finish; learning tango in metropolitan Buenos Aires, investigating the wine nation of Mendoza, climbing Patagonia, and review quite possibly the most sweeping cascades on the planet, Iguazu Falls.

Geniuses: If you like eating on fine steak and tasting striking wine each night, you won't be baffled. In the event that you get anxious in the study hall, simply toss on a couple of climbing boots and point your finger at the following geographic miracle you'd prefer to handle.

Cons: The broad scene can be a test for anybody needing to see each piece of this lovely nation; center in around explicit regions (or simply stay longer!). With solid Italian impacts, expect some assortment from that secondary school Spanish you're carrying with you.

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Sol Education Abroad

American Institute For Foreign Study

Mente Argentina

10. Costa Rica

Costa Rica's equilibrium of rough outside experience and social metropolitan energy is the ideal objective for a genuinely one of a kind report abroad insight. Furthermore, whenever you've broken the South American boundary, utilize this country as a base for different nations that are somewhat more under-the-radar. In the event that you will actually want to pull yourself away from the pura vida, that is.

Experts: With an equilibrium of Latin American culture and American the travel industry, the simplicity of (modest!) travel is extraordinary. On the off chance that you need to learn Spanish, this is the spot.

Cons: A bounty of unfamiliar traffic costs in a portion of the touristic places. Get familiar with the going pace of essential things, figure out how to wrangle (it's about the social drenching, 'yo!), and don't allow yourself to get tricked into shams.

Especially Awesome Study Abroad Programs:

Maximo Nivel

CISabroad

Sol Education Abroad

[tipsycad147]

Fox Spirits

By shirleytwofeathers

Also known as: Kitsune (Japan); Kumiho (Korea)

Origin: East Asia

Fox Spirits are not ordinary foxes. They are spirits whose true form is a fox shape in the same way that other spirits take the form of humans, cats, snakes, or birds, Fox Spirits may resemble ordinary foxes. The older a Fox Spirit gets, the more powerful it becomes. Age and power may be displayed by additional tails. The most powerful and ancient Fox Spirits are nine-tailed foxes.

Theoretically, ordinary foxes can eventually evolve into Fox Spirits in the way that humans can evolve into spirits, too.

Most Fox Spirits are shape-shifters; they can take many forms, including that of humans. Often they appear in the guise of seductive young women; however, any form is possible. Fox Spirits can also shape-shift so that they appear identical to a specific person. Thus, someone may recognise a friend or relative at the door and open it, only to admit the Fox Spirit in disguise.

Fox Spirits, seductive, sneaky, and often treacherous, are staples of modern manga, anime, and other forms of entertainment. Once upon a time, Fox Spirits were considered protectors, teachers, providers, and sponsors of the occult and alchemical arts. Even now, some Fox Spirits are saintly and helpful.

The foxes that serve as Inari’s messengers are miracle workers, understood as sacred and godly.

Among the functions of Chinese Fox Spirits is protection of archivists and librarians. If a book or document cannot be found, ask the Fox Spirits for help. Make an offering alongside the request. Offerings should be proportionate in size to the importance of the request. Then leave the room for a little while to give the spirit space and opportunity to work some magick. If the Fox Spirits have cooperated, whatever you’re looking for should stick out or somehow draw your attention itself.

Fox Spirits may once have been a feature of pre-Buddhist East Asian shamanic religion. Fox Spirits tend to be sexually assertive, female spirits. As centuries passed and, society became more conservative, women were expected to be modest and subservient. Fox Spirits developed a bad reputation and became feared, especially in Japan and Korea.

In China, their reputation is somewhat milder, although some sexual associations exist.

Fox Spirits cause illness and misfortune.

They possess victims, similar to possession by demons or dybbuks.

Fox Spirit possession isn’t ritual possession or channelling; it’s involuntary and invariably unpleasant. Degrees of Fox Spirit possession exist, depending upon the innate strength of the Fox and its victim. Some resist better than others. Full possession – true spiritual takeover – may result. Alternatively, only symptoms may manifest. Symptoms of Fox Spirit possession include:

Hearing voices where none should be heard.

Insatiable and indiscriminate appetite. The person may eat anything, even food they wouldn’t normally eat; even things humans wouldn’t normally eat.

Nocturnal sensations of suffocation and paralysis.

Increasing facial resemblance to a fox. Sometimes the person develops a visible foxy snout.

Eventually the Fox Spirit may push the true individual out, taking over body, mind, soul, and personality – either full time, or just intermittently. The Fox Spirit speaks through the person’s mouth, often indulging in obscenities, frequently sexual, which the person would normally never use.

Although most Fox Spirits are perceived as greedy or power hungry, spiritual motivation may exist, as well; what the Fox Spirit may really desire is a shrine and daily offerings. The only way for them to make their desire known is through a human mouth, similar to African Zar spirits. Sometimes this is enough to satisfy them and the Fox Spirit evolves into an ally rather than an enemy.

Fox Spirits’ very favourite food of all is inarizushi: fried tofu bags (aburaage) filled with sushi rice; however, you can negotiate their actual diet. Feed daily. Foxes get hungry.

Fox Spirits provide for their devotees, although it’s generally believed they do this by redistributing wealth. Just like real foxes are believed to raid chicken coops, so Fox Spirits are believed to rob the neighbourhood. What they provide for their devotees rightfully belongs to others, but has been stolen. Very ancient Fox Spirits, however, may have developed the alchemical and magickal skills to actually produce wealth, no stealing required.

Fox Spirits can be exorcised by knowledgeable shamans; however, gifted exorcists tend to be tainted by their very success. Extortion rackets are suspected: the exorcist who specialises in Fox Spirit removal may actually be in cahoots with the Fox Spirit, who may be his servant. No wonder he can exorcise the spirit: the Fox is his familiar who always does his bidding. Independent practitioners are particularly suspect. Exorcisms may also be successfully performed at Inari shrines.

Fox Spirits are also attached to specific families and individuals, whom they may serve in exchange for care, feeding, protection, and veneration, or perhaps because they are ancestral spirits. Fox Spirits run in families. Families who are hereditary owners of foxes typically transmit this hereditary power through the female line.

Association with Fox Spirits may indicate vestigal memories of ancient fox-oriented shamanic religion. For centuries tremendous fear and social stigma have been attached to families rumoured to be Fox Spirit owners.

Kitsune no Yomeiri ~ The Fox Wedding

On a day when the sun shines bright and the rain falls, wise parents advise their children to play indoors. It isn’t that they are worried about them catching a cold. No, it is something more mysterious. For on such days the kitsune, the magical foxes of Japan, hold their wedding processions.

In Tokushima, the Kitsune no Yomeiri is a less happy occasion. It was called the Kitsune no Soshiki (Fox Funeral) and seeing one is considered an omen of death.

From Sakurai city in Ibaraki prefecture to Kashihara city in Nara prefecture, tales of Kitsune no Yomeiri appear all over Japan— with the sole exception of the northern island of Hokkaido. Most stories follow similar patterns with only slight variations. There are two phenomena referred to as Kitsune no Yomeiri—the bizarre weather called sunshowers where rain falls in broad daylight; and the procession of foxfire, called kitsune-bi, winding through the mountains late at night.

A description of Kitsune no Yomeiri comes from the book Echigo Naruse published during the Horeki period (1751-1764):

“On dark and quiet nights, in secret places, strings of lanterns or torches can be seen stretching out single file in an unbroken chain more than two miles long. It is a rare site, but an unmistakable one. It can be seen most often in Kanbara county, and it is said that on such night young foxes claim their mates.”

The procession of lights became associated with weddings as it mirrored Japanese wedding ceremonies at the time. Based on traditions established during the Muromachi period (1392–1573), weddings were held at night and the bride was escorted over to her new home by a lamplight parade. This type of ceremony—called the Konrei Gyoretsu (Wedding Procession) —lasted until the mid-Showa period when Western wedding ceremonies replaced traditional Japanese ceremonies.

Legends of the Kitsune no Yomeiri merged with existing stories of kitsune magic and bewitchment. People who tried to follow these foxfire lantern processions would find that they disappeared as soon as they got close—although on rare occasions traces of the ceremony were found. Shunjitsu Shrine in Saitama prefecture was said to be a popular place for fox weddings. Whenever a Kitsune no Yomeiri lit up the night, the mountain road leading to the shrine was covered with fox poop the following day.

In both Niigata and Nara prefectures, Kitsune no Yomeiri was thought to be a good omen for the harvest, with the more lanterns being seen the more fruitful the harvest. A year with no fox weddings made people dread the upcoming famine.

The foxes of Gifu prefecture didn’t just content themselves with lanterns. The foxfire procession was accompanied by the sound of cracking and blazing bamboo, although when examined the following day the forests appeared untouched.

Scientific Explanation for Kitsune-bi

The procession of lamplights is not only a widespread phenomenon in Japan; it is worldwide. Japanese kitsune-bi is different from foxfire in Western legends, which comes from a phosphorescent fungus. It is more akin to the Will-o’-the-wisp, also known as ignis fatuus or “Fool’s Fire.”

The most common explanation is that these fires are the oxidation of the chemical phosphine caused by decaying organic matter, such as can be found in forests. Other suggestions are that they are a mere optical illusion caused by the setting sun. But there is no scientific evidence for either of these theories.

The foxfire procession kind of Kitsune no Yomeiri are rarely seen today. This is most likely due to the 1950’s deforestation of Japan’s native forests and replanting with fast-growing industrial cedar. Whatever magic of the forests that produced the foxfire lights, it is now gone, sacrificed to industry.

Sunshowers and Fox Weddings

The Meiji period Tanka poet Masaoka Shiki wrote:

“When rain falls from a blue sky, in the Hour of the Horse, the Great Fox King takes his bride.”

Another strange natural phenomenon goes by the name of Kitsune no Yomeiri, and in the modern era is much better known. On days when the sun shines and it still rains—a weather condition called tenkiame in Japanese or sunshowers in English—foxes are once again thought to hold their wedding ceremonies.

How sunshowers became associated with fox weddings is vague. Some say that it has to do with mountains where foxes are mostly found. There are times when mountains are covered in rain, while the town below is clear. People said that the foxes summoned the rain with their magic to hide their wedding ceremony.

Others just think that because sunshowers are a mysterious occurrence, going against the natural pattern of clouds and rain, that people assumed a supernatural origin and associated it with foxes.

As always, there are regional variations. In agricultural regions the sunshower version of Kitsune no Yomeiri was a good omen, promising rain for the crops and many children for the any new brides lucky enough to be married on such a day. In Tokushima, sunshowers are known as Kitsuneame (fox rain) and not associated with weddings. In Kumamoto prefecture fox weddings are associated with rainbows, and in Aichi prefecture they are associated with hail.

How to See a Fox Wedding

While most people go out of their way to avoid seeing strange phenomena (getting wrapped up in kitsune magic is rarely healthy in Japanese folklore) there are a few rituals for the brave and the curious.

In the Fukushima Prefecture, a bizarre ritual exists of wearing a suribachi mortar on your head and sticking the wooden pestle in your belt, then standing under a date tree. Of course, this only works on the 10th day of the 10th month of the Lunar calendar.

Aichi prefecture has a much easier method—just spit in a well and weave your fingers together. You are said to be able to view the Kitsune no Yomeiri though the gaps in your fingers.

But most stories advise against seeing a fox wedding—foxes are powerful in Japanese folklore, but dangerous. A wise person keeps well away.

Fox Wedding Festivals

Kitsune no Yomeiri remains a popular aspect of Japanese culture and folklore. Many towns hold Kitsune no Yomeiri festivals re-creating the famous processions. Most of these festivals are modern—coming from the 1950s to as recently as the 1990s—and were started as tourist attractions to draw people into town. Local politicians and businesses participate in the festival, and sometimes the fox bride and groom are selected as a sort of “beauty pageant.”

Not all are modern tourist traps, however. The Yokaichi city, Mie prefecture Kitsune no Yomeiri procession to Suzakiha Mamiyashimei Shrine dates back to the Edo period, and is a ritual to drive out evil spirits and ask for blessings for the harvest.

The festival in Kudamatsu city, Yamaguchi prefecture, has also been held since ancient times, although it bears little relationship to popular images of the Kitsune no Yomeiri. It involves asking the blessing of a pair of white fox deities whose wedding ceremony is re-enacted every year on November 3rd. More about this festival can be found at The Pagan Calendar.

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Spirits

Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

https://shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/powers-that-be/category/asian-gods/

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Laser Comb For Hair Regrowth-Hair Loss Reviews Many of the people with hair loss issues hide the problem under hats and wigs or use other means of treatment creams, shampoos and conditioners to get rid of the problem. While some of the products in the market work, others may leave the situation worse than it was. Others come with claims of regrowing the hair fast, which never happens. Growing hair back is not an easy thing to do and not many products do as the labels claim. Using a laser comb for hair regrowth treatment is however one of the best solutions for you if you want to stop the hair loss and regrow your hair back looking healthy and natural. What is a laser comb? A laser comb may be new to many people because it is not a very old concept in the market. The comb uses Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) to penetrate deep into the hair follicles to stop hair loss. This it does by stimulating the scalp and follicles to enable hair regrowth. 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Advanced Fat Loss - Part III: Intermittent Fasting

This is the food-timing strategy used by countless traditional cultures to reduce inflammation, fix hormonal imbalances, and literally slow down the aging process. (A nice side-effect of this strategy is an unrivaled effect on focus and productivity)

Intermittent Fasting, also known as IF, basically means eating all of your calories within an 8 hour period for men (or a 10 hour period for women) and fasting the rest of the time.

This is highly beneficial for fat burning during the fasting period, and it has the added benefit of reducing stress on your liver, other vital organs, and adrenal glands and causing a mini-detoxification process in your body.

But wait! How many times have you heard that the best way to lose weight is to keep your metabolism constantly stimulated - by eating five, six, seven times a day? Or that you'll "never lose weight" unless you eat every three hours? Too many to count, right?

Look, the supplement companies would love for you to believe that, because that keeps you using plenty of protein powders, protein bars, and meal replacements throughout the day.

But the truth is, intermittent fasting is actually closest to the way our bodies are programmed to eat; our ancestors often hunted and foraged all day, lit one fire at sundown, and did all of their cooking and eating at that time.

Now we've come a long way since that time, and made a lot of advances in nutrition and medicine that help us lead longer, healthier, more productive lives. But everyone can agree it's easier to swim downstream than upstream, and IF is definitely the way our bodies have evolved to eat.

Let's get further into the specifics of a healthy IF regimen...

You already don't eat for about 8 hours a night when you're asleep, so that's not difficult. It's the 16 hours that you're awake that you need to manage. Out of those 16 hours, you just have to choose one 8-hour period during which to fast.

The good thing is, you can work out an IF regimen that fits into your lifestyle best so long as you hit a total fasting period of 16 hours for men or 14 hours for women.

For example, if you're a man, you may decide that the eight hours after you wake up is the best time to do all of your eating, and that you won't eat anything in the afternoon, evening or through the night. This is a good way to start things off if you've still got a substantial amount of weight to lose or you have a body type with a slow metabolism.

However, if you're not someone who eats much in the morning, listen to your body! It's telling you not to eat until the eight hours between your afternoon and your bedtime.

Oh yeah, there's more.

I should also note that IF is the "strategy of champions". You, see IF is the main thing that Bruce Lee and a college football hall-of-famer (leading rusher and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker), have in common. IF is basically the "strategy to trump all strategies" and it is my hands-down favorite way to build a jaw-dropping physique.

For example, here's how I've been structuring my fast for the past 6-8 months (for massive results!):

Last meal of the Day 1: 7:30-8 p.m.

Fast begins at 8 p.m.

Sleep: 11 p.m.-7 a.m.

Continue fasting until 12 p.m.

Eat 2 big meals from 12 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Day 2

Keep in mind that there are many variations on the IF concept: You could eat only in the late morning and afternoon, leaving four hours after you wake up and four hours before you go to bed (plus 8 hours of sleep) as fasting portions.

Or you could fast the way that Muslims the world over do during Ramadan (and Sumo wrestlers in Japan do year-round) - no food between dawn and sunset, but the feast at the end of the day is something truly epic. The point is, it's up to you and your lifestyle.

The only thing to add is that you should definitely perform your workouts during your eight-hour eating period, not during your sixteen-hour fasting period. There is a slight exception to this rule if you do one (or both) of the following:

- Have some grass-fed butter or MCT/Coconut Oil with your morning coffee. This will give a bit of a boost and not be so stressful on your body.

- Take 5-10 grams of BCAAs (branch chain amino acids) about 45 minutes pre-workout.

This will help prevent muscle breakdown that may occur when training fasted. (You can get roughly 10 grams of BCAAs for every 40 grams of whey protein.)

Otherwise, if you work out on an empty stomach, your body is too low on many of the hormones you need to promote muscle growth and burn fat, and in many cases, you'll only end up forcing your body into a catabolic state, where it's cannibalizing its own muscle for energy (and rapidly lowering your day-to-day basal metabolic rate.)

That said, as long as you're in a caloric deficit and are training steadily on IF, I wouldn't worry too much about losing too much muscle or stalling your fat loss.

For example, here's a peek into Herschel Walker's very unorthodox fitness regimen. He eats one huge meal per day (dinner), and it consists of soup, salad, bread, and occasionally chicken. He workouts out daily, but uses no weight training whatsoever. Instead, he sticks to progressive bodyweight training. I wouldn't recommend his workout regiment to any of us mere mortals, but for reference, he is known to do up to 1,000 push-ups, pull-ups, dips and squats EVERY DAY.

(The man is a beast.)

On a somewhat similar regimen, Hugh Jackman (from Wolverine/X-Men, Les Miserables, and various other films) practiced a 16/8 Intermittent Fasting routine. Like the method I've described above, he fast for 16 hours and then eats all 6,000 of his daily calorie needs within an 8 hour period.

A few things to keep in mind during IF:

- You will get hungry the first week or so and want to give up. Just stick with it, and keep in mind that you have 2 huge meals coming up in just a few hours.

- To stave off hunger, make sure you have your morning coffee or tea, and feel free to have an extra cup or two of plain green tea if you need.

- Stay hydrated!! One of the biggest reasons IF doesn't work is because people don't drink enough water, and misinterpret thirst as hunger.

- Keep busy. One of my favorite benefits of IF is the massive productivity boost. Many IF practitioners have noticed the same effect. Basically, water, some caffeine, and some work to get done somehow bring you into an intense state of focus. I usually get more work done while I'm fasting in the morning (and not worrying about food) than I do the whole rest of the day. 

That's all for now. You've got three "cream of the crop" methods that will constantly fire up your body and reveal a lean, lean physique, especially when more traditional methods eventually fail.

Remember, though, that this is advanced fat loss - if you're just getting started on a weight-loss program, cycling your carbs and calories won't actually be as effective for you as a standard calorie-restriction and exercise regimen.

After the first month or so of a standard program, the ideal fat loss per week is between one and two pounds; anything more is unsustainable (and counterproductive in the long run, because it can destroy your lean muscle and stresses your heart) and anything less isn't working fast enough to get you the results that you want.

Thus, use traditional means to lose weight (eat less, eat better, work out, use the calorie calculator bonus) until you stop losing one to two pounds per week; this should happen between four to six months after you've started your program.

Once it does stop, you're ready for advanced fat loss methods like carb/calorie cycling and intermittent fasting (and the body of your dreams!)

 Interested in losing weight? Then click below to see the exact steps I took to lose weight and keep it off for good...

Read the previous article about "Advanced Fat Loss - Part II: Carb Cycling"

Read the next article about "Putting It All Together"

Moving forward, there are several other articles/topics I'll share so you can lose weight even faster, and feel great doing it.

Below is a list of these topics and you can use this Table of Contents to jump to the part that interests you the most.

Topic 1: How I Lost 30 Pounds In 90 Days - And How You Can Too

Topic 2: How I Lost Weight By Not Following The Mainstream Media And Health Guru's Advice - Why The Health Industry Is Broken And How We Can Fix It

Topic 3: The #1 Ridiculous Diet Myth Pushed By 95% Of Doctors And "experts" That Is Keeping You From The Body Of Your Dreams

Topic 4: The Dangers of Low-Carb and Other "No Calorie Counting" Diets

Topic 5: Why Red Meat May Be Good For You And Eggs Won't Kill You

Topic 6: Two Critical Hormones That Are Quietly Making Americans Sicker and Heavier Than Ever Before

Topic 7: Everything Popular Is Wrong: The Real Key To Long-Term Weight Loss

Topic 8: Why That New Miracle Diet Isn't So Much of a Miracle After All (And Why You're Guaranteed To Hate Yourself On It Sooner or Later)

Topic 9: A Nutrition Crash Course To Build A Healthy Body and Happy Mind

Topic 10: How Much You Really Need To Eat For Steady Fat Loss (The Truth About Calories and Macronutrients)

Topic 11: The Easy Way To Determining Your Calorie Intake

Topic 12: Calculating A Weight Loss Deficit

Topic 13: How To Determine Your Optimal "Macros" (And How The Skinny On The 3-Phase Extreme Fat Loss Formula)

Topic 14: Two Dangerous "Invisible Thorn" Foods Masquerading as "Heart Healthy Super Nutrients"

Topic 15: The Truth About Whole Grains And Beans: What Traditional Cultures Know About These So-called "Healthy Foods" That Most Americans Don't

Topic 16: The Inflammation-Reducing, Immune-Fortifying Secret of All Long-Living Cultures (This 3-Step Process Can Reduce Chronic Pain and Heal Your Gut in Less Than 24 Hours)

Topic 17: The Foolproof Immune-enhancing Plan That Cleanses And Purifies Your Body, While "patching Up" Holes, Gaps, And Inefficiencies In Your Digestive System (And How To Do It Without Wasting $10+ Per "meal" On Ridiculous Juice Cleanses)

Topic 18: The Great Soy Myth (and The Truth About Soy in Eastern Asia)

Topic 19: How Chemicals In Food Make Us Fat (Plus 10 Banned Chemicals Still in the U.S. Food Supply)

Topic 20: 10 Banned Chemicals Still in the U.S. Food Supply

Topic 21: How To Protect Yourself Against Chronic Inflammation (What Time Magazine Calls A "Secret Killer")

Topic 22: The Truth About Buying Organic: Secrets The Health Food Industry Doesn't Want You To Know

Topic 23: Choosing High Quality Foods

Topic 24: A Recipe For Rapid Aging: The "Hidden" Compounds Stealing Your Youth, Minute by Minute

Topic 25: 7 Steps To Reduce AGEs and Slow Aging

Topic 26: The 10-second Trick That Can Slash Your Risk Of Cardiovascular Mortality By 37% (Most Traditional Cultures Have Done This For Centuries, But The Pharmaceutical Industry Would Be Up In Arms If More Modern-day Americans Knew About It)

Topic 27: How To Clean Up Your Liver and Vital Organs

Topic 28: The Simple Detox 'Cheat Sheet': How To Easily and Properly Cleanse, Nourish, and Rid Your Body of Dangerous Toxins (and Build a Lean Well-Oiled "Machine" in the Process)

Topic 29: How To Deal With the "Stress Hormone" Before It Deals With You

Topic 30: 7 Common Sense Ways to Have Uncommon Peace of Mind (or How To Stop Your "Stress Hormone" In Its Tracks)

Topic 31: How To Sleep Like A Baby (And Wake Up Feeling Like A Boss)

Topic 32: The 8-step Formula That Finally "fixes" Years Of Poor Sleep, Including Trouble Falling Asleep, Staying Asleep, And Waking Up Rested (If You Ever Find Yourself Hitting The Snooze Every Morning Or Dozing Off At Work, These Steps Will Change Your Life Forever)

Topic 33: For Even Better Leg Up And/or See Faster Results In Fixing Years Of Poor Sleep, Including Trouble Falling Asleep, Staying Asleep, And Waking Up Rested, Do The Following:

Topic 34: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 35: Part 1 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 36: Part 2 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 37: Part 3 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 38: Part 4 of 4: Solution To Overcoming Your Mental Barriers and Cultivating A Winner's Mentality

Topic 39: How To Beat Your Mental Roadblocks And Why It Can Be The Difference Between A Happy, Satisfying Life And A Sad, Fearful Existence (These Strategies Will Reduce Stress, Increase Productivity And Show You How To Fulfill All Your Dreams)

Topic 40: Maximum Fat Loss in Minimum Time: The Body Type Solution To Quick, Lasting Results

Topic 41: If You Want Maximum Results In Minimum Time You're Going To Have To Work Out (And Workout Hard, At That)

Topic 42: Food Planning For Maximum Fat Loss In Minimum Time

Topic 43: How To Lose Weight Fast If You're in Chronic Pain

Topic 44: Nutrition Basics for Fast Pain Relief (and Weight Loss)

Topic 45: How To Track Results (And Not Fall Into the Trap That Ruins 95% of Well-Thought Out Diets)

Topic 46: Advanced Fat Loss - Calorie Cycling, Carb Cycling and Intermittent Fasting

Topic 47: Advanced Fat Loss - Part I: Calorie Cycling

Topic 48: Advanced Fat Loss - Part II: Carb Cycling

Topic 49: Advanced Fat Loss - Part III: Intermittent Fasting

Topic 50: Putting It All Together

Learn more by visiting our website here: invigoratenow.com

[col22promo]

Bode Levy Bram Lindqvist | Twenty Eight;  Elite

House: Torren Status: Infected - Telepathy and Praeteria Elite Specification: Infection Trainer and International Trade Consultant Alignment: New Age Rebels

Astrid Lindqvist married her husband for the wrong reasons and her inability to leave him ruined her life. She was Wilhelm Lindqvist’s trophy wife, who married her mostly because he was bored. She in turn married him for his money—and they both did it because they had something to prove.

She was a good woman under her thick facade of minglers and gala events, but for all her lofty pretension and egotism, behind closed doors she was depressed and desperate. At best, her husband was extremely neglectful, and at worst he was cruel and emotionally abusive. But to divorce him would mean to leaving herself with nothing. Everything was in his name, as she’d married into his estate, and with a less than positive relationship with her own mother, she had nowhere to go and she just couldn’t fathom starting over from nothing. 

And so she kept pretending. She shrivelled and contorted into a woman she barely recognized anymore, her once shiny potential spiralling down the drain like washed out hair dye. She threw herself and her hopes into having children—which would have been a better venture had she been able to keep off the bottle. Unfortunately, she was an alcoholic and the fact that her first born actually survived, was something of a miracle, as he was four weeks premature. She was told she was very lucky he did not have fetal alcohol syndrome.

Bode Levy Bram, however (named after her father, her grandfather, and the older brother she’d lost to cancer while in her twenties) did suffer a birth defect, not uncommon for infants of his condition. He had what was called sensorineural hearing loss, which was a defect with his inner ear, caused by his premature birth.

Fortunately for them both, technology was such that he was diagnosed at an early age and fitted with a surgical implant that would serve as a necessary aid for the rest of his life. This implant would need to be tended to for maintenance every three to five years, but could be manually adjusted with dials behind the shell of his right ear. It was possible to turn them off as well, and though he was not completely deaf without them, when he was, the world developed a muffled, muddled quality, like he was submerged underwater, and doctors said it would be severely detrimental to his emotional and psychological development as a child, were they left off.

But because Bode was essentially Astrid’s “miracle child” and one of the few things that brought her joy in her lonely life, she became suffocatingly overprotective, even as Bode got older. She was well-meaning, but naive, too immature and unreliable to be a good role model. Bode’s father was a linguist and interpreter for a political branch of government and so he was absent the majority of Bode’s young life, frequently away on business, with little interest in keeping in touch with his son while he was away. Basically, he ignored his family unless it was convenient for him not to, and had multiple affairs over the years, many of which Bode was exposed to at a young age.

Bode’s brother, Espen, was born six years after him and though Astrid was sober at the time, he was still diagnosed with Haemophilia shortly after he was born. Despite the neglectful environment of the Lindqvist family home, Astrid was desperate to have another child before she was too old—with her marriage and life in shambles, she was trying to patch her wounds with children. However, about a year after Espen’s birth, she relapsed and was forced to go back into rehab when she almost died combining alcohol with sleeping pills. As a result, Astrid’s youngest son spent much of his younger years raised mostly by a nanny, and by his brother.

This is perhaps part of why the boys grew up to be so different. Bode’s parents enrolled him into a pretentious Catholic school that he hated, and in seeing so much of his parent’s abusive marriage when he was young, he grew up cynical, resentful and not believing in marriage as a constitution. Espen, on the other hand, grew up more of a dreamer—a softer boy, far more naive, and envious of Bode for how much more time he’d gotten with their mother growing up. But when he asked questions about her, his brother would be dismissive, saying that she was irresponsible and selfish, and that Espen was better off not knowing her as well as Bode did.

As a teenager, Bode was something of a deviant, feeling reckless and trapped in the toxic environment at home, not to mention overwhelmed by the responsibility of essentially being a guardian to his younger brother when he had hardly finished being a kid himself. Rarely wanting to go home, he spent a lot of nights out or crashing on friend’s places.

After high school, he studied business, which he hated, but when he flipped over to finances and accounting, he hated that even more. So he quit college entirely after his second year, and took up a job as an executive assistant at his long-time friend’s business. He didn’t love the work, by any means, but he saw it as temporary and he got to boss people around, which he appreciated.

Meanwhile, he put the rest of his energy into making sure his brother didn’t wind up like him—angry, resentful and directionless. He got an apartment in a different neighbourhood where he and his brother could live, and made sure he was enrolled in a good public school. Removing a fourteen year old Espen from his parent’s house wasn’t an easy task—his mother fought Bode on it, but as she was still back and forth between home, rehab and the hospital, and Wil Lindqvist was still a cheating, abusive son of a bitch, Bode was able to convince her it was for the best. Consequently, for the second time in Espen’s life, Bode was more of a parent to him than either of their parents ever were.

Bode Today

After D-Day, Bode spent about a year in a clan in Sweden with his brother. They were never able to get in touch with either of their parents, a fact about which Espen was more bothered by than Bode. In the early stages of the first wave of Infections, Espen developed telepathy and Bode became a complete anomaly—a Telepath and a Praeteric.

When they were both picked up by Crusaders in 2158, still before the rise of the NWRF, they spent a couple years in Colony 8, where Bode became an Infection Trainer almost right away, and eventually, an International Trade Representative. Before D-Day, he’d already spoken English, Danish and Swedish at home, and due to his father’s heavy handed suggestion, he’d taken a lot of language studies in high school and his undergrad, so he spoke a bit of Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian and French. With his ability to translate and his background in business and finance, he was a perfect candidate for what the Colony Trade market needed. 

His job was to aid in coordinating and facilitating the fair trading of resources between colonies around the world, and so he worked closely with Trade and Marine Merchants, as well as other Colony officials. Just a few months ago, he was asked by Officials to transfer to another location in need of an I.T.R, as Colony 8 was more central and had more nearby Reps. He agreed, on the condition that he could take his brother, and that he would be transferring to a Colony at least equally as safe.

Bode and his brother have been at Colony 22 less than three months. He is still cynical, opinionated and a bit abrasive, but his relationship with his brother is everything to him. He hates the NWRF, but is concerned that any radical involvement on his behalf would be too risky for his brother, so he aligns himself instead with the NAR and has hopes to lead a political party of some kind.

Bode can be hot headed and defensive at times, and definitely arrogant. His many years of pretentious schooling and business experience can make him either frustratingly charming or infuriatingly conceited, depending perhaps on your sense of humour and your level of patience with such things. He does, however, know how to talk his way out of an argument in a way that leaves the other person knowing they’ve been manipulated, but not being able to do a thing about it. Espen, on the other hand, brings out quite a different side of Bode—with him, he is warmer, and more playful, while also stern and protective.

The implants in his ears lately have been causing him grief—they are greatly overdue for an upgrade, and consequently are intermittent at times. Sometimes they wake him in the middle of the night with a painful ringing sound in his head. They also now have a constant, subtle ringing drone on a regular basis (much like symptoms of Tinnitus), which isn’t loud or painful, but is definitely annoying. And even though he can sometimes tune it out, it does cause hearing problems in conversation and for smaller, quieter sounds. This affects his ability to perform in the Games, and in some training activities, especially with the headaches it often causes him.

As such, he has an unlikely interest in the weekly testing he has to undergo, as he can’t help but hope that there might be a way to take the Increased Senses infection and turn it into a bottled cure for himself. And as for short-term solutions, he has to see if he can find a surgical doctor either here or at another Colony, who has the experience and resources to tend to his implants within the next year or so, before they stop working entirely.

RELATED BIOS: ESPEN FILIP LINDQVIST

HOME | PLOT | SURVIVORS | INFECTIONS | 2157 was the end of the world.

[the-colony-roleplay]

Bode Levy Bram Lindqvist | Twenty Eight;  Elite

House: Torren Status: Infected - Telepathy and Praeteria Elite Specification: Infection Trainer and International Trade Consultant Alignment: New Age Rebels

Astrid Lindqvist married her husband for the wrong reasons and her inability to leave him ruined her life. She was Wilhelm Lindqvist’s trophy wife, who married her mostly because he was bored. She in turn married him for his money—and they both did it because they had something to prove.

She was a good woman under her thick facade of minglers and gala events, but for all her lofty pretension and egotism, behind closed doors she was depressed and desperate. At best, her husband was extremely neglectful, and at worst he was cruel and emotionally abusive. But to divorce him would mean to leaving herself with nothing. Everything was in his name, as she’d married into his estate, and with a less than positive relationship with her own mother, she had nowhere to go and she just couldn’t fathom starting over from nothing. 

And so she kept pretending. She shrivelled and contorted into a woman she barely recognized anymore, her once shiny potential spiralling down the drain like washed out hair dye. She threw herself and her hopes into having children—which would have been a better venture had she been able to keep off the bottle. Unfortunately, she was an alcoholic and the fact that her first born actually survived, was something of a miracle, as he was four weeks premature. She was told she was very lucky he did not have fetal alcohol syndrome.

Bode Levy Bram, however (named after her father, her grandfather, and the older brother she’d lost to cancer while in her twenties) did suffer a birth defect, not uncommon for infants of his condition. He had what was called sensorineural hearing loss, which was a defect with his inner ear, caused by his premature birth.

Fortunately for them both, technology was such that he was diagnosed at an early age and fitted with a surgical implant that would serve as a necessary aid for the rest of his life. This implant would need to be tended to for maintenance every three to five years, but could be manually adjusted with dials behind the shell of his right ear. It was possible to turn them off as well, and though he was not completely deaf without them, when he was, the world developed a muffled, muddled quality, like he was submerged underwater, and doctors said it would be severely detrimental to his emotional and psychological development as a child, were they left off.

But because Bode was essentially Astrid’s “miracle child” and one of the few things that brought her joy in her lonely life, she became suffocatingly overprotective, even as Bode got older. She was well-meaning, but naive, too immature and unreliable to be a good role model. Bode’s father was a linguist and interpreter for a political branch of government and so he was absent the majority of Bode’s young life, frequently away on business, with little interest in keeping in touch with his son while he was away. Basically, he ignored his family unless it was convenient for him not to, and had multiple affairs over the years, many of which Bode was exposed to at a young age.

Bode’s brother, Espen, was born six years after him and though Astrid was sober at the time, he was still diagnosed with Haemophilia shortly after he was born. Despite the neglectful environment of the Lindqvist family home, Astrid was desperate to have another child before she was too old—with her marriage and life in shambles, she was trying to patch her wounds with children. However, about a year after Espen’s birth, she relapsed and was forced to go back into rehab when she almost died combining alcohol with sleeping pills. As a result, Astrid’s youngest son spent much of his younger years raised mostly by a nanny, and by his brother.

This is perhaps part of why the boys grew up to be so different. Bode’s parents enrolled him into a pretentious Catholic school that he hated, and in seeing so much of his parent’s abusive marriage when he was young, he grew up cynical, resentful and not believing in marriage as a constitution. Espen, on the other hand, grew up more of a dreamer—a softer boy, far more naive, and envious of Bode for how much more time he’d gotten with their mother growing up. But when he asked questions about her, his brother would be dismissive, saying that she was irresponsible and selfish, and that Espen was better off not knowing her as well as Bode did.

As a teenager, Bode was something of a deviant, feeling reckless and trapped in the toxic environment at home, not to mention overwhelmed by the responsibility of essentially being a guardian to his younger brother when he had hardly finished being a kid himself. Rarely wanting to go home, he spent a lot of nights out or crashing on friend’s places.

After high school, he studied business, which he hated, but when he flipped over to finances and accounting, he hated that even more. So he quit college entirely after his second year, and took up a job as an executive assistant at his long-time friend’s business. He didn’t love the work, by any means, but he saw it as temporary and he got to boss people around, which he appreciated.

Meanwhile, he put the rest of his energy into making sure his brother didn’t wind up like him—angry, resentful and directionless. He got an apartment in a different neighbourhood where he and his brother could live, and made sure he was enrolled in a good public school. Removing a fourteen year old Espen from his parent’s house wasn’t an easy task—his mother fought Bode on it, but as she was still back and forth between home, rehab and the hospital, and Wil Lindqvist was still a cheating, abusive son of a bitch, Bode was able to convince her it was for the best. Consequently, for the second time in Espen’s life, Bode was more of a parent to him than either of their parents ever were.

Bode Today

After D-Day, Bode spent about a year in a clan in Sweden with his brother. They were never able to get in touch with either of their parents, a fact about which Espen was more bothered by than Bode. In the early stages of the first wave of Infections, Espen developed telepathy and Bode became a complete anomaly—a Telepath and a Praeteric.

When they were both picked up by Crusaders in 2158, still before the rise of the NWRF, they spent a couple years in Colony 8, where Bode became an Infection Trainer almost right away, and eventually, an International Trade Representative. Before D-Day, he’d already spoken English, Danish and Swedish at home, and due to his father’s heavy handed suggestion, he’d taken a lot of language studies in high school and his undergrad, so he spoke a bit of Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian and French. With his ability to translate and his background in business and finance, he was a perfect candidate for what the Colony Trade market needed. 

His job was to aid in coordinating and facilitating the fair trading of resources between colonies around the world, and so he worked closely with Trade and Marine Merchants, as well as other Colony officials. Just a few months ago, he was asked by Officials to transfer to another location in need of an I.T.R, as Colony 8 was more central and had more nearby Reps. He agreed, on the condition that he could take his brother, and that he would be transferring to a Colony at least equally as safe.

Bode and his brother have been at Colony 22 less than three months. He is still cynical, opinionated and a bit abrasive, but his relationship with his brother is everything to him. He hates the NWRF, but is concerned that any radical involvement on his behalf would be too risky for his brother, so he aligns himself instead with the NAR and has hopes to lead a political party of some kind.

Bode can be hot headed and defensive at times, and definitely arrogant. His many years of pretentious schooling and business experience can make him either frustratingly charming or infuriatingly conceited, depending perhaps on your sense of humour and your level of patience with such things. He does, however, know how to talk his way out of an argument in a way that leaves the other person knowing they’ve been manipulated, but not being able to do a thing about it. Espen, on the other hand, brings out quite a different side of Bode—with him, he is warmer, and more playful, while also stern and protective.

The implants in his ears lately have been causing him grief—they are greatly overdue for an upgrade, and consequently are intermittent at times. Sometimes they wake him in the middle of the night with a painful ringing sound in his head. They also now have a constant, subtle ringing drone on a regular basis (much like symptoms of Tinnitus), which isn’t loud or painful, but is definitely annoying. And even though he can sometimes tune it out, it does cause hearing problems in conversation and for smaller, quieter sounds. This affects his ability to perform in the Games, and in some training activities, especially with the headaches it often causes him.

As such, he has an unlikely interest in the weekly testing he has to undergo, as he can’t help but hope that there might be a way to take the Increased Senses infection and turn it into a bottled cure for himself. And as for short-term solutions, he has to see if he can find a surgical doctor either here or at another Colony, who has the experience and resources to tend to his implants within the next year or so, before they stop working entirely.

RELATED BIOS: ESPEN FILIP LINDQVIST

TAKEN

[filtration-products]

Prostate Enlargement Reduced With Magnesium

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia ( BPH) or enlargement of the Prostate Gland strikes more than 50% of all males over 50, most will have significant prostate enlargement and the rest of the male population over 50 will experience some discomfort.

It begins with urine flow that is hard to start, a weak or intermittent stream and a bladder that still feels partially full after urination.

Solutions range from surgery, drugs and dietary changes to nutritional therapy.

Surgery rarely produces any long term benefits, but seems to cause a lot of problems and distress.

Purpose of the Prostate

The prostate produces semen and secretes it into the urethra, the tube that runs from the bladder to the tip of the penis. The semen is the clear liquid that the sperm depends on for nourishment and to act as the vehicle to carry it out of the male body and to the intended target.

Problems commence when the prostate begins to enlarge, the prostate is a donut shaped gland that encircles the urethra, it squeezes on the urethra thus reducing the flow of urine, its enlargement is due to hormonal changes of old age.

Some dietary changes that are supposed to help are: weight loss, reduced intake of saturated fats, especially trans fatty acids, increased intake of fiber, essential fatty acids such as olive oil and flaxseed oil, also saw palmetto and zinc supplements.

Another treatment that shows great merit and can be performed at home is through the use of magnesium chloride (MC).

A world war one French Doctor by the name of Dr Joseph Favier discovered some amazing qualities of magnesium chloride which he called the Miracle Mineral.

Among many benefits he found from taking MC were its positive effects on the prostate gland.

He found that by giving magnesium tablets to patients with BPH he was significantly reducing their nocturnal urinations and not only that, after urination the urine retention problems were much reduced.

One patient who had complete urine retention and who was scheduled for operation was given four tablets (2grams) MC, spontaneous urination occurred, the operation was cancelled and the patient was subsequently sent home, the patient had no more trouble just as long as he continued to take MC.

Apparently it is difficult to overdose on MG as the body just dumps any surplus.

The author can certainly swear to the beneficial effect of (MC), I begin taking it about six years ago for this very same reason, the result was as Dr Favier stated, six years later and still taking (MC) daily, I have had no recurrence of any prostate problems, I am now 65 years old and when I urinate there is no hesitancy and definitely no retention whatsoever, as far as I am concerned, MC really works, also, sex is no problem.

Problems Some People Experienced After Prostate Removal.

Incontinence (urine leakage) Shrinkage of penis size. Inability to achieve an erection. (for some, erections never return) No ejaculation. No more natural (un-assisted) erections and certainly no more morning Glories. Most men who have undergone BPH surgery state: Sex is never the same again.

Magnesium Chloride is not readily available in health stores, for what reason I cannot guess, it is a common salt derived from sea water and cheap when you can find it, it is well worth the search. Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom salts) is not the same thing, nor does it work the same way. Nagari (Nigari) Flakes or Magnesium oil (liquid form) are both MC.

Magnesium oil is available in many health stores but expensive. Magnesium oil is just MC dissolved in hot distilled water until saturation point is reached (water will absorb no more magnesium chloride), Google magnesium Chloride flakes or Nagari Flakes which is Japanese for MC, find a supplier on the net, purchase and make your own magnesium oil. MC really is “The Magic Mineral”

Transdermal application, that is applying the MC oil to soft areas of the skin, such as underarms, thighs, belly etc is the best method of introducing magnesium into the body. Soft skin areas absorb MC much better than taking it by mouth as it by-passes the stomach and liver, going directly into the blood stream. The body in its own wisdom knows exactly where to send it to do the most good, if the Prostate needs magnesium, that is where it sends some, if the heart muscles need magnesium, it looks after that also. The Doctor within is a far better Doctor as it knows precisely what minerals, vitamins etc it needs intuitively, trust it, listen to it, it really does know best.

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Kara Keto Burn Weight Loss Capsules, Shark Tank Scam & Critiques!

" Misleading messaging for diets, such as the ketogenic, has lengthy been allowed in food regimen tradition; whether or not it's a pill or a dietary change, media retailers manipulate and misinform customers about how certain diets can have an effect on their lives. The ketogenic weight-reduction plan claims to be a low carb, average protein and high-fat diet which places the physique into a metabolic state referred to as ketosis. Raspberry Ketone Eating regimen Drops is a new slimming oral drop brand that was only in the near past launched out there. Do not drop faith while losing weight and in case your religion has been began shaking then with no doubt indulge keto Tone weight loss plan in your common rotine. MASSIVE PROVIDE - Every bottle incorporates 90 mighty raspberry ketone capsules to support weight loss. One noteworthy factor about low-carb diets is that they're not very restrictive when it comes to how a lot meals you are allowed to eat. While on the keto weight loss plan, Drew's cholesterol levels improved, although a typical day of eating involved bacon at both breakfast and dinner. If they are, you're in regular ketosis - just like the ketosis of non-diabetic people who stick to a strict low-carb diet. As a bonus this drug works effective whereas one is on the LCHF diet and it really works even better with intermittent fasting - for a rapid weight reduction with no hunger. Ketosis is the pure fats burning course of where the body burns off the saved fat cells by increasing the metabolism. There are large tasks performed by purefit keto in your body to make you drop pounds effectively. Like with any eating regimen, the Keto weight-reduction plan comes with its own set of negative effects that you could be or may not want to put up with. Some research in animals or in check tubes reveals that raspberry ketone might enhance some measures of metabolism. Oz is alienated from the folks in the medical group because of his claims which are lacking in ample clinical evidence. The world knows that he is fond of calling certain pure merchandise as a magic system, fountain of youth saved in a bottle, or as miracle slimming capsules Nevertheless, Dr. Purefit Keto Evaluate - Long exercise periods may be onerous on our body, and they are. 7 Keto DHEA is a metabolite of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), which is produced by your mind and adrenal glands ( 1 ). It acts as a progress hormone and may also help stimulate the manufacturing of other hormones that play a role in burning fat and rising lean muscle mass, such because the thyroid hormone ( 2 ). Throughout this particular state, the body produces what we name because the ketones, that are produced in the liver to assist the breakdown of fats. This weight discount product is made up of only 60 pills and you have to undertake only 1 capsule on the standard basis. PureFit Keto Weight-reduction plan weight loss complement does not contain dangerous preservatives that hurt the body. PureFit Keto is a purely natural and natural compound that sheds weight slowly slowly every day to deliver remarkable outcome in the final. Ketosports KetoForce - Exogenous ketone physique beta-hydroxybutrate (BHB) in sodium and potassium salt kind. Right here is the list of the 5 pure tablets for weight loss, which Dr. Premier Keto Eating regimen Evaluation: Some folks say that they are fats as a result of they cannot management your appetite, others say that they can't cut back the physique fast as a result of they cannot do that's your choice. Raspberry ketone is a natural substance that offers pink raspberries their highly effective aroma. Oz extremely recommends. They assured that Keto rapid eating regimen and keto ultra food regimen complement is human-friendly and it would by no means hurt human physique because of its composition being free from dangerous chemical compounds and different dangerous components. Typically the flawed eating regimen can enhance your weight and might injury your figure. com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/131380_0642_pre-300x246. jpg" width="231px" alt="keto diet pills shark tank"/> The filmmakers claim the next ought to be adhered to in order to experience the full effects of the weight loss program; eat complete foods, choose organic, remove processed foods, remove grains and legumes, embrace healthy fats (olive oil, coconut oil, animal fats, eggs, and avocados), keep away from dairy (if you cannot, select full-fat and natural), devour naturally raised animals, pastured animals, wild caught Bough margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;' src="http://www. This is once I found keto diet plan for women Speedy Food plan and the benefits it held for people like me. There have been no confirmed uncomfortable side effects concerning FORZA FITNESS Raspberry Ketone. Inside a couple of weeks of standard consumption, it starting to present dramatic outcomes. Of the few reports finished on commercially available ketone supplements, some suggest solely a negligible efficiency enchancment while others really discovered a reduction.

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Prostate Enlargement Reduced With Magnesium

Enlargement of the Prostate Gland strikes more than 50% of all males over 50, most will have significant Shrink Enlarged Prostate and the rest of the male population over 50 will experience some discomfort.

It begins with urine flow that is hard to start, a weak or intermittent stream and a bladder that still feels partially full after urination.

Solutions range from surgery, drugs and dietary changes to nutritional therapy.

Surgery rarely produces any long term benefits, but seems to cause a lot of problems and distress.

Purpose of the Prostate

The prostate produces semen and secretes it into the urethra, the tube that runs from the bladder to the tip of the penis. The semen is the clear liquid that the sperm depends on for nourishment and to act as the vehicle to carry it out of the male body and to the intended target.

Problems commence when the prostate begins to enlarge, the prostate is a donut shaped gland that encircles the urethra, it squeezes on the urethra thus reducing the flow of urine, its enlargement is due to hormonal changes of old age.

Some dietary changes that are supposed to help are: weight loss, reduced intake of saturated fats, especially trans fatty acids, increased intake of fiber, essential fatty acids such as olive oil and flaxseed oil, also saw palmetto and zinc supplements.

Another treatment that shows great merit and can be performed at home is through the use of magnesium chloride (MC).

A world war one French Doctor by the name of Dr Joseph Favier discovered some amazing qualities of magnesium chloride which he called the Miracle Mineral.

Among many benefits he found from taking MC were its positive effects on the prostate gland.

He found that by giving magnesium tablets to patients with BPH he was significantly reducing their nocturnal urinations and not only that, after urination the urine retention problems were much reduced.

One patient who had complete urine retention and who was scheduled for operation was given four tablets (2grams) MC, spontaneous urination occurred, the operation was cancelled and the patient was subsequently sent home, the patient had no more trouble just as long as he continued to take MC.

Apparently it is difficult to overdose on MG as the body just dumps any surplus.

The author can certainly swear to the beneficial effect of (MC), I begin taking it about six years ago for this very same reason, the result was as Dr Favier stated, six years later and still taking (MC) daily, I have had no recurrence of any prostate problems, I am now 65 years old and when I urinate there is no hesitancy and definitely no retention whatsoever, as far as I am concerned, MC really works, also, sex is no problem.

Problems Some People Experienced After Prostate Removal.

Incontinence (urine leakage) Shrinkage of penis size. Inability to achieve an erection. (for some, erections never return) No ejaculation. No more natural (un-assisted) erections and certainly no more morning Glories. Most men who have undergone BPH surgery state: Sex is never the same again.

Magnesium Chloride is not readily available in health stores, for what reason I cannot guess, it is a common salt derived from sea water and cheap when you can find it, it is well worth the search. Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom salts) is not the same thing, nor does it work the same way. Nagari (Nigari) Flakes or Magnesium oil (liquid form) are both MC.

Magnesium oil is available in many health stores but expensive. Magnesium oil is just MC dissolved in hot distilled water until saturation point is reached (water will absorb no more magnesium chloride), Google magnesium Chloride flakes or Nagari Flakes which is Japanese for MC, find a supplier on the net, purchase and make your own magnesium oil. MC really is "The Magic Mineral"

Transdermal application, that is applying the MC oil to soft areas of the skin, such as underarms, thighs, belly etc is the best method of introducing magnesium into the body. Soft skin areas absorb MC much better than taking it by mouth as it by-passes the stomach and liver, going directly into the blood stream. The body in its own wisdom knows exactly where to send it to do the most good, if the Prostate needs magnesium, that is where it sends some, if the heart muscles need magnesium, it looks after that also. The Doctor within is a far better Doctor as it knows precisely what minerals, vitamins etc it needs intuitively, trust it, listen to it, it really does know best.

Related Post:  Some New Cures for Enlarged Prostate Conditions