http://www.okchanger.com/?a=141977

8:01 PM

Read more »

https://www.bestchange.com/?p=68089

3:10 PM

Read more »

Co-workers, friends, and strangers showered Kaila Prins with praise. She packed nutritious lunches every day, never missed a workout, and was totally devoted to her pedometer, calorie counter, and health apps. What her community saw was a woman totally committed to her health, but in reality, she was battling an eating disorder and exercise addiction.

Prins, who lives in San Jose, had dealt with such issues for most of her adult life. But in the past, it was clear to her when restricting calories had become a problem. This time, things seemed different, and it took a while for her to realize that her strict dedication to health tracking was a quiet sign that her problems had resurfaced.
http://dollarsincome.com/-767776.htm

Prins, now 30, started using a calorie counter in 2009, calculating exactly how much she ate every day and formulating strict meal plans. During the following years her tracking intensified when she added pedometers and smartphone health apps to the mix. She ended up with symptoms of orthorexia and anorexia. Orthorexia is defined as a “fixation on righteous eating,” and although it’s not currently categorized as a clinical diagnosis, many people experience aspects of it, like obsessing over food quality and portion sizes and punishing themselves for slip-ups, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. (Here are five eating disorders you've never heard of.) 

Sure, she had lost a large amount of weight since she started using health trackers, but she thought she was doing OK because she was eating regularly and everyone commended her on how healthy she was being. “I ate six meals a day, but they were all perfectly-portioned," says Prins. "I didn’t know I had an eating disorder or exercise addiction because it didn’t look like what you might see on TV.” When she finally sought help, she was diagnosed with "eating disorder not otherwise specified" and later anorexia.

“I used food as a way to control my emotions, and the tracking apps were an excuse to lean into my exercise addiction and my eating disorder,” says Prins. Her tracking habit became so all-consuming that other pillars in her life crumbled.

“I ended up with no friends, dropped out of my graduate program at Columbia University, became an absolute terror to anyone who tried to disrupt my schedule, and sunk into suicidal depression,” she says.

Finally, an ankle injury—caused by running four miles daily as part of a tracking challenge—forced Prins to make a change. After taking disability leave from her job and undergoing two surgeries, she slowly separated herself from her pedometers, calorie counters, and social media-connected tracking apps. “I had to do a lot of work,” she says. “I started tapering off, and thinking, what if I only count calories one day this week? Or what if I don’t get rid of my FitBit, but I just keep it in my nightstand?”

As she weaned off the trackers, Prins took dance lessons so she could associate fitness with something fun rather than extreme exertion and dieting. Although Prins is now doing well—she eventually became a body image coach—her story exposes the vulnerability many people may have to compulsive behaviors when using health trackers.

“Though these devices don’t necessarily cause compulsive behavior, they can certainly be a potential vehicle for it,” says Gail Saltz, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell Medical College. “Obsessive health tracking is not unusual for people who have a tendency toward obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or anxiety.”

Of course, tracking isn't all bad. It can provide the motivation and accountability many people need to become less sedentary and lose excess weight. But for those prone to obsessive thoughts and behaviors, the same tools can turn dangerous. How do you know if you've crossed the line? Read on for signs that you may be taking your pedometer checking, calorie counting, and other health tracking too far.

1. The numbers on your tracker make you anxious.

Jonathan Jordan, a personal trainer based in San Francisco, often has the frustrating task of asking clients to stop fiddling with their wearable trackers during sessions.

“Some people use the data from trackers to make positive changes, but I get a red flag if someone looks at their tracker, sees that their heart rate or step count isn’t where they want it to be, and starts getting anxious,” says Jordan. “It’s unhealthy when people look at their tracker as though their boss just sent them an email saying they’re in trouble.” 

Mental health issues aside, focusing more on the tracker than on your actual workout can interfere with your progress (and that's just one of many mistakes that can hinder your results.) “One client insisted on keeping his data on his phone visible when he was exercising, which slows a workout down,” says Jordan. “If you become obsessed with the data, it can pull you into your device and away from your exercise.”

2. You think it doesn’t “count” if it’s not recorded.

When you depend too much on data to reward you for meeting a goal, it can start to feel as though you need proof of accomplishment for every workout or healthy food you eat. Although it’s natural to feel a little annoyed if your tracker is malfunctioning and not recording your hard work, it shouldn’t give you major anxiety or ruin your entire workout.

“If clients have to have their tracking devices out during a workout, it tells me that they believe if it’s not being tracked, it doesn’t count,” says Jordan. “If you look down and see your tracker is not calculating your work, and you have a panicked reaction to that, it’s a sign of something unhealthy. These things are supposed to encourage movement and make us healthy, not be a source of stress.”

3. You often cancel plans in an effort to meet your targets.

Of course, sometimes it may be best to say “Next time!” to happy hour so you can squeeze in a workout you’ve been neglecting or prep food on a Sunday night. But if you’d always rather workout than see a friend—or you refuse to set foot in a restaurant lest it ruin your careful calorie counting—it could be a sign your tracking is starting to take an unhealthy turn.

“That type of behavior is a compulsion to try to manage anxiety someone is having about their body, their health, fending off disease, or relieving disease,” says Saltz. “There’s a dividing line between ‘I should do these things because I want to be healthy,’ and ‘I can’t not do these things, and I have to do them to the detriment of my life.’ If you can’t get together with family or friends because you must run a certain number of miles and it can’t wait, it has gone too far.”

4. Suddenly, you’re always late.

When someone is obsessed with health tracking, meeting the goals on their trackers takes priority over just about everything. Not only may this manifest in cancelling plans with loved ones, but you may find yourself late to important appointments or work in the morning because you need to weigh your food, fit in an extra mile on your run, or pace your kitchen to reach a certain number of steps.

“You know it’s gone too far if it impeaches significantly on your ability to function in other ways, such as getting out the door on time,” says Saltz.

5. You insist on tracking every metric of your health.

Today, health trackers can test BMI, sleep cycles, calories burned, and much more. It certainly can be interesting information to have on hand, but if you track everything you can and view that data as indisputable medical information, you may be placing too much value on it. Even top-of-the-line trackers have a margin of error: One study from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, found that Fitbit trackers could miscalculate heart rate by up to 20 beats per minute. (On the flip side, this woman's fitness tracker helped save her life.) 

“Some people think the data is gospel, and don’t have a true grasp of its accuracy,” says Jordan. “These are not medical-grade devices, and they’re designed to give you a large picture of trends over time. If you try to give it a level of accuracy it doesn’t have, you get too hung up on that data, and that can be unhealthy.”

Jordan recommends not tracking larger health markers, like body fat percentage, every day since these values take longer to change (and seeing no change can be frustrating and discouraging). Instead, focus on eating right, exercising, and check larger markers every 4 to 6 weeks.

Do any of these these signs sound familiar? Saltz recommends people who find themselves obsessing over health data try to slowly decrease the frequency in which they use trackers. “Don’t wear a tracker for just a few days,” she says. “Allow yourself to see that the anxiety will be there, but it will dissipate over time, and you’re still OK.”

If you attempt to cut back but find that you can’t, see your doctor or a mental health expert to get to the root of this compulsive behavior.

6:02 PM

Read more »

Samsung seems to be having a good year especially after the last one that was affected by the Note 7 crisis. The company’s Galaxy S8 introduced new technologies such as an edge-to-edge display. It's Note 8 device, expected to be released this month, is also highly anticipated. However, the next generation S-series handset is also creating a buzz.

The Galaxy S9 might have a 2018 release date but it is expected to represent another leapfrog moment for Samsung post S8. The device is expected to build on the S8’s features.

Here are some of the expected features of the Galaxy S9:

4 Cameras: The next-in-line Galaxy handset is expected to have four onboard cameras — dual cameras at the back as well the front of the device. Two 16-megapixel cameras at the back and two 8-megapixel ones at the front might provide users a good field of vision and let the users differentiate easily between background and foreground, essential for augmented reality based applications. Another expected S9 feature is depth sensing which would create better focus around the subject in images.

https://goo.gl/KBmW6a

4:40 PM

Read more »

DENVER — A few moments at a backstage photo session four years ago are about to be relived, as lawyers for pop star Taylor Swift and a former disc jockey she accuses of groping her begin picking jurors Monday in their dueling lawsuits.
Radio host David Mueller sued the singer/songwriter, saying he was falsely accused and that she should have called police instead of his bosses, who fired him soon after the June 2013 encounter. He's seeking up to $3 million in damages.
Swift countersued, claiming sexual assault, setting up the civil trial where she is expected to testify amid tightened courthouse security.
Opening statements could begin Tuesday in the case that could last two weeks. Court documents say it is unlikely that either side will settle.
Swift is seeking a verdict that awards her just $1, while holding Mueller responsible and "serving as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts," her lawsuit says.
Mueller also is expected to testify, along with Mueller's former boss and members of Swift's entourage.
Mueller, then 51, was a morning host at a country music station when he was assigned to attend Swift's concert at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Mueller was backstage with his girlfriend when they met with Swift, then 23, in a curtained enclosure. They posed for a photo and left.
Later, Swift's bodyguard confronted Mueller with the allegation that he had reached under the singer's dress and grabbed her buttocks.
Mueller denied the allegation and asked that they call the police. He and his girlfriend were escorted out of the arena and a member of Swift's team called his boss.
Swift never went to the police. She tried to keep the situation "discreet and quiet and confidential" and was upset by Mueller's claim that "for some reason she might have some incentive to actually fabricate this story," her attorney, Douglas Baldridge, has argued in court.
Mueller's attorney, Gabriel McFarland, argues that Mueller may have been misidentified after someone else touched Swift.
Swift's mother and a member of her team also are defendants in the lawsuit filed by Mueller.

3:24 PM

Read more »

mazur serhiy/Shutterstock MamaMiaPL/shutterstockSome weight loss connoisseurs might swear by artificial sweeteners from dawn till dusk. After all, they are the healthier, no-calorie equivalent to real sugar, right? Not so fast. Aside from being one of the foods nutritionists never eat, a new report suggests that sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose might have the opposite effect, making you gain weight instead of lose it. The horror! (You might want to try these healthy snacks for weight loss, instead.)

Researchers reviewed 37 studies, including both randomized (short-term) and observational (long-term) trials. While the results in the randomized trials found no significant impact of sweetener use on body mass index (BMI), the observational studies noted a small increase in BMI tied to the use of sweeteners. These studies also reported a 14 percent higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes and a 32 percent higher chance of cardiovascular troubles for the heaviest compared to the lightest users.

“We were really interested in the everyday person who is consuming these products not to lose weight, but because they think it’s the healthier choice, for many years on end,” Meghan Azad, lead author of the review and a research scientist at the University of Manitoba, said. At the moment, “there is no clear benefit for weight loss, and there’s a potential association with increased weight gain, diabetes and other negative cardiovascular outcomes.”

Scientists still aren’t sure why artificial sweeteners have such a negative impact on our health. Some hypothesize that the sweet stuff could increase our craving for sugary foods, change the way our bodies handle real sugar, or alter our metabolism for the worse. On the other hand, if we feel proud for turning up our nose at real sugar, we may feel tempted to cheat on our diets later on. (Here’s what happens to your body if you stop eating artificial sweeteners for good.)

These results don’t indicate a direct cause and effect relationship, of course; lots of different habits and lifestyles can determine overall health. And having a diet soda every once in awhile won’t kill you, ultimately. However, it can benefit your long term health by making some simple changes to your diet. Azad recommends nixing your sweet tooth entirely and opting for more savory alternatives, such as plain or fruit-infused water, black coffee, or plain yogurt mixed with fruit. You can try these swaps for dramatic weight loss, too.

10:02 AM

Read more »

Happy World Chocolate Day! In celebration of this most delicious holiday, let’s brush up on our chocolate knowledge.

1. THERE ARE MULTIPLE CELEBRATIONS OF CHOCOLATE EACH YEAR.

Holiday makers are constantly on the hunt for a reason to munch on chocolate, so the calendar offers plenty of excuses to buy a bar. July 7 is also Chocolate Day, a nod to the historical tradition that the day marks when chocolate was first brought to Europe on July 7, 1550, though a number of sources argue that it might have hit the continent’s shores as far back as 1504, thanks to Christopher Columbus. Official day or not, we do know that chocolate first arrived in Europe some time in the 16th century. There's also National Milk Chocolate Day on July 28, International Chocolate Day on September 13, and, of course, National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day on November 7.

2. CHOCOLATE IS ACTUALLY A VEGETABLE—KIND OF.

Milk and dark chocolate come from the cacao bean, which grows on the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), an evergreen from the family Malvaceae (other members of the family include okra and cotton). This makes the most important part of the sweet treat a vegetable.

3. WHITE CHOCOLATE IS NOT CHOCOLATE.

Because it doesn't contain cocoa solids or chocolate liquor, white chocolate isn't chocolate in the strict sense. But it does contain parts of the cacao bean—mainly cocoa butter.

4. THE CACAO BEAN IS NATIVE TO MEXICO AND BOTH CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.

It’s believed that inhabitants of these areas first started cultivating the bean as far back as 1250 BCE, and perhaps even earlier.

5. HOT CHOCOLATE WAS THE FIRST CHOCOLATE TREAT.

Cacao was brewed in both Mexican and Aztec culture, though the result was nothing like today’s hot chocolate—it was a typically bitter concoction that was often used for ceremonial occasions like weddings.

6. MARIE ANTOINETTE LOVED HOT CHOCOLATE (THE MODERN KIND).

Marie didn’t just love cake, she also loved chocolate, and hot chocolate was frequently served at the Palace of Versailles. It wasn’t just the taste everyone loved—it was also believed that the drink was an aphrodisiac.

7. CACAO WAS ONCE USED AS CURRENCY.

The Aztecs loved and valued the cacao bean so highly that they used it as currency during the height of their civilization.

8. SPANISH FRIARS HELPED SPREAD THE LOVE.

After cacao and chocolate were introduced to Europe, traveling Spanish friars took it to various monasteries, handily spreading it around the continent.

9. A PAIR OF BRITISH CONFECTIONERS INVENTED SOLID CHOCOLATE.

The Fry and Sons shop concocted what they called “eating chocolate” in 1847 by combining cocoa butter, sugar, and chocolate liquor. This was a grainy, solid form of the treat.

10. COCOA AND CACAO ARE THE SAME THING.

The words are interchangeable! It’s all one bean.

11. NAPOLEON LOVED CHOCOLATE.

The French leader demanded that wine and chocolate be made available to him and his senior advisers even during intense military campaigns.

12. BAKER'S CHOCOLATE ISN’T JUST FOR BAKING.

Dr. James Baker and John Hannon founded their chocolate company—later called Walter Baker Chocolate—in 1765. That’s where the term “Baker's Chocolate” comes from, not to denote chocolate that’s just meant for cooking.

13. MILTON HERSHEY REALLY WAS A CANDY KING.

The Pennsylvania native may be best known for starting The Hershey Chocolate Company in good old Hershey, PA, but he got his start in candy long before hooking up with chocolate. His founded his first company, The Lancaster Caramel Company, when he was 30 years old.

14. MILK CHOCOLATE WAS INVENTED IN SWITZERLAND.

Daniel Peter created the tasty treat in 1875—after eight years of trying to make his recipe work. Condensed milk ended up being the key ingredient.

15. MAKING CHOCOLATE IS HARD WORK.

Despite its regal background and revered status, the cacao bean doesn’t just magically turn into chocolate—it takes about 400 beans to make a single pound of the good stuff.

16. THE FIRST CHOCOLATE BAR WAS MADE IN ENGLAND.

Way back in 1842, the Cadbury company made the very first chocolate bar. The company is still in existence, and is perhaps most famous for their delightful Easter-themed treats.

17. MOST CACAO IS NOW GROWN IN AFRICA.

Despite its Amazonian roots, most cacao—nearly 70 percent of the world’s supply—comes from Africa. The Ivory Coast is the largest single producer, providing about 30 percent of all the world’s cacao.

18. CACAO TREES CAN LIVE TO BE 200 YEARS OLD.

That may sound impressive, but the tropical beauties only make viable cacao beans for just 25 years of their lifespan.

19. THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF CACAO.

Most modern chocolate comes from forastero beans, which are considered easy to grow—though the crillo bean is believed to make much tastier chocolate.

20. CHOCOLATE HAS A SPECIAL MELTING POINT.

Chocolate is the only edible substance to melt around 93° F, just below the human body temperature. That’s why chocolate melts so easily on your tongue.

11:01 AM

Read more »