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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Many weight loss diet plans require slimmers to drastically cut food groups from their diet.

However, they could actually see better results if they are less restrictive, Krissy Cela, founder of Tone & Sculpt app, told Express.co.uk.

She explained: Say no to restrictions! I can't stress to you enough how many people I have seen trying a quick fix restrictive diet plan that is not maintainable, they end up just putting on more weight than they wanted to lose in the first place.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, your diet needs to work around the foods you actually enjoy and your lifestyle.

Instead of only focusing on what they eat, dieters should have a look at what they drink.

READ MORE: The top ten exercises to help you lose weight fast - which burns the most calories?

More here:
Weight loss: This simple drink can help burn fat fast - when should you have it? - Express

Jillian Michaels

Jillian Michaels is a fitness expert and wellness coach with over 20 years experience, and is a New York Times bestselling author of numerous books including Master Your Metabolism, Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life, and her most recent The 6 Keys: Unlock Your Genetic Potential for Ageless Strength, Health, and Beauty. Jillian's passion for fitness training originates from 17 years of martial arts practice in Muay Thai and Akarui-Do, in which she holds a black belt. Her first comprehensive 90-day weight loss system, Jillian Michaels Body Revolution, is available in retail stores across North America, and JILLIAN MICHAELS BODYSHRED, an intense group fitness class based on Jillian's highly-effective 3-2-1 interval system, is taught worldwide.

JILLIAN MICHAELS: How do we really decipher the thousands of studies that are out there on all of these diets? And the problem is what people will do to try to sell you a false bill of goods is take one study and blow that study out as though it's the entire picture, when of course it isn't. Imagine you have a massive painting but I only showed you this tiny piece of the painting but you had no idea what the hell else was going on over here there, there's no way you could get an accurate read on if this is a sad picture, a happy picture, like there's no way you could know, correct?

So when we look at keto here's why we're saying, or not me, but here's where some of the advocates are espousing benefits. Well, what are we doing with keto? We're removing carbohydrates, anything that elevates you got about 20 grams of carbohydrates a day that you're ingesting, which is essentially nothing, it's about 80 calories worth of carbohydrates out of what could be anywhere from a 1600 to 2500 calories a day diet so that's nothing. And it throws your body into a state of emergency that's what ketosis is. And because we don't have any glucose or glycogen, any blood sugar or stored blood sugar, we turn to fat quickly. We produce ketones and the idea is we burn through fat and we lose fat fast. And that is true and you would think that would be a good thing. And in addition, people will say well I reversed my type two diabetes. Of course your insulin level was through the floor, you're consuming zero carbohydrates so you have no blood sugar so your pancreas is not releasing insulin. And this can also affect conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome and by virtue of that connection it can also affect fertility. Fair. Let's give it that.

But here's what we're not talking about, there's zero calorie restriction on a ketogenic diet so you have a massive amount of oxidative stress, there's no consideration of timing with regard to food so your autophagy process is totally out of whack

In addition to that it's very high in animal fats and animal proteins. So we're seeing that diets rich in saturated fats are poor for our telomeres oxidative stress, increased inflammation, your nutrient sensing pathways that are related to the health of your metabolism are overrun with constant food, heavy fats, lots of animal protein and we know it hurts your telomeres and on and on and on.

Now, what about the benefits? Is it worth it? Let me tell you, the number one way to sensitize somebody's body, again to insulin, is exercise. I've been doing this a heck of a long time, I reversed type two diabetes, I've helped people get off all medications for type two diabetes and POCOS and get pregnant after years of trying and failing through a commonsense diet where we don't eat too much, we eat real food and we have balanced macronutrients. So I can give you all those benefits with none of the negative side effects of keto. And last thought on keto, we're stripping our body of certain fruits, which have a ton of antioxidants and polyphenols in them. So again, when we look at oxidative stress and free radicals and how they're aging us we need to look at antioxidant foods that help to combat that. When you start cutting out digestive enzymes and papaya and pineapple and mango and all the beta-carotene, which is one of the top things to help keep your telomeres long, something like keto is detrimental on so many different levels. And the amount of benefit is so small when we can take a completely different path get all the benefit over here, none of the negatives over here and all the benefits over there.

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2019 most controversial: Dont believe the keto hype - Big Think

If youve been trying to lose weight for a while now, you probably already know that intermittent fasting works. But (theres always a but, isnt there?) intermittent fasting alone will not help you get as far as youd like to go on your fitness journey.

To ensure great results (read: ripped results!) you need to start working out daily as well, like 22-year-old Delhi-based Harshit Tyagi did to lose 20 kgs and trim from 98 kgs to 78 kgs. He tells us, Ive been obese for most part of my life and therefore also lacked confidence. Id live in this constant fear that people around me will body shame me."

"What finally became the tipping point for me to whip myself in shape was the fact that a couple of years ago, I gathered the courage to approach my then crush to wish her a happy birthday and she walked past me like I didnt even exist. In that very moment I decided that the solution to this problem is in my hands and I need to do something about feeling invisible right now!" he says

"I was determined to not ever feel this way again, and commenced my weight loss journey by embarking on the below weight loss plan, he adds.

Much like every other teenager, I too didn't have much knowledge about nutrition and fitness and decided to enrol myself in a gym to shed some weight. I joined a gym close to my house and followed my gym trainer's advice to the T. During the initial few weeks, I focused all my efforts towards cardio.

And, shortly after noticed that most gym trainers recommend the same training regime to everyone be it a skinny person or someone who wants to lose fat! So, I tried to expand my knowledge in this domain and formed a training and diet regime for myself after experimenting with different diets and exercise regime.

I learnt two important things on this quest of information:

1. You have to be mindful of what you eat. I tried many different experiments with my diet such as eating no food items with processed sugar and drinking a litre of water as soon as I woke up. I also increased the amount of lean protein in my diet and started consuming more egg whites with green vegetables before I finally settled on an intermittent fasting pattern of eating, but more on that later.

2. I realised compound movements provide better results than isolated movements as they involve more muscle activity at the same time. Hence, I switched from exercises such as bicep curls, lat pull down to deadlift, lunges, squats and bench press. I also shifted my focus from movements that involve machines to exercise with regular dumbbells and barbells. This improves your balance and makes sure your weak side (my left side) is also pushed to its limits.

QUICK READ: How to do deadlifts the right way, according to personal trainers

These learnings led him to create the below weight loss exercise regime.

After trying out a lot of workout routines, I (finally) settled on this 4-day workout routine:

Day 1: Deadlift + Bench Press + Military Press

Day 2: Squat + Farmer walks + Lunges

Day 3: HIIT Training + Abs

Day 4: Clean and Jerk + Snatch + Power Clean

For exercises on Day 1,2 and 4, I do 3 sets in 12, 10, 8 reps with increasing load in every set. I try to keep my form correct and movement slow. This keeps muscles in tension for a longer period of time. On Day 3 I do HIIT training of 8 sets with 30 seconds exercise and 10 second rest.

30 seconds: Jump Rope

10 seconds: Rest

30 seconds: Push-ups

10 seconds: Rest

30 seconds: Jump Rope

10 seconds: Rest

30 Seconds: Jump Squats

10 seconds: Rest

30 seconds: Jump Rope

10 seconds: Rest

30 seconds: Push-ups

10 seconds: Rest

30 seconds: Jump Rope

10 seconds: Rest

30 Seconds: Jump Squats

There is no one-size-fits-all formula, but you can also try this workout and see if it fits you. This workout aims at strength and agility.

Now, lets come to how intermittent fasting changed my life, Among the diet experiments, intermittent fasting turned into a habit.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesnt specify which foods you can or cannot eat. It only focuses on when you should eat them.

There are many IF plans and patterns that you can follow, but the most effective one, according to studies is the 16:8 IF diet. The 16:8 IF diet entails one to observe a 16-hour fasting period, followed by an 8-hour eating window.

You can commence a 16-hour fast at 10:00 pm in the night, after you eat your last meal of the day and go to sleepthats 7-8 hours gone right there. You can break the 16-hour fast at 2:00 pm with your lunch and eat small meals till 10:00 pmthis makes up the 8-hour eating window. Alternatively, you can also begin your fast at 8 pm and break it at 12 pm, the next day.

I observed the 16:8 diet split and ate in between 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Meal 1 at 1:00 pm: 10 Almonds and a seasonal Fruit

Meal 2 at 2:00 pm: Dal and Sabzi with Roti

Meal 3 at 5:30 pm: Poha/Upma/Omelette/Milk with Oats

Meal 4 at 8:30 pm: Dal, Sabzi and Eggs

I do not measure the quantity of food. ie. at until I feel full. The key here is to repeat meals every day and stay consistent.

Its easy to lose the initial weight and feel good about it, but as you keep going you realise that you have to push even harder to achieve more results. Your body reaches a plateau state. When I felt I had achieved what I desired and was confident about my body image, I started looking at workouts as fun activities instead of challenges

I have resorted to jogging, skipping rope and HIIT workouts now as a medium to maintain my weight. I do not have a fixed schedule for the gym anymore but whenever I go to the gym I aim for heavy weight workouts.

ALSO READ: Chris Hemsworth has dropped a bulldozer of a workout to kick off your week

Try including compound exercises in your routine instead of isolated workouts. Make your own workouts and keep playing and experimenting with them. But on the same note, find a mentor/trainer who understands your end goals and doesnt suggest the same exercises to everyone.

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

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How to lose weight like this Delhi guy who lost 20 kgs by following intermittent fasting & a 4-day gym routine - GQ India - What a man's got to do

Humans have a long history of making New Years resolutions. The Babylonians are believed to be among the first to have set them more than 4,000 years ago. When Julius Caesar was emperor circa 46 B.C., the Romans had their own practice of offering sacrifices to Janus, the god of beginnings and endings, as they looked forward to each new year.

You would think that after so many years, people would have mastered the art of following through on their resolutions. However, a formal study in 2007 found as many as 88% of people fail to fulfill their resolutions. So, its a new year but the same you.

Most people make resolutions to improve their health, either by losing weight, quitting smoking or exercising more. Others aim to save money. The challenge with fulfilling resolutions is that they require starting new habits, said Wendy Wood, the Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Marshall School of Business.

We keep making these resolutions, despite realizing that most wont actually succeed, she said.

We keep making these resolutions, despite realizing that most wont actually succeed.

Wendy Wood

Habits have a lot to do with this failure. Physical and financial health require repeated behavior more than just eating salads for a week or sticking to a budget for a month, added Wood, whose new book, Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, provides insight into the psychology of habits.

Many people misunderstand the challenge of forming a new habit, she said. They may think starting something new is just a matter of willpower, or that one decision can change everything.

Forming a new habit isnt rational like this. Neither is changing old habits. Old habits fade only slowly, she said. So, as your motivation wanes resolutions are hard, not fun your old habit is still there.

We dont understand how our habits work. In fact, we are not supposed to understand them. Habits are part of our unconscious mind, she added.

Woods point is that we must improve our chances of success by making it easier to adopt a new habit. We are more likely to make these new habits an unconscious part of our routines if we, for instance, prepare a gym bag the night before a morning workout or make several meals to last through the week to deter ourselves from reaching regularly for junk food.

Wood and other USC researchers have found additional steps you can take to increase your chances of accomplishing your resolutions.

Quitting smoking is one of the top resolutions people make to improve their health. If you are a smoker, the company you keep can affect your temptation for smoking, said Steven Sussman, professor of preventive medicine and psychology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Hanging out with non-users as much as possible, drinking lots of water every day for a couple of weeks, doing some exercise and actually trying to learn relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation may help, he said.

The bottom line is action, he added, like getting rid of all evidence of nicotine products from the house and keeping busy doing other things.

Fitness centers anticipate a spike in memberships this time of year as many Americans resolve to lose weight, but often the spike is temporary. It usually tapers by the end of February, as people return to their old habits and inactivity.

Lorraine Turcotte, a professor of biological sciences and expert on metabolism at USC Dornsife, said people can raise their likelihood of successful weight loss just by setting realistic expectations. The less specific you are about how much weight you aim to lose, the more likely you will reach your weight loss goal, she said.

It might be easier to maintain a positive attitude if your goal is to lose 5 to 10 pounds, as opposed to having a specific goal of 10 pounds, she said. Choose an activity that you like. Maintenance of an exercise program is linked to enjoyment of the activity. So, if you like dancing, take a dance class. Try to include friends and family in your activities, which will improve your chances of maintaining an exercise routine.

Many of us are masters of procrastination, which especially becomes a problem when saving money for retirement.

Daphna Oyserman, a Deans Professor of Psychology and Education at USC Dornsife and the USC Rossier School of Education, has found that people can motivate themselves by making their goals seem more immediate.

Instead of imagining yourself as a healthy, happy retiree in 30 or 40 years, ask yourself what actions you can take today to be healthier, this week to be happier and this month to save more, she advised.

More stories about: Diet, Exercise, Psychology, Research

Fewer than 1 in 10 people achieve success, but these pointers will give you a fighting chance.

USC Dornsifes John Monterosso has some ideas and makes a case for rethinking well-intentioned resolutions that sap pleasure from your life.

Policymakers changed public opinion on smoking. New USC Marshall research suggests the same techniques can get us to exercise, eat better and be more healthy.

Stress and exhaustion may turn us into zombies, but a novel study by USC researchers shows that mindless behavior doesnt just lead to overeating and shopping sprees it can also cause us to stick with behaviors that are good for us.

Read more:
These tips will help you stick to your New Year's resolutions - USC News

Not all fat is created equally and visceral fat, which lies deep below the surface, near vital organs such as the heart, liver and intestines, can be life-threatening. The fats proximity to vital organs means that carrying an excess amount of it hikes your risk of developing chronic complications, such as heart and liver disease.

To keep visceral fat bay, evidence backs limiting your intake of foods that lead to the harmful weight gain.

One of the primary culprits is high carb intake so cutting back on this food group can bring fat-burning benefits.

Studies have shown that diets with under 50 grams of carbs per day cause belly fat loss in overweight people, those at risk of type 2 diabetes and women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Lower-carb weight-loss diets may be better for losing visceral fat than higher-carb weight-loss diets, according to a study published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.

You dont have to cut out carbs completely to reap the benefits.

READ MORE:Angela Rippon health: The plant supplement star used to help get rid of visceral fat

Many sugar-sweetened beverages are made with high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar, according to medical website LiveStrong.

Drinking beverages sweetened with fructose may increase visceral fat, reports an article published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The study involved overweight and obese people, so further research is necessary to determine whether fructose has the same effect in normal weight individuals.

To keep visceral fat at bay, try replacing these beverages with naturally calorie-free options such as water, tea or black coffee, advises LiveStrong.

Findings published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society also makes a case skipping diet fizzy drinks as this may be associated with increases in waist circumference, and thus potentially visceral fat as well.

In addition to dieting, exercising regularly also offers a robust defence against visceral fat gain.

Harvard Medical School recommends getting 30 to 60 minutes of cardio per day, such as brisk walking, swimming, running or aerobics, and notes that exercising with weights may also be helpful.

Evidence demonstrates the visceral fat-burning benefits of aerobic exercise.

See original here:
How to lose visceral fat: Cut back on this type of food to reduce harmful belly fat - Express

Bowel cancer is a general term for cancer that begins in the large bowel and depending on where the cancer starts, bowel cancer is sometimes called colon or rectal cancer.

It is one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed in the UK and is most prevalent in people over the age of 60.

Treatment for bowel cancer will depend on which part of your bowel is affected and how far the cancer has spread, and, if detected early enough, treatment can cure bowel bowel completely so it is imperative to know the warning signs.

In the initial stages of the disease, however, many people with bowel cancer do not experience any symptoms, according to Mayo Clinic.

When symptoms appear, they'll likely vary, depending on the cancer's size and location in your large intestine, noted the health site.

The symptoms of bowel can be subtle and do not necessarily make you feel ill so it is easy to overlook them for a less serious condition.

One key warning sign is the feeling that your bowel doesnt empty properly after youve been to the toilet.

READ MORE:Bowel cancer: A medication almost everyone has been prescribed could be the cause

This often creates the feeling of needing to strain your back passage, even after opening your bowels, explains Cancer Research UK.

Other common symptoms include:

According to the NHS, you should see your GP if you have one or more of the symptoms of bowel cancer, and they persist for more than four weeks.

When you first see your GP, they'll ask about your symptoms and whether you have a family history of bowel cancer, explains the NHS.

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They'll usually carry out a simple examination of your bottom, known as a digital rectal examination (DRE), and examine your tummy (abdomen).

This is a useful way of checking whether there are any lumps in your tummy or bottom (rectum).

The tests can be uncomfortable, and many people find an examination of their bottom a bit embarrassing, but they take less than a minute, explained the health body.

Your GP may also check your blood to see if you have iron deficiency anaemia - although most people with bowel cancer do not have symptoms of anaemia, they may lack iron as a result of bleeding from the cancer, notes the health site.

Bowel cancer risk is determined by a range of factors, including age, genetics and lifestyle factors.

Obesity, for example, has been linked to bowel cancer in an estimated 11 out of 100 cases, reports Cancer Research.

Supporting the link, evidence suggests that maintaining a healthy weight by keeping active has been shown to reduce your risk.

One comprehensive study combined and analysed several decades worth of data from past studies on how exercise affects colon cancer risk.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, found that people who exercised the most were 24 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who exercised the least.

"What's really compelling is that we see the association between exercise and lower colon cancer risk regardless of how physical activity was measured in the studies," said lead study author Kathleen Y. Wolin, Sc.D., a cancer prevention and control expert with the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University.

She added: "That indicates that this is a robust association and gives all the more evidence that physical activity is truly protective against colon cancer."

It is also important to compliment a physically active lifestyle with a healthy, balanced diet to reduce your risk.

As the NHS reports, a large body of evidence suggests a diet high in red and processed meat can increase your risk of developing bowel cancer.

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Bowel cancer symptoms: This sign after you've been to the toilet could signal the disease - Express

The Bankruptcy of EP Energy

In October, EP Energy one of the largest oil producers in the Eagle Ford Shale region in Texas filed for bankruptcy because the firm couldn't pay back almost $5 billion in debt, making it the largest oil and gas bankruptcy since 2016.

EP Energy hasn't produced a profit since 2014 and Bloomberg reported that the company would need oil to be at "a price closer to $70 per barrel" for EP to be profitable. Oil has not come close to averaging over $70 a barrel since 2014.

Despite its financial struggles at current low oil prices, the company plans to continue operating after restructuring and eliminating up to $3 billion in debt. However, EP has not identified any funds that it would be setting aside for well cleanup, which is not unusual for an oil and gas company.

In response, as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the U.S. Department of the Interior filed a document arguing that EP Energy is still responsible for its obligations to assure the "decommissioning, plugging, and abandonment" of any of the EP Energy wells that are located on leased federal and tribal lands.

Ideally, that would mean EP Energy sets aside funds for the proper cleanup and end-of-life processes for its oil and gas wells, which number more than 800 in the Eagle Ford region.

However, the federal government hasn't even named a number yet for how much that should be. The Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs "are currently still assessing the status of reclamation and plugging and abandonment obligations across the Debtors' onshore federal and Indian leases," writes the Interior Department.

In EP Energy #bankruptcy, US Interior Department wants to make sure that enough money is set aside for cleanup. For financially struggling companies, cleanup is becoming the tail that's wagging the dog. https://t.co/LDrnMr01rn

— Clark Williams-Derry (@ClarkWDerry) November 16, 2019

The federal government is only getting around to assessing EP Energy's potential liabilities once the firm is already in the bankruptcy process, revealing one of the flaws in the current system. Federal and state governments have not been holding fracking companies fully liable for the environmental damage and cleanup costs of their drilling activity.

Joshua Caleb Macey, a visiting assistant professor at Cornell law school who specializes in bankruptcy and energy law, told DeSmog that the situation with EP Energy was "frustrating and completely normal."

According to the Interior Department filing, "Regardless of its bankruptcy, the Debtor is required to comply with all applicable federal laws."

As I've reported before, oil and gas companies are legally required to hold a certain amount of funds to pay for well cleanup costs, a process known as bonding that varies by state and for public lands.

Because companies are rarely required to have those funds available before they start drilling (and thanks to industry-friendly regulators and politicians), in reality oil and gas companies can walk away from cleanup obligations with relative ease, which has become the pattern for bankrupt coal companies.

Including Cleanup Costs Would Make Extraction 'Uneconomic'

Federal and state regulators have been failing to require companies to fully fund expected cleanup liabilities, which helps mask the true cost of oil and gas production. Passing environmental cleanup costs on to the taxpayer amounts to a backdoor subsidy for the oil and gas industry.

Requiring oil and gas companies to pay for shutting down and cleaning up wells would greatly increase the cost of drilling for many oil and gas wells. The fracking industry already can't make money pumping fossil fuels out of shale in the U.S., and that's without these firms coming even close to fully funding their cleanup costs.

However, more state governments are realizing the scale of this problem and starting to look at increasing and enforcing bonding requirements for oil and gas well cleanup. However, in oil-rich places like Alberta, Canada, and Alaska, regulators are realizing that the money just isn't there.

Hey @jkenney @Alberta_UCP after your sustained attacks on the Liberal government, why are you now begging for taxpayer money to clean up Alberta's abandoned oil wells? Oil companies must pay for that. Not us. Hands off our tax dollars. The oil shareholders should pay. #cdnpoli

— Trish Palmer (@TrishPalmerYVR) December 1, 2019

In 2018, the natural gas driller Amaroq Resources acquired the Nicolai Creek assets in southwest Alaska from the bankrupt Aurora Gas. This transaction was delayed when the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) announced $7 million in bonding required for the gas wells associated with the purchase. This is the point where the state government had the power to make Amaroq provide adequate bonding for well cleanup.

The AOGCC then agreed to reduce that amount to $200,000 and the deal went ahead.

Since that deal, the commission increased the minimum statewide bonding level to $400,000 per well for the first one to 10 wells. Amaroq would be required to abide by these new regulations and has appealed this decision. Company president Scott Pfoff explained that these new bonding requirements make the business "uneconomic."

And that is the reality. If oil and gas companies were required to pay for the full end-of-life cost of their wells, much of their inventory becomes uneconomic. This is where taxpayers come in.

Fracking Industry Wants to Dump Wastewater in Streams and Rivers to Save Money

Failure to require adequate bonding for oil and gas cleanup costs is just one of many backdoor government subsidies for the oil and gas industry. The failure to regulate flaring and venting of the potent greenhouse gas methane during oil drilling is another example.

Fracking firms, which spend a lot of borrowed money to pump out a lot of oil and gas for not much (or any) profit, are experiencing a collapse in financing. Thanks to the industry's failed business model, these companies are desperate for ways to cut costs.

One of the major costs associated with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is acquiring, pumping and disposing of water, which, after a driller is finished with it, typically contains corrosive levels of salts and contaminants including naturally occurring radioactive materials, chemicals and oil residues. This area has become a major target for the industry to save money.

As The Washington Post pointed out in 2015 (and as I highlighted last year), when it comes to fracked shale oil and gas production, "currently there is no way to treat, store, and release the billions of gallons of wastewater at the surface." The industry's current range of (legal) approaches to disposing of its massive amounts of wastewater involves injecting it underground, which in some cases is tied to increased earthquake activity, using it to irrigate crops or de-ice roads, and sending it to municipal water treatment plants lacking equipment to properly treat it.

Treating oil and gas drilling wastewater is possible, but expensive. As S&P Global Platts recently reported, according to a study by the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and Independent Petroleum Association of America, for Permian drillers in Texas, "Economically, treatment costs must come down."

The study concludes that dealing with wastewater is already a limiting factor in this prolific region: "Some Permian sub-basins are currently constrained due to insufficient injection well capacity. Projected production growth will worsen the situation."

With this glut of wastewater combined with high costs, the industry is looking for a cheap alternative. The latest preferred approach seems to be lobbying governments to change the rules to allow dumping wastewater with limited treatment into rivers and streams.

In November, E&E News reported that there's movement to allow or expand such wastewater dumping in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, all states with major fracking industries. "Within a year, Oklahoma could get approval from EPA to start issuing permits that will allow the oil industry to dispose of briny oil field waste in waterways," E&E wrote.

As space for injection wells becomes scarce, the industry hopes to dump its wastewater in streams and rivers, once again passing on potential environmental and financial liabilities to the public.

A 2017 working group looking for alternatives for Oklahoma oil field wastewater (also known as "produced water") found "the most cost-effective means of reducing disposal is for oil companies to treat and clean that produced water so it can be reused for things like fracking," reported NPR's StateImpact Oklahoma.

However, recycling produced water to again frack wells results in more toxic produced water, which can't be recycled indefinitely. With injection wells increasingly unable to handle the volume of water produced by the industry, shale firms have been seeking cheap alternative disposal methods, including dumping the water in rivers and streams.

However, the 2017 analysis concluded that treating produced frack water to the point it could be safely dumped into rivers or used to irrigate agriculture wasn't economically viable.

Owen Mills, the director of water planning for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, explained to StateImpact Oklahoma why this wasn't an option for the industry: "It's incredibly expensive to do that and it takes a lot of energy."

To properly treat the fracking wastewater to the point it is no longer a threat to human health and the environment would be incredibly expensive, and that is why the industry is lobbying to change the rules about disposing its wastewater. If it succeeds, expect the eventual clean up costs also incredibly expensive to be billed to the American public.

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5 Ways to Beat Holiday Blues - EcoWatch

The dip in temperature accompanied by cold winds, not only forces us to put on more clothes but also makes us eat more. You might have noticed yourself that with the change in season, you binge eat and succumb to unhealthy cravings. Even though you may not feel hungry physically, your mind continuously asks for food. We often find ourselves munching on snacks mindlessly and in the end worry about unwanted weight gain.

As per researches, your genetics might be responsible for this but there are some other reasons as well. Here are 3 reasons why people overeat in winters.

With the drop in temperature, our body has to fight harder to keep itself warm. And so it requires more calories to produce energy. When this happens, our mind sends a signal to the brain to put on more clothes and eat more calorie-loaded food. At this point, we even forget that we are overeating.

People generally tend to drink less water in winters, which leads to dehydration. This problem is quite common during this season. The drying heat of room heaters and layers of clothes also makes our body dehydrated. Our body actually needs water, but we confuse our thirst with hunger and eat more food.

Winter blues is really a thing! The cold weather is a perfect recipe for sadness. Studies suggest that a significant number of people suffer from this Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and this makes them eat more. People turn to food for some comfort during winters.

If you are worried about gaining weight because of all the extra eating, then here are some tips for you:

-Eat healthy soups and low-calorie dishes. Try to include winter vegetables and fruits in your diet.

-Even if you are snacking between your meals, try to include healthy and low-calorie foods in your diet.

-Portion control is a very important thing. Do not fill your plate with multiple food items at a time.

-If you think you are suffering from winter blues then take necessary steps or seek professional help.

-Exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes every day.

Excerpt from:
3 valid reasons why we tend to overeat in winters - Times of India

LEXINGTON. Ky. (Dec. 19, 2019) University professors likeMarilyn Campbell know their students well, give them opportunities to be part of their researchand provide mentorship on everything from personal issues to graduate school applications.

As a lecturer at the University of Kentucky in the College of Education, Campbell ensures students have a chance for hands-on learning in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion.

Campbells work involves mentoring studentsin both classrooms and research labsand covers topics that combine her passion for nutrition and exercise science. She frequently works with students to prepare them for graduate school.

One such student, Jessica Gadberry, is finishing up physical therapy school at UK's College of Health Sciences. When she heard there was an opportunity to recognize a mentor, Campbell immediately came to mind.

As I look back on how I have grown as a medical professional, I have to give a large amount of credit to Dr. Campbell for being such a strong role model, Gadberry said. She has a heart that wants to help others succeed.

Many students planning to go into health and medical careers come from an exercise science background. Campbells students in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, for instance, learn to use devices and develop skills taught in physical therapy school.

Our program provides good preparation for health and medical graduate schools because we are very hands-on, Campbell said. To give you an idea of what that looks like, we do body composition testing where students use skin calipers to measure fat and they get inside underwater weighing tanks to measure body composition. And, they are often working on treadmills to do aerobic testing.

As a researcher, Campbell is currently looking at how nutritional supplements, such as the popular spice turmeric, can influence exercise performance.Turmeric is a root found in many Asian and Indian dishes. Curcumin, an active ingredient in turmeric, is thought to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties.

Both masters and undergraduate students are working with Campbell and her colleagueHaley Bergstrom, who focuses on sports performance, to study whether or not curcumin can impact exercise performance and recovery.

Research was an area that was foreign to me, so Dr. Campbell used it as a way to help open new doors to my educational foundation, Gadberry said. During this time, I was also going through a period where I was preparing for physical therapy school, so, with her experience, she was able to mentally prepare me with what to expect. She also set time aside to prepare me to enhance my confidence with interviews and public speaking.

This past summer, Campbell had a chance to work particularly closely with a group of students who went with her on a three-week study abroad trip to Italy. She helped them explore how the Mediterranean diet compares to the typical American diet, and how the diets components impact athletes and other physically active individuals.

Pursuing research in her own undergraduate program was not something Campbell had a chance to do.

I am fortunate to be able to offer this opportunity to my students through the support here at UK," Campbell said.

Campbell was one of two UK faculty members recognized for their dedication to mentoring with theExcellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardduring the13thannual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars last May.

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Exercise Science Professor Mentors Students Focused on Health and Medical Careers - UKNow