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On this page:BasicsTypesCausesRisk FactorsSymptomsDiagnosisTreatmentLifestyle ChangesLife With Arrhythmia

When your heart beats normally, you probably dont give it a second thought. But when that steady thump-thump changes, it could be a sign that something more is going on. There are numerous conditions that can cause your heart rate to speed up, slow down, or lose its regular rhythm. Some are nothing more than an annoyance. Others can be much more serious. We'll help you sort through the differences so you can get the treatment you need.

Weve all heard the sayings my heart skipped a beat and my heart was pounding out of my chest! Maybe thats why so many of us think of irregular heart rhythms as occasional episodes that are triggered by unusual levels of happiness, fear, or excitementand its true, they sometimes can be. But for people who live with irregular heartbeats, called arrhythmias, their symptoms occur for a variety of reasons, often triggered by a combination of factors, including genetics, underlying physical conditions, stimulants like cigarettes and alcohol, and/or those external stressors or high emotions.

So, lets get to the details. Arrhythmias are abnormal heartbeats that interfere with your hearts ability to pump blood efficiently and effectively. They can make your heart beat much faster or slower than it should, and sometimes it beats in an out-of-sync manner.

Most arrhythmias wont harm you, but the more serious types can prevent your brain, heart, and other organs from getting the blood and oxygen they need to survive and thrive. Some arrhythmias can be fatal.

For example, one type of arrhythmia, called atrial fibrillation, can cause blood clots to form. Such clots can travel to your brain and trigger a stroke, or, less commonly, cause a pulmonary embolism, a blockage in one of the arteries in your lungs. As scary as this is, these conditions can be treated when they're detected in time.

Before we dive into the details, though, lets start with how your heart beats when its doing its job the way its supposed to:

You know that your heart is a pump, and each beat or contraction moves blood through the body.

It has four chambers: On top are the left and right atria. On the bottom are the left and right ventricles.

To keep your blood flowing at a rate necessary to meet your bodys needs, the walls of each chamber contract and relax in a steady rhythm.

Thats your heart beating. It gets faster when you exercise or move around, as the demand for oxygen grows, and it slows down while youre at rest.

What controls this complex process? The heart has its own pacemaker. Called the sinus node, it's located at the top of the right atrium. It sends electrical signals to each part of your heart telling it what to do and when. Here's how it works:

First, the signal instructs the atria to contract, which pushes blood into the ventricles.

Next, it pauses at the atrioventricular (AV) node, which is med-speak for the electrical connection between atria and the ventricles. That little time-out gives the ventricles a sec to fill up.

Finally, the signal tells the ventricles to contract. Blood in the right ventricle heads over to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Blood on the left flows out to the rest of the body.

This whole signaling system works thanks to your autonomic nervous system, which also controls your liver, kidneys, and other bodily organs. They all function without any input from you (imagine if you literally had to think through every heart beat!). When all works as it should, your heart will beat approximately 60 to 100 times each minute.

Arrhythmias can be grouped in a couple of different ways, including where in the heart they occur and how they affect your beat.

Now, lets break it down even further.

Lets go back to the saying, My heart skipped a beat! Youve probably had one of these before. In fact, nearly everyone experiences them on occasion. This can occur spontaneously or with stress, excessive exercise, smoking, or too many cups of coffee rather than from an underlying heart condition.

These types of arrhythmias, officially called premature atrial contractions (PACs) or premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), are the most common types and are rarely cause for concern. They can originate in either the atria or ventricles. Theyre often found in children and teenagers. But if they happen frequently or they bother you, talk to your doctor. Its rare, but they can be a sign of an underlying heart problem, such as injury to the heart, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

This type of arrhythmia, which can sometimes be life-threatening, starts in the atria. When it occurs, your heart can beat faster than 100 beats per minute at rest (which is another way of saying youre experiencing tachycardia).

Supraventricular arrhythmias include:

Atrial fibrillation (afib): This is the most common type of arrhythmia that requires medical intervention. Afib causes an erratic and often rapid heartbeat. During an episode, your heart cant pump as well as it does normally, and blood may pool in your left atrium. Clots can form there, and if one gets into your bloodstream, it can travel to your brain and cause a stroke. Afib can also lead to heart failure.

Most people who develop afib already have underlying heart disease and are 65 or older, though this condition can occur in young, healthy people as well. Episodes tend to be short and infrequent at first, coming and going on their own. However, as the disease progresses, episodes happen more often and will eventually require medical intervention to stop. For example, your doctor may have to shock your heart to correct its beating.

People with afib commonly take medications to prevent stroke, such as blood thinners. Other drugs and procedures may be needed to correct the hearts rhythm and rate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that between about 3 and 6 million people in the U.S. have atrial fibrillation.

Atrial flutter: Similar to atrial fibrillation but rarer, it causes a super-fast heartbeatsometimes more than 300 beats per minutethats regular rather than erratic. Because the same type of pooling and clotting can occur, atrial flutter can also lead to a stroke or heart failure. However, such complications can usually be avoided with proper treatment.

Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT): This is another very rapid heartbeat (up to 250 beats per minute) that starts and stops suddenly. Its often not dangerous. However, some PSVTs are cause for concern. People with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, for example, are born with an extra electrical pathway that connects the hearts upper and lower chambers. While this PSVT only rarely causes cardiac arrest, it can cause fainting.

These arrhythmias, which can also cause fast and irregular heartbeats, start in the ventricles, your hearts lower chambers. While they can be life-threatening without treatment, there are procedures and medications available that restore a normal heart rate when it occurs.

Ventricular tachycardia: This type of rapid heartbeatoften greater than 170 beats per minutedisrupts the ventricles ability to fill and pump properly. When this type of arrhythmia lasts only a handful of heartbeats, it does not cause problems; however, if it lasts longer, it can cause dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting or, in extreme cases, cardiac arrest.

Ventricular fibrillation: The most serious of the arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation is a medical emergency requiring an immediate call to 911. When this arrhythmia strikes, it causes the lower chambers (venticles) to quiver instead of contract, which stops the heart from pumping blood. If the heartbeat is not corrected within minutes, ventricular fibrillation leads to cardiac arrest and death.

This type of arrhythmia causes your heart to beat too slowly. For the average adult, that means under 60 heart beats a minute at rest or while doing non-strenuous activities (although a slowed rate during sleep is not unusual or always cause for alarm, according to the American Heart Association).

Your heart's natural pacemaker (remember, it's called the sinus node), is located in the right atrium. It sends electrical impulses across the atria, triggering them to pump blood into the ventricles. Bradyarrhythmias occur when those signals are blocked. This slowing or blockage can be caused by tissue damage from aging, previous heart procedures, inflammatory diseases, birth defects, and more.

In some people, slow heartbeats are perfectly normal. Athletes, for example, are very physically fit and therefore have hearts that work super efficiently, both when theyre working out and, say, sitting behind a desk. Thats because people who are in top physical condition can pump sufficient blood with fewer heart beats at restas few as 50 each minute.

Still, for regular Joes and Janes who are not daily gym bunnies or Olympic track stars, when the heart beats too slowly to meet the body and brains needs, there is a risk of passing out. The lack of oxygen may also cause confusion and shortness of breath. In extreme cases, cardiac arrest can occur.

This arrhythmia compromises the ability of your hearts pacemaker, or sinus node, to properly control your heart rate, causing it to swing from too slow to too fast or to wildly erratic. It can lead to stroke, heart failure, and cardiac arrest.

Your hearts electrical signals travel a route from their origin in the sinus node to their destination, such as your ventricles. If the route gets blocked, the signals may slow down, causing a dip in your heart rate.

Most arrhythmias occur in people who already have some form of heart disease. They can also occur in people who possess structurally normal hearts with no sign of disease, but rather have issues with how the electrical pathways in their hearts are working.

Having had a heart attack, for example, can increase your odds of an arrhythmia because the scarring that results can form along the path that the electrical signals interfering with transmission. Arrhythmias can also occur during a heart attack, as cells die off and scar tissue develops.

Specifically, the heart disease-related causes of arrhythmia include:

This buildup of plaque narrows and stiffens the heart's arteries. As blood flow and oxygen to the heart is reduced, the way it responds to electrical signals may change. This can cause atrial fibrillation.

CAD also frequently leads to heart attack, and the scarring can increase your risk of both ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Both can both also occur during a heart attack due to the sudden loss of blood flow in the heart.

This disease weakens your heart and alters the way electrical signals travel through your heart, setting you up for arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, sick sinus syndrome, and ventricular tachycardia.

When your hearts system of valves does not work properly, it can put extra strain on your heart. That causes the heartyour most important muscleto enlarge and stiffen. Heart-valve disorders are among the most common causes of atrial fibrillation. They can also trigger ventricular tachycardia.

Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other autoimmune disorders often affect the heart and can cause arrhythmias, likely due to the chronic inflammation that occurs in such diseases. For example, lupus raises the risk of faster than normal heartbeats (above 100 beats per minute) as well as atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition to these causes, many risk factorssome in your control, others notup your odds of developing an arrhythmia. Many of them also increase your risk of heart disease more broadly. They include:

Hypertension makes your heart work harder. As a result, your left ventricle grows thick and stiffens, which interferes with your hearts electrical wiring. Electrical signals can no longer move as easily, which increases your risk of atrial fibrillation.

This disease significantly boosts your odds of developing HBP and CAD, and people with diabetes have as much as 40% higher risk of atrial fibrillation. Inflammation associated with diabetes is once again the likely culprit.

Excess weight makes the heart work harder, and that extra strain can cause the heart to enlarge, making it more susceptible to atrial fibrillation. Obesity also often accompanies other arrhythmia risk factors, such as HBP, sleep apnea, and diabetes.

When your breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep, your heart gets less oxygen. Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to atrial fibrillation and other usually less serious arrhythmias, including premature contraction.

If your body produces too much thyroid hormone, your heart may beat harder and faster. When left untreated, this can trigger afib.

As we get older, our hearts internal pacemaker loses cells, which causes it to slow down. Age-related heart changes can also affect the pathways that electricity follows. And with age we become more prone to diseases that affect the heart, like CAD, heart failure, and diabetes. Arrhythmias among the elderly include atrial fibrillation, bradycardias (slow heart beats), sick sinus syndrome, and other atrial and ventricular arrhythmias.

You can be born with structural abnormalities of the heart that affect the way it conducts electricity, leading to atrial tachycardias as well as life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias.

The genes that you inherit from your parents play a role in the development of some types of arrhythmias, called cardiac channelopathies. They can cause your heart to beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly whether or not you have other forms or heart disease.

The most common inherited arrhythmia is long QT syndrome, in which the lower chambers of the heart develop a rapid and irregular rhythm that can lead to ventricular fibrillation, a life-threating arrhythmia. Many people have no symptoms until they experience fainting, seizure, or even sudden cardiac arrest. Most first epsiodes occur before age 40. If you have a family history of this heart condition, ask your doctor for screening tests, which may include genetic testing, wearing event montoring devices, and an electrocardiogram (ECG).

Other examples of arrhythmias that you can be born with include:

Will you feel your heart speed up or slow down? Not always. Arrhythmias cause a variety of symptoms, but you may have no symptoms at all. Often, people learn they have an arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation by chance.

Maybe you get a required heart exam prior to knee surgery, for example, and your doctor discovers a problem. Or a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation may come after youve already had a stroke. For others, a rapidly beating or erratic heartbeat is both noticeable and uncomfortable. Every person is different.

Something else to keep in mind: Having mild symptoms or no symptoms does not indicate that you have a less serious arrhythmia. And the opposite is also true. You could have severe symptoms but have a harmless arrhythmia. Here are some of the common symptoms:

These can feel differently for different people, but you may experience a pounding sensation in your chest, or you may feel like your hearts racing that famous mile a minute.

Remember from above: Some arrhythmias can cause your heart to beat to more than 100 times each minuteand sometimes much faster than that. You may also feel like your heart has skipped a beat or a beat has come earlier than usual. Again, though, that you may not feel any abnormal beating during an episode of arrhythmia.

Some or all of these can occur when your heart rates off and your heart cant pump blood efficiently. That can reduce the amount of oxygen your heart delivers to the rest of your body, resulting in shortness of breath. Both fast and slow heartbeats can cause these symptoms, according to the AHA.

People can faint from dehydration, emotional distress, or even standing up a little too quickly, and then quickly recover. Fainting from an arrhythmia, however, is caused when your blood pressure dropssometimes to dangerously low levels. Such drops in blood pressure are medical emergencies, so if you have a history of arrhythmias, be sure to carry or wear a medical ID card, necklace, or bracelet so others know to call 911.

You likely will see an electrophysiologist, a specialized type of cardiologist who focuses on heart-rhythm disorders. Early treatment may lead to better treatment outcomes. This is particularly true of atrial fibrillation, which may cause a stroke if left untreated.

In addition to a physical exam and a discussion of your family health history, your doctor will record your hearts electrical activity with an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a painless test that lasts about ten minutes. It will reveal any abnormalities with your hearts electrical wiring that take place during the test.

However, arrhythmias often come and go, and yours may not occur during your ECG at your doctors office. If that happens, there are options:

These wearable devices will monitor your hearts activity while you go about your normal daily routine. If you are given an event recorder, you will turn it on when your symptoms begin, and it will start recording your hearts activity. Holter monitors, on the other hand, are worn 24/7 (except when youre in the shower), for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. These smart-phone-sized devices automatically begin recording as soon as a change is detected. Theyre considered to be more effective because they capture irregularity during its first stages.

If your arrhythmia most often occurs during physical exertion, your doctor may order a stress test, in which you will get your heart rate going on a treadmill or exercise bike (or with medication if you cant exercise).

During this invasive surgical procedure, a catheter, or thin wire, is inserted through a vein, often in your groin, and threaded to your heart. Electrodes at the catheters tip stimulate the heart so that your doctor can evaluate its electrical function. This test helps find the cause of your arrhythmia and also helps guide treatment decisions. You will be awake but sedated for this one- to four-hour test. Often, youll go home the same day, but your doctor may decide to monitor you overnight.

Strapped onto a table in a horizontal position, you are slowly raised until you are vertical. This shows how your blood and heart rhythm respond to gravity and changes in position. This test is often done to trigger symptoms like lightheadedness, which can be caused by a heartbeat thats too slow or too fast.

A wide variety of treatments exist to help you manage your arrhythmia. Your doctor will determine which therapeutic approach is best for you depending on your specific symptoms.

For some arrhythmias, medications can be used to restore your heart beat to normal. They include:

Beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and digitalis

These medications slow the heart and may be prescribed if your arrhythmia causes your heart to race.

Anticoagulants and antiplatelets

These include drugs such as warfarin and aspirin. They prevent clots and reduce your risk of stroke.

Antiarrhythmics

These medications help correct your heart beat and to keep your heart beating normally. If your doctor prescribes one of these, you may start it in the hospital, where you can be observed to be sure its effective and safe for you at the prescribed dose. They include:

Nexterone and Pacerone (Amiodarone): One of the most commonly prescribe drugs for arrhythmia, its often taken for atrial fibrillation. It can also treat other arrhythmias, including dangerous ventricular arrhythmias like ventricular fibrillation.

Tambocor (Flecainide): Used for irregular heartbeats, to slow a fast heart rate, and to maintain a normal rhythm, it works by relaxing the heart to improve how well it pumps blood. Its used to treat some types of supraventricular tachycardia as well as atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. It also may be used for dangerous arrhythmias called sustained ventricular tachycardias, which are too-fast rhythms that require medical intervention to restore a normal heartbeat.

Betapace, Betapace AF, Sorine, and Sotylize (Solatol): Prescribed for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation, this medication, which comes in various brands names, is used primarily in patients with life-threatening arrhythmias.

When medications cant do the job, your doctor may recommend a procedure.

Catheter Ablation

A catheter is threaded to your heart via the groin. Once there, your doctor will apply heat or extreme cold to small areas of your heart, creating tiny scars. These block the pathway of the electrical signal thats causing your arrhythmia. Most often, its used to treat supraventricular tachycardia, but it can also treat both atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.

Cardioversion

When your heart beats irregularly or too fast, your doctor may have to shock it in order to get it back to normal. While sedated, two paddlesone on your chest, the other on your backdeliver brief electrical shocks to right your heart. The procedure takes about 30 minutes.

Implantable Devices

If your arrhythmia cant be managed sufficiently with medication and/or procedures, you may require a different kind of solution: a device that helps control the electrical signaling of your heart.

Pacemaker: A small device is implanted under your skin below one of your collarbones. Wires from the device run through a vein and attach to the heart. They deliver signals that tell your heart to beat faster and are used for bradycardias, or arrhythmias that slow your heart beat. Some pacemakers connect directly to your heart without the need for wires.

Cardioverter-defibrillator: Implanted like a pacemaker but slightly larger, this device monitors your heart constantly. It can sense when a life-threatening arrhythmia, such as ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, occurs. It shocks the heart to restore a normal heartbeat.

In addition to sticking with your treatment planif your arrhythmia requires treatment, that isyoull need to focus on a healthy lifestyle to protect your heart and help prevent symptoms.

That means:

Eat well: Focus on foods that support heart health, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lean meats, and fish. Avoid foods with saturated and trans fats, limit red meat, and choose whole foods over highly processed foods, which are often loaded with sodium and sugar.

Exercise: After getting your doctors OK, your goal should be 30 minutes a day five days a week. You and your doctor can discuss the right workout for you. To start, it may be something as mild as a daily walk around your neighborhood.

Weight loss: If youre overweight or obese, slimming down will help your heart. Losing weight can lower blood pressure, which reduces the risk of stroke.

Limit alcohol: Booze can stress your heart and make it beat faster. It can also trigger arrhythmias. Your doctor can help you decide if you need to cut it out altogether.

Quit smoking: Your hearts health will improve dramatically, and youll be less likely to have an arrhythmia if you break this habit. Visit the American Heart Association to get help to stop smoking today.

Sleep well: If you have sleep apnea, which disturbs your breathing constantly as you sleep, you will likely benefit from a device known as a C-PAP, which helps open your airways during the night and keeps you breathing normally. Good sleep will also help improve your blood pressure.

Tackle stress: Too much worry and anxiety can up blood pressure, boost cortisol levels, and increase your risk for arrhythmias. Try daily mediation, a walk with a loved one or friend outside, or focusing on doing the things you love to better manage stress.

Pay attention to side effects: Monitoring how you feel while on a medication is super importantit might not be the best medication for you, and in some cases, medication can actually trigger an arrhythmia. You may need a dose adjustment or a different medication altogether. Share all your symptoms with your doctor.

Theres no doubt that living with an abnormal heartbeat can be stressful, even frightening. Fortunately, theres plenty that you can do to help ease your worries, which is especially important because stress can be a trigger for an episode of arrhythmia.

Read more:
Heart Arrhythmias: Types, Treatment, Signs, and Symptoms - HealthCentral.com

Compiled by SIRA HABIBU, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

HONG Kong actor Kenneth Ma issued a public apology for claiming that an actress invited him to a hotel room in a bid to entrap him, reported Sin Chew Daily.

He also urged the public to stop speculating on who the actress was.

If my speech has caused some people discomfort, I sincerely apologise to everyone, he said during a press tour promoting his new TV series Flying Tiger II.In an interview last week, the boyishly handsome 46-year-old revealed that when he was filming in China, an actress gave him her room number and invited him to join her there.

I definitely wouldnt go because there will be a group of men waiting there to catch you.

For people who are that forward, its not about love. They dont love you; they just want to trap you, he was reported to have said.

During the press tour, Ma said he did not mean to look down on the actress.

Ma remains single since breaking up with 30-year-old actress Jacqueline Wong who was caught cheating on him with singer Andy Hui in April 2019.

He was reported to have said that he was leaving romantic matters to fate.

> Singer Rainie Yang implied that she longed to reunite with husband Li Ronghao, whom she has been separated from due to travel restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sin Chew Daily reported.

I really hope the pandemic ends quickly so that everyone can freely fly here and there to meet the people they want to meet, she wrote on Weibo.

Yang was replying to Lis comment which read: Ive not seen you for a long time, how have you been?

The 35-year-old wrote that she had gained 6kg in just two months but remains the apple of his eye.

Hes okay with anything. He likes me (being) chubby and thinks Im cute.

I told him I wanted to lose weight but he just replied saying he doesnt think Im fat, said Yang.

The two got married last year in China after dating for four years but were separated shortly after due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Being stuck in Taiwan, Yang was not able to spend her birthday this year which was on June 4 with her husband who is currently in mainland China.

Instead, she wrote that she would be celebrating the day by having a meal with a few friends.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.

Read more:
Ma sorry for claiming actress wanted to entrap him - The Star Online

"If a nautical life is something youre interested in then you can absolutely find your fix here."Cambridge University Cruising Club

Sailing is probably not the first boat-based sport which springs to mind when people think about Cambridge, but thats not for a lack of trying or training. The Cambridge University sailing team has been kicking about since 1893, and competing in the strange, cerebral, and tactical team racing since the sport was first pioneered for the Varsity Match against Oxford in 1913. Spending both Saturdays and Sundays training from 9 til 5 on the water or else competing against other universities at regattas as far flung as Turkey and China, Glasgow and Bristol; the twenty-four sailors who make up the mixed squad are as dedicated as we are idiosyncratic.

Almost all British universities compete primarily in Fireflies strange little dinghies manned by two sailors apiece. The first sailor the helm does the steering and the mainsail, whilst the second sailor the crew trims the jib (a smaller sail at the front of the boat), raises and lowers the centreboard (a piece of wood that goes down into the water to keep the boat stable and sailing in a straight line), calls the tactics, and brings the snacks. When the boat fills with water, either due to a dodgy tack (turn), or a leak in the hull, it also falls to one of you to frantically bail the water out with a small plastic tub. Both sailors have to co-ordinate their weight to make the boat go quickly and stay upright, often hooking their toes into straps along the hull and leaning precariously as far as they can over the edge. Eventually you learn to read your helms mind and vice versa, anticipating each others movements before you make them, so as not to risk one or both sailors taking an unplanned swim.

On a single team there are three boats, making any given race three boats vs three boats: six sailors aside. Rather than sailing around a course and crowning the fastest the winner, like in a marathon, or a sailing fleet race, a team race depends upon the entire team making it around the course with a better score than their opponents. If you come first you get one point, and if you come in sixth you get six. This means that in total there are twenty-one total points available for any given race, and a score of ten or below wins. That means that if your teams boats finish in first, fifth and sixth (1+5+6) you lose, but if your team finishes in second, third and fifth (2+3+5) you win.

Sometimes in a team race, you will be in a huge one and will need to give it up in order to help out a teammate flagging in sixth; often its about letting your teammate take the glory of first so that you could keep the sailor in fourth solidly behind you and out of their hair. There is no glory in finishing quickly if that leaves your friends stranded behind you win or lose together. Maybe it is this that makes the sailing team such a tightly knit community and supportive social circle (although it might also be all of the boozy team dinners and late nights spent towing boats).

Before sailing for Cambridge, I had no idea just how much time I could spend feverishly checking windguru.cz and taping the ripped skin back onto my fingers with electrical tape. For me, it all started with a bit of a whirlwind crush on a boy at the freshers fair, which turned into going along to a taster day. I had been a very casual sailor before university, crewing where I could for people who needed a hand on their boat, and had been considering socially sailing, which CUCrC (Cambridge University Cruising Club, which covers all small craft wind-propelled watersports) also offers. Almost immediately however, something about driving far outside the invisible bubble in between Homerton and Girton, zipping back into my neglected wetsuit, and feeling the wind in my hair, had me absolutely compelled to keep going. I came back to college with a sunburned nose, a spring in my step, an unfamiliar ache in my shoulders and a newfound desperation to make the squad.

At an extremely windy try-outs my first year I was underdressed and soggy; at lunchtime I shared watery tea from a Styrofoam cup with another hopeful sailor, and then vanished for a long cry in the girls changing rooms. I called my best friend from home and through chattering teeth bawled my fears; that I was embarrassing myself and cold and wet and bruised and scared. When I emerged a Masters student from the previous years first team pulled me aside and gave me his sailing jacket. Im finding it rough out there too, he said, smiling. We were competing for just twenty-four spaces on the University squad, and still everyone was eager to make sure that the nameless freshers were getting their fair crack at the proverbial whip. I took a deep breath, zipped up the coat, and finished the weekend. A fortnight later I got a call from the team captain saying that I had made the cut.

That same year I found myself at both the UK Team Racing Association mixed and RYA Ladies nationals crewing for the first helm I had ever got into a boat with at try-outs. From the development team we grew together as a pair, simultaneously improving as athletes and learning to find the fun in long weekends of training. Playing i-spy during the three-minute start sequences before each race might not have been ideal for our boat speed, but it definitely brought us both a lot of joy. Often my college friends ask how I manage to give up two or more full days to train every week, but really I live for the days I spend on the water. Its not only cherished and hard-won time that I section off to spend away from my degree, but its also I choose to spend with twenty-three of my closest friends who have had my back through the thicks of Varsity wins and BUSA finals, and the very thins of capsizing in the snow, dislocated kneecaps and team shuffles mid-season. Frequently competing against other universities means that Ive met and befriended sailors from teams from all across the country; the nicheness of the sport means the faces I see are usually familiar, and always welcome.

Sailing can seem like a sport with a clear barrier to entry, and most people do not have the privilege of encountering it before university. Whilst Cambridge Sailing has always demonstrated excellence in the sport at the highest level, it is also a space I have found inclusive, supportive and open. With casual sailing weekends for people of all abilities, taster days, RYA learners courses every term, and a dedicated development team; if a nautical life is something youre interested in then you can absolutely find your fix here. Since the first time I launched a Firefly, Ive been utterly hooked.

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding, and during this unprecedented global crisis, we have a tough few weeks and months ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content for the time being.

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as 1, to help with our running cost at least until we hopefully return to print on 2nd October 2020.

Many thanks, all of us here at Varsity would like to wish you, your friends, families and all of your loved ones a safe and healthy few months ahead.

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Rogue Sport of the Week: Cambridge University Cruising Club - Varsity Online

Jessica Simpson snapped right back after the birth of her third child in the Spring of 2019, and here is how she did it.

Jessica Simpson has lost 100 pounds since the birth of her third child, daughter Birdie Mae in March 2019, snapping back to her enviable form.

The singer and fashion mogul didn't do it alone, she had the guidance of her personal trainerHarley Pasternak, who set her an ambitious, but doable program to get back into shape.

WELCOMING HER THIRD CHILD

In March 2019, Jessica and husband NFL star Eric Johnson welcomed their third baby. Jessica had alreadygone two previous pregnancies, with daughter Maxwell in 2012, and son Ace in 2013, with no notable weight gain.

This time around, Jessica revealed, she had put on 100 pounds. But unlike many recent moms, Jessica didn't immediately panic and adhere to a fad diet to lose weight quickly.

THE PERFECT PLAN

Jessica's trainerHarley Pasternak was determined to help Jessica get back into her fabulous pre-baby shape, but he decided on a reasonable, easy to adhere to -- and maintain -- long term exercise plan. He revealed:

"It had to be more than just getting back from her baby weight, but how do I keep whatever I am doing now forever."

Pasternak started Jessica out with an easy target to achieve:6,000 steps per day. This allowed Jessica to ease into an exercise routine, which would result in slow and maintainable weight loss. Pasternak said:

"That's why we are not a big fan of doing any extreme diet or radical forms of exercise."

STEPPING INTO SHAPE

Jessica started her regime shortly after Briodoes birth, and gradually increased the number of steps she did a day, eventually working her way up to14,000 steps. She revealed on an Instagram post:

"Woke up before all 3 kiddos to get my steps in and spend time with me, myself, and I. Move move move for your own mental health."

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When a Soldier, Airman, Marine, or Sailor says Hooah, Oorah, or Hooyah, they know it could be their last. When a Soldier puts on their armor, they know that the next time is not promised. When a Soldier braves a command, they protect those they do not even know. When a Soldier lays to rest, they are still working. When a Soldier prays for peace, they know their purpose will provide it. When a Soldier charges ahead, they sacrifice for a cause greater than themselves. When a Soldier leaves their family, they know it could be forever. When a Soldier loses a brother, they fight for his honor. When a Soldier makes a commitment, they bravely see it through. Today we celebrate our fallen Soldiers because they are the heroes that truly NEVER die. May God bless those who love them and our country they selflessly protected with honor, loyalty, strength, and perseverance. I am thankful for the courage you have for others and feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for providing me the freedom to cherish this simple, blessed moment today baking with my family.

A post shared by Jessica Simpson (@jessicasimpson) on May 25, 2020 at 5:37pm PDT

EATING RIGHT FOR LIFE

As for her diet, Jessica eats three healthy, protein-rich meals a day, as well as two snacks. Instead of the usual weekly "cheat day," Pasternack allows her 3 "cheat meals" a week, which allows her to work in some of her naughty favorites every few days.

THE OVERLOOKED FACTOR

Pasternak revealed that one of the great overlooked factors in weight loss is adequate sleep. According to studies carried out at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, lack of sleep, and the subsequent constant tiredness and stress, encourages the body to store fat, and slow the metabolism.

Pasternak recommended that Jessica sleep at least 7 hours a night -- preferably 8. Good sleep means a rested body and faster weight loss. He said:

"So many people undervalue theimportance of sleepin weight loss and weight management."

Pasternak's sensible weightloss plan, which does not include grueling workouts, or deprivation diets is one that Jessica reveals she plans to follow for the rest of her life. It's easy to see why the singer is an ardent promoter of the plan. She has lost a whopping 100 pounds and is looking as svelt and gorgeous as ever.

JESSICA SIMPSON AND FAT SHAMING

After the birth of her baby, photos of Jessica and her extra 100 pounds started circulating, accompanied by scathing remarks. But the new mom refused to allow fat shamers to drive her into extreme, dangerous, quick-loss diets. She said:

"I think any woman who is pregnant and creating a life is pretty much entitled to eat whatever she wants as long as she's healthy."

This is not the lasttime the celebritystood up to body shamers. Vogue's creative director Sally Singer criticized Jessica for having large breasts -- perfectly natural ones. Singer wrote in a recent article on the history of the Met Gala:

"At dinner it was suddenly like, whoa, Jessica Simpsons breasts are across from me at the dinner table and they are on a platter."

Jessica snapped back with a classy retort, that not only put Singer in her place but also reminded other women that they have a right to be proud of their bodies. She responded on social media:

"To read this much-anticipated article about the classiest fashion event there is and have to be shamed by another woman for having boobs in 2020 is nauseating."

And that is what makes Jessica Simpson a true icon. She is herself, unapologetically: voluptuous or thin, big boobs or small, she loves herself. And that is a lesson so many women around the world need to learn.

The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, and images contained on, or available through this NEWS.AMOMAMA.COM is for general information purposes only. NEWS.AMOMAMA.COM does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. Before undertaking any course of treatment please consult with your healthcare provider.

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Jessica Simpson Lost 100 Pounds since Welcoming Third Child a Look at Her Body Transformation - AmoMama

Diksha Chhabra was 28 years old and suffered from depression, hormonal disorders and massive weight gain. At this point in her life, she remembers being at her lowest.

After getting married to a military official, Diksha was unable to continue her corporate career. In 2015, she gave it up completely to take care of her son. During this time, she was diagnosed not only with depression, but also PCOD. In 2013, she was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Diksha weighed over 100kg as a result of the disorders. She also blames it on her sedentary lifestyle.

Diksha Chhabra was body shamed and dealt with health issues which led her to start weightlifting.

Diksha vividly recalls instances of being body shamed because of her weight. In the army setup fitness is top priority not only for officials but their partners as well.

Diksha narrates instances at social occasions where she would be compared to other fit mums and girls at the gatherings. Some would enquire if she was pregnant and this constant body-shaming made it difficult for her to attend school reunions, and family gatherings. It affected her to an extent where she started hating herself and lost all confidence.

However, it wasnt the body shaming or the hateful comments that led her pick up an active lifestyle. Her PCOD diagnosis was the turning point. PCOD is a hormonal disorder that causes enlarged ovaries and can lead to several conditions like cysts, infertility, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Diksha realised that her lifestyle was wrought with bad eating choices, little physical activity and excessive stress due to work and other hereditary issues. Deciding to take her health in her own hands, a determined Diksha started working out and improving her eating habits.

Due to her weight, exercising was difficult, but she started small. She began going on walks and cut off junk from her diet. However, not being aware of proper exercise and nutrition, she started with combined cardio exercises and starving herself in 2016. She quickly lost 18 kg and the lack of nutrition became evident with weakness, hairfall, insomnia and loss of strength. This is when she started reading about the right ways to lose weight, and the importance of nutrition and exercise. This led her to her tryst with weightlifting.

It (weightlifting) was very appealing. I was an active child both in sports and dance during my educational years. Being lean was never an objective then too. I always strived to remain healthy and strong. Weight training was just the right way to meet my goals and this is when I started lifting weights and fell in love with it, says Diksha.

The daily hours of hard work in the gym were showing results on her body, but the benefits it had on her mental health were far more pronounced and soon she realised the benefits of an active lifestyle.

It took her a year to become healthy enough to stop her medication for lifestyle disorders.

Diksha had a rollercoaster journey to achieve self-development and growth. Her struggles and tribulations, confusions and desperation made her turn into a fitness consultant, certified sports nutritionist, and wellness coach.

After just two years of being a weightlifter, she started Diksha Chhabra Fitness Consultations to help others get fit with proper nutrition and guidance.

While documenting her progress on social media, Diksha - now an established social media influencer with 124K followers on Instagram - was introduced to several others who were going through the same and wanted to make a positive change. Hence, she launched her fitness consultancy after getting certified in nutrition and personal training.

She began with four clients and in just under three years, she has trained more than 600 individuals across the globe. Her company works on the simple motto of customisation and flexibility through small and doable acts in everyday life.

Her bootstrapped startup offers three programmes. One is a three-month program for anyone who wants to lose weight or gain muscle called #LETSLIFTWITHDIKSHA; a post pregnancy weight loss #FITTERME plan that caters to mothers who are four months post delivery or above postpartum and helps in post-delivery healing and regaining of strength. The third one is a shorter three week introductory plan for beginners to fitness - #TRANSFORMATION21.

Diksha Chhabra weightlifting her way to success and mental health. (Photo credit: Akash Jagtap)

Diksha has not only overcome social and physical barriers but has shattered stereotypes along the way.

Weightlifting was considered a manly activity. When she started, people believed the myth that women who lift weights start looking like men. Often, she was told that she had started looking masculine or not lady like because she was strong and not lean.

In 2017, she participated in Mrs India Earth beauty pageant with little professional knowledge and training. She competed at the national level competition with 45 other finalists and secured the second runner up position and was the winner in the Fitness category. Weightlifting for women was new and it was rare to see a beauty pageant winner smashing heavy weights in the gym.

For other women who are going through similar challenges due to health issues and want to take up an active lifestyle or weightlifting, Diksha advises,

Want to make your startup journey smooth? YS Education brings a comprehensive Funding and Startup Course. Learn from India's top investors and entrepreneurs. Click here to know more.

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This weightlifter overcame body shaming and depression to start her own fitness company - YourStory

By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

SPENCER As San Francisco Giants superstar Willie Mays rounded the bases on his 600th home run, a pinch-hit blast that broke a 2-all tie and decided a tight September game, Van Kelly found himself applauding along with the rest of his San Diego teammates.

The Padres were an expansion team in 1969 and were on their way to 110 losses, but at least they owned a slice of history.

You had to clap for Willie, Kelly said. Six hundred home runs. Thats just an unbelievable feat. No one had done it since Babe Ruth.

No one had done in the National League ever until Mays connected.

On a less grand scale, as he rounded first and headed toward second, Kelly received quiet, polite claps from Cincinnatis smiling second baseman Tommy Helms after Kelly socked a solo homer in the fourth inning against the Reds on July 7, 1969. That was the second of Kellys four MLB homers.

Tommy knew me we were both from Charl0tte, Kelly said. It was his way of saying, Way to go, hometown kid.

Kelly, who has lived in Spencer since 1985, enjoyed a substantial pro baseball career, even though he was only in the big leagues for parts of the 1969 and 1970 seasons. He made his time, those seven precious months, count. It was a Forrest Gump-like tour for Kelly. Besides sharing fields with Mays, Hank Aaron, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Roberto Clemente, he conversed with Mickey Mantle, was brushed back by Bob Gibson, was whiffed by Tom Seaver, roomed with Tony La Russa, was a minor league teammate of an up-and-coming catcher named Gary Carter and managed 20-year-old Andre Dawson, who was making his pro debut in the Canadian Rockies.

I wish Id gotten to play in the majors longer, Kelly said. But Ive got a lot of fond memories.

Anyone who made the majors is an amazing athlete. Kelly certainly was. He was at least as good in football as he was in baseball.

At Charlottes Garinger High (Class of 1964), Kelly was a .400-hitting shortstop in baseball, co-captain of the basketball team and a devastating two-way football player.

When Garinger came to Salisbury to play Boyden High in the fall of 1963, Kelly caught a touchdown pass and made the gamebreaking play with a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown.

He was chosen to play in the 1963 Shrine Bowl.

I loved football, loved it even more than baseball, Kelly said. I believe I was the only guy on the North Carolina team who played on both sides of the ball in the Shrine Bowl, at halfback and defensive back. I was one of five or six guys on that team who had football scholarships to go to N.C. State.

In high school baseball and with Charlottes Post 9 Legion program, Kelly played with a talented group of players. Kellys last Legion season was in 1963. In 1964, Post 9, with future MLB pitchers Garry Hill and Dave Lemonds, was national runner-up (Rollie Fingers beat them in the final). In 1965, Post 9 won it all.

Myers Park was our big rival, and Garinger had really strong baseball teams, Kelly said. Id always been a shortstop growing up, played shortstop in the Colt League World Series and in the Babe Ruth League World Series. Garinger had Mike Martin (the future Wingate and Florida State star and legendary Florida State coach) at shortstop when I got up to the varsity. Our coach, Joe Tomancheck, who also was our football coach, asked me if there was another position that I wanted to try out for because we already had a shortstop, but I told him Id really like to take a shot.

Kelly proved to be such a good shortstop that Martin moved to center field.

Kelly had a couple of baseball offers $10,000 from the Braves, who were still in Milwaukee in 1964, and $8,000 from the Minnesota Twins, who had a Double-A team in Charlotte. Ray Hayworth, who had been a teammate of Ty Cobbs, made the sales pitch for the Braves.

I was 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, Kelly said. When I went up to N.C. State and saw how big those guys were, thats when I thought it would be smart to give baseball a try and I took the money from the Braves. For a kid who came from not much, $10,000 was a lot of money. When the story came out in the paper that Id signed with the Braves, Coach Tomancheck called me in and said, What the heck are you doing? He wanted his guys to play football and get a college education and he was right about that. He told me that there were about 10 other teams that had shown interest in me for baseball, but hed always discouraged them by telling them I was going to play college football.

Kelly had only modest success from 1964-66 in the minors, but he had a breakthrough in 1967 with Kinston. As a 21-year-old, he was leading the Class A Carolina League in hitting.

I got drafted that season, but one of the biggest supporters of the Kinston Eagles was a colonel in the National Guard and I was hitting so well he didnt want me to leave, Kelly said. He worked things out, so I got to finish that season, and then I reported for six months of National Guard duty. Then there were a lot of National Guard weekends after that.

In Spring Training in 1968, Kelly encountered his boyhood hero Mantle when the Braves took on the New York Yankees in an exhibition game. Mantle was a limping shadow of the great player he had once been and had been moved from center field to first base. Kelly, a lefty hitter, whipped a single into right field. made the turn and heard Mantle talking to him.

He told me that Id hit that ball pretty good, Kelly said. Im sure my eyes must have been big as saucers and I answered, Yes, sir, Mr. Mantle. He told me, None of that Mr. Mantle stuff, were playing on the same field. You call me Mick.

Kelly moved up to Triple-A Richmond in 1968 and had a decent season.

Then there was more National Guard duty. When the 1969 season began, Kelly again was a member of the Richmond Braves, but he was working to get back in baseball shape after that National Guard obligation and struggling to find his timing.

I wasnt playing that much, and then I got the word one day to report to the managers office, Kelly said. Mickey Vernon was the manager, and I thought I was going to get the pink slip, thought sure were going to release me.

They didnt. Kelly was informed hed been traded to the Padres, who were desperate for infield help.

I almost passed out, Kelly said.

He was one of three players who went to the Padres. The Braves got a solid veteran outfielder, Tony Gonzalez, in the exchange. Gonzalez helped the Braves in their division. The trade was announced on June 13. Kelly was pinch-hitting for the Padres that same night in a home game against Philadelphia. He was 0-for-1 in his MLB debut.

The Padres made the bus trip to Los Angeles for their next series, and on June 16, Kelly had one of his best days in the major leagues.

It was a doubleheader. Kelly won the first game for the Padres with his first big-league hit a 13th-inning double off Los Angeles reliever Al McBean.

In the second game, Kelly launched his first major league homer. It came off Bill Singer in the fifth inning. That homer gave the Padres a 3-0 lead, but they wound up losing, 7-3. Singer was a very good pitcher, who won 118 MLB games and was a cover boy for the 1970 Street & Smith Yearbook.

After that game, a guy comes to out dugout and tells me Vin Scully wants me to be the guest for his postgame radio show, Kelly said. They told me Id get something and I did. It was a gift certificate for a mens store, $25, something like that. I went there and got a couple of blazers. I needed them. In the big leagues, your wore a coat and tie on the road.

In July, Kelly homered off future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry in the eighth inning as the Padres tried to stage a late rally, but the bottom line was another tough loss.

San Diego was an expansion team, a revolving door, as Kelly puts it. There were legit power hitters on the roster Nate Colbert, Ollie Brown, Cito Gaston but manager Preston Gomez conducted open auditions to figure out second base, shortstop and third base. The losses piled up. So did the memories.

Were playing St. Louis, and Bob Gibson is pitching a great game against us, as he always did, Kelly said. Were down a run late, we get the leadoff man on base, and Gomez calls me over and tells me that were going to try to bunt the guy over, but if Gibson gets two strikes on him, Im going to pinch-hit.

That didnt sound like a great plan to Kelly. Gibson was the games most intimidating pitcher in 1969. Sure enough, the count got to 0-and-2. Then Kelly was sent to the plate.

Make sure to pull it, Gomez barked.

Kelly tried not to laugh out loud. Gibson threw an inside fastball. Kelly took his mightiest rip and fouled it off. Gibson wasnt thrilled with someone taking a swing like that against him with two strikes, and catcher Tim McCarver knew it, as well.

McCarver warned, Step, lightly, young man, Kelly recalls.

The next pitch was in the direction of Kellys head and sent him sprawling. Kelly wound up striking out, but he had a story for a lifetime.

I got to play against unbelievable players, Kelly said. Roberto Clemente was something to see, full speed all the time, in everything he did. I saw Philadelphias Richie Allen hit a ball (500 feet) over the Philco sign on the upper deck at Connie Mack Stadium. He swung a heavy bat and was incredibly strong.

Shortly after the final game of the 1969 season in San Francisco, Kelly boarded a plane for Charlotte. On that trip, he sat next to Dennis Byrd, the first two-time All-America in the history of N.C .State football.

The first time wed talked since we were Shrine Bowl teammates, Kelly said.

Kelly batted .244 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 222 plate appearances for the Padres in 1969, so they continued their search for a third baseman. Gomez told him to lose weight before Spring Training, to trim down from 180 pounds to 170 or risk a $500 fine.

The Padres still had veteran Ed Speizio on hand and had traded for Bobby Etheridge, who had shown promise with the Giants. But Kelly reported at 168 pounds, much to the surprise of Gomez, and was hitting line drives all over the place.

I really wasnt supposed to even make the team in 1970, but then I had the best Spring Training of my life, Kelly said. I believe I led the team in hitting and won the third base job. I was in the starting lineup on opening day.

The Padres roughed up Atlanta and Phil Niekro in thezg 1970 opener Kelly had a run-scoring double against the knuckleballer but it went downhill pretty quickly.

There was game two weeks later in which Seaver struck out 19 Padres, including the last 10 batters in a row. Kelly was Seavers first strikeout victim, as the second batter in the first inning. He also struck out in the third and the ninth. He popped up in the sixth a moral victory.

On May 8, Kelly whacked his only homer of the 1970 season and drove in four runs to lead an 11-1 romp against the Montreal Expos.

An injury wrecked most of that season, however. He batted .169 in 38 games.

I got hurt diving for a ball, tried to brace myself, but busted my hand up pretty bad, Kelly said. After that, it was tough to grip a bat. And its tough to hit in the majors if you cant grip a bat. I got sent back down to the minors.

He was traded back to the Braves after the 1970 season.

He never made it back to the majors, although he came close to making the Braves opening day roster in 1971.

The Braves had Clete Boyer (a veteran of several championship teams with the Yankees) to play third base, but I had a good spring and actually broke camp with the team, Kelly said. But then they decided they needed another pitcher more than an extra infielder. They made a trade. I was the last cut.

The horsehide adventures continued for many more years in the minors. He roomed with La Russa, who became a Hall of Fame manager, at Richmond in 1972.

In 1973, Kelly played with Bucky Dent in the Chicago White Sox farm system. In 1974, he played with Carter on the Memphis Blues, the Expos Triple-A team.

In 1975, Kelly batted .305 in 32 games for Quebec in his final season as a player. He managed the Lethbridge Expos and Dawson later that summer.

You could see Dawson had a future, Kelly said.

The Expos liked Kelly as a manager and farm director Mel Didier offered him a job at West Palm Beach (Fla.) for the 1976 season, but he was ready to move on from baseball.

I know La Russa made it pretty big, but its a long road to the majors as a manager, Kelly said. The pay wasnt great the most I ever made in a year was $15,000 and you get tired of all the travel and living out of a suitcase.

He took a sales job with National Starch, worked in Charlotte, and then Atlanta. He relocated to Spencer in 1985 after a plant disaster.

Kellys daughters, Stephanie and Erin, graduated from Salisbury High and the University of North Carolina.

I tried my best to talk them into N.C. State, Kelly said with a laugh.

Kelly, who is 74, and his wife, Joy, dont get a lot of love from major league baseball. During the years from 1947-79, you needed four years on an active roster to qualify for a full pension, and Kelly didnt come close to that.

Under the pension and health insurance rules that are in play now, Kelly would qualify for a a great deal more.

Hes one of the players included in a book written by Douglas J. Gladstone and entitled, A Bitter Cup of Coffee, but he doesnt have much bitterness in him.

He doesnt regret that baseball-over-football decision that changed the direction of his life long ago.

I do get a little stipend from baseball, Kelly said. Its not much, but it does pay for my golf at Irish Creek.

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Sports Legends: Van Kelly got the most out of his time in the majors - Salisbury Post - Salisbury Post

Dayanara Torres doesnt need to go to a store and buy a gift. Instead, she has honed her prowess as a carpenter and created a unique gift for her son Cristian Marcus Muiz. The Puerto Rican model recently surprised her fans and revealed her DIY skills with a personalized flag from Puerto Rico. Cristian asked me for a flag and I was just not going to buy one at the store... no... I made it shared Dayanara on her project video while she reveals her woodworking abilities. In between colorful paint, a map guide and a wood cutting tool, the model was able to execute the final project with ease.

The project took several steps to complete. First, she had to paint the wood board and then execute a detailed carving of the island. After, she proceeded to paint the separate shaped-piece with the flags original colors - red, white and blue. While the project seems a lengthy process, the results and effort are timeless, and Dayanara can definitely say she has Martha Stewarts skills. Aside from creating wood flags, the beauty queen is an expert at making coquito and baking oatmeal cookies. In a recent video, Dayanara showed her cooking skills and revealed a homemade recipe for the traditional Christmas drink that originated in Puerto Rico.

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Dayanara Torres puts her DIY skills to the test to create special gift for her son Cristian and nails it - HOLA USA

To say horror films are more popular now than they've ever been is an understatement. From Ari Aster'sMidsommarto Leigh Whannell'sThe Invisible Man,we're never short on horror content. There's a lot of good horror content, but a lot of bad as well.

RELATED:10 Horror Crossovers We Want to See After The Invisible Man

Sure there's some horror movies that don't work on premise alone, but it's interesting to think about the ones that actually had good premises but failed anyway. Whether that's because the writers or directors tried too hard or didn't try hard enough is often the case. Here we'll be looking at 10 horror movies that didn't deliver on the concepts they promised, and how they rank on IMDb.

Based on the book by Joe Hill, Horns stars Daniel Radcliffe as Ig Perrish, who wakes up one day to find hes the main suspect in his girlfriends rape and murder. Well, that and the fact that hes now got two horns coming out of his head, which allow him to make people reveal their darkest desires. Ig decides to use these powers to solve his girlfriends murder, uncovering much more about himself and other townspeople along the way.

RELATED:Daniel Radcliffe: His 5 Best & 5 Worst Roles (According To IMDb)

Hills book is a fan favorite, and that synopsis alone promises not only a suspenseful, gothic mystery but also a lot of fun dark comedy from hearing people reveal or act out their desires. The film however, doesn't deliver on either promise: while the cast is solid, the mystery is predictable from the get-go, and the dark humor is cheap and witless.

Whether you love him or hate him, director McG has carved out a resume of box office hits (including the originalCharlies Angels films andTerminator: Salvation) thats made him one of Hollywoods go-to directors. His 2017 horror comedy The Babysittercould have made for a smart subversion of slashers with its main plot, where the hot teenagers here arent victims, but the villains. But this one falls flat on its face by not being funny, scary, or clever in the slightest, not to mention obnoxiously telling us what its characters are thinking or about to do in a scene (a characters shock in one moment has the words What the fuck?! show up onscreen). And yet a sequel is set to hit Netflix in the near future.

A horror take on Superman's origin story, where a childless couple raise a super-powered child that grows up to be evil: how could this notbe great? WhileBrightburnisn't without some cool scenes, its faults lie in the pacing and characterization. The film moves too quickly, not allowing for scenes to breathe or characters to develop past cliched archetypes. But the film's biggest sin might be making Brandon's turn to evil caused by messages from his spaceship, when it would have been far more interesting to see him go evil on his own.

Stephen King's 1984 novelThinnerfollows a morbidly obese lawyer named Billy Halleck, who accidentally kills an old gypsy woman. He's let off the hook thanks to his connections with the town's judge, but is then cursed by the gypsy woman's father to continually lose weight (no matter how much he eats) as punishment for the crime. As Billy continues losing dangerous amounts of weight, he must figure out how to reverse the gypsy's curse before he's a literal goner.

RELATED:The 10 Worst Stephen King Adaptations (According To IMDb)

King's story could have explored themes of white privilege and the unfair justice system, but the otherwise messy, overacted film rarely delivers in those areas. But now's the right time for aThinnerremake: with people like Brett Kavanaugh being let off the hook for their crimes while more innocent people are punished, it's clear that white privilege is still going strong. A new version ofThinnercould really mirror those events with Billy's crime and serve as a takedown of Trump-era corruption altogether.

Two of the most fearsome creatures in film going up against each other; you can practically smell the money being made and imaginations running wild with excitement. Heck, they wouldn't even have to: the line ofAlien vs. Predatorcomics at the time offered unlimited possibilities for where a film could go. And yet the film we got was a disposable, poorly-lit mess focusing mostly on bland characters instead of the characters in the freaking title. And even worse? It was rated PG-13, so we could forget about any insane, bloody fights between the Yautja and the xenomorphs.

TheChild's Playfranchise definitely started going downhill withBride of Chucky. The idea of two serial killer dolls hitching a ride with some unaware passengers and going on aNatural Born Killers-esque killing spree has excellent potential. But it fails due to bad pacing and an issue that's held back the franchise: Chucky's search for a human body. His goal here is to get an amulet that lets him and his bride transfer their souls into human bodies (even though Chucky could do this without the amulet in previous films). It would have been more interesting if Chucky accepted his fate (or gimmick) as a killer doll and simply wanted to use this road trip as an excuse for more killing.

It sucks when great directors go bad, and Gremlins auteur Joe Dante showed his decline with this measly flick. The late Anton Yelchin plays a nice guy whos struggling to breakup with his controlling girlfriend (Ashley Greene), before shes run over by a truck. As Yelchins enjoying his romance with a better girl (Alexandra Daddario), Greene comes back to life thanks to a magical artifact and Yelchin must figure out a way to get rid of her once and for all.

Theres unlimited potential with that plot, and it's right up Dante's alley. Sadly there's barely an ounce of the director's trademark creativity and irreverence here. Every attempt at humor, scares, or character growth fails disastrously; you can practically see the actors trying to rise above what they're given to work with. We wish we could have seen what Edgar Wright would have done with this concept.

As weird as it sounds,Tuskmight have worked. Kevin Smith's indescribable horror comedy that sees Justin Long get turned into a walrus is perhaps too weird for its own good, but what stands in the way of it being more entertaining and complex is the fact that it's a nearly 2 hour movie. The film suffers from building other characters (including one in particular who seems like he's from a completely different movie) around its main hook. But as the saying goes, less is more: a 20-30 min. short film would have kept the tone more consistent and allowed for more creativity and depth.

Lucy Hale starred in this flop, in which a group of friends are cursed by an evil spirit to play sadistic games of truth or dare. Both choices force the characters to say or do things they never would in a million years, and refusing to play results in death. With a plot like that, youd expect this one to be pretty unpredictable, right?

RELATED:The Worst Movies of 2018, According to Rotten Tomatoes

Sadly, this film never reaches the insanity that set-up promiseswith the lone exception of an alcoholic girl forced to walk on a roof without falling. The rest of the time were stuck with flat characters and a messy story structure, all leading up to an unintentionally laughable ending. Writer/director Jeff Wadlow continued to fail upwards though, with his horror take on Fantasy Island coming out earlier this year.

Trust us, we haven't lost our minds. So how could a film involving a gender-confused doll, Jennifer Tilly getting impregnated with a turkey baster, and Redman directing a Virgin Mary film actually be good? Simple: do none of those things. While we're sure writer Don Mancini had good intentions with Glen/Glenda's sexuality storyline, the film had an easy plot staring it right in the face: have Glen resurrect his parents and--over the course of a country-wide killing spree with his parents--comes to question whether he's truly a killer like them or not.

NEXT:Passengers & 9 Other Film Flops That Would Have Made Better Horror Movies

Next Supernatural: 5 Characters Who Were Underused (& 5 Who We Saw Too Much Of)

See more here:
10 Horror Movies With A Great Concept But Bad Execution (& Their IMDb Score) - Screen Rant

YOU'RE eating well and exercising more, but the number on the scale doesn't budge. Sound familiar?

Trying to shed the pounds can be frustrating and disheartening - especially if you're not seeing the results you want.

However, according to top dietitian Susie Burrell, there might be another surprising explanation as to why you're hitting a wall with your weight loss.

It could be as simple as eating at the wrong time of the day or the fact you're trying to lose weight too quickly.

And simply by acknowledging those mistakes and making simple lifestyle changes can actually help you reach your weight loss goals.

Here, Susie outlines the five reasons why you're not losing weight and what to do about them...

During the past ten weeks in coronavirus lockdown, many people will have found themselves taking extra trips to the snack jar without realising.

However, Susie says that these extra snacks and treats can actually significantly up your calorie intake in a day.

Writing in her blog Shape Me, Susie says: "Mindless eating, or the calories we consume without even realising it can account for as much as 20-30 per cent of our total daily calories, which in turn can be the difference between weight loss and not.

"Extras tend to slip in each day via large portion sizes; extra serves of sauces and dressings; mindless munching via biscuits, lollies and individual chocolates we are offered throughout the day and the little treats we give ourselves and then justify."

Mindless eating can account for as much as 20-30 per cent of our total daily calories

Susie recommends keeping a food diary to give you a trueindication of exactly how much you are eating each day.

She adds: "As frustrating as this can be, simply writing down or recording every single type and amount of food and drink that you consume over a 24 hour period can give great insight into why, or why not your diet may be working.

"In some cases we are not eating enough, but in most cases the reason we are not getting the weight loss we expect is because we are eating more than we realise."

You must have sweated off hundreds of calories during that Joe Wicks P.E class, so its totally okay to indulge in a bowl of ice cream once you've finished, right?Not so fast.

Susie says people tend to reward themselves with rich foods and large portions after exercising, and they often actually end up eating back all of (if not more than) the calories they just burned - hindering weight loss.

"Not only can exercise increase your appetite, but psychologically it gives many of us permission to eat more, or foods we would usually not eat because we have been good and have already burnt off the extra calories," Susie says.

"This logic falls apart simply because it is so easy to eat a whole lot of calories and we often do not burn as many as we think.

"For example, a 30-40 minute gym workout may burn 300-400 calories, while a single piece of cake or fast food meal will contain at least 600 if not more calories.

"If you are exercising with the goal of weight loss, you do not need to eat more and rewarding yourself with food for exercising will simply undo all of your hard work."

The best online fitness classes in lockdown

1. P.E with Joe Wicks

While they're theoretically aimed at children, the Body Coach's 30-minute classesare straightforward, fun-packed and challenging enough for literally anyone to take part in.

2. Psycle

Psycle offer between four and six Instagram live workouts every single day, including abs blast sessions, revival yoga, HIIT, barre and meditation.

3. Barry's Bootcamp

Each of their Instagram live classes are a quick-fire combination of body weight training, cardio and intense aerobic exercise that keeps the heart rate elevated, meaning you burn more calories.

4. Peloton

The Peloton fitness app is jam-packed with easy-to-follow and high-quality fitness videos. Their classes included yoga, strength, meditation, cardio and bootcamp classes.

5. Pilates PT

Award winning pilates instructor and founder of 'The Pilates PT Method'Hollie Grantis live streaming her high demandclasses via Zoom.

When it comes to dieting, timing is everything - according to Susie.

She says: "Perhaps the most significant factor that will predict whether we are losing weight or not, busy lives which see us eating dinner at 8 or 9pm are not conducive to weight loss.

"The human body is programmed to burn more calories during the first half or the day, and this is also the time of day we tend to be most active.

"As such, the greater the proportion of calories we consume during the first half of the day, the better.

"For this reason if you regularly work late or go to the gym after work, you will be much better to eat your largest meal at lunchtime and choose light options such as soup, white fish and salad once it gets to 7 or 8pm or later at night."

When people first kickstart their weight loss journey, they can often go all out - in the hopes that the weight will drop off quickly.

However, Susie says weight loss never happens over night - and these types of diets are often ineffective.

"For the majority of us, who are looking to lose 5-10kg, weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint, which means you need to pace yourself," Susie says.

Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint

"Following a very strict regime in which you consume minimal calories for days at a time may give you initial weight loss results, but this approach rarely works long term as we go off our diets, binge eat everything in sight and regain all if not more weight than we had initially lost.

"For this reason, whenever you commit to a new lifestyle plan, factoring in a couple of meals off each week, and ensuring you actually like the foods you are eating each day, and not feeling hungry is the key to long term success."

With lockdown still rumbling on, you may find yourself stocking up on extra snacks and treats at the supermarket to give you that much-needed energy boost.

And with restaurants shut until at least July, you might find yourself using apps like Deliveroo and UberEATS a bit more than you normally would.

However, Susie points out that it's these choices that could actually be sabotaging your weight loss goals.

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Susie says: "It may be the choices you make at the caf, the foods you put in your trolley at the supermarket or what you order on UberEATS but if your regular food choices do not compliment your weight loss goals you are unlikely to achieve them.

"Human beings will eat the foods they buy and have easy access too, which means if you are buying treats for guests; or ordering pizza for another family member, you will eat it.

"If you are really committed to losing weight all of your food decisions add up and as such we need to make the food choices we have control of, good ones most of the time."

Read more here:
The 5 diet mistakes youre probably making and top tips for weight loss - The Sun

The novel coronavirus might have put a damper on some peoples summer travel plans, but that doesnt mean you still cant take a trip from the safety of your home. If youre looking to escape to a sunny destination, then look no further than the Maldives. HOLA! USA has found your virtual ticket to the royal-loved vacation spot. The small island nation in South Asia is known for its turquoise waters, white-sand beaches and luxurious resorts with over-water bungalows.

The Maldives has served as a getaway for royal family members over the years. Ahead of Prince William and Kate Middletons 2014 royal tour of Australia and New Zealand, the then-parents of one enjoyed a romantic holiday in the Maldives sans their son Prince George. Princess Madeleine of Sweden and her family, husband Christopher ONeill, daughter Princess Leonore, and son Prince Nicolas also paid a trip to the exotic destination in 2016, while Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the Maldives in 1972 following a onemonth tour of Southeast Asia.

Now here is your chance to holiday like a royal for free by virtually visiting the Maldives via these 360-degree views of the islands provided by five luxury resorts. Simply click on the links below and use your mouse or mouse pad to take in the idyllic sights of the Indian Ocean and the resorts grounds.

Bon voyage!

1. Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa

Escape here.

Originally posted here:
Vacation like a royal this summer without leaving your home - HOLA USA

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