Proper flying etiquette begins before you even board the plane. Have your boarding pass and ID ready as you approach airport security. If you’re waiting in line, start thinking ahead; you can speed up the process by removing your watch and belt, pulling out your laptop, and separating your liquids before you reach the conveyor. This will get you—and everyone behind you—to the gates faster.

Don’t Hold up The Security Line

As airlines squeeze in more and more people per flight, passengers fight for the same bin space. To maximize room in the overhead compartment for other travelers, place your bag vertically rather than horizontally on the shelf. And only put one carry-on bag in the bin; the other one can fit in the open space under the seat in front of you.

Board (and Pack) Courteously

While you’re loading your carry-on bags into the overhead compartment, offer to hoist a fellow passenger up there, too. Not only is it kind, but it could make the boarding process more efficient for everyone else.

Help Your Fellow Traveler

Airlines sometimes block out certain seats or charge extra fees for adjacent ones, making it tough for family members to buy seats together. If you’re travelling solo, offer to switch seats so that a family can sit beside each other; it’s a kind gesture that they won’t forget. But be sure to delay swapping until the plane has reached cruising altitude, as switching seats while everyone is boarding can be an inconvenience for those standing in the aisles.

Be Willing to Swap Seats with A Family

In the cramped quarters of an airplane, maintaining your personal space will go a long way to make a smoother ride for everyone. Let the middle-seat passenger use the armrests (it’s the least you can do), and keep your legs within the width of the chair frame.

Respect Your (limited) Space

It’s as important to be mindful of your personal belongings as it is your personal space. Avoid hitting other passengers with your bag as you walk down the aisles by keeping it in front of you and close to your body. And once you sit down, you should stay there, so make sure you have everything you will need for the flight once you settle in. Reaching over other passengers to access the overhead storage during the flight is uncomfortable for everyone.

Keep Your Personal Items, Well, Personal

Although some people pass the time on an airplane through conversations with strangers, others would prefer to keep to themselves. Be mindful of the cues your fellow passenger is giving; if they avoid eye contact, leave them be. If you do strike up a conversation, speak in soft tones, as loud and disruptive conversation can disturb the rest of the cabin. If you want to win over fellow passengers, clue them into <a href="https://www.rd.com/list/free-things-on-airplane/">these items you can still get for free on planes.</a>

Converse with Caution

Cramped quarters are no place to break out a pungent tuna sandwich. If you bring food to snack on during the trip, opt for less intrusive goodies like nuts or pretzels. Your fellow passengers will thank you.

Avoid Bringing Smelly Food

Sleep with consideration for your surroundings and other travellers. Only lean back in your seat if you absolutely must; reclining your seat may be more comfortable for you, but it makes a tight space even tighter for the person behind you. A travel pillow is a great tool because it helps you sleep without invading other people’s space. And beware of snoring; you could risk getting an unpleasant awakening from a flight attendant or fellow traveller.

Snooze at Your Own Risk

When the plane lands, chaos ensues as everyone tries to be the first through the door. Be courteous of other people’s belongings in the overhead compartment as you reach for your own, and offer to help them get their bags if you can. And as you leave, take the time to thank your flight attendants—they will appreciate your kindness.

Disembark Calmly

Being a polite passenger starts with just a few easy etiquette travel guidelines.

Stashed ideas

10 Little Etiquette Rules for Flying on an Airplane

You need contractile tissue to move weight. The consensus is that hypertrophy matters for strength training. The more muscle you have the more weight you will be able to lift.  Bodybuilding is a much more forgiving sport. If you don’t want to hack squat you can change it up and do a split squat. However, bodybuilding is more mentally demanding. Bodybuilders that want to be insanely shredded will go through immense levels of hunger and low energy.

Looking muscular

When we look at diet studies, we see how much lean body mass gets lost versus fat mass.  A lot of this depends on how much body fat you’re starting with. People who are overweight or obese don’t need to worry about losing too much lean body mass because they have a reservoir of energy to pull from. If you need to lose, for example, from 15% body fat to 7% body fat, it’s very easy, but from 15 - 5 %, you’ll probably lose 20 - 30% lean body mass.

Losing lean body mass

Individuals have a relatively tight range of homeostatic body fat that their bodies will defend. Once you drop below that range, Your body might pull more energy from lean tissue. You will start to feel the effects of caloric restriction in terms of hunger, your bar drops, and your non-exercise activity drops.  You can lessen the loss of body mass with resistance training. Lean body mass is not the same thing as muscle mass. Lean body mass is non-fat tissues, such as skin, bone, organ weight and body water. Water gut tissue and liver tissue will shrink in response to caloric restriction.

How to cut weight without losing body mass

<ul><li>A calorie is energy stored in the chemical bonds of food. </li><li>Energy balance is calories in vs calories out. It is not linear within your body. You don’t lose one pound if you cut 3,500 calories. It depends from person to person. </li></ul>

Calories & energy balance

During the first six weeks of resistance training, you don’t see much hypertrophy in people. You see strength improvements.  At first, you have a considerable increase in muscle protein synthesis and protein degradation. When you do resistance training for the first time, for example, a leg workout, you may hardly be able to walk for a few days after. This is because your muscles seem to completely remodel those proteins. After six weeks, the increase in degradation goes down.

The first six weeks of resistance training

<ul><li>People confuse hunger with appetite. Instead, people eat for reasons such as boredom, stress, trauma and social cues.</li><li>Individuals are usually poor estimators of caloric intake. It is not an issue in isolation, but in accumulation, it adds up - some nuts here or a little extra dressing on the salad. </li><li>To lose weight, pick the form of restriction that feels the least restrictive to you, such as time-restricted or calorie-restricted. </li><li>If you can eliminate snacks, most people will improve weight loss, definition and biomarkers.</li></ul>

Weight management

People experience more discomfort when they are sedentary than if they are active.  Older people think cardio is the best way to get active as they don’t walk to look bulky. But it is really hard to look bulky. Lower body strength is more important in terms of falls. Accidental death in older people is usually because of an accidental fall. After 65, you can link most deaths to a lack of muscular strength or muscle.

It’s never too late to get active

<ul><li>With resistance training, train close to failure without going into failure.</li><li>If you’re sore all the time, you’re probably training incorrectly. If you’re never sore, you’re also probably training incorrectly.</li><li>Variation is vital.</li><li>The sweet spot for hypertrophy is 6 - 10 sets per body part per session.</li><li>The majority of stimulus you get for muscle growth is in the last five reps before failure.</li><li>Keep protein intake high: 1-1.5 protein per pound of bodyweight.</li><li>Play the long game.</li></ul>

Resistance training

<ul><li>Consume 1.6 - 2.6g protein/ kilogram of lean body mass.</li><li>Start your day with protein. Consider a protein shake instead of milk in cereal.</li><li>Make small changes to increase protein in meals. The less you can change, the better.</li><li>Low fat can impair testosterone levels, which may impact levels of lean body mass. </li><li>There is no perfect diet; there are tradeoffs for everything. For example, a Keto diet is acceptable if you’re training at 65% of VO2 max, but you’ll have lower strength accrual if it's higher.</li><li>Supplementing for hypertrophy training: whey tends to be most digestible.</li></ul>

Diet and protein intake for muscle synthesis

Layne Norton, Ph.D. is a physique coach and natural professional bodybuilder and powerlifter. He holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition Science and is a world-renowned expert on fat loss and maintaining muscle while losing fat.

 Layne Norton is a physique coach, a natural professional bodybuilder and powerlifter, and holds a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences. In this episode, Layne explains how he became interested in weightlifting and fitness both professional and academically. He provides insights into preventing and managing injuries while using consistency and determination to boost his professional success in bodybuilding and powerlifting. Peter and Layne also review the science of body composition and what’s really driving muscle growth, including the role of nutrition, supplements, and a number of important and misunderstood hormones important to muscle protein synthesis. Furthermore, Layne stresses the importance of maintaining muscle mass even while losing fat for improving metabolic health and longevity and provides the keys to developing healthy habits.        We discuss:  Layne’s childhood and why he gravitated towards weightlifting and bodybuilding [2:45]; Layne’s academic path, overcoming ADHD, and kicking Adderall [11:45]; Paradoxical observations about expertise, and Layne’s career transition to health and fitness [22:00]; The power of persistence and resilience in the face of setbacks [32:15]; Battling injuries, managing back pain, and setting lifting records [43:00]; Bodybuilding vs. powerlifting: comparing and contrasting the training approaches [57:15]; Cutting weight without losing muscle mass: exercise and dietary protocols, fasting, and a look at the literature [1:06:00]; Muscle protein synthesis and the importance of leucine [1:25:30]; Nitrogen balance and muscle protein synthesis, and the regulatory role of hormones for fat flux and muscle growth [1:37:00]; What’s really driving muscle growth: intrinsic vs. systemic factors, IGF, and hormone signaling [1:46:30]; The role of protein, carbohydrates and insulin on muscle growth and preservation, and the importance of context when interpreting study results [1:55:30]; Clarifying the role of cortisol—a misunderstood hormone [2:07:45]; The problem with studies trying to isolate one nutrient [2:15:00]; The important role of inflammation from exercise [2:19:25]; Keys to preserving muscle, and the value of habits, consistency, and resilience [2:23:30]; and More.  Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com/  Show notes page for this episode: https://peterattiamd.com/LayneNorton    Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/   Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/   Connect with Peter on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.  

#163 - Layne Norton, Ph.D.: Building muscle, losing fat, and the importance of resistance training

Alopecia is the medical term for "bald" or "hair loss." It refers to all kinds of hair loss, including male-pattern baldness (also experienced by women). It is a common autoimmune disease that affects about 6.8 million people in the U.S., and nearly one-third of women experience it at some point in their lives.

Alopecia in men and women

<ul><li>Alopecia areata ( areata means patchy) is an autoimmune skin disease that can cause hair loss on the scalp, face, and other parts of the body.</li><li>Alopecia totalis is when someone loses all hair on their scalp.</li><li>Alopecia universalis is when someone loses all of the hair on their body.</li></ul>

Three types of alopecia

Alopecia develops when your immune system attacks healthy hair follicles and causes the hair to fall out. However, scientists are unsure what causes this to happen. Most people develop alopecia as children or teenagers, and half experience hair regrowth in twelve months. After that, the hair may fall out again or fall out and grow back in cycles.

The cause of alopecia

There are many treatment options, but not a universal cure. Many people experiment with products they see in the store and on the internet. However, different types of hair loss require different treatments. Board-certified specialists can perform a biopsy to diagnose the condition and help determine the best treatment. Some people can use topical or injected steroids, Janus kinase inhibitors, platelet-rich plasma, anti-inflammatory medications, Rogaine, or hair transplants. But, treatment doesn’t guarantee that a person’s hair will regrow.

There is no cure for alopecia

This is a good time to shed some light on alopecia, an incredibly common autoimmune disease that affects about 6.8 million people in the US - more frequently among Black Americans. 

No Time Like the Present to Raise Awareness of Alopecia

We use crypto wallets to keep crypto securely. There are different types of crypto wallets. The most popular ones are<ul><li>hosted wallets,</li><li>non-custodial wallets, and</li><li>hardware wallets.</li></ul> The right wallet for you depends on what you want to do with your crypto.

Types of crypto wallets

The hosted wallet is the easiest to set up. When you buy crypto using an app like Coinbase, your crypto is automatically held in a hosted wallet, where a third party keeps your crypto for you. The main benefit is that you won't lose your crypto if you forget your password. However, a hosted wallet can't access everything crypto can offer. How to set up a hosted wallet:<ul><li>Choose a trusted platform, considering security, ease of use, and government and financial regulations.</li><li>Create your account. You can buy crypto using a bank account or credit card.</li></ul>

Hosted wallets

A self-custody wallet puts you in control of your crypto. While non-custodial wallets provide the software necessary to store your crypto, you have to remember and keep your password, known as a "private key" or "seed phrase". If you lose it, you can't access your crypto. How to set up a non-custodial wallet:<ul><li>Download a wallet app.</li><li>Create your account. You don't have to share any personal info to create a non-custodial wallet.</li><li>Ensure to write down your private 12-word phrase key.</li><li>Transfer crypto to your wallet. You won't always be able to use traditional currencies with this wallet.</li></ul>

Self-custody wallets

This wallet is a physical device that stores the private keys to your crypto offline. Hardware wallets are more complex and expensive but have some added benefits, such as keeping your crypto secure even if your computer is hacked. How to set up a hardware wallet:<ul><li>Buy the hardware. Ledger and Trezor are well-known brands.</li><li>Install the software. Each brand has its own software that you should download from the official company website.</li><li>Transfer crypto to your wallet. This wallet doesn't allow you to buy crypto using traditional currencies (US dollar or Euros),</li></ul>

Hardware wallets

How to set up a crypto wallet

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that creates intelligent machines to interact as humans.
The groundwork for AI was laid in the 1950s by the famous Mathematician Alan Turing with his Turing Test, also known as the imitation game. Interested fellow researchers developed the concept further, which laid down the framework and architecture for the development of AI.

The concept of AI originated in the 1950s

Website is a necessity for all business niches in the market. Consumers usually access their web page to get to know the nature of the business. The webpage is then a credible source of the business and is vital for sales revenue.
Websites make use of various AI-incorporated solutions to provide a better user experience, such as AI chatbots, voice-based search, and analytics data. AI can also be trained to dynamically change the website design layout based on a user's preferences. However, there are a few challenges to overcome.

Artificial Intelligence in website development

The development phase requires proper planning and consideration. For example, a young child can recognise an apple by someone pointing and naming the fruit a few times. From there, he would be able to recognise all sorts of apples.
But in machine learning, it takes thousands or millions of data and algorithms for the machine to identify it as an apple.

Data collection

How much data is enough. 100, 1000, 10000?
Underfitting is when the model is too simplified to know the base structure of data. It has too little information to construct an accurate training model.
Overfitting is where researchers overgeneralise and hope the machine can produce insight by the end of the training.

Underfitting or Overfitting

When dealing with large datasets with many columns and variables, feature extracting is used to divide and reduce existing data into a manageable group.
But for image processing, machines can't extract features such as edges, shapes, or even size in this way. Instead, machines see and store an image in the form of a matrix of numbers. It gets more complicated when dealing with large images and datasets and eventually leads to the Curse of Dimensionality. Instead of processing each matrix, the machine will discard some features to more accurately map in a lower-dimensional space.

Feature extraction and suitable machine learning model

While there are still challenges with Artificial Intelligence, we should not underestimate what AI can do. We know there are still many uncharted areas to be discovered in the coming years. 

Artificial Intelligence, AI is a branch of computer science that creates intelligent machines to behave, learn or even think like an actual human being. Back in the 1950s, Turing Test, or formerly…

The challenges in teaching machines to see like humans

Functional fixedness is a bias where we can only think of a narrow set of functions for a tool. A knife is made to cut things. A cotton swab is for cleaning your ears. It is common to stick to what we know. We become comfortable repeating tasks in a way that fits with our preconceived ideas on how they should be done, especially if these ideas worked in the past. But being stuck in our methods can stop us from discovering better solutions.

Functional fixedness

Karl Duncker first described functional fixedness in 1945.  In a study, participants were given a candle, a box of tacks and a book of matches. Participants were challenged to attach the candle to a wall so that it would not drip on the floor. Instead of noticing that the tack box could be used on its own, they only saw it as a storage box.

Functional fixedness experiment

Studies suggest that it's possible to teach your brain to move away from functional fixedness and embrace creative thinking. When faced with a task or problem at work, try stepping away from how it's always been done. Instead, explore the problem creatively to find alternative solutions.

Make a conscious effort

A step away from functional fixedness is to break a problem into its basic components. Instead of focusing on the details, only focus on the essential elements. When the problem is stripped from unnecessary detail, you're less likely to fall back on functional fixedness. For example, if you need to re-pot a plant, instead of finding a plant pot, look for an object to hold the plant, such as a mug or jar.

Abstract the problem

When you approach a task in a new way, it's easy to judge unusual ideas harshly and reject them. Be open to new perspectives instead of limiting your options. At first, you should not consider any idea as too strange.

Remove judgment

A different industry in another sector could have a simple solution to your issue that you have not thought of due to function fixedness. Explore adjacent industries for creative solutions. For example, ask a friend how they would approach your issue in their industry.

Look for inspiration

Crowdsourcing is an excellent way to get the support of external participants to find solutions. For example, LEGO encourages fans to submit their own ideas instead of only relying on in-house designers. The most popular will be reviewed, and if approved, will be manufactured.

Expand your network

Functional fixedness: when we stick to what we know

Our body needs fuel to meet its energy demands. This energy is derived from carbohydrates, proteins, fats and phosphates. <ul><li>We use less energy when we exercise lightly. This energy supply comes from fats.</li><li>When we exercise more intensely, fat can't be metabolised fast enough to meet the energy demands, so the body uses carbohydrates.</li></ul>

Fat is the main energy source

The best heart rate for metabolising fat is between the rested state of around 70 beats per minute and the level of exercise intensity where the body switches to carbohydrates. By measuring how much air a person exhales during an exercise that gets progressively harder, one can calculate how much fat is burned. The fat-burning zone is between 50 - 72% of a person's VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen a person can use during exercise) and around 24-46% of VO2 max for overweight people.

The fat burning zone

We burn surprisingly little fat during exercise. In studies with athletes, participants only burned about 0.5 grams of fat per minute at FATmax. That is approximately 30 grams of fat per hour. The average person burns between 0.1 and 0.4 grams of fat per minute. However, following certain diets such as intermittent fasting or a ketogenic, high-fat diet and a longer exercise time can increase the amount of fat we burn.

How much fat we burn during exercise

Perhaps we should consider an individualised "sweet spot" we can use to improve our workout to lose weight. Frequent physical activity at 30% - 60% of your maximal effort or an observed exertion level of one to four out of ten will likely aid our bodies to use fat for energy.

The "sweet spot" for burning fat

Though exercising at around 50-72% of our VO₂ uses more fat as energy, the amount of actual fat burned is minimal.

'Fat burning zone'? The best way to exercise to burn fat

Everyone who wants to lose weight asks what to avoid eating and what is the best diet to follow. New research on metabolism is emphasizing how we eat and expend the calories, rather than what we eat.
Our body’s caloric expenditure has been compared to an engine or a machine for ages, but newer studies compare it to a business, where the main aim is to survive and procreate.

The Best Diet For Weight Loss

Being physically active has an indirect advantage that goes beyond burning calories: spending less energy on other aspects of our body like inflammation levels, reactivity to stress and other unwanted areas.Exercise then becomes a way to redirect and refocus energy expenditure and an auto-adjustment of metabolism.

Exercise Isn’t To Burn Calories

The body becomes good at prioritizing the calorie expenditure, if there is plenty of physical activity.Just like more output in a factory results in more goods produced that can be profitable for the business, being physically active and burning thousands of calories every day leads to an auto-adjustment in the body, which is surprisingly flexible and agile.

The Way Of The Hunter-Gatherers

New insights on how the body adjusts the calorie expenditure and metabolism makes one understand how foolish it is to starve oneself and exercise hard to lose weight.Your body may show some initial results due to your starving yourself, but that will be pushed back as the metabolic rate will start to auto-adjust to the new reality, ensuring that the lost weight is back in weeks.

The Biggest Loser

Exercise helps one regulate their body, keeps it in shape and is essential for us no matter how much we eat. If we live with the hunter-gatherer societies and see how they live, work and eat, the diet fads like vegan, paleo etc. will seem ridiculous and even dangerous.One has to eat plenty of plants, roots, pulses, honey and burn it by having an active lifestyle 24 hours a day, not just an hour at the gym.

Rethinking What Exercise And Diet Is

Evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer shares why some of the most physically active people in the world don't burn more calories than office workers. And what that means for your fitness goals.

Why Crash Weight Loss Programs Don't Work: Clues From Hunter-Gatherer Societies

<ul><li>The Tour de France is a multi-stage, international cycle race, taking place every year in France and surrounding areas.</li><li>The first tournament was created by reporter and cyclist Henri Desgrange in 1903.</li><li>The 107th Tour de France took place in Aug-Sept 2020, and this year, it began on June 26, to continue till July 18, 2021.</li><li>The race includes 21 stages and covers over 3k kilometres this year.</li><li>France has won this tournament 36 times, and American born Lance Armstrong won it seven times.</li></ul>

The 108th Tour de France

<ul><li>The prestigious long-form bike race is won by the cyclist finishing the distance in the shortest accumulated time(overall).</li><li>The different coloured jerseys are worn by cyclists who achieve certain special distinctions like best accumulated time in the mountain area(Polka Dot jersey) or the best accumulated time in flat terrains(Green jersey).</li><li>The first race, held in 1903 was won by French national Maurice Garin.</li><li>The pandemic postponed the race in 2020 by about two months.</li></ul>

Tour de France: Facts About The Bike Race

Read CNN's Fast Facts about the Tour de France and learn more about the prestigious bike race.

Self Improvement

Here's a look at the Tour de France

Typically, the law tells us what we are prohibited from doing and what we are required to do. It is said that the law sets minimum standards of behavior while ethics sets maximum standards.Ethics provides us with guides on what is the right thing to do in all aspects of life, while the law generally provides more specific rules so that societies and their institutions can be maintained. Ethics engages our thinking and also our feelings, including those of disgust and guilt.

Ethics and law are not the same thing

Ethical behavior is not always best defined within the confines of the law.Something may be legal but we may consider it unacceptable. And we may consider something right but it may not be legal. Many companies are facing a public backlash for not paying adequate tax in a number of jurisdictions. While this may not be an illegal activity, it is considered wrong and we are looking to the law to make sure it does not allow it.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Dominic Healy
@dominicheal

10 Little Etiquette Rules for Flying on an Airplane

#163 - Layne Norton, Ph.D.: Building muscle, losing fat, and the importance of resistance training

No Time Like the Present to Raise Awareness of Alopecia

How to set up a crypto wallet

The challenges in teaching machines to see like humans

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Dominic Healy@dominicheal

10 Little Etiquette Rules for Flying on an Airplane

#163 - Layne Norton, Ph.D.: Building muscle, losing fat, and the importance of resistance training

No Time Like the Present to Raise Awareness of Alopecia

How to set up a crypto wallet

The challenges in teaching machines to see like humans

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Dominic Healy
@dominicheal