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The latest viral fitness trend has people reaching for a surprising snack before their workouts: Rice Krispies Treats.

The craze has recently taken off on TikTok, inspiring people to share their results, good and bad, on social media. But experts say while reaching for a Rice Krispies Treat before your workout is actually not a horrible option, it might not be the best choice.

One of the most popular videos showcasing the trend was posted by TikTok user @Ko0maa who claims the snack gives you “an insane pump” at the gym. The clip goes on to show him besting his personal weight-lifting record after downing a pre-workout Rice Krispies Treat. The post garnered more than 175,000 views and 14,000 likes.

“Trust me when I say it, Rice Krispies gonna make you have the best workout,” Twitter user @s_terrazas said.

Others are skeptical.

“Tried the Rice Krispies Treat before a workout thing. Don’t get it. 30 min of sugar high then a sugar crash that ruined the back end of my workout. Not for me,” user @RickSegall wrote.

By textbook nutrition standards, you ideally want to eat a well-rounded meal with carbohydrates, proteins and fat about three hours before a workout, says Abbie E. Smith-Ryan, an associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of North Carolinsa Chapel Hill who does research in sports nutrition and exercise performance.

If eat right before your workout, it’s best to focus on carbs and protein.

“A Rice Krispies Treat would be mostly carbs, but it’s a quick easily digested, so it’s not going to cause GI distress,” Smith-Ryan says.

But it would be best to also add some protein, she says: “So, for example, like a Greek yogurt. Or that’s where the protein shakes come in.”

While Rice Krispies Treats before a workout might not be harmful, Dr. Michael Daignault, an emergency physician and chief medical adviser for Reliant Health Service, doubts the trend is effective.

He suspects the touted energy boost “is related to a brief sugar high plus a placebo effect from a perceived performance enhancement.”

Daignault sayst each person’s metabolism is different, so the best pre-workout meals can vary.

“We know that there is certainly a benefit to having post-workout protein in the form of a smoothie or meal,” he says. “But, as far as pre-workout, athletes’ preferences vary and can include training on an empty stomach, eating a small meal of protein and good fat like avocado or using a pre-workout supplement.”

Deciding what’s best also depends on what kind of workout you’ll be doing, Smith-Ryan says.

“If I’m going to lift weights, I can probably stomach more than if I’m going to go run,” she says.

Read more at usatoday.com

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The fatal shootings occurred on the South and West Sides.

By

Sun-Times Wire

Sep 24, 2021, 6:48am CDT

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‘”This is a great town. It’s got everything.” – Sun-Times columnist Ernie Souchak (John Belushi), describing his beloved Chicago in “Continental Divide.”

Even in 1981, Chicago Sun-Times news columnist Ernie Souchak was something of a throwback — a pavement-pounding, notebook-wielding investigative journalist who wore a terrible porkpie hat, almost always had a cigarette dangling from his lips, could throw down drinks with the best and worst of ’em at the Billy Goat Tavern and was constantly at odds with his gruff managing editor, who also happened to be his best friend.

Souchak was a man of the people, exchanging pleasantries with the local newsstand guy, cabdrivers, sex workers and even muggers he’d encounter on the gritty streets of the Loop, as newspaper trucks zipped by bearing the slogan, “ERNIE SOUCHAK: ONE REASON PEOPLE TURN TO THE BRIGHT ONE!” Then it was off to the paper, where he’d pen columns with leads such as, “Good Afternoon, Chicago: Ald. Yablonowitz has his finger in another sticky City Hall pie …”

What a time it was, and what a character was Ernie Souchak.

When we think of John Belushi’s most memorable roles in his tragically brief movie career (just seven feature films), the one-two punch of John “Bluto” Blutarsky in “National Lampoon’s Animal House” and Joliet Jake in “The Blues Brothers” will always be mentioned first. But Belushi delivered his most authentic and grounded performance as a sardonic and cynical but big-hearted ink-stained wretch in “Continental Divide,” which hit theaters 40 years ago this month — just six months before Belushi died of a drug overdose at the Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood, California, at the age of 33.

Re-watching the film is a bittersweet experience, as we delight in Belushi’s quick-witted comments and his slapstick pratfalls as well as his nimble moves, as when Souchak hangs gracefully from the back of a train and doffs his hat while saying goodbye but not farewell to the love of his life. On a much less profound but still impactful level, “Continental Divide” holds a special place in my heart, as it would only be a half-dozen years before I would be walking into the same Sun-Times newsroom (in the old, squatty building at 401 N. Wabash) featured prominently in the movie, learning the ropes from some of the great reporters and editors in the country, pounding the Flintstones-looking keyboard and learning the Atex computer system with its green-on-black lettering and its station-to-station Messaging capabilities, which we thought was pretty damn futuristic at the time.

Director Michael Apted (The “Up” documentary series, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”) and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (writer of “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” and director of such films as “The Big Chill” and “Grand Canyon”) fashioned “Continental Divide” as an homage to classic newspaper-themed screwball comedies such as “Woman of the Year” and “His Girl Friday,” with Belushi as the workaholic bachelor with outdated views of women and the wonderful Blair Brown (who looks and sounds a bit like a young Katharine Hepburn) as Dr. Nell Porter, a renowned but reclusive researcher who has been conducting studies on the endangered American bald eagle for several years in the Rocky Mountains.

Souchak almost never leaves Chicago and Nell is content to live in a remote cabin with just the magnificent peaks and the eagles and the occasional bear or mountain lion to keep her company, so how do these two even meet? Plot device! Souchak’s ongoing investigation into the criminal wrongdoings of the powerful, pinkie-ringed Ald. Yablonowitz (Val Avery) leads to a couple of corrupt cops beating him up and someone blowing up his apartment — so Souchak’s editor, Howard McDermott (Allen Garfield), tells him to get out of town for a while and pursue an interview with Nell.

OK, that’s a stretch, but we go with it. When Souchak is left stranded at Nell’s cabin high in the mountains for a two-week period until his crusty mountain guide will return and guide him to safety (Souchak would clearly die if he tried to make the trek alone), Nell reluctantly agrees to let Souchak stay with her, lest he starve to death or get eaten by a bear. When Nell discovers Souchak had planned to write a story about her, she exclaims, “Did it ever occur to you to ask permission? Of all the unmitigated, presumptuous gall!”

“Oh, there’s no call to use big words,” comes the deadpan reply.

Ernie Souchak stays in a mountain cabin with wildlife researcher Nell Porter (Blair Brown) while attempting to interview her.Universal Pictures

So, we have a classic fish-out-of-water adventure, with a budding romance between two opposites who have nothing in common but quickly become friends and then lovers — all within two weeks, because this is the movies. Eventually the action returns to Chicago, with more scenes shot inside the gloriously shabby Sun-Times newsroom, as well as inside the Billy Goat and at the old Chicago & Northwestern Terminal (now the Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center).

“Continental Divide” is not a great newspaper film on par with films such as “All the President’s Men” or “Spotlight.” For one thing, we spend as much time in the country as we do in the city. But as Souchak himself might say, it’s a damn solid picture about a damn good journalist, and there’s a helluva love story in there as well.

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When Bears coach Matt Nagy told Justin Fields that he would make his first NFL start Sunday in Cleveland, the rookie quarterback was stoic.

Of course he was.

Since the day they drafted him in the first round, the Bears have found increasingly new and creative ways to describe the 22-year-old’s poise. At the start of training camp, general manager Ryan Pace said Fields’ success in high school and college led to a “natural inner confidence.” His preseason performance led the Bears to believe that even more strongly.

“I used to not be this way,” Fields said this week. “I definitely learned from past experiences, past first starts. I still remember my first start in high school, I was nervous as can be. I think being more this way — just being stoic and being even-keeled — I think that just keeps my mind calm and allows me to think more.”

If Fields was nervous in high school, no one noticed.

“I’ve never seen him get rattled,” said Matt Dickmann, his coach at Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison High School. “That’s just Justin. He’s never shown any weakness.”

Ron Veal, his private quarterbacks coach during his high school years, didn’t see it, either. Fields doesn’t get anxious, he said, because of the work he puts in during the week.

“If he is upset, or if he is happy, he stays in that same frame of mind — same facial expression,” Veal said.

“I’ve never seen him nervous. If he was, he doesn’t display it well — which is a good thing.”

It will be a good thing Sunday when the Bears face the Browns. Like any rookie quarterback, Fields figures to be inconsistent. His mindset won’t be, though. That’s one reason — out of many — the Bears are confident in their rookie.

“There’s nothing wrong with being excited and showing positive emotion with your team — but no one wants to see knees shaking,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “It’s one of those things where when it’s not a problem, you’re good and you can move forward. When it’s a problem, it’s a problem — and it hasn’t been a problem with Justin.”

Lazor has coached players who are outwardly nervous. That made him skittish, too.

“Guys who are way up and down emotionally, they can tip over the edge sometimes and make some bigger errors,” he said. “I think guys like Justin, who so far have shown to be flat-liners and controlled their emotions and steady, in the long haul are gonna be more successful.”

The matchup won’t be easy — the Browns boast edge rushers Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, both former No. 1 overall picks — but the stadium should be comforting. A former Ohio State quarterback, Fields has never lost a game in the Buckeye State. Many of the fans cheering for the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium probably have scarlet and gray jerseys in their closets.

“I don’t think he’s approaching it like, ‘This is my very first start — a lot of pressure,'” receiver Marquise Goodwin said. “I think he’s approaching it like, ‘Hey, I’m a football player. It’s a game I’ve been playing since I was a little boy. I’m just gonna go out there and execute and have fun.'”

Tight end Jimmy Graham noticed the way Fields warmed up before the season opener, when he appeared in five snaps.

“Even in the pregame, just how relaxed he is throwing the ball is pretty impressive to see,” Graham said.

Sunday, he’ll be asked to do more than that. Judging by his composure, no one should be able to tell it’s his first start.

“I like that about him,” Nagy said. “I think that’s going to be a strength for him as he moves forward and continues to learn with every game that he’s in.”

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A man was charged with shooting at Chicago police officers Tuesday night in Rogers Park on the North Side.

Timothy Thomas, 31, was charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer and attempted first-degree murder, police said. He was also given various traffic citations, authorities said.

Thomas was scheduled to appear in bond court Friday.

Thomas was arrested Tuesday night about 11:45 p.m. in the 7600 block of North Ashland Avenue, shortly after firing shots at police officers who were conducting a traffic stop in the 1500 block of W. Jonquil Terrace, police said.

No one was injured and police didn’t return fire.

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A man was fatally shot Thursday night in West Englewood on the South Side.

The 44-year-old was found on the ground unresponsive with gunshot wounds to his torso about 11:45 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Wolcott Avenue, Chicago police said.

He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

No one was in custody.

A few hours earlier, a 29-year-old man was shot and killed in Lawndale on the West Side.

About 5:20 p.m., he was standing near the sidewalk in the 2200 block of South Kolin Avenue, when he was approached by a man who pulled out a gun and fired shots, police said.

He was struck in the chest, and taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. He has not yet been identified.

A person of interest was taken into custody for questioning, police said.

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