• Spinning is one of the most popular workouts of the moment, with boutique studios popping up across the world.
• Many people think that the faster you pedal, the more efficient the workout.
• However, according to Psycle CEO Rhian Stephenson, spinning your legs too quickly is one of the biggest mistakes people make in a spin class.
• Similarly, setting the resistance too high so you can barely push your legs around is another mistake — it all comes down to mastering the resistance dial.

Spinning has become one of the most popular workouts of this decade — and was even the most popular workout in a number of US cities last year, according to ClassPass data.

Thanks to classes incorporating upper body resistance, motivational music, and club-like strobe lighting, spinning is a fun, trendy, and effective way to get your cardio fix.

However, there's one big mistake people make when taking up the indoor cycling workout, according to the CEO of Psycle, a chain of boutique London spin studios.

Rhian Stephenson told INSIDER that a number of riders spin their legs too quickly because they haven't mastered the resistance dial.

Essentially, it's the cycling equivalent of trying to run before you can walk.

Read more: This circus workout will make your head spin

"It takes a while to master the resistance dial, so we often see riders spinning their legs too quickly or barely able to push their legs around," Stephenson said.

"It’s important to adjust the resistance more frequently until you learn your own limits and can align yourself with what the instructor is saying.

"Everyone is individual so it doesn’t matter if the person beside you has added six turns, there’s no point in doing the same if you don’t have the same level of fitness. Working at your own pace is key (and one of the best things about riding)."

Just because the person next to you is on resistance level 20, there's nothing wrong with sticking to level five — and if that's what's right for you, pedalling at that level is what's going to give you the most effective workout.

According to Stephenson, it's imperative to think about what you're actually doing with your body when on the bike.

"Really focusing on technique will help you get a better full body workout," she said. "Focusing on the full pedal stroke will engage your hamstrings and glutes more, and give you a more well founded workout.

"Riding is also fantastic for the core, but you need to learn to engage it. Once you start to you can generate a lot more power in your legs and are able to work harder, more efficiently and with the whole body."

One concern some people have about spinning is that their thigh muscles will grow larger than they'd like, but Stephenson says there is a simple way to avoid this.

"The most common misconception around riding is that it results in big legs," she says. "If you stay in the saddle without cleated shoes and push really heavy resistance then you could definitely overdevelop your thighs."

Most classes, however, are designed to make sure riders spend a lot of time out of the saddle, cycling at different speeds, to ensure different body parts are worked.

"It’s a full body workout so you don’t need to worry about ‘bulking’ the legs," Stephenson added. 

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Amy Schumer revealed she was pregnant just after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were expecting their first child.
• The actress has poked fun at the fact that her pregnancy doesn't appear to be as elegant as Meghan Markle's.
• Schumer has been outspoken about the fact that she hasn't loved her first trimester.

Being pregnant is no walk in the park.

Being pregnant in the public eye is more like a trek up a mountain.

And being pregnant in the public eye whilst being compared to an equally pregnant member of the royal family is, well, like being dragged up a mountain whilst being attacked by vultures, probably.

Spare a thought, then, for Amy Schumer, who is currently pregnant with her first child with husband Chris Fischer.

Of course, the most famous pregnant woman in the world right now is the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.

Markle recently wowed crowds down under on her tour of Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji with her husband Prince Harry — a trip she embarked on shortly after announcing her pregnancy.

Having revealed she was expecting her first child just after the royal couple did, Schumer has clearly realised the comparisons will be inevitable.

And she's not loving it.

"You know who it's not fun to be pregnant at the same time as? Meghan Markle!" the comedian and actor joked at her show in Las Vegas on Friday, according to Metro.

"She's walking around in heels and cradling her baby that's not even there, and I'm barely wearing underwear."

Read more: Amy Schumer used her pregnancy announcement to endorse 23 Democratic candidates in the midterms

Schumer has made no secret of the fact that she's not entirely enjoying her pregnancy.

"I don't like it. I've had a really tough pregnancy so far," she added.

The actor has been outspoken on social media about the realities of being pregnant, revealing that her first trimester has left her exhausted and that she's been suffering from morning sickness.

Schumer and Fischer got married in a secret ceremony earlier this year.

Join the conversation about this story »

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When politicians are asked tough questions about policies that defy science, they'll sometimes say, "Hey, I'm not a scientist."

In fact, there is only one Ph.D. scientist among the 535 members of Congress: Bill Foster, who represents Illinois' 11th District. The medical professions are a bit better represented, with three nurses and 15 doctors in Congress.

But 13 new political candidates are attempting to bolster the science credentials on Capitol Hill in the 2018 midterm elections. A crop of scientists are running for office across the country, in states from South Carolina to Nevada and California, hoping voters will pick them on Tuesday.

These candidates have the support of a nonprofit political-action committee called 314 Action, which started in 2016 and is dedicated to recruiting, training, and funding scientists and healthcare workers who want to run for political office.

"Scientists are essentially problem-solvers," Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action, told Business Insider. "Right now, there are more talk radio show hosts in Congress than there are chemists and physicists."

Since Congress wrestles with complex issues like climate change, cybersecurity, and how to provide fairer, cheaper healthcare, Naughton thinks we should put more scientists into the decision-making body.

"Who better to be tackling these issues than scientists?" she said.

Here's what to know about the two Senate and 11 House hopefuls who are running for office.

SEE ALSO: President Trump said the US has 'the cleanest air in the world'. Here's the reality, according to an air quality scientist.

There are two new scientist candidates running for Senate. Both have political experience, but they've never been senators. One is Phil Bredesen, a Harvard physicist and computer programmer who is running to represent Tennessee.

Bredesen, a Democrat, was governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011.

"I love fixing things," Bredesen said in an ad posted on his Twitter account. 

To say that Bredesen has been well liked in the state is an understatement: When he was re-elected as governor in 2006, Bredesen swept every county. During his time as governor, he expanded health-insurance coverage in the state and also made forest preservation a priority.

The former founder of HealthAmerica Corporation — an HMO that was bought by a larger company in 1986 — is still focused on healthcare pricing and coverage in his Senate race.

He’s vying for Republican Bob Corker’s old seat, running against Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn.

The other is congresswoman and computer programmer Jacky Rosen, who is running for Senate in Nevada. She champions internet privacy protection for consumers.

Rosen, who was elected to Congress in 2016, is running for Senate against Nevada’s senior senator Dean Heller.

A Democrat, Rosen has pointed out that her opponent was a deciding vote on the law that allows internet-service providers to sell consumer data without their permission. Rosen also touts her role in the construction of a large solar array in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson. That array, she said, reduced her synagogue’s energy bill by 70%.

The Hill rates the Republican seat Rosen is running for as one of the most likely to flip this year. Nevada voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Chrissy Houlahan is an Air Force vet, industrial engineer, MIT grad, and former high school chemistry teacher. The Democrat is running to represent Pennsylvania's 6th District.

The Republican incumbent in Pennsylvania's 6th District, Ryan Costello, isn't running this year, after he fumed about the district lines being redrawn. (A map of the district had to be retraced after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the district had been unfairly gerrymandered in favor of Republicans.)

Instead, Houlahan is running against Republican Greg McCauley, a tax lawyer who's owned 20 Wendy's franchises. Like Houlahan, McCauley has never run for office before. 

Houlahan, who was the chief operating officer of And1 (a basketball apparel company), has said that one of her top priorities if elected would be to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for everyone.

• Midterm elections are happening across the United States on November 6. 
• Voter turnout typically isn't great for midterms, so some brands offer freebies and deals to those who show their "I Voted" stickers.
• Offering free food as an incentive to voters falls in a legal gray area, but many brands get around that by offering the perks to anyone who asks for them, rather than only allowing voters to get the perks. 
• Here are the places offering deals this Election Day. 

Midterm elections aren't known for great turnouts. To help change that, many brands are offering freebies and deals for voters. 

Only about four in 10 eligible Americans vote in midterm elections, according to Fortune. In the past, stores like 7-Eleven and White Castle have offered incentives to customers who show an "I Voted" sticker. 

There have been questions in the past whether brands' incentivizing voters is legal.

"It is illegal in elections when federal candidates are on the ballot to offer free stuff (including free food or drink) to people upon proof of voting," said Rick Hasen, a law professor at UC Irvine told Nation's Restaurant News.

However, many brands find a way around this by offering the perks to anyone who asks for them, not just to customers who show an "I Voted" sticker.

Here are some of the places offering deals this Election Day: 

SEE ALSO: These are the best stores to shop for toys now that Toys R Us has died

Shake Shack is offering free fries with an order if you show an "I Voted" sticker or use the code "ivoted" at checkout.

Source: USA Today

Potbelly Sandwich Shop is offering a free cookie with any order on Tuesday or Wednesday. You don't need proof that you voted — just ask.

Source: USA Today, Potbelly

California Tortilla is offering a free order of chips and queso at all 50 locations if you say "I voted" at checkout.

Source: USA Today

• Uber and Lyft are both offering election day discounts on rides to the polls.
• Motivate, which runs major bike share programs in nine cities, is offering free rides

Tuesday is election day. To make it easier to get out and perform your civic duty, Uber, Lyft and other companies are offering discount codes to get to the polls and vote.

Here's how to take advantage of their offers:

Uber

As long as your app is updated to the most recent version, a $10 off code for a single ride in the "most affordable option in your city will be made available to users in their app on Election Day,"the company said in its announcement. But be aware, the deal is not available in Utah, Michigan, or any US territories.

Lyft

In similar fashion, Lyft is offering 50% off rides as well as an integration to help riders find their polling place. What's more, the company says it will provide rides free of charge for underserved communities through partnerships with nonprofit organizations.

The company points to research that shows low-income and minority voters tend to have lower turnout rates than the general population, and says the Election Day effort is a bid to help change that disparity. In 2014, a study by Pew Research found that 46% of nonvoters have family incomes of $30,000. For likely voters, on the other hand, that percentage fell to 19%.

Bike sharing

Motivate — the bike share operator owned by Lyft — is also offering free rides in nine of its systems on Election Day. 

By using the code BIKETOVOTE, you can ride for free to the polls on in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, and Columbus, Ohio. In Chicago, use the code VOTE18 on the Divvy system. 

"We want to make it easier than ever to pedal to the polls this Election Day," Motivate spokesperson Julie Wood said in a press release. "Too many Americans don’t vote because they lack reliable and affordable transportation options. As voters make their plans for November 6, we encourage the millions living in cities served by our bike share networks to take advantage of free rides and use bike share to get to and from the polls."

More election day coverage:

SEE ALSO: See what time the polls open and close in every state for the Midterm Elections

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Russia is stepping away from using fake news and has adopted different tactics to bait and divide Americans and influence elections, experts say.
• The apparent playbook for interfering in the midterm elections is harder for people and social media companies to detect, experts told Reuters.
• New tricks include boosting existing partisan memes from both political extremes, and promoting divisive posts online which originate from Americans.
• Experts say that this strategy relies less on pure fiction, and makes it much more difficult to detect.

Russians believed to be connected to the government are still interfering in the US midterm elections, experts say — but have moved on crude tactics like fake news to new, more subtle efforts to bait and divide Americans.

Government investigators, academics and security firms believe that Russia is spreading divisive content online — including memes that come from the far left and right — with the aim of promoting extreme ideas and dividing Americans, Reuters reported.

This strategy is hard to detect, and allows them to avoid scrutiny from the government and big social media companies, the experts said. It complicates progress made by ordinary people and tech giants like Facebook, who are far more aware of the problem than they used to be.

Read more: All the dates, deadlines, and rules you need to know before voting in the 2018 Midterm Elections 

Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told Reuters: "The Russians are definitely not sitting this one out."

Instead, Brookie said, they have "adapted over time" to the increased focus in the US on "influence operations."

"They are baiting Americans to drive more polarizing and vitriolic content," Brookie said

Intelligence officials are now paying greater attention to such operations because they believe Russia used tactics such as the spread of false information to support Donald Trump's presidential election campaign 2016, though the Russian government denies it.

Social media companies have also tried to stall these tactics by looking to prevent the spread of disinformation on their platforms. Facebook, for example, has created a "war room" to try and avoid the mistakes ofthe 2016 election.

Read more: Why it's still in Russia's interest to mess with US politics

But researchers told Reuters that Russia's tactics have changed in response, and now relies less on pure fiction.

The new tactics involve picking up on trending topics, like Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court or the Occupy Democrats protests, to promote extreme opinions, according to security company New Knowledge.

The company compiled a list of suspected Russian accounts on Facebook and Twitter that were similar to those suspended after the 2016 campaign.

Some efforts have been noticed by news outlets. The Daily Best reported on Friday that 40,000 out of 250,000 tweets about a "Blexit" — a call for African-Americans to leave the Democratic party — were from Twitter handles that had previously participated in Russian disinformation campaigns.

Read more: 'It's like playing whack-a-mole': A string of recent revelations paints a stark picture of Russia's ongoing campaign to meddle in the 2018 midterms

Russia-linked operatives also messaged Americans to try and get them to buy advertisements for them and to promote protests happening in the US, Facebook's records show, according to Reuters.

Priscilla Moriuchi, a former NSA official who is now a threat analyst at a cybersecurity firm, said that this change came about as people became more used to checking for fake news. 

"We’ve done a lot research on fake news and people are getting better at figuring out what it is, so it's become less effective as a tactic."

SEE ALSO: Google data shows the 5 issues dominating voter searches, and it could mean Trump's message is failing

SEE ALSO: You can't take a 'ballot selfie' in Illinois, Florida, or 25 other states — see where it's illegal to take a photo in the voting booth

Join the conversation about this story »

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• It appears likely that the 2018 midterm elections will see the Democrats win the House and the Republicans maintain control of the Senate.
• A scenario where the Republicans held the presidency and the two chambers of Congress only to lose the House in the midterm election has only happened twice — in 1910 and 1930.
• The stock market sold-off in the year following both of those elections — something it has only done four times in the last 27, according to Nautilus Investment Research.

The one 2018 midterm elections result President Donald Trump probably hopes to avoid is also the one many analysts are saying is the most likely outcome: the Democrats taking control of the House while the Republicans hold the Senate.

According to Decision Desk HQ's Scott Tranter, the Democrats have a 94.5% chance of winning the House while the Republicans have a 93.1% chance of keeping the Senate.  

Such an occurrence has happened twice in midterm election years when Republicans held the presidency and the two chambers of Congress, and in both cases it was terrible news for stocks.

"The only examples of a Republican President who controlled both the House and the Senate before the midterm elections, but lost control of the House, while maintaining control of the Senate, include only William Taft and Herbert Hoover," Nautilus Investment Research said in a note sent out to clients on Monday.

"Hopefully comparisons to 1930 end there, as Herbert Hoover is forever associated with the Great Depression and a horrific Bear Market."

Hoover oversaw a more than 40% stock-market wipeout in the year following the 1930 midterm election while the decline after Taft's 1910 midterm election was a more manageable 5.5%. 

Wall Street says it's different this time

But Wall Street strategists aren't worried about a sell-off if the House flips blue this time around, as the change in Congress could help offset any damage caused by the trade war. 

"The stock market tends to like gridlock better because it takes away the extremes and does not disrupt the status quo," John Lynch, the chief investment strategist at LPL Financial, said in a note.

And a team at Deutsche Bank agreed. 

"Our base case of the Democrats taking over the House holds the potential to reduce downside risks from trade policy friction," according to a team of Deutsche Bank strategists led by Parag Thatte.

"We see a variety of possible channels through which the administration's agenda on trade is likely to be curtailed by a switch in majority. Congressional investigations and potential impeachment proceedings, even though nominal, would likely use up significant bandwidth while a growing number of Democrats and even Republicans are likely to attempt reducing Presidential power in dealing with trade.

"If trade frictions reduce, that allows the market focus to shift back on strong US growth; and also ease pressure on global growth and in our view would lead to a stronger eventual rally. The market is currently pricing in almost no growth implying significant scope for a catch up rally."

And that would be more in line with the Dow has performed, on average, in the year following a midterm election. 

"Using the Dow Industrials as a benchmark index because it predates the SP500, we can see that the Dow averages a +12.91% gain in the 12-months following a midterm election, generating a positive return 23 out of 27 times," Nautilus said. 

A gain of that magnitude over the next 12 months would mean the Dow would be trading at more than 28,500 by this time next year — almost 6% above the record high of 26,951 that was set at the beginning of October. 

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Custom software creator Engineer.AI has raised $29.5 million from Lakestar, Jungle Ventures, and SoftBank's AI-focused Deepcore fund.
• Engineer.AI makes it easy for people with modest budgets and limited technical know-how to commission a custom app, website, or other software from scratch.
• The startup uses AI to price its services and assign projects to its network of more than 30,000 engineers.

Engineer.AI, a startup that lets anyone create their own custom software, has raised $29.5 million in its first round of funding, led by Lakestar Ventures, Jungle Ventures, and SoftBank's Deepcore fund.

The Series A raise is notable for its size and for SoftBank's involvement. The Japanese firm has made waves by ploughing money into startups through its $100 billion Vision Fund, but it also has the newly established $52 million Deepcore fund.

According to Engineer.AI's British cofounder Sachin Dev Duggal, this is Deepcore's first non-Japanese investment. SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Engineer.AI's key product is its Builder tool, which is targeted at people who want to create an app, ecommerce site, marketplace, or website for their business but don't have the technical know-how or budget to commission developers and designers to build something bespoke. Duggal gives the example of someone running a French ski school with 200 instructors wanting a site and app that connects their different systems, but unable to afford the requisite $500,000 for custom software.

What is particularly clever about Engineer.AI is that it is efficient. It reuses different building blocks of code over and over again across its clients' different apps or services, meaning there's often no need to code major, expensive features from scratch, such as search. A one-off feature that would cost $30,000 to build from scratch can be offered at a tenth of the price to customers, because Engineer.AI can keep reusing the same building blocks of code. Duggal said the most reused building blocks are built by the top 1% of engineers on the company's network of developers.

"It's an assembly line for making software," he said. "It's reusable building blocks, like car manufacturing, and a lot of automation."

As users navigate through Builder and pick out different features for their app, site, or other software, the site uses a neural network to come up with a price. Depending on how fast customers need the project and where they want it built, the software can be cheap or expensive.

See also:The 25 most valuable US startups that failed this year

Another aspect of Engineer.AI's service is "BuilderCare", a kind of extended warranty for the software. It costs extra, a little like Apple's AppleCare for iPhones.

And who is actually doing all the building?

Duggal says Engineer.AI has 31,500 engineers on its network and almost 100 developer shops.

Asked how the concept is different to asking freelancers on Upwork to code something cheaply, he said: "We don't work with freelancers, we buy excess capacity from other developer shops. And there is a lot more control over the individual doing the work.

"Secondly, unlike something like Upwork, we don't rely on a user rating... the bigger score is our AI that grades the [engineer's] code. We pick the developer that will work on [the software] on your behalf. And we guarantee quality and price."

Engineer.AI plans to use the new funding to scale up. It currently has split headquarters in London and Los Angeles.

Join the conversation about this story »

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• Compression socks and leg sleeves are believed to have a wide range of benefits from increased blood circulation and muscle support to faster muscle recovery and reduced soreness.
• Based in South Florida, Zensah has become one of the top names in compression wear for athletes.

   

• I liked the 

  Z

  ensah 

  Compression Leg Sleeves because they fit my thick calves snugly, stayed in place, and appeared to ward off lower-leg muscle fatigue.

• The Zensah Leg Sleeves are priced fairly for compression wear (starting at $18.98 for a pair on Amazon with most styles costing around $35) and are designed to last up to eight months.

Are you on your feet all day? Do you suffer from lower leg soreness? Are you prone to lower leg injuries?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then compression socks and sleeves were made for you. Frequent travelers, nurses, servers, pregnant women, and athletes are some of the main consumers snatching this tight-fitting legwear off the shelves. As an athlete, I own several compression leg sleeves and socks because they feel good on my sore muscles.

After I wrote a guide exploring the best compression socks, Zensah, a Florida-based company founded in 2004, sent me their compression leg sleeves for free to test out. Below, I will look at what style options are available, how they performed, and whether you should consider picking up a pair.

My first experiences with the Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves

Zensah offers three sizes of leg sleeves based on the circumference of your calf at its thickest point while at rest. Extra-Small/Small is meant for calves 9.5" to 12.5" in circumference. Small/Medium is for 12.5" to 15". And, Large/Extra-Large is designed for calves between 15" and 18.5" round. Thanks to a lifetime of leg days, I have 17" calves and chose the Large/Extra-Large. These sleeves are 11" long, while the other two sizes are 9.5" long.

It's important to choose compression wear that looks good and fits your style so that you will be motivated to wear it. Fortunately, Zensah currently offers 42 different style options, including neon pink, navy, white, and a fun beer mug pattern. They sent me black, which isn't exciting but goes well with just about any outfit.

The materials vary drastically depending on whether you choose a solid color or heather color. The sleeves I tested are 90% nylon and 10% spandex. This "Zensah Fabric" is designed to regulate your temperature, keep away odors, and wick moisture. And, in my experience, the sleeves delivered on all of these claims.

The sleeves provide graduated compression — they're tighter at the bottom than at the top. The raised "micro-ribbing" targets and stabilizes the calf muscles. And, when you order these sleeves from Amazon, you can return them for free within 30 days of your purchase. This is helpful if they don't fit right.

How the compression leg sleeves performed

The L/XL fit great. It hugged my calf snuggly and provided compression from just above the ankles to just below the knee. Like any good compression wear, it took a little bit of elbow grease to get the sleeves on, but they would stay in place.

I wore the leg sleeves while cycling and during roller derby bouts. During one cycling workout, I set a personal best one-mile split time. In roller derby, I wore them in my first bout back after a knee injury and performed well enough to receive a player of the game award. My background in science won't allow me to say these performances were the product of the leg sleeves, but they may have helped.

I like wearing compression leg sleeves rather than compression socks during competition because any slight difference in how my skates fit can lead to blisters and affect my ability to make micro adjustments in my movements. Consequently, I always wear thin socks made of a cotton/polyester/spandex blend. Compression socks are usually thicker and made of other materials. I appreciated that the sleeves allowed me to wear whatever socks I wanted.

The leg sleeves appear to be quite durable. The pair I tested didn't get any holes, loose threads, or fade. Though Zensah recommends machine washing cold and tumble drying, I'm not sophisticated enough to separate my laundry so I washed and dried the sleeves with my other clothes on medium heat. I don't recommend doing this if you want to extend the life of your sleeves, but after about a dozen washes, I didn't notice any negative effects on the performance and appearance of the sleeves.

Some concerns about the leg sleeves

Though I had a just-right fit, this won't be the case for everyone. If you are especially short and have thick calves or are incredibly tall and have narrow calves, you may have a hard time finding a Zensah size that fits you. The sleeves designed for your calf circumference may be too long or too short for your lower leg, which leads to a less than optimal fit. Fortunately, if the sleeves don't fit, you can get a refund.

Zensah does not appear to give a compression rating for the leg sleeves. I mention this because some consumers find this number useful, though personal fit, construction, and material can cause two sleeves with the same compression rating to feel drastically different.

Bottom line

If you're looking to get a leg up on the competition, the Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves may be worth a try. It's hard to say if they improved my performance compared to not having sleeves. But, I didn't notice any significant muscle fatigue while wearing them.

If you suffer from shin splints, calf cramps, or you notice lower-leg fatigue affecting your athletic performance, I recommend giving the Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves a shot.

Buy the Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves on Amazon starting at $18.98 a pair.

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• Distributors like AT&T and Hulu have started talking about improving the margins of their digital TV packages by cutting channels out of the bundle.
• UBS analysts think Viacom is a "prime target" to have its channels dropped from DirecTV Now.
• While UBS sees near-term pain for Viacom, the analysts were positive about the company's overall turnaround efforts.

When both AT&T and Hulu started talking about cutting down the size of their digital TV packages to get better margins last month, people in the industry started asking: "What channels are on the chopping block?"

In a new report distributed Monday, UBS analysts pointed out one media company that should be worried about AT&T’s cost-cutting rhetoric: Viacom.

On its recent earnings call, AT&T brass said the telecom giant was reevaluating the programming lineup on its DirecTV Now service. UBS predicted that this means AT&T will launch a higher-priced digital TV package and then reposition DirecTV Now as a "skinnier bundle."

UBS said if this happens, Viacom channels like MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central will likely be cut from DirecTV Now (which currently has about 2 million subscribers) and remain only on the new, higher-priced service.

"We see Viacom as a prime target of this re-tiering given the renewal, a lack of 'must have' content, low viewership relative to affiliate revenues, and lack of carriage on other vMVPDs [digital TV packages]," UBS wrote. "An unfavorable deal for Viacom could have long-tailed negative impacts."

At a basic level, UBS thinks Viacom will be hampered by two factors in negotiating with AT&T. First, relative to how much pay-TV subscribers actually watch Viacom channels, it charges high per-subscriber fees to distributors like AT&T.

Here is a chart from UBS that shows this, particularly in relation to Discovery, a media company also oriented around unscripted TV shows (as opposed to sports, which has a different value calculation):

Second, since many other digital TV packages — YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, and PlayStation Vue — already do not carry Viacom channels, it's unlikely DirecTV Now subscribers will flee to other bundles if Viacom gets dropped.

These two factors mean that Viacom will not be in a good negotiating position with AT&T.

So what does UBS expect the damage to be?

It's now expecting total affiliate revenue of $3.74 billion in 2020, down from $3.92 billion in 2017, a decline of $178 million. 

This isn’t a death sentence for Viacom

Though Viacom may be in for some near-term pain as the traditional pay-TV ecosystem continues to decline, UBS isn’t suggesting Viacom is in a death spiral. In fact, UBS said it remained positive about overall turnaround efforts at Viacom.

"Viacom has made significant progress on its turnaround efforts, including returning Paramount to profitability (expected in FY19), expanding its advanced advertising business and accelerating growth in live events and TV production," UBS wrote. "While we expect the company to continue to execute on these priorities, the vast majority of Viacom's earnings still come from the traditional pay-TV ecosystem. We expect Viacom to revise guidance for US advertising growth in FY19 due to worsening ratings headwinds."

Fundamentally, Viacom is stuck between its past as a cable network and a potentially bright future as a supplier of TV and movie content to emerging streaming platforms.

In June, MTV launched MTV Studios to make shows for streaming platforms, and the company announced last month that new seasons of "The Real World" would appear on Facebook Watch. Paramount will also make a sequel to Netflix’s smash hit "To All the Boys I've Loved Before."

Viacom has irons in the fire and a deep catalog of intellectual property that it can use to create new shows and movies, or reboot old ones (hello, new "Jersey Shore"). But it's tough math when you are fighting against the secular decline of cable and satellite-TV packages.

That’s one reason why UBS still sees a merger with CBS as the “most likely outcome” for the company.

"A deal would provide Viacom with more negotiating leverage with distributors while giving CBS more content to feed it growing [direct-to-consumer] platforms," UBS wrote. It could hold its own in the present ecosystem while preparing for the future one.

Viacom declined to comment.

If you have any information about Viacom, DirecTV Now, or vMVPDs in general, contact the author at nmcalone@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: Elizabeth Olsen's 'Sorry for Your Loss' deserves better than becoming a high-profile Facebook flop

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NOW WATCH: Everything you need to know about 'Red Dead Redemption 2' — 2018's most anticipated video game

Box CEO Aaron Levie may have made his millions helping companies move their data to the cloud, but the 33-year-old founder still takes the time to sit down and read a book.

It's up to Levie, the leader of a 1,960-person workforce at a company that has $500 million in annual revenue and is valued at $3.75 billion, to set the tone at Box. So even though Levie is known widely as the funniest CEO in enterprise tech, it's no surprise that his books of choice are actually quite serious.

Speaking on stage last week at BoxWorks, Box's annual user conference, Levie shared two books he believes all the attendees should read and absorb.

Here's what he suggested:

SEE ALSO: Investors used to balk at startups for software developers — but after Microsoft bought GitHub for $7.5 billion, they’re all in

"Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility" by Patty McCord (2018)

Patty McCord, the former chief talent officer at Netflix, gives her take on recruiting, motivating, and building great teams in "Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility."

McCord, who worked at Netflix from 1998 to 2012, stands against the old style of corporate human resources, which she sees as a waste of time. Instead, according to the book's description on Amazon, she "advocates practicing radical honesty in the workplace, saying goodbye to employees who don't fit the company's emerging needs, and motivating with challenging work, not promises, perks, and bonus plans."

Levie isn't the only person in Silicon Valley to take notice. McCord has gotten a lot of buzz since the book came out in early 2018. Arianna Huffington and Laurene Powell Jobs both endorsed McCord's book, as did Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

Read Business Insider's interview with Patty McCord here.

"The Great Game of Business" by Jack Stack (1992)

"The Great Game of Business" first came to Levie's attention because McCord referenced it in "Powerful." It may have come out in 1992, but it continues to be influential today.

In the book, the longtime entrepreneur Jack Stack touts the idea of "open-book management," a style of office culture that loops everyone into the finances of the company so they know how things are going every step of the way. Stack's model of transparency and engagement was inspired by workers on the factory floor at International Harvester, which was going "down the tubes," the book's summary says.

But the book has found its way into the heart of Silicon Valley leaders as well. Stack, the founder and CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation, even managed to create a whole franchise around it, including coaches, classes, and events designed to teach the model.

• CVS beat on both the top and bottom lines, and reiterated its full-year guidance.
• The company said its proposed acquisition of Aetna will close before Thanksgiving.
• Shares jumped as much as 3% before Tuesday's opening bell.
• Watch CVS trade live.

CVS posted third-quarter earnings that beat on both profits and sales, sending shares up as much as 3% before Tuesday's opening bell. The company also reiterated its full-year guidance.

Here are the key numbers, comparing to estimates from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg:

• Earnings per share:$1.73 ($1.71 expected)
• Revenue:$47.3 billion ($47.2 billion expected)
• Same-store sales growth:+6.7% (+5.6% expected)
• Same-store prescription volume growth: +9.2%
• Full-year EPS guidance: $6.89 to $7.08 ($7.05 expected)

“Strong revenue and adjusted EPS, along with significant cash flow year-to-date, demonstrate our success in driving value," CEO Larry Merlo said in a press release.

"Our year-to-date results continue to validate our confidence in the strength of our model. As we approach the closing of our transformative acquisition of Aetna, our integration teams are making great progress to assure that once final approvals are obtained, we can begin to execute on our integration plans."

CVS announced last month that it has entered into an agreement with the US Department of Justice that allows it to proceed with its proposed acquisition of Aetna, the nation’s third-largest health insurance company, on the condition that Aetna sells its individual standalone Medicare Part D prescription-drug business.

Aetna has found a buyer for the business — a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans — and so the transaction is expected to close prior to Thanksgiving, CVS said in Tuesday's press release.

CVS was up 3% this year through Monday.

Read more stories on CVS:

• CVS and Aetna are gaining ground after their $69 billion merger gets the green light
• VS is fending off Amazon in drug delivery

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NOW WATCH: 7 places you can't find on Google Maps

• Election Day for the hotly contested midterm races across the country is on Tuesday, November 6, 2018.
• Though polls are generally open all day and into the evening, states vary on opening and closing times for polling places.
• Business Insider has broken down the times by state in the chart below.

Polling places will be open nationwide to the public for Election Day Tuesday, November 6.

Though polls are generally open from early in the morning into the evening, open and close times vary by state.

To make sure you don't run out of time to make your voice heard, Business Insider has broken down the rules by state in the chart below.

If you are in line to vote when the polls close, stay there. States have laws requiring people be allowed to cast their ballots if they were in line.

See between which times you should plan to get to the polls:

You can find the times for New Hampshire polling places in this document here.

If you are in line to vote when your polling place closes, and anyone tries to keep you from voting, contact the Department of Justice Civil Rights Department by phone (1-800-253-3931), email (voting.section@usdoj.gov), or submit a complaint on their website.

You can also call the non-partisan voter protection hotline (from groups including the ACLU and Rock the Vote) at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) if your rights have been violated, or you saw someone else's were. You can also text "OUR VOTE" to 97779.

Read more of Business Insider's 2018 Midterm Election coverage:

• All the dates, deadlines, and rules you need to know before voting in the 2018 Midterm Elections
• SENATE BATTLEGROUND MAP: The race for control of the Senate is as tight as it can be
• Here is the last day you can register to vote in every state
• You can take time off work to vote in 30 US states — but you're out of luck in the rest
• See if you need to bring an ID to vote in this handy map breaking down all the state rules
• You can't take a 'ballot selfie' in 27 states — see where it's illegal to take a photo in the voting booth
• Here are the deadlines in every state to vote absentee in the 2018 midterm elections
• The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come — and how far we still have to go

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NOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote

• Amazon is reportedly nearing a deal to move part of its second headquarters,HQ2, to New York City, in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. 
• New York City's Long Island City pitch to Amazon promised the company 13 million square feet of real estate, a fun neighborhood, and speedy commutes. 
• The state has also reportedly offered incentives that could include hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies, as well as more tongue-in-cheek promises such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo changing his name to "Amazon Cuomo" and renaming a polluted creek the "Amazon River." 

Amazon is reportedly nearing a deal to move part of its second headquarters to New York City, in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, The New York Times reported on Monday. The other part of HQ2 will reportedly be in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia. 

The deal seems to have taken months of deliberating on Amazon's part, as well as plenty of promises from New York politicians. 

"I am doing everything I can," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters on Monday, in reference to his attempts to woo Amazon. "We have a great incentive package." 

"I'll change my name to Amazon Cuomo if that's what it takes,"Cuomo added. 

According to The New York Times and The New York Daily News, these incentives potentially include hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies.

From New York City's initial talking points to more recent reports, here is what we know about what New York has offered Amazon to close the HQ2 deal for Long Island City. 

SEE ALSO: People are furious about Amazon's reported decision to split its HQ2 between New York City and Virginia after months of deliberation

A "creative, mixed-use neighborhood."

New York City's initial proposal to Amazon, submitted in October 2017, listed four potential HQ2 sites: Midtown West, Long Island City, Brooklyn Tech Triangle, and Lower Manhattan. According to The Times, it seems that Long Island City has won out. 

The proposal described the neighborhood, in Queens, New York, as a "creative, mixed-use neighborhood with a rich legacy as the city's industrial innovation center." The proposal also highlighted the neighborhood's more than 150 restaurants, bars, and cafes, as well as its art galleries, museums, and theatres. 

More than 13 million square feet of real estate.

Real estate — at lower prices than in other boroughs of New York City — was a key part of the Long Island City pitch. The neighborhood has been swiftly growing in recent years, with 41 new apartment buildings constructed since 2010, The Times reports. 

Speedy commutes.

The Long Island City pitch promised Amazon that workers would have short commutes and that the airport is just minutes away. According to the proposal, getting to LaGuardia Airport from Long Island City takes 25 minutes by public transportation and 15 minutes by car; John F. Kennedy Airport supposedly takes 45 minutes. 

As for commutes, the proposal promises a five-minute trip to the Brooklyn G train, 15 minutes to Midtown New York, and 45 minutes on the LIRR to Nassau County on Long Island. Cornell Tech, located on Roosevelt Island, is just a five-minute ferry ride. 

Last week, New York City released a proposal that would add more transportation options to Long Island City, including a potential new subway stop.

"Work with M.T.A./L.I.R.R. and Amtrak to study the feasibility of creating a new rail station in Sunnyside Yard at Queens Boulevard," the city's plan states, according to The Times.

• With the 2018 midterm elections upon us, it's not too late to make a plan to vote to make sure your Election Day goes off without a hitch.
• Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Polls generally close around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. local time, but the full list is below.
• Here's everything you need to know about your state's voter registration deadlines, when your ballot is due if you'll be voting absentee, whether you can take time off work to vote, whether you can take a ballot selfie, and when the polls open and close in your state.

With the 2018 midterm elections upon us, now is the perfect time to start planning when and how you'll vote, whether you plan to head to the polls in person on November 6 or send in an absentee ballot before then.

A 2010 experimental study found that voter turnout was up to 9% higher among people who made a plan to vote before Election Day compared to those who did not.

Since every state has different requirements and deadlines, informing yourself about voting in your state to make sure you won't be blindsided by unexpected poll closing hours or registration deadlines will pay off when Election Day comes around.

Here's everything you need to know about your state's voter registration deadlines, when your ballot is due if you'll be voting absentee, and when the polls open and close in your state, if you plan to vote in person.

When the polls open and close in every state:

While most states close the polls somewhere between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., almost every state has laws requiring that as long as you got in line while the polls were still open, you have to be allowed to cast a ballot if you're in line when they close.

If you're in line when the polls close and are told to leave or have any problems voting, you can call the nonpartisan voter-protection hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for assistance.

If you'll be working on Election Day and won't be able to vote before or after work, you may be allowed to take time off work to vote.

You can register to vote on Election Day in 16 states:

While voter registration deadlines have passed in most states, there's still time to register if you live in North Carolina or one of the 16 states, plus the District of Columbia, that allows voters to register on Election Day.

Since North Dakota has no voter registration, you don't need to do anything advance besides bring an ID to the polls. (Keep reading below to more learn specifics about voter ID laws).

You can get time off from work to go to the polls in 30 states:

If your work schedule will make it difficult for you to vote on November 6, you may be able to take time off from work to vote depending on where you live.

Thirty states currently have laws requiring employers to give employees either paid or unpaid time off from work to vote on Election Day.

But many states have additional restrictions giving employers discretion over what hours workers can leave to vote and/or requiring employees to obtain prior permission, so be sure to check your state's requirements and discuss taking time off with your boss well in advance of Election Day.

• Chinese authorities in Beijing and Shanghai say they can now identify people just by their walking style and silhouette.
• "Gait recognition" technology has already been rolled out, and is an improvement over facial recognition, the Associated Press reported. 
• The software, Watrix, works by scanning a person and creating a model stored on a database.
• "It can’t be fooled by simply limping, walking with splayed feet or hunching over," Watrix CEO Huang Yongzhen said.
• The software can identify people from 50 meters away, even with their backs turned or faces covered, he said.

China has rolled out surveillance software in Beijing and Shanghai which authorities say can identify people from their walking style, even with their backs turned and faces hidden.

The CEO of Watrix, the company behind the technology, says it will fix problems with facial recognition software, which relies on close-up, high-quality images to match people, the Associated Press reported. 

The software takes a digital model of a person's silhouette and walking style from surveillance video and then creates a 3D model of a person's style and stance.

It identifies step length, stride length, cadence, speed, dynamic base, progression line, foot angle, hip angle, and squat performance, The Asia Times reported. 

Security footage is then fed through the software and it will match people's walks to the database, Watrix CEO Huang Yongzhen said to AP on Wednesday.

In practice, the software takes 10 minutes to search through one hour of surveillance video and make a connection.

Huang told AP that his software can identify people from up to 50 meters (165 feet) away, and is 94% accurate.

Huang said: "You don’t need people’s cooperation for us to be able to recognize their identity. Gait analysis can’t be fooled by simply limping, walking with splayed feet or hunching over, because we’re analyzing all the features of an entire body."

Huang also told the state-controlled People's Daily newspaper: "A suspect may never be aware that he has been tracked by the system until he is hunted down,"The Asia Times reported.

Read more: China's 'Big Brother' surveillance technology isn't nearly as all-seeing as the government wants you to think.

China's government is also collecting voice samples from Chinese citizens so they can identify people through their speech, Human Rights Watch reported in 2017. The report says that Chinese police took 70,000 voice samples from Anhui Province residents in eastern China, where trials were taking place. 

Voice recognition as a method of identification is tiny in comparison to facial recognition, and Chinese police are thought to have one billion faces on record. 

China has been increasing surveillance efforts in the Xinjiang region as part of the continued crack down on the Uighur Muslims population, many of whom have been sent to re-education camps.

Huang thinks that gait recognition can be used for other things too, like spotting elderly people who have fallen down in the street. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Megyn Kelly in 2017: 'I regret a lot' of the controversial stuff I've said on live television

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• There are plenty of online mattress startups that make it easy to find a bed without needing to trek to a brick-and-mortar store.
• Saatva Mattress offers alternatives to the bed-in-a-box memory foam mattresses that are typical of most online mattress companies.
• The Luxury Firm mattress (starting at $599 for a twin) is the company's most popular for its just-right "Goldilocks" combination of comfort and support at a competitive price.

Just because brick-and-mortar mattress stores are taking a back seat to the popularity of online mattress shopping doesn't mean you're limited to the "bed in a box" experience. Whether you're suffering from back pain and looking for a mattress with more support, or memory foam just isn't your jam, the Saatva line of mattresses are a great solution if you prefer a more traditional innerspring feel.

There are three comfort levels to choose from: Plush Soft, Luxury Firm, and Firm. The Luxury Firm is touted as their best-selling model, so I put it to the test to see if it lived up to the promise of providing a "perfect balance of comfort with support" that "assures proper spinal alignment."

While anything would have been a step up from the pillow-top hand-me-down mattress we had been sleeping on, I was definitely impressed with both the quality of the Saatva Luxury Firm and the comfort it provided, as well as the customer service.

The white glove delivery service and the offer to remove our old mattress at no extra charge was a nice touch. We decided to hold on to our old mattress for the time being, but the delivery guys were happy to move it to another bedroom of our home. If you do plan on moving this mattress, it's definitely a two-person job as the coil-on-coil construction does give it more heft than a memory foam mattress.

As first impressions go, the Luxury Firm made a great one. As soon as my boyfriend and I laid down, we noticed the mattress was comfortable, yet supportive. It doesn't allow you to sink in like a memory foam mattress would, but this is a great option for those who prefer the feeling of being suspended on top of the mattress. The support didn't waver, even as I rolled over toward the edge of the mattress, which is ideal if you plan to share this with a significant other. There is some motion transference with the Luxury Firm, but most times it wasn't noticeable enough for me to wake up in the middle of the night as my partner rolled over — which says a lot since I'm a light sleeper. After testing this for several weeks, our initial impression didn't change.

There's no doubt that this mattress has changed the way we both sleep.

The "Goldilocks" combination of comfort and support is largely thanks to the multiple layers that make up this mattress. It starts with a base of steel coils, and on top of this are individually wrapped "comfort coils" that are designed to respond and contour to the body. This gives the mattress its responsive feel, and helps promote airflow throughout the mattress so if you do sleep hot, you shouldn't be overheating during the night. These are covered with a layer of memory foam to provide pressure relief and reduce stress in the lower back. Foam-encased edge support creates a supportive surface no matter where you lay. All of this is topped off with an organic cotton euro pillow top that provides additional comfort without taking away from the firm feel of support.  

We can both speak to the decrease in back pain we've both felt since using this mattress.

My boyfriend, who sleeps religiously on his back, says, "My back pain is gone and this has completely eliminated the 2 to 3 a.m. wake-ups I used to have in the night." I'm typically a restless sleeper, but I've found I definitely sleep more soundly through the night, and I've been able to sleep on my stomach (my preferred sleep position) all through the night with no discomfort. The Luxury Firm is designed to be compatible with different sleeping styles. Some side sleepers may find the Luxury Firm to be a bit too hard for their liking, so the Plush Soft may be a better option if you're looking for a softer mattress but don't want to give up that innerspring feel.

It comes as no surprise why the Luxury Firm is the best-seller — and we aren't the only ones who love this mattress.

Sleepopolis says, "By combining the coil-on-coil structure with the quilted cover, Saatva has created a feeling akin to that of a mattress in a high-end hotel."

This reviewer from Mattress Clarity praises the quality as well as the value saying, "Considering the durable construction and high-quality materials, this is quite the value. If you're looking for a long-lasting mattress but don't want to break the bank, the Saatva could be the mattress for you."

Some added bonuses?

Saatva is an eco-conscious company that uses environmentally friendly materials for all of their mattresses, and they're also made in the USA. Each mattress comes with a 15-year warranty, and Saatva also offers a 120-night sleep trial. If you do find the Luxury Firm isn't right for you, you can return it with no questions asked. The Luxury Firm is available in a full range of sizes, from twin to California king.

Buy the Saatva Luxury Firm Mattress starting at $599 for a twin.

SEE ALSO: I switched to a Casper adjustable bed frame — and it relieved both my swollen legs and nighttime indigestion

SEE ALSO: These sheets are one of the best purchases I’ve ever made — here’s why

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Can you smell it in the air? That potent stench of gun smoke and manure is a sure sign that you've been playing too much "Red Dead Redemption 2." We're waist deep in blockbuster video game season, folks.

Huge new entries from already massively popular franchises are the standouts this year, and "Red Dead Redemption 2" (seen above) is the heaviest heavy of them all. The long-awaited sequel to Rockstar Games' brilliant original "Red Dead Redemption" is a kind of like "Grand Theft Auto" meets "The Magnificent Seven"— a fitting game from the folks behind the "Grand Theft Auto" series. 

But this fall isn't all cowboys and train robberies.

Below, we've put together the 16 biggest games of the biggest game release season of the year:

SEE ALSO: A $100 mini version of the original PlayStation is on the way with 20 games packed in — here are the games included

1. "Madden NFL 19"

New year, new "Madden" game. 2018 is no different, and the latest entry in the football simulation series is available to buy now.

A handful of changes are being made this time around, like every year, but let's be honest: You're not buying "Madden" because of changes. Is anyone? "Madden NFL 19" is simply the latest iteration of a formula that's been working for over 25 years, which is exactly what it's supposed to be.

Release Date: August 10

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

2. "Marvel's Spider-Man"

The new "Spider-Man" game — a PlayStation 4 exclusive game — features a massive New York City that you can swing around, with plenty of enemies to pummel along the way. It's focused on re-creating the Spider-Man experience as closely as possible.

This is the classic Peter Parker/Spider-Man you already know and love.

"Our Spider-Man features a 23-year-old Peter Parker who has become a masterful Spider-Man," the game's creative director, Bryan Intihar, said of the game. "While he may be more experienced, Peter and Spider-Man's worlds continue to collide as he tries to juggle them."

Read our review of "Spider-Man" right here.

Release Date: September 7

Platforms: PlayStation 4

3. "NBA 2K19"

For the 2oth anniversary of the NBA 2K series, newly minted Los Angeles Laker LeBron James is gracing the cover.

As per usual, "NBA 2K19" is a gorgeous basketball simulation — the basketball equivalent of "Madden" for football. It sets the standard for sim basketball games. Also like "Madden," it doesn't change too much from year to year. The focus is on updating the game to be a strong reflection of the current NBA, and it consistently delivers on that. Expect "NBA 2K19" to continue that tradition.

Read more about "NBA 2K19" right here.

Release Date: September 11

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch

It's no secret that losing weight is big business. And when you consider that an estimated 45 million Americans are on a diet at any given time, it comes as no surprise that weight loss from dieting is often temporary. That's why choosing a nutrition program that focuses on permanent changes rather than the number on the scale is so important.

But how do you know if your weight loss is on the right track? INSIDER asked the experts to give us the inside scoop on the 10 signs your weight loss is temporary.

Your diet is too restrictive.

Often the first sign that your weight loss is temporary is following a diet that's not sustainable. "If you decided to lose weight by crash dieting, fasting or cutting major food groups out of your diet, you might lose weight, however when you resume a more typical eating plan, the weight will return," Dr. Olivia Rose, ND told INSIDER.

Plus, if you go too low on your macronutrients and calories; your weight loss won't be sustainable. "Your metabolism will slow, you'll require less and less food to sustain your weight, and you'll eventually begin to experience increased hunger, which could lead to a binge," Monica Auslander Moreno, MS, RD, nutrition consultant for RSP Nutrition told INSIDER.

You're irritable all the time.

Losing weight is supposed to make you feel better, right? Well, if your weight loss is happening at a fast and furious pace, you're more prone to being irritable.

"Irritability comes with the territory of weight loss for some people, especially when the diet isn't balanced with enough protein and carbohydrate and when you're depriving yourself of the foods you enjoy," said Rose.

You haven't dealt with the mental and emotional aspects of your weight gain.

If you have physical or psychological trauma you're living with, or if you're stuck in an emotional eating pattern, Rose said this can be a sign that you may lose weight temporarily on a specific plan, but you may gain back the weight once your weight loss plan is over.

"It's always beneficial to seek out a cognitive behavior therapist who can help you with strategies to combat emotional eating patterns so that your weight loss can be part of a more permanent lifestyle," she added.

India said on Monday its first domestically built nuclear-powered submarine had recently completed a "deterrence patrol," giving it the capability to fire nuclear weapons from land, air, and sea in the event of any "misadventure" by enemies.

With nuclear-armed China to its north and nuclear-armed Pakistan to its west — both of which India has fought wars with— India's nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, said the INS Arihant was a "fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail."

He did not elaborate.

"Amid an increase in the number of nuclear weapons in our surroundings, a credible nuclear deterrence is extremely important for our country's security," he told the crew of the submarine in a speech televised nationwide.

"Arihant is an open warning for the country's enemies, for the foes of peace: Don't try any misadventure against India."

Modi said on Twitter that the "success of the INS Arihant enhances India's security needs." Calling it "a major achievement," Modi added that the sub would protect Indians from "external threats and contribute to the atmosphere of peace in the region."

"India's nuclear triad will be an important pillar of global peace and stability," the prime minister said.

Though India's relations with China are warming, particularly in the area of trade, ties with Pakistan have nosedived under Modi, who has adopted a more assertive strategy towards the arch rival.

Modi said a successful month-long patrol by Arihant, which was commissioned in 2016, had completed India's goal of having the capacity to deliver nuclear warheads with aircraft, missiles and submarines, 20 years after conducting its first nuclear tests.

India has said little about the operational details of the Arihant's first deterrent patrol, other than that it lasted a little more than a month. New Delhi also hasn't said what kind of submarine-launched ballistic missiles the sub carried or if they were mated with nuclear warheads, according to The Diplomat.

The Arihant is the first of its class of ballistic-missile subs, with three or four more expected. It can carry up to 12 K-15 short-range ballistic missiles, which have an estimated range of about 460 miles, or four K-4 intermediate-range ballistic missiles, which have an estimated range of 2,200 miles. Both missiles are nuclear-capable.

The Arihant was not designed for regular patrols and has largely been used for training. The sub also severly damaged in early 2017, when an external hatch was left unsecured while the boat submerged, allowing water to flood the sub.

The next sub in the class, to be named the Arighant, was launched in November 2017 and is expected to be commissioned in 2020 or 2021. It will have double the missile tubes of the Arihant and is expected to be quieter. 

India is also working on acquiring nonnuclear subs to bolster its undersea forces. Delhi has grown increasingly concerned about Chinese submarines operating in the Indian Ocean. India is also developing its presence in the area and considering buying moreP-8I maritime patrol aircraft. 

(Reporting for Reuters by Krishna N. Das)

SEE ALSO: Germany's military is about to get a big spending boost

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