January 24, 2019 at 12:10PM by CWC In these quick-swiping times, all relationship types seem to be on the table. Whether it’s a casual “see ya when I see ya” deal or an attached-at-the-hip romance you crave—well, you do you. But sometimes, what you think you want in a romantic sitch might not match up with what will actually work best for you. You say you want someone who’ll join you for spin class, Netflix marathons, and everything in between, but your new beau’s constant company is driving you insane. What gives? Your Myers-Briggs personality type could be the key you need to unlock your particular relationship needs. (Don’t know what your type is? Read this and come back!) Every personality is looking for something just a little bit different: ISFPs and ENTPs are deeply independent, for example, whereas ESTJs and INFJs prefer tighter bonds with their partners and more time spent together. What does your type need? Keep reading to see what your Myers-Briggs type most needs in a relationship. W+G Creative ISTJ You value: dedication This type’s mantra may as well just be: “With hard work, anything is possible.” Just like the energy they put in at work and the value they place on friends and family, ISTJs are committed to their partners—and they need to find someone similarly dedicated to maintaining a strong relationship. Actions are everything to an ISTJ; consider them investments in a long-term future. Small efforts every day will encourage the ISTJ to keep their relationships strong. ISFJ
Day: January 24, 2019
This black-and-white doodle perfectly captures my close relationships
January 24, 2019 at 12:14PM by CWC When I woke up this morning, I really didn’t expect to get emotional over a few squiggly lines. But here I am, red-eyed and very much so feeling a certain type of way. Over the years, our relationships go through plenty of changes, and looking at them all laid out so simply is almost too much for my heart to handle. View this post on Instagram Closeness lines over time A post shared by Olivia de Recat (@drawingolive) on Jan 23, 2019 at 6:56am PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js Cartoonist Olivia de Recat‘s drawing entitled “Closeness Lines Over Time” struck a cord with me for a handful of reasons. The simplistic visualization beautifully captures the lifespan of common relationships—those with family, friends, therapists, pets, and first loves. In the course of our lives, some stay close, some drift apart, and some turn into straight-up scribbles. And because relationships can be incredibly fragile, I’m reminded to appreciate every single one of them. Here’s how my most personal relationships sync with this graphic. 1. My best friends View this post on Instagram So, so thankful to have these people in my life. Another amazing reunion with the BFFs! If only it could be more than once a year. A post shared by TEHRENE FIRMAN (@tehrene) on Dec 24, 2017 at 6:49am PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js The drawing hits on two important types of friendship: the best friends we’ve had since childhood and those we made in college. But for me,
Oh, so that’s why magnesium sprays make my skin so itchy
January 24, 2019 at 11:25AM by CWC Spritzing magnesium on your skin can have countless benefits—from soothing sore muscles to helping you fall fast asleep. But if you’ve ever sprayed it on yourself as a way to drift off to dreamland, you likely know that there’s one pretty pesky side effect associated with the stuff: itchy AF skin. The mineral, explains Stephanie Morimoto, owner and CEO of Asutra, can absorb through your skin, which makes using it in the form of a Magnesium Oil Spray ($12) an alternative to incorporating it into your diet (albeit not an exclusive one ATM, according to science). “Your skin will easily absorb it and deliver much-needed magnesium to your bloodstream and cells. Topical magnesium bypasses the digestive tract, making the nutrient more bioavailable without overdoing it.” But if you’re supplementing with a spritz or spraying it as a cue for your body to wind down at the end of the day, you’re likely familiar that the stuff tingles on skin. There are two schools of thought as to why this happens: Many people, including Morimoto, believe the theory that when magnesium levels are low in the body, tingling occurs and subsists over time as your supplies are restored (though it hasn’t been studied). “If your body’s cellular magnesium levels are low and you apply magnesium oil directly onto your skin, it may sometimes sting a little, she says. “Over time and with gradual use, this sensation usually decreases.” Dermatologists, however, have a different theory as to why
Facebook made me want to bury my past—and in doing so, I almost lost sight of myself
January 24, 2019 at 09:21AM by CWC When I lost weight a decade ago—75 pounds—I did so in a public way, chronicling every ounce I took off for a national publication. Suddenly, the backhanded compliments I had received all my life—things like, “You have such a pretty face, if only you’d lose some weight”—were replaced by genuine praise, especially after my big reveal hit newsstands. I welcomed the kudos, but inside, I struggled with a self-imposed pressure to never be a “rebounder.” My desire to maintain my weight loss was complex: On the one hand, I had replaced self-sabotaging behaviors with healthier ones I felt good about, and I couldn’t deny that my confidence had improved. On the other, I was clinging to the external validation my new size engendered. After all, our society rewards people for having smaller bodies, and punishes people for having bigger ones—and after being punished in subtle and overt ways for so many years, I didn’t want to go back there. But, perhaps inevitably, all the pounds that initially came off didn’t stay away forever. I’ve played whack-a-mole with the same 20 or 30 pounds that pop up (and then go down) too many times to count. As I write this, I’m about 15 pounds up from my lowest weight. I was clinging to the external validation my new size engendered. After all, our society rewards people for having smaller bodies, and punishes people for having bigger ones—and after being punished in subtle and overt
Dear OB/GYN: Is it safe to skip the week if placebos when I’m on the pill?
January 24, 2019 at 09:11AM by CWC Instructions on a package of birth control pills are crystal clear. Take one “active” pill at the same time every day. And when you get to the row of seven with a slightly different hue (the so-called “reminder” pills), you’ll get your period. Easy, peasy. But on January 21, the United Kingdom’s Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) announced, “Women can safely take fewer (or no) hormone-free intervals to avoid monthly bleeds, cramps and other symptoms,” per a press release. On this side of the pond, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t set forth similar guidelines for birth control just yet, but I talked to Dr. Adeeti Gupta, MD, founder of Walk In GYN Care in New York City. She didn’t mince words. “It’s totally fine to skip the placebo week and go on straight to the next pack,” she says. Dr. Gupta does recommend taking a placebo week at least every three to four months so that your uterus can clean house, though. “Continuous suppression of estrogen and progesterone (which is what the birth control pills do), can also lead to severe vaginal dryness and decreased libido as well,” she adds. According to Planned Parenthood, the FDA has approved three synthetic birth control combination pills for the purpose of regulating menstruation on a quarterly (rather than monthly) basis—Seasonale, Seasonique, and Lybrel. Rather than a pack of 28 pills (which includes seven placebos), each package contains 84 days’ worth of active pills. Asking your
I gave my home a woo-woo makeover and now the magic happens in every room
January 24, 2019 at 08:59AM by CWC The other night I found myself sitting in front of a dream analyst (long story), relaying to her a particularly terrible, vivid, and generally ew dream from a while ago in which my molars cracked and crumbled one by one inside my mouth. The dream was, in a word, horrifying. And I wanted to know WTF was going on. A year ago, I never would have considered anything quite so mystical. But ever since my long-term boyfriend and I broke up, I’ve been embracing my woo-woo side, which has manifested in a delightfully Urban Outfitters-meets–Magickal Bookstore vibe in my apartment. I realize now that my molar dream was a very apt metaphor for how I was feeling at the time—it was like the foundation of my life had crumbled away, and I was struggling to find a sense of control. (Not coincidentally, that’s what the dream analyst said that my weird tooth dream symbolized.) See, I moved into my new place with zero furniture or decor—seriously, I didn’t even have a bed. There was something both romantic and terrifying about this, but that’s like every experience for a Pisces, am I right? On the one hand, this is my first time living along and I got to start over from scratch and decorate my space however I wanted. Without any furnishings, my apartment felt like a new beginning, a wealth of possibilities… but as I began to add essentials like a bed and
Jennifer Aniston’s trainer says you’re missing out on this one thing that gives you a better workout
January 24, 2019 at 08:19AM by CWC Last night, I worked out with Jennifer Aniston‘s boxing trainer. And after decades of thinking that I knew exactly what I was doing, I learned something game-changing about how you should be starting your sweat sesh. Yes, it’s great to get into a gym and jump right into your workout, but chances are your regimen could benefit from adding one essential step before you hit the weights: mobility training. “The foundation of working out is moving better, so you want to mobilize the body before you start any workout,” says Leyon Azubuike, boxing pro and founder of Gloveworx, an LA-based studio that just opened its first New York City location. Mobilizing your body before you move is sort of like a mix between a warmup and stretching, but it’s more focused on opening up your body, which is protracted after being hunched over at a desk all day. Azubuike likens your body to a car: “After typing all day and all of a sudden going to your workout, you just want to drive your car,” he says. “But the engine is cold in the car—it’s like going right from the room to driving 60 miles per hour. That’s not gonna work. You’ve got to warm the car up and then go.” So, without mobilization exercises, your workout is like igniting your body straight to fourth gear—and that leaves you more prone to injury. What exactly are mobilization exercises, you may ask? Good question. They
Giving poop is the new giving blood
January 24, 2019 at 08:08AM by CWC A side effect of donating blood is the self-satisfaction in knowing that you’ve done your duty to help save a life. The whole process only takes about 15 minutes and you’re rewarded with a juice box and free cookies. While giving blood is super important—and always will be—if you really want to go the extra mile, you should consider donating your poop for use in fecal transplants, too. According to a new report published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, “super-donors” are those whose microbiomes are swarming with good bacteria—ideal candidates to provide material for fecal transplants. With the help of these super poopers, doctors are working to eradicate irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, type 2 diabetes, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease, and certain cancers. Wondering what makes poop can so powerful? By now you’ve probably heard rumblings that the microbiome—a highly complex ecosystem of microbes living throughout the body—is the key to, well, everything. Too much bad bacteria can result in inflammation, which manifests in a variety of ways. In many cases, where antibiotics have failed, fecal microbiota transplantation has found success. “We know already that changes to the gut microbiome can contribute to disease, based on studies in germ-free mice as well as clinical improvement in human patients following restoration of the gut microbiome by transplanting stool from a healthy donor,” says senior author of the study Justin O’Sullivan, PhD. In fact, a fecal transplant has helped cure recurrent diarrheal infection
These 3 foods are *the worst* for your metabolism, according to Jillian Michaels
January 24, 2019 at 07:58AM by CWC When you take a look the ingredients that rev up your metabolism, a few stand out. Namely, fiber (particularly from “real” foods like fruits and veggies) and iodine-rich options like seaweed. For every metabolic superhero, though, there’s an alternative eat out there that works the opposite way, sabotaging your body’s calorie-burning prowess. “The two things that are predominantly in control of your metabolism are your endocrine system and your hormone balance,” says Jillian Michaels, creator of the My Fitness app and former trainer on The Biggest Loser. Thus, when you chow down on something that disturbs these things, your metabolism gets thrown for a loop, too. You may have already guessed some of the nutritional villains that Michaels names as the worst for your metabolism—cough, sugar, cough—but below you’ll get the full scoop from the celeb coach herself, with a bit of added insight from nutrition experts. Keep reading to find out which foods you should avoid for a healthy metabolism. Photo: Unsplash/Joanna Kosinska 1. Sugar Not-so-shockingly, Michaels names sugar as one of the greatest culprits of a sluggish metabolism. Why? After savoring a dessert, she explains, your blood sugar spikes. This causes your cortisol and insulin hormone levels to increase, in an effort to level things out—and it can eventually lead to metabolic disruption if left unchecked long-term. “Hormones work in a symphony, and there are tons of them,” explains Michaels. “So ultimately, when we’re looking at metabolism, we want to make sure that we have the right hormones
Don’t flake on finding out the difference between dandruff and dry scalp
January 24, 2019 at 07:55AM by CWC It’s the winter time, which means you get to witness the gorgeous sight of snowflakes dusting the streets, trees, buildings, and your, er, scalp and shoulders. Wait, could that just be dandruff instead? ‘Tis the season for not only flakes to fall from the sky, but from your head as well. To alleviate the mystery of the head flakes, I spoke to a hair pro to find out everything you need to know about flakes, which as it turns out, aren’t always dandruff. Commonly, there are a few types of flakes: those that result because a yeast called malassezia that feeds off greasy hair, those that happen because of a dry scalp, and even those that are due to a condition called seborrheic dermatitis. Here’s how to get to the bottom of what kind of flakes are happening and, beyond that, how to get rid of them. What is dandruff? Basically, those flakes are dead skin cells that fall off of your scalp. “Dander or dead skin cells appear in the hair and flake off in large numbers,” says Dominic Burg, PhD, chief scientist and hair biologist at Evolis Professional. “It’s quite normal to shed skin, as it’s constantly replenishing itself—but when this happens excessively, it can lead to visible flakes on the hair and clothing.” Dandruff itself though is caused by a yeast on the scalp. “There’s an organism that lives ubiquitously on all of our scalps—it’s M. Furfur or P. ovale, and