June 13, 2019 at 11:18AM by CWC Thanks in large part to pop culture, and in even larger part to certain female relatives of mine, I was brought up to embrace the idea that any sort of a “sex on first date” scenario is an absolute no-no. “Wait until the third date,” and, even worse, “Who’s gonna buy the cow if they can drink the milk for free?” were common refrains in my house, and that vibe definitely influenced my perceptions about sex throughout high school and college. As a single, sexually active adult, though, I can’t help but roll my eyes. I’ve been on 37 first dates over the course of the past year, and exactly two of them have ended with a man in my bed. Neither of those turned into bona fide relationships, but in both situations, I walked away feeling totally comfortable with my decision and—bonus—sexually satisfied. “Because we are marrying later than ever, fewer people are waiting till marriage to have their first sexual experiences,” sex and couples therapist Tammy Nelson, PhD, tells me. “This means that more women, as well as men, can make decisions based on what they find pleasurable, not just on what society expects from them.” She adds that while the current hook-up culture (thanks, Tinder) can be frustrating for some, others find it freeing (#itme). “There is less emotional risk when you can have sex without commitment, and that might mean include having sex with someone on a first date,”
Month: June 2019
How to make the Mediterranean diet work for you if you’re gluten-free
June 13, 2019 at 10:49AM by CWC As far as healthy eating plans go, the Mediterranean diet is the gold standard in many experts’ eyes. Its benefits are extensive and backed by years of research, it’s not overly restrictive, and it’s pretty easy to follow. Plus, who wouldn’t love a plan that encourages carbs and even a bit of wine now and then? However, the pro-carbs stance of the Med diet can make it a challenge for gluten-free eaters. If you have Celiac disease, you’re not about to partake in a pasta feed or even have a slice of whole grain toast with your breakfast—even though both things are approved on the diet—because you literally cannot digest those foods. Is there a way to benefit from this healthy eating plan while cutting out gluten? Absolutely! Here are some tips from dietitians on how to make it work for you. ad_intervals[‘400889_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘400889_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); 1. You can still eat carbs—just ditch the gluten “Carbohydrate-rich foods, including vegetables, fruit, beans/legumes, whole grains, and nuts, are nourishing sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Not only do these foods provide a source of energy, they’re also rich in microbiome friendly fiber to help support healthy digestion and overall health,” says EA Stewart, MBA, RD, CLT. Which is why carbohydrates are an important part of the Mediterranean diet. So if you can’t have gluten, simply nix the whole grains contain gluten (like wheat, barley, and
Trying To Avoid Plastic? These 5 Supermarket Chains Are Your Best Bet
June 13, 2019 at 09:32AM Greenpeace just ranked 20 major U.S chains on their plastic use. Continue Reading… Author Emma Loewe | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
Why this acupuncturist swears by abdominal massage for better digestive health
June 13, 2019 at 08:40AM by CWC Hear the word “massage” and your mind probably goes to getting one on your back or your feet… but abdominal massage is the underrated treatment that more people should be incorporating on the reg. “Abdominal massage is actually a subset of regular or Swedish massage or Western massage,” says Daryl Thuroff, LAc, LMT, acupuncturist, herbalist, and massage therapist at Yinova Center. “There are certain aspects of Thai or Shiatsu massages that also have abdominal work in them, and that can be helpful for a variety of different things.” Trained practitioners such as Thuroff use abdominal massage for three main things, she says: promoting digestion, increasing fertility, and helping with musculoskeletal issues. “It can also be used as a diagnostic tool,” she explains. In acupuncture, she says practitioners massage and feel the organs within the abdominal cavity to look for areas of tension, and to find out if something is “excess or deficient.” ad_intervals[‘398995_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘398995_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); That’s because a lot happens in the belly—it’s where your gut is located, which is central to so many other aspects of your health. “Inevitably, when the belly is stuck, it could lead to inflammation in other areas, water retention, cloudiness of mind… a lot can be happening concurrently,” says Thuroff. “Stress is something that can cause things to get stuck in the middle,” she adds. Basically, you want everything in your abdominal area flowing properly so that you
The air fryer makes the cloudiest, crunchiest cauliflower gnocchi *ever*
June 13, 2019 at 07:58AM by CWC You know those rare moments in life when something you already love (like, LOVE) somehow gets even better? Examples include when Oreo’s got an extra layer of cream between the cookies, or when High School Musical 3 made it to the big screen. Well, I’ve found the one-up of the century: a way to cook Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi that yields a batch of golden clouds. Somewhere, the gluten-free gods are singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Food blogger Rachel Mansfield recently did the internet a solid by posting a hack that takes cauli-gnocchi from mushy to magnifique. There are countless ways to prep the alt-pasta, but according to Mansfield (and me! I agree, I agree!) your very best bet is popping those babies in an air fryer. “I’m a bit late to the air frying game over here and I’m definitely not the first to cook cauliflower gnocchi in the air fryer. But oh my gosh—it is GOOD,” Mansfield writes on Instagram. ad_intervals[‘400774_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘400774_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); The process couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is spray the gnocchi with your choice of oil, throw it in the air fryer basket, and cook for 15-18 minutes while giving it a good shake every once in a while. (In my experience, you can skip the oil altogether.) Once the timer goes off, you’ll have a serving of gnocchi that are the slightest bit crunchy on the
Friendship imposter syndrome explains why you sometimes feel like your BFF hates you
June 13, 2019 at 07:53AM by CWC One of my all-time favorite jokes is a John Mulaney bit from his his Netflix special Kid Gorgeous, in which he muses that his college days essentially felt like a game show called “Do My Friends Hate Me, or Do I Just Need to Go to Sleep?” After hearing it the first time, I was overcome with nervous laughter—the kind you feel deep in your bones when something rings so true, it’s scary. That’s because, like Mulaney, “Does my friend like me?” is a worry I often have after a hangout session. Even if my suspicion is completely unwarranted, I’m overcome with social anxiety about whether I said the wrong thing when they asked for advice, or if they wished they canceled plans instead of seeing the movie I picked, or if the reason we saw a movie period is because they prefer that to having a conversation with me. The reason I end up in this tightly wound ball of stress? Friendship imposter syndrome. Rationally, I know the love my friends and I share is reciprocal, and my worries are nothing but deep-seated projections. But the self-awareness doesn’t shield me from spinning out with my insecurities—and experts say that makes sense. Just as imposter syndrome can impact our professional experiences, it can also show up in our relationships, especially when we’re not confident in our ability to show up fully for our friends, says anxiety and self-worth coach Amanda Huggins. So if
There’s a perfectly logical reason why you might hate certain perfumes
June 13, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC Whenever a new perfume comes across the Well+Good Beauty Desk, the first thing fellow beauty editors Ali Finney, Rachel Lapidos, and I do is take turns sniffing it. And every time, without fail, we have completely opposite reactions to the fragrance, ranging from “OMG I love this!” to “ewww” to “eh, it’s fine.” All of this is to say that we like very, very different things spritzed on our wrists and wafting into our noses, which has recently had me wondering: Why? What makes Ali love the scent of patchouli and me want to gag every time it comes within two feet of me not love it? It all comes down to the intrinsic link between scent and memory. “Scent preference can be influenced by so many exterior factors, both consciously and unconsciously,” explains Sarah Horowitz, the in-house perfumer at Skylar. “There are cultural preferences that we grow up with, and then more specific experiences that can affect how we react to a scent. Remember that scent is the strongest memory trigger, so this plays a huge part in influence.” So, for example, I absolutely love the smell of (… don’t judge me) Axe Body Spray, because it reminds me of making out with my high school boyfriend after football practice, and yet, that likely won’t hold true for everyone. As Horowitz puts it, “If you had many happy memories by the ocean, you may love the salty scent of the sea. If you had
There are 188,000 oblique workout videos on YouTube. These 8 are the absolute best.
June 13, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC By now, I feel like I have a full-on ab workout encyclopedia living inside my head. Whenever I need to work on my core, I just drop onto a mat and knock out some planks, sit ups, hollow holds, standing crunches… the list goes on. But when it comes to my obliques—AKA those side core muscles—my head draws a blank. All I can ever think of to do is bicycle crunches, which are standard and effective, but I’m looking to keep things interesting. The best and quickest (and cheapest!!) way to find some workout inspo? Hit up YouTube. Scrolling through the video library, it’s actually overwhelming how many oblique workouts there are that can get your side stomach burning. Depending on which you choose from for your sweat sesh du jour, they’ll have you torquing your core, doing side weight exercises, balancing in a side plank, and an extensive variety of other creative and ab-quaking moves to get your oblique working just as hard as your middle abs do. So to balance out your core workouts—and let your side abs take center stage—keep scrolling for our 8 fave oblique workouts on YouTube. ad_intervals[‘400236_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘400236_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ziM3raE6-4] Blogilates 20-Minute Waist Shaping Workout You’ll never twist and dip as much as you do in this ab-scorching workout that is literally 20 full minutes of oblique-targeted moves—including my personal fave, the side seals, which are killer. I
Steal the bathroom organization habits of the chillest woman we know
June 13, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC If anyone knows the importance of having a chill space, it’s Cyndi Ramirez. She’s the mastermind behind one of New York City’s buzziest beauty locales, Chillhouse, where you’re pretty much guaranteed to run into someone whose skin-care routine you’ve stalked on Instagram. The nail-salon-meets-healthy-cafe is the epitome if #goodvibesonly. So, when she offered to share some tips on how to create a chill AF apartment bathroom in honor of her partnership with dwell and Build.com, I had to pick her brain. I know, I know—hanging out in an apartment bathroom may not exactly have the same appeal as, say, a cool spa in Soho, but there’s something to be said about designing a space that you actually want to spend time in. After all, isn’t that where most of the magic (otherwise known as “self care“) happens? ad_intervals[‘387832_div-gpt-ad-5443410-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘387832_div-gpt-ad-5443410-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-5443410-3’);}); } }, 100); Steal Ramirez’s bathroom organization tips, below, for a space that will actually make you want to un-plug during your PM routine—whether or not you have space for a beauty bar cart to store the products in. The perfect mirror: “My sacred nightly beauty routine occurs in the bathroom, so it’s important to have the right lighting in order to see my skin and the products I’m using,” says Ramirez, who opted for this pick as the mirror of her dreams. “I’m a sucker for LED lighting lately and this mirror has a cool, clean
Is your sex life feeling blah? Here are the words to get you unstuck
June 13, 2019 at 03:30AM by CWC What happens when you want to have sex…but just aren’t that excited about the possibilities in front of you? Fortunately, the common (but rarely discussed) relationship issue of a boring sex life *can* be solved. Here, in her latest for the Well+Good Council, sex expert and relationship coach Lila Darville outlines a step-by-step communication plan to help you and your partner get “unstuck” and back into the groove. The feeling of desiring sex—but not the sex that is on offer—is more common than you think. This is often expressed as feeling stuck, bored, or even suspecting you’re suffering from low libido. But the main culprit is often routine. I liken it to a trip to Paris. Imagine that every time you went to Paris, all you did was go from the airport directly to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is gorgeous and glittering and a great experience, but after the tenth or the thirtieth time making that exact same trip, the idea of going to Paris becomes less exciting. ad_intervals[‘399164_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘399164_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Sex is best approached like any other pleasurable activity or hobby. Gather inspiration from your environment. Create your own adventure. Modify it. How can we make this the best experience possible for both of us? I’ve already laid out ways to tackle communication in sex through prioritizing your pleasure and getting on the same team. But now, let’s dive into