Month: September 2019

September 28, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC You can get tired of a good, dependable thing like push-ups after a while. It even happens with your fave Lizzo songs (controversial statement, but—true). While both may build you up and make you stronger (physically and emotionally speaking), you tend to just crave something different every once in a while. That’s why I’m bringing you a slew of new, fun arm-strengthening moves to add to your sweat repertoire for the days when you just cannot. do. one. more. push-up. And I know you’re excited about it, because after surveying readers in an Instagram poll, a whopping 78 percent of you said you’re sick of the OG upper body move. “Push-ups are no doubt a go-to move for training the upper body and for a good reason—they’re great,” says Corey Phelps, a Washington DC-based personal trainer. “But one cannot build a strong upper body with push-ups alone. It’s essential to train in multiple ranges of motion as well as balance training with more than just pushing motions.” And that’s all that push-ups give you. Incorporating a variety of arm-strengthening movements while working out will help keep your body balanced, which will also help with preventing injuries. “If a certain area builds a lot of strength while another area remains weak, we run the risk of the stronger muscles overcompensating for the weaker ones, which, in turn, can cause injury,” says Victoria Brown, a senior SoulCycle instructor. Now let’s get our upper bodies balanced

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September 28, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Confession: I recently got a haircut for the first time in a year. Is that a hair stylist’s preferred time frame for snipping away the dead bottoms of hair? Not exactly. And yet, I’d look down at my crispy, fried, and unraveling tips, register that it was time to make a salon appointment, and then get distracted by a labradoodle or something. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, like the rest of you, I have priorities. It’s very on-brand for me to try and put a bandage on a problem instead of fixing it, and this time that happened to make me very good at my job. Because while procrastinating my haircut, I had the opportunity to test out all the split end menders out there to see which ones worked best on my strands. Let’s get the fine print out of the way first and foremost. Once a hair has split at the tip, so much damage has been done that the only permanent fix is to chop it off. What’s more, the longer you wait, the more damage that can be done to hair, because the split will continue to travel further and further up the strand (womp! womp! womp!). Split end menders, while not a permanent fix, can actually help to stave off a lot of the damage that’s happening, though. They moisturize the deadest, driest parts of the hair, and act like a glue to hold

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September 28, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC Oatmeal is delicious—there’s no denying that. But even with all the different topping options, it can get a little boring when you eat it multiple days a week. That’s why it might be time to give your oats an upgrade by—wait for it—toasting them. A Redditor recently shared a smart tip that instantly adds more depth to the flavor of your oats. Before cooking your oatmeal per usual, grab a skillet and toast the rolled oats over medium-high heat, making sure you stir them around so they don’t burn. Once they turn brown and make your home smell like fresh-out-of-oven cookies, you know they’re ready to go. Aside from using toasted oats in a typical bowl of oatmeal, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy them, too. Other Redditors suggest adding them into your yogurt of choice instead of your go-to granola to create a parfait, using them in overnight oats, adding them into your smoothies and protein shakes, cooking them with cacao for a pudding-like treat, and using them in breakfast bars. You can even toast your oats in big batches so they’re all ready to go for delicious, healthy meals throughout the week. Who knew giving your favorite dish an upgrade could be so… easy? Not to mention act as the best-smelling air freshener in the process. There are even more ways to upgrade your oats. Try this turmeric pumpkin quinoa version that’s perfect for fall, or even add oats

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September 28, 2019 at 01:30AM by CWC Even after going through an impressive amount of sunscreen over the summer, all those beach days and hikes still leave me with a slightly-darker complexion than the rest of the year. Then once I return to my paler self again come fall, the inevitable happens: my foundation no longer matches my much-lighter skin. There’s no reason to toss it and pick up a new bottle, though—it’s actually really easy to make your old shade work. According to Laura Geller, makeup artist and founder of Laura Geller Beauty, there are a few hacks you can use to make your foundation match your skin year-round. And one of the quickest when you’re in a pinch? Grabbing your trusty bottle of moisturizer. “Mixing moisturizer with your favorite foundation won’t necessarily help the color match your skin, but it will lead to lighter coverage—which makes for a more forgivable texture,” she tells me. But while your lotion is great, your concealer is even better. “If you want to lighten your foundation and maintain the same level of coverage, I recommend reaching for concealer,” says Geller. “Since you typically choose a shade of concealer slightly lighter than your liquid foundation, blending the two formulas together on the back of your hand is an easy way to add a bit of brightness. And if you prefer powder foundation, apply a light layer of concealer to your face first and dust the powder over top.” Yep, it’s that easy. You’ll

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September 28, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC As someone whose job involves writing words on the internet, I’ve received my share of negative comments. But perhaps one of the most intense moments in my career is what I will call the Great Canola Oil Incident of 2016. I wrote an article about cooking oils, and the nutritionist I interviewed for the piece mentioned canola oil—and the Internet was swift to take sides. I discovered that canola oil is incendiary, and not just at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (ba dum ching). So it is with a small amount of hesitation that I turn my attention, once again, to the topic of cooking oils. Specifically, how worried should we be about the cooking oil used in restaurants? When you go out to eat, your food is probably cooked in an industrial oil like soybean, canola, corn, or cottonseed oil. “They are inexpensive, are quickly produced, don’t have distinctive flavors so they won’t alter your dish, and can be used for a variety of foods,” says Amy Shapiro, RD, Daily Harvest‘s nutritionist. They also have a high smoke point, she says, meaning that they can be cooked at very high heats before they start to burn and smoke. “Nicer places might opt for olive oil as a finishing oil on salads or appetizers because it has a nice taste,” Natalie Rizzo, MS, RD, adds. Canola and other industrial oils have a bad reputation, and for good reason—they “are made under high heat which oxidizes

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