October 08, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evY1pKu6Yg4] White Claw, Truly, Bon & Viv, oh my! Here’s the nutrition deets on all the spiked seltzers out there. Remember that White Claw shortage last month that had people freaking out? Clearly, spiked seltzer is clearly having a major moment. (Sorry mezcal, it’s been real.) One of the reasons health-conscious happy hour goers are popping cans of spiked seltzer is because it’s generally lower in carbs than beer, and allegedly low in sugar, too. But as for whether these spiked seltzer brands are truly healthy, You Versus Food host and registered dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, has some thoughts. An important PSA from Beckerman before we continue: “Alcohol is not a healthy drink in any form,” she says. “If you do choose to drink alcohol, it should always be in moderation.” Got all that? Cool. But, she says, spiked seltzer can potentially be a better-for-you option than other types of alcohol, depending on what you buy. “Spiked seltzer, also known as hard seltzer, is normally made out of carbonated water, alcohol from fermented cane sugar, and fruit flavorings,” Beckerman explains. They are also generally gluten-free and lower in carbs and calories than wine. Just don’t let that health halo (and delicious flavor, let’s be real) fool you into overdoing it—again, alcohol is still alcohol. As for which brands at the liquor store are the healthiest options, Beckerman compared White Claw, Truly, Bon & Viv, High Noon, and Briggs, giving a critical
Month: October 2019
The only beauty tool you need to look wide-awake in 30-seconds flat
October 08, 2019 at 10:58PM by CWC You know those mornings when you wake up, look in the mirror, and are legitimately terrified of the zombie woman staring back at you? Well, same (thanks for nothing, after-dinner espresso shot). And while the combination of under-eye concealer and mascara can usually help to make you look slightly more alive in these moments, even that has its limits… especially around 2 p.m., when the concealer rubs off and mascara drips into raccoon eyes and you find yourself staring into another mirror wondering why the F your face is rebelling against you. If this sounds all too familiar, fear not—because a makeup artist who works under the legendary Pat McGrath gave us an entirely new—and dare I say even better?—way to make ourselves look more awake, no makeup required. Ready for this? Instead of reaching for the usual suspects, grab an eyelash curler. “Eyelash curlers and mascara do not necessarily go hand in hand,” confirms celebrity makeup artist Duchess Natalia. “While mascara does help to hold the curl longer, a good curl can actually help to open the eye and make it look more refreshed.” Not only will this method keep your lashes looking longer and more lifted for the long-haul, but since you’re not using any product, it’s the perfect solution for situations when you want to look bright-eyed but don’t necessarily want to layer on makeup—like if you’re heading to a yoga class or on a long flight. “If you use
‘The Supreme Court can’t stop me from fighting for the rights of LGBT workers’
October 08, 2019 at 10:14PM by CWC Black trans women face an unemployment rate of 26 percent—that’s the highest rate of any group in the nation. Even those of us who are lucky and privileged enough to have jobs continue to face structures of violence. Not just social violence, but structural systems that do not affirm us. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court began the process of deciding whether existing federal laws protect LGBTQIA people from discrimination in the workplace. Every member of the transgender community, myself included, know that we have an intrinsic right to be able to take care of our families and ourselves. There are people who want to bar us from employment, and we have to let them know: we will be resilient, we will win. This court case is a battle. And as with all battles, our focus is on how we will win the war. Regardless of what happens in court, we stand strong, we have strategies, we have contingency plans that provide for all of us. As co-founder and executive director of The New York Transgender Advocacy Group, one of the things that I know my organization will do as the arguments play out is to register people to vote. We will work with our national LGBTQIA family to get them engaged with their city council members. We need to get them to run for office so that more transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) folks run for office. This is how we win the
Are you using all 5 types of boundaries in your life to exert max healthy control?
October 08, 2019 at 08:48PM by CWC A key element for surviving in this world without losing your mind to burnout—social, professional, and otherwise—is having a good defense at the ready for any situation. That’s right, I’m talking about boundaries. A big part of my personal wellness journey has involved building boundaries and sticking to them, especially given all the years I’ve spent being exposed to the stress-inducing elements (and three-plus calls a day from my mom). But, these boundaries weren’t cultivated overnight, and there was a fair amount of trial and error involved in creating (and abiding by) specific ones that worked well for me. What I know now and wish I knew from the outset is that there are actually five types of boundaries, and understanding each is crucial for marinating healthy control in my life. In an Instagram post shared by Nicole LePera, PhD, who goes by The Holistic Psychologist, the five types of boundaries are defined as emotional, material, time/energy, physical, and mental. Emotional boundaries focus on barriers from inappropriate topics, dismissing emotions, and emotional dumping (so both your good-vibes-only friend and energy-vampire co-worker fall under that umbrella). Mental refers to preserving your freedom of thought, and physical is, not surprisingly, about people who make you feel uncomfortable (ahem, close-talkers). Time/energy and material are the only two boundaries you can obviously see; they’re centralized on favors with your time and with your stuff. View this post on Instagram The other day I posted about how to
How to know which bananas give you constipation and which, uh, definitely don’t
October 08, 2019 at 08:11PM by CWC There’s one simple way to know if it’s time to back off on the bananas for a bit. And nope, it’s not having a freezer jam-packed with loaf upon loaf of banana bread or being that girl who buys them by the boxful at Whole Foods. It’s actually what’s going on with your bowel movements… or lack thereof. Yep, buckle up. We’re going there. Plenty of different types of food cause constipation. Some aren’t too surprising, like red meat and fried foods. But then there are the seemingly healthy staples that can cause issues in the bathroom too, and one of the prime culprits is the beloved banana. While bananas are packed with nutrients—like potassium, magnesium, and vitamin B6—Max Lugavere, the health and nutrition expert behind Genius Foods, says they can also have a major downside depending on which stage of ripeness you’re into. There are three parts of a banana’s life cycle: green, yellow, and brown. When they’re green—or unripe—they’re a great source of prebiotics. Unfortunately, because they contain the highest amount of hard-to-digest starch at the time, they can leave you very constipated. As the banana ripens and turns yellow, it’s sweeter, contains a higher amount of antioxidants, and digests more quickly. Yellow bananas also contain soluble fiber that supports your digestion instead of slowing it down, finally helping you poop (or simply stay consistent). So what about brown bananas? They’re easy to digest as well, meaning your banana bread obsession is
Real women share what to expect from sex after you have a baby
October 08, 2019 at 06:40PM by CWC When it comes to new babies, there are whole books, websites, Facebook groups, and classes devoted to preparing new parents on what to expect. Changing diapers without getting peed on? Check. Knowing the immunization schedule? Check. Bracing yourself for lots of sleepless nights? Reluctant check. But one after-birth frontier that isn’t often discussed: postpartum sex. Doctors generally adhere to a “no sex for six weeks” rule for both vaginal deliveries and c-sections. “That is typically when the uterus has returned to its normal size, there is no more lochia [postpartum vaginal bleeding], and any surgical incisions, lacerations, tears, and episiotomy wounds have fully healed,” says Felice Gersh, MD, an OB/GYN and author of PCOS SOS: A Gynecologist’s Lifeline To Naturally Restore Your Rhythms, Hormones and Happiness. But getting the “all clear” at your six-week follow-up OB appointment isn’t that simple. For many women, that benchmark comes before they are physically or emotionally ready. “A new baby changes everything and that includes a couple’s sex life,” says Dr. Gersh. “It’s important to recognize and anticipate this and not be harsh on yourself for having a low libido and for being tired. Nature isn’t really interested in a new mom desiring sex as an immediate new pregnancy would jeopardize the health of the first baby and the mom.” Makayla, 25, is a first-time mom from Texas. “I had sex six weeks postpartum and it was very painful. I didn’t realize that my scar from tearing
I went to a speed dating workout class and—spoiler—I’m still single
October 08, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC When people ask me why I don’t have a boyfriend, I immediately tell them that it’s because I don’t have time to date. The fact that I write so much on the Internet about being single (on top of the vagina steaming and public armpit sniffing) probably isn’t doing me any favors, but I choose to blame my singlehood on scheduling. So, when I got an e-mail that Switch Playground—a workout studio in NYC—was hosting a speed dating event on a recent Friday night, I was obviously in. A Friday night activity that allowed me to multi-task a workout with a singles mixer? Hell, yes. In New York City, we’re nothing if not efficient. By nature, Switch Playground’s format lends itself fairly seamlessly to meeting people. It’s a partner-based sweat sesh in which pairs rotate through 20 exercise stations, spending two minutes at each before moving on. In a normal class, you stick with the same partner for the full hour, but at the mixer you got a new partner at every interval to maximize efficiency. So over the course of the class, I had the chance to cycle through 20 different stations and 20 different potential husbands. “I believe Switch Playground lends itself to the perfect opportunity to meet someone by sharing the experience together and having fun,” says Steve Uria, the founder of Switch and mastermind behind the event. “It removes the awkwardness of conversation and brings you right to a
What Is ‘Mast Cell Instability’ + 10 Ways To Treat It Naturally
October 08, 2019 at 03:21PM Plus, 10 ways to heal mast cell instability naturally. Continue Reading… Author Ilene Ruhoy, M.D., Ph.D. | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
Mirror’s latest update makes the ultimate fitness luxury—at-home personal training—more accessible than ever
October 08, 2019 at 03:01PM by CWC At-home personal training has long been the ultimate fitness luxury, reserved for A-listers (imagine running on a treadmill next to J.Lo) and the rest of the 1 percent who can afford not only to have a gym in their house, but also to have someone come over and show them how to use it. For the rest of us, the idea of having a trainer at our disposal—in our homes, nonetheless—seems akin to owning a yacht or having a summer chalet next door to George Clooney in Lake Como: nothing more than a pipe dream. Well, all of that is about to change thanks to latest technology from Mirror, which is bringing personal training (yup, you read that right) into the living rooms of those of us who don’t have a million dollars in the bank. If you’re unfamiliar, Mirror launched last year as a (literal) mirror that you hang on the wall to stream live and on-demand fitness classes. At the time, it was revolutionary because it allowed you to see trainers and yourself in the same interface as you worked out (hello, proper squat form), but the latest update takes things to an entirely new level. The new tech uses Mirror’s two-way audio and video interface, which means that not only are you able to see yourself and the trainer in the mirror (the way they’ve always been able to), but the trainer can see you, too. (Before you get creeped out
It sounds super extra, but here’s why it’s good to have more than 1 foundation
October 08, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC When someone asks me what my favorite foundation is, I panic at the thought of trying to come up with an answer. Not because I don’t have one, but because I have so many that picking a single winner would be like asking me to choose a favorite Taylor Swift song or episode of The Bold Type. I love them all equally (we can talk about my taste in pop culture later, ok?). Each foundation I own fits a different need, which is why I’m a major proponent of the idea of putting together a “foundation wardrobe,” the same way you would with your clothes—and beauty pros agree. “I think we all love options, and that’s no different for the type of foundations,” says celebrity makeup artist Aliana Lopez. “Just like our moods, and the weather, things change, and it’s always great to have a foundation that meets your needs from lighter or more sheer coverage to something that makes you feel very glam.” My own foundation wardrobe consists of an undetectable foundation that I wear on dates, one that I want to make my skin look like I’ve just returned from a five-day vacation in St. Barths, one that I wear when I want people to know I’m intentionally glamming up, an everyday BB cream with SPF , a tinted facial oil, and an old-faithful CC cream. As you can tell, I take this type of thing very seriously. But of course, my foundation