10 Basic Rules For Online Dating By Monique L. Muñoz In today’s world, online dating is more common than meeting someone in person in a casual setting, in a group or at a bar. It’s the new hangout, but online dating rules can be a little different. I entered the online dating world as an “innocent,” completely naive to the rules, world, and nuances of meeting someone online. Now, my friends ask me to help them with online dating. I’m not ready to offer this service to my coaching clients yet, but I did decide to write about what I’ve learned to help people approach it safely. The most important thing to tackle if you’re a complete newbie is how to BE SAFE as you begin your quest for love. So, before you click “Flirt,” “Like,” “Favorite,” or IM your next prospective match, here are some suggestions: 1. Don’t use your real name (or anything that gives away your identity). You may be thinking, “duh,” but sometimes profile names are hard to think of and you may feel like it’s easier to just use your name. But think about it this way. What if someone interested in you is a little bit on the creepy side, or there’s someone you’ve had to block from contacting you. Do you really want them to have your name, the kind of work you do, and the area you live in (usually mandatory in your profile) to make it easier for them to find
Year: 2019
How my LDR forced me into the fresh start my career desperately needed
January 01, 2019 at 05:30AM A long-distance relationship may seem like the end of a romance, but it ended up being the start of an incredible adventure for me and my boyfriend. About two years ago, he called and told me he got offered a job in Muramvya. Cue, me: shaking as I switched him to speakerphone so I could nervously yet frantically Google where that even was. Turns out it’s in the East African country of Burundi, which is quite the jaunt from New York City, where we both recently settled after surviving most of college spent apart. We met when he was a senior and I was a freshman at Wake Forest University, but it wasn’t until after he graduated that we became official and took on the distance. During most of undergrad, I would fly or embark on a 12-hour bus ride to see him as much as possible, so you can imagine why the news of him moving across the world would send tears flowing down my face. Looking back now though, it’s clear to me that even if he relocated somewhere way less far-flung, like say, Chicago, my reaction would have been the same. After all, we’d just finished a long-distance stint and were finally living in the same city—the city—as we had discussed for so long. Suddenly, I felt like I was running a never-ending race—and I was exhausted. But in reality, we couldn’t have been more miserable dragging our feet to jobs we
Yes, you should be cleaning your Beautyblender—here’s how
January 01, 2019 at 04:15AM I’m going make a guess that, like the thought of washing pillowcases or bras on the reg, how to clean your Beautyblender isn’t a topic that comes up all that often. And yet, if your makeup application tool isn’t on your list of things to be cleaned, you’re definitely doing your skin a disservice. You know, because a Beautyblender is a sponge, after all—so it has the propensity to soak up all kinds of stuff, and I’m not just talking about your go-to foundation. This all goes to say that yes, you should be cleaning your blender so you can still have a glowy complexion underneath that contour. But it’s not as intuitive as you’d think. “Getting a makeup sponge fully clean is a challenge, as products get deeply absorbed and pigments can stain,” says Jenny Patinkin, makeup artist, beauty expert, and author of Lazy Perfection. This doesn’t, however, mean that it’s impossible—it’ll just take a little elbow grease. Regardless of which of the below products and methods you decide to use, Patinkin says that “the key is to make sure the sponge is fully wet and that you build up a foam, massaging the sponge to draw the soap in deep, and then using a milking-like movement to squeeze the product out.” You should be washing your sponges on a weekly basis and replacing them every 3 months, according to Patinkin. Aside from cleansing out all the grossness that could be hiding in your Beautyblender, “washing your
10 healthy plantain recipes that will make getting enough fiber taste so much better
January 01, 2019 at 04:00AM Ask a MD or registered dietitian for tips on everything from boosting your metabolism and healthy weight loss to keeping your digestive system running smoothly and lowering inflammation, and chances are they’ll immediately say the F word: fiber. Basically, fiber is everything. You probably already know that leafy greens and plant-based proteins like lentils are good sources of the nutrient, but there’s another, totally underrated way to get your fiber fill: plantains. Eying plantains in the produce section, they look like banana’s big brother, but there are actually some key differences between the two. Plantains definitely don’t taste as sweet; they’re also more starchy, like a potato. Because of that, they’re often cooked and not eaten raw the way bananas are. Their nutrient profiles are different, too. Because plantains aren’t as sweet, they have less sugar than bananas (6 grams per plantain compared to 17 grams per large banana, to be exact). They also have more vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium than bananas. One plantain also has 37 grams of carbs, making it a great post-workout recovery snack. Oh, and about the fiber: One plantain has 6 grams (about 25 percent of your recommended daily intake). Okay, so clearly plantains are worth a little attention. But what exactly do you do with them? After all, you don’t really want to take a big bite out of ’em raw like you would a banana. Well, consider your research done. Check out these 10 healthy plantain recipes so
A dermatologist’s road map to brighter, happier skin by February 1
January 01, 2019 at 01:00AM Kim Nichols, MD, is a New York City-based dermatologist our beauty editors have on speed dial. When she’s not versing us in ingredients, she’s schooling us on the right way to use them, which is why we called her to help us start the New Year off right. This four-week program is designed to reset, recharge, and revitalize your complexion, so that it’s strong and ready to face whatever 2019 has in store. Chances are, you’ve been adding and subtracting countless beauty products to (and from) your skin-care regimen all throughout the year—sometimes with success, sometimes…not so much. A skin-care journey is a lifelong pursuit, for sure; however, if you haven’t yet built one that you’re happy with, or if you’re uncertain about whether or not your routine is working for you, January is a good time for a fresh start. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with experimentation, I like to use the New Year as a time to reset and refresh my complexion. That means turning an eye to specific products that are really doing their job and those that aren’t. After all, your skin is your largest organ and the thing that shields you from everything coming at you in the world (from pollution to blue light to invisible little free radicals). Your beauty products and skin-care practices, then, should all be aimed at defending, nourishing, and hydrating so that your complexion can do the best job possible for you. Over the course of the
Gabby Bernstein’s guide to living a joyful and spiritually connected existence
January 01, 2019 at 01:00AM Positive-vibes guru, number-one New York Times best-selling author, and Well+Good Council member Gabby Bernstein believes that the best (the only!) way to start the New Year is with joy. Her four-week plan is chock-full of mindfulness tips and mantras that will keep 2019 brimming with good vibes. If you ask me, the most powerful New Year’s resolution you can make is to live a joyful life. Joy is the ultimate creator, so when you live in joy, you’re more in tune with the Universe and will attract your desires faster. Plus, your joyful presence lifts up everyone around you and ripples outward across the globe. The way to cultivate joy is to commit to fun and empowering spiritual practices. While there are many ways to do this, below are four of my favorites. This January, dedicate one week to strengthening each in order to increase your mindfulness and positivity. Graphic: Well+Good Creative Week 1: Appreciate what’s thriving by journaling Journaling is one of the greatest ways to strengthen your faith and lean into joy. Tip 1: Begin each day with appreciation One cool exercise will set you up to win all day: First thing in the morning, open your journal and write out at least one full page of what you appreciate. You can write the simplest things, such as, “I appreciate how comfortable my bed is,” or “I appreciate my green breakfast smoothie.” Feel the swell of high vibes as your pen flows across the page. Focusing on
Jillian Michaels on how to set fitness goals that you’ll be inspired to crush all. year. long.
January 01, 2019 at 01:00AM Photo: Brian Bolton Jillian Michaels is a fitness pro, creator of the MyFitness App, and author of the brand-new book The 6 Keys. Over the course of the next four weeks, she’ll be your guide, helping you to create personalized fitness goals and then figure out how to *crush* them throughout 2019. Truth be told, any single one of the 365 days in the year is a great time to set new fitness goals, and yet, we choose to make January 1 feel like the metaphorical clean slate. So, if this fresh start has got you feeling motivated, use that inspiration to your advantage and spend the next month focusing on getting fit, feeling strong, and starting your year off right. Now, I don’t have to tell you that there are plenty of reasons to hit the gym (or, the living room, now that digital fitness is the name of the game) in 2019. The benefits are universal, and regardless of how you work out, squeezing in a sweat sesh helps with your brain chemistry and improves your overall health, which over time, will give you more energy, better immunity, and a clearer outlook on what you want to accomplish in the New Year. More importantly, I strongly believe that the act of doing something for yourself helps to improve your self-worth. As you work to become physically strong, it transcends into emotional strength; you’ll learn to push yourself to go harder, farther, and for longer than
How to set yourself up for success with healthy eating all year long—no dieting required
January 01, 2019 at 01:00AM Sophia Roe is a healthy-food chef, beauty guru, and frequent Well+Good contributor. This January, she’s here to arm you with tricks and tips to make healthy eating year-round a cinch—no dieting, juice cleanses, or restrictions of any kind required. Keep reading for her sage (and empowering) advice. Let me be up front about something right away: I’m not a fan of the whole “new year, new me” thing. Not only is it super played out, but it’s also not very realistic. It sort of implies that whoever you are when December rolls around needs a complete overhaul. I think “reset, reevaluate, and restart” is a better approach. The first of the year is an excellent time to form a clear idea of what you envision for yourself, without using language like “lose weight,” “work out every single day,” or “become a vegan overnight.” It’s not that there’s anything wrong with those goals; they just don’t do a very good job of laying out a plan of intention. What works better is honing in on statements that aren’t layered with self-deprecation. Some of my faves: “I want to be more active this year.” “I want to learn a new way to move my body.” Or, “I want to cook at home more frequently.” A plan with simple and actionable tasks is the best way to keep your “reset, reevaluate, and restart” plan on track. Over the next four weeks, I’m going to arm you with the
The easy financial habits to form in 2019 that will pay off big time
January 01, 2019 at 01:00AM Chase Financial Education Ambassador Farnoosh Torabi is here to help you make dollars and cents out of your financial goals for the year ahead. Embark on a four-week journey in which she helps you assess your current situation, plan for what’s ahead, and set yourself up for financial success throughout the rest of the year. However many of your 2018 to-dos remain undone—and no matter how many glasses of Champagne you drank on December 31—January 1 still manages to feel like a fresh start. The pages of your brand-new planner are clean, crisp, and totally blank; and 12 gloriously empty months stretch out in front of you, open to all kinds of possibilities. Maybe you’ll move to a new city, or leave a job you can’t stand, or run a marathon. Or maybe you’ll dedicate 2019 to (finally) getting your finances in order. With most goals—but especially when it comes to your personal finances—it’s easy to set yourself up for failure by only giving yourself a week or a month to create new habits or change bad behavior. But a whole year? That gives you enough time to make some strides. Especially if you start strong in January, and especially if you get specific about what it is you want to accomplish. I’m a big believer in setting smaller goals along the way—they can create a lot of momentum to help you feel confident about doing the bigger stuff. So instead of saying, “I want to get out of
2019 is the year to level up in your career—and Claire Wasserman wants to show you how to do that
January 01, 2019 at 01:00AM Will this be the year you score that promotion, get a big raise, and finally get some help with your insane workload? Claire Wasserman, an advocate for women’s equality in the workplace, says it can be. As the founder of Ladies Get Paid, she’s making it her life’s work to help women earn better salaries and thrive in their careers. Here, the Well+Good Council member shares her boss-lady mojo and demonstrates how you can help yourself level up in all aspects of your career. While 2018 was dubbed the “Year of the Woman” (IMO, every year is the year of the woman), I believe that 2019 is going to be even more record shattering. Whether it’s the number of women running for office or more lady CEOs, I’m confident that we will continue to make huge strides toward a more equitable society. That being said, it will only happen if we all work hard to make it happen. Progress is not linear so we must be vigilant in holding those in power accountable, as well as continuing to advocate for ourselves in our jobs, our families, and our communities. My goal for 2019? Level. Up. That means making deliberate choices—in all aspects of my life—that lift me professionally, financially, and emotionally. In particular, I want seek help when I need it, learn how to say no to things that don’t serve me, make more money, and be more strategic about my financial contributions to people and causes that I