February 06, 2020 at 11:18PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIrRsGzTU9w] Swatch a thousand foundations? Set your alarm for 2:30 a.m. in the name of nailing the morning routine? Sleep with a robot? Testing the latest and greatest that wellness has to offer is just another day on the job for Zoë Weiner, Well+Good beauty and fitness editor. In our latest YouTube show Zoë Tries It All, we’re taking you along for the ride to see firsthand how we try and test the buzziest things wellness has to offer, so you can have nice things without having to try it all yourself. The morning routine is pretty much wellness 101, and no one has a better mastery of waking up early and having a day before their day actually begins than celebs. Some “greet the sun,” others meditate in the wee-hours of the morn (so chill of you, Jennifer Aniston), and the most extreme set their alarms for 2:30 a.m. to pray, eat two breakfasts, go to cryotherapy, and have a round of golf all before the sun’s rays stretch above the horizon (you know what you did, Marky Mark). In the inaugural episode of Zoë Tries It All, I set out to test the most extensive celebrity morning routines to give you the definitive ranking of them in order of the most-to-least painful ways to start your day. Before we get to that, a confession: I am decidedly not a morning person. Most days, I try to make it to the gym before
Day: February 6, 2020
I’m an endurance athlete, but running a short race was harder than the marathon
February 06, 2020 at 07:30PM by CWC Long distances get all the glory. Marathon training, in particular, begs for praise. After all, a cool 20-mile training run over a weekend adds up to two or three weeks worth of cardio for some. But the thing about running marathons is this: After a while, you want a new challenge that doesn’t require you to go to bed at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night, so that you can train for four hours the next morning. So, when a friend asked if I wanted to run the Brooklyn Mile, I agreed—albeit, hesitantly. Because, running short distances can actually be harder than hitting the pavement for 26.2. While long runs are about endurance and require you to think about pacing over the course of a few hours, short runs are all about speed and require you to give an all-out effort over the span of mere minutes. Sure, it’s all running, but the challenges presented by the two are worlds apart psychologically and physiologically. As an endurance athlete, I wondered: Could I do it well enough to be proud of? As I clicked to register for the race, I felt the same twinge of anxiety that I felt when I signed up for my first marathon back in 2012. And I immediately knew two things: I was going to need to set a goal, and I was definitely going to need a coach. What it’s like to run fast Fairly quickly, I turned
Trader Joe’s new vegan chicken-less seasoning goes with *everything*
February 06, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC Vegans might not eat chicken, but—surprise!—some of us still love the taste of chicken seasonings. It doesn’t matter whether it’s nostalgic chicken noodle soup, perfectly-crispy tenders, or chicken and veggie skewers… it’s all delicious and easy to make plant-based. And with a new seasoning blend from Trader Joe’s, you can get that beloved chicken flavor in a few quick shakes. Trader Joe’s Vegan Chicken-Less Seasoning Salt is essentially a super-affordable vegan chicken bouillon, minus the animal products. While there are similar products on the market—my go-to being the highly-rated Orrington Farms Chicken Flavored Broth Base & Seasoning ($6)—this one is a fraction of the cost at just $2 a bottle. It also has a short ingredients list (sea salt, onion powder, spices, turmeric, and garlic powder) and contains 320 grams of sodium per 1/4 tsp serving. “This seasoning is a fun way to get those flavors we associate with chicken, even in vegetarian and vegan recipes. If you’re planning on adding this to your meals, I do have a few words of caution. Because of the sodium, go light. It’s the same thing I would tell you to do with the salt shaker,” says Amy Gorin, RDN, owner of Amy Gorin Nutrition in the New York City area. “With that being said, I like that the blend includes other spices with proven benefits, including inflammation-helping turmeric. I’d suggest adding a dash of black pepper along with this in order to get the max
This 91-year-old’s workout routine proves it’s never too late to get moving
February 06, 2020 at 06:37PM by CWC At 91-years-young, Lloyd Black—a retired teacher in Semmes, Alabama—just became Member of the Month at his local Anytime Fitness. After gym manager Ashley Seaman congratulated Black in a Facebook post, his thrice-weekly exercise habit went viral—and frankly, have you ever been more inspired to make time in your schedule to sweat? “I had reached the point where simple chores, like yard work, I could no longer do and therefore I started [going to the gym] and it has really helped,” Black told Good Morning America. “I am also motivated by my daddy. He was a man who never gave up and so I hope I’ve inherited some of his traits.” It’s fair to say that Black takes after his father: he’s been spotted kicking it into high gear on the treadmill, taking on the leg press machine, and yet more upper body devices. And to make matters even more impressive, Black performs his entire routine in overalls and Sketchers. Because, really, who needs all that fancy-schmancy gear, anyway? “I don’t feel very comfortable being in the limelight, but if it encourages someone else then I’m willing to do it,” Black said. He’s definitely encouraged those of all ages to get moving, but his message may prove especially important when it comes to exercise for older adults According to Harvard Health, studies have shown that strength, stamina, and flexibility decrease in adults over the age of 55 as a direct result of aging. To combat
Why isn’t anyone talking about prenatal depression?
February 06, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC When Hitha Palepu was pregnant with her second child, she experienced two significant—and scary—panic attacks. “The second panic attack happened when I was at the end of my first trimester,” she recalls. “I think it was work stress, the stress of taking care of a precocious three-year-old, marriage, travel, and growing a human on top of it all. I took on too much, and it all came crashing down around me.” That’s when Palepu, an investor and author, had a breakdown. “I was in hysterics,” she says. “I knew I wasn’t okay; I didn’t feel right.” Palepu called her father-in-law, a psychiatrist, who suggested she may be experiencing prenatal depression. The condition is one Palepu had never heard of, but it’s certainly not uncommon: According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), between 14 and 23 percent of women will struggle with some symptoms of depression during pregnancy. Additional research has found prenatal depression (also referred to as antepartum depression) to be most prevalent during the third trimester, followed by the first trimester. “To have this person put a name to it validated what I was feeling,” says Palepu, who sought support from her obstetrician and a therapist following her discussion with her father-in-law. So, if nearly a quarter of pregnant women may experience feelings of depression during pregnancy, why aren’t we talking about it more openly? What exactly is prenatal depression? Like clinical depression, prenatal depression is a mood disorder
Only 2 beauty companies made the A-List of a major sustainability report
February 06, 2020 at 05:53PM by CWC As we evolve into more conscientious consumers, more and more brands are formulating products with ingredient lists that are cruelty-free, vegan, and environmentally responsible. With a climate crisis upon us, shopping sustainably isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. And out of thousands of companies considered, a new sustainability report only gave straight A’s to two eco-friendly beauty brands: L’Oréal and Unilever. CDP Global, a non-profit organization that aims to help create a sustainable economy by measuring and understanding the environmental impact of major entities like companies and cities, released its 2019 report examining how companies impact the climate as well as forests and water security. More than 8,000 companies disclosed sustainability data to CDP. Nearly all reporting companies submitted figures on climate change, while numbers on water security and forests were disclosed by 29 percent and 6 percent of companies, respectively. Lancôme, Kiehls, and Urban Decay are among the 36 brands owned by L’Oréal. 2020 marks the fourth consecutive year the company earned A’s in all three categories. The brand is committed to zero-net emissions by 2050, says Alexandra Palt, executive vice president and chief corporate responsibility officer at L’Oréal. “Climate change is no longer a distant or future generation problem,” said Palt in a press release. “L’Oréal was one of the first companies to set ambitious CO2 reduction targets in its industrial activity and to achieve them. However, this is not enough. We have to go
The calorie is out, and qualitative eating is in. Finally.
February 06, 2020 at 04:25PM by CWC You’ve heard the old adage: “calories in, calories out.” It’s the concept that a person can manage their weight by simply burning more calories through exercise than they consume in food—and it was one of the guiding forces in nutrition for the past twenty years. (Hell, a Reddit community named after and dedicated to the concept has over 24 million members.) For decades, people were fixated on calorie counts as a primary consideration for what they put on their plates. But we’re happy to report that this narrow mindset is something we’re firmly leaving behind in the new decade. “In recent years, there’s a recognition that not all calories are created equal,” says health coach and nutritionist Jess Cording, RD. “There’s a shift from just calories to factoring in satiety, blood sugar, and other factors that go into weight management [and healthy eating].” In 2020 and beyond, the emphasis will be on the full nutritional profile of your plate and how these foods support your brain, energy, gut health, and mood. A history of calorie counting While calories are also used in chemistry and physics, in nutrition, calories generally refer to the amount of energy that foods provide us. The concept of the calorie hit the mainstream in the U.S. in the 1920s with the publication of Diet and Health by Lulu Hunt Peters. The book, which praised the merits of calorie counting for weight management, went on to become the number-four nonfiction book
I’m a sexologist, and this is what I would look for before investing in a sex toy
February 06, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC You always remember your first. Something simple, perhaps with a wire (how quaint!). Or maybe it was battery powered with real batteries—AA and everything. The day that we bring home our first vibrator is a huge milestone, and that’s why if Old Faithful gets put out to pasture we become dizzy-headed. And even if it’s had many buzzy successors, if you’re buying a sex toy for the first time in a long time, where do you even begin? Gone are the days where you’re just going to pick up a Silver Bullet, a classic Rabbit, or a Bed, Bath, and Beyond “back massager” (lol come on) and call it a day. The sexual wellness space is dominated by women who recognize that the orgasm gap is bullshit, which is swell. But that presents a happy paradox: Too Many Sex Toys makes finding The One easier and harder. Also, let’s be real, when they’re retailing in the triple digits, you want to make sure you get back on your investment. Listen, you’re an adult now, one who deserves sophisticated, elegant, earthshaking orgasms. So we enlisted sexologist Alicia Sinclair, certified sexologist and creator of Le Wand Massager, to outline what to look for when investing in a sex toy. What to consider before buying a sex toy 1. The material For some of us, making sure there’s a checkmark next to “waterproof” is more than enough. In general, though, you should double-check that your next pleasure friend
10 easy-to-digest foods to eat when your gut is feeling out of sorts
February 06, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC Benjamin Franklin once said that we can only expect two things from life: death and taxes. Well, there’s actually a third thing that the Founding Father neglected to add to the list, and that is digestive issues. (Sorry, Ben, but you know it’s true.) Whether it’s an upset stomach, indigestion, reflux, nausea, diarrhea, or worse, food poisoning, these kinds of things can happen to the best of us, and they’re far from pleasant. Although there are many things you can do to improve your digestion, such as Ayurvedic breathing exercises, getting an abdominal massage, or even analyzing your poop, sticking to easy-to-digest foods is one of the best things to do when this happens. These types of foods, says Anabelle Harari Clebaner, RD, founder of Wellspring Nutrition, give your GI tract and bowels a break by not needing to work so hard to break down food when it’s already inflamed. It’s like the digestive equivalent of taking a sick day—you need to let your gut rest in order to heal. As a general rule of thumb, Brittany Modell, RD, founder of Brittany Modell Nutrition and Wellness, says that when dealing with digestive disorders or symptoms, it’s best to opt for creamy textured foods that are lean, contain reduced fat, and are low in fiber. But things that don’t get better after a few days likely require more help than a temporary diet change. “Gastrointestinal disorders are complex,” Modell says. “There is no one-size-fits-all
5 whisper-quiet hair dryers we can’t stop talking about
February 06, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC We’ve all been there: We’re at the salon getting our hair blown out or standing in our bathroom attempting to style our hair ourselves, only for someone to try to start a full-blown conversation amongst the racket. What usually ensues is a lot squinting and eyebrow raising in an often-failed attempt to actually hear what they’re trying to say. Of course, this wouldn’t be the case if hairdryers were even the slightest bit less noisy (and yes! quiet hair dryers do exist)! Fortunately for us, we live in an age where beauty technology is forever on the rise, and with that has come a series of hairdryers that are so quiet, you can still carry on a conversation. To save you from having to find device with a magical motor—one in which produces high-speed air at a lower sound decibel—I’ve done the hands-on research for you. Now, before introducing you to these must-try dryers, I want you to remember two things: A) A quiet hairdryer is still not 100 percent noiseless, it’s just noticeably less noisy than a regular dryer, and B) with lower sound often comes a higher price tag, but know that investing in one of these puppies will help make drying faster and more efficient. So, without further ado, shop five conversation-positive hairdryers below. Photo: Dyson Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer, $399 This ultra-quiet hairdryer is a must-have among celebrity stylists all over the world—and for good reason. In addition to