June 03, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC Imagine opening up your closet to find a calming sea of neutrals, each of which you can pull off the hanger, pair with literally anything else in your wardrobe, and head out for the day. Such is the beauty of creating a minimalist wardrobe, which will not only keep you looking endlessly chic (peep the #minimalistoutfit hashtag on Instagram for inspo and proof), but will also shave significant time off of your morning routine. You know those cool-looking women who are always outfitted in some stunning combination of grey, black, white, and camel? Well, with the help of these minimalist clothing brands, that could be you. The allure of a minimalist wardrobe comes in its simplicity. You know that every item in your wardrobe matches, and don’t have to stress about finding things that go together. Plus, just because getting dressed can be easy doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be boring. You can add a pop of color to your neutral palette by way of a scarf (a la leopard print, maybe?), or dress things up with some structured metal earrings. Whether you have $10 to spend or $100, scroll through for 17 minimalist clothing brands to keep on your radar. And be prepared to never say “Ugh, I have nothing to wear” again. View this post on Instagram Win your summer essentials. Share how you wear COS by posting a photo on Instagram and tagging @cosstores in the image, along with #COSEssentials,
Category: 2019 Health
Hey new moms: You should probably talk to your doc before trying fenugreek
June 03, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC What you probably pictured after deciding to breastfeed: You and your baby, snuggled up in a warm embrace during feeding time. The reality of that image may not be so accurate. Every mom has a different experience with breastfeeding, but to weigh the odds in your favor of producing an abundant milk supply, many moms will tell you to take fenugreek. But…what is that, exactly? Fenugreek is an herb; the seeds are ground into a spice, or it may be taken as a supplement, most famously to aid breastfeeding. Culinarily, if you eat curries that contain the spice blend garam masala, you’ve had fenugreek. Among some of fenugreek’s benefits: It’s a known inflammation fighter, and it’s a potential galactagogue. (Try saying that three times fast!) “This is a substance that promotes lactation,” says Caroline West Passerrello, MS, RDN, LDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The herb is a popular natural remedy for low breast milk supply, and new moms have anecdotally sworn by it for years. But here’s what everyone should know before trying it themselves, according to Passerrello. Are there any actual fenugreek benefits for new moms (or anyone else)? It’s completely understandable for people to want to make as much milk as possible when breastfeeding. “As a mom who exclusively breast-fed my daughter for four months, I remember wanting to be sure I was, and would continue, producing sufficient milk,” says Passerrello. This can be challenging for
Hey new moms: You should probably talk to your doc before trying fenugreek
June 03, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC What you probably pictured after deciding to breastfeed: You and your baby, snuggled up in a warm embrace during feeding time. The reality of that image may not be so accurate. Every mom has a different experience with breastfeeding, but to weigh the odds in your favor of producing an abundant milk supply, many moms will tell you to take fenugreek. But…what is that, exactly? Fenugreek is an herb; the seeds are ground into a spice, or it may be taken as a supplement, most famously to aid breastfeeding. Culinarily, if you eat curries that contain the spice blend garam masala, you’ve had fenugreek. Among some of fenugreek’s benefits: It’s a known inflammation fighter, and it’s a potential galactagogue. (Try saying that three times fast!) “This is a substance that promotes lactation,” says Caroline West Passerrello, MS, RDN, LDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The herb is a popular natural remedy for low breast milk supply, and new moms have anecdotally sworn by it for years. But here’s what everyone should know before trying it themselves, according to Passerrello. Are there any actual fenugreek benefits for new moms (or anyone else)? It’s completely understandable for people to want to make as much milk as possible when breastfeeding. “As a mom who exclusively breast-fed my daughter for four months, I remember wanting to be sure I was, and would continue, producing sufficient milk,” says Passerrello. This can be challenging for
Why it’s so easy and common to get stuck in the third stage of grief
June 03, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC In many ways, there is no “understanding” the loss of a loved one, but in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced a model aimed to demystify the grieving process with the 5, now sometimes 7 stages of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, guilt, depression, and acceptance. The big myth, though, is these steps build up to a staircase that leads to acceptance. Anyone can get stuck in or regress to any stage of grieving, and, anecdotally, I’ve seen a lot of friends boomerang back to the third stage: anger. One of my friends passed several months ago, and in my social circle, anger seems to be the home-base grief emotion. I now field a lot of out-of-the-blue all-caps texts about how “SOMEONE SHOULD’VE DONE SOMETHING” and wondering “HOW COULD HER HUSBAND POST THAT ON FACEBOOK?” I’m not immune, either: I recently found myself in a shout-y “IT’S NOT FAIR” breakdown. My friends and I are all screaming, always. It turns out there’s a psychological reason we’re all marooned in anger: It’s an easier mask to wear than other, more vulnerable-leaning feelings. Like grief as a whole, anger is complicated to explain and easy to feel. “Really, anger is just a shallow way of expressing grief,” says bereavement-care specialist Virginia A. Simpson. “It’s because it’s too hard to touch those softer emotions. We’ve all been taught…that strength is shown through being very rigid or angry. Anger is okay, because we
The easiest way to wreck your crunch form is also the most common modification
June 03, 2019 at 01:34PM by CWC If someone tells you to drop down and knock out some ab work, nine times out of ten a person is going to lie down on the floor, bend their knees with their feet flat, put their hands behind their head, and start crunching. It’s the quintessential, most basic ab-busting move that exists, and the hands-behind-the-head aspect has been given as a modification for ages—but, when done incorrectly, this position can wreck your whole ab workout. “Trainers—myself included—often cue supine spinal flexion because it gives such a satisfying burn and you can really feel like you’re doing something—and I find that it’s actually helpful with posture correction if someone’s locked in spinal extension,” says Helen Phelan, trainer and creator of Pilates Rebel. But there are a number of ways that the most fundamental ab move can be sabotaged—which can result in all kinds of unwanted pain and injuries. “First, you aren’t supposed to pull your head up,” says Phelan. “The classical Pilates terminology for a crunch is ‘chest lift,’ which I think is a really helpful visual.” She notes that if you’re using your arm strength to yank your head off of the ground, you probably aren’t actually working to activate your rectus abdominis—AKA your six-pack muscles—so likely are’t doing a whole lot to make them stronger. If you still need some assistance to get your head off of the ground, she recommends reaching your hands out in front of you to get
Could special activewear give me better posture? I put a new slouch-correcting line through the motions
June 03, 2019 at 01:05PM by CWC Any fitness instructor worth their headset will give you tons of posture cues during the course of a workout—shoulders back, chest up, spine long. But for me, at least, all those anatomical nuances go out the window when I’m, say, pushing through the last minute of a treadmill sprint or struggling to do just five more push-ups. (Or, you know, just five push-ups total.) This is problematic, however, because my poor form has resulted in some pretty gnarly mid- and lower-back issues over the years. So when I heard about IFGfit, a new activewear line that promises to correct your posture as you sweat, I immediately sat up a little straighter. Created by orthopedic surgeon Stephen Liu, MD, the brand uses FDA-registered, patented technology to help guide your shoulders, rib cage, and spine into an optimal position—one that allows for deeper breathing and less stress on your back and joints. So how does it work? According to Dr. Liu, each piece in the women’s collection—sports bras, leggings, and T-shirts—was engineered to draw force to the back of the body. “The posterior elements are the biggest muscles we have,” he explains. “If you can rely on those muscles to work for you, it really opens you up.” Take the Lisa Posture Bra ($168), for instance—resembling a cap-sleeved crop top, it consists of five different materials, including two types of mesh and inner and outer fabrics with different weave tensions. It gently draws your shoulder blades
Could special activewear give me better posture? I put a new slouch-correcting line through the motions
June 03, 2019 at 01:05PM by CWC Any fitness instructor worth their headset will give you tons of posture cues during the course of a workout—shoulders back, chest up, spine long. But for me, at least, all those anatomical nuances go out the window when I’m, say, pushing through the last minute of a treadmill sprint or struggling to do just five more push-ups. (Or, you know, just five push-ups total.) This is problematic, however, because my poor form has resulted in some pretty gnarly mid- and lower-back issues over the years. So when I heard about IFGfit, a new activewear line that promises to correct your posture as you sweat, I immediately sat up a little straighter. Created by orthopedic surgeon Stephen Liu, MD, the brand uses FDA-registered, patented technology to help guide your shoulders, rib cage, and spine into an optimal position—one that allows for deeper breathing and less stress on your back and joints. So how does it work? According to Dr. Liu, each piece in the women’s collection—sports bras, leggings, and T-shirts—was engineered to draw force to the back of the body. “The posterior elements are the biggest muscles we have,” he explains. “If you can rely on those muscles to work for you, it really opens you up.” Take the Lisa Posture Bra ($168), for instance—resembling a cap-sleeved crop top, it consists of five different materials, including two types of mesh and inner and outer fabrics with different weave tensions. It gently draws your shoulder blades
These conditioners will fight frizz no matter what type of hair you have
June 03, 2019 at 12:57PM by CWC The minute June weather hits, styling hair becomes a totally different ball game. I can barely stand outside for five minutes before my ‘do poofs out with no abandon. And while the style looks adorable on my mom’s toy poodle, Gigi, let’s just say it isn’t so cute on me. I’ve tried seemingly everything to deal with frizz, which makes itself right at home on my strands regardless of whether I decide to wear my hair blown out, natural, or somewhere in between. Based on the comments in the Well+Good Beauty Geek Facebook group (like! share! subscribe!), I’m not the only one, either. But recently, I realized that there’s one very important part of my routine that could actually make a difference in keeping frizz at bay, and that’s my conditioner. First things first: It’s important to understand why frizz actually happens in the first place. While some people just have naturally frizzy hair (#itme), if you’re more of a seasonally frizzy kinda girl, it’s likely due to a lack of moisture in your hair. “When your hair is dry, damaged, or chemically treated, the outer layer of the strand—otherwise known as the cuticle—becomes raised, as opposed to laying flat and smooth, allowing moisture from the surrounding air to enter, causing it to swell and turn into frizz,” explains Hien Nguyen, co-founder and chief science officer at Function of Beauty. “Therefore, the more hydrated your hair is, the more the cuticle layer will
These conditioners will fight frizz no matter what type of hair you have
June 03, 2019 at 12:57PM by CWC The minute June weather hits, styling hair becomes a totally different ball game. I can barely stand outside for five minutes before my ‘do poofs out with no abandon. And while the style looks adorable on my mom’s toy poodle, Gigi, let’s just say it isn’t so cute on me. I’ve tried seemingly everything to deal with frizz, which makes itself right at home on my strands regardless of whether I decide to wear my hair blown out, natural, or somewhere in between. Based on the comments in the Well+Good Beauty Geek Facebook group (like! share! subscribe!), I’m not the only one, either. But recently, I realized that there’s one very important part of my routine that could actually make a difference in keeping frizz at bay, and that’s my conditioner. First things first: It’s important to understand why frizz actually happens in the first place. While some people just have naturally frizzy hair (#itme), if you’re more of a seasonally frizzy kinda girl, it’s likely due to a lack of moisture in your hair. “When your hair is dry, damaged, or chemically treated, the outer layer of the strand—otherwise known as the cuticle—becomes raised, as opposed to laying flat and smooth, allowing moisture from the surrounding air to enter, causing it to swell and turn into frizz,” explains Hien Nguyen, co-founder and chief science officer at Function of Beauty. “Therefore, the more hydrated your hair is, the more the cuticle layer will
How to make a healthier PB&J sandwich for grown-ups
June 03, 2019 at 12:27PM by CWC A classic PB&J is one of the only things that tastes just as good now as it did straight out of a brown paper bag in elementary school. So pour yourself a tall glass of ice cold milk—you’re going to need it while you’re chowing down on a healthy peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with fresh berries. Most popular jellies/jams/marmalades/preserves are made with a mix of fruit and high-fructose corn syrup, and several varieties just add sweetness and flavor to the spreads with fruit juice. Using just a few tablespoons to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich means you’ll be consuming a lot of sugar. But Amanda Meixner, the food blogger behind the popular Instagram account @MeowMeix, has a healthy recipe to recreate the childhood favorite with wholesome ingredients that cuts the sugar by 90 percent. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amanda Meixner (@meowmeix) on Jun 1, 2019 at 4:07pm PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js A healthy peanut butter and jelly sandwich takes just seconds to make. First, swap store-bought jelly for mashed berries. According to Meixner, all you need to do is take a 1/2 cup of washed raspberries (or strawberries, grapes…whichever you prefer!), put them in a bowl, and mash them with a fork. Then, spread your homemade jam onto the bread with your favorite nut butter. A typical sandwich might call for 2 tablespoons of raspberry preserves from Bonne Maman, for example, which contains 26