April 09, 2019 at 05:13AM by CWC In urban areas where boutique fitness studios and workout joints are popping up faster than you can say “pass the La Croix,” more and more dedicated LGBTQ+ spaces are becoming extinct. The physical places—bars, clubs, baths—where queer and lesbian folks met, socialized, and fell in love in the ’90s and early ’00s are closing one-by-one, and have been for the past two decades. According to Market Watch, in 2017, only 36 of the 1,357 LGBTQ bars in the world were lesbian bars, and that’s down from 56 in 2014. In New York City, there are only four lesbian bars, and in other big cities like San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, there are none. But, as Will Lanier, executive director of The OUT Foundation and founder of OUTWOD puts it: When you’re a minority group—be it sexuality, race, or gender—having a safe, shared space is life-saving. So…what now? Queer wellness spaces and LGBTQ+ fitness communities are emerging in their place. For folks already entrenched in the fitness and wellness scene, this shift from bars-to-barre won’t come as a surprise. We’ve already seen that wellness spaces are replacing the local watering hole en masse for people of all identities. Recently, there’s been an influx of fitness classes and groups created specifically for LGBTQ+ folks. For example, Laughing Lotus in New York City, owned and operated by renowned yogi Dana Flynn, recently launched a Queens and Queers: Fluid Flow yoga class, while OUTWOD hosts a
Category: City
Is oat milk good for you, or is it too good to be true?
April 08, 2019 at 01:34PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L–bGxpHTVQ] Oat milk is one of those things that once you try it, it’s hard to stop. It’s the creamy and oh-so-delicious mix-in your daily latte has been craving. But it’s also one of those things that’s so good…you have to wonder if there’s a catch. How can something that seems this healthy taste this good? Is oat milk good for you, or are we all just playing ourselves? What are the benefits of oat milk? Because oat milk is relatively new, the USDA hasn’t produced a standard for oat milk nutrients. For reference, here’s the nutrition info for one cup of Oatly. Calories: 120 Protein: 3 grams Carbohydrates: 16 grams Fat: 5 grams Sodium: 0.1 grams Fiber: 2 grams Sugar: 7 grams Beyond the nutritional profile, oat milk has a decent amount of benefits to offer, including: 1. It has fiber (unlike other milks). Oat milk has more fiber in comparison to other alt-milks and cow’s milk. In a recent episode of You vs Food, Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, explains this is thanks to beta glucan, “a super dietary fiber found in oats that’s been celebrated for its cholesterol-lowering properties.” Specifically, it’s been shown to lower LDL cholesterol, AKA the bad kind which has been associated with heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems. 2. It’s full of vitamin B. The healthy slow-digesting carbs found in oat milk deliver B vitamins, which aid in red blood cell production and the conversion
Score these cult-fave French beauty products at stateside drugstores, stat
April 03, 2019 at 08:11AM by CWC When I finally got to visit France for the first time a couple of years ago, the first thing I did was hit up a drugstore to scope out the all-hailed Parisian beauty treasures that are always gossiped and raved about here in the U.S. I wasn’t let down—in my shopping cart went all of the foreign skin-care gems I could get my hands on. Ever since I’ve been back, though, I’ve dreamt about the French goodies that I didn’t get to buy. There are so many amazing brands and products across the pond, but I can only make it to Paris like… you know, once every few years, if that. The good news, though? French beauty products are now trickling into drugstores. Seriously. You no longer have to save up for a flight in order to score French drugstore cult-favorite skin-care products, thanks to American megastores like Target, Costco, Walmart, and CVS. Which means that as you go to refill a prescription or pick up some toilet paper, you can also drop into the beauty aisle for some Parisian beauty superstars. Let me prove it to you—keep scrolling for the French drugstore products you can get at U.S. drugstores. Photo: Avene Avene Rich Compensating Cream, $35 at Walgreens There’s nothing so French as Avène, a Parisian drugstore staple known for using thermal spring water to soothe even the most sensitive of skin types. This cream is super hydrating and helps to restore your
Not to worry—here’s everything you need to know about dealing with anxiety attacks
April 03, 2019 at 08:05AM by CWC “Let it go, let it go. Can’t hold it back anymore.” Okay, to most wide-eyed children, Elsa from Disney’s Frozen is just this super-cool, kind of complicated snow queen with a great singing voice and a killer side braid. But if you really boil it down, the character is oh-so-relatable to the adult set, too. Think about it: She spends most of her life hiding from the outside world. She’s so worried about what might happen that she secludes herself from all of it. Beyond withdrawing from her family and friends, she avoids her problems instead of accepting or dealing with them. And not to get all clinical, but might it be possible that Elsa was suffering from some pretty intense anxiety while she was refusing to build a snowman with sweet Anna? Sure, it’s a cheeky comparison, but in today’s ever-busy, always-working, rise-and-grind #hustleculture, all people are practically wired for anxiety. We may not have to worry about dudes trying to steal our castles and family fortune (probably), but the demands of life today are no joke, whether you’re a successful CEO, an analyst by day and yoga instructor by night, or a living-paycheck-to-paycheck recent grad trying to figure out WTF to do next. So, in the event your worries ever percolate into anxiety-attack territory, here’s what to do. Anxiety attacks: 101 First things first, generalized anxiety is something many people experience from time to time. It’s a feeling of nervousness or
Dear trainers: Today, I was the worst person in my workout class—halp!
April 02, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC At SLT this morning, I was the worst person in my class. Hands down: I was the least skilled, I did everything wrong, and I took the most breaks, while literally everyone else made the workout look like a breeze (and let me reassure you, it’s not). Feeling like you’re dragging along in a fitness class is a pretty lousy feeling, especially when you’re an avid fitness devotee. It’s a blow to your ego, and you can’t help but wonder if everyone—including the class’s instructor—is judging you. To coddle my sacrificed fitness confidence, I thought I’d go directly to the source and ask trainers what to do if you feel like you’re falling flat in a workout. “When you work out, you’re doing it for you,” says Amanda Jenny, a master instructor at SLT. “That’s the number one thing to remember. You have full permission to be your number one priority for a whole 50 minutes—and the beautiful thing is that this is the case for everyone in the room.” Well, that’s a fair point. “When you work out, you’re doing it for you. That’s the number one thing to remember.” —Amanda Jenny But if you’re genuinely like me and feel like you’re steps behind the rest of the class, note this: “I would never categorize someone as the worst person in the class,” says Barry’s Bootcamp instructor Kelly Bennett. “There are many levels of experience in fitness, and Barry’s welcomes all levels.” So
I love my mastectomy scars, but my relationship with my body is more complicated
March 28, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC When she was 22 years old, Paige More received news that would change the trajectory of her life: She learned she was a carrier of the BRCA1 gene mutation, which gave her an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer in her lifetime. After watching several family members pass away from aggressive forms of the disease as a child, More knew she didn’t want to suffer the same fate. Instead, she went into warrior mode, choosing to have both breasts removed in a preventative mastectomy. In the years that followed, More became a celebrated activist for women’s health and empowerment, launching a non-profit community called The Breasties that offers retreats, events, and support for young women affected by breast and reproductive cancers. But as she was putting on a brave face for the world, she was internally struggling—feeling like she no longer had control over her own body as it adapted to life post-surgery. Here, she gets real about what it was like to be a body positivity advocate who didn’t love her own body, and how she’s repairing her relationship with it now. When I came out of surgery, I remember looking down and seeing my scars for the first time, and I felt like they were the sexiest, most beautiful things in the world. I felt like a total badass—they represented a choice I made to defy the odds, change the course of my future, and save my own life. (To
Use this 3-step checklist to decide whether your ex is even worthy of your friendship
March 27, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC We can all agree that “I hope we can still be friends” is the biggest BS kiss-off that can emerge from a breakup conversation. The whole thing feels like an urban legend of sorts. So few of us are able to manage being friends with an ex without it ending badly—and why is it even a goal? When looking at the sitch from a distance, it seems obvious that the whole endeavor is masochistic in nature because well-intentioned boundaries quickly give way to broken ones. In fact, research shows people who want to stay friends with their ex and bona fide psychopaths are known to share some similar dark traits. So call me a psychopath, because though most of my attempts at befriending an ex have ended with some ill-fated trips to bedroom and/or vile, misogynistic Facebook messages, I keep on keeping on. Among the dozen or so ex-whatevers I’ve had over the years, there’s at least one sweet goth boy with whom I am down to share text memes and a coffee. And that’s enough evidence to sell me on the whole masochistic runaround maybe being worth the struggle. After all, occasionally you earnestly care for someone, but being with them in a romantic relationship isn’t the right move. Or maybe enough time has passed to heal your emotional wounds. Or maybe you share a family or your lives are otherwise permanently enmeshed. In these cases and many others, friendship might be
The top 10 drugstore skin products don’t go a day without being praised by derms
March 27, 2019 at 12:31PM by CWC Here at Well+Good HQ, we’re constantly singing the praises of drugstore beauty. From our favorite $7 toner to the French girl-favorite body wash that has become a staple in all of our showers, not a day goes by in our offices without someone waxing poetic about the skin-care product they found at Target or CVS or Walgreens that they now can’t live without. We’re not the only ones fawning over affordable buys these days: Dermatologists, too, are always sharing their tried-and-true product recommendations, most of which max out at well under $40. With this breadth of knowledge at our collective fingertips, we decided to put together a list of the best drugstore skin-care products in every category. We rounded up the top 10 editor-tested products, and the grand total? $203. But trust us—these will make you feel like a million bucks. Photo: Bioderma Makeup remover: Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water, $14 This French girl favorite is pretty much a perfect product. Bioderma’s micellar water can be used as a makeup remover, a pre-cleanse, or on its own as a gentle formula that works with every skin type. Micelles—which are oil particles suspended in water—help lift dirt from your pores while the water hydrates, leaving your skin gently purified from dirt and grime. Photo: Burt’s Bees Cleanser: Burt’s Bees Face Cleanser for Sensitive Skin, $8 Derms love this $8 cleanser to use with other aggressive actives, and there’s actual research out there to back
A scenic view does wonders for your happiness—even in the city
March 27, 2019 at 12:24PM by CWC It’s no surprise that natural beauty makes people happy. When I think of the most stunning places in the world, I’m transported to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Antelope Canyon, places yet to be ruined by development. Human presence often spoils the unspoiled (see: Joshua Tree). But an urban surrounding with city views provides a burst of happiness, too. In a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers looked into settings that boost your mood by collecting data on individual happiness from the Mappiness app, as well as and ratings of “scenicness” from the online game Scenic-Or-Not. What they found was that while people are indeed happier in locations deemed scenic, this includes both those in natural environments and built-up areas in urban settings. “It’s not just a natural area that might have an impact on happiness, but we might also feel happier in more beautiful areas in our cities,” data scientist and study author Chanuki Illushka Seresinhe told Scientific American. “I think what’s interesting about this research is it shows that just a small injection of beauty into an area of a city can create happiness for possibly thousands of people that are being exposed to that.” While visiting some of the most otherworldly places on the planet is a bucket list must, this study shows you can find happiness without immediate access to nature. And these are some of the best city views to prove it: 1/10 Sydney, Australia Getty
Why you should always toss a tennis ball into your carry-on
March 25, 2019 at 07:01AM by CWC At this point, you’re probably adept at packing a carry-on bag to perfection. Lavender essential oil? Check. Moisturizer? Check. Chic headphones? Check. The one thing you’re missing, though? A tennis ball. It might sound strange—unless, you know, you’re a tennis player—but one doctor made a case for toting around the small yellow orb while traveling. Ali Ghoz, MD, a London-based surgeon, told Daily Star that the ball make is the perfect tool for stretching mid-flight and massaging painful knots and muscle aches. (Because you can only crawl over your neighbor to walk it off so many times before they start to hate you.) Increase circulation in your body by rolling a tennis ball everywhere from your shoulders and lower back to legs and the bottoms of your feet, Dr. Ali Ghoz said. If you have a tennis ball, Dr. Ghoz said you can increase circulation in your body by rolling it everywhere from your shoulders and lower back to legs and the bottoms of your feet, as well as any other trigger points. Just hold the bright-yellow round to whatever area you choose, apply pressure, and feel your muscles start to loosen up. Don’t worry if you don’t have a tennis ball on hand, though. Ghoz also noted you can use other methods too: “If you don’t have a massager, you can use your hands to stroke your muscles from the ankles upward, which will get the blood flowing back to your heart,” he told Daily Star. Aside from giving yourself a mini massage, Ghoz mentioned drinking water regularly to