August 06, 2019 at 10:42AM by CWC Whenever it comes time to do a core workout on my own, I tend to crunch myself into oblivion for five minutes, then flip over and finish things off in a plank. Thrilling stuff, huh? Not only is this series super boring (true story: I’ve actually almost fallen asleep in the middle of doing it), it also completely ignores all of the other muscles in the midsection aside from your abs, like your back and obliques. But this morning, during a class at New York City’s 305 Fitness, trainer Samantha Barriento introduced me to an “around the world abs” sequence that left every square inch of my core positively quaking in the best (and least boring) possible way. Here’s how it works: You start off in a plank, then cycle through a series of moves on your sides and back in order to target all 360-degrees of your core. You’re essentially moving your body in a circle—or, “around the world”—to be sure you don’t miss a single muscle. “This sequence will get at the main muscle groups in your abdominal area and will help you feel supported,” says Barriento. Forearm plank: Start in a forearm plank, engaging your abs and glutes to lengthen the spine and making sure your head is in line with your bum. Hold for 30 seconds. Hip dips: Holding your plank, move your hips back and forth from side to side. This will activate the obliques and transverse abdominals.
Category: EDITORSPICK
The Secret To Avoiding Burnout? Try A Little Mindful Indulgence
August 06, 2019 at 01:09AM In 2019, burnout was officially recognized by the World Health Organization. My colleagues and I thought, “It’s about time!” But it was an important step in affirming that you’re neither weak nor alone if you’ve burnt out or are teetering on the brink. But one lingering fallacy that still remains: Most of us believe burning out is acceptable and expect to experience it repeatedly. In short, there’s no other way out. Here’s the problem with this fallacy: Burning out is not a badge of honor: We all know about the machismo of little sleep, where people compete on the number of hours they’ve slogged through and compare how they’ve barely slept. It’s as though chronic, overwhelming stress is a status symbol—if you haven’t burnt out, you aren’t working hard enough. That’s no way to live. It can lead to learned helplessness: We find new ways of coping as we emerge from the ashes of burnout—but these may not be healthy. Then there is the awful recovery period, endured to the familiar soundtrack of depression, anxiety, and self-doubt. Repeat this on a loop, and imagine how you’ll dread the next round of burning out. Put simply, we learn to become helpless and hopeless. What if I—a psychologist for Type-A perfectionists—told you there’s another way out? Specifically, a way that my friend and two-time Olympian Peter Shmock and I christen “The Jedi Way to Performance.” Coming from two very different life paths and disciplines, Peter and I
Top 50 Bunless Burger Recipes for Low-Carb Burgers
Welcome to my list of the 50 top bunless burger recipes for low-carb burgers from the top low-carb and keto recipe websites from around the world. Everybody loves a good burger, but if you’re new to ditching the carbs and get a hankering for one, you’d probably be unsure how to start making one without derailing your progress. The easy solution? Bunless burgers. Top 50 Bunless Burger Recipes For Low-Carb Burgers Below are my favourite bunless burger recipes for low-carb burgers. There are beef, turkey, salmon, bacon, egg, and even casseroles and slow cooker healthy burger style recipes. Top Video This Month How to make a healthy low-carb lunch box Do you have a favourite bunless burger recipe? How do you make yours? I prefer mine sitting on a large salad with lots of toppings such as cheese, pickles, avocado, bacon, salsa, onions and sometimes, sour cream. Bunless Burger Recipes For Low-Carb Burgers – the patties 1: Low-Carb Mexican Chicken Burgers – with a quick cooking video too. Do you like them spicy or mild? 2: The Famous ABC Keto Burger – now who doesn’t love avocado, bacon and chicken combo?? 3: Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole – OK so this might not be an actual burger, but its everything you love in a cheeseburger, in an easy family casserole. Top tip: it tastes even better the next day. 4: Low-Carb Blue Cheese Burger – by Low carb Maven – with amazing crazy flavours, you won’t miss the bun. 5: Paleo
National Lipstick Day means free cosmetics for everyone. Here’s what you need to know
Published 28th July 2019 Credit: Horst P. Horst/Conde Nast/Getty Images Beauty buffs across the United States on Monday will try new shades of lipstick or don old favorites for National Lipstick Day.The annual celebration honors one of the beauty industry’s oldest and most beloved cosmetic products.Here’s everything you need to know about lipstick and the special day — including where to score free products. Where does lipstick come from? The practice of painting lips dates back thousands of years.Some of the first known people to do so lived in Mesopotamia near the Sumerian city of Ur, according to the book “Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick.” That’s roughly around present-day southern Iraq. There, Queen Schub-ad made a paste from white lead and crushed red rocks to color her lips.From there, the lip-painting trend spread through the region and across the world. It made its way to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. It survived the Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance and more.Ultimately, it was Western European settlers that brought lipstick to American shores. To this day, lipstick is still one of the most recognizable makeup products in the world.Honestly, homegirl Schub-ad was way ahead of her time. How has lipstick changed over the years? Lipstick may have started as crushed red rocks, but it’s changed a lot since then.A modern tube of lipstick contains lots of ingredients intended to improve shade, taste, scent and performance. Some also feature sun protection, moisturizing and waterproof properties.And “lipstick” doesn’t just refer
The art of completing a phone call with an automated voice system—without having a meltdown
July 21, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC Recently, in the midst of step three of my health-insurance company’s automated customer service system to get my call directed to the correct department, I got sassed. “I’m sorry, you seem to have entered the ID number incorrectly,” the interactive voice response patronized. So I snapped back at what’s sure to be Siri’s demonic cousin: “You seem to be a dumb bitch.” Demonic Siri paused for a moment before continuing. “Okay, let me connect you with a representative.” But before that actually happened I had to hang up. It was time for therapy, because of course it was. I’ve been in steady battles with interactive voice response systems since I got on the birth control pill years and years ago—and my relationship with this techy monstrosity has been marked by nothing more significant than barrels of tears, skyrocketing cortisol levels, and expletives. Different brands use different systems with different voices, but in effect, they’re really all the same, and they manage to enrage me to equally high measures. Like, if could get what I need by simply getting online and navigating a website, do you think I would ever dare to make a phone call? And do you think it feels good to know that a robot alone can raise my symptoms of anxiety? No! That’s just embarrassing. And to all the “helpful” reasons that interactive voice response systems are kept in place, I say BS. The reality is that they’re designed to keep
Taking fish oil? Here’s how to make it more effective (and less burp-inducing)
July 16, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE-pPrlowHE] Want to learn why fish oil is a swimming addition to your diet? Watch the video. Taking a daily fish oil supplement is a lot like ordering a salad topped with raw onion and garlic: you (and anyone within spitting/kissing/talking distance to you) has to live with with smelly consequences of your choices for the rest of the day. If you’re physically burping the exhaust of the healthy fat-loaded supplement all day, every day, however, Tracy Lockwood-Beckerman, RD, host of Well+Good’s You Versus Food series, has some sage advice for keeping your friends around and making the most of your omega-3s. “Take the fish oil with a meal that has fats, like nuts, seeds, or avocado—my fave!—to help increase and promote better absorption,” the dietitian says in the most recent episode of the show. (Research published in the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found as much back in 2006.) When you wash the pill down with other things, your body better soaks up the benefits of the omega-3s, as well as DHA and EPA—the combination of fats that makes up the remaining 60 percent of the pill. If the fish-flavored belching persists despite your efforts, Beckerman says to stop fishing for success with your current brand of supplement and try another instead. Before you get hooked on fish oil supplements, it’s important to note that they should be an addition—not a replacement—to all the healthy fats in your life. “It’s
Happy Solstice! 5 Rituals To Ring In The Longest Day Of The Year
June 21, 2019 at 02:02AM Mission of the day: Spend time surrounded by flowers. Continue Reading… The summer solstice is a celebration of the longest day of the year, and it marks the height of the waxing season: a time when nature is blooming. Summer is synonymous with love, romance, and joy. Even the month of June was named after the goddess Juno, whose domain was love. Since this marks the moment that the sun begins to wane, cultures around the world have celebrated it by lighting bonfires to guarantee the sun’s return next year. Often, as part of these rituals, celebrants picked prized summer flowers and herbs—mugwort, chamomile, geranium, St. John’s wort, thyme, and pennyroyal—to throw on their festive bonfires. They believed these fires would banish sickness from their livestock and their families. For good luck, they jumped across the fire and even walked on hot coals, precursor to fire-walking ceremonies practiced today. In North America, Native Americans celebrate with a Sun Dance: offering a healing prayer to the Great Spirit and one of thanksgiving for the gift of the buffalo and for life itself. It begins with a period of fasting and purification. The ritual can last four days, as the participants dance to unify with Spirit and harmonize with all life. Looking to do your own solstice ritual that celebrates the love and abundance of Mother Earth? Here are a few simple ones to try today that are inspired by ancient, time-honored tradition: 1. Share the love. There
The 4-step plan to relieve decision fatigue, because there’s no need to stress about dinner
June 17, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC One frustrating aspect of being a functioning adult human is that we always find new ways to be exhausted, whether it’s the all-encompassing strain of burnout, the unending scroll of social-media overload, or decision fatigue. Wait, you’ve heard of decision fatigue, right? If that one doesn’t ring a big old bell, then retrace your steps, because surely the problem has drained you before, whether or not you noticed it. Decision fatigue is a psychological phenomenon wherein those who are overloaded with choices they need to make tend to make worse and worse ones as time continues. Basically, that’s all of us since we’re all faced with myriad decisions from the moment we wake up: It starts with, “HUH, should I get out of bed?” and then after arguing with your snooze button for 30 minutes, the decisions ramp up. What do I wear? What do I eat? L train or G train? Should I pitch this idea in my morning meeting? Should I pitch that idea? Which article should I write first? What’s the best idea for an introduction? Okay, sure, that’s specific to my every single morning, but you get the idea. ad_intervals[‘397723_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘397723_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Fast-forward a few hours, and your brain is fried but both your body and the time on the clock are urging you to have dinner. Suddenly you’re all, “I don’t know, Luke, it’s 8 p.m. on a
Citywomen like Carrie need a prenup in case of a big, messy divorce
Fans of “Sex and the City” would love nothing more than to see Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big live happily ever after. And in the beginning of the new movie, as Sarah Jessica Parker’s alter ego preps for a prance down the aisle with Big, it seems that just might happen. But while her Prince Charming may be loaded, Carrie’s collected quite a few assets herself since the start of the HBO series. Cue the column question: Can two wealthy, powerful New Yorkers get hitched without a prenup? No way! Call us overprotective, but we’ve hashed out Carrie’s assets to see what she should safeguard from the Bigster in the event of a split. “The purpose of a prenup is to make the fight about finances less combative and maybe even avoid it at the time of a divorce,” says matrimonial lawyer Sheila Riesel. “In theory, the prenup is going to take care of the financial resolution of your marriage.” Carrie’s hubby-to-be comes with Big bucks. But be warned: just because the financier/entrepreneur has full pockets doesn’t mean he’ll keep his paws off Carrie’s assets if they file for divorce. Money that Carrie makes during the marriage will be considered a “marital asset,” arguably the property of both partners. In Carrie’s case, this means royalties from the three books that may have already netted her around $1 million, as estimated by Mary Ellen O’Neill, publisher of Collins Living, the imprint that produced the “Sex and the City: The Movie” book.
This One Practice Can Shut Down Any Fight In Your Relationship
May 23, 2019 at 01:02AM This word gets thrown around a LOT, but the truth is, it’s extremely effective. Continue Reading… Mindfulness seems to be popping up everywhere these days. In therapy, it can be used as a technique to help patients be aware of what is going on around them as well as what they are experiencing internally in the present moment to help them achieve a state of calm as well as to be less critical of themselves. In relationships, then, what would happen if couples were more mindful too—that is, aware of what is going on around them with their partner as well as within themselves, being more aware of their physical, mental, and emotional experiences? Well, a lot, in fact. Especially when it comes to shutting down fights. Physical awareness Oftentimes, unfortunately, fighting between couples escalates to the point where one or both reach the level of anger. And once someone reaches that physiological state, they react and say things based on that emotional state that they cannot take back, usually making things worse. While some people truly believe they just go from a state of calm to anger, mindfulness can actually clue you into the subtle cues that occur leading up to reaching a state of anger. There are physical, emotional, and behavioral cues that can let someone know they are heading toward anger. Some of these include clenching jaws, grinding teeth, pacing, or becoming sarcastic, just to name a few. So, let’s say a couple tends to have horrible fights where one of them ends up saying horribly awful things