February 03, 2020 at 04:59PM by CWC Even if you’re someone who can casually rattle off their sun, moon, and rising sign and is keenly aware of their astrological compatibility and shadow side, there are likely certain components of the cosmos you don’t know. Coming upon these bits of previously unknown information can feel like an exciting opportunity to learn something new—at least that’s how I always feel when I stumble upon new-to-me astrological concepts. And that’s exactly what happened when I learned about the upcoming supermoon happening on February 9…and that there are three additional supermoons happening later this year. Immediately, I needed to know: What is a supermoon, anyway? “A supermoon is a full moon at ‘perigee,’ which means it’s at its closest approach to Earth on a given orbit,” says Rachel Lang, intuitive astrologer and healer. “We call it ‘perigee syzygy,’” with ‘syzygy’ being an astronomical term that explains three or more celestial bodies being aligned. In this case, those bodies are the Earth, the moon, and the sun. Because of this moon-to-Earth proximity, supermoons appear bigger and brighter than other full moons—and in 2020, there are four supermoons: February 9, March 9, April 8, and May 7. So, what how might this astrological occurrence impact you? “A supermoon heightens this awareness and the potential for life change,” —Rachel Lang, intuitive astrologer “The moon in astrology represents our deep inner world and our emotions,” Lang says. “During a full moon, we tend to see aspects of our
Category: Your Healthiest Relationship
The simple protein-packed breakfast J.Lo’s trainer makes in 5 minutes flat
February 03, 2020 at 04:45PM by CWC I don’t think I was the only one who ended last night’s Super Bowl halftime show with a dropped jaw. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira killed it with a performance that caused uproarious applause and a major spike in Google searches. They may not spill all their secrets about staying fit, but you can count on J.Lo’s trainer David Kirsch to do just that. He’s been training J.Lo for years, and he recently shared one of his plant-based breakfast staples that will leave you feeling energized enough to put on a show of your own. Kirsch is a major fan of stuffed avocados for breakfast. Sometimes he opts for a classic avo-and-egg combo, which is loaded with protein, but he says the best way to maintain a healthy diet is mixing things up. To turn up the heat, fill half an avocado with “sautéed jalapeño peppers, which are loaded with vitamin A, mineral- and antioxidant-rich mushrooms, and Tuscan kale, which contains vitamins K, C, and B-6,” he writes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by David Kirsch (@davidkirsch) on Dec 5, 2019 at 7:11am PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js Not only is this breakfast super simple with just a few easy-to-find ingredients (many of which you probably already have on hand!), but it’s also great for those days you don’t have a lot of time to make breakfast. (Every day?) Sautéing everything up takes less than five minutes, then all you need to
Prepare to be sore: This 7-move Pilates-inspired workout will light up your full body
February 03, 2020 at 03:30PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8A8zKXeHNo] Pilates-inspired workouts—one of Well+Good’s 2020 wellness trends—are known for their really, really slow, small movements that burn like hell. While you could hit up a studio in your ‘hood, you can get a Pilates in home workout in your very own living room—with that same level of muscle-quaking burn. This month, Solidcore trainer Triana Brown is bringing us at-home Pilates exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime, with just a couple of sliders (or a towel or some paper plates). In February, Brown will be our Trainer of the Month, and she’ll be bringing you four weeks of how-can-this-be-so-hard workouts. This week, target your core, upper and lower body, and glutes in a 15-minute, seven-move sweat sesh. PS: You might need a towel for yourself too, because it’s gonna get sweaty. Try this full-body slider workout 1. Plank to pike: Starting in plank position with your hands directly underneath your shoulders, put your toes right on top of your sliders. With your tailbone tucked under, contract your abdominals and lift your hips up to the ceiling into a pike. Keep your hips lifted throughout the entire range of motion as you slide back into a plank. Go as slow as you can—you should feel the burn right away. If you want to make it harder, you can hold at the top of the pike for a few seconds and even add a pulse so that your hips go up and down.
Smoothies aren’t always healthy—here’s how to ensure your next one is
February 03, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC There are few foods out there with more of an enduring healthy reputation than smoothies. Experts love to recommend them for breakfasts, colorful recipes are splashed all over wellness influencers’ feeds, and they’re a mainstay of many wellness-minded restaurant menus. It makes sense as to why we love them, too. They’re delicious, beautiful, portable, and relatively easy to throw together in the blender. They seem to be a perfect snack or breakfast, depending on what you put in them. But considering that we are unfortunately in a climate of peak nutrition information overload—even second-guessing the health merits of certain vegetables, no less—it’s worth revisiting the health merits of the perennial favorite that is the smoothie. Are smoothies healthy, or have we just been fooling ourselves for years? Here’s what you should know. So, real talk: Are smoothies healthy? Unfortunately, not always. “Not all smoothies are truly healthy—some can contain a lot of added sugar and sweeteners and if you’re having it pre-made somewhere, you don’t [always] know if they’re using unsweetened milk or what type of protein powder exactly of the portion size,” says Maggie Michalczyk, MS, RD. It can be super confusing—smoothies are often seen as being packed with vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber and protein (if there’s a source like nut butter, milk, or avocado inside, and there usually is to make it creamy). And if you compared a smoothie to a bacon breakfast sandwich, you’re probably thinking that
Sex educators want you to have pillow talk after sex (because postgame analysis isn’t just a sports thing)
February 03, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC Even dating back to my first-ever kisses, I adhered to a specific post-smooch routine: Call up my best friend and tell her about it in excruciating detail: the saliva situation, tongue use, hand placement, you name it. The debrief was as thorough as the kiss itself. And now, even as someone with a sex life that goes beyond kissing alone, I’ve continued this habit of postgame analysis (an analysis that, to be clear, has nothing to do with which team won the Super Bowl) with my closest friends. Whether a sexual encounter was particularly gratifying, satisfying, or horrifying, they heard about it—until recently, when my routine suddenly changed. That’s because my current partner introduced me to a new after-sex tradition: pillow talk about the sex we just had together. And it turns out sex-educators are huge fans of the practice. The case for introducing a postgame analysis into your bedroom Post-sex analysis are similar in spirit to the postgame-analysis broadcasts that occur after sporting events—but sexified. After catching your breath, cleaning up and disposing of contraceptive barriers, and in general letting sex-brains symptoms subside, get comfortable (cuddle, even!) and take turns hashing out the details of the sex that just took place. “That kind of frank back-and-forth can increase intimacy and provide the opportunity for each of you to better understand what is most enjoyable for you sexually,” says clinical psychologist and sex therapist Christopher Ryan Jones, PsyD. “That kind of frank back-and-forth
I put snail gel on my face for a whole month—here’s what happened to my skin
February 03, 2020 at 10:00AM by CWC You could say I’m familiar with snails if you count Gary from Spongebob and the time I ate a few on top of toast when I visited Paris (insert chef’s kiss). What I didn’t know until about a month ago is that snails could be used in my skin-care routine. No not the spiral-shaped animal itself, but the snail secretion that can be made into a skin-softening gel for your face. As the official will-test-anything woman in the Well+Good office, I figured why not rub this stuff all over my skin to see what my complexion thinks? But rather than blindly plunging head-first into my gastropod experiment, I wanted to learn what in the world someone was thinking when first applying snail mucin to their face. So I asked Victoria Harrison, director of technical services at Dr.Organic®, to shed some light. “Snail farmers in South America first discovered the unique healthy-aging properties of snail mucin when they realized how soft and supple their hands felt after working with the snails,” she says. Soft hands, soft skin—makes sense. I decided to take the leap (if it could make even farmers’ hands supple, and is free of parabens, cruelty-free, and made with select organic ingredients, what’s there to lose?) and added Dr.Organic® Snail Gel to my routine. I monitored my skin over 30 days, but lucky for me, I noticed results way quicker than a snail’s pace. Keep scrolling to see how I felt after
With Venus in Aries, you’re due for a fiery dose of bravery this week
February 02, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC With Imbolc (aka Candlemas), the halfway point between the last solstice and the upcoming equinox, happening on Sunday, February 2, the month kicks off with an invitation to settle into the opportunities this midseason moment presents. Simultaneously, on this cross-quarter day, we’re able to set our sights on what’s yet to come into fruition, centering ourselves in the light of our home amid the continued darkness of this time of year. Imbolc asks us to commit to the actions, goals, and dreams we most want to cultivate as we come closer to the season of growth around the corner. More specifically, it’s important to check in with our bodies in this heart of winter, introspecting about how we can better nourish ourselves so we don’t merely endure the remaining cold months but rather thrive. What does your body need? How does your skin feel? How can you deeply heal yourself? To fortify yourself from the inside out, consider what you can gain by providing yourself with broths, stews, and other easy-to-digest foods. Don’t underestimate the power of hydration, either. And if you’re prone to symptoms of the winter blues, be sure to supplement with sufficient vitamin D. Also, take diligent care of your skin, perhaps even scheduling a facial. You can’t over-pamper yourself right now. Venus wants you to lean into your beauty routine this week From an astrological perspective, on February 2 and 3, Venus, the planet of love and beauty, sextiles
Restrictive dieting doesn’t work—here’s how to make sure your healthy habits actually stick
February 02, 2020 at 08:00PM by CWC There are a lot of bad health trends that we were excited to say goodbye to last year, from detox teas (ugh) to antidepressant shaming. But unfortunately, restrictive diets that promote cutting out whole food groups and severe limitations on what foods are “allowed,” continue to be a mainstay of the healthy eating world. To be clear, some health conditions such as celiac disease require the shunning of specific foods. But for most healthy adults, overly restrictive diets aren’t likely to lead to any kind of success, whether that’s healthy weight management, sustained energy, nutrition, digestive health, and an optimal relationship with food. Not only do eating plans that cut out whole food groups can make it isolating and hard to stick with, restrictive diets—and the behaviors they encourage—can lead to orthorexia and other forms of disordered eating. For example, studies have shown that being fixated on nutrition labels and calories can increase the risk of binge eating, anorexia, and bulimia. So how to stick to a diet that’s genuinely healthy, without having to restrict what, when, and how much you eat? Here, holistic health coach and intuitive eating counselor Rachel Cole shares the habits to stick to that will set you up for long-term success. How to stick to a healthy diet for the long haul 1. Stop thinking of certain foods as “off limits” The most important change to make, Cole says, is a shift in mindset. It’s crucial to stop
I’m an RD, and these are the 3 most common questions I get asked about gut health
February 02, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC With the increasing amount of evidence linking your microbiome (the bacteria that call your body home) to your overall health and well-being, it’s safe to say that many people are now listening to their gut, so to speak, when making their food choices. And with that percolating interest in all things gut-health, questions have also bubbled up—lots of ’em. Just ask the registered dietitians who answer them daily. Oh wait, we did that for you. Here, three RDs let us in on the gut-health FAQs they get from patients. 1. How does fiber help gut health? When it comes to keeping your gut in tip-top shape, getting enough fiber is key. According to Amy Gorin, RDN, owner of Amy Gorin Nutrition in New York, the two types—soluble and insoluble fiber—are necessary for maintaining good gut health. “Insoluble fiber is found in foods such as whole grains and veggies. It helps get things moving through your digestive system and also helps bulk up your stool, helping it to pass,” she says. “Soluble fiber is found in oat bran, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and some fruits, and veggies. It soaks up water as it moves through your body. This helps bulk up your stool and prevent constipation. It’s best to include sources of fiber in each eating occasion.” 2. Should I be taking probiotics? “Probiotics are living microorganisms that can provide many health benefits [when consumed],” says Tony Castillo, RDN, LDN, and nutrition consultant for
I’m a Sephora beauty director and these are the 4 best foundations money can buy
February 02, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC I’ve always considered myself a tinted moisturizer devotee, but after two minutes on the phone with Sephora Beauty Director David Razzano, I’ve had a change of heart. The makeup artist who tries thousands of products each year talks about full-coverage foundation the way Anthony Bourdain talked about butter. And after hearing what he considers the four best foundations out of the 599 sold at Sephora, my wallet is seriously hurting. “I think the reason why people are so obsessed with foundation is because even if you’re not into makeup per se, even if you’re not a makeup person, you still want good skin. You still want to look your best,” Razzano tells Well+Good. If you, like me, are thinking “retweet,” keep scrolling for the foundation Razzano uses down to the very last drop. The 4 best foundations at Sephora, according to the brand’s beauty director 1. NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation, $49 All Photos: Sephora “This particular foundation really stood out to me. It wears beautifully, and it’s got a semi-matte finish, which I think is a really good standard for [a product] you can use on anyone. It can be used on someone with dry skin to oily skin… There is a radiance to this that gives it a skin-like look and finish,” says Razzano. If you tend toward the dryer side of the skin aisle, he recommends applying an ultra-hydrating moisturizer before layering on your NARS. Shade range: 34 2. Sephora Collection