October 25, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Even in a world where questions about menstrual cups and the ins and outs of sex are completely (and blessedly) normal, somehow the ever-ubiquitous use of money remains a touchy subject for many. People want to live their healthiest life ever, but—#realtalk—it can add up. Have you ever wondered how your colleague who makes less than you do (or so you think) can afford to buy a $5 matcha and a $12 chopped salad every day? Or how your friend’s budget allows her to hit up $34 fitness classes three times a week? It’s enough to make anyone want to ask, “Ummm, excuse me. How do you afford that?!?” That’s where Well+Good’s monthly series Checks+Balanced comes in. By lifting the thick, tightly drawn curtain to expose how much women of varying income brackets spend on wellness, we’re spreading transparency and hopefully providing some inspo that’s possible to copy. Because no matter how much you make, it’s possible to cultivate healthy habits that work within your budget. This month, Elizabeth Giannuzzi, a 29-year-old living in San Francisco, reveals how her spending habits changed after leaving a high-paying job in finance to launch her food startup, Siren Snacks. With wellness being a major priority for Giannuzzi, being able to afford the start-up costs meant deciding what she could sacrifice—and what she would find a way to pay for, no matter what. (Spoiler alert: She’s been dishing out for way fewer spin classes.) Keep reading to see how her budget looks now. Here, a 29-year-old entrepreneur
Tag: Media
4 moves to loosen up your lower half if you’re dealing with restless legs
October 21, 2019 at 09:19PM by CWC If you have restless legs syndrome, you know the feeling: It’s been a long day and all you can imagine doing is settling on the couch to catch up on your fave Netflix show. As soon as you sit down, your legs start tingling and aching and then your blissful TV sesh is interrupted by the fact that your legs are screaming at you to move around. Sound familiar? “Restless legs syndrome is ultimately a slightly impulsive and erratic electrical signal in the lower nerves of the spine,” says Eric Goodman, DC, chiropractor and creator of Foundation Training. “Symptoms often worsen as you get neurologically tired, so typically it’s worse at the end of the day, and of course, while you’re trying to sleep.” You can still take actionable steps to help ease the urge to move. “It’s very important to continue to work out when you have restless legs syndrome, but it’s even more important to not overexert yourself or push yourself hard. You should only do you exercise to a point where you don’t feel aches or fatigue, and avoid overtraining the muscles,” says Nonna Gleyzer, founder of Los Angeles-based Pilates studio, Body By Nonna. That means low impact workouts that don’t involve a lot of repetitions are great options since they don’t over-fatigue your muscles (which can aggravate the symptoms). Gleyzer also suggests exercise like restorative yoga, stretching, or light walking since they can help relax your nervous system and calm
Half of millennials have quit their jobs for mental health reasons—here’s what to do if you can’t
October 20, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC Recently Harvard Business Review reported on a new survey stating that half of all millennials—and 75 percent of Gen Z—have quit a job for reasons related to mental health. This may make the under-35 set seem flippant: “Ugh, I’m sick of my job. Guess I’ll just quit!” I know first-hand that this is not the case. When I was 25, I quit my job after a 18 months of fighting an overwhelming wave of depression every day, from the time my alarm clock went off in the morning until the workday ended. I am not a risk-taker by nature. I didn’t have dreams of working for myself, and the thought of not having a steady paycheck terrified me. I certainly didn’t have a savings enough to pay my four-figure monthly New York City rent while I figured out my next move. At the same time, I spent each day completely unhappy and each night applying for new jobs. One night as I was on the phone crying to my mom, she told me I should just quit. “Being this unhappy for $35,000 a year is not worth it,” she told me. “You’re young, don’t have any kids, and all you have to worry about is yourself. This is the time in your life to take chances.” So, I did. My mental health improved literally immediately after I put my two weeks in. And before my last day even happened, new career opportunities started
There are 3 stages of a relationship—and 1 where most couples get stuck
October 16, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC It’s easy to forget that there are stages of a relationship until the moment you trip and fall face-first out of the honeymoon phase. You know the feeling, right? For some amount of time, no one and nothing can touch your love, because your romance is a beautiful, sparkling, Baz Luhrmann jukebox musical. Then you see your partner’s bedroom and learn they still have a twin-size bed, or something equally appalling. All of a sudden, you realize, “Oh, wait, everyone dies in those Luhrmann movies.” Out of the honeymoon phase you go immediately, and into something quite a bit trickier. To quote one of those doomed Lurhmann flicks, love is a many splendored thing. And one of the key elements to finding, experiencing, and—most importantly—keeping love is navigating the hard stuff with empathy, communication, and patience. Understanding the three major stages a relationship is also helpful so all parties involved can have a sense of what to expect and anticipate, good and bad. Below, get expert tips for surviving and thriving in all stages of a relationship. Stage 1: Infatuation and the honeymoon period Are cartoon hearts floating above your heads? Fireworks exploding outside your bedroom? You’ve made it three or four dates with the same person, so what else could this be other than true love? Or, at least, true lust? During this phase, hormones like norepinephrine and dopamine (yes, the intoxicating happiness-churning dopamine) surge through you. You’re ecstatic, excited, and aroused. During
Checks+Balanced: An engineer making $90K in Denver has a monthly leggings budget
October 11, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Even in a world where questions about menstrual cups and the ins and outs of sex are completely (and blessedly) normal, somehow the ever-ubiquitous use of money remains a touchy subject for many. People want to live their healthiest life ever, but—#realtalk—it can add up. Have you ever wondered how your colleague who makes less than you do (or so you think) can afford to buy a $5 matcha and a $12 chopped salad every day? Or how your friend’s budget allows her to hit up $34 fitness classes three times a week? It’s enough to make anyone want to ask, “Ummm, excuse me. How do you afford that?!?” That’s where Well+Good’s monthly series Checks+Balanced comes in. By lifting the thick, tightly drawn curtain to expose how much women of varying income brackets spend on wellness, we’re spreading transparency and hopefully providing some inspo that’s possible to copy. Because no matter how much you make, it’s possible to cultivate healthy habits that work within your budget. This month, meet Liz Stoyan, a 26-year-old engineer living in Denver, Colorado, making $90,680 a year. She’s passionate about working out (she even works as a spin instructor on the side), eating nutrient-rich food, and living an all-around healthy lifestyle. Oh, and she can’t have enough pairs of leggings—seriously, she loves them. Keep reading for an up-close look at her spending habits. Here, a 26-year-old engineer living in Denver shares her spending habits. Graphic: Well+Good Creative Liz Stoyan, 26, engineer, Denver, Colorado Income: $86,000 per year as engineer,
6 foods guaranteed to make you gassy, according to a gastroenterologist
October 09, 2019 at 09:01PM by CWC Lest you forget the scene in Bridesmaids when farting quickly landslides into explosive diarrhea (and laughs), gastric distress can come out of nowhere. Thank the food gods that not every burrito will end with you “sh*tting in the street!”… in a designer wedding dress. But if you’re curious about which foods are the prime suspects for causing uncontrollable flatulence—that’s the fancy word for farts—I consulted gastroenterologist Niket Sonpal, MD. Dr. Sonpal says the usual wind-producing suspects (like beans and cruciferous veggies) are in good company with several diet staples. Without further ado, here are the six foods to avoid for a silent and scentless gut. Watch out for these 6 foods that make you gassy 1. Beans “Beans contain a lot of fiber, but they also have sugars called alpha oligosaccharides. They get taken up by the bacteria from your colon and gas is a byproduct of the process,” explains Dr. Sonpal. Over time, the digestive tracts of those who consume a lot of legumes will get used to processing chickpeas and other beans, but those who don’t usually partake often may have digestive issues. “If you’re someone who’s not used to legumes, and then you take in, you’ll notice that you’re going to have a lot of bloating, gas, distention. You’ll experience discomfort,” says the gastroenterologist. For the record, Dr. Sonpal says that pinto beans and black beans are much easier on your digestive system than kidney beans or mung beans. So keep that
The exact way you feel stressed after socializing, according to your personality
October 09, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC The most annoying aspect of being an introvert is how quickly we fall victim to social burnout. Simply surviving a party often requires a reading break or at least two weekend days spent recovering from the ordeal with a binge-watching marathon of literally anything on Netflix and zero human interaction. But that’s just introverts—and introverts, friends, aren’t the only people who experience social stress, a Thrive Global piece recently pointed out. In fact, ambiverts and even extroverts can end up drained as a result of human interaction. That said, if you’re a classic introvert, you likely already know how to heal yourself from the effects of social burnout. (Take breaks, take breaks, take breaks!) And you’ve no doubt developed a whole self-care routine for handling the unique stress of group dinners. But if one of the more outgoing personality types best describes you, how do you identify your social stress and, more importantly, recover from it? Below, a mental-health expert breaks down the experience of social stress (and strategies for mitigating it) for all the extroverts and ambiverts out there. How extroverts feel after socializing With extroverts, the issue with over-socializing isn’t that you have trouble with and anxiety about talking with others. On the contrary, you actually love talking—talking is your favorite! The problem is, rather, that others are so familiar with your reputation that you sometimes feel locked into the social-butterfly-friend role. “Extroverts don’t usually get tired from socializing the way
Checks+Balanced: How a post-grad living in Nashville budgets for a plant-based diet
October 04, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Chances are, you talk with your friends about that embarrassing thing that happened to you at yoga and the ins and outs of sex. But for some reason, money talk remains off limits. People want to live their healthiest life ever, but—#realtalk—it can add up. Have you ever wondered how your colleague who makes less than you do (or so you think) can afford to buy a $5 matcha and a $12 chopped salad every day? Or how your friend’s budget allows her to hit up $34 fitness classes three times a week? It’s enough to make anyone want to ask, “Ummm, excuse me. How do you afford that?!?” That’s where Well+Good’s monthly series Checks+Balanced comes in. By lifting the thick, tightly drawn curtain to expose how much women of varying income brackets spend on wellness, we’re spreading transparency and hopefully providing some inspo that’s possible to copy. Because no matter how much you make, it’s possible to cultivate healthy habits that work within your budget. This month, meet Lauren Barlow, a 22-year old health-care sales specialist living in Nashville, Tennessee. She’s navigating her first full-time job while upholding healthy habits she cares about, like being plant-based on a budget. Keep reading to see how she manages. Here, a 22-year-old health-care sales specialist living in Nashville shares how she maintains healthy habits on an entry-level salary. Graphic by Well+Good Creative Lauren Barlow, 22, health-care sales specialist, Nashville Income: $38,400 per year. I work as a health-care
15 date night ideas for married couples to shake up the dinner-and-a-movie routine
September 28, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC I’ve always found it kind of odd that every fairy tale ever ends with “…and then they got married and lived happily ever after.” I mean, don’t get me wrong—the setup can be great, but it’s also forever, which means sometimes the vibe is bound to shift from elated and smiley to bored and complacent—especially when it comes to date night ideas for married couples. In real life, after the figurative honeymoon period (and literal honeymoon) ends, you’re less likely to find yourself swept off your feet than with your feet kicked up, marathon-watching vintage episodes of Friends. To be clear, I’m not suggesting marriage is a bummer, but it can definitely become routine. But all that a stale routine needs is some fresh inspiration. And the good news on that front is that relationship expert Susan Winter says injecting some novelty into date night ideas for married couples shouldn’t be a tall task. All it really requires is the reintroduction of a sense of adventure and an element of play. And maybe Yelp. Adventurous date night ideas An adrenaline rush can be good for you and doesn’t need to be limited to rewatching your favorite horror flick. Again. “The adventure date is designed to break away from routine,” Winter says. “It’s not just a Friday-night movie or Saturday-night Netflix and pizza; the adventure date shakes things up. It’s a chance for each partner to expand their personal limits and interests.” Pushing past
‘I’m a psychologist, and these are the 5 things I do for better mental health’
September 27, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC If anyone knows how important self-care practices are for mental health, it’s a psychologist. In today’s hectic age—between work deadlines, relationship stress, financial difficulties, and a never-ending lack of sleep—it can be hard to make time for yourself and your mental well-being each day. Jamie Long, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist at The Psychology Group Fort Lauderdale, understands that struggle. That’s why she says she prioritizes a few habits each day, week, and month in order to combat the effects of stress and burnout. Without taking time for yourself do things that uplift you and give you a break, it can create an emptiness and sense of longing, she explains, which can contribute to poor self-image, depression, anxiety disorders, and other emotional states if left unchecked. Everyone’s self-care routine looks a bit different, depending their unique needs and what techniques work for them. But if you’re looking for expert-driven inspiration, here are the healthy habits that Dr. Long swears by to help maintain and improve her mental health. 1. Meditate Dr. Long meditates every day for at least five minutes with the help of an app on her phone. “I’ve experimented with what time of day works best and for me I really enjoy starting my day with a meditation or doing it on my lunch break for a mid-day pick me up,” she says. This might not seem exactly groundbreaking (if I had a nickel for every mental health expert who meditates…),