Under the weather? Blood test can tell if antibiotics are needed

Researchers are fine-tuning a test that can determine whether a respiratory illness is caused by infection from a virus or bacteria so that antibiotics can be more precisely prescribed. The team of infectious disease and genomics experts has developed what they call gene signatures, patterns that reflect which of a patient's genes are turned on or off, to indicate whether someone is fighting infection from a virus or bacteria.

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Most cases of brain-damaged newborns not due to mismanaged deliveries

A new study is providing new evidence that the vast majority of babies who are born with severe brain damage are not the result of mismanaged deliveries.

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Biologists develop method for antibiotic susceptibility testing

A team of biologists and biomedical researchers has developed a new method to determine if bacteria are susceptible to antibiotics within a few hours, an advance that could slow the appearance of drug resistance and allow doctors to more rapidly identify the appropriate treatment for patients with life threatening bacterial infections.

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Should India's 'quacks' be trained to deliver basic patient care?

Should unqualified practitioners be trained to deliver basic patient care to alleviate India's doctor shortage, asks a special report.

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Regulating IV infusion with innovative blind cave fish-inspired sensor

Nurses’ workload reduced with the use of this low-cost sensor, while increasing their productivity by 30%; also significantly decreasing the complications of drug infusion via IV therapy.

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Building a health care information economy based on patients' control of data

The time is right for a broad range of stakeholders to push for a health care information economy founded on the basic principle that patients should have control over their data, informatics researchers say.

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Imaging test accurately detects extent of prostate cancer in patients

The method that researchers have developed to image the prostate appears to be much better at detecting prostate cancer than any other test -- radiographical, biopsy or blood -- in use today.

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Pregnancy-associated melanoma is associated with higher death rates

Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is on the rise in women of child-bearing age. Those at the greatest risk, according to new research, are women younger than 50 who are pregnant or have recently been pregnant.

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Can we improve acceptance of HIV testing?

How you ask questions is a critical part of the process and crucial to providing patient centered care. Likewise, how you offer patients an HIV test has a significant impact on the likelihood of them accepting tests, finds a study.

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Study finds strong link between pre-pregnancy obesity and infant deaths

Pre-pregnancy obesity is strongly associated with infant mortality, and compliance with weight-gain guidelines during pregnancy has a limited impact on that mortality risk, a new study shows.

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No benefit for diabetes drug in pancreatic cancer, preclinical study finds

The diabetes drug metformin failed to show any benefit against pancreatic cancer, despite excitement about the drug for its potential anti-cancer benefits, report scientists. They believe the study underscores the importance of testing new therapies in preclinical animal models that incorporate actual tumor tissue to predict patient response.

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New standards for children's surgery verification released

The Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program has released its latest standards document, Optimal Resources for Children's Surgical Care. The standards set forth in this document are the nation’s first and only multispecialty standards for children’s surgical care.

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Study assesses long-term impact of post-surgical pain in children

Children who still have moderate to severe post-operative pain one month after a surgical procedure are at risk for deterioration of their health-related quality of life, according to new research.

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Tinder’s New Feature Locates the Nearest Clinic for STD Tests

Tinder was pretty ticked off after the AIDS Health Foundation put up billboards that not so subtly associated the dating app with STDs (see below). Tinder responded by adding a health safety section to its website and app, which includes a link to software that locates the nearest STD testing clinic and info on other common sex-ed topics.

Photo: AIDShealth.org

"Tinder empowers our users to create relationships," the new page reads. "An important aspect of any relationship—whether formed on Tinder or otherwise—is ensuring proper sexual health and safety."

This is definetly a step in the right direction, but good luck finding the info. Tinder users have to click the settings button on the top left of the app, navigate to "help and support," then click "health safety," and scroll to the bottom. Not as easy as swiping right.

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Family preferences on quality end-of-life care

Among family members of older patients who died of advanced-stage cancer, earlier hospice enrollment, avoidance of intensive care unit admissions within 30 days of death, and death occurring outside the hospital were associated with perceptions of better end-of-life care, according to a study.

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See Why Some People Love Spicy Food (and Others Can't Stand It)

If you're the kind of person who douses everything with Sriracha, you might just be a little masochistic. Let us explain: Capsaicin, the chemical in peppers, tricks your body's heat receptors into thinking your throat is on fire (it's the same reason alcohol burns going down). As this video from Vox shows, endorphins are released at the same time, so spicy food lovers turn the pain into a "burns so good" feeling.

And the idea that you'll get less sensitive to heat over time is a myth. It's just about teaching your body to associate the pain with the pleasure. Another myth: reaching for water to help stop the mouth-on-fire sensation. Milk, yogurt, rice, liquor, and even peanut butter help break down the oils in capsaicin, while water just spreads 'em around—making things even worse.

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Two Common Exercise Mistakes People Make When Trying To Lose Weight

As a health and fitness professional who has worked in gyms for over five years, I have gotten to know a lot of people and have watched their progression, or sometimes lack of progression, with their exercise routine. I have watched members of the public join the gym come three times per week every week consistently for three years and see little to no improvement in their physique. Whilst I have seen others join up and watched as they got results in as little as two months.

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When it comes to newborns, age matters

Knowing how many weeks a mother has carried her baby is important information when determining medical care for that child. Now, researchers have found they can estimate an infant's gestation age through a metabolic profile derived from routine newborn screenings.

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Low reflective ability is risk for professionalism lapses during medical school and beyond

A new study is one of the first to provide quantitative evidence to support anecdotal claims linking reflective ability of medical students and professional behaviors of future physicians.

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NYC pedestrian traffic makes for safer street crossings: Google Street View study

Researchers have developed a novel method to assess how the streetscape affects the chances pedestrians will be injured by drivers. Using Google Street View the researchers assessed the pedestrian environment at more than 500 New York City street intersections. Findings show that using Google's images instead of visiting collision sites in person resulted in substantial efficiency gains in conducting research on pedestrian safety.

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No evidence that water birth poses harm to newborns

There is no evidence that water births, where a baby is intentionally born under water in a tub or pool, poses any increased harm to the child, researchers have found.

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Physicians receive less aggressive end-of-life care, less likely to die in a hospital

Two studies compare the intensity of end-of-life treatment and the likelihood of dying in a hospital between physicians and the general population.

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Yes, You Can Be Healthy and Obese

The message that obesity is unhealthy is drilled into our heads. We see reports on the news, watch shows like The Biggest Loser, scrutinize celebrities as they struggle with gains and losses, and the resounding message is this: “Drop the weight. Being fat is no good."

But what if it’s not that simple? What if obese isn’t a catch-all equal to “unhealthy?"

In fact, recent research sheds light on a subgroup of obesity, called metabolically healthy obesity (MHO), in which obese individuals do not show an increased risk for negative health issues often associated with obesity, such as metabolic syndrome or cardiovascular disease.¹ As researchers work to better understand MHO, one thing is clear: Obesity is a nuanced condition with a diverse set of possible outcomes.

The Need-to-Know

MHO is generally described as an obesity phenotype: physical characteristics in a person that result from interactions between environment, lifestyle, and genetics.¹ But researchers aren't in agreement over the exact definition, which makes MHO complicated to study. One study using body mass index (BMI) found the prevalence of MHO in obese individuals ranged from six to 36 percent (depending on how you define it).

Age and body-fat distribution may play a role in determining who is more likely to be metabolically healthy: One study found that sustained metabolic health in obese individuals was more likely to happen to those under 40 and those whose fat was not on the waist.² In contrast, excess fat around the abdomen can contribute to metabolic syndrome, a collection of risk factors that increases the likelihood for diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.

It may be that the amount of fat on an individual’s body matters less than the type of fat and how it’s distributed.

Aaron Mauck, Ph.D., a health services researcher specializing in diabetes and cardiovascular disease, affirms that body shape and fat distribution can play a role in determining the health consequences of obesity.

“Apple-shaped figures, characteristically a male phenomenon, are associated with metabolic syndrome,” Mauck says. He points out that obese women are still at risk for health complications from obesity but are less prone to metabolic syndrome, even at a higher level of obesity. “If you carry [excess weight] in your hips, legs, or breast tissue, that does seem to be a healthier—or safer—obesity.”

In other words, when it comes to determining long-term health outcomes, how fat is distributed on your body matters.

Still, several studies suggest that individuals with MHO, regardless of their current health, are more at risk for long-term negative outcomes (like metabolic syndrome) compared to “normal-weight,” metabolically healthy individuals.³ One recent study went so far as to say that a "benign obese phenotype" may exist with a strict definition, but currently, "insufficient studies exist to support this."⁴

What It Means for You

Metabolically healthy obesity may exist, but that doesn’t mean the lack of immediate risk for cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes equates to a clean bill of health—in much the same way that being "skinny" doesn’t guarantee a person has no risk of developing health issues. The important thing is that all of us—regardless of our weight—should take efforts to protect our health now and later.

Eating well and maintaining an active lifestyle are important for everyone looking to promote long-term health.

“Some aspects of health we have no control over—[the aspects] related to genetics and luck. But the important thing is that there is so much we can control,” says James Hardeman, M.D., a practicing physician for 30 years. “Everyone, including those who are overweight, should be vigilant in detecting the “Big 3": hypertension, hypercholesterolemia [high cholesterol], and diabetes. And you have to do something about them if present,” Hardeman says. That 'do something' means consulting a doctor and making lifestyle changes.

Obesity is a complex topic—and lumping people into one category does nothing to help the average person or medical professionals understand the experiences, needs, and health factors involved. Even if the concept of “healthy obesity” is still being explored, taking steps to eat well and maintain an active lifestyle is important for everyone looking to promote long-term health.

Originally published June 2014. Updated January 2016.

Works Cited

1. Metabolically healthy obesity: definitions, determinants and clinical implications. Phillips CM. Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders, 2014, Apr.;14(3):1573-2606.
2. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease outcomes in the metabolically healthy obese phenotype: a cohort study. Appleton SL, Seaborn CJ, Visvanathan R. Diabetes care, 2013, Mar.;36(8):1935-5548.
3. Metabolically healthy obese individuals: Key protective factors. Gonçalves CG, Glade MJ, Meguid MM. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.), 2015, Aug.;32(1):1873-1244. Are metabolically healthy overweight and obesity benign conditions?: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Kramer CK, Zinman B, Retnakaran R. Annals of internal medicine, 2014, Jan.;159(11):1539-3704. Prevalence of metabolically healthy obesity and its impacts on incidences of hypertension, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome in Taiwan. Hwang LC, Bai CH, Sun CA. Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition, 2012, May.;21(2):0964-7058.
4. Metabolically healthy obesity and cardiovascular events: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eckel N, Meidtner K, Kalle-Uhlmann T. European journal of preventive cardiology, 2015, Dec.;():2047-4881.

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60 genetic disorders affect skin, nervous system

At least 60 genetic diseases called neurocutaneous disorders involve the skin, central nervous system, and/or peripheral nervous system, neurologists report.

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Remote care for cochlear implant users

Audiologists are investigating how a new patient-centered approach can help cochlear implant users manage their own care program. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that can improve a person's ability to hear and understand speech if they can't benefit from a hearing aid.

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Glowing tumors could help surgeons cut out cancer

Optical probes that light up cancer cells, which are meant to improve tumor removal, are already in phase I and phase II clinical trials in humans and could be a common procedure in the next 5-10 years.

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Appetite Suppressant Weight Loss Pills

When it comes to losing weight, there is no quick solution. Every weight loss and diet plan on the market focuses on burning more calories than you consume, which for some people can be a real challenge. One of the worst parts about dieting is that feeling of constant hunger. For some people, the hunger can be too much to ignore, which can cause binge eating and the derailment of the diet plan.

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Easy Ways To Lose Weight - Losing Weight Made Simple

Losing weight can help prevent deadly chronic diseases but the process is not easy. Here are a few simple tips that can help you lose weight. Simple changes in your lifestyle are not easy to make but effective if you are truly committed to your weight loss journey to healthy living.

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Tips To Use For A Weight Loss Diet Plan

Stop chasing fad diets and find a weight loss diet plan that you can use for life. Fad and trendy diets are fleeting and seem to contradict one another. They are not meant to be used for a lifetime of health.

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How to Feel Great Even Though You've Gained Weight

I am currently struggling with something that I'm sure more than a few of you can relate to: I gained a bunch of weight over the holidays and am trying my darnedest to get rid of it.

I don't even really know how it happened. It was like I woke up one day and all of a sudden the jeans I used to be able to wear so comfortably became suffocating torture devices. I found myself going head-to-head with the stubborn zippers on my favorite dresses, the ones that used to glide right up so easily. I'm taking all the right steps—eating less, exercising more—but it's been an agonizingly unfruitful process and the pounds aren't melting away as quickly as they implanted themselves.

This isn't going to be an article about how I lost the weight or about my valiant efforts to get back to where I was. I was inspired to write this because I realized that this slight change on the outside caused some major changes on the inside. In the past month, I've barely been able to recognize myself—and not just in the mirror.

All of a sudden I was insecure, introverted, and riddled with self-doubt. I also became someone who constantly berated herself, which was disappointing because that is something I always speak out against. I was traveling down a very detrimental path, one that would have caused the Sabrina who started A New Mode a year ago to smack me right across the head, and justly so: I let myself get caught up in the idea that my weight meant everything.

So what happened exactly? I lost perspective and veered off course. Now I'm back. And while I'm still working to get myself back to where I was, I've learned to accept where I am now and to feel great, even though I've put on some weight. I've also learned the following things that have helped me shift my mindset.

1. No one notices it like you do.

First and foremost, it's important to acknowledge the fact that you are, and always will be, your harshest critic. No one is scrutinizing you but YOU. When you look through photos, who is the first person you look at? That's right, yourself. Sure, a significant weight gain might be a little noticeable, but chances are if you don't point it out, no one else will even realize. And if they do, it will appear so slight that they won't even know why you think it matters. We all know this, yet somehow we disregard this knowledge in favor of the completely erroneous belief that all eyes are on us. This may be true for celebrities, but it is not the case at all for anyone else.

2. It doesn't make you any less attractive.

I truly believed that my weight gain rendered me wholly undesirable and unattractive. However, oddly enough, I think I've been getting hit on even more these past few months! And not by guys who just wanna get laid, but by genuine guys who actually want to take me out and get to know me.

At first I was perplexed beyond belief (How can he be interested in me? I am SO fat right now.). I haven't figured out if it's a coincidence or ties directly to my more reserved demeanor and conservative wardrobe (I've definitely been covering up a lot more when I go out), but either way it proves that my weight is a non-issue, in this sense anyway, and didn't somehow transform me into a lesser version of myself. Keep your confidence in check. To continue from where I left off on my last point, getting attention from guys is great and all, but you really need to work hard to keep your confidence firmly in check, no matter what the scale says.

When you really love yourself and love the way you look, it shows. It radiates and draws people to you.

There are girls who I see all the time that aren't "thin" in the conventional sense, but they dress to flatter, embrace their figures, and carry themselves with infectious confidence. Even when I was at my skinniest, I would look at these girls and feel pangs of envy. When you really love yourself and love the way you look, it shows. It radiates and draws people to you.

Thoughts are real forces, but they are also controllable. If you allow yourself to think that you're fat and unattractive, this will become your own personal reality, even if it's incongruous with what the rest of the world thinks. I went from being confident and self-assured to an insecure mess. And over what? A few extra pounds? That's just so silly it makes me cringe to even write it out. Fine, you've put on some weight, but that does not define who you are—you're still just as beautiful, fun, smart, and intelligent as you were before. Don't let a few extra pounds take away from any of that.

3. Don't get discouraged by a bump in the road.

It has never been as difficult for me to lose weight as it is right now. Maybe it has to do with getting older, with not having enough time to exercise, with winter-induced hibernation... who knows? After about a week of putting in the effort to lose weight and not seeing results, I just gave up and retreated to a place of despair and frustration. Why even bother working out if it's not working? Why not just eat what I want? Obviously this healthy eating thing isn't getting me anywhere. Right?

I have since adjusted those misguided thoughts and tell myself daily that yes, I have put on weight. However it's only temporary, and it will come off if I continue on with my healthy ways, which I'm committed to not only for weight-loss, but also because I really enjoy the benefits of healthy living.

4. Don't lash out against yourself and beat yourself up over it.

In truth, once you let go and stop thinking about it so much, those pounds will just just fall away (I've experienced this phenomenon before). Now, not thinking about it doesn't mean you can sit on the couch gorging on burgers and fries and just wait for the weight to come off. Keep going with your healthy lifestyle, forgive yourself for slipping up here and there, and stop scrutinizing every inch of yourself. Do this, and I promise you'll get back to where you were. Stop talking about it. When you constantly think about how much weight you've gained, you will inevitably talk about it. This is something I started doing for reassurance—I wanted to hear "oh those pounds will fly right off" or "you look great, I can't even tell!"

You don't need reassurance from other people. You know what you need to do, and you know you look great right now, right? Constantly thinking and talking about it will only frustrate and discourage you. It will define you as that poor girl who gained weight and can't get rid of it, and other people will just be thankful they're not in your shoes. And who wants that?

5. Enjoy the benefits.

My wardrobe has been virtually cut in half thanks to my extra fluff. However, if there's a silver lining, it's that I have been forced to become a lot more creative with what I have. I've discovered unworn pieces, I've become the master of layering, and I've learned how to show off my assets and hide my problem areas (mainly the mid-section), without hiding behind huge bulky layers. I also have way more curves, especially in the boob department, which is something I've never had the pleasure of experiencing before.

It took me a long time to figure out how to feel great even though I'd put on weight. Now I've accepted it, and while it would be nice to fit back into my old clothes again, like, tomorrow, I'm OK with the fact that it might take some time. Because I know I still look good, and more importantly, I finally feel good about myself as well.

This article was written by Sabrina Alexis, co-founder and editorial director of A New Mode and author of the book "10 Things Every Woman Needs to Know About Men." It originally appeared on A New Mode and was reposted with the author's permission. To learn more about Sabrina, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.

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Why Do Hangovers Get Worse As You Get Older?

In college, we'd stay out until 2 a.m. and wake up for an 8 a.m. lecture with hardly a headache. Now, a few drinks the night before plus an early wake-up call is a recipe for cotton-mouthed, head-pounding disaster.

No, you're not just imagining it: Mornings after are getting worse as you get older. The culprit (besides too much tequila): your slowing metabolism, the source of most age-related tricks and fun.

Breaking It Down

There's a reason you always felt pretty great in college—biologically, we're operating at peak capacity, says Constance Scharff, Ph.D., director of addiction research at Cliffside Malibu, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in California. We can treat our bodies as less than a temple and bounce back pretty quickly.

But as we get older, our bodies become less and less efficient, Scharff says. Your metabolism plays a big role in working alcohol through your liver, and, based on your DNA and diet, it starts slowing down over time. So while your liver may have been able to clear alcohol's byproducts out of your system in an hour or two in your early 20s, as you age, it takes more and more time (how long exactly depends on the individual).

The science behind hangovers is still pretty hazy, Scharff says, but it comes down to our mitochondria easing up as we age. Essentially, the fewer "oxidative enzymes" you have (which mitochondria use to get rid of acetaldehyde and acetate, the toxins alcohol deposits in your blood), the more you're going to feel that hangover, says Michael Oshinksy, Ph.D., program director of Pain and Migraine at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and author of a 2010 study on hangover headaches.¹ And people have less of those key enzymes as they age, Scharff says—lessening the liver's ability to handle what you're giving it.²

The Drink Disconnect

As Joey Tribbiani discovered, getting older happens to all of us. But another factor that could be making the morning after even worse is not feeling the effects of alcohol as much the night of, Scharff says. Most people gain weight as they get older (thanks again, metabolism), which means they probably don't feel the effects of one drink as much, because the alcohol is spread across a greater body mass, Scharff says.

Drink a few more beers or glasses of wine, and you'll start to feel it—but the problem is, your liver hasn't caught up, Scharff says. If anything, it's slowed down (see above). "Now you’ve drunk much more than you intended, and there's a delay in the metabolization. And now you get a more brutal hangover."

The facts are grim, and alcohol-induced dehydration makes everything worse. The only surefire way to cut your chances of a horrible hangover is to go one for one: Follow one drink with one glass of water, and stick to one alcoholic drink per hour, Scharff says.

If the damage is done, Oshinksy recommends reaching for a cup of coffee the next morning—the caffeine is scientifically proven to block the effects of adenosine, a headache-causing compound, which is why it's great for treating hangovers.³ (These foods and drinks may help too).

Oddly enough, while there's evidence supporting that hangovers get worse as we get older, there have also been conflicting studies, showing that hangovers are actually worse for younger people.⁴ However, the amount and ways the different age groups drank weren't specified, so it's possible people developed a tolerance or cut down drinking as they got older, says Damaris Rohsenow, Ph.D., associate director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University. In sum: Science is still working on it, but hangovers are great for no one.

The Takeaway

As we get older, our metabolism naturally slows down and our liver's decreased efficiency lessens our ability to bounce back from alcohol's toxins. Increased body weight can also play a role, so while you may need to drink for that same tipsy feeling, your liver isn't game—and you'll feel that the morning after.

Works Cited

1. Acetate causes alcohol hangover headache in rats. Maxwell CR, Spangenberg RJ, Hoek JB. PloS one, 2010, Dec.;5(12):1932-6203.
2. Effect of betaine administration on metabolism of hepatic glutathione in rats. Kim SK, Kim SY, Kim YC. Archives of pharmacal research, 1999, Feb.;21(6):0253-6269.
3. Caffeine and headaches. Shapiro RE. Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2007, Aug.;28 Suppl 2():1590-1874.
4. Does the severity of hangovers decline with age? Survey of the incidence of hangover in different age groups. Tolstrup JS, Stephens R, Grønbaek M. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2013, Sep.;38(2):1530-0277. An event-level investigation of hangovers' relationship to age and drinking. Huntley G, Treloar H, Blanchard A. Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology, 2015, Aug.;23(5):1936-2293.

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The Total-Body Barre Workout for Non-Dancers

Our chances of twirling alongside Misty Copeland onstage? Low. But our chances of nailing this totally accessible barre workout from Grokker? High.

You don't have to be a ballerina—or have taken any dance classes—to get a great workout from this week's video. All you'll need is a chair with a high back and some light handweights (water bottles will also work), which are optional at one point in the workout. For 20 minutes, you'll do a variety of stretches, plies, and lunge variations, then move to the floor for abs and glute work.

The warm-up and cool-down are included, so whenever you're ready, press play to start.

Interested in more short and effective at-home workouts? We have thousands waiting for you on Grokker, the one-stop shop online resource for wellness. Join Grokker today and get 14 days of FREE unlimited at-home workout classes.

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Depression experts question effectiveness of stress hormone drug

Pioneering research by mood disorder experts has questioned the effectiveness of metyrapone, a drug suggested to treat depression.

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Legal, policy changes can lead to shifts in use of medical marijuana

Policy changes since 2001 had varying effects on the number of people consuming medical marijuana.

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Fewer than one in five nurses comply with guidelines for standard precautions

Only 17.4 percent of ambulatory care nurses reported compliance in all nine standard precautions for infection prevention, according to a new study.

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Up to 50 percent of women with advanced-stage ovarian cancer could be cured with one treatment model, expert argues

Up to half of women with advanced-stage ovarian cancer might be cured, compared to the current 20 percent survival rate, argues a scientist, who calls for a new standard of treatment for women with late-stage ovarian cancer.

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Study finds no link between surgical anesthesia and mild cognitive impairment

A new study of people who received anesthesia for surgery after age 40 found no association between the anesthesia and development of mild cognitive impairment later in life.

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Winter weather walking: How to safely get around in snow, ice

Winter precipitation can bring an increased risk for slips and falls on the ice and snow. An expert recommends some simple steps to minimize fall risk.

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Lettuce Show You the Best Instagram Ever for Food Puns

This Refreshing Instagram Proves No One's Stomach Is Perfectly Flat

Scrolling through Instagram—with all of the food porn and gym selfies—is enough to make us feel not so great about ourselves. (Our smoothie bowls never look that pretty, and we’re basically a puddle of sweat after working out). That’s why this Instagram from Fit Body Guide trainer Anna Victoria is so refreshing.

Yes, real people—even super fit ones—have stomach rolls when they sit down. It's just the way bodies are built! We could all use more of this honesty on our Instagram feeds. See the full post, including her awesome body-positive message, below:

There are two reasons I want to share this with you ladies: One reason is because I want you to know having skin fold over on your stomach when you sit or to have "rolls" is not anything to hate or be ashamed of.

The other reason is because while I say this, there have been times where if I ever found myself in front of a mirror where I am sitting and I see my stomach, I automatically think "ew!" because this is what society has conditioned me to think.

Your stomach does not have to be perfectly flat to be healthy, your stomach does not have to be perfectly flat for you to love yourself, and your stomach does not have to be perfectly flat to be confident and beautiful and an all around amazing person.

As a society, we shouldn't let physical characteristics set the standard for whether we deserve to love ourselves or not. Everyone deserves to love themselves, however I know that's easier said than done.

What's amazing to me, and what I have witnessed with the FBG Girls, is most of the time, they start learning to love themselves more on their journey not because of the physical changes, but because of the mental and emotional changes that come from dedicating yourself, pushing yourself, and seeing just how strong you really are. (What we call "non-physical progress" is just as, if not more, important as physical progress). That type of strength and beauty can only be seen and felt from within. #fbggirls

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Preoperative frailty associated with increased risk of death following surgery

The presence of frailty-defining diagnoses before surgery were strongly associated with an increased risk of death at one year after surgery, particularly in the early postoperative period, in younger patients, and after joint replacement, according to a study.

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Uncover The Formula Secrets And Stop Having Trouble Losing Weight

Having trouble losing weight is not a good place to be. I have been there and know how frustrating it is. Sometimes you are doing well, and you hit a plateau. There could be other factors that get you off track like a vacation or getting sick. Anything that messes with your routine is cause for trouble losing weight.

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How To See Fast Results With Problems Losing Weight

Is it possible to see fast results with problems losing weight? Yes! Problems are only solutions that haven't been discovered yet. I have found that when a problem or problems exist, it means that there is a solution lying around somewhere.

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Avoid The Hype Of Extreme Diets And Find Weight Loss For Life

How can you avoid the hype of extreme diets and find weight loss for life? Start with the basics. We already know what is good for us, we just need to be reminded or follow a little guide. That is okay, we are human.

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So This Is Why Your Boobs Sag

To bra or not to bra? It's an age-old question. For years doctors assumed that bras helped keep our breasts perky, but then a French study argued they actually make the ligaments under our boobs weaker, which in turn makes them saggy. This hilarious video from Stuff Mom Never Told You explains that neither theory is correct.

Genetic traits like skin elasticity, tissue density, and breast size are the real culprits for ptosis (a.k.a. boob sagging). Even if you're one of the lucky ones, gravity will get to all of us eventually. And factors like pregnancy, obesity, and smoking can affect your sag no matter what genes your momma gave you.

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Keep a Food Journal: How Writing Can Turn Ideas Into Real Results

How keeping a food journal helped me to lose 70 lbs., and what it taught me about the power of writing and accountability in achieving one's goals. So you think it is just too meticulous to write down everything you eat in the day. Everyone will think you are nuts! Are you actually going to carry around a slip of paper in your pocket and scribble down what was in that sandwich you just had for lunch? "Can this really help me lose weight?" you ask yourself.

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Manicure Tips - What Are the Tools Needed for a Manicure?

How can an effective nail care system help you do your manicure like a pro? A good manicure is one of those perks everyone likes to spoil themselves with. Not only the end result pleases the eye but quality nail care can also improve the overall health of your nails. The manicure and pedicure treatments you can get in the beauty salons often come with a heavy price tag and sometimes these expenses simply cannot fit into the personal budget. Fortunately, getting your nails done to the perfect standard is no longer impossible without a help of a professional. A relatively inexpensive and easily accessible solution lies in nail care systems. These electronic manicure devices allow you to shape, sculpt and polish your fingernails. More effective than a traditional manicure set and less expensive than nail beauticians they have a lot to offer in terms of taking care of your nails.

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Cost of end-of-life care in the US is comparable to Europe and Canada

Despite widespread perception, the United States does not provide the worst end-of-life care in the world. In the first international comparison of end-of-life care practices, researchers from seven countries found that the United States actually has the lowest proportion of deaths in the hospital and the lowest number of days in the hospital in the last six months of life among the those countries.

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Why the Government's Definition of "Healthy" Doesn't Work

With all the wellness philosophies out there today, it’s safe to say healthy is in the eye of the beholder. While a hearty turkey chili may be the epitome of health for you, it doesn’t even come close to virtuous for a vegan.

Although the boundaries of what's considered healthy may be blurred for the American public, they’re far more black-and-white for the government agencies that manage our food supply.

Take, for example, the newly released 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. They call for Americans to follow a “healthy eating pattern,” which includes an appropriate amount of calories, nutrient-dense foods, and limited amounts of added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.

Fair enough. Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides an even stricter definition of “healthy,” along with a long list of regulations regarding food labels. According to the FDA, a food may be labeled as such if it meets the following requirements:

• low in total fat (three grams or less per serving)
• low in saturated fat (one gram or less per serving)
• limited amounts of sodium and cholesterol
• provides at least 10 percent of the daily value of one or more of the following nutrients: vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, and fiber

(There's an exception for fish and meat, which can have up to five grams of fat and two grams of saturated fat per serving.)

So if you’ve ever strolled through a grocery store and wondered why there’s a “healthy” low-fat breakfast pastry, well, there’s your answer.

Still, all of this stayed fairly underground until March 2015, when the FDA sent a strongly worded warning letter to KIND Snacks. (Editor's note: KIND has partnered with Greatist in the past, but we're writing this story simply because we feel strongly about the topic.) The ubiquitous nut-filled snack bar brand, which most would lump into the health food category, was told it needed to remove a term from the label: healthy.

The issue? Several KIND bars surpass the mandated limits on fat with nine to 13 grams of total fat and 2.5 to five grams of saturated fat per serving, mainly thanks to those clusters of almonds, pecans, or peanuts.

Moreover, the FDA claimed that phrases like antioxidant-rich, low in sodium, and plus protein were misleading, as the bars didn’t meet nutrition content claims or include "relative claims," such as, this product is not low in fat. Not one to mess around, the FDA asked KIND to address these concerns by taking action within 15 business days.

Redefining What Healthy Means

As KIND started brainstorming ways to solve the issue, execs realized they were up against a much bigger problem—namely, the FDA’s outdated definition of healthy. “After looking at the current regulations, we saw an opportunity to have better alignment among the regulations, current nutrition science, and today’s expert dietary guidance,” says Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of KIND.

In response to the FDA's warning, KIND filed a citizen petition in December 2015 to request that the FDA update its regulations around the term "healthy," which immediately made waves in the food industry. The petition, co-signed by some of the top nutrition and public health experts in the country, could potentially open the door for other high-fat foods, packaged and whole, to finally earn the right to be labeled healthy.

After all, anyone who pays attention to nutrition news likely sees the FDA's fallacy. While the requirements for low sodium and daily values of certain nutrients may be beneficial, the low-fat mandate is out of touch with recent research. Again and again, studies point out that not all fats are bad. In fact, our bodies can benefit from eating more of the right fats.¹

High-fat (and objectively healthful) foods, such as nuts, salmon, olive oil, and avocados, can’t be labeled “healthy” under the current FDA guidelines.

But under the current FDA guidelines, high-fat (and objectively healthful) foods, such as nuts, salmon, olive oil, and avocados, can’t be labeled “healthy.” Sugar-free puddings, breakfast pastries, or sugary cereals, on the other hand, can since they're low in fat—even though these foods lack nutrient density, says David Katz, M.D., M.P.H, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and senior nutrition advisor for KIND.

For an already-bewildered American public, this is bound to cause some consternation in aisle two. But the FDA isn't intentionally trying to confuse us, Lubetzky says. “The regulation was created with the best intentions more than 20 years ago when available science supported limiting total fat intake,” he says. “The change came when modern science discovered that unsaturated fats in foods like nuts, seeds, and certain fish are beneficial to our health.”

The Bigger Issue at Stake

Indeed, the FDA’s regulation is one part of a larger national conversation about nutrition that needs to be revisited. “The definition of healthy has to be changed—it’s very confusing to the American public,” says Taz Bhatia, M.D., board-certified physician and founder of the Atlanta Center for Holistic and Integrative Medicine. “As a country, we’re failing at getting the message out that healthy fats are good, while hydrogenated and trans fats—found in fried foods, packaged foods, and processed foods—are unhealthy.”

It’s no wonder Americans are suffering from nutritional whiplash. During the fat-free craze of the 1980s and 1990s, we were told to buy products that were low in fat—and fat-free was even better. The problem: Those products were filled with sugars, salt, starch, and other additives that made them palatable after the tasty fats were removed, Bhatia says. So we filled up on empty carbs and added sugars, which are now being recognized as a cause of the cardiovascular disease and metabolic crisis we’re seeing today.

From simple satiety to mood regulation and hormonal balance, fats play a big role in your health.

The best (if counterintuitive) solution to our nation's obesity and heart disease epidemics: Eat more fat. (And Michael Pollan isn't wrong—eating mostly plants is a good plan too.) “High-fat foods—like eggs, avocado, nuts, or nut butters—have gotten a bad rap for no reason,” Bhatia says. “From simple satiety to mood regulation and hormonal balance, fats play a big role in your health.”

One immediate benefit of eating more good fats: They help you feel full and keep you satisfied throughout the day, Bhatia says.² What's more, eating a variety of healthy fats helps promote healthy hair and skin, decrease inflammation, boost brain power, and even relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression.³ And contrary to popular belief, eating fat doesn't make you fat; in fact, research shows it can help regulate weight.⁴

All these awesome facts make the FDA’s super-rigid stance against fat sound just plain weird, if not very wrong. Regardless of your dietary preferences or restrictions, science stands squarely in favor of fat—and against those sugary treats that can slip through the restrictions. (Too much sugar in the diet has been shown to promote obesity, raise blood pressure, and increase risk of death from heart disease, among other serious health consequences.)

Of course, KIND's petition doesn't mean it supports slapping a “healthy” label on processed or fried foods—no, French fries still aren't good for you. And remember, not all fats are equal: While monounsaturated, unsaturated, and some saturated fats provide health benefits, trans fats (found in fried foods, potato chips, and packaged baked goods) have been strongly associated with heart disease and obesity.

What the company wants, Lubetzky says, is for the FDA to revise its regulations to "exclude the total fat or saturated fat content inherently found in nutrient-dense foods—fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and seafood—when those ingredients remain whole or are processed in a manner that does not compromise their nutritional value."

As for the FDA, a spokesperson responded to our inquiry about whether the agency is planning to revisit the current regulations with this statement:

Without commenting specifically on the KIND citizen petition, the FDA recognizes that a great deal of scientific research has been conducted since the regulation defining the term 'healthy' was developed and we understand the interest in potentially redefining the term... In the meantime, it is important that all companies continue to use the existing definition for the term ‘healthy’ to ensure that it means the same thing from product to product. That’s the only way that consumers can trust what’s on the label.

Your Action Plan

No one’s saying that the FDA should remove restrictions on the term “healthy” entirely, or that we should eat fatty foods with abandon. While that sounds like a great (and delicious) plan, sadly, it’s not as simple as that. Defining exactly what’s healthy and what’s not is a tricky business, and of course, depends on people’s taste preferences, personal opinions, and moral persuasions. (Just witness the backlash against the aforementioned dietary guidelines.)

But when it comes to making decisions about what’s healthy for you, there are a few points to keep in mind. “It’s all about balance,” Bhatia says. “Remember that fat contains two times the calories that are in protein or carbs.” So don't go crazy eating nuts, even though they truly are a healthy food—you still have to consider calories, or else you will gain weight.

Next time you’re searching for a snack that’s actually nutritious, first make sure the total sugars are low (less than eight grams is a good goal). Then look for a protein-to-carbs ratio of about 2:1, Bhatia says. And rather than total fat grams, focus on the type of fat—avoid any foods with hydrogranted or trans fats. (There's also an FDA loophole that allows food companies to label products "0 grams of trans fats" if it contains less than 0.5 grams of the stuff, so always check the ingredient list for "partially hydrogenated oils" to be sure.)

KIND bars are a fine choice, but there are plenty of other options. Half an avocado with plenty of healthy fats will keep you full, Bhatia says, or go for a plain Greek yogurt topped with nuts. Bhatia also suggests spreading some nut butter on a rice cake, a whole-grain waffle to eat on the go, or a tasty chia seed pudding.

The Takeaway

Those fruit-and-nut bars caught some unnecessary flak. Research shows that fat isn't the enemy, and in fact, offers plenty of health benefits, so KIND's push for the FDA's regulations to reflect that makes sense. Still, just because nuts are healthy doesn't mean you should go nuts—calories still count, so look for a variety of packaged and homemade snacks to help keep you satisfied.

Works Cited

1. Dietary fats and health: dietary recommendations in the context of scientific evidence. Lawrence GD. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2013, May.;4(3):2156-5376. The role of dietary fats for preventing cardiovascular disease. A review. Szostak-Wegierek D, Kłosiewicz-Latoszek L, Szostak WB. Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny, 2014, Apr.;64(4):0035-7715. Emerging nutrition science on fatty acids and cardiovascular disease: nutritionists' perspectives. Kris-Etherton PM, Fleming JA. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2015, May.;6(3):2156-5376.
2. Effects of dietary fatty acid composition from a high fat meal on satiety. Kozimor A, Chang H, Cooper JA. Appetite, 2013, May.;69():1095-8304.
3. The effect of nuts on inflammation. Salas-Salvadó J, Casas-Agustench P, Murphy MM. Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition, 2008, Jul.;17 Suppl 1():0964-7058. Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: a randomized controlled trial. Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Belury MA, Andridge R. Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2011, Jul.;25(8):1090-2139.
4. Covert manipulation of the ratio of medium- to long-chain triglycerides in isoenergetically dense diets: effect on food intake in ad libitum feeding men. Stubbs RJ, Harbron CG. International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 1996, Sep.;20(5):.

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Text messages can help reduce blood pressure

Text message reminders help people stick to their prescribed treatment with improved blood pressure as a result, a new study concludes.

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Surge in use of CTs in patients with minor injuries, study shows

Twice as many patients with non-serious injuries, such as fractures or neck strain, are undergoing CT scans in emergency departments at California hospitals, according to a new study, which tracked the use of the imaging from 2005 to 2013.

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Are high-deductible health plans enrollees better health care price shoppers?

Enrollees in high-deductible health plans were no more likely than enrollees in traditional plans to consider going to another health care professional or to compare out-of-pocket cost differences across health care professionals during their last use of medical care, according to an article.

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Struggling to Get Back in Shape? Increase Your Fluid Intake!

Get back in shape this 2016 using the most effective and natural way of losing weight. Say goodbye to your fats!

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Thicken Your Own Eyelashes

Have you ever dreamt of having thicker and fuller eyelashes? The good news is your dream may have just come true! A simple drug called Latisse could help you grow and thicken your eyelashes so that you can get the look that you have always wanted. This newly introduced prescription medicine has been proven to offer users you a temporary solution to thick and long lashes and a few applications could give you a new and improved you!

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Cellulite - Its True Etiology and Its Appropriate Prevention and Resolution

Cellulite is obviously a very common condition manifesting much more frequently in females than in males. With the significant amount of spurious information out there regarding its etiology and the purporting of erroneous "remedies" and "cures," let's quickly correct some common misunderstandings in this article.

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The Oldest Healthcare System Can Be Now Of Help To You As It Deals With The Science Of Life

This healthcare system is one of the oldest, and it evolved in India. It aims at creating harmony between the mind, body and spirit, striving to prevent illness and treat diseases for a better healthier life.

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Biomarker predicts which stage II colon cancer patients may benefit from chemotherapy

A biomarker has been identified that predicts which stage II colon cancer patients may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy to prevent a disease recurrence.

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This Website Makes Working Out at Home Easy (and Actually Fun)

Grokker

In theory, exercise should be simple: Get dressed, grab a water bottle, and go to the gym. In real life, it's more complicated. There are no clean socks, or there's a snowstorm brewing outside, so you give up on the idea altogether.

But there's an easier way to make it happen. Grokker, an online wellness resource, eliminates any excuse by providing high-quality, high-definition video content you can watch in your living room—or wherever you may be. (No socks needed).

Featuring world-class fitness and yoga instructors who help make exercise effective and fun, Grokker helps you fit any workout—total-body HIIT, barre, or kickboxing—into your busy schedule. Need to relax? There's a variety of soothing yoga videos and even guided meditations. Hungry? Healthy cooking tutorials will help you whip up a nutritious post-workout meal.

Plus, it's interactive: Experts offer personalized feedback, and you can "love," "like," or save videos to watch in the future. They also have live-streaming classes, so you can enjoy all the energy of a group workout.

And it won't break the bank. Monthly memberships are $14.99. Even better: Greatist readers who sign up by March 31, 2016 will get 14 days free and 40 percent off a monthly plan. Enter code GREATISTREADERS at registration.

I Want This! $14.99

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3 Tips to Heal Your Gut and Lose the Weight for Good

Weight loss is as simple as eat less and exercise more, right? That is certainly the messages we hear in the media. And it sometimes may seem like an easier solution. But unfortunately, it doesn't always work.

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9 Healthy and Easy Stir-Fry Recipes for Busy Weeknights

The 5 Moves Everyone Should Be Able to Do—and What It Means If You Can't

Remote Hospitals In Isolated Areas

Health care is an essential part of life for millions of people all over the world. Regardless if a person lives in the city or in a remote jungle location; sooner or later they will need some type of medical assistance. Thankfully, there is a growing trend to extend health care to all corners of the globe.

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Chickenpox, shingles vaccine may cause corneal inflammation in some patients

In use for more than 20 years, the varicella zoster virus vaccine for chickenpox and shingles is considered an essential medicine by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, researchers have found, in rare instances, a link between the vaccine and corneal inflammation. It is a finding the researchers say should be discussed by primary care physicians and patients with a history of eye inflammation before getting vaccinated.

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The Shockingly Simple, Science-Backed Way to Curb Cravings

Most of us are guilty of mindless eating at some point—maybe it's while watching TV, procrastinating, or feeling just plain bored. Next time you're craving a late-night snack, silence your inner cookie monster by saying, "some other time." A new study found that people who try to stop cravings by telling themselves they can enjoy the treat sometime in the future were less likely to actually indulge than those who tried a hard no.¹

Scientists believe this works because you trick your brain into thinking the craving isn't very important. It's like how you keep telling yourself you're going to reorganize your closet next weekend. "I'll get to it some other time" becomes a euphemism for something that's not exactly at the top of your list. And when something is less important, you'll want it less. Science.

Works Cited

1. The taming of desire: Unspecific postponement reduces desire for and consumption of postponed temptations. Mead NL, Patrick VM. Journal of personality and social psychology, 2016, undefined.;110(1):1939-1315.

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Crash Diet or Gradual Weight Loss - Which Is Better?

As the name proposes, slow weight reduction arranges imply that you get more fit at your own particular pace. It involves eating a low calorie diet, however a nutritiously satisfactory one.

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Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty: Promising new weight loss procedure

A novel treatment method -- endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty -- might offer a new solution for obese patients. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty is a minimally invasive, safe and cost-effective weight loss intervention, according to a study.

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Biopsy robot combines MRI, ultrasound

Researchers are working on a biopsy robot that combines the best features of MRI and ultrasound, aiming to improve the diagnosis of breast cancer and muscle diseases.

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Lower surgical mortality in hospitals with best nursing care, novel study shows

Patients are often unaware that choosing the right hospital is very important to having a good outcome. A novel study showed that patients undergoing surgery at Magnet hospitals recognized for nursing excellence, and good nurse staffing, have better outcomes at the same or lower costs as other hospitals.

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7 Tried And Tested Tips For Weight Loss

Are you tired of your weight loss plan? If you have not lost enough weight with your diet plan, now is the time to try out something different. You may want to seek expert advice for some tried and true methods. They are the people who have been there and know what work and what not.

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Gene therapy for rare bleeding disorder achieves proof-of-concept

Hematology researchers have used a single injection of gene therapy to correct a rare bleeding disorder, factor VII deficiency, in dogs. This success in large animals holds considerable potential for a safe, effective and long-lasting new treatment in humans with the same bleeding disorder.

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Frequent use of post-acute care associated with higher hospital readmission rates

To ensure that they receive proper care after surgery, patients are frequently referred by hospitals to inpatient facilities such as skilled nursing homes or inpatient rehabilitation centers or to receive home health care and other outpatient services. This type of care, called post-acute care, now accounts for some $62 billion in annual Medicare spending.

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Inspired To Lose Weight From A Single Moment

Motivation can be a tricky issue especially since the role it plays varies person-to-person. For one person they may become motivated to change their life and lose weight after watching a simple television commercial. For others it might take a constant voice in the ear from someone else in order to stay motivated on this task. Here's a quote that helps put the role of motivation into perspective: "Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly." - Stephen R. Covey. This is specifically why it's crucial you are self-motivated to accomplish the task of weight loss. Sure someone may convince you to start this process, but when it comes to the day-to-day nutritional choices and sticking with a consistent exercise routine this is when your motivation needs to take over and not waver.

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27 Healthy and Portable High-Protein Snacks

What No One Is Saying About the Body-Positivity Movement

There's no doubt the body-positivity movement gained momentum in 2015. Women's Health banned the phrases "bikini body" and "drop two sizes" from its cover, The Pirelli Calendar got a revamp, and pretty much everywhere you looked women started changing their fitness goals from "get flatter abs" to "get stronger and feel great."

But why now? As the cultural emphasis on looking perfect was coming to a head thanks to Photoshop, social media, celebrity culture, and advanced non-invasive procedures, people started putting more and more effort into changing their bodies. Couple all of this with the misleading information being thrown around about what kind of training would give people the body they desired, and it's no wonder that the mantra "it doesn't matter what you look like, only how you feel!" became popular.

As faulty information failed us, many women retreated to secret shame caves, convinced there must be something unspeakably wrong with their bodies. The harder they tried to look better, the worse they looked; we created an epidemic of people who feel fundamentally broken.

The body-acceptance movement can feel like hitting a pause button on the spiral of self-loathing and failure we've faced throughout the last 20 years. It's a breath of fresh air to anyone caught in that vicious cycle of "try, fail, try harder, fail harder."

But just because the old way wasn't working doesn't mean the new way is perfect either.

Backlash doesn't usually take you back to neutral. It purposefully swings the pendulum a bit too far in the opposite direction in an effort to balance some long-standing injustice. Today's body-acceptance movement is backlash.

There is a lot of public lip service paid to how "brave," and "strong" a woman is for accepting her body's natural state and not apologizing for it. (Trust me, I got mad props for this.) With so much talk about the high moral character of any woman who rocks her body—flaws and all—one might easily start to think that striving to change any of those "imperfections" is some kind of sin.

I personally advocate autonomy above all else. There's no real reason for any kind of moralizing or divide here. Each person is entitled to do whatever she likes with her own damn body. And there is zero reason for anyone to judge another person's body—or her motivation for training it.

For a woman who is blessed with a healthy relationship to her body, it may not be even slightly damaging or negative for her to pursue goals like "get a six pack" or "lose 5 percent body fat." But for the majority of women that I work with, those exact same goals and behaviors would come with intensely negative psychological and emotional behaviors. For many, it's just too difficult to maintain a healthy focus on changing a body part without slipping into an obsessively negative attempt to "fix" something that's wrong with them.

The intention behind a goal or behavior determines the health of that goal or behavior.

Working out with the intention to "fix" something that you hate about yourself tends to come with a whole host of baggage: negative self-talk, hyper-monitoring of your body, and comparison—either with other people or your imaginary future self. All that stress and negativity actually makes it much harder to get the results you want. Obsessing over the aesthetic results of fitness while ignoring the rest of the benefits that training your body offers is the old way of doing things.

Working out with the intention to gain strength, skill, agility, endurance, speed, or power tends to be fun and rewarding. It's more like a sport or hobby than a chore or beauty regimen. For many people, this mindset shift leads to much more enjoyment, consistency, gratitude, enthusiasm, and the complete removal of dread and habitual feet-dragging from the whole fitness affair. Training to gain something (instead of lose something) every time you show up to the gym is a lot less pressure, and it tends to foster body acceptance and positivity.

I've found that outright ignoring how your body looks for a while can be a totally valid and valuable stage of healing from a chronically negative body image. Learning to tune into your body's signals and read other markers of progress can be just as important for healing the mind as cultivating relaxation is for healing the body. But there's something that's not being said.

Recently, I've noticed that many leaders in the body-positive community (myself included) say, "I just work out to feel good." While that's mostly true, I think it can be a bit misleading and over-simplified, and I want to clear it up. After all, the last thing I want is for the body-acceptance movement to create even more unrealistic standards and black-and-white thinking!

I do not work out however I want, regardless of how my body looks. I love my workouts, it's true, but training the way I do is the perfect intersection for me between enjoyment of the process and enjoyment of the results.

I take an enormous amount of pleasure in moving and lifting weights, but I take an equal amount of pleasure in admiring myself.

In fairness, I usually choose my workout programming based on emotional or mental goals like, "I want to get strong AF in these major lifts," or "I want to slow down and make sure my movement patterns are clean and tight for a while." But even then, I almost always include extra glute training volume because I was born with a naturally flat butt, and I delight in keeping it big and round.

Sometimes I create mini-aesthetic goals, like when I check in with myself naked and think, "I wonder how muscular I can get my back," or "I want my shoulders to be more ka-POW!" In these cases, I'm almost always coming from a place of admiration and ego-boosting, rather than feeling less than. I know exactly what goes into changing how my body looks, and instead of wondering how it would look on me, sometimes I just go ahead and do it. I adjust my program accordingly, without any stress or drama, and then I fully enjoy the process.

I find there to be something a bit naïve about preaching "stop paying attention to how you look and only ever pay attention to how you feel!" No matter how happy most people are with their bodies, that's just not realistic. And guess what? That's OK. I regularly use practices with my clients that involve ignoring their reflection just as often as I use practices that include looking at and admiring their reflections. It all depends on the individual person, where they're coming from, and what will serve them best at that moment.

The important piece of the puzzle here is raising your own consciousness and being aware of your own intentions. You can notice you want to change something about your body and make the appropriate adjustments without coming from a place of self-loathing or trying to "fix" something that's wrong with you. After all, the human body is amazingly adaptable and wanting to challenge it in a new way can be fun!

Likewise, feeling trapped or bullied into making those same changes from a place of not feeling good enough will most likely be no fun at all. The emotional and mental hell-on-wheels of feeling restricted and punished would be enough of a reason to find another plan, but add on top the fact that your body becomes less and less responsive as you try harder, stress, and obsess? No, thank you.

In summary, there is no moral high ground when it comes to training your body. There's only the question, "what will serve me best right now?" If that's working toward an aesthetic goal, great. If that's just tuning into your body and never looking in the mirror, fabulous. No matter where you are in your journey or what your goals are, I encourage you to come from a place of positive, self-compassionate intentions.

Do this over the long term and you'll find that you both feel better and look better.

And who can argue with that?

This post originally appeared on JessiKneeland.com and was reprinted with the author's permission. To learn more about her, follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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