Weight loss is not all about losing weight it about learning the healthy eating habits and learning about your body requirement. So with the help of diet and physical activities, you can lose weight, but sometimes due to very hectic life schedule, an individual is unable to follow a strict diet and physical activities. So, for those individuals, they need to take an additional step to lose weight in an effective and safe way.
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5 Ways To Fight Obesity And Being Overweight!
As we all know obesity is a major issue and many of us are suffering from the after-effects of obesity. Obesity is not a disease, it a lifestyle problem which affects lots of people all over the world.
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Dietary Tips to Lose Weight Fast
If you really want to lose weight but you're doubtful how it is possible by diet, then you don't need to worry. Yes, there are lots of questions in our mind like - do I need to cut down my calories? Should I stop taking dinner? What should I do exactly? Get rid of obesity with diet tips which not only help you to lose weight fast but is also helpful to bring overall well being.
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The Drive to Be Perfect Is Really F*cking With College Students
Between the classes, extracurriculars, and social obligations I juggled as a 20-year-old—plus the pressure I put on myself to succeed at all of them—it's a wonder I ever made it to graduation. Perfectionism feels like it's ingrained in my DNA, and apparently, I'm not the only one.
A recent study shows today's millennials are feeling the pressure to be perfect more than any generation before them. Over the course of 27 years, researchers had over 40,000 college students reflect on three types of perfectionism: self-oriented (standards they placed on themselves), social (perceived pressure from others), and other-oriented (expectations they set for other people).
Since the study started in 1989, perfectionism in all three categories have increased: self-oriented by 10 percent, social by 33 percent, and other-oriented by 16 percent.
In other words, young people—particularly those at traditional four-year universities—are held to higher standards than ever before. And with increasingly difficult college entrance requirements, more competition on campus, and unrealistic standards presented on social media, the pressure is coming at them from all directions. While perfectionism can make some people more productive and produce better work, it's also linked to clinical depression and suicide.
Thankfully, some schools are taking note. Take Yale, for example. It recently opened a class called "Psychology and the Good Life" that focuses on self-improvement and personal happiness. The class has quickly become the most popular in Yale's 316-year history, and nearly a quarter of the undergraduate student body is enrolled. "Students want to change to be happier themselves," professor Laurie Santos told The New York Times. "If we see good habits... we're actually seeding change in the school's culture."
The message Santos endorses is a powerful one: It's going to take time and a lot of intentional dialogue to combat this culture of competition. Hopefully, as more students talk openly about how easy it is to get caught up in comparison and self-doubt, they can take small steps toward protecting their own health and well-being.
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How to Get Back on Track After You've Messed Up
This article is part of the Greatist x Aaptiv Fight the February Slump challenge, a monthlong fitness program to help you keep that motivation going. There's still time to join! Sign up here.
It’s the first week of February. Do you know where your resolutions are? If you’re anything like us, you probably burst through the New Year’s gate, hit the workouts and clean-eating full force, and now you’re feeling a bit, well, run down.
The second month of the year has a way of draining the motivation right out of us. We’re burnt out, bored with the gym, and don’t even talk to us about kale.
“This slump occurs because we set a bunch of monumental goals—and then life happened,” says Aaptiv trainer Jaime McFaden. “Humans are results oriented, so we go, go, go at our goals in January, then we hit plateaus, the weather isn’t great, and that initial motivation dies out a little.”
Goals can be good. They keep us motivated and give us finish lines to work toward. But it’s critical to set the right ones.
“In a perfect world without any distractions like jobs, families, and social activities, resolutions would be easy to achieve because we’d have all the time and focus to dedicate to them,” McFaden explains. “But instead we have packed schedules and we fall in love and we have crazy weeks at work—it’s just life.”
So to help us get over the February slump, we asked McFaden for some doable ways to get back into the groove.
1. Create habits.
One of the main reasons resolutions fail is that they aren’t usually made with longevity in mind. “It’s easy to say, ‘I want to lose 10 pounds so I look good in a bikini,’ but you have to consider the long-term goal,” McFaden says. “So you fit into the bikini—now what?”
Instead of making short-term resolutions, McFaden suggests forming healthy habits—they'll stick with you way longer. “I always focus on habits over resolutions,” she says. “Habits are what will ultimately help you create a healthy lifestyle overall, so you won’t need to make such grand resolutions come January.”
But how exactly do you form those good habits? By making tiny changes (that you can actually commit to) over a long period of time. Try it: Next time you think about your goals, translate them into something more granular. For example, if your resolution is to get healthy, commit to drinking a glass of water every day when you wake up. The best habits are the ones you can realistically implement.
2. Find your actual why.
You’ve probably heard that you should ask yourself why when setting a new goal—and you should. But make sure your reason is important enough to keep you going through the darkest hours (a.k.a. those late-night chocolate cravings).
“I ask every client I train about their why,” McFaden says. “They’ll say, ‘Well, I want to lose weight,’ and I’ll ask why. They’ll say, ‘Because I want to be healthy,’ and I’ll ask why. They’ll say, ‘Because I want to feel better,’ and I’ll ask why. And then it will finally come out that they have a family history of an illness or they’ve never felt like they accomplished anything for themselves—something much bigger than weight loss.”
McFaden recommends asking yourself this repeated chain of whys until you really feel like you’ve found the deepest, most significant reason you want to achieve whatever goal or resolution you set. If there's a good reason behind something, it's way more likely to stick.
3. Ask for help.
Everyone falls off the wagon every once in a while—it happens, we get it. McFaden’s No. 1 tip for getting back on track? Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It's not a sign of weakness—it's a totally acceptable way to get back on track.
"If you’re feeling like you’re in a slump or not hitting your usual weekly goals, ask a friend to help push you,” McFaden says. “Find a community of people who understand things happen and can share helpful ways to pull you out of the funk.”
In some cases, that community can even be digital. “There is nothing like the Aaptiv social community,” she says. “I’ve never seen such an understanding and motivating group of men and women waking up every day to push themselves and one another. It’s truly remarkable.”
And if you need an even bigger push, don't be afraid to ask a fitness or nutrition expert. Sometimes only the pros can help you get back on track, and that's OK too.
4. Reward yourself.
Big goals come with big results—results that can take a lot of time. “We set goals and resolutions for the results,” McFaden says. “Results are what keep us motivated.” But most results aren’t instant, and if we go too long without seeing them, we tend to tap out.
The key, then, is to rely on a rewards system. “There’s no shame in rewarding ourselves for hard work,” McFaden says. “We’re only human, and we need some kind of motivation here and there to continue hard work.” Amen to that.
If it can’t be instant abs or a record-breaking mile time, it can be tangible things such as buying a new bathing suit, planning a trip with your friends, or enjoying a night out. Make sure to plan small (or big!) rewards for yourself along the way. You deserve it!
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Exactly What to Eat Before a Short Run
If you’re tired of five-day-a-week elliptical sessions and are ready to try running, good for you. Becoming a runner is an exciting and challenging feat, but it can be a little more complicated than lacing up your sneaks and hitting the pavement. Without the proper nutrition, you’ll never reach Shalane status. OK, fine that might be too ambitious for right now, but in all seriousness, fueling your body appropriately is just as important for running as logging miles.
Here's the low-down on what newbie runners should know about eating, fueling, and hydrating before their first mile or 5K. Follow these sports nutrition guidelines to feel your best out there on your first (or 15th) run.
1. Carb up.
Did you pick up running because it’s a sport that supports your pasta and bagel binges? Not so fast. It's important to carb up correctly: As a general rule, complex carbs, like whole grains, potatoes, and beans are smart to eat about 2-3 hours before a run. Simple carbs, like fruit, are best about an hour before a run (we love a good banana).
“Carbs are the number one source of fuel and provide energy for your run,” says Angie Asche M.S., R.D., and owner of Eleat Sports Nutrition. In other words, carbs are essential to power you through your new form of exercise. This doesn't mean you have to eat a bowl of pasta before a short run (sorry), but enjoying oats for breakfast or adding sweet potatoes to your salad at lunch are good choices when it comes to getting in your complex carbs.
2. But wait, don't "over-carb."
If you’re on your second bagel of the day because you didn't read past our first tip, back away from the bread. Carbo-loading definitely helps with long distances (for when you do get to Shalane status), but many new runners start with shorter runs, like a 5K, so you don't need to go overboard.
Most people eat about 45-65 percent (200-300 grams on a 2,000 calorie diet) of their calories from carbs on any given day. As long as you’re not on a keto or protein-centric diet, the amount of carbs you normally eat is probably enough to power your new sport. Just choose healthy carbs like fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, rice, quinoa, and whole grains within a few hours of your run (of course, if you have a gluten-intolerance or are Celiac, choose the carbs that work for you).
3. Experiment to find what works for you.
Being a new runner can be exciting, but the amount of new information you read online can be overwhelming. It probably looks something like this: Load up on carbs. Eat protein. But not too much protein. Avoid fat. Drink water. Don’t over hydrate. *head explodes*
“The truth is that every runner is different, and what doesn't work for someone else may be just fine for you,” says Heather Caplan, R.D. and running coach. She suggests experimenting with foods you already enjoy (we aren't talking about your Snickers habit, but your favorite oatmeal is a good start) and to make sure you keep portions in check. You'll soon find out which foods give you the best energy and won't cause you to search for a bathroom mid-run.
4. Don't get too crazy.
Here’s the caveat to experimentation: You can experiment with some things—maybe a piece of toast with smashed berries instead of a banana—but don’t go all out and chow down on Indian food or jalapeño poppers before a run. You’re going to learn the hard way that it’s a one-way ticket to indigestion city because the spiciness and high-fat might be enough to upset your stomach. Same goes with too much fiber. Asche suggests avoiding too much fiber before a run because those foods can cause bloating or gas. No bueno.
5. Hydrate (duh).
If there’s one thing you remember about sports nutrition, let it be that hydration is essential. “So many runners underestimate their hydration needs,” Caplan says. She suggests bringing or having access to water on most of your runs. “Drink at least 16-24 ounces a few hours before a run and 4 ounces every 15 minutes while running,” Asche says.
The best way to tell if you’re properly hydrated is to check the color of your urine after a run. If it’s dark yellow or the color of lemonade, you need to drink more water during your run. If it’s a pale yellow, you're properly hydrated. A lack of proper amounts of fluid and electrolyte imbalances in the blood can cause unnecessary muscle cramps and fatigue. Drink up, people!
6. You probably don't need to down sports drinks pre or post run.
You’re probably skeptical of sports drinks: After all, we’ve been told that they have too much sugar for the everyday exerciser (which is true since most of us aren't training for a marathon on any given day). But sports drinks were formulated for athletes, and they contain sugar, which can be essential for replacing electrolytes that get lost in sweat.
With that being said, you really only need a sports drink for activity that lasts longer than an hour or is in a severely hot and/or humid environment. “Again, experiment with different electrolyte mixes to see what you like,” Caplan says. “If you're just starting out, and/or sticking to shorter distances, it's OK to stick with water for the most part.”
7. Train your stomach.
Just like you need to train your legs to endure the stress of running, you need to train your stomach to handle the constant up and down motion. Cramps and runners trots (the urgent need for a bowel movement mid-run) are all too familiar, especially for newbies, so don't get discouraged if that sharp pain in your side makes you slow down.
The good news is that avoiding GI distress can be fairly straightforward: Don’t eat too much right before a run and give yourself time to digest after eating your carb snack. You'll find out which foods work best for you and which to stay away from (we're looking at you, breakfast burrito). And since most new runners don't need a sports drink, you're in the clear because they can cause some tummy aches too.
The Finish Line
Remember, it's up to you to determine what's best for your body, but use these tips when you're feeling a little lost. These snack combos are simple suggestions that will help you choose the right foods before any run. And just like running, learning the perfect fueling plan is a marathon, not a sprint. It may take time to figure out what works for you, but two tips will help you get the most out of your run.
Tip No. 1
Two to three hours before a run, eat a snack or meal rich in carbs with a small amount of protein and fats: an apple or banana with peanut butter, whole-wheat toast with a slice of turkey, crackers with a cheese stick, or vegetables and hummus.
Tip No. 2
About 30-60 minutes before a run, eat a small snack that's high in carbs, low in protein, and contains very little fat: a piece of fruit (no nut butter); a small handful of raisins and granola; or a handful of pretzels, crackers, or plain popcorn.
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How Much Caffeine Is Really in Chocolate? Here's the Truth Behind the Buzz
We know by now that chocolate has some pretty solid health benefits, and we like to keep reminding ourselves of those when we break into a chocolate bar at 10 p.m. But we've also heard that the sweet stuff can contain a decent amount of caffeine. So are we crushing our chances of getting a good night's sleep by devouring chocolate right before bed? Does chocolate really have enough caffeine to cause tossing and turning?
The simple answer: Probably not. But the more complex answer: Yes, chocolate does contain caffeine in varying amounts, but it might not be to blame for your bad sleep habits. The average amount of caffeine consumed per day per person is about 300 milligrams. The majority of caffeine comes from coffee, soft drinks, and tea, with less than 2.3 milligrams per day attributed to food.
But don't go scarfing it down at bedtime, thinking you're in the clear. Some of us may be more sensitive than others (especially those who don’t drink coffee, soda, or tea on a regular basis) and experience crazy alertness post consumption (you know, it's like the adult version of a sugar high).
Plus, there may be another culprit lurking in chocolate that makes catching zzzs tougher: New research points to theobromine, a compound that also comes from the cacao beans, which has similar physiological effects to caffeine but is actually more abundant in chocolate than caffeine (research is still limited in this area, but it's safe to say that the low amounts of caffeine in chocolate isn't solely to blame for restless nights).
If you want to play it safe, skip the chocolate altogether when the sun goes down. And even better, do your best to stop eating it before 3 p.m. since chocolate can stay in your system for up to six hours.
How Much Caffeine Is in Chocolate?
So let's talk numbers: Exactly how much caffeine is in the chocolate that you're eating? And in addition to your morning coffee and afternoon tea, are you getting too much? There’s not necessarily a recommended daily intake, but researchers from the Mayo Clinic recommend a safe amount of no more than 400 milligrams per day for most healthy individuals. For those with specific disease conditions or those who are pregnant, the amounts are much less.
For now, use the following as a guide to help lay the foundation for the amount of caffeine found in your favorite chocolate treats. And keep in mind that a standard cup of coffee contains about 150 milligrams of caffeine.
Standard Caffeine Amounts in Chocolate Foods
Note: This info was retrieved from the USDA Food Composition Database.
- Dark Chocolate (60-85% cacao solids)
1 ounce (1/4 Lindt chocolate bar) = 23 milligrams - Cocoa Powder
1 tablespoon = 12 milligrams - Dark(ish) Chocolate (45-59% cacao solids)
1 ounce (3 dark chocolate Hershey Miniatures) = 12 milligrams - Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Frosting
1 slice (1/12th cake with 2 tablespoons frosting) = 9 milligrams - Milk Chocolate
1 ounce (4 milk chocolate Hershey Kisses) = 4 milligrams - Chocolate Pudding Cup
1/2 cup (4 ounces) = 4 milligrams - Chocolate Chip Cookie
1-ounce cookie = 3 milligrams - Chocolate Ice Cream
1 small container (3.5 fluid ounces) = 2 milligrams - Chocolate Whole Milk
1 cup (8 ounces) = 2 milligrams - White Chocolate
1 ounce (2 tablespoons Nestle white chocolate chips) = 0 milligrams
If you picked up on the trend, yes, the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine it typically contains. It also may have more nutritional benefits, but it might not be worth it if it's keeping you up at night. At the end of the day, you know your body best, so do what feels right for you. If that means enjoying a milk chocolate chip cookie and glass of milk on occasion as a dreamy way to enjoy a low-caffeine treat before bedtime, you do you.
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4 Things to Try If Your Only Hobbies Are Instagram and Netflix
Tell me about your hobbies. Not the hobbies you do once a year so you can list them on your Tinder profile—what hobbies do you actually do? If you’re like most people, your answer is probably, "Does Netflix count as a hobby?" Sure, you probably love to ski, hike, and perform stand-up at your local open mic, but you just don’t have the time to do them very often.
As adults, it can be hard to justify hours away from our busy (and often underfunded) lives to devote time and money to learning something new—especially when that something is crafting model airplanes or knitting scarves for your dog. As frivolous as hobbies may seem, participating in leisure activities can actually make you happier, more productive, and a flat-out more interesting person. And if you suffer from anxiety or depression, hopping on the hobby train may be the next best thing to frequenting a therapist’s couch.
Stepfanie Romine has recommended hobbies to multiple clients as a way to cope with anxiety and depression. Romine’s been a coach for over four years, was the editorial director for a major health website for six years, and has authored numerous books about healthy living. So when she says something will help your health, you should probably pay attention.
Romine once had a client who was struggling with her weight. Though the client was trying to be healthy, she started to obsessively dwell on weight loss. She became anxious and depressed, and her constant obsession with her body didn’t make weight loss any easier.
So Romine encouraged her to find a new hobby. Once her client started learning a new skill, her anxiety started to calm. "By focusing on things she found joy in, she had less time to focus on her body," Romine says. "It ultimately helped her find the balance with her weight and life that she’d been fighting to find."
To be clear, Romine insists that if you have serious issues with depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issue, you should seek the help of a professional. But if your experiences are mild or you’d like to actively manage your mental health through a hobby in addition to talking to a professional, hobbies can be surprisingly beneficial.
Participation in pleasurable leisure activities affects not only your mind but also your body.
In a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, those who participated in more leisure activities (such as social outings, sports, and hobbies) had lower blood sugar and stress hormones, and tended to have low BMIs and smaller waists. Based on that study, I just might start a "Knit Yourself Thin" program. Don’t judge me.
Hobbies affect more than your blood pressure and waist circumference. They can lead to an "upward spiral of increased well-being." A study from the University of Otago in New Zealand found that students who participated in a creative task felt a greater sense of positive personal growth and excitement—basically, they’d do something creative one day and feel more content and enthusiastic the next. Creativity had a significant emotional impact and always a positive one.
We don’t really need a ton of studies to see this is true. You probably know from your own life that whenever you learn a new skill or do something fun, you feel mentally and physically better, and the effects are lasting.
But for most of us, feeling good isn’t the priority. Working is.
"We’re so focused on productivity and moving up in our careers that hobbies take a backseat," says Jen Billock, a career coach. Though Billock regularly knits, crochets, and learns new languages, even she has to remind herself that it’s OK to do something fun.
Self-questioning thoughts like, "Why am I doing this when I could be working?" might run through her head from time to time, but she shuts down that voice and goes back to her hobbies. Though that impulse can feel selfish, or even lazy, hobbies are a wonderful way to exercise your brain, Billock says. Activities such as knitting, painting, or jogging force your brain to function differently than it usually does, which can enhance your creativity and focus.
If you’re especially worried taking time for a hobby will hurt your work, take a look at this study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. First of all, I know you’re breezing through that journal all the time, so you probably already know what I’m talking about. But just in case you missed a month, this study demonstrated that doing creative and meditative activities lead to better performance at work. So go ahead and start finger painting at your desk. Just tell your boss it’s because you want to be a better employee.
After reading about all these benefits, I’m sure you’re dying to start a new hobby. But should you pick up cross-stitching or learn the fine art of archery? Instead of going down a Google wormhole, here are the most recommended hobbies—and explanations as to why they top the list.
Knitting/Crochet
Why knitting or crochet? Because all the cool kids are doing it! And by cool kids, I mean Billock, Romine, and me. Though both Billock and Romine recommend yarn-based hobbies, Romine says knitting and crochet are especially good for overcoming bad habits.
Many bad habits, like smoking or eating junk food, tend to involve repetitive motions. A lot of people who try to quit smoking miss the physical action of putting the cigarette to their lips. So when you busy your hands with knitting, you’re fulfilling that craving to "do something with your hands," Romine says.
Romine found her clients were much more successful in breaking habits when they had something to replace the habit with. And since knitting and crochet keep your mind and hands busy, they work incredibly well.
I personally started knitting when I was in my late 20s. At the time, I was an actor, and as an actor you put a lot of time and energy into things that have no physical proof. (You can’t put a good audition on the fridge for your whole family to see.)
So I learned how to knit from YouTube and found the process of physically creating something incredibly fulfilling. Instead of putting tons of work into an audition that led to nothing, I could put in hours of work and be rewarded with a lovely pair of convertible mittens. I felt accomplished and much less stressed.
If you aren’t interested in knitting or crochet, you could try cross-stitch, puzzles, or model building. Anything that takes a little hand-eye coordination does the trick.
Fun fact: Knitting uses two needles (sometimes four, but that’s getting advanced) and crochet uses just one hook. I used to get asked on the subway all the time whether I was knitting or crocheting, so now you won’t have to ask a stranger that same question on your next commute.
Gardening
If you’d like something more active than chair-based yarn arts, try gardening. Romine recommends this hobby to induce a parasympathetic state. The parasympathetic system is responsible for slowing your heart rate, increasing digestion, and generally helping you relax. The meditative nature of gardening helps enable the parasympathetic system to take over, which reduces your overall stress, Romine says.
If you don’t have access to a garden or don’t feel like pulling weeds, Romine recommends coloring. It produces a similar meditative response and is great for relaxation.
Basketball
"Active hobbies release endorphins," says Romine. So any sport or physical activity will get more happiness hormones flowing through your body. Though any sport would work, basketball might be your best bet for several reasons.
First, basketball is social. Sure, you can go to the gym or go running, but most of the time you’re doing that by yourself. In the social media age, most of us have lots of lonely times and are craving some real, social interaction. Basketball is perfect. You get to work together, meet new people, and get that sweet endorphin rush.
Second, basketball is cheap. Though you might prefer to go skiing, sailing, or golfing every weekend, those sports can add up quickly. But basketball? You pretty much just need a ball. Sometimes you don’t even need that! Half the time, you can show up to a park and just start playing.
And if you’re not exactly in the mood to hang with a bunch of teenagers in the park, you still have affordable options, like joining a basketball league. There are teams all across the country, and they tend to cost somewhere around $85 per quarter. That might sound like a lot, but it’s cheaper than most gym memberships (and is definitely cheaper than a trip to the slopes). Plus, having a team will help you stick to your new hobby. It’s easy to skip a day at the gym, but it’s a lot harder to let a whole team down by being a no-show.
Learning a New Language
Both Romine and Billock actively learn new languages as a hobby. Romine admits she does French verb conjugation drills when she wants to do something stimulating. That fact alone proves she’s smarter and more motivated than I’ll ever be.
Even if you don’t want to spend your spare time drilling être, learning a new language can be incredibly beneficial. Romine says that even just dabbling, not aiming for fluency at all, can lower your chances of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Opening your mind to a new language helps increase your neuroplasticity or your brain’s ability to learn and change. Simply picking up a few flashcards now and again is a wonderful workout for your mind.
Start with an app like Duolingo. It features tons of languages and makes learning feel like a game. Plus, you get all kinds of fun phrases. You can finally learn how to say, "We do not choose who we love," in Norwegian!
It’s OK if this stuff doesn’t come naturally to you.
Before you jump into your new hobby of choice, Romine advises keeping a beginner’s mindset. You will be learning a new skill, and that’s not always easy. In fact, I found knitting incredibly frustrating as I learned the basic techniques. But after I got through that initial phase, I relaxed and enjoyed the slow, repetitive craft. By not giving up, I got to appreciate knitting’s meditative qualities.
Still, it’s irritating to not be good at something right away. To get through that annoyance, remember you’re just a beginner and there’s no rush to learn. Get excited that you’re mastering a new skill. Feel good that you completed even the smallest part of a new task. This mindset will get you through the toughest learning stage of a new hobby, according to Romine. After you get through the basics, the hobby will become a much-needed break from your busy life.
And if you realize you truly hate a certain hobby? Let it go. You want to find something that makes you happy and gets you on a positive track.
Make time for your hobbies. Seriously—write them into your calendar. They make you a more well-rounded person and can help keep depression and anxiety at bay. Whether you start painting, playing hockey, or making the Ghostbuster’s firehouse out of Legos, you will feel better and give your busy mind a break. So close your laptop, put away your phone, and get busy on that Princess Leia cross-stitch you’ve been dying to do.
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How to Keep Your Home Clean Without Losing the Whole Weekend
It’s hard to keep a clean house. Sure, I know some people who find cleaning therapeutic and have totally mastered the art of keeping a pristinely spic-and-span home. But for most people (hi, yes, basically everyone), that’s far from the case. Cleaning can be so tedious that we put it off for hours and days, creating a looming deadline over our weekends.
There have to be ways of doing this better, so I checked in with a few experts to learn more. Turns out we don’t have to keep fantasizing about throwing the whole house away and starting over from scratch. There are easy solutions for getting your home together that don’t take tons of time—and they come from real, flawed people who weren’t always tidiness experts.
"I was a total slob, drowning in clutter," says Cas Aarssen, author and cleaning expert at Clutterbug. "I was always late, always stressed, and my home was a disaster. But slowly, just one drawer or pile at a time, I organized my entire home—and it changed my life."
Develop solutions that work for real human beings.
Avoid one-size-fits-all strategies—different styles work for different people. "Figure out what makes sense for you and is easy to maintain," says Rachel Hoffman of Unf*ck Your Habitat. "Let’s say you always have a pile of clothes outside the bathroom door (or in the garage, living room, or wherever you shed your clothes at the end of the day). If the ‘right’ way of organizing says the hamper needs to be in the bedroom, you’re probably going to fail at it. Just put the hamper where the clothes pile ends up—you’ll use it."
Don’t get distracted.
Distractions are a key reason cleaning takes so long. When you find yourself hopping between tasks, doing a little bit of organizing and a little bit of dusting, it’s hard to complete one actual task.
"Don’t put it down; put it away," Hoffman says. "A few seconds of extra effort now will save you so much time and annoyance later."
But what if, like some of us (not naming any names), you’ve already scattered your stuff literally all around your home?
"Get yourself a 'tidy tote,'" Aarsen says. "This isn’t a product you buy—just grab a large bag with handles (or a laundry basket) that you can carry around with you while you speed-clean. Quickly pick up all those little things left lying around and put them in the bag. This way, you can return all the little knickknacks to their rightful homes at once, instead of running around putting things away."
Prioritize the spaces that really matter.
"I focus on my most important areas, then let go of perfection and set myself time limits," says Melissa Maker, host of the YouTube channel Clean My Space. "Depending on how much I know I need to clean, I allot myself a certain amount of time to get the most important areas done—and then I move on and do the things I really want to do that weekend."
Regular cleaning is better than marathons.
If you were the kind of student who put off writing your paper until the night before, you’ll probably remember the procrastination mindset isn’t conducive to stress-free living. So you may not be shocked to discover that a more effective habit is to clean a little bit each day rather than jump into intensive weekend cleaning binges.
"Marathon cleaning works against you," says Hoffman. "It causes exhaustion, frustration, and a deeper resentment of cleaning." Unlike cram sessions, regular cleaning alleviates the sense of urgency that comes with letting tasks pile up.
"I’m a big proponent of doing a little at a time, regularly," she says. "You’re less likely to burn out, and it helps you get in the habit of making improvements without a huge time investment."
View organizing as an investment.
"A truly organized home means it can perpetually stay tidy with minimal effort, and less tidying means your home becomes much easier to clean," Aarssen says. "An organized home can cut your housework in half."
So when we prioritize organization, we can spend less time cleaning, which means more time spent doing stuff we actually want to be doing.
"Before I organized my home, I spent hours every weekend tidying and scrubbing my house, instead of spending quality time with my family," Aarssen says. "Getting organized was a time-consuming process in the beginning, but now I only have to do a quick daily clean, and my weekends are free to spend doing the things I love. Best. investment. ever."
Know your skills—and what challenges you most.
Aarsen also believes that the real issue stems from the fact that so few of us have taken the time to learn what style of organizing really works for us as individuals—and she offers a test for discovering just that.
In her book, Real Life Organizing, Aarssen explains the importance of knowing how you organize. "Everyone organizes differently, and organizing solutions aren’t one size fits all. Knowing yourself and your organizing style can help you finally create systems that work for you and your family—and keep you organized for good," she says.
It’s normal for cleaning to be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to remain that way. According to the experts, there are tons of ways to take the pain out of tidying our homes. So why not clean smarter instead of harder?
A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez is a diversity content specialist who produces materials relating to mental and physical health, sociology, and parenting. Her work can be seen on several national platforms. Check her out on Facebook and Twitter.
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3 Things to Do When You're Not Seeing Results
Every new project—like a resolution or a hobby—starts out exciting and fun. Of course, then it gets harder and less fun... until it hits a low point that’s really hard, and not much fun at all. This is when you find yourself asking if the goal you’ve set is even worth all the hassle.
This is the rough patch.
You pretty much always have to get through one of these before achieving a goal, like losing weight. The natural reaction to hitting a rough patch is to run away from discomfort, but the truth is that all discomfort really means is that we're doing things differently. Nobody makes progress without hitting some turbulence.
You might also like If you quit, sure, you’ll feel more comfortable (in the short term). Doing something new and different is, by nature, uncomfortable—simply because we're not used to doing it. This is why so many people hop from one diet to the next, without ever sticking with anything. Unfortunately, results don’t come from trying everything. They come from sticking with something.
It’s easy to give in to the voice that says, "I'm quitting," especially when that voice tends to come up with endless justifications for doing so. See if any of these excuses feel familiar to you:
- I have to get my life in order before this can work.
- I'm not motivated.
- I'm tightening up my budget.
- My schedule is too hectic.
- I'm not committed.
- This is stressing me out.
- I don't care about my goal anymore.
But if you’ve really committed to achieving something, then excuses are all just code for "this is getting uncomfortable."
So often, people start off extremely determined to lose weight but stop caring the moment the process gets uncomfortable. Then they rationalize the decision by saying stuff like, "This is stressing me out. I don't want to worry about what I eat. I guess my weight isn't that important to me."
And this avoidance can seem reasonable at first, largely because it’s easy to justify quitting anything. But it’s important to remember the reasons why you committed to your goal in the first place. For instance, if you've decided you don’t care about weight loss anymore, ask yourself, What about your health? You might not care about a number on the scale, but you can't fake your health. I know this intimately, having seen my father's health deteriorate throughout the years.
Rationally, we know that we committed to our goals for good reasons. If we’re trying to lose weight, we know that our health and well-being is everything. But we're not rational beings, and it’s human nature to seek pleasure and avoid discomfort.
But fighting human nature is silly. Instead, gain awareness of what we do: It’s the key to progressing. Better awareness leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to more progress.
The secret—if there is such a thing—to accomplishing any goal is learning how to get through the rough patches and learning to ask for help with them. This way, you’ll never give in to the voice that says, "I’m quitting. This isn’t worth it."
Here are some ideas for getting through the rough patch:
1. Wanting to quit and actually quitting are very different.
Any worthwhile journey will have ups and downs—this is inevitable, and you should accept from the outset that there will probably come a time when you’ll want to quit. Here’s a secret: Every single one of these success stories wanted to quit at some point during their journey, but they understood that the relief they’d get from quitting would be temporary. (That’s why having support and accountability is so important.)
2. Just because we feel like something doesn’t mean we have do it…
and just because we don’t feel like doing something doesn’t mean we can’t do it. If you’re not in the mood to do anything, focus on the smallest possible task. We’ve all heard of K.I.S.S, right? (Keep It Simple, Stupid.) Well, let’s focus on M.I.S.S.: "Make it Small, Stupid."
3. Question your reasons for wanting to quit and poke holes in their logic so you can remove their power.
A. "It’s not a good time."
When is life ever not busy? When life feels like it’s too much, we often stop taking care of ourselves. Unfortunately, that only perpetuates those feelings of being overwhelmed. When you take control of what you’re able to, you can deal with everything else better. Clearly, there’s a part of you that wants to improve your health and fitness. There’s a reason you’re reading this. The truth is: There’s never a great time to focus on your health. There’s always something going on.
B. "I’ve been wanting to give up a lot."
Focus on all the reasons you want to improve your health and fitness. Too often we only focus on what we’re giving up. We forget about all that we’re gaining.
C. I’m not seeing results anymore.
The No. 1 reason why we stop succeeding is that we stop doing what made us successful. Perhaps the way in which you got results at first was unsustainable, so it’s worth finding a plan you can actually stick with.
Embrace the discomfort. And if you need help getting through a rough patch, get some. It’s important to remember that what’s uncomfortable now will soon be comfortable. Just like what's easy now was once hard.
Recoiling, running, and hiding when you face a rough patch is like kicking the can down the road—eventually, you're going to have to face and embrace the discomfort. And when you do, it'll change your life.
Adam Gilbert is the founder of MyBodyTutor.com, an online program that solves the lack of consistency faced by chronic dieters. Sign up for his free mini course on weight loss, and follow Adam on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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Six Reasons Why Preventive Health Checkups Should Not Be Ignored
Did you know that healthcare expenses in India account for 4.1% of national GDP? In addition, private spending on healthcare (which means costs that the government will not bear) increases up to 70.8% of all country's health expenditure, according to The Guardian. The alternative then for the common people is quite simple - investing in a small amount of preventive health checkups (which could be totally covered by your insurance) than shelling out large amounts during health crises.
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How to Give Up Without *Really* Giving Up
There was a bulletin board at my dad’s martial arts studio, and amidst the tournament flyers, class schedules, and offers for piano lessons, was forever pinned an old, weathered newspaper cartoon of a bird who had almost swallowed a frog, except the frog had one arm reaching out of the bird’s mouth and a hand wrapped around the bird’s neck, choking him. The caption read, "Never give up."
You might also like I didn’t really get it at the time, but it was there for my father, who never gave up. Ever. On anything. He literally fought for a living and fought in his spare time too, waging legal battles on behalf of the sport of taekwondo: He fought to get it into the Olympics, he fought for modern innovation and more accurate refereeing, and he fought against corruption within the political martial arts community.
His home office was crowded with five-inch binders full of legal documents, and he spent nights yelling on the phone on behalf of fairness and equality. He would often wake up yelling and kicking in the middle of the night, fighting invisible battles even in his sleep. It killed him in the end—he had a stress-induced heart attack. It’s on his death certificate.
My mother used to say that Dad’s downfall was his expectation that life’s fights should be waged the same way fights on the mat are: You bow to your opponent, you take up position, and everyone plays by the rules. Except that’s not how it works. In life, people lie and cheat and wait until you turn your back so they can stab you in it. In fact, this line of thinking has become one of my family’s most defining philosophies: You can’t trust anyone except family. The other one is: Let’s try not to end up like Dad.
If my 20s were defined by bad brows, my 30s have been defined by just that—trying to break the cycle of fighting for things that are not worth my life. This has led me to break a two-year engagement, leave an acting career I had spent 15 years fighting for, and put an aggressive and violent dog to sleep after 10 years of trying to fix him. I even wrote an essay about it. If fighting was my dad’s life, quitting seems to have become mine.
Do I believe in fighting? I want to say no. I think of the things I’ve fought for, and they’ve brought me nothing but a big pain in the ass. I fought for my ex like I was fighting for my life, and it turned out to be a mistake that occupied almost the entirety of my early adulthood. I fought aimlessly for my former career when all my love for it had withered away years before. I fought to keep my aggressive and dangerous dog, and suffered sleepless nights, doctor bills, and more physical and emotional scars than I care to count.
And I regret nothing in the past 10 or so years except for the overwhelming desire to go back in time and punch myself in the face for fighting the inevitable for so goddamn long.
That’s not the point though. In fact, it’s the opposite of the point. It’s the opposite because, in thinking about the things I have walked away from in the past four years, I think the joke might have been on me the entire time. I thought I was successfully un-becoming my father, but, in truth, I’m every bit the fighter he was.
If I really were a quitter, I would have married my ex and lived a sad life where I would be miserable in ways I still can’t share because I’m sure he’ll read this at some point, and I’d receive another goddamn email about it. If I wasn’t a fighter, I would still be mindlessly stapling resumes to the backs of headshots and trying to meditate to activate an inner happiness my soulless job was slowly leeching out of me. If I wasn’t a fighter, I wouldn’t have had the courage to finally bring my lost little boy peace and give myself the first full, restful night of sleep I’ve had in 10 years.
It’s OK that it has been a marathon and not a sprint, and that I stop a lot for Gatorade along the way.
The difference is, I fight for my happiness, I fight for a better future, one I am still fighting to believe in. It’s OK that it has been a marathon and not a sprint, and that I stop a lot for Gatorade along the way. The important part—even when I thought I was taking my number off and walking away—is that I never actually stopped running. Although I believed I was fighting to not end up like my dad, I ended up becoming a truer version of him, and myself.
I still believe we should fight for the things we want, but now I know that sometimes that fight doesn’t look the way we thought it would. Sometimes the fight is not glorious or elegant or bold. Sometimes it’s just sitting down and gripping the arms of a chair at work until you’re positive you won’t get up and run away as fast as you can.
Sometimes it’s fighting to keep a door closed because you don’t trust yourself to walk through it again. Sometimes it’s saying goodbye to something safe and known, where you are loved and appreciated, because you are fighting for something more.
I have a bulletin board in my apartment and, amidst the letters from friends and pictures from students, wedding and baby shower invites, and snapshots of my dogs, is forever pinned an old, weathered newspaper cartoon of a bird who had almost swallowed a frog, except the frog has one arm reaching out of the bird’s mouth and a hand wrapped around the bird’s neck, choking him. The caption reads, "Never give up." It’s for my father, who never gave up. Ever. It’s for me too.
Mikayla Park is a teacher/nonprofit creative person residing in the slums of Beverly Hills. Find her, and her two charming rescue dogs, everywhere at @mikaylapark.
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6 Things to Know Before Your Hip Replacement
In this article, I have mentioned the 6 critical things one needs to know prior to his/her Hip Replacement Surgery. This information can be helpful to every type of individual by all means.
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Weight Loss - Creating Your Personal Weight Loss Plan
Has needing to lose weight been on your mind? If so, you are in the process of following a weight loss plan or not doing anything at all. There is no middle ground. If the latter applies to you, it pays to take a moment to consider why you are not making the effort to reach your goals. Is it because of a lack of guidance and instruction? Surely you want to lose weight, otherwise, you would not be thinking about it. Perhaps the need to lose weight is more significant than your desire to get lean. Often this is the case for many adults, who realize being overweight is more problematic than it initially seems.
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How Green Tea Affects People's Health and Weight Loss
Tea is one the most popular beverages on the planet. It has lots of health benefits, that have been confirmed by scientists. Moreover, using green tea for weight loss could be a quite effective method in complex with a diet and physical activities. Let's look at its impact on human health.
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Trying Rock Climbing Made Me Stop "Doing It for the Insta"
It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m hovering approximately 20 feet above a small crowd of people I’ve just met. OK, I’m not actually hovering—it’s more like a dangle of sorts, attached to a complex system of ropes in the middle of Castle Rock State Park in northern California. I’m a first-time climber, but thanks to a friendly climbing guide, I know what I’m supposed to be doing: Find the crevices in the earth that I can use—along with the intense grip of my climbing shoes—to pull me higher. Unfortunately, at the moment, I’m motionless, paralyzed by fear… and the slight hangover that’s been plaguing me all morning.
You might also like Realistically, I know I’m not in danger: I'm in a climbing harness, shoes, and helmet, and the intricate belaying system is secure and already proved its strength earlier when I lost my grip. Instead of falling to my death, I only skidded several inches lower. Despite this awareness, I have an incredible urge to give up. My head is pounding, my muscles are aching, and the ground below seems very, very far away.
If you’re wondering why I’m surrounded by strangers in the middle of the woods, hungover, literally hanging by a thread (a very durable, incredibly thick thread, but a thread nonetheless), it’s because I couldn’t pass up an invitation to the Camelbak Pursuit Series. The adventure-filled weekend in Sanborn Park is designed to give adventure-curious people like myself the opportunity to dip their toes into the vast world of the outdoors—like adventure sports, wilderness survival skills, and, blessedly, portable coffee.
I consider myself an active person: I’ve run marathons, finished an Ironman, and am a run coach. So when the call of the wild came, I answered it from with a resounding "YES!"—even if it meant living without the social crux of WiFi or a decent phone connection for three days.
At the moment, though, my stoked-ness levels are not so high. I’m feeling the repercussions of a three-hour time change, a happy hour the previous evening, and a 5:30 am wake-up call for a surfing expedition. The negative self-talk unravels: You can’t do this. Why did you drink so many beers last night? You should just ask to come down and not show your face for the rest of the day.
A voice from below snaps me out of my trance: "You got this, girl!"
I recognize Kimmy’s voice—one of the recent-strangers in my expedition group, with whom I chatted briefly during the mile-ish hike from our drop-off point at the park to the climbing base. I respond with a groan. My arms are quivering and small beads of sweat are starting to trickle from my armpits, though I’m unsure whether they stem from work or fear.
I’m still thinking of asking to come down. After all, unlike my coveted marathons and triathlons, there’s no prize or medal at the top of this climb. Without a Verizon signal, there will be no photos captured for Instagram, either. And to top it all off, none of these onlookers actually know me, meaning I can return to the East Coast and simply pretend this surrender never happened.
Proving myself—to loved ones, acquaintances, and now onlookers on social media—has always been important to me. Checking off boxes, bringing home awards, publishing bylines, crossing finish lines, and racking up heart-shaped notifications on Instagram makes me feel validated. Exactly what it is I’m proving is unclear, however: Maybe that I have something to show for my 28 years of life, or that I’m someone worth paying attention to. Maybe, more simply, that I am enough.
It’s easy to fall into validation-seeking traps, posting our accomplishments online, showing one glossy facade after another, asking for approval from friends and strangers—all while refusing to reveal anything less than stellar. This undertaking is deceiving, misleading, and an inaccurate portrayal of life, but we continue to do it, literally filtering our lives.
Sharing a photo of my successful climb would only reveal the parts of my life where rugged excursions, new friends, and adventure are involved. In real life, I also make mistakes, I’m introverted and shy, I have one too many beers sometimes, I question my worth—but I never post any of that on Instagram.
Before I submit to my pathetic thoughts, my belayer and a few others begin to echo Kimmy’s sentiments, relaying words of encouragement. I think again about how they don’t know me, and instead of seeing an out this time, I see opportunity.
If this random crowd can believe in me, don’t I owe it to myself to believe in me too?
I decide I do. Using my left leg as a launching point, I reach for a higher, seemingly unattainable crevice. I brace myself for the slip of grip and a subsequent slide, but instead, I find myself a little bit higher. With each reach and pull, I gain another couple of inches, which soon become feet. Before I know it, I’ve reached the top. Below, my new support group cheers.
Though different from my typical feats, this climb was by far the most challenging thing I had done in months—and the most rewarding. There’s no hard evidence of my experience, and there never will be—but I’ll never forget how the small success made me feel. I may not have had anything to prove, but I had everything to gain.
Pictures may be worth a thousand words (and often hundreds of "likes"), but there’s also something to be said about the feeling of doing something for you, and only you. And I may be going out on a limb here—or rock crevice (pun intended)—but it might be infinitely more rewarding.
Erin Kelly is a writer, triathlete and RRCA-certified run coach living in New York City. Her talents include waking up insanely early to create room for more activities, running long distances, and authoring The Runner Diaries, an ongoing series featuring the trials and tribulations of life as a runner at every level and age group. Head to her personal website, Running From My Problems, for more musings, insight, and running advice.
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The Truth About How Much Exercise You Need to Lose Weight
Thirty to 45 minutes of intense exercise. Boom—there’s your answer. If you want to just take that info and (literally) run with it, be our guest. But you strike us as the inquisitive type, so we’ll explain why this length of time and toughness appears to work best for weight loss.
When it comes to dropping pounds, working out can be both a blessing and a curse: Burning more calories than you take in is, of course, the basic recipe for weight loss—and exercise can definitely help with the burning part. But depending on the kind of workout you do, it may also trigger hunger hormones that lead to overeating, or at least to replacing the calories you torched during your sweat session.
There is, however, a sweet spot. Research has found that intense exercise (where you get your heart rate up around 75 percent of your max) affects levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin in a way that actually suppresses your appetite afterward better than less vigorous workouts.
“An acute bout of high-intensity exercise distributes blood away from the stomach and intestines due to the need for greater circulation of blood to the muscles, which may be a factor involved in appetite suppression. This does not occur with less demanding exercise,” explains David Stensel, Ph.D., a professor of exercise metabolism at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England, who has done numerous studies on the subject. And the effect lasts for several hours—and possibly even days—after your workout.
Duration also is a factor. “If people exercise for longer periods, the suppression of hunger may not be as great,” he adds. So 30 to 45 minutes of running, for example, is better than 60 to 90 minutes of walking, because you’ll expend a lot of energy, but your appetite will be blunted afterward. In fact, a recent study suggests that interval workouts—alternating 30-second all-out bursts of exercise with a minute of recovery—may have a slight edge over sustained vigorous exercise.
Another weight-loss-boosting bonus: “Higher-intensity exercise gives you that ‘afterburner’ effect, where your body continues to burn calories at a faster rate even when you’re not exercising anymore,” says Tony Maloney, a spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine and fitness center manager at the National Institute for Fitness and Sport in Indianapolis. Less taxing workouts don’t give you that same post-exercise burn. (Sorry, yoga, we still love you for plenty of other reasons!)
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Weight Loss - When Fat Isn't What You Thought It Was
Back in the 1970's we were told that we had to eat a low fat. This was in spite of clear knowledge that not all fats are bad for us. But because ist world governments thought we were too stupid to understand the difference we feel into low fat trap for decades, effectively ruining millions of lives and killing many more. Even today much miss-information about fat continues to be spread by health authorities, dieticians and the medical profession.
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There's No Such Thing As a "Girl Push-Up" (but Modified Push-Ups Are Legit As Hell)
One of the most annoying terms in the fitness world? "Girl push-ups."
We’re referring to the modified push-up, of course, which has absolutely nothing to do with gender. According to Rob Sulaver, founder of Bandana Training and founding trainer at Rumble Boxing, it’s always better to drop to your knees than to struggle through a "push-up" that looks more like an attempt at the worm. "There’s no shame in the regression game," Sulaver tells us. "It’s better to do a full range of motion push-up from your knees than a partial range of motion push-up from your toes."
You might also like For those who need a quick refresher on the modified push-up, it goes something like this: You drop your knees to the floor and keep your core straight and elevated. Leading with your chest, you lower your upper body to the ground slowly, keeping the core engaged, and then push back up, making sure your elbows aren’t poking out to the side. "By dropping to your knees, you’re decreasing the length of the lever arm, making the push-up easier so you can maintain proper alignment," Sulaver says.
For personal trainer, fitness goddess, and former trainer on The Biggest Loser Jen Widerstrom, modified push-ups are great, but she thinks there are better versions than the one you're most familiar with. She suggests maintaining form and dipping down just a few inches before pressing up, or placing hands on a step or even a desk to take some of the weight off of the arms. "I’d rather have you drop just two inches into a push-up and then press through to target the same muscle groups. It’s all about starting somewhere and building from there."
The truth is, there are many variations of the push-up, and chances are, if you’re not quite ready to do the traditional version, one of them will be much more effective than struggling through a half-push-up, half-upward-flop. Poor form can mean dropping the chin, allowing the shoulder blades to cave, sticking the butt up, or letting the hips dip. (If your pelvis hits the floor before the rest of you does, it’s not really a push-up.)
But people of any gender routinely do poor "regular" push-ups instead of switching over to the infamous "girl push-up," just because they don’t want to stoop to what's been stigmatized as a sub-standard exercise. Which brings us to the real issue at hand—that we're allowing "girl" to be synonymous with "sub-standard." That might have flown in the Mad Men era, but fortunately, our culture has shifted—and that line of thinking is definitely no longer something we should be OK with.
We're allowing "girl" to be synonymous with "sub-standard."
We do modified exercises all the time to accommodate injury or soreness and to ensure we’re doing something that’s going to benefit our bodies. Whether the body in question belongs to a woman, man, or gender-nonconforming individual is, quite frankly, irrelevant. Working out is never one-size-fits-all, and that’s because we all have different bodies, fitness levels, limits, and experiences.
So why does the modified push-up continue to bear this name? It may have something to do with the fact that it’s been an integral part of military training and phys-ed tests that were, for a long time, only applied to guys. According to Widerstrom, this term probably stems from a misguided strategy from decades ago to motivate dudes to push themselves. "For a long time, women weren’t doing sports at the level that men were, so it was uncommon for women to do push-ups at all. My mother was one of the only women P.E. teachers in Chicago in the '60s. We’ve come a long way since then."
When asked about how she deals with this kind of sexist lingo in her own life, Widerstrom laughs. "Call it what you want. I’d rather lead by example and make them look stupid."
But if at one point calling the modified push-up the "girl push-up" was a motivating force for men, Sulaver points out that this terminology can now lead to poor movement patterns and less effective workouts for anyone who lets themselves get caught up in it. "Anytime we allow our ego, rather than our capabilities, to dictate how we move, we end up moving worse."
There’s nothing wrong with getting creative when it comes to finding ways to motivate. But no matter how you spin it, sexist language isn’t effective—or relevant—in the health and fitness world anymore. Though it's taken us some time to realize it, strength isn’t related to gender.
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