It’s about that muscle
Don’t stress about losing weight — put your effort into getting strong. Many gain some weight when working out because muscle weighs more than fat. It’s not about the scale, it’s about how you feel. And when you’re the strongest possible version of yourself, it feels good.
So if you can, pick up those weights. Start slow, though — the idea isn’t to break down your muscles until you hurt yourself and need to take a hiatus, because that doesn’t solve anything. If you’re doing 15 weighted squats and the last three reps burn to the point where you almost can’t do them, but still you have good form, you’re doing it right. If you can’t complete your set with good form, then your weights are too heavy; if you don’t feel the burn on the last three, the weights are too light.
New to using weights and feeling a little hesitant? Im going to use that “g” word, I’m sorry — the gym is a great resource in the weight department. Ask a staffer to show you around the machines and to provide some safety tips.
Have a shoulder injury or for whatever reason can’t do weights? Do yoga, gymnastics, or Pilates, or any other exercise that utilizes body weight as leverage. There are plenty of ways to use your own bodyweight to gain muscle tone. And the more muscle you gain as you go, the more weight your body will be lifting, and the stronger you’ll get.
Because guns — they’re better when they’re the natural kind.
Hydrate
Why do we even need to say this? I see you, person who thinks that drinking Arizona Iced Tea is a sufficient substitute for water. Sugary beverages will not do. Every cell in the body depends on water to function. The amount of water needed is a debated point and varies from person to person. For the most part, it seems like the eight glasses of eight ounces still flies as a general rule. Goal amounts should be adjusted according to body size, activity level, and geography. If you are a large person living an active lifestyle in a hot climate, you should far surpass the eight by eight rule — something along the lines of 200 ounces per day. If you’re petite, sedentary, and don’t live in a hot place, then you can likely function with fewer than eight by eight. Whatever your goal mount is, fulfill your most basic need, for your own sake, and don’t slack. Drinking water also boosts metabolism and promotes regularity.
Don’t wait until you have a headache, or until your pee is a dark shade of chamomile. If you’re drinking coffee? Drink more water. If you’re boozin’? Definitely drink more water. If you’re busy getting your workout on? Drink more water — all throughout the day and not all at once.
Stay present
Any of life’s problems can be addressed through increased mindfulness. Mindfulness is a centuries-old philosophy of living presently — which makes it a little hard to describe. In the last 10 years or so, mindfulness has been increasingly linked to meditation. David Spound of Valley Mindfulness, a stress-reduction and wellness center in Northampton, says that when applied to meditation mindfulness “is a way of bringing the body and the mind to stillness sufficient enough for one to really be awake and attentive — to really be present and to learn something about the more fundamental aspects of our lives that can only seen and felt and noticed and experienced when you do take a little bit of time for stillness.”
Having relationship troubles? Try being 100 percent focused on your significant other for a chunk of the day, taking in and appreciating everything that’s in front of you all the while. We guarantee you it’ll help. Having a hard time with your workout routine? Don’t let your mind go anywhere else when you’re exercising — stay in the motion, turn to your third eye, and focus on that move with laser beam precision. It helps.
Meditate, do yoga, or whatever you have to do pay attention to each moment. Close your eyes. What sounds do you hear? What smells? Tastes? Don’t miss anything; every second is precious.
And there’s no reason not to live life this way. We can make excuses about how we’re waiting for an important email and that’s why we can’t pay attention to our kid’s recital or that we have to be going through tomorrow’s itinerary while eating dinner with the significant other or the universe will simply fall apart. It won’t. Set time in the day for everything that’s important, and be wholly present doing each of those things. Imagine how much better the world would be if we all truly lived life this way, appreciating each and every beautiful moment for the gift that is.
Don’t forget your skin
Ah, skin. You sure do know how to ruin a day, with your impromptu breakouts — that wasn’t what we meant when we said to turn to your third eye.
Everything we do to our bodies, everything we put into our bodies is reflected in the epidermis — that big ol’ thing that covers our entire body. Being kind to your skin means being kind to yourself. Sleep, stress, diet, hydration are all major factors in a healthy complexion.
-Stop touching your face. Do you know how many germs are on those hands? The experts say that one square centimeter of hand carries about 1,500 bacteria.
∎ Wash your pillow cases. And along the same vein: don’t sleep face to skin — many people tend to sleep on their hand or on their boyfriend’s shoulder, but body temperature, and therefore sweating, increases during sleep.
∎ Try not to drool in your sleep. Easier said than done, I know.
∎ Good hygiene is crucial. Don’t skip your twice daily washes, especially if you’re fighting back a breakout.
∎ Don’t forget to moisturize — even if you have oily skin, most washes strip away your natural oils and your glands will overcompensate. If that’s the case, get some oil-free moisturizer made for your complexion. Just a little dab’ll do ya.
Take care
You will be more functional and productive if you are the best version of yourself, and you can only be the best version of yourself if you take care of said self. Do at least one thing for you every day. What floats your boat? What calms your crazy? What inspires you to take deep, relaxing breaths? Is it a bubble bath? That adult coloring book you got for Christmas? Is it playing an instrument? Taking a walk in the great outdoors? Sitting down with a good book? Make sure to take at least a small chunk of every day for you. The world needs you to be de-stressed and well cared for.
Floss your damn teeth
It’s just good hygiene. Plus, no fillings, no problems. And if you don’t floss, you’ll have bad breath. Facts.
Poop: There’s a better way
Everybody poops, but it’s not always an easy ride. If irregular bowel movements plague you, there’s some changes you can make in 2016 to get everything moving down there like a conveyor belt. For the most part, these changes have to do with what goes into your body. You’ve probably heard that eating fiber is a sure way to promote regular movements, but what about fermented foods and fruits and veggies?
Fermented foods such as tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, yogurt, and kombucha are packed with probiotics, beneficial microorganisms that keep digestion swimming along, according to the National Institutes for Health. And every yogurt has probiotics, so you can skip the more expensive brands that make it seem like they’re a special addition. Meanwhile, fruits and vegetables also help to balance gut health. Bananas, for example, balance microbes and bacteria while cruciferous vegetables such as kale, broccoli and cauliflower are high in metabolites that reduced inflammation.
In addition to eating well, you can promote gut health by staying hydrated and remembering to never ignore the urge to go. Some people with chronic constipation are helped by establishing a bathroom schedule — usually about a half hour to hour after breakfast and a visit in the afternoon are peek potty times, according to the NIH.
Knee pain begone
Whatever your age it’s time to take care of your knees. These precious joints carry you everywhere you want to go. So show them some love by making sure the other parts of your body are pulling their weight — literally. Strong thigh muscles can take over the shock-absorbing role usually played by the cartilage in the knee, a Harvard University Medical School study notes. Some exercises the medical school recommends to prevent painful knees are floor exercises, including curls, crunches, push-ups, and leg-lifts; lifting small hand weights; exercise ball routines; swimming; and gentle yoga.
If your knees are already in good shape, here’s some things you can do to keep them that way:
1.) Don’t dash up stairs. Unless you’re in-shape, you’re putting way too much pressure on your knees as you quickly stomp up stairs. Walk instead, and hold onto the railing.
2.) Don’t overdo squats or lunges. Your leg shouldn’t bend past a 90-degree angle.
3.) Take the road more traveled. Be adventurous, sure, but when there’s a sidewalk, walk on the smooth, even cement instead of uneven grass, which demands a workout from your knees.
Bye to back pain
With society moving more and more closely to a digital-based economy, people are spending a lot more time in chairs. And it’s taking a toll on our backs. A sedentary lifestyle is among the top causes of back pain, others include having a stressful job, being over age 55, depression, obesity, smoking, and strenuous physical work. There’s some steps you can take to prevent back pain:
1.) Make sure your office chair is properly adjusted.
2.) Exercise. (Why is the answer always to exercise?!?). Having good muscle tone keeps weight down, which puts less strain on your back, but it also strengthens back muscles, too. Low-impact aerobic activities are best to promote a stronger back.
3.) I know your mother has told you this before: Stand up straight! When your back is straight, your head is facing forward, and your shoulders are back your body is in peaceful alignment, plus you look confident — always an attractive quality.
Now you’re cookin’
They’re finally here, folks: the 2015-2020 dietary guidelines, as published by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Any surprises in here? Not really. Don’t eat fake food. Eggs are fine. Red meat, apparently, is fine too. Take all of this with a grain (but just a few grains) of salt: this document is a product of Washington, and even if you don’t give much thought to corporate food lobbyists, chances are you’ve been chewing their subsidized meat for years.
It’s the most American thing in the world to look for single solutions to systemic challenges. This year, stop chasing magic bullets and weight-loss unicorns. Just be a person and eat real-person food. For one thing: more plants. All the time. More plants. Most of your diet should be vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains. There are thousands of options for meals right there. Just shake it up, keep it varied, and you’ll impress yourself by how well you’re eating.
Also, when you’re full, stop eating. Do that, plus the first thing, and you’re pretty much set. That being said, don’t say “Never Again” to the foods you really truly love. Criminalizing your preferred tastes is not a step toward a healthy relationship with food. Just be sensible and moderate about how often you consume those foods that fall somewhere in-between plants and junk.
It’s not always easy. But it’s not rocket science. It’s not even food science. This year, respect your own common sense, and think before you snatch up a bag of something full of ingredients you can’t pronounce.
Oh, and cook more. Mmm, home cookin.’
Eyes wide shut
It’s not just the quantity of Z’s that matters — it’s the quality. And without a regular sleep schedule that supports your body’s natural rhythms, that quality is going to be lower than it should. We know it’s not always possible to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. But this year, please try. Sleeping in doesn’t help you get rested, even if you’ve been up late. Neither do long naps.
If you need a tip on getting into a good rhythm, look up. Sunlight in the morning helps you to wake. During the day, spend as much time outside as possible. Once it gets dark, avoid bright screens as much as you can, especially in the two hours before bed. And don’t pass out without getting that room nice and dark. Even if you’re out like a light, burning bulbs will screw with your sleep.
What else helps? The Mayo Clinic recommends: exercise, a healthy diet, less caffeine, less alcohol, less stress, more chances to meditate, (or at least relax), less noise, and cooler bedrooms. A lot can get in the way of getting keeping your eyes wide shut, but small adjustments can go a long way.
Feel the spirit
Is the Advocate really going to tell you how to get right with God? Not really. Each person’s God is a little different anyway. Maybe yours looks like Santa, or an eight-armed elephant, or a beam of light. Maybe your preferred way to get right with God is to tune your stereo to “Get Right With God” by Lucinda Williams (it’s a good song, I agree). Personally, my God looks like Alanis Morisette from the movie Dogma.
But spirituality is something bigger, deeper, and much harder to shape. This year, regardless of your professed faith (or lack thereof), consider small ways to swim in the invisible waters that surround you every day. We’re not trying to get all New Age-y here, but every space has a distinct energy, and you’d do well to freshen your spirit with the occasional change in scenery.
The best option, of course, is to get outside. Consider the writer Hermann Hesse, for one: he thought of trees as “the most penetrating preachers,” because “in their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfil themselves according to their own laws … So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts.”
De-clutter
Toward the beginning of the movie Fight Club, a serene Brad Pitt tells a frazzled Edward Norton that “the things you own end up owning you.” That’s pretty much the sole piece of advice you should take from that jacked-up psychopath, but it’s good advice nonetheless. We collect mountains of crap, we keep it forever, we die, and then people who care about us have to figure out how to get rid of it. No thanks.
You don’t need to live in a Japanese rock garden to kick the clutter bug you’ve spent years half-heartedly fighting. On the other hand, there’s a lot of bad advice out there about how to get yourself, and your home, organized (much of it comes from stores trying to sell you containers). The more glaringly bad advice is to take pride in small daily accomplishments. Move one bag out of the garage. Toss one box of hair clips. Donate one shirt.
In other words: one step forward counters every two steps back. That’s just not true. The industrious don’t spend their lives scrabbling up steep slopes — they bore tunnels through the mountain’s base. That’s what you need to do: start blasting.
So far, the best practical guide to this process that I’ve found is a book by Marie Kondo, first published in the U.S. last year, called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Kondo says: go big. Clean by categories, not by rooms. Ditch nostalgia. Put the time into a thorough deep-clean. Because the joy you feel when you’re done? It’s addictive. And you’ve probably never really felt it before.
Sex!
Customize your sex life in 2016. Ask your partners questions about what lights their firecrackers (and ask a lot of them). Be brave and honest about what gets yours exploding, too. The variety of experiences we can have between the sheets with another person (or two, or three) goes so far beyond inserting Tab A into Tab B it’s not even funny. Why are people still settling for the factory standard when we can tailor-fit our titillations?
The sexual revolution is over. It happened. Now here we are, living in the future of fucking. There’s no reason to restrict yourself to still putting your square peg in someone’s square hole with your K-Y lube and your missionary position. End sexual shame, starting with the kind you put on yourself, because if everyone in your bed is feeling good, you’re doing it right. Spring for that fancy vibrator and the organic lube, try on a strap-on dildo, embrace sexual fluidity, let things take a freaky, kinky, messy turn. Because the only person putting your sex life in a box in 2016 is you.
Maintain your mane
When I was little I wanted to be Daryl Hannah’s mermaid turned human character in Splash. With that long, flowing, wavy, beach blonde hair, I swore I’d never have short hair, ever. Many years later — luckily only a few failed short hair attempts — I keep my hair long and blonde and naturally wavy. However, there’s definitely a lot of effort that goes into it. Here’s what I’ve learned:
∎ Never buy cheap hair products. They are loaded with chemicals that will just dry out and ruin your hair. Buying from a salon or a boutique is best when looking for the perfect product for your hair.
∎ Wash your hair in cold water, not hot. Cold water helps seal in moisture and shine. Rinse and condition in cold water to help lock in conditioning agents.
∎ Speaking of washing, you really shouldn’t wash your hair every day. Washing it every day dries it out and strips too much of your natural oils.
∎ Oh, the styling of the hair is fun. But is it worth ruining it over? I try to not use a blow dryer unless I’m leaving the house in freezing weather. When I do, I use the cooling button. Heat also dries out your hair and makes it feel like a horse tail. Same goes with the straightner and curling iron. I don’t care for either unless its 100+ degrees and I’m a frizz ball.
∎ One little thing that I find helps with not having as many split ends? Not brushing your hair a lot. I literally brush my hair once after I wash it. That’s it, just once. Unless you were in a convertible with no hair tie, or having crazy sex, I don’t think there’s a reason to brush it more than once.•
