Month: June 2018

Gardening 101: How To Grow Your Own Herbs

Post author By Christina Heiser
Post date June 10, 2018

With summer quickly approaching, there’s never been a better time to try your hand at creating your very own indoor herb garden. It turns out there are quite a few herbs that are easy to grow inside, so even those of us who live in teeny-tiny apartments (with no real outdoor garden area to speak of) can get in on the action. Herbs are a great place to start. Not only are many of them easy to grow, but they’re also useful for cooking.
Don’t think you have a green thumb? You don’t need one! We’re outlining exactly how to grow your own herbs indoors, even if you have no prior gardening experience.

Herb Gardening for Beginners: 5 Herbs Anyone Can Grow

“Most herbs are meant to be consumed, so you’re not actually looking to grow them long-term,” says Jon VanZile, master gardener and author of Houseplants for a Healthy Home. Here are five to get you started:

Basil

This Mediterranean herb does best in warm weather, says VanZile. It’s a great addition to lots of foods like pizza, pasta, salads, and sandwiches.

Mint

Mint is super versatile and can be used in sweet and savory dishes, says Jodi Moreno, chef and recipe developer of What’s Cooking Good Looking.

Thyme

Thyme can be used on its own or paired with other herbs like rosemary, says Moreno, making it another versatile option. It’s particularly yummy when used in roasted dishes.

Parsley

This herb grows all year, can withstand cooler temperatures, and can be added to just about any meal, says Rebecca Lee, registered nurse and founder of the natural home remedy blog Remedies for Me.

Chives

Lee says that chives are hardy, can last through winter, and can be added to just about any dish. Maria Failla, founder and creator of the podcast Bloom and Grow Radio, likes using chives at breakfast time.

Plants you’ll need to get started:

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Benefits of Growing Herbs at Home

Growing herbs relieves stress.

For a study published in the Journal of Health Psychology, participants performed a stressful task, then spent 30 minutes either gardening outdoors or reading a book inside. Both activities lowered their cortisol (aka the stress hormone) levels, but gardening had a bigger effect. “I find plants calming and psychologically wonderful to have at home,” says VanZile. “To be keeping a plant alive in a space, it’s a very nurturing activity.”

Growing herbs makes meal prep a bit easier.

“Certain plants have functional purposes,” says VanZile. The fact that you can eat herbs cuts down on having to run to the supermarket for that ingredient you might have forgotten to put in your cart.

Growing herbs teaches you something useful.

VanZile says he finds growing herbs and caring for them to be very grounding. “Here’s something that you need to take care of almost on a daily basis,” he says. “It brings a kind of very positive discipline to your day and to your life.” Growing herbs is also an educational experience for kids. Sara-Chana Silverstein, master herbalist, has seven kids and has gotten them involved in the process of growing herbs in their tiny Brooklyn apartment. “It was important to me for them to understand how things grow,” she says. “Every spring we make a garden on our fire escape.”

Where to Get Your Herbs

Once you decide which herbs you want to grow in your apartment or house, it’s time to go out and buy them. “Herbs are very, very available,” says VanZile. You can buy them at supermarkets, nurseries, or home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s.
For true beginners, pre-potted, pre-sprouted herbs are your best bet, says VanZile. “Seedlings require a lot of light to do well—more light than a window can give them,” he says. “So you’re probably going to want to invest in a fluorescent light and tray [if you’re growing seedlings], and suddenly you’re not a beginner anymore.” VanZile says the main reason you’d want to start with seeds is if the herb you’re looking for doesn’t come pre-potted.

How to Create an Indoor Herb Garden

Now that you have your herbs, we’ll teach you how to care for them properly.

Place your herbs in the right spot.

All herbs should be placed in a sunny spot with south-, east-, or west-facing windows being the best choices, says VanZile. “Avoid a north-facing window because there’s just not enough sunlight,” he says. Failla, who lives in an apartment in New York City, says it’s ideal for indoor herbs to get six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. VanZile says as long as you have a window that gets some sunlight, you shouldn’t need to invest in any fancy equipment. If you truly don’t have any space for herbs near a window, you can invest in a fluorescent light setup, although this may be costly. Modernsprout’s Growhouse ($150) was designed for indoor spaces and features full spectrum LED lights.

Know when to water your herbs.

VanZile doesn’t like to give a hard-and-fast rule about how often you should water your herbs because it really depends on where you live. If you’re in Arizona and it’s 110 degrees outside, you may need to water your herbs more frequently than someone who lives in a cooler or more humid climate. The best thing you can do is pay attention to how your herbs and the soil look. “If you need a marker, use the surface of the soil as a gauge,” says VanZile. “If the surface of the soil is dry and starting to contract, your herb probably needs water.” If an herb starts to get droopy, that means it needs more water, says VanZile, while if it starts to get yellow, it’s getting too much water.

Don’t let your herbs sit in water.

“All indoor plants need really good drainage,” says VanZile. Let the water run out of the bottom of the pot (the pot should have drainage holes in it), and then empty the saucer underneath the pot once the soil is drained. “Never let a potted plant sit in water because this will rot the roots and be terrible for the plant,” says VanZile.

Pick the right soil.

VanZile says the right soil will help with water drainage and ensure your herbs have a healthy lifespan. He suggests using a fortified soil like Miracle-Gro, which you can find at nurseries, grocery stores, and Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Get rid of bugs without chemicals.

“There are pests that are going to be attracted to herbs for sure,” says VanZile. If you suspect there are critters on your herbs, lift, look under, and brush the leaves to see if anything flies off. Check for little dots that look like mites, because almost every bug is going to leave behind some trace that it’s living there. Scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites, and whiteflies are the most common pests.
VanZile doesn’t do anything until he actually knows his plants have bugs on them. Then, the rule of thumb would be to start with the least toxic option. Take your herb to the sink, turn on your spray faucet, and spray the bugs off. “Do that several times over the course of a week to blow away any bugs, larvae, or eggs,” says VanZile. If that doesn’t work, try neem oil. “It’s generally non-toxic and is a very gentle product,” says VanZile. “I would never use a strong pesticide on an herb I was going to eat. I would just throw it out and buy another one. They’re cheap, so the margin for error here is tremendous.”

Determine when your herbs are ready to use.

“As soon as your herb has mature leaves on it at all, it’s ready to eat,” says VanZile. “Once flowers start to appear, that means it’s probably near the end of its lifespan and is getting bitter, so it won’t be as tasty.”
If you’re growing herbs from seeds, it’s usually 30 to 45 days before you can harvest the plants, says Failla. When you are harvesting your herbs, be gentle, says Lee, since tugging at the leaves can strain the plant and dislodge the roots.

How to Cook with Your Herbs

“You can mix basil into so many different kinds of pastas,” says Moreno, “and it’s great as a garnish.” She suggests using it as one of the main components in an herby salad. VanZile uses basil a lot, making pizza at least once a week. Failla and her boyfriend make basil-walnut pesto. “Any dish you make is elevated by some fresh basil on top,” says Failla. “It can be something so basic, like tomatoes with basil and a little sea salt.” You can use parsley in pesto or as a garnish as well.
Moreno uses mint in tea and in smoothies. “I also love to throw a little mint in sauces, even if the recipe doesn’t call for mint,” she says. “It adds a pop of brightness that you’re not expecting.” Moreno says that mint is also a great addition to salads when used sparingly. “It can really overpower a dish if you use too much,” she says. Meanwhile, cucumber-mint yogurt is a favorite of Failla’s.
Thyme is a great herb for roasting veggies, meat, chicken, and fish, says Moreno. “I usually pair thyme and rosemary together,” she says, “but if I were to use one on its own, it would be thyme.” Failla says she makes cheesy scrambled eggs with them. Sometimes she’ll shred potatoes, sautee them with a little salt, let them sit and get crispy like hash browns, and add the cheesy eggs on top.

How to Dry Your Herbs

Dry your homegrown herbs by cutting off the stems, tying them, and hanging them upside down in a cool, dark, dry place, says Lee. The flavor of dried herbs takes more time to come out, so you should plan to use them earlier on in the cooking process to let their flavor bloom, while fresh herbs don’t need to be added until later on, says Moreno.
Dried herbs are a great option in the wintertime if you’re making a soup or stew that takes hours to cook, while fresh herbs are a great to add to condiments like salsa that you can whip together in a few minutes, says Moreno.

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Conscious Beauty Lifestyle

No Makeup Makeup: How To Master Makeup Minimalism

Post author By Christina Heiser
Post date June 10, 2018

Minimalism is all the rage these days, with just about everyone and their mother opting for a life free of clutter and embracing the less-is-more philosophy. And that trend has translated into beauty, with no makeup makeup becoming one of the go-to looks on red carpets and runways in the last couple of years.
The thing is, while no makeup makeup comes across as relatively low-key, it actually takes a bit more effort to do than you might think. That doesn’t mean no makeup makeup is super complicated—it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it.
We talked to three top makeup artists to get their best tips for creating a no makeup makeup look that’s perfect for the office, date night, and more.

Wait, so what is no makeup makeup, exactly?

Contrary to what it sounds like, no makeup makeup isn’t the same as going makeup-free.
“For the no makeup makeup look, it’s about attempting to look as natural as possible with product,” explains Camara Aunique, celebrity makeup artist. In essence, it’s about enhancing what you’ve got without actually appearing as if you’re wearing any makeup at all, says Sophia Porter, makeup artist and hairstylist in Chicago.
A typical no makeup makeup routine requires a decent amount of products, but it’s not so many that a beginner will feel overwhelmed. Some of the products you’ll want to have on hand include a lightweight base (think tinted moisturizer or BB cream), brightening concealer, highlighter, sheer lip color, and a natural-looking mascara and eyebrow groomer. No cobalt blue eyeliner or vampy lipstick here!
Makeup artist Mary Irwin says skin prep is also an important part of no makeup makeup because following a solid skincare routine will ensure your complexion is in optimal condition for makeup application.

Why is no makeup makeup having a moment right now?

There are a few reasons why no makeup makeup is surging in popularity these days.
For starters, Porter says many of her private clients are turning to no makeup makeup because they’re sick of the overdone beauty trends they’ve seen on Instagram. (Think feather eyebrows, ombré lashes, and contoured-to-the-extreme complexions.)
“They feel as if those beauty trends are too clownish, and they just want to look fresh without looking like there was too much effort involved,” she says. Porter adds that no makeup makeup is timeless and won’t ever go out of style, so there’s no risk of looking like you’re not up-to-date with the latest beauty trends.
Lately, women have been moving toward embracing what they’ve got (whether that’s freckles, acne, wrinkles—you name it) and away from hiding their faces under thick layers of foundation and concealer. “Women want to look like themselves—just slightly enhanced,” says Aunique. “They want to see their freckles. Women are loving the skin they’re in more and more, and I love it.”
Irwin cites Christina Aguilera (who had a “makeunder” for a recent Paper Magazine cover) and Alicia Keys (who decided to ditch makeup altogether a couple of years ago) as celebs who’ve embraced their skin, inspiring no makeup makeup to stick around.
Finally, although creating a no makeup makeup look involves using a bunch of products, it’s something that can be done relatively quickly. “It’s simple—only a few steps, and anyone can do it,” says Irwin.

How do you do no makeup makeup?

Want to hop on the no makeup makeup bandwagon? We’ve got you covered. Follow our step-by-step guide to doing a no makeup makeup look on your own.

Step 1: Work through your skincare routine.

“The most important step is having a well-rounded skincare routine to prepare your canvas,” says Porter, who recommends keeping an emphasis on hydration so you end up with a glow.
Porter likes using facial oil before makeup to get a dewy base—she just recommends being careful about which one you choose. If you have oily or acne-prone skin, for example, you’ll want to make sure you pick a non-comedogenic facial oil, like Dr. Hauschka Clarifying Day Oil ($45), since that won’t clog pores. Porter is a fan of NOW Organic Argan Oil ($30) for dry skin, which easily absorbs for glowing skin sans grease.
You only need to apply facial oil sparingly to the high points of your face (your temples, brow bones, cheekbones, jawbone, cupid’s bow, and down the bridge of your nose) to get a glow.

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Step 2: Lay your base with tinted moisturizer or foundation.

If you find your makeup regularly wears away by midday (this can happen if you’re oily), start with a primer, says Irwin, who likes the Heir Atelier Face Primer ($42). “It smoothes skin and makes a world of difference in how the makeup wears,” she says. Then, move on to applying tinted moisturizer, BB cream, or a small amount of foundation.
For seamless coverage, Porter suggests buffing thin layers of your product into your skin starting from the center of your face and working outward for a seamless effect. You can do so with a makeup sponge, like the beauty industry favorite Beautyblender ($20). For a base, Porter likes Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer Concealer and Foundation ($48), which comes in 16 shades ranging in skin tones and undertones, as well as Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ($64), which comes in 24 hues and has a glowy finish and lightweight texture.
Irwin recommends Laura Mercier because the brand offers multiple formulas and finishes for different skin types and tones. She says Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 – Illuminating ($45) has a particularly stunning finish.

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Step 3: Conceal.

You shouldn’t be heavy-handed with concealer because it can end up looking cakey, says Porter. Just dab on a tiny bit sparingly to any areas that need it, such as blemishes or dark circles underneath your eyes.
Porter recommends Giorgio Armani Maestro Corrector ($40) for dark circles, while Irwin is obsessed with NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($30) and Aunique likes MAC Cosmetics Mineralize Concealer ($24). Aunique opts to apply concealer with her fingers and sets it with Dior Diorskin Forever & Ever Control Invisible Loose Setting Powder ($52).

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Step 4: Add a pop of color to your cheeks.

It’s easy to go overboard with blush, but that doesn’t mean you should skip it.
Porter suggests using an itty-bitty bit of blush for the slightest hint of color. You can easily do that by applying a sheer cream blush with your fingers to the apples of your cheeks. Porter is a fan of Glossier Cloud Paint ($18), while Irwin notes that Stila Convertible Colors ($25) are a makeup-artist staple. “Just swipe a little bit on the apples of your cheeks and blend with your fingers,” says Irwin. “It can also work as your lip color. Pat it in with your fingers, just like on your cheeks.”
If you prefer powder blush, Aunique says NARS Blush in Orgasm ($30) suits everyone—it’s a classic for a reason.

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Step 5: Highlight key areas of your face.

Next, highlight the high points of your face to really brighten up your appearance, recommends Porter.
One of her favorite highlighters is RMS Living Luminizer ($38), which can be applied with your fingers for a super sheer highlight.

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Step 6: Groom your brows.

Once you’re done concealing, move on to your brows. “Don’t paint them on,” says Irwin, “but fill in any sparse areas and use a tinted gel to hold them in place.”
Try Benefit Cosmetics 24-HR Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel ($24).

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Step 7: Go easy on the mascara.

Super black mascara is great for a night out, but when it comes to no makeup makeup, brown or black/brown will give you a more natural look, says Porter, who adds that you should stick to one coat for no makeup makeup.
Aunique recommends Lancome for their wide variety of mascara formulas. Lancome Definicils – High Definition Mascara in Brown ($27.50) is a good everyday pick.

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Step 8: Swipe on tinted lip balm.

Steer clear of bright colors, and pick up something that looks like your lips but better.
Porter says Perricone MD No Lipstick Lipstick SPF 15 ($30) fits the bill (and the name fits our theme!). Irwin loves Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 ($24) because there are a ton of shades, and the formula moisturizes while providing that hint of color.

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Step 9: Set your no makeup makeup look.

And now we’ve come to the end! Under 10 steps isn’t too bad.
All you have to do is spritz your face with a mist to set your makeup and add a glowy sheen, says Porter, who likes Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist ($48).

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No Makeup Makeup Hacks for Busy Days

Even if you don’t have time for a full no makeup makeup routine, you can simplify things and still give the trend a whirl.
Hit snooze one too many times? You can always pair clean skin with a little lipstick, says Irwin.
For a bit more coverage, combine foundation and highlighter to get your glow in less time. Mix one drop of highlighter (Aunique likes MAC Cosmetics Strobe Cream) into one pump of your foundation, combining the two in your hands, and press it into your skin.
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Healthy Relationships Wellbeing

Attachment Styles Impact Every Relationship: Here's How

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date June 10, 2018

When you understand adult attachment theory, everything suddenly clicks into place.
Well, maybe not everything—we still can’t explain Kanye West’s tweets (or Donald Trump’s, for that matter)—but it can help you gain some incredible perspective on your romantic relationships, friendships, and other close relationships.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why is he acting that way?” or “Why did I just overreact?”, attachment theory can lend some insight. The short answer: Everything’s your parents’ fault. (Sort of.)
Psychology professionals have known about attachment styles for decades. In 1969, psychiatrist John Bowlby published Attachment and Loss, a groundbreaking book that laid out how infants attach with their parents—and how they reacted when they perceived a threat to that relationship.
Over the last few decades, researchers have extended attachment theory to adults; once we develop a style of attachment, the theory claims, we tend to carry that attachment style through our adult lives. Our attachment styles drive the way that we interact with the people we love, the people we work with, and other close, interpersonal relationships.

In 2010, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Amir Levine, MD, and psychologist Rachel Heller wrote Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love. That book took the heady, academic concept of adult attachment styles and spelled it out for the rest of us.

Understanding the Three Attachment Styles (and How to Find Your Attachment Style)

According to Levine and Heller’s interpretation of adult attachment theory, there are three main attachment styles, and they affect how people communicate, view intimacy, deal with conflict, and develop their expectations of their partners.

Need a helpful metaphor? Professor Karlen Lyons-Ruth, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, explains that “the attachment system can be thought of as the psychological version of the immune system.” Relationships bring stress, and our attachment system helps us respond to that stress and avoid “extreme levels of fearful arousal.”
Levine describes three attachment styles that cover about 95 percent of the population:
[sol title=”Secure Attachment Style” subheader=”comfortable and loving”]
People with secure attachment styles feel comfortable with intimacy, and they can be described as loving people. About 50 percent of the population falls into this category.

Example: Susan connects with someone on Tinder, and they go on a few dates. He doesn’t text her for a few days; she gives him a quick call to set up another date but doesn’t worry too much about the lack of communication. She’s generally very loving and has no problems expressing intimacy.

[sol title=”Anxious Attachment Style” subheader=”defined by relationships with others”]
These individuals crave intimacy. Even if they’re fairly successful in their careers, they tend to define themselves by their relationships with others; they worry that their partners don’t love them, and they often believe that they’ll eventually end up alone. About 20 percent of people fall into this category.

Example: Todd connects with someone on Tinder, and they go on a few dates. She doesn’t text him for a few days; he begins to obsess about what went wrong, sending flurries of texts to try to maintain the connection. Even when they’re together, Todd feels like he’s on the verge of losing her, so he goes to extreme lengths to avoid conflict.

[sol title=”Avoidant Attachment Style” subheader=”evades close relationships”]
People with avoidant attachment styles try to avoid feeling close to their significant others. About 25 percent of people fall into this category.

Example: Maria begins dating someone. As the relationship becomes more serious, she stops responding to texts as frequently. She spends more time at work and avoids moments of intimacy. She feels that being in a relationship means sacrificing independence, and while she enjoys her time with her significant other, she doesn’t want to think of the relationship as a priority.

Levine and Heller also note a much less common “disorganized” category; people with this attachment style may behave in unpredictable, irrational ways when they perceive a threat to their relationships. For the purposes of this article, we’ll stick with the three main attachment styles, since the vast majority of people fall into one of those groups.

How do attachment styles form?

According to Levine and Heller, psychologists originally believed that adult attachment styles were purely a result of upbringing. In other words, if your parents were rigid and had trouble showing intimacy, you’d likely grow up to develop an avoidant attachment style. If your parents were inconsistently available, you’d develop an anxious attachment style, and if your parents were available and nurturing, you’d develop a secure attachment style.

Modern adult attachment theory acknowledges other factors that contribute to the development of attachment styles. Let’s say that your parents were loving, nurturing, and absolutely fantastic (thanks, Mom). If you’re surrounded by friends, teachers, and co-workers who are less reliable, though, you might still develop an insecure attachment style.
In other words, it’s not solely about your parents. With that said, if you develop an anxious style of attachment as a child, you’ll probably carry some of that with you into adulthood.
Why do attachment styles even exist? Levine believes that it’s evolutionary. Humans are, after all, highly social animals. We benefit from “attaching” with others, and our attachment system provides the emotional mechanisms we need to do so effectively. If you develop an avoidant attachment system early in life, it’s likely because that style of attachment benefited you at one time.

Why Attachment Styles Matter

By understanding your attachment style—and the attachment style of your partner—you can understand some of the mind-boggling stuff that happens over the course of a relationship. You can also start developing a secure attachment style for yourself (if you’re not one of the lucky people who can already attach securely).
So, let’s say that you’ve determined that you have an anxious or avoidant attachment style or that your partner’s attachment style conflicts with your own in an unhealthy way. There’s good news: Attachment styles can change, and understanding the psychology behind your interactions is an awesome first step toward making the necessary changes.

Of course, it’s not always an easy process. To get some guidance, we spoke with Levine to find out how those changes occur and what everyone should understand about attachment styles, why they really matter, and what they look like now, eight years after Attached was published.

[Editorial note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.]
HealthyWay: Has anything changed in adult attachment theory since your book was first published?

Amir Levine: Sure, there’s plenty of new research. It’s a constantly changing field. However, I was more concerned with taking these academic concepts and describing them in a way that people could put to practical use. I think that’s very important, especially with something as potentially useful as attachment theory.
And I appreciated how your book makes it simple and takes these things down to simple interactions.
People can really benefit from understanding attachment. Once you see that every close relationship is driven [by attachment theory], it gives you a lot of tools to improve your relationships and understand the people close to you.
How can people determine the attachment style of their partner?
For the most part, it’s apparent. With secure attachment styles, you know that they’re loving people, right? And even before they display that [love], they know how to use these concepts to put out small flames before they become forest fires. Anxious and avoidants have trouble with the small things and react more negatively to them.

And when secure people are involved with avoidant or anxious people, they can take on a lot because they don’t feel threatened, and they’re attentive to another person’s needs. When anxious and avoidant people are involved with one another, they amplify each others’ insecurities.

So what attachment theory does is help you understand the perspective [of people with other attachment styles]. “Why is he acting this way? Why is he overreacting, why didn’t he call me back?” Understanding the attachment styles helps you understand how people approach closeness, which can be extraordinarily beneficial.

If someone has an anxious or an avoidant attachment style, how can they move toward a more secure attachment style?

Well, for a single person, I think that one of the easiest ways is to get involved with a secure person. It’s not like they’re some sort of a rare bird—even though some people think they are. Secure people are about 50 percent of the population, according to the research. There’s an abundance of them. If you meet someone secure, they act as sort of a working model for you.
What I mean by that—they’re an example for how attachment can play out securely. You have a certain set of expectations and beliefs, but it’s potentially malleable. But it’s tricky, because this working model also shapes the way you perceive this environment. It makes you pay attention more to what you know, to your own attachment style.
What I’m saying is that it is possible to change it, but you need a lot of evidence to the contrary. You need evidence showing you what a secure attachment looks like.
How long does that process take?
It really depends on the person. It could take months or years. You’re overwriting some things, biologically, so it’s not always a simple process, but it can be done.
You mentioned that secure people make up about 50 percent of the population. Are you aware of any studies that might show whether the number of people with secure attachment styles is going up or down?
I’m not sure, I’ll have to look into it. However, we do know that attachment styles change every four years or so.
I would expect that it’s more likely for people to become secure than insecure. Has that been your experience?
I think that it’s more common for people to move from anxious or avoidant to secure than the other way around. Both are possible, however.
What about apps like Bumble and Tinder—obviously, they don’t give a lot of insight into a person’s personality or their attachment styles. Do you think that this technology is having an effect on attachment or the way that people form these relationships?
That’s not so much attachment, per se—attachment theory takes over in close, personal relationships. These websites aren’t based in any sort of real science, although maybe recently there’s a move toward that.

But, for dating, in my own practice, I tell people to be up front about what they want. Meet in person as soon as you can. Choose a time and place—“Oh, I have Monday through Wednesday free at this time.” That makes it real. You’ve got to move as quickly as possible to meeting someone in the real world.
Some people don’t like that. They think it’s showing too much interest, but it isn’t.
And you’ve got to meet people in the real world to know them.
Yeah. It’s not just that; relationships are really driven by attraction. I think it might have more to do with the way people smell—small things like that, rather than, “oh, he likes this movie,” or “that’s where he went to school.”
But meet in person, and that starts the process of choosing someone for you. It’s important to move off of the web.
Are there any common misconceptions regarding attachment theory?

I think that for most people, the big thing is knowing about attachment theory in the first place. Once you understand how attachment theory works in driving all of our close relationships, it’s pretty hard to go back. Well, at least it was for me—it’s such a powerful, useful thing.
But people should understand that it applies to all close relationships, not just romantic relationships. It applies to friendships and in the workplace, too.
Another thing that people misunderstand is that, in these very close romantic relationships, you’re not truly independent—you’re working with each other, you’re depending on each other emotionally. You’re this one [being]. Act insecurely, and your partner will pick up on that, and it might cause them to act insecurely. People like to think of themselves as independent; well, no, in a close relationship, you’re really not.
You mentioned attachment styles in the workplace and in friendships. How we can improve our interactions in those relationships?
I think the main thing is to turn the volume up on the secure interactions and turn the volume down on the insecure interactions. Often, we do the opposite. Insecurities become the focus, and we reinforce our insecurities with each other.
And on the other side, when we’re feeling secure, we won’t make a big deal out of it. It’s reversed from how we should be, because people do pick up on the reactions of others. So we can make a big difference in the workplace, or with our friends, simply by turning the volume up or down and being conscious of our reactions. That applies for people with all attachment styles.
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Life x Culture Lifestyle

3 Free Money Apps That Can Help You Get Your (Financial) Life Together

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date June 9, 2018

If your phone isn’t loaded up with a few money apps, you’re missing out. By pairing state-of-the-art tech with simple, easy-to-follow saving techniques, money apps can transform your ho-hum savings account to help you meet your money goals. That’s a big deal since the majority of Americans struggle with financial literacy.
We’ve rounded up a few of the most popular free money apps available on both the Apple Store and Google Play. Before we introduce them, remember: Money apps help you put good concepts into practice, but they’re useless if you don’t put some effort into developing sound financial habits. What’s more, an app that works perfectly for your best friend might not appeal to you.
“I always suggest using what works for you,” says Ellie Thompson, CEO of Money Therapy Consulting. “If you find that budgeting apps are distracting, go without. If you find them useful to keep track of your finances, then there are many to choose from. Just like a diet, a budget should be tailored to what works for you.”
With that said, Thompson notes that certain money apps can make intimidating ideas—for instance, sticking to a budget or saving for retirement—much more approachable.
If you’re looking for a place to get started, here are a few free money apps that have caught our attention.

Mint

The granddaddy of free money apps, Mint has revamped budgeting for the 21st century. Enter in your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage, car loan—pretty much anything that involves a bank or credit union—and Mint will build your financial portfolio. It has powerful tools for creating budgets and saving money, and because it tracks purchases automatically, it’s relatively hands off.

“Money managing apps are useful because they aggregate all of your information into one dashboard,” Thompson says. “They allow you to check in and see where you stand financially without having to log in to every different account. They help keep you accountable if you are striving for a financial goal, and they remind you if you have gotten off track.”
“Mint is made for the masses, but one drawback is that it does not hone in on investing capabilities,” she notes.
“Once you know your spending is tracked, it’s easy to highlight the areas of improvement,” notes Sean Potter, the mind behind the popular My Money Wizard blog. “And just knowing there’s a record of my spending somehow encourages me to spend less and save more.”

With that said, Potter prefers the similar Personal Capital app for his money management needs since it provides a better set of tools for monitoring investments. Personal Capital, is also free, but Mint’s probably the better choice if you’re taking your first steps toward a healthier financial future.
Download Mint for iOS and Android and Personal Capital for iOS and Android.

Digit

Digit automatically transfers small amounts of money out of your checking account to help you move painlessly toward your savings goals. The FDIC-insured service takes a small amount per day based on what you’re earning and what you can afford.

When we signed up, the app moved $6.50 toward our rainy day fund, and for the first week, most automatic transfers averaged around $5 to $8. After a week, we stopped thinking about the transfers but our balance continued to grow.
Digit is designed to work primarily through text messaging but there’s a free mobile app and a web app you can use as well. After you’ve set up your account, you’ll receive regular updates on the status of your savings goals, and the positive feedback makes it easier to commit to the process. You can also add additional users to your account, which can be helpful if you have a joint checking account.

The downside is that Digit is only free for the first 100 days, at which point it costs $2.99 a month. It does provide 1 percent annual cash back on saved funds that’s paid every three months. In other words, you’d likely save more by using some discipline and a standard savings account, but if you’re having trouble putting any money away, Digit’s algorithm-driven system deserves some attention. There is something liberating about saving money without actively thinking about it.
Download Digit for iOS and Android.

Acorns

Like Digit, Acorns is designed to turn the process of saving money into a painless part of your day. Install the free app, connect your debit and credit card accounts, and the app will automatically round up your purchases and invest the difference. In other words, if you buy a latte for $4.93, Acorns invests $0.07 on your behalf. The investments are diversified over thousands of stocks, and you can choose a risk level that matches your investment strategy.
“Investing in the stock market can be intimidating and scary, but Acorn settles the uneasy millennial mind,” says Natasha Rachel Smith, personal finance expert at TopCashback.com. “This is a great app for those who are new to investing and are genuinely interested in learning about the stock market.”
Although it eventually makes money, note that technically speaking Acorns isn’t free; it costs $1 per month for all accounts with a balance under $5,000 and 0.25 percent of the balance per year on accounts over $5,000.
To really make the most of Acorns, you’ll want to set up recurring investments since small roundups won’t exactly set you up for retirement. Still, Acorns’ simple approach makes it a powerful tool for first-time investors.
Download Acorns for iOS and Android.

Free money apps can get you started, but they’re a means to an end.

Once you’ve used these apps for a while, try increasing the percentage of money you save from each paycheck.

“I urge my clients to use the 50/20/30 rule if they are new to budgeting,” Thompson says. “This is where you spend 50 percent of your income on fixed expenses, 20 percent on savings goals, and 30 percent on guilt-free spending. I find that percentages are much easier to stick to and to start out with. Also, it gives you a good baseline into what areas you may be overspending.”

Be sure to check out our guide to budgeting for a more in-depth look at money management. Remember, financial literacy doesn’t mean living in squalor and meticulously counting pennies; it means guilt-free spending, more financial freedom, and, most importantly, peace of mind when something unexpected happens.
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Mom x Body Motherhood

Hip-Opening, Back-Lengthening Pregnancy Stretches You'll Love

Post author By Abigail Rasminsky
Post date June 9, 2018

Pregnancy can be such an intense time, both for your mind and your body. So many changes at once! Such discomfort! Such flexibility! Exercise that once felt good doesn’t always work, and where you were once tight you are now a limber lady. How should a pregnant lady deal?
To figure out which pregnancy stretches are best (and which ones to avoid), we spoke with Bec Conant, an experienced registered yoga teacher (500 hours), registered prenatal yoga teacher, and owner and founder of OM Births in Watertown, Massachusetts. Conant has been teaching prenatal yoga for over 15 years and is also a doula and mom to little Sawyer, which means she has extensive professional and personal experience helping women get ready for labor.
There are plenty of pregnancy stretches that can help ease pain, reduce stress, and even help you prepare for the big event: labor. However, it’s key to make sure you’re stretching the right way so you can keep yourself and your baby safe through all three trimesters.

HealthyWay: Is stretching safe during pregnancy?

Conant: Absolutely! It’s vital. With the change in your center of gravity, your postural muscles can get tight, especially if you spend much of the day sitting. Being able to release tension and re-balance the load on your body makes for much greater comfort.

How can pregnancy stretches help get my body ready for labor?

Balance! Our bodies are already primed for labor; we just have to maintain good muscle tone for the big day. We want to be both strong and supple as we embark on the journey of labor. That’s where pregnancy stretches come in: Stretching the hips, low back, and sides can help balance tension so that one set of muscles isn’t tasked with the whole load all the time.
Certain postures, such as squatting, can mimic the way the pelvis may need to open during the birth process, and thus are helpful to practice as long as you aren’t already super flexible in this area! [More on that to come.]
Exercises that bring awareness to the pelvic floor are super important for this opening. We all know about practicing our Kegels, but we should also focus on the full range of lift and release available from the pelvic floor muscles.
Good postures to practice are squatting, child’s pose, tadasana, and baddha konasana.
Don’t just practice lifting the pelvic floor but releasing it, too—this is the action that helps birth the baby.

What are good stretches in the first, second, and third trimesters? Are they different?

Many pregnancy stretches stay the same throughout each trimester, but the focus of each posture will change as your pregnancy progresses.

First Trimester

This time is about finding your current flexibility and nurturing your body as it begins to grow this new human being. Gentle lunges, hamstring stretches, and upper back releases are helpful.

Second Trimester

The focus becomes about making room for baby and developing strength for later on. Goddess squat and Warrior II can be helpful as long as you practice proper alignment. This is a good time to start working on on hip openers, incorporating fire logs, pigeon, and malasana.

Third Trimester

This last phase is about opening (within appropriate range) and finding that balance and suppleness. Try baddha konasana, malasana (assuming baby is in a head-down/spine-to-mom’s-belly position), and chest and shoulder openers, which can help balance the extra weight on the front of the body.

How is prenatal yoga good beyond preparing my muscles?

Yoga isn’t just about the body; it’s also about the mind. Practicing mindful awareness during movements—and especially during intense sensations—is directly applicable to both labor and motherhood. In yoga, we are learning not just how to stretch, but how to listen to the body and learn from its signals. It’s that same inward listening that guides moms through the intensity of labor. If you’ve spent time getting comfortable with how your mind responds to intense feelings, then you can harness this same skill during labor. This skill is useful after birth, too, when parenting gets challenging!

Should I worry about overstretching? Why?

Yes, especially during the third trimester, and especially if you are a naturally flexible person. During pregnancy, the body starts getting ready to open for birth before the actual labor begins. It does this in part through hormonal changes, which soften the connective tissue in your body, making the pelvic joints more flexible.
This is great for labor, but can be slightly dangerous before because it affects all the connective tissue in the body. In the third trimester, the body produces more of the hormone relaxin than usual. Ligaments are meant to stop you from going too far while stretching, but with an onslaught of relaxin in the body, especially during the third trimester, this doesn’t always occur. The trouble is that you often won’t know when you’ve overstretched until after it’s been done, and by then the damage has already occurred. This is why it’s key to get a sense of your flexibility early in pregnancy so you are more aware of where your limits are before the third trimester.
The basic rule of thumb is to start by stretching to 50 percent of what you think you can do, and to then to gradually and mindfully see where you begin to encounter resistance. While we do want to stretch, this is not the time to increase range of motion.
Postures to be especially mindful of include lunges, pigeon, warrior, and any pose that involves moving one leg forward and one back. Twists or binds which cannot be done with ease should not be attempted for the moment. Gentle, open twists are okay, but there should be no pushing.

I’m having trouble with…

Round Ligament Pain

Cat–cow can sometimes help. Since round ligament pain is often caused by a twisting motion that stretches the ligament on one side more than the other, gentle pelvic rocking in a symmetrical position can sometimes relieve the discomfort and rebalance the uterus in the pelvis.

Sciatica

The best approach to stretching to relieve sciatica during pregnancy depends on whether it’s being caused by overly tight muscles or overly loose joints. If the former, then postures that stretch the glutes and piriformis are often the way to go. Baddha konasana or agnistambhasana (fire log) can bring great relief to tight hip muscles. If your sciatica is due to excessive laxity, however, then the focus is more on stabilizing. Baddha konasana is still a great option, but instead of working to drop the knees, focus on pressing the feet together and drawing the lower abdominals inward. Another option is to practice table pose, focusing on actively drawing the abdominals inward to support the weight of the belly.

Back Pain (Other Than Sciatica)

Continue everything you’re doing for sciatica, but add windmills (aka prasarita padottanasana while lifting one arm and lowering it again). If you’re still comfortable lying on your back, lie down over a rolled blanket (the blanket should go under your shoulder blades, perpendicular to your spine), and allow the spine to melt into the backbend. This one can be fairly intense while doing it, but brings wonderful relief when you are done. Be sure to roll to the side before getting up.

Gas

My two favorites for this are actually the same movement, just one is upside down. If you’re still comfortable on your back, then lie down and draw the knees into the chest (allowing room for the baby). Pushing them out and drawing them back in again can relieve gas. Another option is rocking between child’s pose (again, leaving room for baby) and table.

Heartburn

Kneel facing the wall, extend the arms overhead against the wall and lean in to rest the forehead against the wall. The aim is to create a passive backbend in the upper back. Also, stay more horizontal than fully inverted in postures like uttanasana by placing blocks under the hands. This is helpful because lifting the rib cage in a passive backbend helps things run downward instead of being pushed up. You get a small version of the same thing if you lift the arms into urdhva hastasana. Interlace the palms to press upwards and then exhale strongly while continuing to reach upwards. I’ve found that the additional upper body backbend the wall stretch provides increases this effect.
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In the Kitchen Nosh

The Scoop On Vegan Ice Cream (And How To Make A No-Churn Version At Home!)

Post author By Ashley Linkletter
Post date June 9, 2018

I scream, you scream, we all scream…for vegan ice cream? If you’ve recently switched to a plant-based diet, are lactose intolerant, or are simply expanding your ice cream horizons, you’ll be happy to learn that vegan ice cream has officially become a staple in grocery stores across America.
Whether you want in on the Halo Top action all your friends are talking about or you’re interested in creating a no-churn version at home, we’ll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the delicious world of vegan ice cream.

Why choose vegan ice cream?

Traditional ice cream is made with a custard base (meaning plenty of cream and egg yolks, both of which are high in saturated fat), but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy ice cream if you follow a plant-based diet (or are just interested in eating healthier cool treats on a hot day).
While the ingredients in traditional ice cream are obviously not conducive to a vegan lifestyle, the impact the dairy industry has on the environment may be less obvious. Dairy farms require massive amounts of water to thrive (a single cow can drink up to 23 gallons of water a day), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 4 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are a direct result of the dairy industry.

Is vegan ice cream healthier?

The short answer? Not necessarily. While vegan ice creams may be lower in saturated fat, they can easily match (or even surpass) the sugar content of traditional dairy-based ice cream. As with any treat, enjoy mindfully and in moderation.

No dairy? No problem!

Vegan ice cream can be made from a variety of tasty dairy-free bases, each with its own set of nutritional benefits.

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is super creamy on its own, which means it makes an ultra rich base for vegan ice cream. Because coconut milk is actually made from the desiccated flesh of coconuts, it’s high in protein, fiber, and manganese. For this same reason, coconut milk is also very high in calories and fat, so opt for smaller servings or another dairy-free alternative if weight loss is something you’re trying to achieve.

Rice Milk

Rice milk is a great lower calorie vegan base for ice cream (Rice DREAM has long been a staple in natural food stores). With a negligible fat and calorie count, rice milk ice cream is a good choice for weight loss and those following a gluten-free diet.

Soy Milk

Another common ingredient in vegan ice cream, fortified soy milk is a good source of protein, calcium, and vitamin B12 (an important nutrient that can be difficult to find in vegan foods). Some people prefer to avoid soy because it contains phytoestrogens, a plant-based compound that closely mimics real estrogen. Although at this point animal studies show only a possible correlation between breast cancer and phytoestrogens, those with a history of breast cancer in their family may want to avoid soy products.

Almond Milk

Almond milk has as mildly sweet, nutty taste that makes it a good choice for making vegan ice cream. Lower in calories than its other non-dairy counterparts, almond milk is especially high in vitamin E (a powerful antioxidant that is also crucial for a healthy immune system).

Cashew Milk

With its rich taste and creamy texture, it’s no surprise that cashew milk is regularly used to make dairy analogs. (If you’ve never tried cashew cheese you’re in for a treat!) Given its velvety mouthfeel, it may surprise you to find out cashew milk also happens to be very low in calories and fat. High in vitamin D and B12, this vegan milk has both taste and above-average nutritional value.

Bananas

Once frozen, bananas become extra creamy when blended and used as a base for vegan ice cream (or “nice cream,” as it’s commonly referred to on social media). As long as you don’t mind a pronounced banana flavor, you can make this vegan ice cream at home, adding other frozen fruits, cocoa powder, or peanut butter as flavoring. Bananas are higher in sugar than most vegan milks, but they have the added bonus of being high in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese.

Our Top Picks for Vegan Ice Cream

When shopping for vegan ice cream, you may find it’s more expensive than traditional dairy ice cream. Many vegan ice creams are made without the use of cheap stabilizers and contain pricey nut milks and other premium ingredients—all factors that contribute to a higher cost. As with traditional ice cream, though, there are a range of prices to suit any budget. Here are some of our favorites:

Ben & Jerry’s P.B. & Cookies

Made from almond milk and certified vegan, Ben & Jerry’s iconic peanut butter and cookie vegan ice cream is widely available and a must-have for anyone who loves this classic flavor combination!

SO Delicious Dark Chocolate Truffle

Chocoholics rejoice! Just because you’re eating vegan ice cream doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice rich, chocolatey flavor; a few scoops of this decadent cashew milk–based ice cream will leave you swooning. Use the handy store locator to find out where you can get your hands on a pint of this delicious ice cream!

Coconut Bliss Vanilla Island

This certified organic coconut-based ice cream is just at home on its own as it is when it’s topping a slice of pie. Readily available at grocery and natural foods stores, this is one ice cream that’s anything but vanilla.

Want to make your own vegan ice cream? Try this tasty no-churn recipe for a sweet treat!

Strawberry Coconut Banana No-Churn Vegan Ice Cream

This berry delicious banana and coconut milk–based ice cream can be made with a food processor, no churning required! The trick to achieving an ultra-creamy texture is running the ingredients through the food processor three times, so plan on making this vegan ice cream a day ahead of time if possible.
Switch up the flavoring with your favorite frozen fruit (mango and peach slices both work well), but keep the frozen bananas because they’re integral to the texture of the finished ice cream. Either buy pre-frozen banana slices or cut fresh bananas into chunks and freeze on a baking tray before transferring them to a container or resealable freezer bag.

Yields:

About 3 cups of ice cream

Ingredients:

2 bananas, cut into chunks and frozen
2 cups frozen strawberry slices
1 can of coconut milk, thick white cream on top only (use the remaining liquid for smoothies)
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
Toasted, unsweetened coconut (optional)

Special equipment:

Food processor
Measuring cups and spoons
Spatula
Standard loaf pan
Plastic wrap or aluminum foil
Wax paper

Method:

Add the frozen banana chunks and strawberry slices, coconut cream, and maple syrup to the food processor.
Blitz the ingredients until smooth. This may take several minutes, depending on your food processor. You’ll need to stop every so often to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a spatula to ensure all of the ingredients are smoothly incorporated.
Transfer the ice cream from the food processor to a standard loaf pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and transfer to the freezer. Freeze for 1 hour.
Scrape the frozen ice cream back into the food processor and blitz until smooth, about 1–2 minutes. Pour back into the loaf pan and cover with the plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Freeze for 1 hour.
Repeat step 4, this time freezing the ice cream for 3–4 hours before serving with toasted, unsweetened coconut sprinkled on top.
Note: This ice cream can be stored in the freezer for 2–3 days. Press a sheet of wax paper directly onto the ice cream and then cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Storing Vegan Ice Cream

Vegan ice cream should be stored the same way as traditional ice cream. Store in the back of the freezer (not in the door), making sure your freezer is the correct temperature (0° F). If you’re storing homemade vegan ice cream, try do so in a shallow container (such as a loaf tin) and keep it fresh by pressing a layer of wax paper or plastic wrap directly onto the ice cream before covering with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It’s a tough job, but aim to enjoy your store-bought ice cream within a week of opening (or within 2–3 days for homemade vegan ice cream).

Tips From the Pros for Making Homemade Vegan Ice Cream

Holistic nutritionist and blogger Sondi Bruner says, “I prefer using coconut milk as the base of my dairy-free ice creams. I find it makes a really rich and creamy ice cream, plus it’s packed with nutritious fats” (which you can find in her recipe for Blueberry Lavender Dairy-Free Ice Cream).
Christopher Bill, vegan food blogger at Eh Vegan, is passionate about using cashew and coconut milk for the base of his homemade non-dairy ice cream. His number one tip for perfect texture (without an ice cream maker) is using xanthan gum.
How come? “It’s a binder. It keeps the water and fat together. Without it, it tends to freeze icy and it loses its creaminess and scoopability.” (Check out his Strawberry Ice Cream recipe for tips on using xanthan gum.)
Melanie McDonald, vegan food blogger at A Virtual Vegan, has a trick up her sleeve for creamy ice cream that involves a surprising ingredient: “Add a couple tablespoons of vodka. It sounds strange, but it stops it from freezing too hard and makes it silkier.”
Gabrielle Gott, healthy food blogger and certified holistic nutritionist at Eyecandypopper, loves to add a nutty twist to her cashew milk–based ice cream: “I never would have thought to use whole cashews until I tried it. It’s amazing! It makes the texture creamy and easier to scoop as well (homemade vegan ice cream can be quite hard to scoop).” Give this technique a try with her 5 Ingredient Healthy Double Chocolate Cashew Aloe Ice Cream!

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Nosh Nutrition x Advice

Why Does Coffee Make You Poop?

Post author By Meagan Drillinger
Post date June 8, 2018

For many of us out there, our morning cup of coffee is more than a bare necessity; it’s a beloved ritual. Unfortunately, the way that ritual ends is kind of crappy. Literally. Like that time I grabbed my to-go cup only to find myself stuck on the slow-moving subway for half an hour, clenching in quiet desperation, yearning for a restroom. True story.
According to the National Coffee Association, 62 percent of Americans drink coffee on a daily basis and the average amount per day is 3.1 cups per person. According to one study, 29 percent of participants reported having to poop within 20 minutes of consuming a cup of coffee.
Does any of this sound painfully familiar? Rest assured, you are not alone. If you’ve always wondered why coffee makes you poop, but have been too shy to ask, we’ve got you covered right here.

Coffee Makes You Poop: Fact or Fiction?

Fact. Coffee makes you poop. There, we said it. And while many of us can’t start our day until we’ve had a piping hot cup, we do so through gritted teeth and cross our fingers no one is in the company bathroom 10 minutes later.
“It’s clear coffee makes you poop,” say Will Bulsiewicz, MD, a practicing gastroenterologist with 16 years of training. He is also a speaker, blogger, and microbiome specialist. “I can speak not only for my patients but also for myself that there is no question about it. The real question is why? The answer, however, is not completely clear at this point.”
A study done by one of the top gastroenterology and hepatology journals in the world, Gut, concluded that there was a clear stimulation of the colon after the participants in the study drank coffee. However, the stimulation occurred only four minutes after consuming the coffee. “This means that it’s not a direct effect of the coffee stimulating the colon,” says Bulsiewicz. “It is impossible for coffee to reach the rectum in four minutes. It typically takes hours. This suggests there’s a stimulation when the coffee hits the stomach.”
This is known as the gastrocolic reflex, which is a signal that the stomach sends to the colon when food is coming down the pipe, causing it to start to stimulate bowel movements. “When it comes to coffee stimulating bowel movements, based on this study, it’s quite clear that coffee has a similar effect,” adds Bulsiewicz.
A logical guess would be that caffeine is the trigger that sends this message. Coffee is one of the most concentrated sources of caffeine, which is a natural stimulant. One study shows that consuming caffeine results in contractions in the colon and intestine, which can result in the need to poop and another study shows that caffeinated coffee stimulated colon activity 23 percent more than decaf coffee, and 60 percent more than plain water.

So decaf makes you poop, too…

The same study has concluded that decaf coffee produces a similar effect on colon stimulation and bowel movements as caffeinated coffee does. This means that there’s something other than caffeine at play. One theory points to chlorogenic acid, which is one of the components of both caffeinated and decaf coffee that is super healthy. “This unique compound found in coffee is what stimulates the stomach to have a visceral response or gastrocolic reflex,” says Bulsiewicz.
How we take our coffee could be a deciding factor as well. “It’s not disputable that lactose is something that can promote bowel movements, particularly in people who are lactose sensitive or intolerant. If you add dairy to your coffee, of course it will stimulate bowel movements,” says Bulsiewicz.
He also warns against artificial sweeteners, which can be just as unhealthy as processed sugar and can cause diarrhea. Bulsiewicz says the healthiest way to consume your coffee is black. But if sweet is your thing, give consideration to inulin, which is derived from plants, completely natural, good for the gut, and tastes sweet.

Does one size fit all?

With so many factors at play, and given that no two bodies are alike, how much validity can we give to the statement If I drink coffee, then I will poop?
That all depends. According to the previously mentioned study, only 29 percent of participants felt the urge to poop after drinking coffee. “We all have a gastrocolic reflex to some degree, but I’ve come across and taken care of people who have one out of proportion to other people,” says Bulsiewicz. “There are some people [who are] going to be more sensitive and can clearly have a more pronounced response.”
The timing of when we drink coffee may also play a role in when we have to poop. Waking up in the morning is dependent on our natural biological rhythm, known as the circadian rhythm. That stimulation also wakes up our intestines and stimulates the bowels to move. “It’s very normal for people to have a bowel movement in the morning without coffee,” says Bulsiewicz.

The Bottom Line on Bowel Movements

We can all agree that coffee can make you poop, but the line between point A and point B isn’t as straight as we originally thought. It turns out there are a few factors involved. And while we love our cups of coffee, we might not love the immediate, sometimes uncomfortable, reaction.
The best way to reduce any unpleasant effects of coffee on the bowels is to make sure that your body is getting enough dietary fiber, which is found in fruits and veggies, and helps to keep our bowel movements regular and healthy. Routine consumption of fiber increases regularity. Drinking water over coffee is another way to stay regular without that impulsive, gurgling feeling we are all too familiar with.
That said, coffee is and can be a very healthy part of anyone’s morning routine. “Coffee protects the liver, protects against Alzheimer’s and dementia, and in many of these studies, it seems to be a dose response where more coffee is better,” says Bulsiewicz.
Keep in mind that too much caffeine can have negative effects on the body as well, as it’s associated with insomnia and digestive issues. Bulsiewicz’s take? “Coffee can be a healthy part of a morning routine, but I would say what is far more important is that we drink water.”

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Conscious Beauty Lifestyle

What Do "Organic" And “Natural” Really Mean When It Comes To Your Beauty Products?

Post author By Wendy Rose Gould
Post date June 8, 2018

The phrase you vote with your dollars rings true in every facet of retail. You have the option to shop at businesses that practice sustainability, to devour food from companies whose morals align with your own, and to slather on face creams made with naturally-sourced ingredients.

That said, there’s a tricky element here that many people may not consider. When you really get down to it, how transparent and honest are all these companies, and just how true are their claims?
As an example: According to USDA guidelines, the term “free range” on your carton of eggs simply means that the poultry has been allowed access outside at some point in the day. For some husbandries, that may equate to letting chickens into ultra-cramped outdoor quarters for an hour a day—not quite the vision of jolly, free-range chickens frolicking in rolling green pastures we all have in our heads.

Naturally, we were curious about whether these lax, often misleading label regulations also apply to the skincare market. What do “natural” and “organic” really mean when it comes to your beauty products? And how do you make sure you’re spending your dollars in the right place?
For the answers to those questions, we consulted the FDA guidelines (spoiler: they’re pretty nondescript) and a handful of experts, including a beauty chemist, a product developer for natural skincare brands, a celebrity esthetician, and the co-founder of a natural skincare e-commerce site.

How “Organic” and “Natural” are Defined in the Beauty Industry

Every expert we spoke to about this topic agreed that the terms “natural” and “organic” are very loosely defined by brands in the skincare market. This is largely because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) takes a very hands-off approach to the topic. In fact, they explicitly state that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements for the use of the term organic is “separate from the laws and regulations that FDA enforces for cosmetics,” and that the FDA doesn’t even have a legal definition.

With no definition, there’s very little—if anything—to enforce.
“It’s the Wild West when it comes ‘natural’ beauty products,” says Amy Regan, founder and CEO of the skincare brand Skinfix. “There really are no regulated guidelines of what constitutes a natural product, and the word is definitely overused. Each brand defines what ‘natural’ means to them.”
At best, this creates buyer confusion, and at worst, it can translate to thoughtless manipulation, notes Alicia Freed, co-founder of natural and organic e-commerce site Living Earth Beauty. The website curates 100 percent natural, raw, and vegan products and is notably discerning when introducing a new product to their store—even their packaging materials are green. In that sense, they’re true experts when it comes to shopping for natural products.

“While some companies may be using the term with integrity, what ‘natural’ usually implies is that they have used at least some natural ingredients, or naturally derived ingredients, in their formulations. However, this does not guarantee that they contain only natural ingredients,” Freed says. “Being green, clean, [and] non-toxic is very trendy these days, and many companies are jumping on the ‘green beauty’ bandwagon in order to cash in. This is what many refer to as ‘greenwashing,’ and it is a very popular tactic that seems to be gaining more and more momentum.”

She adds that many of the largest players in cosmetics are releasing new products that use phrasing and imaging to convey a clean and pure approach, but in countless cases, these are just reformulations of the same conventional products with a “green” spin.

How to Make Sure You’re Getting the Real Deal

If buying natural or organic skincare is important to you, then you must be especially astute while shopping. Though you might be feeling understandably overwhelmed at this point, don’t fret. There are a handful of ways you can feel confident in your natural skincare purchases.

Look for Labels

One of the easiest things you can do is look for certification seals and stamps. For example, while the FDA doesn’t regulate organic and natural labels, the USDA’s definition has become a standard in cosmetics. If you see “certified organic” by the USDA on a label, that indicates the product meets the government’s regulated organic guidelines.

United States Department of Agriculture (via Wikimedia Commons)

“The term ‘Certified Organic’ describes the way agricultural product is grown and processed,” explains celebrity esthetician Biba de Sousa. “The National Organic Program … , in 2005, produced guidelines for organic products. In essence, growing, handling, and processing of the source ingredient involves no pesticides, no hormones, chemical fertilizers, preservatives, [synthetic coating], steroids, antibiotics.”

There are three primary categories, says de Sousa, including 100 percent USDA Organic, 95 percent organic, and “made with organic,” which means 70 to 90 percent of the product is made with organic ingredients. This category cannot use the organic seal anywhere but can list organic ingredients in the information panel (marked by an asterisk).

You can also look for additional certified organic labels, which follow carefully stated standards. Each country has its own label, for example, and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements’ Family of Standards is an internationally recognized seal as well. There are also seals by NATRUE, the Natural Products Association, Ecocert, and Demeter. While the standards for each of these companies vary, seeing their labels means the product contains 90 to 100 percent organic and natural ingredients.

All that said, we highly suggest doing research on any certification label you see to make sure their standards align with your own. There are some certifications with lax standards, and it’s important to note that there have even been cases where brands incorrectly use certifications. Remember—it’s the Wild West out there!

Check the Ingredients

When in doubt, start reading.
“At the end of the day, the most foolproof way to protect yourself and make the most informed decisions is to do your research and always, always read the ingredient [lists],” Freed advises.

I strongly encourage every single one of you to read labels. not only on food but on the makeup and lotions you use, etc.

— Mal (@mdherges) July 13, 2014

She notes that the lists can look like a lot of gibberish at first—especially if you’re new to reading them. To minimize the initial confusion, you should familiarize yourself with the ingredients you shouldn’t be using.
For example, Freed says it’s wise to avoid parabens, glycols and butyls, sulfates, aluminum chlorohydrate (often found in antiperspirant), toluene, nanoparticles, and hydroquinone.

Chemical SPFs also aren’t ideal if you’re seeking all-natural products. Those include oxybenzone and octinoxate, two ingredients that were recently set to be banned in Hawaii due to their damaging effects on coral reefs. You can replace chemical SPF with physical SPF ingredients, which include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

Fragrance, perfume, and parfum are also words that should raise your all-natural seeking eyebrows. Even though they sound harmless, these ingredients are often used in the skincare industry as a blanket term that encompasses a host of other ingredients that probably aren’t natural or organic.
“If you still have questions [after reading the label], contact the brand,” advises David Pollock, a beauty chemist for top beauty brands, including Lancome, SkinCeuticals, and Smashbox. “More and more brands are becoming transparent. If the brand won’t communicate with transparency, consider sticking with brands that empower you to make the right decision for you.”

Sift Through the Marketing-Speak

If there’s one point we want to keep reiterating, it’s that you should always be ready to read. Without some research, it’s easy to fall for gimmicks or to think that just because a product is sold at Whole Foods or the farmers market, it’s all natural.

“When a brand uses words that sound nice in their advertising, branding, and packaging such as ‘nature inspired’ or ‘made with 100 percent [ingredient],’ take a moment to think about what they are actually saying,” Freed says. “Does their choice of words really say anything about the quality, content, or efficacy of their products? Likely, they are using words to evoke feelings of purity, but that’s usually not backed up by the content of their products.”

Looking at so many organic makeup websites online, so hard to find the right ones 😫

— Noreen Stephanie (@Fehlbaum20) April 19, 2018

Another important thing to note is that phrases such as vegan, cruelty-free, sustainable, non-GMO, gluten-free, sulfate-free, and paraben-free don’t necessarily mean that all the ingredients are natural. If the aforementioned labels matter to you, seek such products out, but do be aware that the labels only indicate as much as they state and nothing beyond that.
To draw a comparison, if a cupcake says it’s sugar free, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for you or that it doesn’t contain gluten or fat. It just means that it’s sugar-free.

The Bottom Line On All-Natural Cosmetics

At the end of the day, our best advice is to try not to let yourself get tricked by flashy advertising and to always do your homework. What ultimately matters—even more than where a product is sold or their feel-good promises—are the cold, hard facts, which amount to clean ingredient lists and trustworthy certifications.

We understand this requires a fair amount of research and therefore a notable investment of your time. However, if buying natural and organic is important to you, then it’s ultimately worth going out of your way to selectively spend your dollars on brands that meet your standards. Won’t it feel good to be able to slather on your new serum with the same pride and enthusiasm as you get when slapping on an “I Voted!” sticker?

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Happy x Mindful Wellbeing

Different Types Of Meditation: Which One Is Right For You?

Post author By Sian Ferguson
Post date June 8, 2018

When you hear the word meditation, what do you think about? Closing your eyes, focusing your thoughts, taking some deep breaths?
Many of us think about meditation as a mindful activity done using one specific technique. The truth is that there are many different types of meditation, each with its own benefits.
“Talking about ‘meditation’ is like talking about the word ‘sport’. It’s an umbrella term that encompasses many different disciplines. There are hundreds of sports and hundreds of meditation techniques,” explains Francisco Mendizabal, meditation instructor and founder of HackSelf. HackSelf is an organization that helps people find the meditation technique that’s right for them through a quiz and consultation, and it provides coaching sessions for the various techniques.
But why does it matter that there are different types of meditation? Firstly, studies show that different kinds of meditation can have unique effects on those who try them. Secondly, people’s personality types and life experiences determine their responses to different types of meditation. If one type isn’t great for you, you don’t need to write meditation off forever; another type might feel completely different—propelling you into a sustainable meditative practice, or at least something you can stick with long enough to experience the effects
If we believe there’s only one way to meditate, we might become discouraged when we struggle to meditate in whatever way we’ve been exposed to or conjured up. In truth, there are many ‘right’ ways to do meditation, and it’s okay if it takes you a while to find the best meditation style for your practice.
“Many people believe that in order to meditate, you must be sitting up tall with your eyes shut, not moving a muscle, in complete silence, hushing your mind—and for extremely long periods of times,” says Jess Kimborough, a yoga and meditation instructor. “If any part of this long list of dos and don’ts seems difficult to carry out, we throw out the entire idea of starting a meditation practice,” she says.
Instead of trying to stick to a long list of requirements, we should find the meditation techniques that work for us, Kimborough suggests. “Your meditation practice does not need to look one particular way and can very well change from day to day,” she says. “You do not have to be sitting, your eyes can be open, you can add in movement with your breath, you can meditate to music or chanting, and your meditation practice can be a very quick timeout.”
Both Kimborough and Mendizabal say that practicing meditation consistently is key. It’s easier to be consistent in your practice when you find something that works for you, which is why experimenting with various kinds of meditation is a great idea.
If you haven’t yet found a meditation technique that appeals to you, or if you’re interested in trying different kinds of meditation, read on to understand the most popular techniques.

Different Types of Meditation Techniques

There are two broad categories of meditation: open monitoring meditation and focused attention meditation, Mendizabal says.
“Open monitoring techniques usually involve being open to anything that enters your awareness,” he says. “Examples include feelings, thoughts, or sounds. All experiences, either internal or external, are simply observed—or ‘monitored’—without reaction or judgment,” he explains. Most of us are familiar with the concept of mindfulness meditation, which is a kind of open monitoring technique.
Focused attention techniques, on the other hand, require you to focus on a specific object, sound, or word. “Common meditation objects include focusing on your breath or a mantra,” Mendizabal says. “Transcendence or mantra meditations are the most common examples of this focused attention techniques,” he adds.
Of course, these techniques have different effects on practitioners. For example, a study suggests that focused-attention meditation improves convergent thinking while open-monitoring meditation improves divergent thinking. Mendizabal suggests that focused-attention meditation increases your ability to concentrate, while open-monitoring meditation improves your ability to relax.

Beyond those two categories of meditation, there are further classifications when it comes to the different types of meditation that you can practice.

1. Mindfulness Meditation

Many of us are familiar with a kind of meditation that involves relaxing, sitting quietly, and observing our thoughts and surroundings. This is mindfulness meditation, and it’s a form of open-response meditation. This is sometimes called observing-thought meditation.
Learning to be mindful is a useful skill that can help you during any form of meditation, at work, in relationships, and in other situations. “Mindfulness is being completely present in the current moment and aware of yourself within your surroundings,” Kimborough says. “My favorite thing about a mindfulness practice is that it can be completely mobile. Yes, you want to be mindful during any meditation practice, but you can also be mindful by taking a shower, riding a bike, walking down the street, or talking with friends,” she says.

2. Mantra Meditation

Mantra meditation is a kind of focused attention technique that involves thinking about a specific word or phrase. Kimborough suggests you come up with a mantra or affirmation that means a lot to you in that moment. As you meditate, try to match the mantra to your breath.
“Suppose your mantra is ‘I am supported.’ As you breathe in, say to yourself, ‘I am,’ then exhale out as you say to yourself, ‘supported,’” Kimborough says. “Imagine the words in your mind fully—the color, font, size of the words. Whenever you notice your mind starting to wander, gently guide your thoughts back to your breath and your mantra, carrying yourself back into the current moment once again.”

3. Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation is a widely-practiced form of meditation. The technique is instructed exclusively by a non-profit organization and can only be taught by one of their licensed instructors. Because Transcendental Meditation is a formal practice associated with an organization, you’ll have to pay a fee to learn it. That said, the technique itself involves engaging in a kind of mantra meditation for 15 to 20 minutes a day, twice a day.
While research suggests Transcendental Meditation has numerous health benefits including stress reduction and improved cardiovascular health, many people are also critical of the practice and those who follow it.

4. Loving-Kindness Meditation

Also known as compassion meditation, loving-kindness meditation involves focusing on feelings of compassion toward oneself, one’s loved ones, acquaintances, and the universe in general. You start off by wishing well on yourself, and you gradually work toward wishing well on those around you. This could include focusing on mantras like “May I be well, safe, and happy”.
One small study has suggested that loving-kindness meditation may help improve the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, while other studies indicate that it could help improve connectedness and well-being by promoting positive emotions.

5. Sound Meditation

As the name suggests, sound meditation involves focusing on a sound. You might focus on ambient music or the sound of birds or cars in your surroundings, for example. A pilot study has suggested that Tibetan sound meditation could improve the cognitive function and mental health of breast cancer patients. Another pilot study suggests sound meditation improves relaxation among cancer patients.
“Music has the power to move us—literally! It can make us cry, jump up and down, healing us,” Kimborough says. “During a sound meditation—whether set to live music, singing bowls, or your favorite jams—you would allow the sound to fall on you and notice how the vibrations feel,” she says.

6. Movement Meditation

Movement meditation involves focusing on the movements of your body. You might even match your movements to your breath as one does during yoga, Kimborough says. “In yoga, you are uniting your movement and your breath. As you inhale, you move up and as you exhale you move down,” she says. “Matching up the breath and movement in this way encourages you to be in the current moment.”
However, movement meditation isn’t limited to yoga: You can do it while swimming, cycling, stretching, dancing, or even walking. Kimborough suggests you practice movement meditation while walking. “Be mindful with each step, noticing how your feet connect with the earth, how your arms sway in unison. Notice your shoulders, your neck holding up the weight of your head, and so on,” she explains. “You can move mindfully in any action you choose and call that a meditation practice. A fun practice—if you dare!—is to do this walking meditation while barefoot in the grass, and notice what comes up as you connect to mother nature.”

7. Visualization Meditation

Visualization meditation is a great way to hone your imaginitive skills and manifest your goals, says Kimborough. “When we were kids, we would imagine the most grandiose ideas. We’d say, ‘I want to be a firefighter,’ then continue to imagine this story play[ing] out fully in our minds to the point where we [could] act out the life of a firefighter with just a water hose,” she explains. As we age, we often lose our ability to imagine ourselves and visualize our goals. “Visualization allows us to tap back into this forgotten skill of ours,” she says.
During visualization meditation, you might imagine yourself accomplishing your dreams and goals. “What would you look like? Where would you be? Who would you be with? What is happening around you? Paint the picture fully and sit with it,” Kimborough suggests.

8. Guided Meditation

If you’re unsure where to start with meditation, guided meditation can be super helpful. You could turn to apps like Headspace or Mindworks, or you could find guided meditations on YouTube or in audiobook format. Kimborough says that guided meditations are great for time-keeping and combating distractions during meditation. “The guide will remind you to remain in the present moment with different cues to draw your attention to breath, movement, mantra, and so on,” she says.
Mendizabal believes guided meditations can be useful, but that it’s a life-changer to learn how to meditate without relying on external guidance. “You stop requiring external tools and start being able to access the benefits by yourself,” he says. “You also gain more profound insights and experiences as the practice develops.”

9. Gazing Meditation

Most of us think we need to close our eyes when we meditate, but this is not necessarily the case. Your sight could help you reach a meditative state. With gazing meditation, you focus your vision on something like a flame, a spot on a wall, or even tea in a teacup.
Want to practice your social skills? Gazing meditation could be a great technique for you. “You treat your sense of vision as another sense. Instead of closing your eyes, you focus your gaze on a meditation object, such as a point on a wall,” Mendizabal says. “Since eyes are key in social interactions, this can be great training to be able to look into people’s eyes, keep your gaze calm and confident, and so on,” he says. “The amount of scientific data is limited on this, but the thousands of hours spent by different schools of meditation are enough to be a source to trust.”

Which type of meditation should I choose?

There are so many types of meditation out there that you might struggle to decide which style to try first.
Mendizabal says that you could choose a type of meditation based on whether you have a type A or a type B personality: type A being particularly goal-oriented and driven, and type B being more relaxed and flexible.
“Type A personalities tend to find focused attention meditation techniques easier to stick to. This makes sense since they are goal-oriented and tend to be always focused on something. So transcendence or mantra meditation is a good approach for if you fall under this category,” says Mendizabal.
Type B personalities benefit from focused attention meditations if they want to be able to concentrate better, although it might not be as easy for them.
“If you don’t have a preference, or [are] looking mainly to increase your ability to relax, go for an open monitoring technique,” says Mendizabal. “Mindfulness meditation is a good approach, and you’ll still be able to improve your ability to focus.”
Kimborough suggests experimenting with different types of meditation and even combining meditation styles until you find what’s right for you. “Get fancy with it and combine a couple and see what jives with you,” she says. “I personally like to combine mantras and visualization. Choose your mantra, pair it to your breath, then imagine that mantra fully realized in your life. How powerful is that?”
No matter the type of meditation, remember that consistently meditating is more important than meditating “perfectly”—however you might perceive a “perfect” meditation to be. Consistency is more important than length, too. Mendizabal points out that meditating for ten minutes every day is way better than doing it for an hour every week.
“Always remember: Every meditation counts, even the ones that don’t feel right,” Mendizabal says. “Each time you sit down and meditate, you strengthen your neural pathways. You are optimizing your brain to live a better life. Every meditation is a good meditation.”

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Favorite Finds Sweat

The Best Leggings Under $30: Sleek, Comfy, And Budget Approved

Post author By Lauren Bondi
Post date June 8, 2018

While today’s top athleisure brands debut beautiful new legging styles on the regular, the bottom line is that many of us can’t justify spending the equivalent of a week’s worth of groceries on a pair of stretchy black pants.
When on the hunt for wallet-friendly leggings, the question quickly becomes, “Where can I find a style that doesn’t make a dent in my finances, yet still stands tall in terms of quality?” Finding a pair priced under $30 is magical—as long as your savings aren’t accompanied by regret-worthy compromises in factors like multidimensional stretch, non-sheer fabric, material and shape integrity, and simple aesthetics.

Best Leggings Under $30

Searching for the perfect pair of budget-friendly leggings is definitely a balancing act. You want to feel supported in the gym and out on the town now (not after months of saving!), but don’t want to make a poor purchasing decision that results in you tossing your recently purchased leggings in the trash and spending additional money on another pair.
I rounded up five affordable workout leggings and put them through the ringer. I carefully considered each pants’ fit, material, breathability, and style as I sported them in and outside of the gym and yoga studio, and even on long travel days. Although the prices of these budget leggings were fairly similar, there was one victor that won by a landslide. Continue reading for a thorough guide that will help you navigate the industry of reasonably-priced leggings.
Please note that at the time of this writing, the following leggings were all priced under $30.
[sol title=”C9 Embrace High Waist Leggings” subheader=”Size XS”]
Unfortunately, the two pairs of C9 leggings that I tested underperformed in a variety of categories. While I’ve owned a C9 legging or two in the past, these two in particular have a quality that reflects the price tag—meaning you get what you pay for and aren’t going to be surprised by any luxury or special touches.
Although I attempted to rock these for a full day of wear, I ended up taking them off after a few hours. While C9 touts these leggings’ ultra compression, moisture-wicking technology, and hugging fit, the legging fell short in each of these areas.

Pros

Priced under $30 and outrageously accessible for anyone within close proximity to a Target, this legging will be your go-to for last-minute binds. I’ve been the woman stranded on a weekend getaway without a pair of leggings and desperate for a quick sweat sesh. When that’s the case, the C9 Embrace High Waist Legging will get the job done.

Cons

As mentioned, this pair lacks some of the key attributes I was looking forward to after reading their official description. Instead of offering genuine compression, any tightness in the legging seemed to be the result of a lack of stretch and the cottony material felt stiff throughout my time wearing these leggings.
Although C9 claims that this legging will hug you in all the right places, I noticed significantly less shape after only half a day of wear. Readjusting the waistband became a regular occurrence as the hours wore on.
The thin material is also prone to pilling, clinging, and attracting dog hair. Despite the thin fabric, there was still a complete absence of sweat-wicking properties. Instead, I felt clammy as the sweat from my short circuit lingered in crevices I’d rather not be thinking about while trying to work out.
[link-button href=”https://fave.co/2rXEXD0″] Get them from Target [/link-button]
[sol title=”C9 Freedom High Waist Leggings” subheader=”Size XS”]
The Freedom High Waist C9 leggings weren’t well distinguished from the Embrace leggings. In fact, I confused the two pairs on multiple occasions. That being said, my review of the Freedom High Waisted Legging is nearly identical.

Pros

As we’ve covered, this pair will work well if you’re in a pinch. The one quality that sets the Freedom apart from the Embrace is its waistband. Hugging my torso along my belly button, I was pleased with the increased comfort of the higher rise (but only when considering it in light of the mid-rise of its sister pair).

Cons

I hoped—I truly did—for the four-way stretch technology conducive to weightlifting and yoga; yet I didn’t find it here. Because of this lack of flexibility, the material was see-through at the bottom of my squats. With the inclusion of the cons listed for the Embrace leggings—all of which also apply to the Freedom—this sheerness was the determining factor for me: the C9 Freedom definitely isn’t a budget staple.
[link-button href=”https://fave.co/2keIclt”] Get them from Target [/link-button]
[sol title=”90 Degree by Reflex Capri” subheader=”Size XS”]
The 90 Degree by Reflex Capri’s material was nearly identical to that of the C9 leggings, but this pair was far more sheer. It took nothing more than a glance in the mirror to notice that any bending would result in a clear view of my undergarments.
With the lacking integrity and underwhelming technology of the fabric, these wouldn’t be suitable for exercise; but I did find them moderately comfortable for lounging around the house, which is a plus, right?

Pros

The capri length was tailored well to the calf, and the pocket in the waistband could potentially be used for a small wad of cash or a few loose keys. The thin fabric would be ideal for a quiet summer night spent tucked away on a deck with a good book.

Cons

Because of the poor quality, this legging doesn’t offer any real versatility. If any moving or bending is required, this is certainly not the pair to throw on. The material has a soft, brushed finish which also makes it prone to pilling and clinging. Similar to the previous C9 pairs discussed, I foresee this legging losing its fit and color after a few laundry cycles. In my experience, early signs of wear seem to be inevitable.
Because the legging lost shape throughout the day, I found myself hiking up the waistband far too often. While this certainly wouldn’t be an issue if the day involved nothing more than peaceful lounging, I wouldn’t recommend wearing these leggings for a full day of activities.
[link-button href=”https://amzn.to/2rZfCIR”] Get them from Amazon [/link-button]
[sol title=”7Goals Cyber X Mesh Legging” subheader=”Size XS”]
Alas, we have a pair of budget-friendly leggings that offers celebration-worthy quality, far exceeding the expectations of the price tag! I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort, cute aesthetic, and versatility of this legging. The Cyber X Mesh Legging by 7Goals offers many perks that I once believed were only offered by higher priced brands.

Pros

The mesh detailing along the legs creates a fun look perfect for a warm yoga flow or weekend date at the park. The x-band along the waistline was something I had never seen before. Although I was admittedly uncertain when first trying the pair on, it took me nothing more than a few seconds to fall in love. The wrapping along the torso accentuated my waistline and seemed to add a bit more of an hourglass shape to my unabashed squareness.
In addition to the aesthetic features, the fabric itself was also of higher quality. It wasn’t see-through in the slightest. Although cotton leggings often take on a shine when they’re stretched along the glutes and thighs, this pair didn’t exhibit that issue! Cue a major sigh of relief.
7Goals has perfected the balance of stretch, compression, and comfort. I gladly sported these for the entire day (and let’s be honest, maybe a few consecutive days). If nobody you know saw you wear them, did you really?
The meshing was also comfortable, and surprisingly the flexibility of the fabric around those areas didn’t take a hit. The addition actually added to the breathability of the pant. $30 for all of these perks?! Unbelievable.

Cons

The fabric required to create the x-band around the Cyber X Mesh Legging’s extra-high waist did result in a bit of bunching. While this isn’t an issue when pairing the leggings with a sports bra or crop top, there could potentially be an issue when paired with “standard” shirts for a comfy, athleisure look.
[link-button href=”https://amzn.to/2rWKQAj”] Get them from Amazon [/link-button]
[sol title=”Old Navy High Rise Compression Leggings” subheader=”Size XS”]
This pair slid in as a clear runner-up, although it does land considerably behind the 7Goals Cyber X Mesh Legging. The Old Navy High Rise Compression Leggings represent a significant step up from the quality of the first three pairs of leggings discussed.
That being said, the overall lack of comfort would keep me from adding another pair of the Old Navy High Rise Compression Leggings to my wardrobe. When all I want is a pair of stretchy black bottoms, these leggings felt like nothing more than two-way stretch.

Pros

For the price, this pair does provide you with the necessities. These workout leggings don’t flaunt any overtly athletic features, meaning they could easily be worn with everyday attire.
The waistband fit snugly across my abdomen, hitting just above my belly button. It stayed in place throughout my morning of easy stretching and dog walking. No wiggling or readjusting required.

Cons

The legging had pretty minimal compression, although it did feel better than both the C9 and 90 Degree by Reflex pairs. Unfortunately, this still wasn’t enough to maintain the integrity of the leggings’ shape throughout a long day of wear. The thin material also had a sheen that accompanied the cottony, brushed fabric.
The fabric is also prone to signs of wear, clinging, and pilling—all of which seems to be standard for budget-friendly leggings, but are still worth noting.
[link-button href=”https://fave.co/2KHXaLS”] Get them from Old Navy [/link-button]
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