All posts tagged: life advice

Smart People Do 11 Things To Get Their Life Back On Track Without Caring Who Stays Or Leaves

Smart People Do 11 Things To Get Their Life Back On Track Without Caring Who Stays Or Leaves

Published by Jenni Sidey

Personal growth can be a relatively elusive topic, but some research, like a study from New Ideas in Psychology, breaks it down into simpler terms. Self-awareness, openness, courage, autonomy, and full responsibility for one’s self care are the main tenets of personal growth, and while they take time and effort to build up, they can truly transform a person’s life and existence. Especially when it comes to taking responsibility, in periods of crisis or stagnancy, accountability is the first step. Smart people do certain things to get their life back on track without caring who stays or leaves, but it takes that inner accountability to make space for them. They can’t keep blaming others or subconsciously self-sabotaging to progress forward. Smart people do 11 things to get their life back on track without caring who stays or leaves 1. They stop blaming other people BearFotos | Shutterstock People who refuse to take accountability for themselves and instead blame others are often operating from a chronic victim mentality. They’d prefer to protect their self-image, seek pity …

Is Your Proteinmaxxing Hurting Your Gut?

Is Your Proteinmaxxing Hurting Your Gut?

Published by Jenni Sidey

If you’re reading this, chances are protein ranks high on your list of priorities. It builds muscle, curbs cravings, and aids recovery, making proteinmaxxing less of a fleeting trend and more of an obvious lifestyle choice. But if you’re one of the roughly three million Americans living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis—that protein obsession hits a little differently. On one hand, chronic inflammation and malabsorption might increase protein needs. Flares can also strip weight fast—potentially taking muscle along with it—making it seem smart to bank as much of the macro as you can. But certain protein-rich foods, or simply eating too much of it, can irritate an already volatile gut. So are all those shakes and steaks helping your cause or unwittingly making things worse? When protein backfires More protein isn’t always better, especially when your gut lining is inflamed. “Most of the protein you eat is meant to be broken down and absorbed in the small intestine,” says Karan Rajan, MD, a gastrointestinal surgeon and the founder of LOAM. “But …

The Actual Benefits of Intermittent Fasting, According to Experts

The Actual Benefits of Intermittent Fasting, According to Experts

Published by Jenni Sidey

Every couple of years, like the very clockwork it depends on, intermittent fasting resurfaces as a dietary trend. “It’s really interesting that it has held this kind of unusual fascination as a trend for so many years, as it isn’t anything new from a clinical nutrition perspective,” says Stacie Stephenson, DC, CNS, board member of the American Nutrition Association. To be fair, though, intermittent fasting is one of the more beneficial and universally useful nutrition strategies out there—just not for the reason most people think. “Do I consider intermittent fasting a weight loss diet? No, I don’t,” Dr. Stephenson says. “But I think it’s a really great tool.” A tool for what, then, you might ask? Here’s everything you need to know. What is intermittent fasting? “Intermittent fasting is as simple as not eating for half the day,” says Dr. Stephenson. “For 12–14 hours of your day, you’re not consuming anything other than water. That is as simple as it is.” Basically, with intermittent fasting, half or more of your day is spent in a …

9 Expert Habits to Improve Your Relationships From Neuroscientist Amir Levine

9 Expert Habits to Improve Your Relationships From Neuroscientist Amir Levine

Published by Jenni Sidey

Create a shorthand of expectations “The five pillars of a secure life are: consistent, available, responsive, reliable, and predictable—or CARRP. I have a friend, we’ve been friends for a really, really long time. Around COVID time, there were times when we had ups and downs in that friendship. But now we have this new language of CARRP. “Because of this book launch, I’ve been so busy, and I think he called me twice, and I hadn’t responded. I hadn’t called back. And he called me again the other day, and he said, ‘Well, you haven’t been as responsive. You haven’t been CARRP lately.’ And I owned it. I immediately apologized, and I said, ‘You’re totally right.’ I explained what was going on, and that I’m so sorry. “He said, ‘No, no, it’s fine.’ But, in the past, without having this language, he might have sulked and not said anything. And if he had said something, I probably would’ve responded defensively. And there were periods of our friendship, we’ve been friends for 20 years, that we …

I Went on a Quest to Find the Perfect Wedding Cologne. Here’s What I Chose

I Went on a Quest to Find the Perfect Wedding Cologne. Here’s What I Chose

Published by Jenni Sidey

To my surprise, he was well-prepared. Per Gontarski, so-called wedding-day scents are so common now that that Scent Bar even has a shelf labeled “I Do” that carries the likeliest matches. He says many couples come in at the last minute looking for a wedding day fragrance. Some want to share a scent, but most make individual choices that complement one another. Cliché as it may be, this is when florals reign supreme, especially for women. (Gourmands not far behind.) And for men, barbershop-style fougères are the top choice, as they have been since the dawn of colognes. For a niche option from an IYKYK-type brand (and one that’s common with affianced Scent Bar buyers), Gontarski points to Parfum MDCI’s Invasion Barbare, thanks to its fougèrian freshness paired with a fantastic ginger snap. With that one, he says “a little goes a long way, so it’s gonna get you through that entire day.” As for an enduring designer staple, he says go for green: Guerlain Vetiver de Guerlain is both a timeless and refined choice, …

What Mushroom Supplements Can Do for Stress, Sleep, and Energy, According to Experts

What Mushroom Supplements Can Do for Stress, Sleep, and Energy, According to Experts

Published by Jenni Sidey

Given there’s something like 1.5 million different mushroom species in the world, how are we supposed to know which work best as supplements? Some might set you on a magical journey, others will kill you. Many more are absolutely delicious on pizza. But a select few might be the secret to unlocking a new level of health and productivity. “Mushrooms are nature’s ancient wisdom for a modern world,” says Dr. Ash Kapoor, a longevity specialist and regenerative nutritionist at Levitas. What are mushroom supplements? Mushroom supplements are edible species like Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga, and Cordyceps—are purported to offer health benefits that range from supporting focus to immunity and recovery. “There’s an increasing body of evidence to support functional mushrooms as an adjuvant treatment of various illnesses and disorders, and their use goes back thousands of years in Eastern medicine,” says Ruby Chauhan, nutritionist at Calo. Unsurprisingly, they’re currently having a moment, in part because they’ve infiltrated the larger space of supplements and influencers are drinking Lion’s Mane coffees, Reishi sleep tonics, and Cordyceps pre-workout …

Let Trans People and Looksmaxxers Change Their Bodies

Let Trans People and Looksmaxxers Change Their Bodies

Published by Jenni Sidey

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of Health and Human Services, regularly espouses a menagerie of health conspiracy theories, including the idea that fluoride turns kids trans. By pushing his unfounded ideas about health and wellness, he can Trojan Horse in a variety of ideas about perfecting the human body. Such ideas have a dangerous precedent. The people who take it upon themselves to define what is innate and what is adornment are often the same ones deciding who is worthy of human rights and healthcare. In The New York Times, Andrew Sullivan recently wondered whether or not gay and trans rights have “gone too far.” This rhetoric is eerily similar to the way many mainstream outlets talk about Clavicular and his followers. Both argue that what these people are doing is too extreme. It is assumed that looksmaxxers are miserable pursuing dissociative perfection, while trans people are miserable because of the many roadblocks to their desire. Of course, it’s also true that trans medicine is often done under the care and supervision of medical …

Does Working Out Help Psoriasis or Make It Worse?

Does Working Out Help Psoriasis or Make It Worse?

Published by Jenni Sidey

If you have psoriasis, you probably know that it’s an inflammatory condition. And if you exercise regularly—say, by sweating it out in a HIIT class or lifting heavy weights—you might be scratching your head, perhaps literally and figuratively, wondering if the acute inflammation from these workouts is sending your system into overdrive. We asked dermatologists to see if your workouts of choice can either help or hurt psoriasis, and how to adjust your routine to avoid exacerbating flares. Can you safely exercise with psoriasis? The good news: You don’t have to choose between your skin and your six-pack. Exercising isn’t just safe for most people with psoriasis; it’s encouraged. According to Sandra Oska, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles, consistent exercise helps to reduce systemic inflammation. “Exercise can help lower pro-inflammatory cytokine activity,” she says, including TNF-alpha and IL-6, “both of which are relevant to the inflammatory cascade in psoriasis.” In addition, exercise helps improve metabolic factors—including insulin sensitivity and visceral fat—associated with psoriasis. “Higher BMI and higher body fat are associated with greater …

The Real-Life Diet of Joe Baena, Who Got the Bodybuilding Encyclopedia From His Dad, Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Real-Life Diet of Joe Baena, Who Got the Bodybuilding Encyclopedia From His Dad, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Published by Jenni Sidey

Joe Baena possesses a classic bodybuilder’s physique. That’s no longer a matter of strict opinion, either. He’s got hardware to prove it. On March 28, Baena—son of seven-time Mr. Olympia, former California governor, and revered actor Arnold Schwarzenegger—took home the top prize at the NPC Natural Colorado State bodybuilding competition, including the gold medal for Men’s Classic Physique. The “natural” part of the contest refers to the bodybuilders’ training methods, which is all natural, meaning without the aid of steroids, peptides, or other performance enhancers. Baena, who only decided to seriously pursue bodybuilding this year, obviously had the help of some legendary genes. But he also developed a juice-free training regimen that was accessible and fun to even his non-bodybuilder friends. Pumping iron on the hallowed grounds of Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, California—the same place his father got swole in the ’70s—Baena was able to sculpt a body that also recently earned him a pro card on the International Natural Bodybuilding Association circuit. (He’s also worked out with his famous father, something that meatheads …

A Guide for the Peptide Curious

A Guide for the Peptide Curious

Published by Jenni Sidey

As a fitness editor in New York City, I first started picking up chatter about peptides around 2016. Longevity was just being written into the wellness lexicon and things like NAD, red light therapy, and cold plunging were taking their first steps into the mainstream. But peptides were an outlier. For one, you had to inject them, which seemed sketchy. More important, there was virtually no research to back up their efficacy. On top of that, they were expensive. So peptides hung back on the fringes, quietly gaining traction among what would soon emerge as the inaugural class of biohackers. That all changed with the introduction of weight-loss drugs like semaglutide, tirzepatide, and, most recently, retatrutide—all peptides. The meteoric rise in popularity of drugs like Mounjaro and Zepbound has in short order stripped much of the doubt and stigma surrounding peptides, including the requisite self-inflicted needle jabs. Meanwhile, as the biohacking crowd has grown increasingly larger—and louder—having infiltrated popular culture through every major entrypoint from Netflix to the podcastsphere, anecdotal accounts of peptides’ benefits have …