What Your Personal Trainer Wishes You Knew About Fitness

If you’re deeply missing your gym time amid the pandemic and would give anything for a bit of professional guidance in your at-home workouts (beyond some very helpful videos), you may be itching for some pointers from a personal trainer.

Okay, maybe you didn’t think of it as something you wanted when they were asking you to “drop and give me 20 push-ups,” when...

Joyful Connection Is Part of Healthy Eating Too

As a registered dietitian who moonlights as a writer and podcast host, I constantly come across people’s ideas of what healthy eating is and is not. These “definitions” are usually rigid and don’t leave much room for exploring the complexities of food. Never have pasta. Be a kale-eating machine. Always drink the same amount of water every day (make sure it’s a ton, or else). And so on. Such strict interpretations of healthy eating don’t take into account individual...

10 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes You Can Make in Minutes

Have you ever picked up a bottle of salad dressing at the store that has a long list of unrecognizable, secret ingredients? Because that has definitely happened to me, and it's infuriating! While I understand there are particular chemicals and perspectives used to keep the bottle lasting on the shelf, it's disheartening for someone who tries...

6 Best Types of Cardio to Improve Heart Health, Burn Calories, and Help You Lose Weight

Cardio exercises include any form of activity that causes your heart rate to increase and your breathing to quicken. They also condition your heart and lungs to work better. 

Common forms of cardio include running, cycling, swimming, and walking...

How Joining an Outdoor Adventure Group Is Helping Me Overcome My Insecurities

Nervously, I hopped off of the last step of the bus and listened to the group leaders go over some safety procedures and rules. This trek through Pratt's Falls, a recreational park located in Manlius, NY, would be my first hike in three years. I've always loved the idea of hiking, but I've avoided it until recently, when I began signing up for outdoor adventures...

How I Protect My Mental Health Against the Isolation of Quarantine

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has rocked our world and caused all of us to isolate in ways we never dreamed of doing before. For some of us who have a severe mental illness diagnosis, this isolation is more than we might have ever experienced with our most extreme symptoms. While I have to fight...

How Walking Can Help You Lose Weight, Decrease Stress, and Lower Blood Pressure

One of the most powerful ways to maintain a healthy weight, stay strong, and live longer is so shockingly simple, even a toddler can do it. The health benefits of walking are endless, and experts agree by adding walking to your routine, you can truly improve your physical and mental health...

15 Reasons to Eat More Chocolate

The science is clear—if you like chocolate, you may be poised to reap some interesting health benefits ranging from improved mood to a reduced risk of stroke. But here’s the rub: it has to be dark chocolate, at least 72 percent cocoa solids. Less than that and the sugar mitigates the benefits and turns it into just another type of candy. That said, if quality...

How Much Muscle Can You Gain In a Month?

It's a fact of life that exercise helps you get stronger. But if you're hitting the mat every day and aren't seeing results—in other words, you're hitting a plateau—it could be because you're maxing out. According to pros, it is possible to hit an upper limit on how much muscle you can build in a short period of time, and going too hard can have deleterious effects...

What to Say to People Who Push Food on You During the Holidays

It's safe to say at this point that yoga is more than a flash in the wellness pan or yet another fleeting fitness fad. After all, this ancient practice combining precise physical poses, deep breathing, and mental focus dates back over 5,000 years! If people have been practicing yoga for that long...