Weight Down Living

© Getty / Arx0nt Is Shedding Belly Fat Really as Simple as Sipping Lemon Water? Here's What We Know

There's no doubt that there are benefits to drinking lemon water. The citrus fruit is packed with antioxidants like vitamin C, "which remove potentially damaging oxidizing agents from the body, decreasing or preventing their ability to cause further havoc," according to Gabrielle Mancella, a registered dietitian at Orlando Health. But while lemons can help ward off illness and keep your skin healthy, you shouldn't count on them to target stubborn belly fat.

"There is no 'spot cleaning' when it comes to weight loss," Gabrielle told POPSUGAR. Even if there were, many experts believe that lemon water's weight-loss powers have been overstated. As Gabrielle explained, the idea is that sipping lemon water first thing in the morning can jump-start your system, so your body is better prepared to digest and metabolize food.

Research suggests it's more likely that simply staying hydrated helps strengthen your metabolism (Gabrielle noted that the body doesn't function properly when you're dehydrated), and that water anytime could help you cut calories throughout the day, though that can vary from person to person.

Bottom line: you should drink more water - with lemon if you like it for the taste or its other health benefits, but not to reduce belly fat. Given that Gabrielle also warned that the acid can wear down your enamel, it's more than fine to pass. (At the very least, consider popping a straw into your drink!)

Video: Scientists accidentally discover drug that may stop weight gain (Buzz60) 

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There were more than 144,000 diagnoses of the two sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as STDs, in people aged between 15 and 24 last year -- equating to just under 400 a day.

A significant increase in gonorrhea diagnoses in England was recorded, with a 22% rise in cases of the disease from 2016 to 2017.

"STIs present a real threat to young people, and without using condoms, young people are putting themselves and their partners at risk of getting an STI," said Dr Hamish Mohammed, Consultant STI Scientist at PHE.

The figures were announced alongside a campaign by PHE urging young people to use condoms.

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Ashwagandha root has been used for more than 3,000 years in Ayurvedic medicine as a natural remedy to countless concerns. (Related: Ayurvedic Skin-Care Tips That Still Work Today)

Ashwagandha benefits are seemingly endless. "It's a single herb that has so many positive effects and no known side effects when used properly," says Laura Enfield, N.D., a naturopathic doctor in San Mateo, CA, and board member of the California Naturopathic Doctors Association.

Ashwagandha root—the most powerful part of the plant—is best known for reducing stress levels. But it's a favorite among herbalists because its benefits really span all different conditions and diseases that impact many lives on a daily basis, says Irina Logman, a nationally board-certified herbalist and acupuncturist and the founder of Advanced Holistic Center in NYC.

Ashwagandha's benefit largely comes from its ability to act as an adaptogen—or support the body's adaptive response to stress and to balance normal body functions, Enfield explains. (Learn more: What Are Adaptogens and Can They Help Power Up Your Workouts?) Ashwagandha powder or a liquid capsule—the two forms easiest for your body to absorb—is so versatile, the herb can be found in pretty much every Indian household, similar to ginseng in China, adds Enfield. In fact, it's commonly called Indian ginseng as well as Withania somnifera.

In short, the big benefit of ashwagandha is that it brings balance to the mind and body because of its many functions and adaptability.

Ashwagandha Benefits

Ashwagandha benefits cover most every serious concern. A 2016 study analysis in Current Pharmaceutical Design found the plant's unique biochemical structure makes it a legit therapeutic form of immunotherapy and for treatment of anxiety, cancer, microbial infections, and even neurodegenerative disorders. Another study analysis in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences adds fighting inflammation, stress, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes to that list.

"Anecdotally, ashwagandha has been used as a tonic to help emaciated children put on weight; an adjunct treatment for poisonous snake or scorpion bites; an anti-inflammatory for painful swellings, boils, and hemorrhoids; and as a treatment for increasing sperm count and motility, improving male fertility," says Enfield.

Here, the science behind some of the most widely proven ashwagandha benefits.

Reduces Blood Sugar Levels

Ashwagandha can help increase insulin sensitivity in healthy people and in those with high blood sugar, says Logman.

A 2015 Iranian study found the root helped normalize blood sugar in hyperglycemic rats by reducing inflammation and improving insulin sensitivity, and an older study in humans with mild type 2 diabetes found ashwagandha lowered blood glucose similar to oral hypoglycemic medication.

Other bonuses: "Oftentimes we see diabetic patients have elevated lipid panels, and this study in humans also showed a significant decrease in total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, so the benefit was multifold," adds Enfield.

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

"Ashwagandha has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol [the stress hormone] and increase levels of DHEA, the hormone that counterbalances the activity of cortisol in humans," says Enfield. The anti-anxiety effects of ashwagandha root may be due, in part, to its ability to mimic the activity of the calming neurotransmitter GABA, which helps decrease overactivity in other neurons, promoting good sleep and elevating mood, says Enfield. (Related: 20 Stress Relief Tips Techniques to Chill out ASAP)

And that dominos down to help more than just lower stress. If ashwagandha root prevents stress, then you're overall health will improve, as stress is proven to cause many problems, such as headaches, stomach pain, fatigue, and insomnia, adds Logman.

May Increase Muscle Mass

A 2015 study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that men who coupled their strength training with 300mg of ashwagandha root twice a day for eight weeks, gained significantly more muscle mass and strength, and had less muscle damage, compared to the placebo group. Previous research has found similar (albeit, perhaps not as strong) results in women.

There are a few things at play here: For one, ashwagandha health benefits include increasing testosterone, but "because ashwagandha is an adaptogen it could be affecting so much more hormonally and biochemically," adds Enfield. (Related: Take Advantage of Your Hormones to Sculpt Your Best Body Ever)

Improves Memory and Brain Function

"Many studies show that ashwagandha is very effective at supporting memory and brain function," says Enfield. "It has been shown to slow, stop, or reverse the inflammation of nerves and synapse loss seen in brain degeneration." Using it proactively can help support your brain function and increase your odds of preventing neurodegeneration.

Plus, its ability to reduce anxiety and improve sleep improves brain function and therefore memory, adds Logman. (Related: Adaptogen Elixirs for More Energy and Less Stress)

Lowers Cholesterol and Improves Heart Health

"Ashwagandha's anti-inflammatory properties reduce cholesterol and decrease inflammatory markers that increase the risk of heart disease," says Logman. Plus, ashwagandha increases muscle endurance which can indirectly improve the functioning of the heart, adds Enfield. It's even more powerful for the heart when used in conjunction with another Ayurvedic herb called Terminalia arjuna, she adds.

Improves Immunity and Reduces Pain

"Ashwagandha also has an amazing ability to stimulate the immune system and reduce inflammation," says Enfield. "The steroidal constituents in ashwagandha have been shown to have a stronger anti-inflammatory effect than hydrocortisone." That goes for acute inflammation as well as chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, she adds.

In rats, the extract has helped counteract arthritis and reduce inflammation, according to one 2015 study. And another 2018 Japanese study found that extract of ashwagandha roots can help reduce skin inflammation in humans.

May Help with PCOS

While Enfield says she uses ashwagandha to help women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the medical jury is still out on this potential benefit of ashwagandha. PCOS is the result of high levels of androgens and insulin, which in turn negatively affect adrenal function and can result in infertility, she explains. "PCOS is a slippery slope: When the hormones are out of balance, one's stress levels are increasing, which can lead to more dysregulation." This makes sense as to why ashwagandha could be the perfect herb for PCOS, because it balances blood sugar, cholesterol, and sex hormones—just to name a few.

May Fight Cancer

Ashwagandha definitely boosts the immune system, which can help counteract the hit your natural defense takes during chemo and radiation treatment, says Enfield. But a 2016 study analysis in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research reports ashwagandha may actually have tumor-fighting abilities, making it a contender to help prevent the spread of cancer.

"There have been studies dating back to 1979 in animal models with tumors, where the size of the tumor has shrunk," says Enfield. In one recent study in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, ashwagandha improved antioxidant activity and decreased inflammatory cytokines in cancer cells within just 24 hours.

Who Should Avoid Ashwagandha?

While, "for most people, ashwagandha is a very safe herb to take on a long-term daily basis," says Enfield, you should absolutely consult your doctor before starting. There are two known red flags when it comes to taking ashwagandha:

There is not enough definitive research on the safety of ashwagandha for pregnant or nursing women or for those with specific pre-existing conditions. "Ashwagandha can aid in treating certain symptoms while making others worse," says Logman. For example, it helps lower blood sugar levels, but if you're type 1 diabetic, it could lower them to a dangerous level. Same with if you take it to lower your blood pressure but already take a beta-blocker or another med that's supposed to lower blood pressure—the two together could reduce that number to dangerous levels. (Must read: How Dietary Supplements Can Interact with Your Prescription Drugs)

If you're taking any medication or have any existing health condition, just run it by your doctor first so he or she can confirm you're safe to take the supplement.

How to Take Ashwagandha Root

All parts of the plant can be used, but you'll probably reach for the root. "Ashwagandha root has more of the active constituents—specifically the withanolides—which is most frequently used. However, it is not uncommon to use ashwagandha leaf for making a tea or using a combination of the two parts," says Enfield.

The plant comes in many forms including tea and capsules, but ashwagandha powder and liquid are easiest for the body to absorb, and a fresh ashwagandha powder is thought to have the strongest effect, she adds. Logman says that the powder is easiest since you can just sprinkle it in your food, smoothies, or morning coffee and it doesn't have a taste.

A safe starting dosage is 250mg per day, says Enfield, but it's a good idea to talk to your doctor to get a more personalized (and safety-approved) dosage.

Biotin: The adequate intake (AI) for biotin (vitamin B7) is 30 mcg. Its function is to extract energy from fats, proteins, and carbohydrates; aid in cellular growth and repair, DNA repair, gene expression; and hair, skin, nail, and digestive health. Sources of biotin are found in organ meats, yeast, milk, eggs, fish, seeds, nuts, sweet potato, spinach, broccoli, oatmeal, and bananas.

Choline: Choline is water-soluble and vitamin-like. It has an AI of 425 mg for women and 550 mg for men. It is important for brain and nervous system function, metabolism regulation, liver health, and reduced risk of breast cancer. Sources include milk, eggs, liver, peanuts, tofu, fish, kidney beans, wheat germ, broccoli, quinoa, spinach, potatoes, chicken, navy beans, and soybeans.

Folate: Folate is naturally present in foods, while folic acid is the synthetic form found in enriched grains and cold cereals. Folate/folic acid are necessary for DNA synthesis and repair, cell division, neural tube formation and may protect against initiation of cancer. Natural sources of folate are found in dark leafy greens, vegetables, citrus fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, dairy products, and grains. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 400 mcg.

Niacin: Also, known as vitamin B3, niacin has an RDA of 14 mg for women and 16 mg for men. Its function is to aid in healthy skin, nails, mobility, DNA metabolism, cell communication, and cognitive functioning. It is found naturally in yeast, meat, fish, milk, eggs, green vegetables, and cereal grains.

Pantothenic acid: This vitamin, which is also known as vitamin B5, has an AI of 5 mg. It aids in cellular function, fatty acid synthesis and metabolism, and hormone and cholesterol production. It is found in fortified cereal, beef liver, shiitake mushrooms, sunflower seeds, chicken, tuna, milk, potatoes, and eggs.

Riboflavin: Also, known as vitamin B2, this vitamin has an RDA of 1.1 mg for women and 1.3 mg for men. It helps convert macronutrients into energy; it aids in growth and development; healthy hair, skin, and nails; blood cell formation; and strengthens immunity by producing antibodies. It's found in many healthy sources, including eggs, organ meats, lean meats, milk, fortified cereals, and leafy vegetables.

Thiamin: Vitamin B1 (the other name for thiamin) has an RDA of 1.1 mg in women and 1.2 mg in men. It aids in converting carbohydrates into energy, promotes healthy hair, skin, heart, and nervous system. It also supports efficient digestion and proper muscle development. Sources of thiamin include whole grains, meat, fish and black beans, and fortified cereals.

Company culture is critical when building a company from scratch. How did you determine the type of culture you wanted at Collective—and how has that led you to where you are now?

How I think about company culture runs very much in parallel to how we as an organization think about creating a better healthcare industry—both have to be based on principles of humility, trust, and transparency. I’ve always been very open about my thoughts on what it takes to build a strong and sustainable culture, and I believe it starts with creating a balanced workplace where opportunities for growth are based strictly on merit and blind to any bias—whether it’s gender, ethnicity, or anything else.

My philosophy on this was instilled far before I entered the workforce myself—I observed the challenges my mother faced on her path to becoming a surgeon both in her home country of Syria and here in the US. There’s certainly been a lot of progress made in gender equality in particular since those days, but many of the issues she faced still stubbornly persist in the modern workplace. To me, it’s simply unacceptable for women or people of color to not be paid equally for equal work, and that belief has been at the root of our culture at Collective Health from the outset of the company.

How do you create an environment where employees from different backgrounds know you truly value their ideas?

First and foremost, as a CEO, you need to hold yourself accountable to your employees. They need to know that their opinions are being heard and evaluated at the highest level of the organization. A good example: each week, we host a Q&A during our company-wide all hands where employees have the option to submit questions anonymously—and no matter how thorny or uncomfortable, our executive team transparently answers these questions in front of the entire company. Over the years, people have used this as an opportunity to question certain business strategies or better understand our diversity initiatives. This feedback is taken very seriously, and is often woven into strategic discussions across departments and among management and the leadership team.

Fostering this kind of cohesive environment starts at the top, but it has a powerful trickle-down effect across the organization, where people feel safe and uninhibited to drive initiatives or projects that have special meaning to them. Our Chief People Officer, Jude, has done some of the most critical work in this area by helping to facilitate the creation of various internal inclusion groups like The Black Collective, Collective Pride, Collective Women, and Collective Comunidad. These groups were created by our employees for other employees, and they represent the best of what our culture stands for in making sure every person’s voice is heard. Our People team is also responsible for our bi-annual internal workplace survey, which we call Collective Beat. It’s an invaluable tool for gaining insight into how our people view their work and social experience at Collective Health.

What initiatives do you provide to your employees to support career growth? How do you ensure each of your employees has an equal opportunity to pursue these options?

The results of the Collective Beat survey I mentioned have informed the several programs we’ve created to help facilitate equal opportunity for growth across our workforce:

First, we have a great internal mobility program that allows our people the opportunity to learn new skills by moving to different teams or across departments. After someone has been at Collective Health for a year, they are eligible to apply for a new role within the company. It’s a very active program that we highlight through the year and at each promotional cycle. As a result, we have a very high participation rate. I’ve been particularly excited to see women and underrepresented minorities move into engineering from other departments. We need to stop using “lack of a STEM pipeline” as an excuse and start thinking about how we facilitate talented people moving into these positions that might not have the perfect background on paper.

Second, we have an internal mentorship program called Collective Grow, which supports professional development by leveraging the amazing talent we have in-house. The purpose of Collective Grow is to match mentors and mentees as a jumping-off point to build relationships and learn from each other. It’s a really valuable initiative that connects our people in a way you simply don’t get in meetings or hallway encounters.

These initiatives wouldn’t be as impactful if we hadn’t established an equal playing field early on. When Collective Health was in its initial growth phase, we allowed a wage gap to develop that favored men. Fortunately, our exceptionally dedicated People team worked fast to eradicate the pay imbalance before it grew to be a serious problem. It’s been an ongoing effort, but the wage gap remains closed to this day. It has helped us establish a working environment based on merit, and where men and women receive equal pay for equal work.

What efforts has Collective Health made to reduce bias in the hiring process?

Fortunately, our recruiting team is one of our most vocal departments when it comes to maintaining our commitment to a diverse and inclusive working environment. As part of the People team, this group has a significant level of responsibility and influence on the makeup of our organization, and they take that responsibility very seriously. We’ve partnered with a handful of companies and search firms that focus on keeping our pipeline balanced with candidates from all ethnic, socio-economic, lifestyle, and gender identity backgrounds. Our recruiting managers do a great job setting criteria around diversity, and making sure it’s a requirement for each search we embark on—from the most junior roles up to the executive level.

How do you assess the success of your workplace diversity and inclusion program?

There are a lot of ways you could define success, but nothing speaks louder than hard numbers. We examine our population and payroll data thoroughly on a regular basis to make sure the data matches our vision for a truly diverse and inclusive workplace. As of today, I am proud to report our workforce is 59% female, and we have equal representation of women and men in management roles. Within engineering, where women have historically been underrepresented, we are 31% female, and I have made it a key objective of our leadership team to get that number to 50% (or more) over the coming few years.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but we also know there’s a lot more work to do. It’s important to remember that maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce is a constant work in progress. I think our diversity and inclusion program is working if there continues to be an open conversation about it that’s held regularly, and at every level of our organization. If your company isn’t talking to you about diversity and inclusion efforts, or is being cagey about progress, that would be a red flag in my book. Diversity and inclusion is in our DNA, and the openness with which we discuss how to improve upon our past success is something I take immense pride in.

Who holds Collective Health accountable to uphold its diversity and inclusion principles?

We all do, but it starts with me and our executive team. As Rock Health recently reported, the healthcare industry, not unlike the technology industry, is woefully behind the curve in that regard, and we all feel collectively (pardon the pun!) responsible to change that. If our leaders aren’t holding themselves accountable to the diversity and inclusion goals we’ve set, we have a much larger group to hold us accountable: our 400+ employees. As I alluded to earlier, our employees do an incredible job of holding our leadership team accountable by utilizing the communications platforms at their disposal. We want people to recognize Collective Health as an incredibly diverse and dynamic place to work, because it truly is.

Are there any customer or employee testimonials that really stand out to you and why? What feedback from your customers/team makes you think, “This is why we do what we do”?

Truthfully, I have a moment like that—where I think, this is why we do what we do—just about every week. Healthcare is unique in its complexity. It has many deep-rooted problems that often impact people at the worst time, so there’s a lot of opportunity to make a meaningful difference. We recently pulled together a video highlighting feedback our Member Advocates have received from our members over the last year, and it is truly inspiring to hear the gratitude in our member’s voices. Nothing is more validating to me than hearing from the hundreds of thousands of people we serve that we’ve made their experience interacting with the healthcare system better—whether that was because we found a way to save them money, helped guide them to a doctor that helped cure them, or were just there for support at a vulnerable moment.

Our member feedback is as important to us as it is to our employer clients, who want to know their investment is paying off with their employees. Activision Blizzard, whose popular video games are played by 500M+ people each month, has been a big advocate of Collective Health. Its VP of Benefits, Milt Ezzard, once said, “Collective Health has the technology and vision to not only take Activision Blizzard’s benefits to the next level, but to change the world of healthcare delivery.” Milt is an exceptional leader who provides his people with an innovative, world class benefits program, and he is representative of an increasingly active and vocal cadre of benefits professionals who want to buck the status quo and challenge the industry to do better. Hearing those words come from someone like Milt, whose feedback has always meant a lot to me personally, is genuinely motivating as we look to continue evolving our offering to solve even harder problems across the healthcare industry.

Eating out when you're trying to be healthy and avoid weight gain is a minefield. 

For while there are outwardly unhealthy foods - like cheese fries and burgers - there are also unassuming dishes that are laden with calories.

To sort how you can read a menu and order food in a restaurant that's healthy, FEMAIL spoke with dietitian, Lyndi Cohen.

She revealed the two words on a menu that are code for unhealthy, and the other tips and tricks to ensure you can eat out without expanding your waistline.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited FEMAIL spoke with dietitian, Lyndi Cohen (pictured), to find out the two words you should avoid when trying to order a healthy choice from a menu

According to Lyndi, if you're on a diet, there a few easy rules to follow when eating out:

'Choose the options that have the most vegetables as without a doubt these will be the healthiest options,' she told FEMAIL.

'While this isn't always the case, words like "crispy" and "crunchy" can be clues that a food has been deep-fried or contains high amounts of sugar or fat - as these foods give the crunch.'

Lyndi also recommends that even if you might think it's the healthier option, you still shouldn't order your salad dressing on the side:

'Salad dressing is what makes salads taste good, meaning you're more likely to keep up the good behaviour,' she said. 

'Plus salad dressing with oil actually helps your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients found in vegetables.'

When looking for somewhere healthy to eat out, the Sydney-based dietitian explained Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, bistros and sandwich bars are the easiest places to find a nutritious choice.

'If you want to be healthy when you eat out, the easiest thing to do is crowd in more vegetables to your diet,' Lyndi said.

'Share a pizza, but before you eat it, get a side salad. Enjoy your sushi, but why not throw in some edamame beans and miso soup?

'A pasta needn't be unhealthy - simply look for something with a tomato base. You can also choose a stir fry with brown rice, instead of fried spring rolls.'

Lastly, while it might feel counter-intuitive, Lyndi advised you should always go to eat out with dessert in mind.

'Often, when you get to a restaurant you're already quite hungry and it's easy to order too much and then eat it anyway because it's there,' she said.

'Recently, I've tried ordering with dessert in mind and it's really worked for me. I order one less dish with the mains and promise myself if I'm still hungry or not satisfied afterwards, I can get dessert.

'Most of the time, I finish the meal and realise I've ordered just enough. If I still want more, then there is always dessert.' 

Slideshow: 9 celebrities who can't get enough of this controversial diet (PopSugar) 

If you ask me, it’s impossible to have too many quick-and-easy chicken dinner recipes. Chicken is one of the healthiest proteins around, and its mild flavor allows you to cook it any way you like. It doesn’t matter what you’re in the mood for–Thai, Latin American, Southern, French, Indian, Greek–you can make a chicken dish that works, and it’ll always turn out tasty. Since the days are getting shorter and the morning air is becoming crisper, I’m definitely in the mood for some fall-flavored food. This Instant Pot Apple Cider Glazed Chicken recipe might be my new favorite comfort food recipe!

I love any recipe that allows me to (easily) cook a whole chicken. Buying whole chickens can create a lot of economy in your kitchen. They’re one of the least expensive lean proteins available at the grocery store, and they usually make lots of leftovers. Those leftovers can be turned into sandwiches, tacos, chicken salad, and more! Not to mention the leftover bones, which you can easily turn into chicken broth using your slow cooker or Instant Pot.

Cooking a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot

Okay, there are a few things you need to know about cooking a whole chicken in the Instant Pot. They’re all simple and easy, so you’ll be a pro in no time! The first one is super simple: Make sure you rub your chicken with some kind of seasoning. This seems self-explanatory, but cooking a chicken inside the pressure cooker won’t magically make it flavorful. Start by rubbing your chicken with salt and pepper all over to make sure every bit of meat is seasoned.

The next tip: If you’re running short on time, cut the chicken into eight pieces before cooking it. Those eight pieces are the thigh, drumstick, wings, and breasts (two on each side, for eight total pieces). It only takes about 10 minutes to cook a cut-up chicken, whereas it can take up to 30 minutes to cook this Instant Pot Apple Cider Glazed Chicken when you’re using a whole chicken. Since it’s significantly easier to carve a chicken after it’s cooked, we’d only suggest you cook the eight-piece chicken if you’re really, really short on time.

Finally, you can cook a frozen whole chicken in the Instant Pot! That’s one of things that this electric pressure cooker can do that your slow cooker simply can’t. It’s completely safe to chuck a frozen chunk of meat into the Instant Pot, just make sure you add an extra 15 minutes to the cook time.

What is Coconut Aminos?

You may or may not recognize on of our ingredients for this Instant Pot Apple Cider Glazed Chicken recipe. Coconut aminos is a popular ingredient used in Paleo, Whole 30, and AIP recipes. It’s a dark, salty sauce made from coconut sap. It tastes almost exactly like soy sauce, adding savory, umami flavors to your food. But, it’s soy-free and gluten-free.

It’s also super high in amino acids, which help keep our muscles strong and healthy. They can also boost your immune system and give you extra energy. Coconut aminos is also high in vitamins B and C. Put it all together, and coconut aminos can do so much that soy sauce can’t, all with the same great flavor!

If you’re wary of adding a new bottle to your pantry and you don’t have any food allergies, feel free to swap in soy sauce for this recipe. But, if you’re feeling adventurous, give it a try. You might find that you like it better!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You’ll get new recipes like this one emailed right to your inbox as soon as they’re ready! You’ll also get great informational articles and our latest workouts, too.

Howdy comrades! I’ll be writing updates here about how I’m getting on with my binge eating recovery shenanigans since I got home from Green Mountain, as well as sharing some resources that I’ve found helpful. But first I thought it might be helpful to define things a little, as the various terms can be vague and/or confusing.

Here’s a definition of Binge Eating Disorder from National Eating Disorders Association (US):

“Binge eating disorder (BED) is a severe, life-threatening, and treatable eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort); a feeling of a loss of control during the binge; experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards; and not regularly using unhealthy compensatory measures (e.g., purging) to counter the binge eating.”

There is also a good definition and helpful information on the NHS website in their lovely British non-nonsense style.

While I have frequently met the clinical criteria for BED over the years, I’ve found the most helpful way of looking at eating behaviours is Green Mountain’s approach:

“Binge and emotional eating aren’t necessarily two separate and distinct processes, but rather the same process on a continuum.”

Imagine a continuum like this:

emotional eating → emotional overeating → some binge eating → Binge Eating Disorder

One can move up the continuum very easily, but is also possible to move down.

At the start of the continuum you have your bog standard emotional eating, a healthy thing which most people do. For example, bitching about your bloody awful day to a friend over a pizza and glass of wine. Or something like, joyfully scoffing a plateful of your Mum’s pavlova at Christmas after looking forward to it all year long.

Emotional overeating comes along if the food is the only coping tool you’re choosing in that moment. Like numbing out with the whole tub of Haagen-Daaz.

The next station stop along the line is binge eating, when large quantities are eaten, often quickly and accompanied by feeling out of control and unable to stop.

Then it moves up to criteria of diagnosable Binge Eating Disorder, which is all about the frequency of the binges and the impact they are having on one’s life. In 2013 BED was recognised as an eating disorder diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the American Psychiatric Association’s handbook used by health care professionals as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders.

I’ve found the idea of a continuum hugely useful. Firstly because I see how quickly one can move up it when food is the only coping mechanism happening. But it’s also helping because I appreciate that moving down the continuum is a sign of progress. It stops that all or nothing, perfectionist thinking.

I’m not hung up on labels or diagnostic criteria, but I’m finding it helpful to check in with this continuum and ask – Where am I right now? What’s going on for me to be in this position? Do I need to make some adjustments so I can move back down? 

Thanks gazillions to everyone who has got in touch during or since Green Mountain. It’s so bloody good to realise we’re not alone!

It goes without saying I’m not a health professional, and the above is from my own reading and doesn’t constitute advice. Thanks to my friend Sara for link assistance.

It’s no secret that one of the perks of working for a women’s lifestyle publication is having access to the “beauty closet.” This could be an actual closet, or a space the size of an entire New York City studio apartment, or just a bunch of shelves fully stocked with samples of the newest makeup and skin-care products that you’re able to try…for free.

The beauty closet is a lot of little girls’ and boys’ dreams, and I get it. I grew up in a family predominately of women, each of whom possesses her own form of Midwest glamour. One thing they all share, though, is an affinity for lipsticks, blushes, foundations, concealers, and eyeshadows. Let’s put it this way: I have more than one Mary Kay consultant in my family tree. Yet, I’ve never really worn makeup myself. And until recently, I believed it was for the reason most people are quick to offer: “You don’t need it.” A compliment? Sure. A cop-out? Most definitely. The real reason I don’t wear makeup is that, until now, it’s never existed in my skin tone.

You see, I’m mixed race—just like Tracee Ellis Ross, Rashida Jones, Nicole Richie, and so many other people. In fact, the number of Americans who identify as being two or more races grew by 32 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s a larger increase than those who identify as a single race, and in all likelihood that ratio will only continue to expand. Or, as Balanda Artis, the head of L’Oréal Paris’ Multicultural Lab, puts it: “A [new] skin tone is born every day. Personally, I love the fact that we’re getting to this point in the industry where we’re able to recognize the beauty in different shades.”

“A [new] skin tone is born every day.” —Balanda Artis, the head of L’Oréal’s Multicultural Lab

But there’s still a long way to go. Many brands have only relatively recently come around to the idea of throwing more shades into the mix.  It started, as so many good things do, with Rihanna. Last September, with the introduction of Fenty Beauty, she ushered in a generation of 40 shades. Ahead of this, there were certainly brands with robust ranges, but sometimes the shade offerings were patchy and often they fell toward the ends of the spectrum (if that), leaving everyone in between without many options. This is especially true in clean beauty where small R&D budgets often allow for only limited hues; however, strides are being made. Annie Lawless, founder of Lawless Beauty, for instance, recently debuted a set of 20 well-plotted, representative foundations.

And even with double the shades, that’s not always the case: It can still feel like 50 shades of beige, a tell-tale sign that a brand has jumped on the buzz bandwagon without really thinking about the problem they’re trying to fix. When you create a collection that’s got a majority of options at one end of the skin-tone spectrum and a handful at the other, what about all the people in between?

For this reason, “foundations have become an area where beauty brands declare their principles,” says Linda Wells, founder of the new beauty brand Flesh and former editor-in-chief and founding editor of Allure magazine. And that means whatever the number, shades have to work for all and not just some.

“Foundations have become an area where beauty brands declare their principles,” —Linda Wells, former editor-in-chief of Allure magazine

It’s something that I’ve thought about a lot lately. I’ve loved watching makeup magic happen, since I was a kid, even from the sidelines. But part of me, I can admit, has always felt excluded from the fun. The “honey” hues I had growing up just didn’t cut it. So, in my own way, I’ve had skin in the game around recent developments. I mean this figuratively, but also literally. For example, recently, a brand sent over an extensive line of new foundations (in, you guessed it, 40 shades) and I found myself, for the first time, sitting on the floor of the beauty closet with my fellow editors swatching instead of watching.

Of the dozens of bottles, only a handful of colors weren’t some iteration of beige, and I immediately started to feel uncomfortable. While I was silently scanning, I saw one of my co-workers stick out her hand so that our beauty editor could yay or nay her selection. It blended in completely: She couldn’t see any difference between where her skin ended and the foundation began. I understood that this was the goal, and started looking for a shade that would give me a similar satisfaction…I didn’t find it.

That reality is why bottle counts can’t replace the heart of what Fenty brought when it launched, and the crux of why creating new shades is so important. “This can’t devolve into a numbers game or a kind of meaningless foundation inflation,” Wells adds. “The foundations have to deliver shades that really work on real skin. The temptation may be for brands to one-up each other with 43, 46, or 50 shades but the question then becomes: Are you helping the consumer or are you confusing her?”

I certainly felt lost that day while I was wiping foundation off my face that left me looking less and less like myself. And as I walked the bottle back to the beauty closet, I could feel an all-too-familiar sense of acceptance settling in. Acceptance that a hue for my skin tone, actually didn’t exist—but I refuse to believe this cannot change.

And fortunately for me, I have allies who refuse to believe this, either. One of them is my beauty editor, who after witnessing this all unfold took me on a field trip to Sephora to see how much actual progress has been made in terms of shade inclusivity. I was hesitant to pump any more foundations onto the back of my hand at first, but with encouragement, I found five-plus hues that work on my skin tone. I can’t relay how powerful of a feeling it was to dab makeup onto my skin and have it work for me. I might not wear it every day, but knowing those hues are out there gives me the ability to uncap the next-level confidence and self-assurance that I saw build up my mom, my sister, my friends, and, now, finally me. Makeup junkie in the making? You might say, it runs in the family.

Here’s a makeup artist’s advice for finding a foundation shade at the drugstore and here’s what’s up with sheer foundations.