Is the 'Nocebo Effect' Hurting Your Fitness Goals?

Many of us have no problem checking in on the status of our New Year’s resolutions to “walk more” or “sleep better,” and it’s all thanks to our trusty Fitbits, Apple Watches, and other wrist-sized fitness gadgets. At any moment of the day, you can look to your wrist and have access to your health data. And if you don’t have the instinct to check, chances are...

Surefire Ways to Protect Your Liver

In the hierarchy of human organs, the brain and the heart take top billing. The liver? Not so much.

But your liver deserves your love. Everything you eat or drink, even second-hand cigarette smoke that your lungs usher into your bloodstream, goes through your liver for processing and detoxification...

When Overthinking Creeps Into a Symptom of Mental Illness

Overthinking. It’s something we all do at times — so many of us that it cannot really be said that it is automatically related to mental illness. But in some cases, it is a symptom.

Let’s start with depression, a subject about which I know a thing or two. When I was in a depressive phase of my (undiagnosed) bipolar...

All the Ways You Need to Adapt Your Training As You Get Stronger

We talk a lot about what it’s like to start lifting weights, or to start exercising at all. But one day, you’ll come to the end of your beginner stage, and some things will have to change.

There will come a day when you’re strong. Maybe not as strong as you want to be (who ever is?), but a lot stronger than when you started...

Is Stress Making You Fat?

Our ancestors ate to survive. They ate because they were hungry or maybe to celebrate a victory over a warring tribe. Us? We eat because we're hungry, too, of course -- but also when we're stressed, angry, bored, depressed, frustrated, busy, not busy enough, getting together with friends...

4 Ways to Uncover the Motivation to Lose Weight

Swimsuits, skinny jeans, doctors' orders: Which is most on your mind? The promise to commit to a fitness plan is always a personal one, yet one we break time and again. No matter what sparked your momentum, staying the course is central to your weight loss goals. Here, a glimpse at the nuts and bolts of motivation, plus tricks for finding the enthusiasm...

Here’s How to Tell If You Are Dehydrated

It’s been drilled into you since you were a kid: You need to drink enough water. Something that’s often not included in that life lesson? How to tell if you are dehydrated.

While you probably do your best to keep the liquids coming, the signs of dehydration can easily sneak up on you, especially if you forget to load up on water after a really sweaty workout or when it’s especially...

11 Potassium-Rich Foods for a Healthy Heart, From Nutrition Experts

Heart disease (more technically referred to as "cardiovascular disease," or "CVD" for short) is the leading cause of death among Americans. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is responsible for about one in four deaths in the United States. The most common heart disease risk factors include...

How I Got Over My Fear of Starting Therapy

"I should probably go to therapy," I told my friends for about a year and a half before I actually took the leap. It's a hard thing to do, starting therapy, when hardly anyone you know has done it: none of my family and only one of my close friends. I second-guessed myself constantly at the start...

Should You Be Drinking Lemon Water Before Bed?

I used to be obsessed with learning the daily rituals of people I admired on the Internet, in the hopes of learning their secrets for luminous skin, workout rituals, and seemingly anxiety-free lives (spoiler alert: Instagram isn’t reality, if you haven’t already heard). In my endless scrolling, it became apparent that pretty much every health influencer cites lemon water...