Lady Gaga is one of the most recognizable stars out there. She’s worn a meat dress, shown up to the Grammys in an egg, and has some of the most bizarre-yet-catchy lyrics in the music business. Even her name alone speaks individuality. Yet, when an artist in Lima, Peru was asked to create a wax figure of the 31-year-old singer, they somehow got it horribly, horribly wrong, as Refinery29 first reported.
On Thursday, a Gaga fan account tweeted a photo of a new wax figure meant to resemble the “Bad Romance” singer dressed in the iconic raw beef dress she wore to the 2010 Video Music Awards. But instead of Gaga’s usual glossy white hair and intricately put-together outfits, fans were instead met with a straw-like wig and smock that didn’t do a shred of justice to singer’s memorable red carpet ensemble.
Naturally, Gaga fans weren’t happy with the wax museum disrespecting their Mother Monster. So, as the internet does, they dragged the statue to the depths of hell. A majority of users called the statue “awful” and “tragic,” while others compared it to other celebrities like Cher, Donatella Versace, Barbra Streisand, and Detox, a drag queen from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Of course, Gaga isn’t the only celebrity to see their likeness turned into an unrecognizable statue. In July, a Madame Tussauds wax figure of Beyoncé was royally roasted for looking nothing like her. However, after the backlash over the statue’s light skin and thinner frame, the museum removed the figure to amend its features. We hope something similar will happen to Gaga’s statue—for our sake and the sake of Little Monsters everywhere.
Sexual assault and harassment has been prevalent in Hollywood (and other industries) pretty much forever. But Harvey Weinstein's downfall is exposing the pervasive nature of such abuse like never before, and more and more people are coming forward.
And that list includes more than just women. On the heels of James Van Der Beek and Terry Crews telling stories of their own sexual harassment in the industry, Scandal's Tony Goldwyn responded to Lupia Nyong'o's New York Times op-ed about hers at the hands of Weinstein. And while Goldwin chose not to name his abuser, he's part of a growing number of men who are showing that anyone can be a victim of abuse.
"It happened to me when I was literally Lupita's age, in my last year of acting school," Goldwyn said. "It happened to me by a man and it wasn’t as extended or awful as what Lupita went through, but it was the same thing. It was the casting couch and I didn't understand quite what was going on, or what was happening."
Goldwyn said he never came forward because, like so many of the others who have told their stories in recent weeks, he thought he was at fault for what happened to him. He explained that it took him years to come to terms with things and realize that he had been victimized. He also acknowledged that while men do suffer sexual abuse, it's women who are the overwhelming majority of victims.
"It's something women have to deal with in every situation, in every industry with powerful men," he said.
Hopefully this will inspire more people of all genders to report sexual misconduct. The more people come forward, the more society will see what an unacceptably pervasive problem this is.
I may be the least likely conceivable candidate for a home birth. I’m 33, and I’ve never gone camping. Not that pushing a speaker system-size child out of a hole the size of an auxiliary cord input while fully sober is the same as sleeping outside in the cold on the hard ground, but what I mean to say is, I’m not generally into roughing it.
Additionally, the only thing I’ve ever been genuinely afraid of is childbirth. Maybe it’s because the story of my own birth was so traumatizing. Maybe it’s because our society teaches us again and again that childbirth is the most punishing endeavor a human could ever endure.
The week I found out I was pregnant, I watched Ricki Lake’s The Business of Being Born on Netflix; it's a documentary about the aggressive machine of the hospital birthing system. It’s a one-sided documentary, true, but that one side is massively compelling. Why should I be so afraid of this miraculous moment? Couldn’t I do it differently? What if I weren’t drugged and then pressured into having a C-section by a dispassionate OB who just wants his/her shift to be over? Over 30 percent of all hospital births are C-sections, sometimes because it’s just easier on the hospital staff than waiting around for a long, tedious vaginal birth. Natural births and the use of midwives are on the rise in modern America, but even still, only about 2 percent of all births in the U.S. occur at home. After watching The Business of Being Born, I felt convinced — nay, compelled — to give birth at home.
So I hired a midwife and prepared to do just that. I ordered a birthing kit, which included two waterproof mattress covers (?!) and a blend of Dead Sea salt and various tree roots for postpartum sitz baths — a miniature plastic toilet tub into which you lower your aggrieved-upon genitals to soothe them in hot water and herbs. "Oh, God," I thought. At least with a hospital birth, you don’t catch a glimpse of the postpartum recovery process until you’re there. What unspeakable truths were about to befall my body and my home? And why couldn’t I find any articles or essays online that described how childbirth really felt?
As my due date came and went, an odd calm washed over me. I was prepared. I had taken childbirth classes with other home-birth hopefuls, doing readings with chapter headings such as “Comfort in Labor: How You Can Help Yourself to a Normal, Satisfying Childbirth.” I had studied approximately 4,887 YouTube videos of home births, examining the women’s mid-contraction expressions like I was prepping for the GREs. I had created a melodic birthing playlist on Spotify called Earthside. I ordered an egregious amount of candles on Amazon. It was going to be fucking beautiful.
Three nights after my due date, I awoke in the middle of the night with some intense contractions. They were unmistakable: metal skeleton hands reaching across my abdomen, squeezing my insides. We called the midwife. She told me to go back to sleep. "Sleep?" I thought. "When a baby could just be popping out of my body any second now?!"
Oh, how I laugh at naive, five-months-ago me. Ha-ha-ha! You idealistic fool. You see, I was about to enter a five-daylong labor. I had contractions all day and night that Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Because they weren’t following a pattern and weren’t five minutes apart, I wasn’t considered in “active” labor yet. I woke up in the middle of Sunday night to my water breaking — fluid gushing out from between my thighs. Good thing I had those waterproof mattress covers! "This is it," I thought again. But no. Still no consistent contractions.
Once your water breaks, you’ve got 48 hours before you enter a dangerous zone in which the baby could potentially become infected from being unprotected by the amniotic sac. My husband and I did everything we could think of to get the baby moving and to get me into active labor. We took long walks, stopping every block to get through a bout of contractions. We ordered spicy Thai. We had a chiropractor come to the house to try and turn the baby into a better position. We went to an acupuncturist specializing in prenatal issues.
On the fifth night, the contractions came in harder and faster than ever before, every three minutes. My best friends came over and held my hands while I alternated crying in a hot bath and moaning in a hot shower. My midwife arrived at midnight and inflated and filled the water tub while I rotated from room to room, moaning, crying, feeling utterly helpless and wondering when this would end. Worst of all, my midwife checked how much I was dilated — and it was only 4 centimeters. Despite having been in labor for a hundred years already, I had a long, long way to go to get to 10 centimeters. I wasn’t even in transition yet, which happens at 7 centimeters.
I was never able to enter the meditative maternal state I’d read I could enter with a home birth, and certainly not the orgasmic state (#FakeNews alert) touted by the terrible documentary An Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret. For one thing, I had a stitch in my side because my baby was apparently in a weird position all on my left side, although the contractions heaved across my entire abdomen, there was nothing to wrench on my right side; this left an insanely horrific cramp that crawled from my pelvic bone to my breast and didn't stop. The whole thing about contractions is they're supposed to come in and out like a wave, giving you a pain-free rest in between. I never had that.
The following morning, I had my midwife check how dilated I was again. “You’re only at 4 centimeters," she said. "I must have mis-measured you last night when I said you were at 7. You’re not actually in transition at all.”
I would have been heartbroken if I had not been wracked with wild pain. “We have two choices," she explained. "We can either take you to a hospital to get an epidural, or we can put you in an inversion pose and hope that shifts the baby enough to put you into transition.” I looked at my best friend, whom I had watched so seamlessly, it seemed, deliver her son at home just a few months prior.
White flag. Surrender. What ensued was the world’s longest nine-minute car ride in which I vomited all over myself — and finally, at last, an epidural. I had been so afraid of that needle into my spine, but it felt like a paper cut in comparison to the days of contractions that had preceded it. Relief washed over me, and the bottom half of my body went numb. Joyfully numb.
It took another 12 hours on Pitocin to send my stubborn son, comfortable enough inside me, cushioned by months and months of waffles I had craved and eaten, Earth-side.
"A man walks down the street," Paul Simon sang out from my iPhone during my last push as my son finally exited my womb. "It’s a street in a strange world... Maybe it's his first time around. He doesn’t speak the language..."
Thanks to the epidural, I didn’t feel any pain when I pushed my son out — just love and love and love.
"I can be your long-lost pal," Simon crooned as I held my red-faced son in my arms for the first time. Honestly, none of it mattered. He was here. He’s here.
One of the Kardashian fandom's wildest fantasies apparently isn't coming true. With Kim confirmed as pregnant via surrogate, and rumors going undisputed by the family about Khloe and Kylie Jenner also expecting right now, it would have been really wild if all the Kardashian-Jenner sisters got pregnant at the same time.
And so, naturally, rumors were born about the status of Kourtney's uterus. Only she (unlike Khloe and Kylie) shut that right down. In a tweet this morning, Kourtney said the rumors about her expecting a baby with her boyfriend, Younes Bendjima, are the result of an interview quote being taken completely out of context.
Kourtney Kardashian responds to rumor about pregnancy 1
Kourtney Kardashian responds to rumor about pregnancy 1
Kourtney Kardashian responds to rumor about pregnancy 2
Kourtney Kardashian responds to rumor about pregnancy 2
"I see online that I said I was pregnant in an interview, but that was completely taken out of context," she wrote. "The interviewer asked me 'What’s a crazy rumor that you’ve heard about yourself?' and my answer was...'I’ve heard that I am pregnant.'"
This comes following weeks of rumors about the family's sudden influx of babies on the way. A few weeks ago, sources told In Touch and Life and Style magazines that Kourtney had definitely joined her sisters and was getting ready for baby number four.
"She’s only told family and her best friends," one insider reportedly said. Kourtney is already mom to Penelope, Mason and Reign, all from her previous relationship with Scott Disick.
While all these pregnancy rumors have our heads pretty much constantly spinning, they're great reality show fodder. We can't wait to see what's really going on behind the scenes when this inevitably airs on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Kelly Clarkson has never been one to mince words when it comes to her well-being and body image. She recently expanded on that in an interview with Attitude magazine where she talked about a time when she was at a career high, but personal low.
Specifically, Clarkson discussed her start in the music industry a decade ago, and all the pressure she received from executives to remain thin.
“When I was really skinny, I wanted to kill myself," she told the magazine. "I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically you make sense.”
She called that period a "very dark time" in her life.
"I thought the only way out was quitting. I like wrecked my knees and my feet because all I would do is put in headphones and run. I was at the gym all the time."
After the interview was published, Clarkson took to Twitter to clarify her remarks, saying that she wasn't ever miserable because she had to be thin, but as a result of feeling that way, she became thin.
kc
kc
She also set the record straight about considering suicide, saying that she never contemplated suicide because of her weight.
"I said people had no idea I was unhappy oddly enough because I appeared healthy," she tweeted.
KC tweet
KC tweet
Ultimately, though, Clarkson reclaimed control over her life and career, releasing her album My December and making decisions that left her happier and healthier. We're so glad she's still here — making music and taking down internet trolls.
Professional organizer Laura Cattano — whose clients include Lena Dunham and Misty Copeland — believes the secret to successful newlywed cohabitation lies in laying out expectations beforehand. “You and your partner need to discuss what you want out of your home,” she says. “Your space should support and reflect what’s important to you. At the end of the day, the relationship is ultimately way more important than your stuff.” Below, four tips for just-married couples craving serenity and order when creating their first nest together.
Image: Laura Cattano
Do: Throw out your stuff
“Everyone has too much stuff,” says Cattano. “Moving in with another person forces you to confront everything you’ve been carrying around with you. Don’t focus on how much your partner hoards, though; you’re just going to open up a Pandora’s box of resentment. Keep your attention on your own things.
"Keep the memorabilia that’s really important to you, but if you’re on the fence about what to do with it (like that sweater Grandma knit you), take a picture that you can look at from time to time, but toss the actual object. Remember: Physical clutter can actually clutter up your mental space. And don’t just toss everything in a storage unit — they’re like basements. It’s just going to sit there for years until one day you get the energy to go through it all and throw it out.”
“Do not share a bathroom if you can avoid it,” says Cattano. “You did not need to see you partner tweezing his moustache or his nose hairs. No one needs to see the other’s biological needs on display. Try to have separate closets and desks if possible. Just because you have entered into a married relationship does not mean you have to sacrifice your individuality.”
“You should never just have overhead lights in your apartment,” says Cattano. “You should have many lamps scattered throughout. I have eight light sources — and I live in a studio! Overhead lighting replicates the sun. It tells your body that it’s daytime. But low lighting encourages intimacy.
"Think about when you and your partner were dating. Most likely, your most memorable early moments together were at a low-lit romantic restaurant over a small table with lots of little candles. At the end of a long day, it’s important to turn off the overhead lights and put the lamps on. It’s a call to our bodies to transition into evening... and calm down.”
“You and your partner are going to have to meet in the middle eventually,” says Cattano. “Maybe you want to be calmed by your space. Maybe you partner wants to be surrounded by color and constantly energized.
Maybe you’re a minimalist, but your partner needs to be surrounded by all the treasures they’ve picked up from their travels around the world. Maybe you’re bohemian, and your partner is classic — it’s all about finding a nice mix. If you’re going to spend your life together, you’re going to need to learn how to have the uncomfortable conversations early on. Now’s the time.”
When you're chatting with the wife of Channing Tatum, it seems like sacrilege to suggest that perhaps life sometimes hinders your libido. Hell, it would seem equally illogical to suggest the same to Jenna Dewan Tatum's husband. And yet, here we are, asking Dewan Tatum if there are times when she's simply not in the mood for romance. Her response? "Um, yes!"
Here's the thing we quickly learned about Dewan Tatum: She's refreshingly honest. Even when it's tricky or messy or doesn't fit into a neat little box, she keeps it real.
"I mean, we're all human beings with busy lives and emotions, and to say that we're these robots that are always in the mood at all times is ridiculous," she told us. "So of course there's times when you're just not — for whatever reason: life, business, kids or you're just having one of those days. Absolutely."
It's a truth Dewan Tatum embraces and wishes more women felt secure enough in themselves to embrace as well.
"I think it's really something for women to honor that and express that. I think a lot of women go with the flow or pretend that they're not feeling something that they are, and I think it's beneficial to everybody in the end if you're just really honest and just express yourself," she said.
But just as we all have days when we're not in the mood, we have other days when we are. And on those days, we want to feel sensual. When those moments strike, Dewan Tatum has a secret weapon she swears by: essential oils.
Having discovered essential oils through a friend nearly 15 years ago, Dewan Tatum often turns to them to boost her moods. She's such a believer, in fact, that she recently partnered with Young Living to create their Scents of Self collection.
When asked about her go-to oils when she wants to lean into her sensuality, Dewan Tatum shared, "Oh yeah! There are a couple. There's one called Lady Sclareol — it's supposed to be this divine, feminine energy, and it's supposed to make you feel a bit more sensual — along with ylang-ylang. And sometimes frankincense. I kind of mix them. And White Angelica because it smells so good it sort of is alluring and an aphrodisiac in its own way."
So if you've ever wondered what scent Dewan Tatum uses to drive Channing Tatum wild, well, now you know three.
In all seriousness, though, Dewan Tatum feels strongly that scent plays a major part in the way the body processes its surroundings. "I believe that because I know for me, scent is so powerful. I have certain smells I associate with certain experiences, and if I get one second of that smell, I'm right back in that period," she explained. "So I know that scent and the brain and your body is really powerful."
In the span of five minutes, Dewan Tatum had already given us a list of essential oils we have to try and opened up about parenthood sapping your sex drive. This is a woman who is unapologetic in her candor. In addition to being a straight shooter naturally ("I'm a Sagittarius," she said, laughing), Dewan Tatum strives to be a woman who isn't afraid to be an open book.
"I really value when I meet women in life and when I read them in interviews — all of it, any of that — when they speak with their feeling and speak it honestly, because that frees me to feel and think more honestly. I appreciate those moments, so whenever I'm given the chance, I like to do that for women," she said.
It all comes back around to women feeling the need to create an illusion of perfection, says Dewan Tatum.
"I think there's something we do as women where we try to put on a show that might not be real, and I really, really don't like that. I don't entertain that in my life. I like to show what's really happening," she confessed with a laugh. "Or I at least like to talk about it. So I appreciate when women do that, and I try to be a part of that conversation more."
That's essentially (no pun intended) how Dewan Tatum lives her life: as authentically as possible, which she believes starts with self-care.
"So for me, it's taking the time to carve five minutes out of my day to use the oils, to breathe, to sit for a minute, to meditate or set intentions," she said. "That greatly impacts the rest of my life, including how I feel, how sensual I feel, my passions — all of that is really affected positively when I give to myself, and I really think that begins from the inside out."
While it's not uncommon for a celebrity to inspire a wax likeness, it isn't exactly commonplace for one to create a Twitter rage-storm. Then again, most wax sculptures don't look like the one of Lady Gaga recently revealed in Lima, Peru.
The artist who created the sculpture may have dreamed his work would one day go viral — but this probably wasn't what he had in mind.
The totally off-base wax likeness of Lady Gaga became public fodder when a Gaga fan account shared a photo of the creation on Twitter. What has followed has been a swift and total public annihilation of the work in a way that only the Twittersphere can do.
Some have joked they are going to call the authorities on the sculptor. Others have suggested they are traumatized simply from seeing the sculpture.
And, sure, sometimes Twitter goes off on tangents. But this time? They've got a point. I think we can all agree that this representation of Mother Monster is, quite frankly, a monstrosity.
Lady Gaga Wax
Lady Gaga Wax
To get the full effect, you really need to see the close-up.
Lady Gaga Wax
Lady Gaga Wax
If we were going to give the artist the benefit of the doubt, we'd say that perhaps this is some sort of commentary on the way society perceives physical beauty. That sounds like a sentiment Gaga would sign off on but, let's be real, it's a stretch.
We're far more inclined to say that if this wax sculpture belongs anywhere, it's in the campy 2005 horror flick House of Wax.
Grey's Anatomy fans have had to deal with some pretty devastating cast departures since the beginning of the beloved ABC series. And aside from Patrick Dempsey's McDreamy, one of the most heartbreaking losses in recent history has been the exit of Callie, played by Sara Ramirez. Well fans, prepare to set your DVRs — because Ramirez is returning to TV.
Granted, there's still no official word on whether or not Callie will ever come back to roam the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. But while you wait for that magical day, you're going to want to tune in to Madam Secretary.
Ramirez will be bringing to life a character by the name of Kat Sandoval on the CBS drama. According to E! News, Sandoval is "a brilliant political strategist, legendary in D.C. for her talent and for abruptly dropping out of politics until Elizabeth manages to coax her back into the State Department."
Now that sounds like a role Ramirez will really be able to sink her teeth into!
Executive producer and series creator Barbara Hall shared her happiness over landing Ramirez, saying in a statement, "We're very excited that Sara is joining the cast. She brings a fresh perspective and a fun, energetic quality to the State Department staff."
Co-executive producer Lori McCreary is clearly pumped, too. "We are thrilled to have Sara join the Madam Secretary State Department team," she said in the statement. "From the moment she walked on set with her talent, intellect and spirit, she became part of the family!"
There's butter... and then there's compound butter. Chances are you've seen the words floating around a food blog or two, or maybe you've heard Gordon Ramsay casually drop them into conversation on MasterChef, but you're still not quite sure what it is.
So what is it? In short, compound butter adds a flavorful ingredient to regular butter to improve its texture and give it a little more kick. It's also completely addicting — so don't be surprised when you whip up a batch and it doesn't last very long.
We've got five different recipes for the good stuff with just one set of directions. Whether you are in the mood for an earthy flavor, some fruit, a cheese-infusion or a little spice, the end result will be nothing short of gorgeous.
By spreading it on bread or adding a bit to your chicken, vegetables, grilled meats or fish, compound butters take your food (and your senses) up a notch. These recipes can easily be halved, and any seasonings can be adjusted to your liking. You can also give one of these mouthwatering homemade spreads as a holiday or hostess gift, packaged simply in a Mason jar with a ribbon. And remember: A pinch of kosher or sea salt brings out and heightens natural flavors.
2 jalapeño peppers, pulp and seeds removed, very finely diced
1 pinch salt
5. Spiced brown sugar butter with walnuts and raisins recipe
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup raisins
Image: Carolyn Stalnaker/SheKnows
Directions for all compound butters
To a large glass or steel mixing bowl, add all the ingredients. Using an electric hand mixer, beat all the ingredients until well incorporated and fluffy. (If you do not have an electric hand mixer, you can do this by hand using a strong spoon; it will just take a bit more work.)
Place a medium-size piece of plastic wrap onto a clean, flat surface. Using silicone spatulas, gather the butter together in the bowl, and then spoon the butter mixture onto the center of the plastic wrap.
Grab the bottom portion of the plastic wrap, pull it up over the butter, and form the wrap around the butter, rolling and forming a log shape. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap, and place the butter in the fridge to set.
Image: Carolyn Stalnaker/SheKnows
Tip: Compound butters are best eaten within a few days but can be frozen until ready to use. To freeze the butter, wrap the log in parchment paper and then in plastic wrap (or place in a zip-close bag, sealing out the air), and then wrap snugly in aluminum foil. Label the butter, and place it in the freezer for up to two months.
Talk about exciting news! Former Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe is relocating to New York City so she can appear in a Broadway show. Bristowe was able to make the fun announcement through her podcast, Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe, and luckily for Bachelor Nation, she was able to talk a little bit about the project. From the sounds of Bristowe's description, while it doesn't sound like she'll be taking center stage in Wicked anytime soon, her new Broadway show will offer her the opportunity to show off her vocal chops a little bit while also charming the heck out of those who go to see her.
On Monday's episode of Off the Vine, Bristowe was able to finally break the exciting news. "I have an announcement to make. Kaitlyn Bristowe is going to Broadway," she told her listeners.
After making the big announcement, she and her fiancé, Shawn Booth, briefly discussed the Broadway dreams she had as a little girl. "That’s what dreams are made of, if you ask me. If you had asked me when I was little, like, ‘Imagine you were on Broadway,’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah, right.' I grew up dancing and singing and I just love everything about that. I love going to Broadway shows," she told Booth.
Kaitlyn Bristowe Broadway Announcement
Kaitlyn Bristowe Broadway Announcement
Even better, she was able to discuss just how big a deal this was to her and give a preview on Off the Vine and on Twitter of what her show will be about. "It’s a big deal because I get to go do a show every single night on Broadway we get to live in New York for a little minute, but it’s so exciting. It’s a Christmas little family holiday show," she said.
On Twitter, Bristowe posted a photo of the poster for the show, which won't necessarily be a typical Broadway show. The show is making the leap to Broadway after the original plans for a run in Las Vegas changed, according to People. The show will feature a range of talented voices from shows like American Idol and The Voice as well. Home for the Holidays will see Bristowe hosting the show — she even contributed a few of the show's songs according to People's report.
I don't know what's more exciting: the thought of Bristowe heading to Broadway or the fact that we will soon be able to hear her sing. Either way, it's definitely a good thing.
For decades, companies have tried to tease us with easy workouts. From those vibrating belts of the '50s to the as-seen-on-TV ab crunch chairs of today, it seems like there's always hope for toning up and burning calories, while doing the least amount of physical exertion as possible. Sure, all of the gadgets and gimmicks have turned out to be a bunch of B.S. — but don't give up on cheating the system just yet.
In case you haven't heard, cold exposure is the next surefire way to blast calories and burn fat easily — diet and exercise be damned.
The truth is, there's a lot of solid, science-backed evidence to support the thermogenic (i.e., calorie-burning) benefits of intermittent cold exposure. Because your body is the original smart machine, it's constantly working to maintain a steady 98.6 degrees F, regardless of the ambient temperature. When it's hot outside, your blood vessels dilate, blood flow to the skin increases and you begin to sweat to help cool off. When it's cold outside, your blood vessels constrict, brown adipose tissue activates to generate heat and muscles contract (sometimes in an involuntary manner through shivering) to try to maintain core temperature.
Hanging out in the hot or cold can increase thermogenesis, but cold environments are by far the greater calorie-burning environment. Cold showers, ice baths and cold weather walks are all methods by which cold exposure advocates are suggesting the average person take advantage of the potential weight loss benefits of cold. In fact, self-help guru Tim Ferriss advocates for cold exposure in his book, The 4-Hour Body. But, I'd like to take a minute to say:
Oh, hell no.
I'm sorry — and I'm well aware there are people who will disagree with me — but being cold is the worst. There is no way I'm about to voluntarily wear shorts outside in 30-degree weather or hop into a tub filled with ice water just to burn a few more calories. Heck, I won't even lower my thermostat below 78 degrees. I'd much rather spend another two hours sweating it out at the gym.
But for those of you who aren't opposed to a little chill to stimulate calorie burn, there's a new type of product on the market built especially for you: a cold vest. These vests are designed with ice packs in the liner (generally on the upper back and shoulders) so you can simply take the vest out of the freezer, slip it on over a T-shirt and wear it for 45 minutes in the morning and again in the evening to enhance daily thermogenesis from cold exposure.
Cold Shoulder, one of the products on the market, claims that with their original vest users could burn up to 500 calories a day when using it as directed — leading to an extra pound of fat loss each week. Now, with their vest's latest update to a CryoMax gel ice pack that maintains cold longer, this "mild" cold exposure (which founder Dr. Wayne Hayes says is a "cold that makes you feel chilly but not enough to induce significant shivering") could burn even more calories — potentially double — to further aid in weight loss efforts.
And I have to say, the anecdotal evidence is compelling. After interviewing three Cold Shoulder users, all of whom achieved their desired weight loss and saw their weight loss speed after using the vest, it made me think, "Well, there could be something to this."
But the exercise physiologist in me kept sounding alarm bells: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
And actually, once you start carefully reading the Cold Shoulder's copy, the evidence jumps right off the page, "There is no magic pill for weight loss, and The Cold Shoulder is no exception to that rule. The cold, hard truth is that the foundation of weight control is your diet." The copy goes on to say, "If you are already eating well and getting moderate exercise and want to accelerate your calorie-burning efforts by burning excess calories while at rest, there’s no simpler, easier, or more time-efficient way than wearing our vest."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
That's the part I want everyone to read, and then read again. The Cold Shoulder vest (or any cold exposure) won't automatically lead to "easy" weight loss, especially if you're not watching your eating habits. Here's why:
Remember how the body is pretty amazing at maintaining homeostasis? This is true of calorie balance, too. Your body knows when it has burned more calories, whether through cold exposure or exercise, and in response, hormones are released or suppressed to stimulate hunger or fullness to incite you to replace those calories.
The Cold Shoulder site itself refers to the incredible increase in calorie burn experienced by world-class swimmers who spend hours each day in a cold water environment much cooler than the body's natural core temperature. What they fail to mention is that swimmers also consume many more calories than other world-class athletes to make up for the calorie loss.
Left to your own devices, the more calories you burn, the more calories you'll consume.
When I posed my question to the Cold Shoulder users, across the board, they all admitted that, yes, they were following a diet (some of them even used the term "strict diet") while using the vest. This made logical sense to me. If you're following a set diet or healthy eating plan and you maintain that same plan while adding cold-induced thermogenesis to your daily routine, increased weight loss should take place.
At the end of the day, the evidence indicates that mild cold exposure can, in fact, enhance calorie burn and weight loss efforts... but only if you're simultaneously following a healthy, calorie-controlled eating plan.
P.S. As an exercise physiologist, I'd like to add, for the love of God (and your own health), please follow an exercise plan, too.
Originally published November 2015. Updated October 2017.
Health conditions top the list of concerns for many pregnant women. With so many changes happening to your body, it’s difficult to know what’s normal and what’s not. And while some medical issues that occur during pregnancy are mild, others, like preeclampsia, are more serious and need intermediate intervention from your health care provider.
What is preeclampsia?
When a woman experiences elevated blood pressure during pregnancy, she is said to have preeclampsia. A serious blood disorder that is usually diagnosed after week 20, preeclampsia can affect all of the organs in a woman’s body. According to Dr. Daniel Roshan, an OB-GYN, the blood pressure is considered elevated when it goes above 140/90. In addition to an elevated blood pressure reading, women can also experience proteinuria, or an abnormal amount of protein in the urine.
Your health care provider will check your blood pressure and urine levels and may conduct other tests at each prenatal checkup to show if you have preeclampsia. But in order to receive timely medical care for preeclampsia, it’s important you know what signs and symptoms to look for.
In addition to high/elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says women should be on the lookout for any swelling of the hands and face or a headache that doesn’t go away. They also list seeing spots or changes in eyesight, pain in the upper abdomen or shoulder, nausea and vomiting (in the second half of pregnancy), sudden weight gain and difficulty breathing as signs and symptoms of this disorder.
And while most women will experience mild to moderate preeclampsia, one study did find the rates of severe preeclampsia are steadily increasing. This is cause for concern since “preeclampsia can worsen and cause seizures (a condition called eclampsia),” explains Dr. Patrice Harold, director of minimally invasive gynecology at Detroit Medical Center’s Hutzel Women’s Hospital.
Image: Getty/Design: Ashley Britton/SheKnows
What causes preeclampsia?
“No one knows exactly what causes preeclampsia,” says Roshan. However, there are many theories. “It seems to be a disease of the placenta since the nutrients are not going to the baby, so the body increases the blood pressure to increase the supply,” explains Roshan. He also says it is often seen in patients who have in utero growth restriction and abnormal placenta flow.
The ACOG says, while it’s not clear why some women develop preeclampsia and others do not, there are certain risk factors involved including:
Being pregnant for the first time
Having had preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy or having a family history of preeclampsia
Having a history of chronic hypertension, kidney disease or both
Being 40 years or older
Carrying more than one baby
Having certain medical conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, thrombophilia or lupus
Obesity
Having in vitro fertilization.
What does preeclampsia mean for your pregnancy?
“If a mother is preterm, it may be necessary to deliver early or be admitted to the hospital for management and supervision until delivery,” explains Harold.
Roshan says preeclampsia can be from mild to severe in range, and in mild cases, the patient should be delivered by 37 weeks. In severe cases, the patient should be delivered based on maternal-fetal medicine recommendation or at 34 weeks.
How do you treat preeclampsia?
Treatment of preeclampsia often involves bed rest, observation and delivery. Harold says delivering the baby is the best form of treatment. She also explains that it can be managed prior to delivery with antihypertensive medications and magnesium sulfate for seizure prophylaxis.
While many conditions related to pregnancy seem to subside after the baby is born, preeclampsia can continue to be a risk in the postpartum period and beyond. That’s why it is suggested that blood pressure is monitored for at least 72 hours postpartum and again seven to 10 days after delivery or earlier in women with symptoms. The ACOG says women who have had preeclampsia have an increased risk later in life of cardiovascular disease and kidney disease, including heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure. And whether you had preeclampsia or not, it's best to monitor your blood pressure anyway, because it's an important indicator of your health.
For many of us, our first memory of seeing varicose veins was on our mother or grandmother's legs at family vacation at the beach. The sight was definitely something to take notice of, but nothing too alarming — but when varicose veins start to pop up on your own legs, it's an entirely different story.
They can appear out of nowhere, be it from pregnancy or due to the fact that your legs have been stressed from working at a sedentary job for the first time straight out of college. Anyone who has dealt with the deep blue or purplish veins that bulge from beneath the skin usually feels like they're the only person in the world dealing with the problem, but the truth is, varicose veins are a concern for millions of people — not just because they're unsightly but also because they can be uncomfortable and sometimes even painful.
“Varicose veins are veins that have become dilated or bulging because of valve failure,” says Dr. Kathleen Gibson, a board-certified vascular surgeon practicing at Lake Washington Vascular, who has authored or co-authored articles for publications such as Journal of Vascular Surgery, Phlebology and Journal for Vascular Ultrasound, as well as several book chapters. “They form between the muscle and the skin and appear as a visible bulge under the skin, sometimes with a faint blue color. Valves are thin membranes inside veins that keep blood flowing from the feet toward the heart. When these one-way valves fail, blood can flow in the wrong direction in between heartbeats and pool in your leg veins. This can cause increased pressure in the vein, dilation and pain."
The most common symptoms of varicose veins are heaviness, aching, throbbing, swelling and itching, Gibson says, and up to 10 percent of people with varicose veins will develop more severe problems, such as swelling, changes in the color and texture of the skin, and even open sores.
“The most common risk factor for varicose veins is having a parent with varicose veins,” Gibson says. “Other than heredity, in most cases there is no definitive cause for varicose veins. Two people could have the same lifestyle, diet and medical history, and one person could end up developing varicose veins, and the other may not.”
Varicose veins are more common in women, most likely because they're associated with pregnancy, Gibson says. And although they aren't a sole cause of varicose veins, obesity, weight gain and spending long periods of time on your feet can exacerbate the condition.
Which leads to Gibson's next point: There are three common myths out there about varicose veins. The first is that it's simply an aesthetic problem and isn't actually a health condition that can cause a great deal of pain. The second misconception Gibson says she comes across is that people think varicose veins only occur in people who are overweight or obese. And the third is that crossing your legs can cause varicose veins. "There is no evidence to support this idea," Gibson says.
Unfortunately, there are no proven, reliable prevention methods for varicose veins. "Your lifestyle, overall health and family history all play a part but are not direct causes of varicose veins," Gibson says. "If you have varicose veins or a strong family history of varicose veins, however, you can decrease your chances of having severe varicose veins by maintaining a healthy weight and having a regular exercise routine."
If you've already developed varicose veins, don't throw in the towel and assume you have to live with them forever. Gibson says there are several groundbreaking and effective treatment options out there to consider.
“In the past several years, new procedures for varicose veins using sclerotherapy have emerged,” Gibson says. “One therapy, called ClariVein (made by Vascular Insights), uses a device that mechanically damages the inner lining of the vein while injecting a sclerotherapy drug to cause vein closure. Another, called Varithena (made by BTG), uses a foam sclerosant that is visible under ultrasound to damage and close the veins.”
The newest treatment for varicose veins is called VenaSeal (made by Medtronic). The Food and Drug Administration approved it in the past year. This minimally invasive procedure uses a specially formulated medical adhesive to close veins in patients with varicose veins, says Gibson, adding that Lake Washington Vascular was involved in clinical trials that led to the approval of both Varithena and VenaSeal. “With VenaSeal, the patient doesn’t need sedation or a local anesthetic except for a single site,” she says. “Patients usually experience less bruising and have a reduced risk of nerve injury than one may see with other treatments. VenaSeal is the only major varicose vein treatment that does not require the use of compression stockings as part of the recovery process.”
All procedures have advantages and disadvantages, and you should discuss your options with a doctor before proceeding. As far as costs are concerned, Gibson says treatments can vary from hundreds of dollars to several thousand dollars, and the various procedures might require more than one treatment session.
Whether you're searching for ways to rid your body of varicose veins because of the way they look, feel or both, it's reassuring to know that with a bevy of treatment options available one will be perfect for you. And that you can probably cross your legs without worrying about varicose veins.
Originally published April 2016. Updated October 2017.
I spent the greater part of 23 years hating my curly hair. I ironed it, blew it out, braided it — anything to straighten it just a little bit. And as expected, all that manipulation would eventually damage my strands.
Over time, I realized what kept me from truly loving my coif was the assumption that I needed a gang of products to keep it frizz-free. In reality, they only left me with sticky and crunchy curls. Thankfully, through research (and a lot of trial and error), I’ve discovered six foolproof tricks that make my hair journey a lot more manageable.
Sleep with a silk pillowcase
The fibers of a silk pillowcase are gentler than those of a cotton one because they don’t rub against your strands. And because there’s no friction, frizz and breakage are less likely to form. Bonus: The tightly woven fibers in silk also help regulate skin moisture.
Put it in a pineapple
A lot of curly girls get stuck in a cycle of styling their hair every morning because they think air drying overnight will only lead to a matted mess. This seems like an easy solve, but walking around with wet hair is uncomfortable, especially in cold weather. Instead, keep your curls looking fresh and bouncy by styling them into a pineapple before bed. When you’re done detangling, flip your head upside down and gather your hair into a ponytail at the top of your head. It prevents the curls from being flattened out at night and leaves them fresh the next morning. If you’re not already sleeping on a silk pillowcase, you can also wrap your hair in a satin scarf.
Like a silk pillowcase, its fibers are softer than those of a towel and won’t cause frizz. So next time you get out of the shower, grab an old T-shirt (I steal my boyfriend’s) and we guarantee you’ll see the difference.
Brush it while it's wet
The cardinal rule of curly hair is to avoid brushing while it’s completely dry. Your curls are more likely to return to their natural shape if you detangle while they’re wet.
Everyone’s wash schedule is different, but generally speaking, your hair’s natural oils will remain intact if you’re not constantly stripping them with a clarifying shampoo. Don’t be afraid to add a couple of extra days or even weeks in between washes.
Leave in a little conditioner
Curly hair is prone to dryness, so leaving a little product on your strands is another way to lock in moisture as it naturally dries.
Is it our imaginations, or did the networks beef up their programming this fall? Scanning the channel guide can seem downright overwhelming due to the sheer volume of choices. What you really need is a trimmed-down list of this season's must-watch new TV shows.
Well, here we come to save the day. We pored over ratings and reviews to bring you a list of the top 10 new shows on television. So set your DVR and get ready to fall in love with these dynamic series.
1. Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace
All hail the return of Will & Grace! To be fair, this show isn't entirely new... but it's been so long it qualifies as a freshman comedy once more. And fans are apparently here for it, with the sitcom bringing in an impressive 6.72 million viewers per week. Considering this only puts it behind ratings giant Grey's Anatomy (8 million viewers) on Thursday nights, it's safe to assume the second coming of Will & Grace is poised for success.
Watch Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
2. The Mayor
The Mayor Trailer
The Mayor Trailer
Although this refreshing comedy is only pulling in 2.96 million viewers, you have to put it in context — the more seasoned comedy in the same time slot on Tuesday nights, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, only pulled in 1.69. Meanwhile, this show about an idealistic young rapper-turned-public official is doing well on Metacritic, earning a metascore of 72 among professional reviewers and a 5.4 in viewer ratings.
Watch on Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c on ABC.
3. The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor Trailer
The Good Doctor Trailer
Monday is a big night for new TV shows, arguably the most successful of which is The Good Doctor. A few weeks into its first season, the medical drama is still pulling in over 10 million viewers each week — putting it in close contention with ratings giants The Big Bang Theory (13 million viewers) and The Voice (10.37 million viewers). Bates Motel's Freddie Highmore shines as a brilliant young surgeon who also happens to be autistic.
Watch on Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.
4. Young Sheldon
Young Sheldon Trailer
Young Sheldon Trailer
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Young Sheldon turned out the biggest comedy premiere on any network in total viewers since 2011 — fans love The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon, so it's only natural they'd want to get a glimpse at the cerebral yet awkward scientist's early life. Interestingly, the new series garnered generally favorable reviews from critics with a 63 metascore, but failed to fully impress Metacritic viewers, whose mixed ratings earned it a 4.0 user score.
We'll give you two reasons Ten Days in the Valley is worth a watch even though viewership has dropped off a bit: Kyra Sedgwick and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. And if the stellar acting from those two — as a mother searching frantically for her missing child and a police detective in charge of the case, respectively — isn't enough, consider the fact that critics give it the proverbial thumbs up with a 63 metascore. Besides, the fact that nearly 4 million people are still tuning in hints at the show's addictive intrigue.
Watch Sundays at 10/9c on ABC.
6. Kevin (Probably) Saves the World
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World
C'mon, guys... watch this, OK? Jason Ritter is a real gem, and he plays this role as a man with a mission from God beautifully. It's cruising along relatively well in viewership, pulling in a solid 3.61 million — this puts the freshman dramedy in the same arena as more veteran shows on the night, such as Black-ish (4.43 million), Fresh Off the Boat (4.08 million) and The Flash (2.84 million). And while critics only gave it a 59 metascore, viewers on Metacritic rated the show favorably at 6.9.
Watch Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.
7. The Gifted
The Gifted Trailer
The Gifted Trailer
While Marvel's Inhumans is flailing in the wind, Fox's superhero series is commanding audience attention. A strong cast led by True Blood's Stephen Moyer makes this series about ordinary parents with mutant children a fun watch. Critics and viewers alike seem to agree, rating The Gifted 63 (metascore) and 7.2 (user score) respectively on Metacritic. The show brings in around 3.5 million viewers per week.
Watch Mondays at 9/8c on Fox.
8. Ghosted
Ghosted Trailer
Ghosted Trailer
True, Ghosted isn't necessarily blowing any other shows out of the water in viewership on Sunday nights. With only 1.76 million people watching, it's falls on the lower-viewed end of the spectrum. However, it has a few things working against it — namely being in the 7/6c time slot on a slow night that also includes NFL football. However, those who are watching this funny new supernatural series love it. On Metacritic, it is finding equally favorable footing among critics, with a metascore of 62, and viewers, with a user score of 6.2. In other words, it's worth a watch. I mean, with Adam Scott and Craig Robinson at the helm, how could it not be hilarious?
NBC's answer to SEAL Team, The Brave, focuses on the lives of a special ops team as they try to save a kidnapped American doctor. Mike Vogel and Anne Heche star in this action-packed series, which is hanging strong with over 5 million viewers per week. And although critics weren't super-psyched about it, giving it a 53 metascore, a user score of 6.7 suggest viewers are satisfied.
Watch Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.
10. SEAL Team
SEAL Team
SEAL Team
Is it the adrenaline of such high-stakes missions? Have David Boreanaz fans followed him from Bones? Whatever the case, this drama about the elite league of Navy specialists is commanding a respectable 7.1 million viewers — putting it above veteran shows like Law & Order: SVU. It fared slightly less favorably on Metacritic, earning a 57 metascore and a 4.4 user score. Still, it must be doing something right to pull such an impressive viewership!
Watch Wednesdays at 9/8c on CBS.
Midseason shows to look out for
The following new fall shows haven't premiered yet, but the hype around them is high enough to warrant keeping an eye out:
Alex, Inc. on ABC starring Zach Braff
Black Lightning on The CW starring Cress and Nafessa Williams
Life Sentence on The CW starring Lucy Hale
The Resident on Fox starring Manish Dayal, Matt Czuchry and Emily VanCamp
The Hills alum Whitney Port is doing a whole other kind of reality TV these days: her YouTube series, I Love My Baby, But.... The series began with Port documenting her pregnancy and now continues with her very real, very relatable take on the sweet ups and gory downs of motherhood. In July, Port and her husband, TV producer Tim Rosenman, welcomed their first child, Sonny Sanford — and the journey has been anything but glam.
Port's latest episode — entitled, "I Love My Baby, But I Wish My Body Didn't Have to Change" — hits on a sensitive topic for a lot of new moms: body image during pregnancy and after baby. In it, a weary no-makeup Port admits she's struggling mightily to accept the postpartum changes in her body. "My body looks different," she says in the video, filmed interview-style by her husband. "I love my baby, but he made my body look weird... Is it even worth it going to this Pilates class anymore?"
Port admits in the episode that fitness has been important to her as a way of coping following her father's death from cancer. She continues, "I was fearful of how my body was going to change...I ended up gaining 40 pounds... Gaining the weight was really hard for me. I didn't really want to get dressed. Everyday stuff was a stressful thing for me because I just hated how I looked."
Port quips to her husband as he films, "I'm wearing your T-shirt, which also doesn't make me feel good about myself." Preach, sister. Port also got very real about a fear that a lot of women have about childbirth. "Having a vaginal delivery changes everything down there," she says. "It's painful and uncomfortable and along with having to take care of a newborn, you have a whole other situation to take care of in addition to taking care of the baby."
"I had a lot of anxiety about what labor might do to my body," she admits. "You're pushing an 8-pound baby from a teeny hole... I was concerned about what that was going to do to our sex life, if it would feel the same, if [Tim] would feel the same way about me. I thought a lot about if [Tim was] attracted to me, and that was hard because I was never insecure about that before."
Port ends the episode with a few questions for her fans. "When does that line on your belly go away?" and "Do your nipples go back to normal?"
Judging from the YouTube comments, Port's motherhood series is resonating with her fans. Commenters responded enthusiastically to her new body image episode:
"I love how real and honest you are."
"Whitney I LOVE this series! My baby will be 3 months next week and I have gone through almost EVERYTHING you have verbatim... glad to know I'm NOT alone. I get excited EVERY time I see a post from you, and I make my husband watch as well. Keep them coming and good luck with everything. You're doing a GREAT JOB."
"Just Thank You! nobody discuss these issues and it feels refreshing to see someone else talking about it."
"Your body will bounce back! Just takes time. For me not so much cause I had 4 kids and I’m over 30 lol. But you’re active and young everything will go back to the way it was."
"lol! my vagina went back to normal and actually i find it much easier to have orgasms now, unfortunately my nipples are forever changed and after breastfeeding for 18 months my boobs look like shriveled testicles."
"Please don't ever stop making these videos. Your realness is incredible and makes women not feel so alone."
Yup. It's a brutal new world when your nipples have lost their way and boobs look like "shriveled testicles," so we also hope Port keeps going with her candid series. Because this is reality TV at its realest — and best.
Being a working parent is tough, and plenty of us complain about being constantly overscheduled. But I admit I have nothing to whine about. Because I am not a working parent who is also a superhuman athlete and conservation ambassador who also happens to hold the world record for most Olympic medals. No, that title applies to one person only: the dude who reinvented the meaning of “dad bod.” We caught up with Michael Phelps in NYC to chat all things dad life, social media, water conservation and the epidemic of underserved mental health needs in this country.
Read on for Phelps’ thoughts on parenting, the planet and just plain getting through life — plus his son's preternatural abilities in sign language, hacking and fake dad-spotting.
SheKnows: How’s dad life treating you?
Michael Phelps: Boomer is amazing. He’s truly turning into a real human; he knows sign language, so he can sign if he wants water, more food, he knows thank you and please. It’s incredible to watch. He’s already like me — my mom has always said I used to bounce off the wall and never stop talking or sit still. I’m starting to see that with him. I guess it’s living proof he’s part of me.
SK: Everyone always asks working moms how they "do it all" but rarely dads. So how do you balance work, Boomer, everything else? Please don't say "nannies."
MP: I was very fortunate at a young age to learn what goal setting is and how to take time and spend it the right way. I have a lot going on now, but I want my family to have everything I had growing up and more, and yeah, for me to do that there are times when I need to jump on a plane and travel around the world in a week. But also, it’s like, if I start getting burnt out, I know when I need to take a break. Your body tells you; just listen to what your heart is saying.
Every day, I have the opportunity to have my own time with Boomer. I try to let Nicole sleep in, so I take Boomer down the block in his little car or to the pool. It’s so funny watching his personality come out more and more. I drive a white SUV, so, like, every time he sees a white SUV he points and says, “Dada, dada!” Or, you know, every time he sees a guy with a baseball cap on: “Dada!”
SK: He spots all the fake Michaels! Boomer already has his own Instagram account with 800,000 followers. How do you think he'll react when he's old enough to realize what it is?
MP: I started it, just doing it for fun, and I never thought it would take off like it did. During the Olympics, he was gaining, like, 150,000 followers a night! What do we do when he’s old enough to take it over? He gets another account, that’s what. He makes his own. I mean, I have a goal to get his current one over 1 million, so I’m not just going to hand that over to the kid [laughs].
SK: What are your wishes for your kids' futures? Do you hope they become athletes too? Activists? Hover board pilots circa 2040?
MP: I’m fortunate to have an amazing, strong mother who is so supportive of everything we did growing up — but she was someone who never forced us to go swim or to go do this or that. She helped us think about certain consequences when we needed to, but we made our own decisions. I think if I were forced to swim, I wouldn’t have stayed in the pool as long as I did. So as long as Booms is happy and the next child is happy and they’re doing what they love, I’m happy.
I mean, I had a job that allowed me to work out for a living and represent my country. I had a really good gig for a long time. So if Booms wants to play sports or an instrument or doesn’t, that’s great. Our time on Earth is already short enough. For me, it’s like every single day I try to be as happy as I can. It’s crazy to think about. We never have enough time. That’s always the thing. We always want to do more. So it’s about being able to spend time on the things that are most important to you. Life is a lot easier that way, and obviously life is pretty difficult a lot of the time.
SK: Did becoming a parent make you more worried for what kind of world we’re leaving our kids? It definitely did for me.
MP: Yeah, every day, there’s always something to be worried about; you turn on the news and see something different every day, and it’s terrible. Hopefully, as Americans, and as the inhabitants of the world, we can come together. We need to change lives — whether that’s conserving water, destigmatizing mental health treatment or something else. We can change lives.
SK: What inspired you to become an environmental activist and the global ambassador for Colgate's Save Water initiative?
MP: Water has always been a large part of my life, so for me now, being a father with another child on the way, I’m just teaching some of the small things I’ve been able to learn — and passing that onto the younger generation. Small things like turning your faucet off when you brush your teeth, not taking a 30-minute shower when you really don’t need to. A family of four uses an average of 4 gallons of water a day. It’s not like we have an endless supply here, and there are people around the world who don’t even have access to clean water. So I want to teach the younger generation to spread the message and make a difference. I’m almost more excited to do this than I was to swim.
SK: Can we really make a difference when our country's leadership refuses to prioritize the environment and denies climate change?
MP: It’s so tricky, because they’re who run our country and run our world. But if we can continue to come together and work on small things little by little, at least it’s something. It’s a start. At least now there’s a lot more talk about climate change and the Earth’s state than when I was a kid. I guess it’s better late than never? But it’s also very tricky because this is something that’s so important to so many of us, and a lot of people don’t see it that way. But hopefully, we can get all our points across to them — one by one, one person at a time.
SK: You were born in 1985, 18 days before I was (thank you, Google). What do you think is the biggest difference between when you and I were growing up in the '80s/'90s and what kids today are faced with?
MP: The biggest difference is obviously technology and where the world has gone with that. Like, Boomer already knows how to get into my phone, even though it’s locked — and there’s no way he can type six digits on a keypad, but he somehow hotwires my phone and gets right in. But with social media, so many people have anxiety and depression because of it. Of course it’s somewhat good, but it can present so many issues; more and more we’re seeing what that’s causing, and it’s even leading to deaths. I just got finished doing a documentary called Anx with children talking about anxiety and recognizing their emotions and understanding them better. We need to let kids know it’s OK to not be OK. And we need to help them be comfortable talking about it.
SK: Beyond just social media, is there increased pressure for today’s kids to look, act, be successful/seemingly perfect early and often?
MP: For all of us. And it was not too long ago that I finally became open to talking about that myself. There’s such a high stigma around talking about your feelings or insecurities because, especially for men, we don’t want to show that “weakness.” But I’m always like, "OK, what would you rather do: Show weakness and get better, or continue to get worse and who knows where that leads?" There’s something behind the suicide rate continuing to climb year after year. Why don’t we ask for help?
SK: Because of stigma, for sure, but also because of lack of treatment access, right?
MP: Yes. And I hope seeing a therapist becomes 10 times easier in the future. For me, once I came out of treatment, I got into a therapist and continued my road to recovery and health and happiness. But not everyone can do that. It’s challenging to see a therapist when you work full-time, when you can’t get an appointment within a week, and then by the time you do get one, maybe you feel like your “problem” has lessened and you don’t bother to go in. It’s about access.
SK: And insurance. Most people can’t pay $100 or whatever for a 45-minute therapy session.
MP: Good luck finding a therapist appointment for only $100 — I’ve heard the average nowadays is $150 to $200 all the way up to $700, $800 for an hour! We need to make seeing a therapist more accessible; we’ve got to crack down on this and allow people the opportunity to seek help. It’s going to be a game-changer.
I would love people to become more vulnerable and reach out and ask for help. I would never want somebody to go through the feelings I had, almost exactly three years ago, of not wanting to be alive. That’s a scary thing, and to think of where I am today compared to that — that’s way bigger than winning a gold medal.
Maybe we shouldn't grumble about freezing winters — or those rainy, muddy springs. A study out of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts suggests that having a baby in winter or spring may have a protective influence on mothers, making them less likely to develop postpartum depression.
Anesthesiologist Dr. Jie Zhou of Brigham and Women’s Hospital said of the study, “We wanted to find out whether there are certain factors influencing the risk of developing postpartum depression that may be avoided to improve women’s health, both physically and mentally.” His team pored over the medical records of more than 20,000 women who gave birth between the months of June 2015 and August 2017.
Of the sample size, 817 women — about 4 percent — reported struggling with PPD. Symptoms can include anxiety, depression, irritability, restlessness, insomnia and lack of focus. PPD is considered to be caused by a mix of factors, including hormonal fluctuations, fatigue and the psychological adjustment to becoming a mother.
But why would winter and spring have a protective effect? Study researchers suggested those particular seasons could be linked to "enjoyment of indoor activities mothers experience with newborns." What? Naps, laundry sorting, Netflix and cranking the thermostat? We're baffled — we'd have guessed beautiful fall strolls and gorgeous summer outdoor fun would have had a more positive effect. Talk about counterintuitive.
The study findings were presented in Boston at the Anesthesiology 2017 conference. Another interesting factor? Researchers found that a longer pregnancy equated to lower chances of PPD (also totally counterintuitive to any of us who've ever yelled, "When the hell is this baby coming?") and that not having an epidural increased the risk of PPD (that we can sort of understand... ouch). But there seemed to be no correlation between vaginal vs. C-section births and PPD risk.
So if you're a Type A planner, you might want to schedule a winter or spring baby. You know, if you've got nothing else on your calendar.
What with Prince Harry's engagement to Meghan Markle being absolutely imminent, we really need to make him less attractive just to stop our hearts breaking knowing he'll soon be off the market. So here it is: He doesn't like s'mores. This is not a drill.
While camping at a nature reserve in Lancashire, England, on Monday, Harry met with a group of outdoorsy British youths and admitted that he's never roasted a marshmallow. And before you think it's because he's a prince and missed out on roughing it outside as a kid, it's actually just because he doesn't like them. Like, what?
"I’ve never toasted marshmallows over a campfire. They’re too sweet for me," he told the kids he was camping with. "But I’ve made campfires and slept under the stars more than I’ve slept in a bed."
Not everything about this situation is terrible, luckily for Prince Harry fans. He was at the reserve to take part in a project that gets young people outside to help them learn about the environment and conservation, and that's obviously rad. But without marshmallows, what's the point of even camping? Who doesn't like marshmallows, especially when they're toasted to a perfect, bubbling brown over an open flame?
As Harry and Markle are reportedly looking for a home together and clearly getting ready to plan the next royal wedding, this is good timing to learn terrible, scandalous things like this about the prince. Because even though we all wish we could be the ones marrying Harry, is it even worth it if it means never sharing a hot, toasted 'mallow with your Prince Charming?
