Take your workouts to the next level with this escalating density style training with celebrity trainer and Women's Health and Fitness cover model Alexa Towersey.
Get involved in the movement and #rawfitspo on Instagram and follow @whandfmag for more.
Feeling the pressure of spring’s social calendar to look and feel photo-ready? The next time you open your beauty cabinet, check the ingredients list for these four skincare elements for flawless, healthy skin.
1. Home in on natural ingredients
Many skin care products, including cleansers and moisturisers, contain harsh chemicals that could be doing your skin more harm than good. Look for a simple ingredient list containing primarily organic, natural and plant-based extracts.
“It’s common sense that nature’s whole foods are the best choice for optimal health –and skin care is no different,” says holistic nutritionist and natural skincare expert Samantha Sargent.
“Some supermarket and chemist brands are made with cheap synthetics and naturally derived irritants that wreck havoc on your skin and internal organs. Read the full ingredient label, get to know the brand owner and manufacturer, and ask questions about the source of ingredients.”
Ayla Cotterill from the botanical based skin-care brand Eaoron agrees.
“I think people are becoming more aware of what they’re applying to their skin and are beginning to adopt a more natural approach. It’s really about creating a lifestyle that fights the effects of aging to create naturally beautiful skin,” she says.
2. Say yes to hyaluronic acid
Sourcing products that include hyaluronic acid – a natural structural component of the skin – helps to retain moisture and improve its beauty, according to Cotterill.
“As we begin to age, our skin loses moisture, firmness and elasticity,” says Cotterill,
“The beauty of hyaluronic acid collagen essence is its ability to transport essential nutrients from the blood stream, via the capillaries, while also attracting and holding water to plump the skin. This smooths fine lines and wrinkles, and stimulates cell growth.”
WH&F Pick: try Eaoron’s Hyaluronic Acid Collagen. With its combination of fast-acting botanical and natural ingredients you may start to see results instantly. Apply just before bed or first thing in the morning.
3. Look for anti-ageing properties
Botox and dermal fillers are a temporary fix and in some cases can cause nerve damage if not performed correctly. According to Cotterill, a better option is to select skin care products that prevent fine lines, dullness and wrinkles before they happen.
“Wrinkles on the face are a natural result of a reduction in collagen, so finding products with ingredients aiming to restore the balance can help reduce their appearance,” says Cotterill.
“For example, peptides encourage the skin to replenish collagen production in the dermal layer, helping to improve its firmness and condition.”
WH&F Pick: we love this Ultra Anti-Wrinkle Face Serum. Its potent ingredients are specifically designed to help reduce wrinkles and firm your skin for a youthful and radiant glow.
4. Skin superfoods
The rise of superfoods has seen us tipping copious goji berries into our smoothies, so why wouldn’t we use the same logic when it comes to our skin-care?
Cotterill suggests looking for plant-based ingredients that are going to provide sufficient antioxidants for improved skin health, such as bearberry leaf and white mulberry extract.
“We use bearberry leaf extract in our products to brighten and even out skin tone. It’s so effective because it contains a high level of arbutin, which can help clear dark spots and blemishes from the skin,” she says.
“White mulberry extract comes from the white mulberry tree, which is native to China, but is cultivated in Australia, North America, Europe and Japan. It’s the food of silk worms and is used to treat dry, sensitive and blotchy skin.”
NEXT: Looking for more way to freshen up your skin? Here are three ingredients for healthy looking skin.
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Photo: Getty Images
About a week after she gave birth, while her newborn son Leonardo was taking a nap, Hilaria Baldwin squeezed in a run. “I gave myself the goal of 5-10 min to jog. I surprised myself and did 23 minutes,” she captioned a sweaty selfie on Instagram last Thursday. “I feel great and refreshed.”
But a few days later, the yoga star took to Insta again to express her frustration over flak she caught for exercising so soon.
“The body has to heal, even in perfect birthing conditions,” one person had commented on Baldwin’s pic. “Uterus recovering, pelvic floor needs to strengthen again, relaxin hormone pulsing through system and making joints loose, milk production ramping up production, and already running,” another person said about the 32-year-old mom of three.
Baldwin responded in an impassioned post, pointing out that every body, and every pregnancy, is different: “My pregnancy, birth, and recovery is between ME AND MY DOCTOR,” she said. “So please: stop with the negativity about me just having a baby.”
RELATED: The Best (and Worst) Exercises for Pregnant Women
While it might seem like all new mothers would need a good deal of time to recuperate, there is no one-size-fits-all healing period after a vaginal birth, says Jen Gunter, MD, an ob-gyn based in San Francisco. “If Ms. Baldwin’s body tells her she is ready, that is great,” she wrote in an email to Health. “I am sure she was in excellent physical shape beforehand, so she might be able to do more sooner that someone who was less physically active before and during her pregnancy.”
Baldwin also credited the fact that she’s always been fit, and exercised throughout her pregnancy: “Fitness is my job…. Which means my body is accustomed to working out,” she wrote on Instagram. “I don’t want to sit down, lay down and do nothing. That’s not what my body is telling me it wants and needs.”
The reality is, as Baldwin pointed out, that every woman’s experience is unique. “Of course someone who has a large tear and was in labor for 36 hours may have a longer road back to exercise than someone who had no stitches and a six hour labor and delivery,” Dr. Gunter said. “The best advice is to let your body be your guide, just go slow,” she explained in an email to Health. And obviously, she added, consult with your doc.
Are you constantly battling fatigue? Here, David Goding explores the causes of fatigue and how you can combat it.
The wrong cure
In our endless hunt for the mysterious ‘edge’, fatigue is our number-one enemy. So how do we combat it? With a variety of ‘slap-yourself-in-the-face’ stimulants to keep us on track, of course. Coffee, energy drinks, chocolate, more coffee, rubbing the eyes, pulling the hair, another coffee. It works, in the short term, but it’s liable to put you more ‘on edge’ than give you any real edge to your focus or productivity.
When we finally get home we unwind with a couple of glasses of wine, which we think helps us sleep, and it can, but the quality of your sleep is usually compromised, leaving you drowsy and reaching for the snooze button, reaching for the snooze button, and just one more time before yet more coffee. And so on. It’s a cycle of your own doing, and one not so easy to jump off.
The cause
We’re led to believe that fatigue is the great modern malaise spreading like an epidemic through office blocks and shopping malls, but what’s behind all this exhaustion? And are we, in fact, the main cause?
Yes, often fatigue is brought on by pushing ourselves too hard, high stress levels, too much caffeine and too little quality sleep, but there may also be other factors at play.
“The thyroid and adrenal glands produce hormones that give you an extra energy boost; however, it can be an anxiety-producing, frenetic kind of energy that does not do a body good,” says Dr Eva Cwynar, endocrinologist and author of The Fatigue Solution.
“Yes, it will help you get through the day, but it will stress your mind and your body, which will eventually lead to more fatigue. Hormones send messages to your muscles, saying, ‘Emergency, give up your sugar or else.’ The muscles sacrifice the glucose and become depleted to save other cells throughout the body. And that’s when we crash, burn, and become exhausted.”
Dr Cwynar recommends an eight-step plan to combat fatigue and increase your energy.
The first step, she says, is to boost your protein levels. “A protein-based way of eating will get your eating habits on track and fuel your body’s energy needs.”
Next, make sure you implement a healthy, consistent sleep routine by practising a calming relaxation therapy, such as meditation, prior to going to bed (which should be at the same time every night). “A healthy sleeping schedule keeps your hormones balanced and your energy flowing,” says Dr Cwynar.
Get plenty of exercise, which not only provides you with more energy but aids in improved sleep and lessens the risk of anxiety and depression. Dr Cwynar also stresses the importance of a healthy sex life.
“A good sex life increases overall energy. It releases endorphins and revs up your metabolism. But as with sleep, it’s the quality of your sex life that makes the difference.”
If you’re still struggling to shake the fatigue, have your doctor run some tests, starting with the thyroid.
“When women are rundown and overweight, many automatically assume they are having thyroid problems,” says Dr Cwynar. “For some women, that is indeed the case. For others it is not. But it’s important to know.
“Other tests will tell you if you are deficient in certain trace minerals and other micronutrients or if you have neurotransmitter imbalances that are contributing to the problems of energy depletion and fatigue.”
NEXT: Stressed? Discover how stress affects your metabolism.
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We chat to sports nutritionist, Stephanie Lowe about her gluten-free life.
As a sports nutritionist, triathlete and self-confessed cashew butter addict from Melbourne, Stephanie Lowe is passionate about the health benefits of going gluten free. Her blog offers written posts and podcasts about everything from gut health to fat loss. It also offers delicious GF recipes and Lowe’s ebooks, including Free From Gluten and Real Food Reset.
My food philosophy
“Real is best. Food that comes out of the ground, from a tree or from an animal is the most nutrient dense and whole source of nutrition. In fact, one of the biggest changes we can make to improve our health is to significantly reduce or eliminate our intake of packaged foods.”
Foods on high rotation in my diet
“Every meal I eat contains many non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and zucchini. It also contains a quality protein such as free-range eggs or grass-fed meat and good fats such as avocado and olive oil. My carbohydrates come from wholefood sources, such as berries and sweet potato. Eating this way offers me optimal nutrient density, blood sugar control, satiety and long-term health benefits.”
Foods I avoid
“I stay away from packaged foods and particularly avoid ingredients that promote inflammation in the body, such as gluten, refined sugar and polyunsaturated seed oils such as canola oil (because they are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which we have too much of in our Western diet). I believe that anti-inflammatory nutrition is the key to my good health today, and tomorrow.”
Why I became gluten free
“I stopped eating gluten nine years ago to help my mental state and heal my relationship with food, which wasn’t healthy. I was so inspired by the changes I experienced that I went back to university to study nutrition at a post-graduate level so I could educate others on the power of real food. Before this dietary change, I was eating gluten every day, whether it was a small amount through traditional soy sauce or in larger quantities in low-fat cereals and muesli bars.”
Health benefits
“Once I stopped eating gluten, my digestion improved, but the biggest change was the emotional impact – I felt calmer and happier. I really began to understand that with 90 per cent of serotonin receptors (our happy hormone) found in our gut, the food that we eat has a significant influence on our brain and mental health.”
Challenges
“It can be tricky when waiters at a restaurant don’t quite understand gluten free, or perhaps don’t take your request seriously enough. The great thing is that in 2016 the awareness of gluten free is quite high and many restaurants code their menu GF, which makes ordering out very easy. Ten years ago it was much more challenging to cut out gluten, as many people didn’t even know what gluten was. Now, as long as you communicate what your dietary requirements are, most restaurants and cafes will go out of their way to assist.”
My transition tips
“The best way to approach gluten free is to focus on real food. If you fill your plate with non-starchy vegetables, quality protein and good fats, and choose wholefood carbohydrates, you are 99 per cent of the way there. Healthy, fresh food doesn’t come in a box, so there is really minimal need for the gluten-free products that are increasingly appearing on our supermarket shelves. Stick to whole and fresh foods instead.”
My day on a plate
Breakfast:
» A berry smoothie with spinach, avocado, coconut milk, cinnamon and raw pea protein
Lunch:
» Shepherd’s pie with pumpkin mash or a three-egg omelette with a side of avocado and kimchi
Dinner:
» Grass-fed steak or free-range chicken with a rocket salad or steamed greens topped with grass-fed butter and Himalayan salt
NEXT: Think you may be intolerant to other foods? Check out our guide to food intolerances.
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Treat yourself with this delightful apple crumble by @silverspies. This crumble is sure to tick all boxes.
What you'll need (makes one medium pie dish)
What you'll do
Preheat oven to 180ºC. In a pot on low-medium heat, place the sliced apples together with the coconut sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, lemon juice and water.
Stew apples until all the liquid has evaporated (around 15 minutes). Apples should be tender but still hold their shape.
While the apples are stewing, combine the rolled oats, almond flour, cinnamon, coconut oil, rice malt syrup and salt in a mixing bowl using your hands, until the mixture becomes crumbly. Place the stewed apples on the bottom of your pie dish.
Layer the crumble mixture over the top, spreading it evenly over the apples. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes – until the crumble is lovely and golden.
Allow to cool for 25 minutes before serving up with some coconut yoghurt or vegan ice cream.
Check out @silverspies for more.
Recipe first publishing in nourish magazine.
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Activate your glutes with this booty-building workout by Tahlia Seinor.
Given the glutes’ lack of use during our day-to-day life, Seinor suggests working them every time you are in the gym – either in isolation or as part of your leg training or full body workout of that day.
“My girls are also instructed to complete sets of glute bridges every night before bed,” says Seinor. “If you don’t use it, you lose it. But also be sure to listen to your body and never overdo it.”
Seinor suggests varying your training to ensure all areas of the glute muscle are hit during exercise.
“There is no ideal training protocol for glute development, as they contain both fast- and slow-twitch muscle fibres. Developing both types requires a variety of training intensities, including low reps and heavier weights, and high repetitions with lighter weights,” says Seinor. “The glutes are a major muscle group in the body, so don’t be afraid to set the weight high.”
And on the ‘ass-to-grass’ debate, Seinor says to keep squatting low.
“Partial-range training has its benefits, but when it comes to gluteal development, you should perform exercises throughout a full range of motion,” she says.
“If exercises such as back squats, deadlifts, split squats and step-ups are executed with limited range, it could create structural imbalances that can adversely affect posture and athletic performance.”
Her sessions are all individual but her methods strongly follow that of Charles Poliquin. Feel free to add this to your training regime either as a whole program or worked in with your other exercises.
Rotate Day 1 and 2 throughout the week so you are completing it five to six times.
Tempo guideline:
DAY 1
A) Wide Stance Squats
5 sets of 6 to 10 reps with a tempo of 4010. 3-minute rest between sets.
B) Reverse Hypers
3 sets of 10 to 12 reps with a tempo of 20X0. 2-minute rest between sets.
C) 45-degree back extension
2 sets of 20 to 25 reps with a tempo of 10X0. 1-minute rest between sets.
DAY 2
A) Paused rack pulls in rack
5 sets of 6 to 8 reps with a tempo of 22X0. 3-minute rest between sets.
B) Drop lunges with weight
3 sets of 8 to 10 reps with a tempo of 2010. 2-minute rest between sets.
C) Romanian Deadlifts
3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, tempo 3010. 1-minute rest between sets
Tip: 'X' refers to exploding from the bottom of the movement to the top of the movement, as quickly as possible.
NEXT: Want more booty building exercises? Add the yogi squat into your workouts today!
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Hormones play an important role in our health and wellbeing, here, we take a look at how your hormones affect your period.
As well as period cramps, ovulation bloating or swollen breasts during your menstrual cycle, hormone fluctuations can mess with brain chemistry. In a study at New York’s Cornell University, brain scans of women during peak PMS time showed much greater activity in the frontal lobes – the area that controls our emotions. After menstruation onset, the high activity in that area of their brain was no longer visible. It goes to show that premenstrual mood and behaviour changes are a response to a complex set of reactions and chain reactions involving neurotransmitters and hormones.
“Not only do hormones fluctuate throughout a woman’s cycle, the rise and fall is substantial,” says endocrinologist Sonia Davison. “At the start of the menstrual period, there is a very low level of oestrogen, but by mid cycle it has increased tenfold before falling down steeply again just before the next period. Meanwhile, as oestrogen levels are dipping, in the week before menstruation, there is a huge decline in progesterone as well.”
Lower oestrogen can wreak havoc on pre-menstrual emotions by dropping levels of mood-boosting hormones such as serotonin and dopamine. Lower levels of ‘feelgood’ hormones may explain why many women report feeling less calm and more aggro or sad at that time of the month. Compounding the issue, a concomitant fall in progesterone levels causes endorphin levels to nose-dive. Endorphins are the chemicals associated with a runner’s high because they elevate mood, so lower levels can also ramp up PMS-related depression.
Surprisingly, studies show no difference in the hormone levels between women who experience PMS and those who don’t. “Where the differences occur is in how these women respond to the hormone changes in their brain,” says Davison. “Some have bigger responses to changes in progesterone shifts while others respond oestrogen fluctuations.”
How to repair it
Habits native to PMS such as skipping meals and sleep exacerbate symptoms of PMS. Foods that help to stabilise blood sugar are a good start. “Grains that have a low glycaemic index, which means that they provide longer-lasting energy, can also help to increase the hormone serotonin in the brain, so try some chickpeas, brown rice or quinoa,” says dietitian Melanie McGrice. According to reproductive hormone specialist Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, supplements may help. “The two I suggest are vitamin B6 and evening primrose oil, which has healthy essential fatty acids. Both have been shown in studies to help alleviate some symptoms in women with PMS and many women benefit from them.” A 2010 study concluded that the combination of magnesium and vitamin B6 was particularly helpful for decreasing PMS symptoms. “Nuts are rich in both magnesium and B6, so I’d recommend eating 30 g of unsalted nuts daily in the week prior to your period,” says McGrice. If all else fails, newer contraceptive pills may help to establish a more stable hormonal pattern. An iron deficient diet has also been linked to increased risk of PMS. University of Massachusetts research found that women with higher non-heme iron, which comes from plant sources, are 30 to 40 per cent less likely to experience PMS. This is possibly because low iron affects levels of serotonin. Good sources of non-heme iron include silverbeet and spinach, broccoli, bok choy, soy beans and lentils.
NEXT: Discover why it's important to get enough sleep each night.
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This gooey, creamy cheesecake contains more protein than a standard whey shake. Give it a go today!
Step 1
The Crust
Need
Do
Heat oven to 1600C. Combine almond meal, peanut butter and almond milk and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until it resembles a crumbly yet sticky crust. If it’s too dry, add a dash of almond milk (or other milk) until it sticks together like a crumbly paste. Press into a springform pan (this one was 18 cm).
Step 2
The Filling
Need
Do
Combine all filling ingredients and blend thoroughly.
Pour mixture over crust and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until it’s still slightly wobbly in the centre, but not liquid.
Cool for at least four hours (overnight is ideal) before smearing on peanut butter and drizzling melted with chocolate. Refrigerate.
Step 3
The Topping
Need
Do
Once chilled, melt chocolate and drizzle over cheesecake before cutting and serving.
The numbers (⅙ of cake including crust) = Protein: 24 g
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Photo: Getty Images
Jen Widerstrom encouraged us all to be a little kinder to ourselves on Sunday, with two side-by-side selfies posted on Instagram. In one, she’s standing in a crop top and leggings, and her core looks taut and toned. In the other, she’s sitting down so we can see the stomach roll at the top of her waistband.
“We all look like this when we sit,” the Biggest Loser trainer wrote in the caption. “Don’t stress about the way your body looks in certain positions. These photos were taken 2 minutes apart!”
RELATED: 5 Weight Loss Tips From Celeb Trainer Jen Widerstrom
So far the post has racked up more than 16,600 likes and 650 comments, many from fans expressing their appreciation for Widerstrom‘s willingness to show her body from all angles—not just the flattering ones.
We’re so used to seeing highly-edited, perfectly-posed images on Instagram, it’s easy to lose perspective on how our bodies actually look IRL. But Widerstrom’s simple message of body-acceptance is a helpful reality check: When you sit, the skin on your stomach is going to bunch up, no matter how fit you are.
