Women's Health

Women's Health readers strive to better their whole lives. And that's exactly why Women's Health reports on all the topics that interest them. In every issue you'll find topics on success strategies, nutrition, weight loss, health, fitness, special reports, sex & relationship, beauty breakthroughs, and style & fashion.

LIZ’S LETTER • One of the coolest parts about working at WH is how much awesomeness crosses our desks every single day.

Women's Health

ADVISORY BOARD

BALANCING ACT

Finding Happy Hour • Commute: the one word guaranteed to make everyone cringe, whether you’re the driver sitting in traffic for hours or the person-turned-sardine in the subway. Which is why, after more than a year of enduring a twice-daily nightmare, I decided to reclaim my routine with a walking commute—er, “walk-mute”—a few nights each week. The result? Moving meditation.

LOVE YOUR heart

One Sweat Snack, Please • Guess what? There’s no such thing as a too-short workout. On jam-packed days, treat yourself (yes, exercise is a treat!) to what we’ve dubbed the “sweat snack”—a mini circuit (as in 15 minutes or less). “You’ll work your muscles, lubricate joints, train your heart rate, and release endorphins,” says fitness coach Gideon Akande (@getfitwithgiddy). Stick to compound moves that make your upper and lower body work together (they engage your core in the process)—like a squat and press, reverse lunge and curl, deadlift and triceps kickback—and minimize rest breaks. Tastes good, doesn’t it?

Ready for Relief • NOT ALL RECOVERY TOOLS ARE CREATED EQUAL. PHYSICAL THERAPIST DAVID REAVY, FOUNDER OF REACT PT IN CHICAGO, DETAILS WHEN AND WHERE TO CALL ON EACH HERO.

Do Yourself a Solid

THAT FIRST-TIME FEELING

Practice Makes Perfect

Dude, Where’s My Sleep?

Clear Eyes, Can’t Lose

Ticker Tricks • Blood pressure—the force of your blood hitting your artery walls—is only a concern if you’re not active, right? Erm, we wish. Because even the WH staff is guilty of these seemingly innocent BP spikers:

Under… Where?

What’s the diff between a polyp, a fibroid, and a cyst—and which is most concerning?

Birth Control With Benefits • You know BC regulates your flow and prevents pregnancy (win), and you might know that it could lower your risk for uterine and ovarian cancers (bonus win). But there’s so much more these little Pills (or patches, or implants, or IUDs) do for your bod, like…

Shake It Up • What’s old is new again—at least when it comes to the healthy-snack aisle. Freshen your favorites with these more nutritious options created from ancient power foods. Because life is too short to eat the same thing every day.

Sticker Stumper

CRACK ONE OPEN

Unwrapped • Processed foods can up your risk for heart disease and diabetes—and lead you to overeat and gain weight, per new research. But what processed means isn’t always so black-and-white, says Michal Hertz, RD, a dietitian in NYC. Peep this spectrum that experts use for all the shades of gray.

Meet the Ahhh Pose

Just Say “Pyt It”

Focus on This

Gardening for Fall? Groundbreaking! • Summer might be over, but that doesn’t mean everything green should turn brown. Exposure to natural life drastically ups your physical and mental health, research shows—and that’s crucial when you start spending more time indoors. If you’re not sure where to start, let Adam Dooling, curator of outdoor gardens and herbaceous collections for the New York Botanical Garden, show you how to work with what you’ve got.

Body Check • News flash! Your complexion doesn’t stop at your neck. “People invest a lot of time and money in their faces, but that’s only part of the story,” says dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, a Women’s Health advisor....