Source: http://www.niashanks.com/perfection-possible/

Being a perfectionist is exhausting. If you too are a self-proclaimed perfectionist, you know exactly what I mean.

Laboring for perfection feels like going toe-to-toe in a bare-knuckle brawl with a larger, more experienced opponent. At the end you’re left badly beaten, bruised, eyes swollen shut, kidneys aching. The trophy – perfection – you so desperately wanted is within your field of blurry vision, but you didn’t attain it.

That’s why I proclaimed “Screw perfection!” not too long ago, and encouraged you to do the same. Pursuing perfection in business, life goals, health and fitness, finances, relationships, etc. proved to be unfruitful.

One immense problem with chasing perfection: Striving for it keeps you from appreciating all that you have achieved; you’re blinded from acknowledging all of the wonderful things you’ve already done because you’re not satisfied with good, or even great; you wanted perfect.

But I’ve since realized something. Perfection, while it’s not a long-lasting state of being or finished product, it does exist, however briefly, in moments. And oftentimes it reveals itself when we’re not looking for it and don’t expect it.

Because perfection is elusive we need to st…

Source: http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/exercise-machines/

America’s always been infatuated with the comeback story.

Iconic movies like Rocky and Rudy have immortalized it; we revel in the undergods and ride their stories for weeks and months on end.  

Unfortunately, when a comeback story transforms into a mainstay, it loses its luster. 

If the comeback is as American as it gets, so is our obsession with demonizing. 

Whether it’s because we enjoy doing it or it’s so inherently coded in our DNA that we must do it to survive, we do it and we do it gladly.

How many headlines have you seen that read that claimed carbs will make you fat? And fat will make you fat? And kale is the greatest thing you can shove into your mouth. Fruit will destroy any chance of you getting lean. Consuming gluten will kill you. And organic calories don’t matter. 

The mad science never ends. It continues on the training front as the demonization turns into ludicrosity. We’ve all heard them: 

Back squats will make your spine explode.
Curling in the squat rack will make you public enemy number one.
Foam rolling is the most important thing you can do.
Foam rolling makes no difference.
Body part splits are a waste of time
Steady s…

Source: http://www.theminimalists.com/010/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

In this episode of The Minimalists Podcast, Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus answer a bunch of random questions about minimalism, including:

What do you do about relationships you no longer want to invest in?
How do you control your compulsion to buy clothes?
How do you deal with the guilt you feel when purchasing things?
How do you deal with people who say minimalism is wrong?
How do you explain to people why it took you so long to finish college?
How do you balance using tracking tools without getting overwhelmed?
Have you ever felt regret after letting something go?

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Mentioned in This Episode

Book: Essential
Book: Everything That Remains
Book: Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life
Contribution: DonationTown.org
Essay: 90/90 Minimalism Rule
Essay: Financial Freedom
Essay: Getting Rid of Just-In-Case Items
Essay: Letting Go of Shitty Relationships
Essay: Life Is an Acquired Taste
Essay: Minimalist New Year’s Resolution
Essay: Moving Beyond Goals
Essay: Simple Triggers
Essay: Tour My Minimalist Apartment
Essay: When Goals Are Important
Event: How to Write Better
Event: Tuesdays wi…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/23/467861988/when-britain-fought-against-the-tyranny-of-tea-breaks?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

A tea lady brings round refreshments for British office workers in the 1970s. All over the U.K., the arrival of the tea ladies with trolleys loaded with a steaming tea urn and a tray of cakes or buns was the high point of the workday.

M. Fresco/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

News that British tea-drinking is on the decline is stirring a tempest in a teapot across the pond. But U.K. leaders might have welcomed such headlines in the 1970s, when the length of the tea break became a major point of political contention.

So recounts Charles Moore’s acclaimed new biography, Margaret Thatcher, which describes the British prime minister’s “titanic struggle” against the trade unions – a victory for which she was praised and revil…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/23/467839894/alabama-fast-food-workers-rally-to-defend-citys-wage-hike?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

A coalition of clergy, fast food workers and labor advocates rallied Tuesday in Montgomery, Ala., to defend a bill establishing a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour in the city of Birmingham, Ala.

Courtesy of Raise Up For $15

A coalition of fast food workers, clergy and advocates rallied at the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., today as a fight escalated in the state over a proposed minimum wage.

Alabama has no minimum wage, and last year, the Birmingham City Council voted to approve an increase from $7.25 (the federal minimum wage that most employers go by) to $10.10 an hour in the future. But a bill filed in the Alabama legislature on Feb. 11, if passed, would prevent the city from establishing its own minimum wage, which would block the proposed increase.

<img src="http://…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/23/466956650/save-the-fleet-eat-less-wheat-the-patriotic-history-of-ditching-bread?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

U.S. soldiers sack bread ready for shipment, shortly after the end of World War I.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection/The New York Public Library

Finding bread alternatives may seem like a thoroughly modern obsession. (Can someone pass the chia-millet rolls?) But the widespread search for substitutes to white flour, in particular, dates back at least a century, to World War I, when Allied forces aggressively urged consumers to change their starchy habits for nationalistic reasons.

On one hand, bread was symbolically important: It conjured ideas of comfort that were especially welcome during a time of fear and turmoil. The act of sharing a loaf — literally breaking bread together — carried psychological weight.

“If you had bread, you were OK,” says Joanne Lamb Hayes, author of the book Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen.

Problem was, diners on both sides of the ocean had a taste for white bread, which only made use of part of the wheat crop, and wasted the res…

Source: http://zenhabits.net/out/

By Leo Babauta

Our lives become filled, even controlled, by the things we think we need to do.

We think we can’t live without these things, but actually, we can.

We can opt out.

Think about how busy our lives have become. Think about how distracted we’ve become. Think about how many things needlessly pull on our attention, our time, our money, our sanity.

We have let these things overcome us, but in fact, we have a choice. We can become conscious, we can choose to do and consume and need less.

It’s the simplest way to simplify our lives: we simply opt out.

Some examples — note that I don’t think these are all evil. I only think we can reconsider:

Facebook & Instagram. Of course, these are easy to pick on, but in truth, they take up a large space of our mindshare. Many of us check them multiple times a day, getting a constant stream of distraction. And ads. And tracking of our online activity. Without too many benefits. Opt out: I’ve been off Facebook for years now, and don’t feel I’m missing anything. I am on Twitter, but rarely check it, and don’t have it on my phone.
Advertising. We put up with advertising, which is intrusive and distracting and makes every experience worse. Opt out: Stop watching advertising. Block it. Don’t participate in things that are ad-supported. Yes, that means that good publishers will have to find other ways to support themselves.
Email. I…

Source: http://greatist.com/health/vitamin-c-effective-remedy-common-cold?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

At the first signs of a cold, many of us pour a big glass of OJ on the assumption that loading up on vitamin C is a surefire way to kick just about any bug. Modern-age nose-blowers may also reach for “immunity boosters” like Airborne and Emergen-C to cure the sniffles. But does vitamin C—and the supplements that tout its benefits—really work to prevent (or cure) the common cold?

Out in the Cold—Why It Matters

Researchers have studied the role vitamin C plays in preventing and treating the common cold for more than 60 years. Most experts say there is still little proof that increasing vitamin C intake will help cut down on sick days.1
Still, the research isn’t conclusive. One study found that taking a daily vitamin C supplement reduced the frequency of catching a cold, while another discovered that it has an antihistamine effect that could reduce cold symptoms.2Another study found that vitamin C made a big difference in preventing colds in those exposed to brief periods of intense cold or extreme physical exercise (like skiers, military personnel, and marathon runners) but not the general population.1
And a different study suggests that upping vitamin C intake could reduce the severity and duration of a cold—and hopefully erase the need for that economy-size tissue box….

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/02/23/five-a-random-blog-survey/

A couple weeks ago, my friend Julie posted a “five” themed blog survey on her site and I thought it would be fun to mix it up today and play along with a similar variation. I’d love if you guys did the same – either in the comments or on your own blogs! Thanks to Julie for the idea – and for the graphic below.

Five: a Random Blog Survey!

Five Most Popular Recipes on my Blog

5-Minute No Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars (vegan, gluten free if you use GF certified oats)

Healthy Peanut Butter Power Cookies (vegan, gluten free)

Mexican Lasagna (gluten free if using corn tortillas)

Banana Spinach Smoothie (gluten free)

Healthy Deviled Eggs (gluten free)

Five Talents I Wish I Had

P…

Source: http://summertomato.com/ask-darya-how-can-i-exercise-harder-without-overeating/

This week our Ask Darya question is from Leslie:

Hey Darya, I have a question for you about that sentence you inserted regarding your exercise regimen.

I’m a healthy person who just wants to stay where I am weight-wise, but I’m working on going from mild to moderate/high exercise in order to increase my endurance and strength. My current challenge is balancing enough exercise so that I’m making progress, but not so much that by body thinks I’m hungry all the time (hello, Hunger Tiger). I know that I’ve read on your site that you are familiar with this phenomenon, that too much exercise can throw your hunger off balance, leading you to overeat. However, I read your weekly exercise description–4x strength training, 2x HIIT, 1x pilates–and when I workout that amount, I get so, so hungry. I know everyone is different, but do you have any advice for how someone can discover a balance between the right amount of food and exercise?

This is a great question because she’s asking about a specific behavior she’s struggling with in her healthstyle. In this video I clarify my own workout habits (I’m not crazy, I swear) and offer some advice on how to modify your snacking habits so you don’t …