12 Nouns That Are Always Plural

If you’re deep in the world of fashion influencers on Instagram, or have ever caught an episode of a fashion reality show, then you might have heard phrases like "My go-to evening look is a smoky eye and a red lip," or "This outfit could be completed with a tailored pant." If you have never done those things, then bear with me anyway. You get the idea: sometimes there is an assumption of an implied plural when singular versions of words are used. You’d have to be pretty avant-garde to put lipstick on only one lip or eye make-up on only one eye. 

While you’d be more likely to refer to eyes, lips, and trousers outside of fashion terminology, we’re all familiar with what one eye looks like. But what is a singular pant or, for British listeners, trouser? They don’t exist. 

"Pants," when referring to the clothing you’d pop on your legs, is an example of a "plurale tantum." That’s Latin for "plural only." In other words, a noun that is used only in plural form. If you’re a native English speaker, you might not even have noticed you’re using them. But here are a whole load of examples that you’ve almost certainly said – and how they ended up as "pluralia tantum."

1. Scissors

The first known uses of the word "scissors" are actually singular – spelled in a variety of ways, including starting with "cy." That was in the 15^th century, and the plural version quickly overtook the former in popularity. While you’d still hear "scissor" as a verb, or to form a compound noun like "scissor kick," you’re unlikely to come across a single scissor. The same is true of many other two-bladed tools – like "pliers," "forceps," "shears," "tweezers" and "tongs."

2. Glasses

When we’re talking about eyewear, the word "glasses" is like "spectacles," "goggles," or "binoculars": today, you’ll only hear them used as plurals. Even those who favor talking about a "red lip" don’t seem to have adopted a "tortoiseshell glass" as of yet. Things get a bit more complex if you pop "a pair of" in front of the words. The "a" suggests you should treat "a pair of glasses" as singular, but research shows that you’re equally likely to come across "a pair of glasses are" as "a pair of glasses is."

3. Jeans

Moving on to bottoms, lots of the names for two-legged garments are pluralia tantum. We have "overalls," "leggings," "shorts," "pants," "tights," and "trousers...

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3 Functions of Emotions

As a psychologist, I receive lots of questions about emotions and how to deal with them. Today, I thought I’d take the opportunity to educate you on the 3 main functions of emotions. There are many times when it appears emotions arise in us only to derail our mood and day, but that’s not necessarily the case. Even the worst emotions can be tools that we can use in our everyday lives as long as you understand what they're trying to tell you.

There are some emotions that are enjoyable to experience and others that feel awful. At times, that leads us to think of some emotions as “good” and others as “bad.” Let’s take that train of thought and see how it can play out if applied in a different scenario. I was re-watching Spike Lee’s film Crooklyn the other week. It’s about a family living in Brooklyn in the '70s. One of the children, Nate, has a broken arm, and his mother insists that he eats the black-eyed peas she made him for dinner because they are full of calcium. This child hates these peas! Well, in walks Dad with cake for everyone and the family is overjoyed—but poor Nate can’t have any cake until he eats those peas.

If you were to ask Nate which was good or which was bad, he would tell you that cake is good and peas are bad. His rationale—and I think most of us would agree—would be that he prefers the taste of cake. However, as his mother pointed out, the black-eyed peas are good because they have nutrients that are necessary for healing. They both serve a function and have a place in our lives. So let's start breaking down some of the functions of emotions and see where they fit.

Emotions motivate us

One function of emotions is that they get us revved up and ready to go. There is nothing that can motivate a behavior faster than emotions. I’ve seen people work harder than they ever had in their lives or give up faster than I can blink all based on their emotional experiences. Emotions get us prepared for action.

In fact, some of our action urges are hardwired in our biology. For instance, the action urge associated with anger is to attack. The action of attack will look different depending on the person. It could be displayed as yelling, hitting, gossiping, intentionally sabotaging someone, or self-harm, to give some examples.

The reason I use the word urge is that you don’t have to act on it. I could have the urge to urinate while walking down 5th Ave in Manhattan, but I wouldn’t wet my pants in the street. I would problem solve the situation which would lead me to find the nearest restroom. While running to the restroom, I could have the urge to yell at people for walking too slowly, but I would try to resist that urge and focus on something else, which allows the anger to dissipate. In some ways, emotions are like the nitrous button in your suped-up Fast and Furious-style...

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Do All Adverbs End in '-Ly'?

Today we’re going to see if we are allowed to “drive slow” instead of “slowly.” May we “jump high” or “sit up straight”? What about the advertising slogan “Eat fresh”? Yes, today is adverb day, with a sprinkling of adjectives.

What are adjectives and adverbs?

An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. For example, in the sentence “That is a real diamond,” “real” is an adjective that modifies the noun “diamond.” Other examples of adjectives are “devious” and “fair.”

Squiggly eyed the chocolate with a devious smile.

Aardvark reminded Squiggly of his promise to eat only his fair share.

An adverb, on the other hand, modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs often have an “-ly” at the end, as in “happily” and “heartily.”

Squiggly happily posed for the cameras.

Aardvark heartily hoped he would get a turn in the limelight.

Such adverbs are usually formed by adding “-ly” to the end of an adjective, as we just did with the adjectives “happy” and “hearty.”

Do all adverbs end in '-ly'?

“Drive slow” isn't wrong because “slow” is a flat adverb.

Other adverbs, however, such as “very,” don't fit this pattern. You might complain, for example, “Squiggly eats very noisily.” In that sentence, the adverb “very” modifies another adverb, “noisily.”

To confuse matters, adjectives can also end in “-ly.” For example, in the sentence “The lonely snail stared up at the moon,” the adjective “lonely” modifies the noun “snail.” Poor Squiggly. 

So you can’t tell if words are adverbs or adjectives just by looking to see if they end in “-ly.” These two letters at the end of a word can be a clue, but you can’t rely on spelling.

What are flat adverbs?

You must have heard the joke “Working hard? Or hardly working?...

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Can You Contribute to a 401k and an IRA in the Same Year?

A podcast listener named Justin says, “I maxed out my 401(k) for 2022 and still have more money to invest. Can I also max out an IRA—and if so, would the contribution also be tax-deductible?”

Justin, thanks for your question, and congratulations on being such a good saver! I’ll answer your question in this post by reviewing the retirement account contribution rules and pitfalls to avoid. 

Can you contribute to a 401k and an IRA in the same year?

The short answer to the question is yes; you can contribute to a workplace retirement plan and an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) in the same year. However, having an extra retirement account changes the tax rules and benefits you receive in some cases. So, keep reading to learn how to take advantage of multiple retirement accounts in the same year.

First, let’s touch on why you’d want more than one retirement account. The primary benefits are saving more for retirement and reducing your current or future tax liability. Those are extremely powerful and why I’m a huge fan of tax-advantaged accounts. So, having more than one retirement account can help you build more wealth.

How much can you contribute to retirement accounts?

For 2022, workplace retirement plans, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), allow you to contribute up to $20,500 or $27,000 if you’re over age 50. If you’re like Justin and max one out with cash to spare, saving more in an IRA is a smart move. 

For 2022, the IRA contribution limits are much lower than workplace plans at up to $6,000 or $7,000 if you’re over 50. All the limitations I’ve covered apply whether you use a traditional or Roth IRA or account at work.

IRA Contribution Rules When You Have No Income

...

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Does the MIND Diet Support Brain Health?

Cheryl writes:

“I’ve been reading a lot about the MIND diet lately. A 50% reduction in Alzheimer’s cases seems pretty significant. Even if it’s not a controlled study, I’m willing to eat a few more blueberries just to hedge my bets. But I’m not ready to give up cheese quite so easily! How strong is the evidence that cheese increases the risk of Alzheimer’s?”

What is the MIND diet?

The MIND diet is a set of dietary guidelines proposed by researchers from Rush University. The diet combines elements from both the Mediterranean and DASH diets—two dietary patterns that have a long track record for promoting health and longevity—with a particular emphasis on foods and nutrients that have been associated either with cognitive health or decline.

The researchers hypothesized that following this diet could keep your brain healthy, preserve your cognitive abilities as you age, and perhaps even ward off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. To test their theory, they reviewed dietary and medical records for almost a 1,000 people to see how closely their diets adhered to the MIND guidelines and how they fared in terms of brain health.

Their initial findings made quite a splash. In a study published in 2015 in the Journal of the American Alzheimer’s Association, they reported that those whose diets conformed most closely to the MIND diet principles were only half as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as those whose diets conformed the least well. The risk for those whose diets conformed only moderately well still was reduced by a third.

As Cheryl says, that certainly got everyone’s attention.

What’s on the MIND diet?

The MIND diet promotes ten “brain healthy” foods and discourages five foods. Along with the berries that Cheryl mentioned, you’re encouraged to eat plenty of vegetables, especially the green leafy kinds, nuts, legumes, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine. The foods that you’re supposed to limit are red meat, butter, and margarine, pastries and sweets, fried and fast food, and cheese. (Hey, who are they trying to kid here? That’s actually eight categories of foods!)

How strong is the evidence?

The original MIND diet study had a few limitations. First, as Cheryl points out, this was not a controlled study, where one group was put on a specific diet and another group served as a control. This was an observational study. That means that the subjects weren’t given any particular dietary instructions. They just agreed to let researchers gather information on what they ate and to take various neurological tests over time.

The researchers found an association (or correlation) between the MIND dietary pattern and improved cognitive health. But we don’t know how...

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3 Pre-Run Exercises to Prevent Injuries and Boost Performance

Now that we’re in the full swing of spring with more moderate weather, most people are spending more time outdoors engaging in activities such as running, walking, or hiking. It’s a great way to soak in the beauty of spring and enjoy quality time with friends or family while also getting exercise.

The weather here in the San Francisco Bay Area has been spectacular so my partner Farah and I decided to take our preschooler and toddler on their first real hike. We made the 1.8-mile out-and-back hike that included over 100 steps down to a rocky, secluded beach along the Land’s End Coastal Trail in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. 

After spending some time playing in the sand and stacking rocks on top of each other, we made our way back up the trail—with me carrying our toddler of course. I was really feeling the burn in my legs about two-thirds of the way back up the steps and it made me think about how incredible the human body is to be able to perform repetitive movements such as walking, running, and hiking for prolonged periods with relatively few issues. 

Allow me to nerd out for a moment: assuming the average person has a stride length of 2 to 2.5 feet, it takes about 2,000 steps to walk 1 mile. A study published in 2010 of over 1,000 Americans found that participants averaged about 5,000 steps a day, which adds up to over 1.8 million steps a year. 

If you run, walk, or hike two days or more a week for exercise, you can easily more than double that if you combine the number of steps you perform during exercise with the number of steps you perform throughout the day. 

The human body is truly an incredible machine to be just fine racking up that many steps every year. Well, just fine until you start feeling aches and pains that are more than just normal muscle soreness. 

If this is you, don’t worry, you’re not alone, because most people who run, walk, or hike for exercise are bound to experience aches and pains at some point. If you’re one of the few lucky ones who has never had an issue, you’ll still...

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Harness the Power of Your Anxiety with Dr. Chloe Carmichael

If you have days or moments (or years) during which you feel like your anxiety is in charge, or you’re stuck in patterns of self-criticism, double and triple-checking yourself, worrying about the future… then today’s interview is for you. 

 

I talked to Dr. Chloe Carmichael, author of the new book Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety. With her doctorate in clinical psychology from Long Island University and her years of private practice in New York City focusing on issues including stress management and self-esteem, Dr. Chloe delivers a great piece of news: anxiety and nervous energy can be your superpowers when you learn to harness them for good.

 

In this interview, we discuss what our anxiety may be trying to tell us, and what strategies we might use in the moment to harness its power for good.

 

Listen to the full conversation on Apple, Spotify, your favorite podcast platform, or just click the audio player above.

So, what is anxiety?

“I really think anxiety gets kind of a bad rap sometimes,” Dr. Chloe began. “People will often come and say, ‘Hey, Dr. Chloe, how do I get rid of my anxiety?’ And I want to explain that the goal is not to get rid of it. It's a gift from mother nature. We get it for a reason… It's actually a big source of energy. We just have to learn how to point [our anxiety] in the right direction. So, I think of it as that kind of heightened sense of awareness that we have when we realize that there's some kind of a challenge or a situation that we don't yet have fully resolved. And it's that little tickle from mother nature saying, ‘Hey, let's see how we can figure this out.”

 

In other words, anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s offering us insight and information that’s ours to pay attention to and make sense of. 

How might a mental shortlist soothe an overactive mind?

Dr. Chloe describes the “mental shortlist” as a great strategy for calming the mind.

 

“Having an active and tenacious mind can be a great thing until it starts to get in our own way,” she explains. She goes on to describe a case from her book in which a man was trying to prepare for an important meeting at work.

 

Once he had done all he could to prepare, he couldn’t seem to quiet his mind.

 

“He reached a point where he was just spinning his...

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Parenting With Somatic Mindfulness With Hakomi Therapist Karen Daley, LMFT

Part of practicing respectful parenting is the ongoing journey of building your capacity to access your reserves of inner calm in the face of your child’s big emotions, their behaviors that irritate you, and your own involuntary emotional reactions. 

One of the most common requests I get from new clients is to tell them how to get their parent-rage to go from a 9.5 on the severity scale down to a 2 during moments of family conflict. The first thing I usually suggest is to get in the habit of attuning to your own body.

Does your body feel one way when you’re happy and one way when you’re angry or when you’re in the presence of someone else’s anger? What about sadness—your own, your partner’s, or your child’s? What sensation happens in your body all by itself?

Surprisingly, learning to tune in to your body’s reactions in the moment can help you begin to understand your emotions, which in turn helps you modulate them when it’s necessary to do so.

To help us understand how this mind-body connection can be helpful to parents, I talked to Hakomi therapist Karen Daley, who uses mindfulness and awareness of the body in her work with clients.

Karen’s private practice in Northern California is called Many Rivers Healing. She is a licensed marriage and family clinician and is also in the process of becoming a Certified Hakomi Practitioner while also enrolled in the Hakomi Teacher in Training Program.

Karen co-developed the Resilience Clinic at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital’s Primary Care Clinic, specializing in bringing caregivers and their children into a weekly circle that fostered deeper relationships and communication between them. The focus included neuroscience, mindfulness, crafting, outdoor experiences, and nutritious snacks in addition to learning about how each of these experiences can be resources for the nervous system. Karen is a parent of an almost-25-year-old, and her loves—besides her wonderful daughter—are her plant and book babies which she tends to daily!

Here are some key takeaways from our conversation:

• Hakomi is a type of psychotherapy that privileges the somatic experience.
• It’s about taking a read of what's happening in our bodies to then figure out what kind of resource we need at any given time.
• Parents tend to have a belief that the busyness of everyday life means that it’s a privilege to make time to check in with yourself—but in fact, it’s an important thing to do.
• Checking in with yourself allows you to be able to regulate your responses so that you can soothe your nervous system and help your child develop that same capacity.
• In Hakomi therapy, while the client tells their story, the therapist looks for a moment to offer the person a “missing experience”—an experience they needed in childhood from or with...

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3 Ways to Improve Personal Time Management

Today, we're going to talk about establishing healthy routines. As any of my patients can tell you, it's a topic that I harp on routinely—and for good reason! I find that what fascinates most people about psychology is doing the in-depth work and digging into the whys. But what I tell my patients is that without a solid foundation, you can't always get into that deep stuff in a way that's beneficial to you. It's hard to contemplate the meaning of a fire when it's actively spreading and burning down your house! This is where healthy habits and routines can come into play.

What is a healthy routine?

You might be wondering—what does a routine encompass? The answer to that question is everything! I basically have my patients schedule everything that isn't a bathroom break because that's how you build habits. A good routine is built around time blocks, which is a chunk of time that you've designated for a type of activity. For example, I might have a time block for my routine of getting ready for work, or a time block for writing and recording this podcast. Each time block is made up of tasks, which are the individual things that we do within the time block. There are typically two types of tasks, recurring and one-time tasks.

Your values should be displayed in your routines. For instance, if you have a value to attend to your relationships, then you should have time blocked into your schedule to spend time with others. If being physically healthy is a priority for you, then you should have time blocked and tasks related to exercise, medical appointments, and grocery shopping to ensure that you have time for it. If faith is important, then perhaps having blocked times for religious services, religious reflection on your own, readings, and volunteering might be healthy for you.

We're more likely to keep routines if we can connect them to what we value because then there is buy-in. Values are also important because we don't always like the tasks related to upholding our values and we often need reasons for why we do what we do. I dislike the task of exercise, for example, but value physical mobility, mental clarity, and investing in long-term quality of life. Consequently, I engage in exercise because it's tied to my values.

How to build time blocks

Let's talk a little bit about how to actually build a routine. I suggest everyone start with time blocks for morning and bedtime routines, as how you start and end your day is crucial. I also recommend time blocks for household chores, free time, and time for others. This is not an exhaustive list whatsoever, and you should explore what kind of time blocks might work for you. For example, a student may have time blocks for study time.

Assigning colors to different time blocks is helpful in organizing your schedule, whether it's pen and paper...

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How 'Green' Became Green

The original Earth Day Proclamation in 1970 refers to “our beautiful blue planet,” and the first Earth Day flag consisted of a NASA photo of the earth on a dark blue background. But the color of fields and forests prevailed, and today when we think of ecology and environmentalism, we think green not blue.

The connection of the color green to growing things is found in nature, of course, and the word green has “associations with verdure, freshness, newness, health, and vitality [that are] are widespread among the Germanic languages,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. So in Old and early Middle English, we find forms of the word used to refer to the color of living vegetation, grass, and to grassy areas or leafy trees.

The meaning was extended to refer especially to tender or unripe vegetation and then more generally. The expression “green cheese,” for example, from the late fourteenth century, refers to cheese that still needed to be aged. The notion of green as unripe provided the basis for its later extension to people, so by the mid-sixteenth century, green could be used to refer to immaturity, rawness or inexperience.

In medieval and Renaissance literary symbology, green retained that sense of immaturity. Green became the color of young love as well, and sometimes of fickleness, and it was the color of both the sea and of fortune. Green was also associated with “greensickness,” referring to the jaundice of chlorosis, a type of anemia common in young women.

By William Shakespeare’s time, green had a variety of symbolic possibilities, and he used most of them in his plays. In “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” Don Armando’s page Moth jokes with his master, who is discoursing on famous loves:

Armando: O well-knit Sampson, strong-jointed Samson!…I am in love too. Who was Sampson’s love, my dear Moth?

Moth: A woman, master.

Armando: Of what complexion?

Moth: Of all the four, or the three, or the two, or one of the four.

Armando: Tell me precisely of what complexion.

Moth: Of the sea-water green, sir.

Armando: Is that one of the four complexions?

Moth: As I have read, sir, and the best of them, too.

Armando: Green indeed is the color of lovers; but to have a love of that color, methinks Sampson had small reason for it. He surely affected her for her wit.

Moth: It was so, sir, for she had a green wit. (I. ii. 72–89)

The four complexions mentioned are the four...

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Is 'Funnest' a Word?

Researching the word “funnest” and its close relation “funner” turned out to be a lot less fun than I had hoped — or at least more complicated.

First, the easy part. Everyone agrees that “fun” was originally just a noun. For example, you could say, “We had fun,” which is the grammatical equivalent of “We had cake.” Fun is more of a concept whereas cake is more of a thing, but they're both nouns. “Cake” may jump out at you more as one of those people-places-and-things concrete nouns we’ve talked about before, but “fun” is also a noun. It’s an abstract noun.

‘Fun,’ the Adjective

But now we head down the slippery slope of fun because many modern sources grudgingly (2) accept that “fun” can also be used as an adjective, as in “Squiggly throws a fun party.” (1, 3) In that sentence, “fun” is an adjective that modifies the noun “party.” It was a fun party.

How "fun" made its way from a noun to an adjective is a great illustration of how language can change over time. Nouns can be used to modify other nouns, and when they are they're called attributive nouns. In the phrase "sugar cookie," "sugar" is a noun, but it's being used in an attributive way to describe the cookie. Attributive nouns do the same thing as adjectives. You could say, "I ate a sugar cookie," or "I ate a yummy cookie." The sentences are constructed the same way, but "sugar" is an attributive noun and "yummy" is an adjective.

The Oxford English Dictionary notes a few uses of "fun" as an attributive noun such as "fun fair" and "fun-fest" in the early 1900s. It was probably from there that "fun" worked its way from noun to adjective. In English, nouns often end up becoming adjectives too. (1, 2)

A few sources note that using "fun" as an adjective is a generational thing. It's much more acceptable to children, (3) youngsters, (4) slackers, (5) and people who were born after 1970. (6) A Google Ngram search, which shows how often words are used in the books Google has scanned, shows that writers started...

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What Happens If You Get Named a Personal Representative?

Kyann M. says, "My father passed away, and I became the executor of his will. He was married to my stepmother when she left him in June 2020 because he had dementia, and she didn't want to take care of him anymore. They lived in El Paso, and we filed for a partition agreement, which is like a legal separation in Texas.

I had his power of attorney and took care of all the bills, and was also named his executor. Later, I realized how unprepared I was for being an executor. I think it would be so helpful for you to explore in an upcoming podcast preparing to care for elderly parents and what to expect if you have to take over their estate. It's certainly been an eye-opener."

Kyann's question hit home because my father recently died, and my family had to deal with his estate and the probate court, even though he had a will. Handling an estate can be complicated and even more stressful because you're simultaneously grieving for a loved one. 

The estate and probate laws vary significantly depending on the state where you die, but typically allow plenty of time to complete the necessary paperwork. However, depending on the size of the estate and any outstanding legal issues, going through probate can take over a year. So, it's wise to get started as soon as you're ready to face it. 

In many cases, you need the advice of an attorney or should hire one to help you navigate the probate court. So I interviewed Lauren Blair, an attorney, writer, and litigation expert for FreeAdvice.com, who's practiced law for more than 25 years. Her article Personal Representative' Duties–What Are They? covers frequently asked questions about being named a personal representative, executor, or executrix, that everyone should know. 

The Right Way to Talk to Your Aging Parents About Their Money

Lauren and I had a great conversation to answer Kyann's question and help Money Girl listeners understand the often complex legal...

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Zero Waste Cooking with Rosanne Rust

Earth Day is this week (April 22) and I often take this opportunity to talk about the impact of food waste on the planet and its climate.

Anxiety about climate change has never been higher. And yet, we consumers are often told that our individual efforts—whether that’s installing energy efficient light bulbs or driving hybrid cars or even giving up meat—will never add up to enough impact to make a real  difference. For that, we need the sort of system-wide impacts that can only be achieved with public policy change. 

But reducing food waste is a place where individual consumers can have a really big impact—because most food waste occurs at the consumer level. In terms of reducing greenhouse gasses and slowing global warming, reducing food waste may be one of the biggest lever we have as consumers.

I know that a lot of the people listening to this podcast are reducing their consumption of animal products based on the belief that this will reduce the environmental impact of their diet or food choices. And this is an area of some controversy. 

Many animal agriculture advocates point out that the methods used to measure environmental impact of foods are not always comparing apples to apples (or apples to animals), and that the environmental impact of the processing involved in creating highly processed plant-based alternatives is not always taken into account by these comparisons.

But whether we’re buying beef burgers or Impossible burgers, if we end up throwing food away, we are wasting that energy and those resources and incurring those environmental costs for no benefit.

In this episode, registered dietitian Rosanne Rust joins me to talk about how we can all reduce food waste.

Rosanne is an internationally recognized nutrition expert and communicator and a prolific writer, with 8 books and counting. Her latest is Zero Waste Cooking for Dummies—but don't let the title fool you. Although it is certainly accessible and approachable (just like Rosanne), there is nothing dumbed down about this book. It is an amazingly comprehensive and wide-ranging effort, weaving everything from agricultural practices to nutritional factors, time management, and budget considerations into this larger toptic of reducing food waste!

Click on the audio player to hear my conversation with Rosanne, in which we discuss:

• Reducing food waste is not necessarily about giving up all processed foods or animal foods, but making the best use of whatever foods you choose to include in your diet.
• The role of inventory control: knowing what you've got on hand and its shelf-life and making meal decisions based on that.
• The role of meal planning and shopping lists when life so...

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What's the point of regret?

Hey listeners, Dr. Jonathan Su here, the Get-Fit Guy. I'm taking a break from the podcast this week, but in the meantime, I wanted to share an episode of a brand new podcast with you.

It's called Curious State, and it's all about discovering the unexpected gems of knowledge that exist all around us.

This episode features bestselling author Daniel Pink to help answer the question, What is the point of regret?

I loved Daniel's answer, and I think you will too.

If you enjoy Curious State, you can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you're listening to Get-Fit Guy.

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5 Red Flags to Watch For During a Job Interview

My friend Emma recently interviewed for a position with a company she’s always admired from afar. She showed up (virtually) excited, well-prepped, and hoping for the best.

She called me right after the interview to debrief. But there was flatness where the excitement should’ve been. She sounded way more “meh” than “woohoo.”

“I’m still not sure what just happened,” she said. “They want me to meet with an executive panel next, but something about the experience is making me hesitate.”

Right now, we’re living in a buyers’ market—meaning companies are having to work twice as hard to attract talent, and if you indeed are a talent, you’ve got all the leverage. So if you’re on the hunt for your next gig, you can—and absolutely should—be very choosy.

Of course, there’s a lot you won’t know about a company until you’re already inside it. But there are some signals you can keep an eye out for during the interview process. And if, like my friend, you feel your spidey sense tingling… definitely give it a listen.

Here are some red flags worth watching out for.

1. Interviewer energy is “off”

Whoever is interviewing you—regardless of their level or title—should be showing up as an ambassador of the company’s brand.

People express energy in different ways—I’m not suggesting that you expect choreography and jazz hands. But I am saying that you deserve to feel like the interviewer wants to be there and is fully engaged in your conversation.

Have they shown up—whether in person or on-screen—calmly, with smiles, seeming to have time for you? Or do they seem anxious, frantic, racing around, or exhausted?

Even in a virtual interview, you can watch for signals of focus, eye contact, and how calmly they're breathing. One frantic person may be an exception. But if it seems like the norm, be wary.

Emma told me her interviewer seemed distracted and anxious—and was not-so-discreetly multi-tasking. Which left Emma feeling like a to-do needing to be handled rather than a talent to be courted. Not a good look for that company.

2. Interview questions feel like “gotcha” traps

When I graduated from college, certain big companies were infamous for asking questions like “How many dog hairs are there in the world?” or “How long would a piece of string need to be in order to circle the earth twice?”

Crazy, right? Granted, answering these questions well didn’t mean answering correctly. Because who could possibly know? These questions were designed to give the interviewer a glimpse into your thought process.

But also, let’s be honest: they were a little bit designed to make you sweat, to show the interviewer how you showed up under pressure.

The good news is that you don’t have to put up with that line of inquiry anymore. An interview should challenge...

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Can we overcome our childhoods?

Hey listeners! It's Dr. Nanika Coor here. We're taking a break from your regularly scheduled Project Parenthood programming today and, instead, dropping an episode of a brand new podcast.

It's called Curious State, and it's all about discovering the unexpected gems of knowledge that exist all around us.

This episode features bestselling author and therapist Lori Gottlieb to help answer the question, Can we overcome our childhoods?

If you love this episode, you can find more Curious State on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever your get your podcasts.

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3 Barriers to Mental Health Treatment

This episode is based on various comments and questions that I have received from listeners about barriers to mental health treatment—whether those be personal or systemic. Consequently, I wanted to give suggestions around the top comments that I hear from folks on this topic.

Do I really need mental health treatment?

Let’s start with the question that I hear a lot: "Am I really that bad?" I’ve had listeners reach out, tell me about their experience, and then say “But, like, I’m fine, right? I don’t really need to come to therapy.”

There are many credible self-help resources available and there are many things you can do on your own. However, what I’ll say is, if you were concerned enough to ask me that question, there is probably enough going on that you may want to see a professional even if it’s only a handful of sessions. That way, you can get a proper assessment and be provided with treatment recommendations.

I knew this skateboarder in college who fell down attempting a trick and hurt his wrist. He avoided going to the doctor and kept skating. After a fair amount of peer pressure, he finally went to the doctor and was informed he had a hairline fracture and was given treatment recommendations. He ignored those suggestions and the hairline fracture grew into a major problem. I remember him complaining about chronic pain later on. Why do I tell you this story? To remind you to address the problem when it’s small!

There is a quote that I enjoy: “No one raindrop thinks it caused the flood.” I caution you to be mindful of your raindrops. If you find that there are buckets all over your house to catch the water leaking in, it might be time to get professional help.

What if I can't afford therapy?

Let’s get to the elephant in the room: money. I hear all the time about the cost of treatment and the personal and systemic factors that play into this barrier.

From a personal perspective, I have seen people who don’t believe they deserve to get better or invest in themselves as people. If you’re one of these folks, I would implore you to consider that this mindset is probably a foundational element of why you need to be in treatment. It’s not selfish to take care of yourself. Your well-being is not a detriment to society, it’s a win for all of us.

Another issue that will arise regarding money is the mishandling of funds. At times, I will talk to patients who may need to reallocate resources from various miscellaneous spending so that they can afford services. Are you the type that when—let’s face it, if—you check your balance statements, there are recurring subscriptions that you barely remember signing up for? Or you realize you didn’t cook a single meal at home last week? If you are willing to modify these habits, you might discover you can...

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You Know. Doppelganger. Trademarks. Funnily.

It’s time for our quarterly listener question extravaganza podcast! 

Discourse Markers

"Hello, Mignon. My name is Hal in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I'm calling to suggest a segment on the expression ‘you know.’ Seems like everybody I talk to uses ‘you know’ in every sentence, so it must be serving a grammatical function, but it's not a grammatical function I can figure out. Thank you for listening, and I hope you can discuss this issue."

Oh, Hal, you have hit upon one of my own verbal tics. When I am unscripted, like when I do radio interviews, I say “you know” a lot if I’m not actively reminding myself to slow down and not to say it.

What I love about the way you asked the questions is that you didn’t rant about how much it bothers you or how annoying it is. Instead, you’re curious! And you realize that if lots of people are saying something, there must be a reason. I mean, it must serve some purpose or people wouldn’t do it, right?

That’s the kind of thing linguists study, and they call phrases like “you know” and “I mean” “discourse markers.” 

Cambridge Dictionary says we use discourse markers “to connect, organize, and manage what we say or write or to express attitude.” For example, they say people sometimes use “you know” to mark that what follows is “old, shared or expected knowledge.” So if I’m answering a question on the fly about the difference between initialisms and acronyms, which we covered a few weeks ago, I might say something like “So, you know, some abbreviations are pronounced as words, like ‘NASA,’ and for others, we say all the letters, like ‘FBI.’” In that case, I’m using “you know” because I’m starting with a fact that I expect most people to recognize.

But the phrase “you know” doesn’t ...

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5 Things Every Home Buyer Should Know About Mortgage Points

If you're shopping for a home mortgage, you've probably seen the term "mortgage points." Before you take the next step to sign a mortgage preapproval or other borrowing commitment, it's critical to understand how points work.

Taking out a mortgage is a big financial decision, so don't miss the opportunity to take advantage of mortgage points when it's wise for your situation. Paying points can help you get the best deal possible on your next new home.

1. Why mortgage points can help home buyers

Mortgage points, also known as discount points, reduce the interest rate you pay on a home loan. While you must pay them upfront, they typically save money over time. 

Every mortgage point you buy reduces a loan's annual percentage rate (APR) by 0.25%. So, if the original APR is 4.5%, paying one mortgage point knocks it down to 4.25%. Paying two points reduces the rate to 4%, and so on. So, the more points you buy, the lower your interest rate.

For example, if you're shopping for a $300,000, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 4.5%, your total interest would be $247,220. But if you bought three mortgage points, your 3.75% rate would mean paying $200,165 in interest. That's a massive interest savings of more than $47,000 over the life of the loan!

What's the Best Type of Mortgage for You?

2. How much home buyers pay for mortgage points

One mortgage point typically costs 1% of your home loan amount. So, if you want to borrow $300,000 to buy a property, one mortgage point would cost $3,000. You'd have to pay $6,000 for two and $9,000 in the previous example with three points, and so on.

Most homebuyers who opt for points buy between one and three and have the option to purchase fractions of points. However, the challenge for buyers is that lenders typically require you to pay points up front. Since the cost gets included in the total amount you must bring to the closing, you must have it in savings.

...

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Questions from Listeners: April 2022 Edition

Should you fast or fuel before exercise?

Long time listener Rohini writes:

Q. I have been trying to do intermittent fasting for the past few months and can manage a 14 hour fast quite comfortably (8 pm till 10 am). I almost always exercise earlier in the morning. But I start to feel tired fast if I haven't eaten something. Intermittent fasting experts often tout the benefits of exercising in a fasted state but other credible sources insist on eating first before exercising! What do we morning exercisers do?

A. Even after an overnight fast, you should have more than enough fuel on board for a moderate-intensity workout. That said, the benefits of fasted exercise are often exaggerated. The real key here is what makes you most comfortable because that will support more consistent exercise. In the long run, that's far more beneficial than the incremental gains that you might get from following someone's arbitrary rules about pre-workout fasting or fueling.

Is Evening Primrose Oil effective for fibrocystic breasts?

Val writes;

Q. Recently my doctor told me to start taking Evening Primrose and vitamin E for fibrocystic breast disease. However, I can't seem to find studies that support using Evening Primrose for either breast pain or decreasing the nodule size. In fact, the NIH says:
"studies of Evening Primrose Oil for breast pain have not found it to be more effective than a placebo." What's your take?

A. There have only been a limited number of studies on EPO and benign breast disease. One study found that it was not more effective than a placebo. (Actually, the study found that it was SLIGHTLY more effective than placebo but didn't reach the threshold for statistical significance.) But other studies have found that it was as effective as prescription drugs that are sometimes prescribed for this condition. Then again, the prescription drugs aren't slam dunks, either. A significant number of people don't find them helpful.

Seeing as EPO has few side effects or safety concerns, your doctor may reason that it's worth a trial-of-one to see if you are one of the people who does see an improvement. I can see the logic in that.  If you do decide to try it through, make sure you're taking enough of it (usually, 6 500 mg capsules a day) and for long enough (8-12 weeks) before you decide whether or not it's helping.

Which is better: whole oats or oat bran?

Stephen writes:

Q. Several health-related websites state that oat bran is superior to rolled oats, but I often hear that whole grains are important to health. I eat plenty of other whole grains (wheat, corn, and rice) and am largely vegetarian. Does isolating the bran from oats (or even wheat) remove significant benefits?

A. I think it's more accurate to say that...

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How to Catch Up When You've Fallen Behind

As a kid, I was totally charmed by old episodes of I Love Lucy. There’s this one classic clip in which she’s working at a chocolate factory—her job is to grab and box the candies as they come down the conveyor. Of course, something goes awry and the candies start flying at her faster than she can manage. Not wanting to seem incapable, she starts popping those candies into her mouth, down her shirt, and hilarity ensues.

 

It’s such a perfect metaphor for how we can experience work sometimes. We’re high-achieving, ambitious, striving people who want to seem like we can handle all the candy—no matter how fast it comes at us.

 

A colleague of mine recently asked if declaring “to-do-list bankruptcy” was a thing. I told him I was stealing that pearl for today’s episode. Because sometimes we all need to give ourselves permission to hit that “emergency” button on the conveyor of life!

 

Having limits is human. Let’s talk about what you can do when you realize yours have been pierced—that your list of projects, goals, tasks, objectives has overwhelmed you and you just need a minute.

1. Ask for help

Too commonly, we associate asking for help with revealing a personal weakness.

 

But if you watch that Lucy clip, you’ll see that the candy is just flying at her at a pace no human could manage. Chomping those chocolates may be the right choice when the goal is comedy. But had this been real life, the strategic choice would have been to ask someone to shut down the conveyor so she could catch her breath and start again.

 

If your to-do or to-achieve list is feeling overwhelming right now, recognize a long list is just a long list. It’s not a symbol of your personal failure. Your job is to keep those balls from hitting the floor.

 

Be strong and confident as you raise that red flag. This isn’t a moment for “Ugh—I’m so sorry, but I can’t handle everything.” Instead, try “I’m looking across everything upcoming and I’m taking accountability for ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Can we talk about putting a project on pause or getting me an additional resource?”

 

It’s a strategic ask—not a fail. No shame required or permitted.

2. Make a micro-list

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time… goes the old aphorism.

 

Our to-do lists tend to be made up of elephants. Look at mine and you’ll see things like:

• Design that executive offsite
• Build that leadership program
• Develop marketing collateral for the employee engagement workshop 

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How to Properly Stretch Tight Calf Muscles

If you do a lot of walking, running, or hiking, the calf muscle on the back of your lower leg can become stiff and painful. I’m always surprised by how many walkers and runners let this problem brew until it becomes serious enough to seek out someone like me to help them fix the problem.

I always tell my patients that the solution is simple but the execution is difficult. If you really want to fix this problem, you have to care enough about it to get the execution down. That means making time to do maintenance work on your body and ensuring that what you’re doing is done right. 

One of the simplest solutions to a stiff and painful calf muscle is static stretching. This is where you lengthen your calf muscle to its limit or place of tension and stay in that position for up to a minute.

Stretching can help keep the calf muscle supple and pain-free and I highly recommend it as part of your daily, thrice weekly, or, at the very least, once weekly body maintenance routine. If you’re a walker, runner, or hiker, this is one stretch that you should be doing after every workout.

Even though performing the calf stretch seems simple, properly executing the stretch is often elusive because there are several elements that all need to come together to get the most effective stretch. Trust me when I say that this is one of the most difficult stretches to nail down.

I see this stretch performed sub-optimally by almost everyone at the gym and I’m always needing to make adjustments for my patients when they perform it in front of me.  Keep listening to find out how to properly stretch your calf muscle so you can help them feel like new in a snap.

Calf stretch

So what exactly are all the elements that need to come together to get the most effective calf stretch? There are seven elements to look out for:

1. Side-to-side distance between the feet

2. ...

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How To Talk So Your Family Will Listen to You

When you’re hoping your child or your partner or co-parent will do something to help you get your in-the-moment or long-term needs met, it can be tempting to lean on quick fixes like rewards and consequences. Using these strategies can indeed coerce others into compliance—at least temporarily.

But for any of these strategies to work repeatedly, upping the ante is required. The rewards have to get more rewarding and the punishments have to get more punishing. That generally involves creating more desire for a reward, or sprinkling on more fear, shame, blame, guilt, criticism, or obligation.

Eventually, your child or partner might simply decide they’re no longer satisfied with the rewards or even care about the consequences. You can use time-outs, removal of privileges, or even “force” them to do an unpleasant task. You can give them the cold shoulder as a consequence for not doing what you’ve asked.

And yet, eventually, they’ll be old enough—and/or potentially angry and resentful enough—to access the things they want without you being able to stop them. They may be so worn down emotionally that they even give up trying to stay in your good graces. 

5 Steps to Being a Cycle Breaking Parent

Ultimately, using your physical, practical, or emotional power to coerce others into doing what you want them to do creates disconnection in a relationship. Do you want your child or your partner to comply with you out of fear, or because they have genuine consideration for your needs?

In this episode, I'm going to break down the elements of Nonviolent Communication that you can use to more effectively communicate with your family.

Having consideration for own your feelings and needs is job #1

If you want others to listen to your feelings and be considerate of your needs, you’ll need to be able to identify and take responsibility for your feelings and needs yourself—and communicate them. This requires you to have an awareness of your feelings and needs in the first place.

You can start by practicing detecting when your needs are being met or when they’re going unmet.

When your needs are being generally met, you’ll feel positive, accepting of, or neutral about what is happening in your environment and what you or someone else is doing or saying. When you notice emotions arising in you like resentment, annoyance, frustration, uneasiness, or anxiety, your needs aren’t being met. Something is interfering with your enjoyment of life or your ability to satisfy your own needs. You might notice that you dislike a situation or what you or someone else is doing and you want something to change.

Notice any body sensations and emotions that are rising up in...

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Are We Truthful or Just ‘Truthfully Misleading’?

Philosophers as far back as Greek and Roman antiquity debated the meaning of truth. While what constitutes truth has always been controversial, these days it seems like the line between what’s true and what’s not has become increasingly hard to tease out. So let's look at what it means to lie versus mislead and how it plays out linguistically.

Lying versus misleading

Though it might seem subtle, there is a crucial difference in the act of lying versus the act of misleading: 

Lying involves stating something that you know to be false, and a lie is still a lie regardless of whether your target buys it.  

Misleading someone, on the other hand, can often be accomplished without explicitly saying something false and is more about nudging someone in the direction of what you want them to think. 

Unlike lying, if your target doesn't buy your misleading statement, then you haven't misled anyone. In other words, both lying and misleading are forms of deceptive behavior, but how they are accomplished linguistically — and what’s at stake — are quite different.

For instance, think about a situation where Squiggly and Aardvark are talking about how much they each want a chocolate bar, and they generally keep chocolate bars in the pantry.  If Squiggly tells Aardvark there are no more chocolate bars in the pantry despite knowing full well there's one  left, Squiggly asserts something that is patently false — in other words, Squiggly is lying so he can grab the chocolate bar for himself later.

In contrast, Squiggly is only misleading Aardvark if he says something that is not itself false — for example, instead he might emphasize that there are cookies left to lead Aardvark to the conclusion, indirectly, that there are no chocolate bars left, only cookies. 

Why is this difference important?  Because lies come with greater costs to your reputation, while everyone from sneaky children to crafty politicians can maintain plausible deniability when "truthfully" misleading others.  In short, being just misleading gives someone a weasely out that lying doesn’t. 

How can something be deceptively truthful?

The trick is in the linguistics of how something is phrased.  Because lies require speakers to explicitly say something they know is false, it is hard to deny if caught in that lie.  So, if Squiggly says he did not eat the chocolate bar, but Aardvark saw him eating the chocolate bar, then he is pretty much busted. The consequence being that his standing as a trustworthy and reliable speaker will be knocked down a peg or two, not to mention that Aardvark will start hiding his Kit Kats when Squiggly is around.

However...

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6 Tips to Reduce Vaginal Pain

Today we are going to discuss Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder, or GPPPD. It's a relatively new diagnostic category of female sexual dysfunction, first introduced in 2013.

GPPPD reflects the combination of two older categories of female sexual dysfunction, dyspareunia and vaginismus, into one entity. Dyspareunia is pelvic pain during or after sexual intercourse and vaginismus is an involuntary spasm of the musculature surrounding the vagina causing it to close, resulting in penetration being difficult, painful, or impossible.

It’s estimated that the prevalence of GPPPD is around 15% in North America, but some research supports higher estimates. It should be noted that many people don’t report their vaginal pain during intercourse. In fact, one study found that only about 51% told their partners about vaginal pain and that mild to moderate pain was unlikely to be enough to get them to speak up to their partners. However, even mild pain can disrupt sexual satisfaction and pleasure.

What are the symptoms of GPPPD?

The diagnostic criteria for GPPPD include persistent or recurrent difficulties with one (or more) of the following:

1. Vaginal penetration during intercourse.
2. Marked vulvovaginal or pelvic pain during vaginal intercourse or penetration attempts.
3. Marked fear or anxiety about vulvovaginal or pelvic pain in anticipation of, during, or as a result of vaginal penetration.
4. Marked tensing or tightening of the pelvic floor muscles during attempted vaginal penetration.

Keep in mind that penetration can be sexual penetration like intercourse or finger stimulation or non-sexual like gynecological examinations or tampon insertion. A person may struggle in all situations or may notice difficulty in one area and not another. The pain can be more superficial (closer to the opening of the vagina) or deeper in the pelvic region. Some may find that the pain lingers after sexual intercourse is over. The pain in GPPPD can be described as “burning,” “shooting,” “cutting,” or “throbbing.” Some may note a sense of heat or irritation. These issues persist for 6 months or more.

For those who have deal with this situation persistently, it can lead to avoidance of and anxiety about sexual interactions. In terms of criteria 4, the tensing and tightening during attempted vaginal penetration can be involuntary spasms or “normal/voluntary” guarding due to anticipated or repeated pain or the anxiety and fear regarding pain.

Even when sexual desire and interest is preserved, many find that they still avoid sexual opportunities, and as a result may experience relational issues.

How can GPPPD be treated?

The etiology of GPPPD is not well known and it remains under-researched...

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How to Write Percents

First let's get our terminology right. In some cases "percent" and "percentage" can be interchangeable, but the easiest way to choose the right word for the right situation is to use "percent" with a number and "percentage" without a number. Examples:

"Percentage" without a number: What percentage of the chocolate was missing? 

"Percent" with a number: Forty percent of the chocolate was missing 

'Percent' Versus 'Per Cent'

In American English, when you write out the word "percent," it's one word.

It's more common to see the two-word version — "per cent" — in British English. The one-word version is definitely gaining ground in Britain, but the two-word form is still more common. 

The evolution of the word is kind of interesting. It started out as the two-word Latin phrase "per centum," which means "by the hundred," and over the years got shortened to the two-word English version with a period after "cent" to show that it was an abbreviation of "centum," then appeared as two words without a period, and is now quite established as a single English word.

Singular or Plural?

Sometimes people ask whether percentages are singular or plural, and as is so often the case, the answer is "It depends." If you're referring to a percentage of something, then that something determines whether you use a singular or plural verb. (In technical terms, that "something" is called the object of the preposition. The preposition is the word "of.") Here are two examples:

"Forty percent of the chocolate is missing." (In that sentence, "the chocolate" is singular so you use a singular verb: "is.") 

"Forty percent of the chocolate chips are missing." (In that...

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How Much Water Do You Really Need To Drink?

Cheryl writes:

"I’m hearing more and more about links between dehydration and reduced brain function. Does the news coverage of this topic amount to scaremongering, or do we all need to a concerted effort to drink more water?"

In the last ten years or so, a number of studies have looked at the effects of dehydration on various aspects of brain function, including concentration, memory, and processing speed—as well as more subjective things like mood and fatigue. And the research suggests that even relatively mild dehydration can have a measurable impact on how well your brain functions.

And that's not all. Dehydration can cause also headaches, constipation, and reduced athletic performance. 

Staying hydrated is obviously important. But you may be surprised to find out how much water it takes to do that.

Are you chronically dehydrated?

A while back, I got an email from a blogger asking me to contribute to a post he was doing on ways to drink more water.

“My reason for doing this post,” he wrote, “is the scary fact that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. I'm hoping to create ‘dehydration awareness’ and provide inspiration for people to drink more water.”

(This blogger also happens to operate a website in which he sells lots of water-related products through affiliate links, but I’m sure that’s neither here nor there…)

I declined to participate in the post but I was curious about the claim that three-quarters of Americans are chronically dehydrated. A quick Google search shows this exact claim repeated all over the web (although not by any terribly reliable websites).

The original source for this “scary fact” appears to be a 2013 segment on a CBS affiliate station in Miami, in which they reported that “up to 75 percent of Americans may be functioning in a chronic state of dehydration, according to new research.”

No further details about this research are given, so there’s no way to check who did this research and what they actually found. And yet it seems to be in permanent circulation on the web as an established fact. Well, it may be established, but it is not a fact.

How much water does it take to stay hydrated?

The National Academy of Medicine is the institution responsible for setting our dietary reference intakes, or DRIs. But establishing a recommended daily water intake turns out to be really tricky, because there are so many variables, including your body size, the temperature and humidity of your environment, and your level of physical activity. These factors could...

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Ready for Homeownership? 8 Steps to Prepare Your Finances

Buying a home is a huge, expensive decision, no matter if you're a first-time homebuyer or have been buying and selling real estate for decades. Homeownership comes with financial upsides and risks, and for many people, it's an emotional transaction as well.

So how do you get fully prepared to buy a home? Getting ready should begin long before you start scrolling through online listings, going to open houses, or working with a real estate agent.

Today, I'll help you understand if homeownership is right for you, how much you can afford, ways to save for a down payment, and tips to get the most affordable mortgage possible. The more you know about the home buying process and prepare for it, the cheaper and less stressful it will be.

Here's more about each step you can use to prepare your finances to buy a home.

1. Evaluate renting versus buying

Before you start obsessively searching for your dream home, the first step is to make sure owning a home is the right move for you. There's no financial rule that says you must buy a home. In some cases, you're better off not becoming a homeowner.

In general, it's not wise to buy a home unless you're confident you will live in it for at least three years.

Whether you should own or rent depends on various factors, including:

• Where you want to live. If you're in a large city, renting can be much less expensive than buying a home. 
   
• How long you plan to live somewhere. In general, it's not wise to buy a home unless you're confident you will live in it for at least three years. That gives you enough time to recuperate your buying costs and prepare to sell the property.
   
• What lifestyle you enjoy. For many people, being a homeowner allows them to enjoy hobbies, such as gardening or home remodeling, which they couldn't do as a renter. But renting may be more appealing to those who travel frequently or don't want to be responsible for the upkeep...

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How HIIT Can Improve Your Run Time

I received a question from listener Alex from Austin, Texas recently about the best way to improve his run time. Alex shared in his email that he’ll be running his first 10K race in about 8 weeks and wanted to know if I had any suggestions that’ll help give him a performance boost.  

I was pretty excited to get this question! When I was a U.S. army physical therapist and Master Fitness Trainer, I did a lot of work helping people improve their running performance. It was my favorite part of the job and a topic I enjoyed reading research about. 

There’s evidence supporting resistance training, plyometric training, high-intensity interval training, altitude training, and even nutritional interventions such as caffeine intake as effective means of improving endurance performance. 

But if I had to choose only one of these approaches, I would choose high-intensity interval training—known as HIIT—hands down. The concept of HIIT is simple: you alternate between exerting high-level and low-level effort.

Not only is HIIT easy to implement into any endurance training program, its effectiveness is also well supported by research. Remarkably, participants in one study more than doubled their “time until exhaustion” on an endurance test after only two weeks of HIIT.

Japanese researcher Dr. Izumi Tabata was among the first to recognize the special benefits of high-intensity training. While studying the workout routines of Olympic speed skaters in the mid-1990s, he was surprised to discover that those who performed four minutes of higher-intensity exercise produced better results than those who performed an hour of lower-intensity exercise.

Keep listening to find out why HIIT is so effective. Plus, I’ll show you how to improve your run time with a simple HIIT program that you can incorporate into your training routine. 

Why HIIT is effective

As I mentioned earlier, the concept of HIIT is straightforward: you...

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Plant Power: Harness the Power of Plants in Your Diet

For dieters who want to utilize the benefits of fruits, vegetables, and complex carbs—without eliminating the meat, dairy, fish, and fats they love—Dr. Ian K. Smith’s new book Plant Power delivers the most flavorful and favorable plant-based foods to their plates. In a detailed but easy-to-implement four-week program, readers will, day-by-day, flip their diet from 70% meat / 30% plants to 30% meat / 70% plants, leading to natural and pain-free weight loss, keeping them feeling full and satisfied.

Dr. Smith joined QDT for a chat about the research behind Plant Power and the ins-and-outs of a plant-based diet. 

1. What was your motivation behind beginning your research into the power of plants and plant-based diets? Do you follow this diet yourself?

I had been thinking for some time that while I love meat, I have been eating too much of it. I had been reducing my red meat intake in an informal way, but I wanted to get serious about it.  I didn’t want to give up all of my meat and seafood, but I did want to be more cognizant of the quantities I consumed.  I had obviously been well versed in the enormous amount of health benefits from plants, but I really hadn’t made a significant adjustment to match that knowledge. So I decided to formalize my transition from a heavily meat or animal based diet to one that was more plant based. I didn’t want to become a vegan or vegetarian, but I wanted the benefits of eating that way sometimes and the option to eat meat and seafood when I felt the urge. So over a 4-week period I gradually shifted my diet to being more plant based, and it went well and has become my new way of eating.

2. Are there any proteins that are only found in animals and fish that are important for humans to digest? I'm thinking of B12, which is easily accessible in supplement form for those that choose not to eat meat. Are there any other examples of that type of protein, and what are the alternatives? 

There has been a raging debate for years about which is better, plant protein or animal protein.  For my money, the two are basically interchangeable except for the issue when you talk about complete protein (having all of the essential amino acids in the protein).  Many plants don’t have complete protein, but this won’t have an realistic impact on the average person.  Bodybuilders and heavy weightlifters might be able to construct and argument as to why they need the complete protein from animal products, but note there are some plants that actually have complete protein also.

...

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Audio Excerpt of Four Treasures of the Sky

A propulsive and dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West. 

Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and forced across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story.\

At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.  

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How to Dial Up Your Confidence

Is there something, professionally speaking, that you’ve been afraid to chase? Maybe you keep putting off applying for that big job, or pitching the idea, or asking that leader to be your mentor.

 

What’s holding you back? It may be Imposter Syndrome, a false belief that you just aren’t worthy of that opportunity. Or it may be that you’re battling a confidence problem, which is a belief about what you can do or what you’re capable of.

 

So how do you know which is holding you back? My suggestion is to give your inner voice a listen. It may be saying “You should never apply for that job—you’re not worthy of it, or smart enough, or as good as other applicants.” Or its point of view may be “You can’t apply until you have X experience or certification or practice under your belt.”

 

Hear the difference?

 

That first voice is an assessment of you—you simply aren’t enough. That’s what Imposter Syndrome sounds like. And it’s pretty nasty. And also wrong.

 

The second voice is conditional—the obstacle isn’t who you are but what capability or experience you currently have. That’s a confidence issue. 

 

At times you may battle both. But today we’re focusing on what to do when Voice #2 chimes in. What actions can you take to dial up your sense of confidence?

1. Note the cost

When our confidence is low, it’s just easier to not do the thing. But the question is—what is that inaction costing you?

 

I’m not the world’s best driver. I drive, generally, but I don’t drive in New York City. I know I could… but my confidence is low. The good news is the cost of this choice is also low—meaning there are other alternatives like mass transit available.  

 

In other cases, the cost of inaction is unjustifiably high. The thing you’re not doing—posting for the job, asking for the mentor—what’s it costing you? What are you missing out on? More money, more prestige, more engagement, more learning, more feedback and connection? And what is that worth?

 

Getting real with yourself about the cost of inaction often provides the critical motivation you need to take action.

2. Assess your experience

I lack the confidence to fly a plane or perform surgery. This is just appropriate, and if you ever see me coming your way with a scalpel in hand, I’d advise you...

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How to Listen So Your Child Feels Heard

I’ve introduced this audience to a handful of the parenting and communication approaches that inspire my psychotherapeutic work with parents. A central theme among them is sensitivity to a child’s inner experience—their thoughts, feelings, and intentions and how they motivate your child’s external behavior. When you are skilled in the mental process of sensing into your own and your child’s mind—and what your two minds are doing together—the more easily you can interpret and predict your own behavior and theirs.

When your perceptions are generally accurate, your internal response and outward actions will generally match up with your child’s inner experience of themselves, of you, and of the interaction between you. Most importantly, when you’re able to imagine your child’s mind accurately more often than not, and verbally or nonverbally reflect back to them your understanding of their internal experience, your child feels felt by you.

Your capacity to do this complex mental maneuver is called reflective functioning. Your skills in this area depend on the reflective functioning skills of your early significant caregivers and their ability to use them to understand your inner experience and communicate that understanding to you. Your child’s development of reflective function is in turn influenced by yours.

A great practice for building reflective functioning skills in both you and your child is active listening. The concept for this kind of communication skill was conceived by psychologist Dr. Carl Rogers and was incorporated into many psychotherapy modalities. Active listening can help you understand your child, and ultimately help your child understand themselves.

Criticizing, judging, and commanding shuts down conversation.

Active listening reduces messages that convey unacceptance

Dr. Thomas Gordon, a mentee and student of Dr. Rogers and creator of the Parent Effectiveness Training program, reminds parents of the importance of acceptance in the parent-child relationship. You might think you’re helping your child do better in the future by telling them what you don’t accept about them right now. Quite the contrary, says Dr. Gordon. Criticizing, judging, and commanding shuts down conversation. These “communication roadblocks” compel kids to distance themselves from you and keep their problems and feelings to themselves.

On the other hand, when your child knows that you’ll truly accept them no matter what—just as they are—that knowledge frees...

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3 Issues Affecting Women's Mental Health Today

This episode is for women—cis women, trans women, BIPOC women, all women—because there is a lot happening in the United States and the world right now that could be negatively impacting folks' mental health. I'm going to talk about a few big things happening and why you should be aware of them.

Let’s start with abortion rights. In the US, several states have been enacting laws to limit access to abortion. Perhaps we have all forgotten what it was like in the before times when abortion was illegal, but let’s run through some facts that we know from research. Approximately one-quarter of women will have had an abortion by the time they are 45-years-old. In the past, when abortion was illegal, women engaged in unsafe abortions, which were colloquially referred to as “back-alley abortions,” or engaged in other harmful self practices in order to lose the child. Can you imagine the “How to Perform Your Own Abortion” TikToks that would blow up our social media? A recent study found that the vast majority of abortions were safe in countries where it was broadly legal and unsafe in countries where laws were highly restrictive. We could assume that the number of unsafe abortions will increase as restrictions increase. When we know that nearly a fourth of women will seek an abortion at some point in their lives, that could be devastating! We also live in a country that has limits on safer sex education in schools and abstinence-only education isn’t really effective, which doesn't help the situation.

You might be thinking—okay, Dr. Johnson, what's that have to do with mental health? Women who are denied abortions are more likely to experience lower self-esteem, lower life satisfaction, and increased anxiety than those that are able to receive one. Additionally, we don’t always take into account the life of the mother and the child once they are in the world. There are continued health and economic consequences which I have seen personally and professionally.

Let me give some color to this story. I am a cis-gendered woman and I was born into poverty in the South. My mother used to say, “we are not poor, we are po—we can’t afford the o and the r” My mother’s greatest fear for me as a child was that I would become pregnant as a teenager. We saw it every day in our environment. However, I had a fascination with reading at an early age, and she made sure the only thing I spread was the pages of a book. She also gave me appropriate sex education and when she dropped me off for my first day of college, she had my older brother slip me a CVS bag full of condoms. My mother was not playing around! She was not an educated woman, but she was clever. She understood all too well the effects unwanted and/or unplanned pregnancies could have on a person.

Research shows that experiencing unwanted pregnancies appears to be strongly...

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