Running stark naked into the ocean in winter might seem loopy. But a new Scandinavian study (where else?) found that cold-water immersion followed by hot sauna recovery can give you an advantage when it comes to losing weight.

In the study, researchers monitored the vitals of a group of young men who had spent at least two years swimming twice a week in cold water and compared them with a non-swimming control group.

They found those who regularly swam then sat in a sauna burned more calories via brown fat (the type that keeps you warm). In short: Cold-water immersion followed by hot sauna bouts can increase energy expenditure and promote weight loss.

If you’re thinking of taking the polar bear plunge this year, consider these tips:
Get naked: Less is more when it comes to clothing. It may keep you toasty on land, but as soon as garments become wet, they cling to skin, making water feel even colder. 
Plug your ears: If you’re prone to “ice cream headaches,” use earplugs to keep freezing water from entering your ear canal.
Skip the shot of whiskey: Booze lowers your body temperature, making cold water tougher to handle.
Practice: Sit in ice baths or take a cold shower for 2-3 minutes in the weeks leading up to the plunge.
See your doc: If you have heart issues, check with your physician first, as cold water can cause a spike in heart rate and blood pressure.

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This article was produced in partnership with Healthy Choice.
So, you had an incredible workout, and now it’s time to follow up the effort with a meal to match. But finding the right balance among protein, carbs, fiber, and fats can have you wishing you were hitting the squat rack again instead. Thing is, eating right isn’t as complicated as it might seem. Enjoying a great post-workout meal really just comes down to planning. In fact, no-prep meals like Healthy Choice Max Bowls make it downright simple, not to mention tasty (more on this below).
Step one, according to Scott Tindal, a performance nutrition coach and co-founder and chief nutrition officer at Fuelin, a company that provides personalized, sport-specific nutrition guidance to athletes, suggests identifying the purpose of your workout. “Is it high performance, such as training for a sporting event, or is it focused on body composition? That’s going to dictate overall caloric intake and the way you’re going to feel on a day-to-day basis,” he says.
Before we get into the specifics of what makes a quality post-workout meal, it’s important to understand that your training and nutrition go hand in hand. “The training is only going to be as good as the nutrition that supports it,” Tindal says. “Don’t expect eating more protein to make you some sort of Adonis. You gotta put the work in.”
Here’s how to reach for meals that optimize your body and, as a result, your overall well-being.
1. Look for high-protein foods
While protein isn’t a magic muscle-maker, it is one of the keys to refueling after exercise. For muscle growth, around 1.6 or 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight is recommended. But to avoid undershooting, Tindal suggests going for somewhere around 2 to 2.5 grams per kilogram. When you eat protein, a higher percentage of those calories are used to metabolize what you’re eating (known as the thermic effect of food) than when you eat carbs or fat. Plus, high-protein meals tend to improve feelings of fullness and satiation. With 33 to 34 grams of protein per serving, Healthy Choice Max Bowls are an excellent option to help hit your ideal daily protein quota.
Keep in mind, Tindal says, this formula assumes there aren’t any underlying health conditions that might prevent you from taking in high amounts of protein. If you’re not sure, ask your doctor.
2. Fill up on fiber
Tindal notes that the average daily consumption of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. is low, around 2 or fewer servings per day when it should be between 5 to 9. He advises aiming for 6 servings, or “six fists,” if you need a visual. This will also help you get an optimal amount of fiber in your diet, ideally around 25 grams or more. With ingredients like black beans, roasted sweet corn, red bell peppers, edamame, leafy greens, and zucchini, Healthy Choice Max Bowls are an excellent source of  fiber. Healthy Choice Max Tex Mex Chicken Bowl, for example, has 12 grams.

Healthy Choice Max Tex Mex Chicken Bowl Healthy Choice
3. Top it off with good carbs
After protein, carb-rich foods are going to make up the rest of your caloric intake. Tindal advocates for a carb target that’s balanced with the amount of protein you’re eating—so if you’re aiming for 150 grams of protein, a similar amount of carbs is a good starting point. More importantly, you should focus on whole foods, with “a majority of those carbohydrate sources coming from vegetables and salads,” he says. After veggies, Tindal recommends eating root vegetables and fruit, as well as rice, grains, pulses (think beans, lentils, and peas), and pasta, particularly if you have more body mass and need to consume more carbs to hit your daily quota (2 to 5 grams per kilogram of body weight). Carbs will also prepare your body for tomorrow’s workout by replenishing glycogen stores.
4. Avoid high-fat foods
“Fat is the most calorie-dense macronutrient,” Tindal says. Fats certainly aren’t bad, but they offer the least bang for your buck in terms of helping you feel full and delivering energy. Choose your fats wisely and opt for monounsaturated fats like olive oil, avocados, and almonds along with omega-3 fats found in small, oily fish. Aiming for somewhere around 0.8-to-0.9 grams per kilo of body weight is a good place to start. With just 4 to 7 grams of monounsaturated fat and 9 to 14 grams of fat per serving, Healthy Choice Max Bowls fit the bill.

Healthy Choice
5. Eat complex and complete meals
While improving your body composition and building muscle requires that you burn more calories than you consume, that doesn’t mean you have to be hungry or eat small meals. Oftentimes the opposite is true. “If you’re not eating, then you’re not going to feel good about your training,” Tindal says. This could lead to inconsistencies in your routine, low energy levels, reduced effort and, in turn, prevent you from achieving your workout goals altogether. Tindal says, “If your protein intake is high and you’re eating lots of fruits and vegetables, you will eat a lot of food, probably more food than you’re used to eating.”
6. Save time with the right pre-made meal
Between commuting, work, working out, and your other daily obligations, you likely don’t have time to cook every meal from raw ingredients. But that doesn’t mean you need to succumb to that temptation to order delivery. “You may have no way of quantifying the amount of food or calories you’re eating if you’re eating takeout,” Tindal says. So how do you make eating healthy less of an onerous task? Reach for frozen meals like Healthy Choice Max Bowls, which meet the rest of the above parameters for a healthy, active lifestyle, and are ready in the time it takes to place an order.
For more inspired post-workout meal ideas, visit Healthy Choice.com or shop now on Instacart.

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Eat more vitamin-rich foods and get a daily dose of natural sunlight, and you could gain a fuller head of hair, leaner abs, and more.If you’re like most working Americans, you more or less drag yourself out of bed in the dark, trudge your way to work, then sit in a fluorescent-lit office space for 10 hours, after which you make the same grudging trek back home… in the dark. Sure, this is a morose depiction of day-to-day life—but in winter, this isn’t a far cry from the truth. Problem is, all this time in the dark, or at least away from natural sunlight, is causing many of us to become deficient in vitamin D. And, regardless of whether we’re in a balmy spring, scorching summer, or the dreary, chilly months that stretch from fall to winter, our basic needs don’t change. We desperately need the sunshine vitamin. Here are the 7 most important reasons why.Talk to your doctor about taking a supplement. You want up to but no more than 4,000 IU a day, per the Institute of Medicine. 1. Stronger, healthier teeth More

Perhaps you had a few conversations in the past year you regret. Maybe your friend, neighbor, or family member went apocalyptic, and you matched the intensity. Rosalie Puiman, leadership coach and author of The Mindful Guide to Conflict Resolution, says that doesn’t have to be the case. Here are her top tips on how to argue better and cope with conflict.

1. Drop Your Ego
“If you’re having a tough discussion, especially around politics—and you want to be constructive—let go of the old paradigm of winning and losing,” Puiman says. Don’t argue to win, but rather to explore the intricacies of another person’s perspective. Shifting the narrative lowers the stakes.
2. Be Curious
“A great way in is to ask what the other person’s experiences have been. Be sincere, and share yours, too.” When you disclose something personal and make yourself vulnerable, it can make a divisive topic feel like less of a debate on moral mandates of right and wrong.

3. Tap Into Unsaid Emotions
Polarizing issues can automatically trigger anxiety and defensiveness. “The other person might be scared, angry, hurt, or they don’t feel seen. Identify that and say: ‘Wow, I sense so much pain in your words.’ ” Empathy can steer dialogue into neutral territory.

4. Know When to Walk
It’s okay to cut bait when things aren’t going well. “Say, ‘I think we’re touching on subjects we absolutely disagree on, and I don’t think it’s helpful to our relationship if we continue this.’ ” Changing the topic isn’t copping out.
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Conventional wisdom says that a drink or two after work isn’t bad for you—and might actually help you live longer and keep your heart healthy. But the reality is that the long-term health effects of alcohol are hard to tease out, and there’s lots of conflicting evidence. As more people opt in for dry January […] More