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For a few days each month, about 85% of women on their periods find themselves suffering from at least one PMS symptom. Whether it’s cramps that interfere with gym time or mood swings that take a toll on your social life, these symptoms can throw a wrench into our routines.

While exercise can do amazing things, we can’t ignore how powerful our diets are. On our periods, we crave things like chocolate, sugar, and salt in an attempt to meet our body’s fuel needs while it’s shedding its uterine lining, which is no easy task! We reward our body for its impressive feats with junk food -- but healthy foods are the real gold medal we should be awarding.

Keep your iron levels high. About 20% of menstruating women report iron deficiency -- a problem that’s notorious around that time of the month. Red meats will help you replenish your iron stores, so don’t be afraid to treat yourself to a burger or steak right before your period starts.

Look out for your other levels, too. Iron isn’t the only nutrient that women are often missing. Women in one study got at 1,200 mg per day reported a 48% reduction in their PMS symptoms. Loading up on almonds, broccoli, and a little dairy will help you hit this goal.

Beat the bloat. Caffeine, carbonation, and alcohol will bloat and irritate your stomach, elevating the pain that period cramps already cause.

As always, stay hydrated. A family-sized bag of potato chips may sound like the only cure for your cravings, but make sure you’re not just thirsty. We often crave salt as a way to help us retain water when we’re too dehydrated. Pass the giant pretzel in favor of a bottle of water.

Feed your placebo. Sometimes, even the thought of scarfing down a bowl of mashed potatoes is enough to make your body feel better. Swap out the starchy potatoes for cauliflower, or substitute other healthy options for your favorite comfort food recipes to keep your mind and body happy.

Avoid simple carbohydrates. Complex carbs like beans and whole grains will give you more energy than potatoes and white bread. Your skin is more likely to stay clear if you’re avoiding simple carbs, too.

With temperatures skyrocketing, it becomes even tougher to motivate yourself to hit the gym. Heat makes you lethargic just as summer opens up a whole new world of workouts and recreational activities to get you active. Keep in mind a few things to make the most of your summer exercise routine.

Electrolytes and water.
Pay attention to how much water you drink, and try to keep it above eight cups a day if you’re active. While hydrating more often is vital for sweaty summer workouts, you sweat more than just water. Electrolytes like sodium, chloride, potassium, and magnesium also need to be replenished. You might be tempted to grab a sugary sports drink to replace those electrolytes, but eating a banana or avocado and not restricting your salt intake works just as well.

Time of day.
If you can rise early, do any outdoor workouts before the sun breaks the horizon. For night owls, get active after the sun sets, but keep in mind that it’ll be cooler in the mornings. If the heat is still too much for you, try splitting up your workouts between the morning and evening. You’ll be much less likely to get overheated with these shortened bursts of exercise.

Summer wardrobe.
Pack away your dark clothes, because you’ll want to wear light colors like white for the foreseeable future. While black absorbs heat, white reflects all light wavelengths. To stay cool and avoid skin irritation, throw on looser clothes than you would normally wear. Wicking material will also repel sweat from your skin, keeping you from drowning in sweat and keeping your body cool.

Tailor your workout to the weather.
Not every summer day will be miserably hot, so you’ll be able to schedule some intramural games, running, or yoga in the park. For the insanely humid, blistering days, try biking or water sports. It’s a great excuse to crosstrain and mix up your workouts.

Get inside.
Some days it’ll just be too hot to do much outside. If you don’t feel like spending much on a gym membership or indoor classes, make sure you’re prepared so you don’t have to skip a workout. Grab some exercise DVDs or look up free workouts on YouTube. If you’ve got a mat and some free weights at home, you’ll have plenty of routines to choose from.

We always love seeing our customers wearing their ENELL bras while doing their favorite activities. We've never seen someone working on aerial silks (cirque-style) before in their ENELL so we were excited to see supermodel Ashley Graham doing just that on Instagram:

Getting ready for Cirque du Soleil auditions💥 @rockitaerials

Post udostępniony przez A S H L E Y G R A H A M (@theashleygraham) 22 Lip, 2017 o 11:37 PDT

The ENELL SPORT and LITE bras are both good for aerial work and inversions because they encapsulate and compress the breasts. The higher neckline of the SPORT helps contain the breasts, even when upside down (because we know they may have a tendency to smack you in the face otherwise!) The wide, no-slip straps add an extra layer of security and support. The LITE offers the same encapsulation and no-slip straps, but the cut is slightly lower in the front.

While this is the first spotting of cirque work in ENELL, this isn't the first time we've seen ENELL in the air! Check out our friend CC, who gave aerial yoga a spin in her Bicsay Green ENELL SPORT bra

I channeled my inner @rozthediva today and rocked a workout without my shirt on. First time at aerial yoga and I did NOT fall!!! PS, thank you @enellsportsbras for supporting me, even when I'm upside down!

Post udostępniony przez CC (@sisiroe) 16 Paź, 2016 o 3:54 PDT

Prefer to stay on the ground? Here are 5 more types of yoga you could try:

You’ve either fully embraced yoga and have your favorite form, studio, teacher, and asana. Or, you still don’t quite understand the point and steer very clear; except, they are on to something with those pants! Either way, there’s so much more to this practice than meets the eye. Yoga is truly a layer cake that offers a style to suit any practitioner, and once you find what’s right for you, there is an exhaustive list of benefits in store.

Strength, peace of mind, detoxification of organs, and flexibility are just a few ways in which your wellness will improve with yoga, offers up Brendon Payne, a certified yoga teacher who founded Sequel Life Fitness. Further, he says the flexibility shouldn’t be a turn-off either. It’s not a prerequisite for your yoga classes. “Yoga is not based on flexibility. Yoga is most often focused on breath work.”

Whether you’ve been on the mat a while, or are starting to come around to the idea, there are a few yoga styles worth considering, and Payne has outlined those for us. Get the ultimate yoga experience and try each or some of these.

Yin: This may be the style most people think of when they think yoga, suggests Payne, who says Yin is very calming, peaceful, and gentle on the body. It’s ideal for newbies, and can also be very effective for athletes as a recovery method thanks to the slow, lengthy stretches it employs.

Vinyasa: Common on many studio schedules, this is a great style to graduate to once you grasp the basics. This Sanskrit word means connection, defines Payne, who explains that, like most styles, the breath is very important here. “Students practicing this style move with their breath in a very fluid motion. Hence the common nickname Flow Yoga.”

Ashtanga: This style is known for building an intense internal heat with a progressive series of postures that allow you to work up a quick detoxifying sweat, explains Payne. If weight loss or a hearty calorie burn is what you’re after, this may be the class for you.

Bikram: This is the hot yoga that has become quite popular in the U.S., created by Bikram Choudhury. It’s unique in that it consists of a set sequence of 26 postures, that Payne explains “works through the entire body, from the inside out to ensure maximum function of the human body.”

Hatha: Hatha yoga refers to any series of asanas designed to align the body and calls us to focus more on the breath in order to be still in these postures, explains Payne. This style is ideal for those looking to disconnect from stress, reconnect with themselves, or simply rehabilitate worn, tired muscles.

After a day of roasting by the pool, the last thing you want to feel on your face is scorching oven heat. It’s already tough enough to keep up with air conditioning bills without worrying about a 400 degree oven.

You may be looking for a poolside treat or something to bake while you’re quarantined from UV rays after your first brutal summer sunburn. Regardless, try these no bake options before you pull out the oven mitts.

Brownie bites. These bites do the impossible by making a vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free way to have a quick, healthy dessert. They’re also easy to pack up on-the-go if you’re taking them to a party or event.

No bake cookies. Retaining the traditional no bake ingredients of peanut butter, chocolate, and oatmeal, these cookies make a name for themselves by staying delicious without sugar.

Cheesecake. When it comes to cheesecakes, you’ve usually got to sacrifice either time or healthiness. However, this no bake recipe balances both by using low-fat cream cheese and thick Greek yogurt. The result is a 15-minute, lower calorie, mouthwatering dessert.

Apple crumble. Rocking the underappreciated healthy fats, this is a unique crumble because it’s not baked. It’s also full of more fiber and protein than the average crumble, and these nutrients will ensure you’ve got the energy to really enjoy a summer day.

Raspberry fool. This lesser known dessert is a changeup on a traditional English favorite. Using yogurt instead of whipped cream, it’ll taste about the same, and it’s loaded with antioxidants and probiotics.

Cannoli cream pie cups. These cannolis are proof that any desserts can be healthy with a little mindfulness about the ingredients. Low-fat ricotta cheese, light Cool Whip, and mini fillo shells instead of a deep fried cannoli shell bump the calories down a few notches. Use fruit instead of chocolate chips if you want it go even further. Using blueberries and strawberries could also make it the perfect last-minute Labor Day party snack.

Frozen fruit pops. These pops are easy for kids to eat and nostalgic for adults while remaining healthy and fresh. They’re also pretty much entirely made of fruit and only about 32 calories. If you’ve got a long day at the pool planned, this boost will keep your blood sugar going strong.

Lake trips, nights out on the town, and outdoor adventures with your friends are inevitable during the summer. But some may worry they’re using their free time for too much play and not enough work; the American way, eh?

According to one study that surveyed over 270,000 adults about how they value their friendships, hanging out with your crew might be more than just a fun way to pass the time. The study revealed that pouring your time and effort into your friendships leads to improved health, happiness, and wellbeing, especially for older adults.

Even if you’re close with your family, friendships come out on top when it comes to your overall wellbeing. Maintaining supportive friendships as you age is a better predictor of wellbeing than how strong your family connections are. These benefits don’t just come from expanding your social circle. You could have fifty friends who you interact with on a shallow, occasional level, but you still won’t reap as many benefits as the person with a tight-knit group of two or three friends.

Anthropologist and researcher Robin Dunbar says we’ve got about five people in our closest inner circle of friendship, and another 10 people in the one just beyond that. So the average squad may only have four or five members, but it’s up to that group to keep up a healthy brain and thriving emotional state when you age.

Friendships have an important impact on mental health, but their influence on your physical condition can be just as big. A study revealed that people reported their friends as a source of stress in their lives also reported more chronic illnesses. This also means that positive friendships can make quite a difference. Something as simple as a hug can slow your heart rate and decrease blood pressure.

Whether they’re family, friends, or significant others, it’s important for us to have comfortable, positive interactions with people rather than trudging through days filled with mundane or stressful routines. So enjoy a guilt-free brunch and mimosas with your besties over a chore-filled morning every once in awhile... your brain and body will thank you for it!

Whether it’s traveling to a beach on the other side of the world or exploring a part of your state that you’ve never seen, summer inspires movement and adventure. However, both travel and trips to the beach and pool rack up a lot of downtime. Keep yourself from getting restless by plugging into these podcasts to boost mindfulness and your fitness IQ.

Running With Police Escort

Proclaimed as a running podcast for those “in the back of the pack,” host Jill Grunewald interviews self-professed slow runners. Jill’s recently released book tells her own fitness story and how she faced her fears to start running.

300 Pounds and Running

Host Martinus Evans challenges people who think they’re too fat or slow to run in his podcast filled with running tips, advice, and inspiration. As a heavier runner, Martinus has run everything from 5ks to marathons, so he knows what it’s like to start from square one. His free ebook acts as a companion to his podcast.

Ten Junk Miles

If you’ve got some free time from traveling but you’re still craving podcast time, try going for a run with this podcast. The hosts include trail, road, and ultra runners who act as your running companions. They talk about their lives as runners in ten segments -- one for each mile of a run.

The Joe Rogan Experience

While this podcast and its host may be known for comedy, Joe often invites members of the fitness community for a blend of humor and health advice. His recent guests include a holistic women’s health psychiatrist, a bowhunting athlete, and a hiker. As a retired martial artist, Joe has a bit of a fitness background himself.

The FitCast

This catchall fitness podcast, hosted by Kevin Larrabee, covers just about everything you’ve wanted to know about getting and keeping a healthy body. Kevin invites top experts from a wide range of fitness fields to tell all in these long, in-depth episodes.

Nutrition Diva

While you’re loading up on fitness tips and inspiration, don’t forget the fuel you need to stay active. Host Monica Reinagel guides those who are sick of sifting through nutrition myths and truths on their own. She debunks food “facts” and provides simple, realistic ways to shift your diet for the better.

When the summer sun finally pokes out, its rays beat down, demanding attention. While you may be ready to play outdoors, your body and hygiene routines might still be stuck in hibernation. The heat, sweat, and sun warrant at least a few changes in how you take care of your skin, hair, and even clothes!

Lose the tight bun.

Your hair will already be sensitive from sun and heat exposure, making it easy to tear and break. Avoid constricting ponytails and buns, opting for a loose braid instead.

Oil up.

Pass on the baby oil and pick out a natural oil to rub on your skin and hair. Using avocado, almond, jojoba, argan, or coconut oil will create a protective layer that limits chlorine absorption.

Use sunscreen everywhere.

Common sense says to load up on sunscreen for your skin, but your hair needs some attention, too. While you can add protein mixes or other products to damaged hair, prevention is the only way to truly have healthy hair.

Find the right sunscreen.

If you’re prone to breakouts, look for a non-comedogenic sunscreen that’s made to leave your pores unclogged. Sunscreens with zinc titanium can also dry your skin out a bit, making it a good fit for oily skin.

Add electrolytes.

Heat means sweat which means dehydration. Keep a bottle near you that’s half filled with water and half filled with citrus juice. Add a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon of honey and you’ll be happily hydrated.

Treat your swimsuit right.

Whether you’ve splurged on a designer onesie or are returning to your trusty bikini, the way you wash your suit matters. As soon as you get back, toss it in cold water and add a cap of detergent or vinegar. Soak it for half an hour, rinse, and pat it dry with a towel.

Don’t neglect your bras.

You’re sure to be sweating more in summer temperatures, especially in the middle of a workout. Use Soak Wash to keep your ENELL bra fresh and lasting longer. If you’re sick of hand washing your swimsuits this summer, you can machine wash your bras with Soak.

Mind over matter may sound cliche, but there’s a reason we hear phrases like this so much. This idea plays a key role even in pop culture where jedi mastering a mystical power with their minds and clever, plucky heroes defeat strong, invincible super villains. However, in our fitness life, we tend to put all of our energy into sculpting our body, forgetting just how intertwined our mind is in our fitness.

When you’re pounding out some heavy reps and all you can think about is that fight with your friend, it’s difficult to push yourself physically. Pacing properly in a long distance run is nearly impossible when you can’t focus on your steps and breathing.

Meditation guides your attention, whether it’s alone in a quiet dark room or in the middle of the day while you’re doing sprints. Not only will meditation help you perform better, it will also supplement workout benefits for your body. Lowered blood pressure, anxiety, and cortisol levels are short-term meditation benefits.

Beginners may find that meditating feels foreign, awkward, or that they’re just not good at clearing their mind. Guided meditations are the perfect way to ease into the world of mindfulness. Apps like Headspace offer programs that promise to make you worry less, smile more, and sleep better. You can also find a handful of free videos and written guides that will help you tap into your zen.

Look out for ways to fit meditation into your summer schedule!

Running. Rather than focusing on the pain, use a guided running meditation soundtrack to pull you through. Plus, you’ll be knocking out your brain and body excercise at once.

By the water. Whether you’re laying on the beach or lounging in a pool chair, pop on headphones and a meditation program. You can time your tanning by picking the right program lengths!

At the airport. Try to name a place off the top of your head that’s more stressful than an airport. If there’s anywhere you could use a lower blood pressure and soothing thoughts, it’s while waiting during a four-hour layover.

On the road. This has the potential to be even more aggravating than the airport. But a focused meditation in the car is a good way to start a trip or commute on the right foot.

The great outdoors. It’s tough to find a location more silent and calming than on the top of a mountain or by a stream in the woods. Hike out your frustrations and treat yourself to a quiet, classic round of meditating in nature.

Traffic jams, encroaching deadlines, and fighting with your significant other are tricky, unavoidable side effects of life. While these stressors are common and to be expected, they build up fast, and with this buildup comes stress that can hurt our bodies and wreck our mental health.

Stress is your body’s natural response to danger, so it has its value because it’s helped humanity evade harm. However, just like carbs, even too much of a natural thing is bad. Whether you’re in an accident or just anxious about giving a speech, your body produces cortisol, the stress hormone. It’s useful for breaking down glycogen to release energy bursts meant to help you handle a stressful situation. You’ve probably heard this response referred to as the fight or flight instinct. It’s that heightened terror you feel when you oversleep or realize you left your straightener on.

Unfortunately, it’s not totally socially acceptable to run from or fight an awkward date that’s made you stressed. By keeping your natural instincts in check, you’re stuck with high cortisol levels that you’re not releasing, making it easy for your liver to get overloaded. Apart from all the health problems this causes, perpetual stress just feels terrible.

Now, while you may not be able to let out your instincts immediately, choosing an aggressive workout routine allows you to flex your natural fight or flight response. Exercise releases some cortisol depending on how intense it is and how long you go. Rather than lifting weights or jogging, high intensity workouts release other hormones that battle stress and promote weight loss.

More aggressive exercises that mimic our instinctual fight or flight responses release these hormones in an attempt to fuel you with more energy and power. Plus, punching something a lot feels amazing after a long day at work!

Aggression in your workouts also get your head in the right space for de-stressing. A kickboxing workout requires focus and discipline, freeing your mind from dwelling on whatever problems that cloud your mind. A study showed that kickboxing significantly improves positive engagement and tranquility scales. And, kickboxing and other intense workouts often serve as both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

The drumstick workout Pound Fit is the perfect de-stressor. The music and focused movements occupy your mind while the high intensity and full body motions will expel your cortisol.

Regardless of the aggressive workout you choose, as long as you keep your thoughts positive, you’ll be good. Enter the gym with the mindset of releasing your stress and anger rather than visualizing and trying to hurt the things causing your stress.

The fat jokes and body shaming have officially gone too far. What may feel well intentioned, or maybe flat out aimed to criticize, has far greater ramifications than the “sticks and stones” variety. Those words won’t break bones, but they can damage hearts.

A new study out of the University of Pennsylvania found that there is a significant relationship between weight bias internalization, applying negative weight stereotypes to oneself, and a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.

When someone hears that they are fat, overweight,  or other statements that make them feel shame about their body, they identify as lazy, unattractive, or completely at fault for their excess weight. “When people feel shamed because of their weight, they are more likely to avoid exercise and consume more calories to cope with this stress,” said lead researcher Rebecca Pearl, PhD.

The study included 159 adults. Those with high internalization were three times more likely to have metabolic syndrome, which is a group of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. They were six times more likely to have high triglycerides.

Similar studies have found other negative health effects when participants are exposed to weight bias, like physiological stress that increases inflammation and cortisol, overeating, and avoidance of physical activity.

When you know better, you have to do better. Blaming and shaming is not effective for promoting weight loss, whether it’s an exchange with a friend or loved one, messages from a marketing campaign, or from a physician. These prejudicial messages are, in fact, contributing to poorer health in those who can’t afford any more hits, said study co-author Tom Wadden, PhD.

Study researchers recommend a few ways to engage that might actually help these individuals:

• Respect
• Sensitivity
• No Judgement
• Support
• Encouragement

So basically: Treating them however you would like to be treated. 

They specifically note the importance of healthcare providers extending these principles to their patients. Imagine how damaging it can be when the one person who is supposed to be helping you seems to only contribute to the problem.

It seems like the kind of thing we learned under the golden rule at our earliest ages, but maybe seem to forget or lose sight up. Speak with kindness to one another, especially those who need our help the most. Obese individuals come into their weight for myriad reasons — some of which they can control, some they can’t. On the surface you can’t know the difference, and at the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter.

If you’ve ever tried to donate blood or even gotten your blood tested at a doctor’s appointment, you might’ve received a mundane warning about how low your iron levels are. You may shrug it off, but a World Health Organization (WHO) report claims that iron deficiency is a global issue due to the fact that 80 percent of people don’t have enough iron.

Every time you take a breath, you’re using the iron in your red blood cells to move oxygen from your lungs through your body. If you’re lacking iron, you’re lacking oxygen, meaning that beginner’s yoga class is going to leave you winded, regardless of how fit you are.

While men only need about 10 mg of iron every day, menstruating women should be taking in at least 15 mg. This level is tougher for women to achieve than men. Periods cause women’s iron levels to plummet, explaining why around 1 in 5 women of childbearing age are iron deficient.

Our dieting culture has even taken a shot at our iron levels, pushing eating habits that make it tough to reach that daily iron goal. If you’re following a low-fat diet, you’re probably missing out on the biggest iron-rich foods-- meat. Do your iron levels a favor and order a side of bacon with your next Sunday brunch.

People may turn immediately to iron-rich vegetables in order to avoid high-fat meat. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach, but it’s important to know that there are two types of iron--heme and non-heme. Plants mostly contain non-heme iron while meat has about 40-45 percent heme iron, especially red meat. Our bodies absorb heme iron much more easily than non-heme, making it the best source of iron for the dietary deficient.

Most supplements contain non-heme iron, making a juicy burger a staple of your new weekly meal prep. For vegans and vegetarians, be sure to eat extra helpings of iron-rich veggies. Too much fiber also slows your body’s iron absorption, meaning you’ll need to throw back even more of those high-fat options to meet your iron requirements.

There’s no blanket solution for iron deficient women. If you’re a meat eater, treat yourself to a steak or Taco Tuesday a little more often. Vegetarians and vegans, pile that plate with extra servings of, you guessed it, kale.