Confessions From A 46 Year Old Woman: Digital Edition

Plus, the health headlines that made me stop scrolling this week.

This is a post about screen time, and here I am posting a selfie. I took it right after filming LIVE with Kelly and Mark when adrenaline + relief were surging. Sometimes social media helps you hold onto a special moment, and I’m grateful for that.

Let’s retire the thumbs-up emoji. It’s giving corporate. It’s giving HR.

Ditto for “OK” as a response. You’re not a bot—you’re allowed to show some personality!

If there’s no exclamation point in my response, then yep, you’re right: something’s up.

I’m aware that my exclamation point practice potentially undermines my credibility…can’t stop, won’t stop!

“Hiii” and “yesss” are reserved for my VIPs. (And all of you Gold Star subscribers.)

But if you’re kind and cool then you’ll definitely get the errant LU (love you) from me.

For a few weeks after I left WH, I experienced phantom Slack syndrome. (I kept picking up my phone to check it, but no Slack.) But that was short-lived: I’m currently on Slack x4.

My most-used emojis? Light blue heart, every star variant, the crying face, and mercury-eyes guy.

Lately I’m into heart hands and the mischivious, nodding-smirk guy. 🙂‍↔️ He makes me feel vaguely rebellious—which tells you everything you need to know about what a straight arrow I am.

And the melting smiley? 🫠 Never a wrong use case.

My phone is still on Do Not Disturb from 9am–5pm. Best boundary I’ve ever set.

The words “spicy,” “juicy,” and “yum” should be banned from digital vocabulary unless we’re talking about food. Nothing except my protein-forward breakfast is “yum.”

If I’m the one setting up our virtual meeting, it’s going to be on Zoom. Always.

I ask my three kiddos’ permission before posting anything about them on social media.
And they’re so smart that they ask me for money (usually $5) when they say yes. Via Apple Pay, not cash—because it’s 2025.

And when they do lemonade stands in the summertime, they make a poster with a giant Venmo code for neighbors to scan. Wise. And terrifying.

If you want to know my favorite way to use ChatGPT, the answer is to find the gaps in academic studies while I’m reporting pieces for Best Case Scenario.

My little brother is back on IG, which is great because we now exclusively communicate via memes. That kid gets me.

Sometimes I’m all in with IG; other times, I disappear for days and enjoy the social sabbatical. Ya feel me?

People keep telling me I need to get active on LinkedIn (friends), post on BlueSky (Matt), commit to Threads (Meta, sigh), write daily Substack Notes (other writers here), and lean into TikTok and YouTube (my kids). It’s. Too. Much!!!

For all of my screen time, I believe in eye contact, sunlight, fresh air, snuggling, hugs, and not documenting everything. Some moments are just for me.

I know it’s important to stay engaged with what’s happening in the world—but lately, it’s been a lot. Everything feels sharp and scary, and staying soft and hopeful takes real effort. Which is why I extra try to make Best Case Scenario feel like a deep breath. Now onto the news, whispers, studies, marketing developments, and more from the past week…

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Across The Wellness World…

• Female-founded Eli Health secures funding for an AI-powered, at-home hormone monitoring system that gives real-time data through saliva-based testing. I’ll be watching this one closely.

• TZR says women want a signature hair scent. Did they read my latest BCS piece?! (Kidding.)

• Evvy celebrates reminds us why we still need #EqualResearchDay with an NYC event calling attention to the gender gap in studies. The vaginal biome tech brand also pubbed a coffee table book, 100 Effed Facts About The Gender Health Gap.

• Congrats to theSkimm team, the new media partner of the NWSL. As a former legacy media editor, I know these ambitious collabs take a lot lot lot of behind-the-scenes work.

• Ares Health’s new “gamified smart fitness shoes” are $250 instead of $499 if you pre-order them. Damn.

• Lenny’s Newsletter invites Whoop’s head of core product on the pod for a conversation focused on building resilient teams.

• Blink and you’ll miss it! The 14th annual Global Wellness Day happened on Saturday.

• The Ranch—where you’ll hike, eat organic, and retire your phone—announces shorter 3- and 4-night booking options for its Hudson Valley location starting July 3. P.S. Stays are 20% off if you book through June 20.

• Rhode eyes the men’s market with its new Glazing Mist.

• Okay okay, Oura! Your new “give the finger” campaign is very, very good.

• But in a new feature, New York Mag says the rings are making us obsessed and are not helping our sleep. Any press is good press?

• After their paid maternity leave announcement a few months ago, the WTA gives its athletes another win by offering job security/protected rankings for those pursuing fertility treatments.

• ClassPass announces a global partnership with WeWork.

• “I weight-trained in the morning for an hour, kickboxed midday for about two hours, and then weight-trained again at night for an hour,” Sydney Sweeney told W Magazine about her regimen to depict a boxer in the new film, Echo Valley. Badass.

• Hyrox flexes its muscle with new performance training centers with Gold’s Gym, per Fitt Insider. The first one opens in Dallas.

• Meanwhile, the functional fitness–focused LT Games Fitness Competition by Life Time launches in October.

• Stem cell injections…at spas? NYT has the scoop.

• I’ve been meaning to write an Ode To Paracord, but until then: it’s sporty, cute, and everywhere this summer, a la this lil’ pouch, a new jewelry line from my friend Ella Dove, and these amazing sandals.

• Salty’s Grace Cook coins a new phrase, “The Endurance Bro era,” and she’s not wrong.

• Umm, how do we feel about the new Nike Air-Rift split-toe, sandal/sneaker hybrid? Full disclosure: I purchased a version of these at the Nike HQ store when I was 24. I won’t be doing it again.

• Lifting weights during pregnancy is literally a power move according to a new review of research. The study found improved quality of life, mood, energy levels, sleep, reduced pain and fewer complications for those who strength trained.

~HALFTIME~
Soft Reset: Not a full shutdown or rebrand, but a gentle recalibration.
A sip of water, a deep breath, fresh air.

• Propaganda I’m still not falling for: creatine gummies. Athletech reports that some of Amazon’s bestsellers contain no creatine at all. Go get yourself some Kion, the gold-standard.

• Matcha milk, it’s a thing: exhibit A, B, and C.

• Lindsay Lohan in Old Navy Active’s 80s-inspired new campaign is whew! so! good! (But I’m sad I can’t find her leg warmers on the site.)

• Apple’s new AI-powered Workout Buddy feature pulls from your fitness history and lets you choose a coaching vibe—like chill encouragement or tough love—modeled after Fitness+ trainer styles. Which is awesome, because I don’t want bootcamp energy on a recovery run.

• Jardiance, a diabetes drug in the SGLT2 class, gains buzz as a potential anti-aging tool. It mimicked some of the metabolic benefits of caloric restriction in a new study. Scientists say it’s early, but the longevity crowd is hyped.

• A former Juul exec hopes to leverage the popularity of Zyn by launching a caffeine pouch brand he’s named WIP. Feed Me’s Emily Sundberg interviewed him.

• Body positivity is out, at least according to Vox’s Kyndall Cunningham, who makes a strong case for the wild ways we’re glorifying weight loss like it’s the 1990s again.

• Tummy time: not just for babies. Doctors and PTs say it helps relieve tech neck.

• We’re definitely living in the era of peak protein. Trader Joe’s launches a ranch cottage cheese dip with 14g of the macro per half cup serving.

• And Starbucks quietly tests a “cold protein foam” offering. I am dead.

• Oooo…BackRow writer Amy Odell, who penned the red-hot Anna Wintour biograhhy, announces her forthcoming book about Gwyneth Paltrow.

• The Atlantic peeks inside Tracy Anderson’s $1,500-a-month fitness empire—there’s sweat, sculpting, status...and a few lawsuits, too.

• SELF reveals its annual Pantry Awards, and Vitamin Shoppe shares its top five wellness trends.

• Some self-care news: L’Oreal acquires science-forward, derm-backed skincare brand Medik8. And Shakira launches a new eight-product haircare brand called Isima.

• Meanwhile, Drybar founder Alli Webb blows off blowouts to embrace bedhead. Her new brand, Messy, lands in Sephora at the end of the month.

• My friend Brian Mazza launches a fitness wellness tour with HPLT x Life Time. It kicks off at Surf Lodge in Montauk this July.

• Consider this the new norm: celebs openly detailing their cosmetic surgeries.

Liz, Live!

• Watch my LIVE with Kelly and Mark segment from Friday—plus, imagine me trying to play it cool after meeting Jon Hamm backstage.

• I’m hyped for Wednesday morning, when I’ll dig into the future of fitness content with industry leaders at the ATN Innovation Summit.

Thank you for reading; I'm really glad you're here. ICYMI, last week I wrote about the science of scent. How are we feeling about my deep dive detours beyond protein and strength training? Tell me in the comments…promise I won’t judge your emoji or exclamation point usage. :)