How To Stop Worrying And Go To Sleep At Night

Can't go to sleep at night? Is worrying keeping you up at night, causing insomnia? Try this easy, fast FREE trick!

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My Top Secrets to Maintaining a 36-Pound Weight Loss

During the last year, I dropped a lot of weight by following Whole30, an elimination diet that is designed to help me figure out how my body reacts to certain foods. I eliminated grains, white flour, wheat flour, alcohol, legumes, beans, sugar—everything but fats, proteins, fruits, and vegetables, really—for 30 days. Then you slowly add back foods to see you your body reacts. It worked like a charm for me, but learning how to maintain my losses was the true breakthrough. Check out the ultimate Whole30 shopping list.

After three complete rounds of Whole30, I found myself 36 pounds lighter than where I started. I felt good inside, but I went through a serious issue with trying to accept my new body. And, on top of that, my fulltime job requires a lot of travel and eating—so how would I be able to maintain my weight loss?

Thinking about this sent me into a complete tailspin. How could I enjoy my life when I believed that eating anything other than Whole30-approved food would bring the weight back? I agonized over this as I left for business trips or when I had to meet with clients over meals. Find out how Whole30 became a lifestyle and not just a diet for me.

But now, more than a year later, I weigh the same as I did. In fact, I haven’t done a round of Whole30 since my last one, which ended on Christmas Eve 2017. And I have been able to let go the fear of regaining. Here’s how:

Finding and accepting my “balance”

Almost everyone who has lived their life on a diet knows about balance—think of it as the amount of time during the week that you’re following the plan balanced against the time you allow yourself time to indulge. Sometimes that balance is eating well during the week and enjoying the weekends. I realized that in order to maintain my weight, my balance had to be 90/10—meaning I have to be on my best food behavior 90 percent of the time.

On previous eating plans, if I knew I was going to have a decadent dinner or a sweet treat, I would let myself eat whatever I wanted all day. Now, I follow Whole30 for every meal and only allow myself to indulge on special occasions—date night, birthdays, vacations, etc.

Once I found my balance, I also found it easier to maintain than I thought. Although it was a lifestyle change, I knew that I would feel better about myself staying trim than regaining. Here’s why you shouldn’t feel bad about cheat meals.

Listening to my body

Finding your balance is important, but listening to your body is even more important. That is something I had to learn how to do without going over the top. Sometimes I get really intense cravings for things that are not Whole30 approved. But, I am also an emotional eater and know that about myself, so I stop to consider if this is an emotional trigger instead of a hunger trigger.

To prevent myself from going rogue, I have learned to sit on the craving for one day. If I wake up the next day and tacos are not on my mind, then it was probably just an emotional thing. But if I wake up and it’s all I can think about, I will allow myself to enjoy it. Why? Because there may be something in those tacos that my body is actually craving. After I have it, I’m satisfied and can move on with my life.

Being accountable

Stepping on the scale has been crucial to my success. It holds me accountable for everything I eat—even when I haven’t held myself accountable in the moment of eating. I get on the scale every morning, when I get home from every business trip, and after every big eating event. No exceptions.

But here’s the thing: I don’t let the number make me crazy. I simply use it as a tool to allow myself to adjust back to my normal weight. I drink more water for the next few days. I eat more whole foods, salads, and things that I know will help with bloat. I make sure not to skip my workouts that week. Not only do I look better, but I feel better, too, and that’s what it’s really all about.

Next, learn more about everything you can—and can’t—eat on Whole30.

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30 Healthy Snacks That Can Help You Lose Weight

The science is clear:

Eating small amounts of healthy foods throughout the day is the best way to curb cravings, limit hunger, and avoid overeating come meal time. There’s no perfect formula, but many experts are now saying that in addition to three healthy meals, each of us should enjoy the best healthy snacks for weight loss, one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon. After dinner, either a small dessert or late-evening snack also makes sense to round out the day’s menu. The goal is to never go three waking hours without having a small bite to eat. The key rule: Keep each snack to 125 calories or less. As you’ll see, we’re not banning chocolate or potato chips. But you’ll find that the healthier the food, the more you can eat. For example, an entire cucumber is a mere 45 calories. It takes just five potato chips to get you to that threshold! After asking the food experts and doing some research on our own, we came up with the 30 best healthy snacks that are yummy, easily available, and deliver just the right number of calories (125 or under) and nutrients to keep hunger away until your next meal.

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How to Lose 10 Pounds (and More!) from People Who Did It

Seek out others with similar goals

Newsroom editor Kate McGinty, 33, of Cincinnati, OH, found success in dropping weight—74 pounds, to be exact—by participating in a private accountability group on Facebook. Group members all started the same workout program—21-Day Fix, which they could do in their living rooms for just 30 minutes a day—and committed to checking in with each other on the platform every day. “The accountability was a huge help. I wasn’t alone. Having the support group means having people to celebrate with you, cheer you, relate to you, and hold you accountable,” she says. Follow McGinty’s journey on Instagram @kjmcginty. Try these 11 bizarre weight loss tricks that actually work.

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12 Little Weight-Loss Tricks Only Nutritionists Know

There’s no single trick that works for everyone

“I wish the diet industry would stop touting that weight loss is simply the result of eating less and exercising more, says New York City-based clinical nutritionist Jennifer Cassetta. “For some people that do eat way more than their bodies need, then yes, this strategy can often lead to weight loss,” she says. “However, that is not always the case.” In other words, there isn’t one perfect solution—and the thing that might work for you may not even be on your radar yet.

To help you make strides toward your goals, we asked top dietitians and nutritionists for the strategies that actually get results. And make sure you avoid the worst diet tips nutritionists have ever heard.

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5 Tips That Can Help You Choose A Good Family Doctor

Choosing a good family doctor is not easy. You need to see a doctor who can perform the right diagnosis based on the symptoms of the patient. So, we suggest that you take your time while doing research before choosing a doctor. Given below are 5 tips that may help you make the best choice.

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15 of the Best Atkins Diet Foods for Your Shopping List

What is the Atkins diet?

Perhaps the original low-carb eating plan, it emphasizes protein and fats while restricting carbohydrates, particularly those from refined, processed, or starchy sources such as bread, pasta, and baked goods. Plenty of fresh vegetables provide fiber, and in lieu of counting calories, followers track their net carbs (the number you get when you subtract dietary fiber content from total carbohydrates on the nutrition label). The tactic is said to slash weight and keep it off by balancing blood sugar levels, reducing hunger, and decreasing fat storage. Developed in the 1960s by cardiologist Robert Adkins, MD, its popularity has remained steady ever since, especially with the recent surge in adopting a ketogenic diet, which forces the body to burn fat instead of carbs. Dana Cohen, MD, an integrative medicine physician in New York City and author of Quench, worked with Dr. Atkins and shares her favorite Atkins diet foods. Find out what it’s really like to follow a low-carb diet.

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7 Foods Men Should Eat More of—and 5 That Should Be Avoided

Eat more: fatty fish

No matter how old you get, how long you can run, how much iron you pump, or how many expert tips you follow for your heart, the old ticker is always going to need a little extra TLC, according to registered dietitian Cara Walsh. You want to make sure that your circulation is strong so you can keep moving at whatever pace you set for yourself. Fatty fish—like salmon, tuna, trout, and sardines—are good additions to your meal plan, she says. “The healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are a good source of Vitamin D, which is especially low in men’s diets should be eaten at least twice a week,” she notes. These are the superfoods that every healthy man needs in his diet.

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50 Things You Can Do Today to Lose Weight

Get a little ~fancy~ with yourself

Ditch the leggings or sweats and put on an outfit that makes you feel fantastic. Not only will you look sharper but well-fitted clothing can help you lose weight, says JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS, author of the Sugar Impact Diet. “Elastic waistbands, baggy sweaters, and other loose clothing practically invite you to overeat,” she says. Wearing skinny jeans will remind you of your goals and when you look hot, you feel hot, so you’ll think twice before getting seconds at dinner.

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17 Tiny Weight-Loss Resolutions You Can Actually Keep

Take a real lunch break, even if it’s short

Eating at your desk or in front of the TV is distracting, and because your brain doesn’t fully realize what you’re eating, you could end up unsatisfied, even with big portions, says Alissa Rumsey, MS, RD, CDN, CSCS, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “People look down after their meal and have no memory of what was on their plate,” she says. “They don’t feel satisfied and are hungry again in an hour.” Ideally, you should spend the full 20 or 30 minutes it takes to eat focusing on your meal. If it’s unrealistic to leave your desk that long during lunch, take at least the first five to ten minutes chowing down without distractions, she says. Here are the 14 things healthy, happy people do on their lunch breaks.

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9 Ways to Blast Belly Fat in a Single Day

Lose belly fat by cutting out sugar

Eating sugar, especially refined sugars added to sweeten food and beverages, is a leading contributing factor to visceral fat. The glucose and fructose that come from sugar are simple carbohydrates that get quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and metabolized to release energy. When there’s excess intake, they get converted to glycogen to be stored in fat tissue. Eating a lot of sugar also spikes your blood sugar, which triggers insulin to be released in large amounts, potentially leading to a condition called insulin resistance that’s associated with metabolic syndrome. Cutting out all sweetened foods and drinks, including fruit juices, is one of the best things you can do today to lose belly fat fast. Learn to enjoy small amounts of natural sweeteners such as fresh fruit, raw honey, dates, and coconut crystals. Don’t be tempted by these other 15 of the worst foods for your belly.

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This Very Common Condition Triggers 4 Percent of All Cancers Worldwide

If you’ve been thinking about trying to drop some pounds, you may have a better incentive than just squeezing into a pair of jeans or impressing your co-workers: According to a new study published in CA, the American Cancer Society’s journal, excess body weight is responsible for almost 4 percent of cancers around the world.

“The causal link of excess body weight to cancer risk is supported by evidence from numerous epidemiological studies,” write the study authors of an international review done in conjunction with investigators from the American Cancer Society (ACS), Imperial College London, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers analyzed cancer deaths and body weights worldwide and discovered that being overweight or obese can raise a person’s risk for more than 13 different cancers, including breast cancer, stomach cancer, thyroid cancer, colon cancer, and ovarian cancer, among others.

“Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain how body fatness affects cancer risk,” write the authors. One such mechanism describes how excess body fat induces insulin resistance, which suppresses production of insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐binding proteins, which in turn triggers intracellular signaling cascades that favor tumor development. “Genetically predicted higher fasting insulin levels have been associated with elevated risks for certain cancers,” the researchers note.

“The rapid increase in both the prevalence of excess body weight and the associated cancer burden highlights the need for a rejuvenated focus on identifying, implementing, and evaluating interventions to prevent and control excess body weight,” the researchers report.

While the researchers found that weight is currently associated with 3.9 percent of cancers worldwide, they predict that number will rise as the population continues to grow more obese. In 2016, approximately 40 percent of adults and 18 percent of children (ages 5-19 years) were carrying excess body weight.

Additionally, the risk varies based on location, the study showed. For example: The risk of cancer from excess weight is less than 1 percent in low-income countries, but it is as high as 7 to 8 percent in some high-income Western countries, in the Middle East, and in some Northern African countries.

In order to lower the risk, the ACS urges everyone to find their body mass index (BMI)—you can find it here. If you fall in—or are nearing—the overweight or obese category, it’s time to make some changes.

Here’s how one doctor is curing insulin resistance, and even diabetes, and helping patients shed hundreds of pounds in the process.

There’s added benefit to changing your lifestyle, the ACS experts say: Overweight or obese people who intentionally lose weight reduce their levels of hormones are related to cancer risk, such as insulin, estrogens, and androgens.

Don’t miss the 28 things you think cause cancer but don’t.

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Sneaking In These 60-Second Exercises Can Transform Your Body

Burpees

Burpees: Maybe you love them, maybe you hate them, but are you even doing them correctly? For a quick workout, burpees target the legs, butt, chest, and shoulders, all while accelerating the heart rate for maximum calorie burn, says Adam Rosante, certified CFT and specialist in fitness nutrition and CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. To properly perform a burpee, stand with feet hip-width apart. Crouch down and place your hands on the floor directly under your shoulders, then jump your feet back to land in a push-up, or plank, position. Be sure to lower your entire body to the floor, then press back up to the starting push-up position and hop the feet forward, returning to the original crouched position. “Explosively jump straight up, clapping the hands overhead,” Rosante says. “Land softly and repeat.” To modify this powerful move, step your feet back, one at a time, into the plank position. Drop your knees to the floor before lowering your body and then step the feet forward, one at a time, to return to the crouched position. Stand straight up and rise onto the balls of your feet, then clap your hands overhead to complete the first movement. Be sure to steer clear of these fitness moves that work against you.

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The Inspiring Secrets of People Who Lost 50+ Pounds—and Kept It Off

Eat like a caveman

Kyle Kranz is a 29-year-old former athlete who lost 85 pounds after gaining weight steadily after suffering a bad injury because of a car accident in middle school. “I was unable to play football and soccer like I previously had,” he says. Then a friend of his, who was starting to focus on his health a bit more, invited Kranz to join him during his freshmen year of high school. While in high school, he credits his weight loss to 75 percent dietary changes and 25 percent working out, which for him, consisted of mostly lifting weights, since the accident didn’t allow him to run. But the greatest difference for Kranz came from curbing what he puts in his mouth every single day. “You lose weight quickly when your diet changes from fast food, soda, and chips to meat and vegetables. I was the high schooler eating pre-portioned and pre-prepared—thanks for the help, Mom!—chicken breast and veggies for lunch. I also found out I actually enjoyed lifting weights, and put together a fairly respectable home gym in a spare bedroom,” he says. Though he eventually recovered and was able to become an endurance athlete, doing everything from swimming to cycling to running, Kranz maintains a caveman-like attitude toward nutrition. “My favorite health advice is something I read from Michael Pollan, when he said, ‘Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.’ Eating real food and not processed junk was the biggest game changer for me,” he says. Follow these 40 fast, easy tips to lose weight.

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10 Positive Things That Happen to Your Body After Just One Workout

General goodness for your body

People who work out everyday get crazy benefits—good for them. But what about that very first workout, or just one session? “Overall there are several physical and mental benefits related to any type of exercise,” says Murphy Grant, MS, ATC, PES, executive chair of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine (ICSM), and associate athletic director for sports medicine at the University of Kansas. “Depending on the type of workout you’re doing, there can be lots of beneficial changes, including improved cardiovascular efficiency, increased bone density, higher metabolic efficiency, increased lean muscle mass and of course decreased body fat.” And most people would be surprised to know how much of that good stuff can start in just one exercise session, Grant adds.

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25 Weight Loss Myths You Need to Stop Believing STAT

Eating after 6 p.m. leads to weight gain

While late-night eating has been linked to weight gain, putting a cut-off time on eating doesn’t ensure diet success. In reality, putting restrictions on when you cannot eat doesn’t align with modern lifestyles, as many people don’t get home from work early enough to follow time restrictions, explains Susan Kraus, clinical dietitian at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. “The problem lies in what and how much you eat,” says Kraus. “After a tough day at work, people tend to reward themselves with food or they may have not eaten well during the day and feel they have to make up for it.” The best strategy for eating at the end of the day is to plan ahead and be aware of how much you are eating in the evening. Having a healthy snack later in the day can help curb your appetite and prevent overeating at dinner, while eating small, nutrient-rich meals rather than large mixed meals before bed has been shown to be beneficial, helping with morning metabolism and satiety.

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Three Questions To Answer If You Are Thinking About Varicose Vein Surgery

If you are one of the many who suffer from the varicose curse, you are not alone. Fortunately, there are now more ways to find treatment for your ailment. Technology and medical expertise has come a long way towards specializing in vascular treatment. However, as treatments become more common and more centers open up, you have to make decisions and choose from the best options. This is especially important if you are going to have surgery. Here are three questions to answer if you are thinking about varicose vein surgery.

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The 5 Simple Tricks That Helped Me Lose 300 Pounds

Lexi Reed was fed up with the life she was living. It was January 1, 2016, and 26-year-old Reed, who lives in Terre Haute, Indiana, weighed 485 pounds. “I knew that if I didn’t get my health under control, I might not live to see my 30th birthday,” she says. Reed made a New Year’s resolution to start shedding pounds, and she set up an Instagram titled @fatgirlfedup to track her progress and help keep herself accountable. Two years later, Reed has shed 312 pounds and counting. Here are the five secrets to her success.

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How Well Do You Know, Your SELF?

Many of us, suffer, from choosing to try, to be, like everyone else, rather than, trying to become, merely, the best, we can possibly be! In order to do so, it's essential to begin, with a commitment, and a willingness, to be, as introspective, and objective, as possible, so we aim, to satisfy our personal needs, rather than focusing on pleasing others, and/ or, fitting - in, with the pack! In other words.

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13 Subtle Signs Your Holiday Eating Could Be a Problem

You go back for seconds when you’re not hungry

If you’re so stuffed after your office’s holiday lunch that you feel like you can barely breathe, you’ve overeaten. There’s a difference between feeling satisfied and feeling stuffed. “A lot of us mindlessly eat in social situations, sometimes because we’re distracted by conversation or we’re eating a lot of little appetizers without paying attention to our hunger and satiety cues,” says Abbey Sharp, RD, a blogger at Abbey’s Kitchen and author of The Mindful Glow Cookbook. Avoid this from happening by not immediately going back for seconds. “It takes time for our body to recognize that we’re satisfied,” she says. “After your first plate, give yourself a few minutes. Maybe enjoy a glass of water or some good conversation. Then re-evaluate if you’re still actually hungry.”

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12 New Year’s Resolutions Health Experts Hate the Most

“I’m going vegetarian”

Novice vegetarians sometimes gain weight because they don’t realize cheese, pasta, and other vegetarian standards are loaded with calories. Instead of becoming a full-fledged vegetarian, Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, LDN, a nutrition consultant and author of Walking off the Weight for Dummies, suggests eating a mostly plant-based diet while slowly reducing your meat intake. “Add puréed beans or lentils into ground beef to create a burger patty with less animal protein and more fiber,” she says. “This swap won’t leave you hungry. A study found that the protein in peas staved off hunger better than whey protein [from dairy], making it a filling option. Adding in vegetarian sources of protein like beans and lentils can be a good way to boost fiber in your meal plan, and that can help promote a healthy body weight.” She suggests snacking on roasted chickpeas instead of pretzel or chips, or tossing beans on pasta and salads. “You’ll add more protein to a vegetarian diet without increasing calories significantly,” she says.

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Tips to Stay Fit and Healthy in Ramadan

In Ramadan, it's important that you maintain your health while fasting. The first thing is to have a healthy eating habit. Given below are some tips that can help you stay fit and healthy in this holy month.

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Here’s When Your Body Burns the Most Calories at Rest

Your body burns calories all day long to keep your organs humming, your blood pumping, and your lungs breathing—not to mention maintaining hundreds of other body processes. But a new study published in Current Biology reveals that there are times during the day when your metabolism really hums—and times when it slumps.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston placed seven volunteers in a windowless room for three weeks, turning down the lights and waking them at different times while measuring their calorie use around the clock. The study revealed that we burn about 129 more calories—at rest—between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on average, compared to the early hours of the morning (2 a.m. and 8 a.m.). Even more intriguing is that the body seems to favor carbohydrates as an energy source early in the day and becomes more efficient at burning fat later in the afternoon.

Experts previously thought the body’s resting metabolism ran at a fairly steady rate around the clock; these findings indicate that calorie burn ebbs and flows with the body’s natural rhythms, reports lead study author, neuroscientist Jeanne Duffy, PhD, in a press release. One take-home message of the study seems to be yet another reason to avoid late-night snacking: The body’s energy demands are so low that those extra calories are likely to be converted to fat. Check out these 7 ways to cut calories if you’re trying to lose weight.

There may be implications for the best times to eat certain types of food—such as carbs in the a.m., more protein and healthy fats in the afternoon—but more research is necessary before anyone can make firm recommendations. Perhaps the most important lesson is that people should keep a regular eating schedule, according to Duffy. An irregular meal pattern can throw off the body’s rhythm, depress metabolism, and lead to weight gain, she says. Here are 23 more lazy ways to burn more calories every day.

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7 Proven Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting—periods of voluntary abstinence from food and drink—is a broad term that can be applied to many different practices. This type of dieting has spurred many books and has received a lot of attention as of late as studies (mostly in animals) have shown that it may reduce the risk for several diseases. The most popular approach is the 16/8, which requires fasting for 16 hours a day. Another version, alternate day fasting (ADF) alternates 24-hour periods of fasting (or very restricted 500 calorie diets) with days of eating freely. The 5:2 approach limits fasting to just two days a week while the Warrior Diet follows a 20-hour fast with one large meal consumed at night. “Part of the confusion with intermittent fasting lies in the lack of a definition,” says Robin Foroutan, RD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “To some people intermittent fasting means that they fast every day while to others it means they only eat between 11 and 6.” Here’s everything you need to know about the Warrior Diet.

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15 Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions and How to Keep Them

Get in shape

Good choice! According to a 2015 Nielsen survey, the most common New Year’s resolutions have to do with getting in shape. If you’re resolving to hit the gym to improve your health or just your physique, you can avoid falling off the fitness cliff come February by enlisting a friend to exercise with you, or joining a regular class where you’ll be missed if you skip a session or two. Need additional motivation? Personal trainer Larysa DiDio recommends using fitness technology to stay on track. “Fitbits will tell you when you’ve been sitting too long and you need to move. Food apps will tell you when you’ve eaten too much and you need to stop. Exercise apps will tell you how many calories you’ve burned. All this information will keep you aware and working toward your goals,” said DiDio in an interview with TODAY.

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15 Things You Don’t Realize Are Sabotaging Your Weight Loss

Over-emphasizing health food

Start with the fact that there are plenty of unhealthy foods that masquerade as healthy. Although choosing healthy foods are the correct path, they can’t be consumed without keeping portions in check. “My patients often report eating low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets full of healthful foods like quinoa, green leafy vegetables and berries, but they are eating too much of these foods,” says Gillian Goddard, MD, an endocrinologist and certified nutrition support clinician in New York City. “What makes foods healthy is their nutrient content. This does not mean we can eat them in limitless quantities.” For example, a half cup of quinoa has 111 calories. “Most people are eating two or three cups of quinoa in a sitting which can come in at 400-600 calories. That doesn’t include, the nuts cheese and olive oil they are adding,” adds Dr. Goddard.

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18 Secrets of Women Who Manage to Work Out Every Day

Do it to feel good

If you think that every workout you do needs to be at 110 percent, you may get discouraged when you have an off day. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to go hard every single workout, just getting enough in to feel good,” says Sydney Stargatt, 27.

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The Best, Proven Ways to Keep Off Holiday Party Pounds

If it’s a party night, don’t let yourself think about it during the day

If you cut back by skipping breakfast or lunch, studies show you’ll eat more later. Also, you might get in the mindset that today is an “anything goes” day food-wise, which it isn’t. Don’t skip the gym, either.

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15 Weight-Loss Motivation Mantras from People Who Successfully Slimmed Down

“You are who you’ve been waiting for.”

“Often we look for answers to our challenges outside of us. Many times, we even blame our failures on other people or situations. The more I chanted this mantra to myself, the more confident I felt that I had exactly what I needed to support myself in my weight-loss goals. Bringing it back to me helped me stay on track and make permanent changes in my routine. Say it in the morning before your feet hit the floor, when you start to talk yourself out of exercising, before you make poor meal choices and while looking in the mirror before going to bed.”—Eva Santiago Reed who lost 25 pounds

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50 Ways to Lose Weight Without a Lick of Exercise

Get messy

Candy wrappers, fruit peels, nut shells, chicken bones: When it comes to eating messy food, it may be better to let the garbage pile up on the table rather than demurely throwing it away as you go. Seeing the debris left from your food is a visual reminder of exactly how much you’ve eaten and can provide a reminder to stop when you’re full, according to research done by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. Don’t miss these weight-loss tips that nutritionists swear by.

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11 Tricks to Avoid Holiday Belly Bloat

Reach for a smaller plate

Portion control is king during this time of year, says Gisela Bouvier, a registered dietitian in Port Charlotte, Florida. “Use a smaller plate and focus on loading it up with vegetables and lean proteins in the buffet line,” she advises. Try these daily habits that help you reduce belly bloat.

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Your Perfect Day of Eating Before a Holiday Party

Start with breakfast

You’ll be eating a lot of rich food at the party this evening, so you should save calories in the morning, right? Wrong. Skip breakfast and you’ll probably end up eating way more fatty food at the event, adding up to even more calories than you “saved” earlier. “When we’re starving, it’s harder to make healthier choices,” says Torey Armul, MS, RD, CSSD, LD, an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson. “We want sugar for instant energy and fat to build calorie stores in case we don’t eat again soon. It’s an evolutionary response to going too long between meals.” Here’s how to avoid 15 other weight-loss mistakes everyone makes.

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What Nutritionists Always Buy on Amazon

Lorissa’s Kitchen Beef Sticks

“When searching for convenient and nutritious snacks, it’s important to not only look for protein but also low sugar content,” says Christina Meyer-Jax, MS, RDN. “One of my favorites is Lorissa’s Kitchen grass-fed beef sticks.”

With six grams of protein but just one to two grams of sugar in each stick, Meyer-Jax says these meat sticks “meet all of my nutrition requirements.”

Buying these on Amazon is ideal for Meyer-Jax because she can get them in bulk—so she always has a snack on hand. Check out 17 nutritionists’ best healthy-eating secrets.

Buy Now

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13 Things Experts Won’t Tell You About Weight Loss

You have to eat fat to beat fat

While too much of the wrong fat (certain saturated fats in highly processed meats and trans fat found in some cookies and crackers) is bad for your health and waistline, a diet rich in the right fat—good unsaturated fats—can help both. Good fats, like monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in olive oil, nuts, and avocados have proven to be powerful reducers of belly fat. Other sources of good fat are the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); found in fish and its oil, and in many nuts and seeds, PUFAs help release fat, too. A Dutch study found that consumption of PUFAs led to a higher resting metabolic rate (the calories used just to live), as well as a greater DIT, or diet-induced calorie burn.  PUFAs are also burned faster than saturated fats in the body. What’s more, fats help you feel full—they have 9 calories per gram compared to 4 for protein or carbs. So a small nibble of something yummy, like a handful of nuts or some peanut butter on whole wheat crackers, can help you feel full for hours. Check out these other 10 myths about fat that keep you from losing weight.

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This Is Exactly How Many Hours of Sleep You Need to Burn Fat Fast

Quick—what’s the best way to lose weight? If you said diet and exercise, you’re on the right track. But as it turns out, there’s a super effective method for burning fat, and you’re already doing it every day. In fact, the key to burning fat is so easy that you could do it in your sleep (literally!)

“One of the biggest mistakes that most people make [when trying to lose weight] is not sleeping enough,” Shawn Arent, director of the Center for Health and Human Performance at Rutgers University, told Business Insider. Here are 9 more ways to lose weight in your sleep.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, your body repairs itself by releasing growth hormones while you sleep. Those hormones stimulate muscle and protein synthesis, as well as a fat breakdown process called lipolysis. You’ll practically burn fat in your sleep if you eat this one food at night, too.

Since growth hormones tend to peak at night, not getting a good night’s sleep cuts that essential process short. Research shows that only getting four or five hours of sleep a night can lead to obesity down the road. Here are even more of the worst habits for belly fat.

The solution? Ideally, you should sleep seven to nine hours per night to keep your body burning fat while you snooze.

“Seven to nine hours seems to be a pretty consistent time frame for when we get the best repair and where we have the least relationship to obesity,” Arent said. “In other words, it’s kind of that nice window where you don’t oversleep, you don’t under sleep, and there’s enough repair that takes place.”

The National Sleep Foundation generally recommends that adults sleep for seven to nine hours every night, in order to wake up refreshed and alert for the day ahead. Next, read about these tricks to flatten your belly without a lick of exercise.

[Source: Business Insider]

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18 Ways To Win The Fight For Size

PUNCH UP YOUR MASS When it comes to training, are your gains coming faster than an Ali one-two combo? Or are you getting worked over in the corner like some washed-up pug, folding up under a rain of body blows?

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20 Ways to Beat Post-Holiday Weight Gain

Drink water

People often mistake thirst for hunger, so next time you feel like noshing, reach for water first. Drinking also helps you feel full. Some experts suggest sipping water (or iced tea) just before you sit down to a meal. Continue drinking as you eat to add volume and weight to your meal. 

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13 Best Keto-Approved Thanksgiving Foods

Turkey

Turkey Day without turkey would be a sad holiday indeed. Great news for ketogenic (keto) dieters: Turkey is entirely keto-friendly. Spice rubs and marinades are also typically keto-friendly. Just avoid any that use sugar or flour. “If you reach for turkey, grab a leg instead of a breast, since dark meat is higher in fat,” recommends Lindsey Bristol, MS, RD, of Swanson Health. Check out the 10 unexpected health benefits of the keto diet.

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11 of the Most Inspirational Weight-Loss Transformations

“My wife’s courageous cancer battle inspired me to be healthier.”

In November 2015, newspaper editor Jon LaFontaine was faced with devastating news he never expected to hear: His wife, Emily, had leukemia. During this dark time, this couple fought together to win the scary battle, which included Emily’s two bone marrow transplants. Throughout his life, LaFontaine had struggled with unhealthy food addiction. But after witnessing the love of his life conquer leukemia—her doctors declared her cancer-free in December 2016—LaFontaine was inspired to change his lifestyle and prioritize his health.

Over the course of a year, he dropped 95 pounds, crediting much of his success to Subway, where he selected veggie-rich meals instead of more fatty options. Once he started exercising and burning more calories, he added low-carbohydrate snacks but always paid close attention to his calorie intake to ensure that he was burning more than he was consuming.

While the details might seem exhausting, LaFontaine believes that shifting his lifestyle and mental attitude is what made weight loss possible. “If you want to lose weight, it’s about committing yourself to choosing healthy options, moderating the portions, and forcing your body into action. It requires consistency, too,” he says, “actively squashing excuses to eat bad food, excuses to avoid working out, and excuses to ‘start next week.’ It took me eight months and one day to lose 95 pounds; however, it took me nearly 12 months to even start my healthy journey.” Need inspiration from more weight-loss transformations? Be sure to repeat these 15 mantras for weight-loss motivation.

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11 Things that Happen to Your Body If You Stop Eating Red Meat

You may lose a few pounds

Red meat is calorie-dense, so cutting it out of your daily diet could mean a lower number on the scale. “Most portions of meat are more than the actual protein requirement, and these larger portions can be replaced by alternative protein sources that are much lighter in calories, still satisfying, and also easier to digest,” says Sally Warren, PhD, traditional naturopath at Metro Integrative Pharmacy. “A three-ounce serving of beef can be around 170 calories, but a portion of beans can be around 100 calories and tofu around 70 calories, each supplying the same amount of protein.” It may not seem like a huge difference at first, but it can add up over time. Fish, chicken, and legumes are lighter calorie alternatives, and good replacements to choose. A 2015 review article in the Journal of General Internal Medicine reported that people on a vegetarian diet lost more weight than those on a non-vegetarian diet, although vegans shed more weight than people who still ate eggs and dairy products. Here are 13 more body changes you experience while eating a vegan diet.

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14 Foods with Way More Sugar than You Realize

Yogurt

Eat a carton of flavored yogurt and you might as well eat a candy bar. “Despite the small carton size and association as a healthy food, a typical low-fat strawberry yogurt can contain 26 grams of sugar per serving,” says Jennifer Jackson, MD, of Ascension Via Christi Health. Opt for plain yogurt, which has zero added sugar—or Greek yogurt, with nearly twice the amount of protein—and add your own fresh fruit, plus a hanful of nuts for healthy fats and staying power. Follow these simple tips to eat less sugar (without really trying).

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