Your best friend seems to eat everything in sight but never gain a pound, while you look at a slice of cake and start packing on pounds. It may be the luck of the genetic draw, but diet and lifestyle factors also help determine how you manage your weight.
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You may have engaged in water fasting for religious reasons or as preparation for a medical procedure. Trying to lose weight with water fasting is less common, though, and best undertaken only with supervision of a medical professional.
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You are equipped with a natural stress response, which can affect how much or how little you eat. Your stressors may be acute, like having a near-accident, or chronic, such as going through a lengthy divorce process.
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Classified as a whole grain, quinoa is the seed of a plant native to the Andes region of South America, related to Swiss chard, spinach and beets. Cooked quinoa makes a nutritious, gluten-free addition to any diet, providing a valuable source of fiber and vegetarian protein as well as a variety of health benefits.
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In the initial stage of a low-carb diet, it’s common to experience a few unpleasant physical side effects, such as nausea, fatigue and headaches. Don’t rush to abandon your weight-loss plan because of the discomfort; your headaches will probably go away in a few days.
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It’s a frustrating experience -- you’ve been cutting calories like crazy in order to shed pounds, but the number on the scale is creeping up. You might have an underlying medical condition that affects your metabolism, or you may need to incorporate additional diet and lifestyle changes.
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The best techniques for weight gain don’t always take busy lifestyles into account. Having larger portions at meals, eating more often during the day and incorporating avocado, healthy oils and whole grains into your regimen are sound strategies for weight gain, but sometimes you’re on the go.
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Green salads are a healthful addition to any diet, with most leafy vegetables providing lots of nutrients in a very low-calorie serving. Adding a side of mixed greens or a main-dish salad to your daily regimen in place of higher-calorie foods will go far toward helping you lose weight.
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If oatmeal is your go-to breakfast or a standard light dinner when there’s nothing in the fridge, you can still enjoy this nutritious whole grain when you embark on a low-carb diet.
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Limiting carbohydrate intake for weight loss has a long history, dating back almost 200 years. More recently, plans like Atkins and South Beach have popularized the low-carb diet, in which you restrict your consumption of carbohydrates and then gradually add them back in.
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If you’re accustomed to enjoying a glass of wine with dinner, relax – you don’t have to give it up while you’re following a low-carb diet. You will need to choose your wine carefully, though, and stick to suggested serving sizes.
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If your waistband is feeling tight, you’re not alone – 60 percent of adults carry extra weight in the midsection, according to Kathleen Zelman, RD, MPH. Adult men, women after menopause, people who have more than a few alcoholic drinks daily, and smokers are more likely to see their midsections bulge, says Zelman.
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A lot of factors beyond your control help determine your basal metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your body needs to perform basic functions like breathing. Your age, gender and genes, for example, play a role in setting your BMR.
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Where your metabolism is concerned, 50 is not the new 30. Resting metabolic rate – the number of calories your body burns while at rest – decreases as both men and women get older, which means you need fewer daily calories as you age. Moreover, significant weight loss through dieting can slow your metabolism even more.
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A love of bread may be keeping you from starting a low-carb diet, since you aren’t sure you can give it up. Luckily, low-carb plans like Atkins and South Beach, which are very restrictive in the first phase, eventually allow you to eat wheat bread after you’ve lost some weight.
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Gaining weight in the stomach area can make you feel uncomfortable and unattractive, but if the fat isn’t the “pinchable” kind just under your skin, it can also be dangerous.
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A demanding boss, family issues, academic pressure, illness, financial woes, relationship problems -- all of these can boost your everyday stress levels. People react to stress in different ways, but many undergo a shift in eating patterns.
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On a low-carb diet, you might eat anywhere from 20 to 100 grams of carbs a day, depending on the plan. The results you want also figure in – you might be looking to lose weight, manage diabetes, or both.
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About 85 percent of all the tea that Americans drink is iced, according to a 2014 report by the Tea Association of the U.S.A. Of the four types of tea – black, green, oolong and white – green displays a definite advantage in antioxidant content.
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When you're trying to lose weight, lunchtime might feel as if you're in a war zone, especially if the only options are cafeteria fare or fast food. Watch your portions to control calories, and opt for whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible.
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