If youre someone whos thought about losing weight or has wanted to get healthier in the past few years, youve probably come across these two words: intermittent fasting. From celebrities to fitness enthusiasts, intermittent fasting has many thousands of loyal advocates online, claiming this way of eating has helped them lose weight better than other diet methods have.

Its easy to see the appeal of intermittent fasting as a weight loss method. Not only is it simple, its also flexible, can be adapted easily to every person, and doesnt require you to eliminate foods or count calories. But despite its popularity, intermittent fasting may not actually be better than other diet methods when it comes to weight loss.

To date, numerous studies have shown intermittent fasting is as good as counting calories when it comes to weight loss including a recent study, which tracked participants for more than a year.

This has even been shown with many different types of intermittent fasting, including alternate-day fasting (where you fast or restrict calories every other day), 5:2 dieting (eating normally five days a week, then fasting or restricting calories for two days) and time-restricted eating (where you eat all of your days calories within a set time window, such as only eating during an eight hour window, then fasting for 16 hours). But no studies have yet shown intermittent fasting to be any better than conventional diets.

Intermittent fasting reduces the amount you eat, but it may have a downside. It both reduces the amount of physical activity we do, and reduces how hard we push during exercise.

This is true regardless of the type of intermittent fasting you do. This suggests that when calorie intake is substantially reduced even for a short period of time the body adapts by reducing the number of calories used during exercise. Researchers arent entirely sure why this happens, however.

While this may not necessarily affect weight loss, lower physical activity levels can have other negative effects on health. For example, a recent alternate-day fasting study found that even just three weeks of this diet reduced physical activity levels and led to a greater loss of muscle mass than a daily calorie restriction diet. The fasting diet was also less effective than daily calorie restriction for fat loss.

Muscle mass is crucial for many reasons, including regulating blood sugar levels and staying physically able as we get older. So diets that cause muscle loss are best avoided. However, combining intermittent fasting with exercise programmes such as resistance training may help people better maintain lean muscle mass while encouraging fat loss.

While intermittent fasting might not be a miracle solution when it comes to weight loss, that doesnt mean it might not still have other health benefits.

A recent review on intermittent fasting found that it improved blood pressure, insulin sensitivity (how effectively the body regulates blood sugar) and lowered cholesterol levels to a similar extent as daily calorie restriction.

It is likely this effect is due to weight loss. But since few studies have followed participants for longer than a year, its hard to know whether the these effects persist.

Some research also suggests how you fast may also be key. A number of studies have shown promising results from early time-restricted eating, which involves eating all your days calories in the early part of the day and fasting in the evening, usually from 4pm onwards. Eating early in the day aligns food intake with our natural circadian rhythms, which means nutrients are processed more efficiently.

Early time-restricted eating has also been shown to improve several markers of health, such as insulin sensitivity, which is a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes. These improvements were even seen without weight loss.

Read more: Is body weight affected by when you eat? Here's what science knows so far

Theres also evidence that outcomes from the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet can be improved by positioning the two very-low or no calorie diet days consecutively. This may lead to improvements in insulin sensitivity greater than what would be seen when practising daily calorie restriction.

This might be due to spending more time in a fasted-state, which increases the amount of body fat you burn. Interestingly, exercising while fasting may also help you burn more fat and improve insulin sensitivity.

So while intermittent fasting might not be better than other diets for weight loss, making changes to how you do it such as fasting in the evening may help you see other health benefits.

For people who struggle to stick with calorie restriction diets, intermittent fasting is safe and may still be effective. Its also worth noting that its best to combine intermittent fasting with exercise to experience the best results.

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Is intermittent fasting actually good for weight loss? Here's what the evidence says - The Conversation

Weight gain can put a downer on anyone hoping to maintain a healthy weight or for women transitioning through the menopause. But health experts reassure that there are "many things we can do" to keep it under control when the time comes.

Dr Zhaoping Li explained that primary care clinicians can help women take an active role in their health by providing education on diet and exercise strategies to prevent weight gain in midlife.

"The important thing is to not deliver passive messages," she said.

"I am often very frustrated with primary care clinicians, including my own, who say that the weight gain is a fact of menopause.

"The message should be yes, this is a physiological process, but it is a time for us to refocus on how we take care of our body.

READ MORE:Diet: Expert warns against common mistake

"That is why the National Institutes of Health launched the Nutrition for Precision Health study that will develop algorithms to predict individual responses to food and dietary routines."

She suggested that in "another five or 10 years" experts will "have more knowledge on how to individualise management".

While low-carb, high-protein diets are favoured by many women going through the menopause, Dr Li pointed out that as many as 50 percent of women may not respond to them.

Instead, she suggested these women may need to try different strategies.

Experts have also suggested weight gain can be controlled by:

Tracking calories

Engaging in 3060 minutes of moderate physical activity and sustained aerobic exercise to boost metabolism

Doing yoga can help to decrease waist circumference and weight

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Menopause weight loss: Women don't have to 'accept' weight gain - 'many things we can do' - Express

There are many things that lead to weight gain and some of them are bad eating habits. So, if you are planning to lose weight, then stop making these mistakes. If you are someone who doesnt like to go to the gym and sweat it out, but still want to lose weight, then avoid these bad eating habits and lose weight.

Bad Eating Habits That Lead To Weight Gain And Hamper Weight Loss:

1. Craving Sweet

Sweet is one of the top things that lead to weight gain. When we eat sweets, we feel good and forget to focus on the quantity. Sweet increases food cravings. Avoid excess sugar and see the difference in your waist size.

2. Stress Eating

When we are stressed, the one thing that we look for is food. To avoid stress, many do binge-eating even without feeling hungry. During stress, people often eat fast food like ice creams, sodas, chips, chocolates, pizzas and whatnot. All these things hamper your weight loss journey.

3. Careless Eating

In our free time, we often prefer to grab a bite, which is one of the bad habits while losing weight. People gain weight when they eat carelessly.

4. Eating Too Quickly

It takes 20 minutes for your brain to realise that your stomach is full while they eat in 5 minutes. In this, you end up eating too much and consume more calories.

5. Skipping Breakfast

Your body needs fuel in the morning. Skipping breakfast will lead to less energy. Your body needs food in the morning as it improves your metabolism and can help keep your blood sugar levels in place, which is necessary for weight loss.

So, if you are planning to lose weight, then avoid these bad eating habits and follow a healthy lifestyle.

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Bad Eating Habits That Hamper Weight Loss - News18

Intermittent fasting is said to be one of the most effective ways of losing weight. In this weight loss regime, a person has to follow a fixed eating pattern in which youll have to fast for 8 hours or 16 hours. The weight loss diet is said to be effective when it comes to shedding kilos easily. During the fasting period, a person is allowed to consume drinks that help in providing energy to the body without increasing the calorie intake. One such drink which is permissible during intermittent fasting is black coffee. Black coffee is said to be really effective in providing energy to the body. However, nutritionist Lovneet Batra has some advice to share that you should keep in mind while having coffee during intermittent fasting.

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According to Lovneet, Intermittent Fasting when done right is linked to potential health benefits, such as better digestion, metabolism and cell functioning. But I often see people overdosing on caffeine during the fasting hours in an effort to suppress appetite and boost energy. To be fair, drinking black coffee is permitted with Intermittent Fasting. But having too much caffeine through coffee is not advisable.

She has shared warnings for some groups who should not have excess coffee during the fasting time.

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Nutritionist Shares Warning Signs of Having Excess Black Coffee During Intermittent Fasting - News18

New Delhi: The warm months of the year often take a toll on appetite sometimes even at the idea of going into the kitchen in the scorching and often due to the not-so-delicious options available. Yet, it is this time of the year that is excellent to lose the extra kilos and that too at a super-fast pace. During summer, metabolism is faster, people drink more fluids, are physically more active and end up sweating a great deal as well. And whats more, summer produce in India consists of a number of delicious and healthy low-calorie vegetables that could help lose belly fat faster.

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.

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Weight loss: Low-calorie, summer vegetables that could help you lose belly fat - Times Now

Martin Clunes is back on our screens tonight as the cantankerous surgeon Doc Martin in the hit ITV drama. The 60-year-old actor may look a little different compared to the last time he appeared on our screens from Port Isaac, after dropping a significant amount of weight.

The much-loved British actor has been showing off a slimmed down figure in recent times, which he achieved through the renowned 5:2 diet, WalesOnline reports. Clunes, who showcased his new look in 'Martin Clunes: Islands of the Pacific' in January, is a huge advocate of the diet, which allowed him to lose three stone in three months.

Speaking to MailOnline about his new figure, the actor revealed his reasoning for taking on the diet. He told the publication: "I was fat and while I was getting heavy, I had tired knees and stuff. So, I thought Id try that diet and the weight came off."

Read more: Martin Clunes' first marriage ended in a bitter Chinese restaurant row

Clunes added: "I lost about three stone in as many months. Its great and its supposed to be good for cholesterol, too."

The method utilised by Clunes to achieve his goal, intermittent fasting, is a well-known method for losing weight, and was made popular by TV doctor Michael Moseley. The Fast Diet, as Clunes' diet is known, allows people to slim down fast.

Other celebrities, such as Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, have enthused about the diet. Those who follow the diet tend to eat a 'normal' amount of food for five days of the week, and fast for the other two days.

Whilst many diets centred around weight loss dictate what followers should eat, the 5:2 diet is all about when you eat. Those who follow it do not have to eat or avoid certain foods, although fasting days see women cut down to 500 calories a day, and men to 600.

Now that Clunes has lost the weight he wanted to, he has been able to hold onto his ideal body through following a different diet. Not too different to 5:2, Clunes now swears by the 6:1 diet when it comes to ensuring he does not gain or lose any more weight.

The actor said: "Now I do 6:1 and that seems to work fine. I eat anything I want on the other days. Its easy and seems to keep the weight off me."

As the name of the diet implies, the 6:1 diet involves six days of eating whatever the dieter wants, and a day of fasting. For maximum results, followers of the diet are recommended to eat meats, dairy products, eggs, fish, seeds, oils, grains, legumes, vegetables, and berries - although they don't have to.

When it comes to the singular fasting day, followers of the diet are advised to eat eggs, white fish, green vegetables, and low-fat dairy products. To remain on track, it is also recommended that those on the diet should prepare their own meals, and fit their fasting days in around their lives.

In addition to following a diet, Martin also exercises regularly. The star, who lives with his wife, Philippa, and daughter, Emily, in Dorset, said: "I have a couple of big horses and ride them.

"Im very healthy. This is a difficult age, obviously, but Im doing fine Im not on any medication."

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Doc Martin star Martin Clunes on weight loss and diet that allows him to eat 'anything' - Bristol Live - Bristol Live

Andrew Whitworth has had a hell of a year: In February, the 16-year NFL vet won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, given in recognition of a player's charitable work off the field in the community. Three days later, he got it done on the field, tooWhitworth won the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, becoming the oldest offensive lineman to win a title. The 40-year retired after the game, walking off the field as the winningest left tackle in NFL history, and the second-oldest player in the NFL (only Tom Brady was older).

When youve had a start to the year like that, especially after decades of success as an athlete, whats next? Whitworths still figuring that out. But in the gym, its started with dropping some of the excess weight linemen carry to keep their quarterbacks upright. Im trusting that I've built a life of muscle mass and having strength, he says. And I'm going to let that go a little bit for a little while and just worry about getting myself down to where, being somebody as big as I am, I feel better about moving around, feel better about being more active and conditioning.

Part of that activity, like many retirees, means hitting the linksWhitworths handicap has been as low as 2 in the past, and hes hoping to improve it even further. But his retirement wont be all plaid slacks and strolls down the fairway. The former NFL big man had just finished a near-max effort training session when we caught up with him. I spent the last week traveling, so I didnt work out as much last week, and my trainer just murdered me, he says. Im trying not to throw up.

Whitworth kept his lunch down long enough to share what hes eaten to drop 25 pounds in the past few months, his post-retirement training plans, and tips for guys who want to get involved in their communityor get after it fast in the gym during a busy week of travel.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

My focus really since the Super Bowl has been eating better, eating less, really cutting down my portion control and eating a lot healthier, and preparing when I know there's going to be a trip or something. Preparing my diet to say all right, maybe the one meal's bad, but the rest of the day is really good.

Then training-wise, I'm probably down 20, 25 pounds, and I've literally just walked. I just play golf and I probably walk 20 to 30 miles a week. I just try to every day get out and walk four to five miles, listening to music, audiobooks, those kind of things. I'm plenty strong, and muscle mass is not an issue for me. So I'm going to spend three to four months trying to get my weight down, and just walk and not really put the body under a ton of stress so that I can get myself down to a weight where then it's the next phase. Then it's like, all right, let's pick it upsome version of HIIT training or CrossFitting or, what's going to be the new thing? Jiu jitsu? Muay Thai?

I look at it as in this phase, I'm trusting that I've built a life of muscle mass and having strength. And I'm going to let that go a little bit for a little while and just worry about getting myself down to where, being somebody as big as I am, I feel better about moving around, feel better about being more active and conditioning.

Courtesy of Andrew Whitworth

So I think the first goal for me is getting to under 300 pounds. It's really getting down to probably, like I always say, power forward shape, finding a way to kind of look somewhat like a power forward in the NBA. That's that's kind of the goal.

I don't know if I want to put an arbitrary date on it, but I think maybe like August 1 or the end of the summer, when really football season starts again, which would be normal for me, kind of in my mind to get started again saying, "All right, here's where I'm at. What are the goals going forward?"

Ryan trained our offensive line group the last couple of years in the off season. He's trained Cooper Kupp, Christian Yelich, a lot of different guys. But he really specializes right now in kind of this one on one training thing. You go from one exercise to the other. There's no break, there's no rest, there's no time down. You just constantly move it.

You might be doing something as simple as some kind of T-spine opening, but there's never a stopping point. You're going straight from that to a lunge, straight from that to an RDL, or a step up or an RFE [Bulgarian split squat]you're just constantly moving. There's times when we're just trying to move and tax the lungs a little bit. And that's kind of the focus right now, three days a week with him, it's that kind of thing. Opening the body up, moving really well, balance stuff.

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And then Tuesdays and Thursdays is some kind of healthy knee and ankle type day. We're working some mobility, some balance. There's a program called Knees Over Toes. It's gained a lot of traction. We do a lot of that type stuff, with some band stuff.

Probably the first two months or almost three months, I did literally egg whites and spinach in the morning. I love tuna, so I would do tuna steaks just sliced up, kind of seared with white rice and some spinach for lunch. And then I would do some version of either salmon, sea bass, something like that, and some rice at night... with some spinach as well.

If you hear the recurring theme, I can't stand greens, so I eat spinach. It's the only one I'll eat. And it's probably only because I loved Popeye when I was a little kid. But Eric Weddle and I, who played an eternity in the NFL, both can't stand greens, so we're big on the "greens are overrated" train just because we think we're living proof that it's not that important. But it probably is, and we're just idiots.

Now I've kind of moved into a phase of fasting. I'll do like 16-hour intermittent fasting. Sometimes I'll mix in a 24-hour day. For me, just in general, I have always seemed to lean out and do better, weight-wise by not eating breakfast. No matter how lean I eat, or how good my diet is, for whatever reason, breakfast has kind of always been a trigger for me to eat more or be hungrier throughout the day. And with fasting, I've always seemed to be goodhave a window, eat in that window, and then don't eat. And I just seem to do better, weight-wise.

I get up at 5-ish every morning and I'll get in the infrared sauna for an hour before we wake the kids up. I'll spend like an hour in the sauna at like 130- to 140-degree heatand sometimes I'm like half-asleep stillbut I just kind of lay and then sweat a little bit every morning. Then I get the kids up, have a cup of black coffee, and then once they're gone, I'll usually either go for a walk or I'll do my training in the morning. And then usually my first meal's at noon, so I go from 12 to 8.

Guys that are 6-foot-7, 330 pounds aren't meant to be swinging golf clubs. But I constantly send [Sorensen] different guys doing golf fitness on Instagram, and we'll kind of build little things into the workout time. But also I think what golf has really done for me is alignment. It feels crazy to say golf would have anything to do with an NFL player's regimen, but for me it's always been, about just crossing the "X" of your body.

Courtesy of Andrew Whitworth

When I was younger, it was like 6 a.m. workouts, and then I would go the driving range and put in headphones. I didn't play many rounds of golf, but I just would hit golf balls for hours a day. Two hours in the morning, eat some lunch, come back and hit for a couple of hours in the afternoon and just sweat. I lived in Louisiana in the offseasonit was 100 degrees, 100 percent humidity. I really believe that extended my career and gave me the ability to really handle the heat and training camp and all the feet time. For linemen, when you're 300-plus pounds out on the practice field, walkthroughs, practicesthat's three, four hours standing on your feet. And what's very similar to that? The game of golf. So, I mean, I would spend July every year walking the golf course with the bag on my back and just hitting golf balls, sometimes myself, sometimes with people. It was a part of my regimen to play every year. So it's kind of always been a little part of my workouts.

But now, yes, to your point, I'll do a lot more stuff, a lot of rotation, a lot of stuff that you need to make sure you get low back health, hip health. Opening the spine up in the hips and really getting a chance to get in some of those RDL positions and do some deep spine rotations while getting the hips involved. And I think for me, it's really learning how your hips rotate and move in the spine as welland how in the game of golf, which is interesting, how they rotate at different times.

A lot of guys joked with when I was first at the Rams, because I would not practice on certain days of the week. So the days I was off, I would do 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats, like every day. So I'd be sitting out there at practice, they'd be on the field and I'd be over there doing my squats and stuff. And the guys would laugh at me because they'd catch me on tape time to time on days supposed to be resting, and I'm working out.

That's always been a regimen of mine. I'm going to hit 100 squats, 100 sit ups, 100 pushups every day while I'm traveling.

I also love to throw in 30 on, 30 offs, or 40 on, 20 offs. I'll put on a 30-minute timerI have this app on my phone and I literally put on a 40-second on, 20-second off timer, and I'll just sit there for 30 minutes and get after it. Whatever comes to mind: sometimes jumping jacks, running in place, push ups, sit ups, bodyweight squats. I love just a 30-minute window of getting after it. For me, that's easier than sitting on a treadmill or jogging or any of that type. Get your heart rate up and try and maintain that workout for 30 minutes and you're almost getting that same effect.

Now, you also have to know to how to tinker. You could do that and blow it all out in 5 minutes. You're exhausted and you can't even finish the workout. So it's really having that knowledge: maybe I'm lunging one time, maybe I'm doing jumping jacks, maybe it's a situp. But if I've gotten to a point where I'm really exhausted, then this round may just be curls. I just want to keep moving. That's the ultimate goal for these 30 minutes.

I think that's an easy way to just get after it, blow out some calories and not make it so complicated. Because I think sometimes sitting in a weight room trying to figure out how to do all the reps and what body part it is you have to do that day... it can get a little boring and sometimes hard to do.

Over my time there's been some really special athletes to watch, but none more impressive than Aaron Donald. I mean, he's he's definitely the number one of one when it comes to training. Ive been impressed over the years, whether its Roger Saffold, James Harrison, Aaron Donald, Geno Atkins at times early in his career. T.J. Houshmanzadeh, I can remember, just the ability to get after it and have a plan. Even Carson PalmerI tell all the young quarterbacks when I meet them.

Just do something. You'll never regret doing a nice gesture.

It's the regimen, the plan, day in and day outthat consistency is really the key. That's the reason I brought up the thing about the 30 minute workout, or 100 pushups, situps, and squats. You really learn that it's more about consistency than it is about exactly what you're doing all the time. If you know yourself and you know what you need, and you can just force yourself to be consistent... that's really what the special ones have. All the special guys that I've been around, whether it be players, trainers, fitness guys, MMA fightersI'm more impressed by the consistency they live with and in their training. They have this ability to just make every day count. Even the days when it shouldn't count because you're exhausted or you're just not in the mood, they find a way to get something out of the day. And I think to me that's really important.

When people ask how were you good in the NFL? What made you a special player? I think in training it's no different. It's being a really good evaluator of where you're at, what you're good at, and what you're not. Make yourself uncomfortable and be willing to say, here's something that I could do a lot better and it would make a difference in my training.

And I think that's why I've always liked to challenge myself. I'm a big dude. It's not that fun to do something like hot yoga. It's like the last thing I think I want to do. But I also know that it's really good for me. So when I lived in Cincinnati, I used to play on Sundays. On Mondays, I'd do our morning lift with the team, and then Monday afternoons I'd go to hot yoga every single week. I got to a point where I craved it. Just that ability to get all those toxins, all the swelling and stuff out of my body.

So I think it's finding what you need. There's so many guys throughout the NFL that I watch that don't make itthey come in with a talent, and they only work on what they're good at. They never really address the things that they're not that good at. And that's really what ends up being the thing that dooms them. When you look at a guy like Aaron Donald, when you look at Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, what's special about those guys is not their talentevery player that walks in the NFL has some version of a talent. It's that the things that you wouldn't consider their talent are constantly rising. Maybe they'll never be as good as their special talent, but they're getting better at those things and it's making their special talent stick out even more.

And that's really to me how training is as well. If you already know you're really, really strong and you're just not getting where you want to go, then work on mobility, work on your conditioning. Find ways to to back off a little bit in the lifting and keep a little more balance in how you're training. If you're really weak, make yourself spend some days learning to get stronger. Find your weaknesses and put some attention to those things.

If you keep having these little things to get better at, you create more confidence. And that inspires you to work out harder and go further and make it more exciting.

You can lose sleep thinking about what the perfect thing to do is all the time. It's really just about the act of getting involved. And that could be sitting beside somebody who's going through a tough time, that could be sitting at a Boys and Girls Club and just conversating with people. It could be actually getting physically involved in wanting to build something or do something. It could be advocating for people. It could literally be your time, your money, your voicewhatever it is that really you want to do. But don't worry about it being perfect. Just do something. You'll never regret doing a nice gesture. You'll never go, "Man, I wish I wasn't nice. I wish I wasn't kind. I wish I wasn't humble." You don't look at those times and regret those things.

Courtesy of Andrew Whitworth

It's going to be one of those things that will inspire you, and it'll create this just rolling ball of, "How else can I get involved?" And you'll realize that just doing something and getting in the door will be what will jumpstart everything, just because you didn't wait and let the moment pass by without doing anything. You'll get inspired, and hopefully you can develop a consistent manner to keep going back. And I bet it's going to be one of the best things that ever happened to you.

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NFL Lineman Andrew Whitworth on Losing Weight and New Goals - Men's Health