A fit physique is the ultimate status symbol.

No money can buy it, you cannot inherit it, you cannot steal it, you cannot borrow it. You cannot hold on to it without constant work. It shows patience, passion, and discipline. It is true wealth.

I am, right now, as fit as I've ever been.

After a childhood and teenage years of gymnastics and cheerleading, I spent my twenties in yoga and running 5K's at least 3x per week.

The first six months of my MBA program are one of the only times in my life I've been "unfit," and had 10lbs to show for it. Fed up with how I felt and looked, I got back into yoga, completed the BeachBody Insanity Program and finally went back to lifting heavy at the gym.

When it comes to health and fitness, I am the 1%. Everything about it is a luxury. I feel good almost all the time. Not only do I feel awake, alert, and productive, specific pains like a chronic shoulder injury or the common cold are kept at bay by my active routine. I sleep well and wake up easily.

At 29, I look more or less the same as I did at 19. For women, liking the way you look in everything from sweatpants to bikinis is a heavenly state of self-acceptance that can seem unattainable. I enjoy it every day.

I won't lie, maintaining this level of physical fitness takes far more dedicated effort than it did in my early 20's. My nutrition is fairly regimented and I hit the gym religiously 3-4 times per week, and when I'm there, I kick my own ass so hard even the personal trainers comment on my "dedication."

To an outsider, my routine might seem fanatical, but as any fit person knows, you hit a rhythm that pumps so many feel-good endorphins into your bloodstream, you hate the days when you don't workout.

But I bought this luxury. My body is the most expensive thing I own.

I spend $70 per month for my gym membership, which works out to $840 per year. I understand that you can choose to run outside and do bodyweight exercises at home, but I can't have the body I want without a full weight room.

Most women don't realize there's a major short-cut to the body they want: lifting heavy weights. The answer to being ultra-fit isn't hours of cardio and knee push-ups, it's doing squats with a barbell loaded up until it weighs more than you do.

I burn through one pair of shoes per year plus regularly purchase fitness apparel. This probably costs $500 per year. And then there's my food. So much food and nutritional supplements. Together my fiancé and I spend about $600 per month on groceries, which is a lot for two people.

I imagine the bill would be closer to $400 if we didn't consume two chicken breasts each, every single day. I've outlined what a weight-lifting diet on a budget looks like, and it's still not cheap, but it's worth its price tag.

All in, I estimate the individual cost for my fitness routine is $3,000 per year.

It's the best $3,000 I spend, but I won't say it doesn't put a dent in my bank account. $3,000 is not a small amount of money. It's enough to pay for a nice vacation. It's enough to pay for my cellphone, Netflix, internet, daily Starbucks habit, and then some for an entire year.

Putting $3,000 towards my health and fitness each year instead of into a savings account will leave me $270,000 poorer in retirement. But exercising regularly and eating healthy increases the probability that I'll see my retirement years in the first place, so that's the tradeoff.

For Casey's stats and details about her diet and exercise routine, continue reading at Money After Graduation.

This post originally appeared on Money After Graduation.

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There's a lot of conflicting information out there about what makes the perfect recovery drink.

Brands like Gatorade and Powerade claim their products have the formula down, while exercise programs like P90X and others make recovery formulas they say have the perfect mixture of carbohydrates, proteins, and supplements to get you where you need to be after all that hard work.

So what's the truth?

We recently spoke to Shawn Arent, an exercise scientist at Rutgers University, and he gave us the lowdown. For many people doing a light workout, hydration is key, with a focus on replenishing fluids and electrolytes (and feel free to leave those sugary sports drinks behind).

But for high-intensity and muscle-training workouts especially, eating or drinking a sufficient amount of protein after exercise can help build muscle. In the end, Arent said, a lot of people are messing this up.

Here's what he told us when we asked him what people should do for a recovery drink:

"Honestly, for most people, 20 grams of protein. They can mix it with carbs, or not. If they did a real hard workout I would recommend mixing it with carbohydrates. But basically, 20 grams of protein shortly after your workout and then eat a normal meal within the next couple hours. I think that’s a real simple, easy strategy.

"Technically it [protein] could be more than that, but we tend to see it around 20 grams. Things like whey protein actually stimulate protein synthesis [which is important for building muscles]. So it increases recovery from that standpoint because of what it does to protein synthesis.

"There’s other effects even above and beyond that 20 grams, but for most people the 'top out' for the protein synthesis is right around there. So it’s a nice, easy number for most people to remember, because it’s roughly a scoop of protein from most protein powders.

"... But I think one of the things I see that can be a bad trend with that [recovery drinks], you know, people will get on the treadmill; they’ll do that half hour; they’ll burn 250 calories, and then they’ll go downstairs to the shake bar and get a 500-calorie shake. You didn’t work that hard; you don’t need 500 calories. So I think calorie awareness is an important thing."

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"I'm only 2,000 steps behind Julia, I have to keep going so I can beat her before I go to bed," my wife proclaims as she walks back and forth in the long hallway of our first floor apartment in New Jersey.

This is typical evening conversation in the Johnston household where Fitbit rules and couch potatoes drool. My wife is part of a group of people at her job who have banded their Fitbit bands together in the virtual world to create some healthy competition. And as a result of that competition, they're exercising a ton more.

Fitbits are, of course, those trendy little colored, computerized bands people wear constantly to help them count their steps and measure general fitness statistics throughout the day. They're part of a huge line of wearable fitness trackers hitting the market these days including, of course, the Apple Watch that just debuted.

These fitness trackers record all sorts of activity throughout the day including general exercise, but what my wife — and many others — focus on is the built in pedometer, or step tracker. The Fitbit records each step you take via a three-axis accelerometer. Basically, the device knows when it's shifting its own orientation. That allows it to predict the movement of your feet based on the way your wrist is moving with the Fitbit strapped on.

There’s an emerging movement in health and fitness for people to start tracking the steps they take in their everyday lives. And there's a magic number many people are working toward: 10,000 steps in a day.

As the Fitbit blog notes, 10,000 steps per day is the number used by the American Heart Association as a benchmark for improving health and lowering your chances of heart disease. The Global Corporate Challenge (GCC) has also conducted studies as backing for its own 10,000 step program and found significant improvements in weight, high blood pressure, waist size, and BMI just from walking. 

Fitbit bands connect to your phone and operate through the Fitbit app. There's tons of stuff within the application, but one of the most interesting aspects is the ability to add friends who also have a Fitbit and compete with them for steps on a daily basis.

My wife is part of a group of co-workers who all have Fitbits and have connected to each other through the app. Each day, a leaderboard is populated with each of their names organized in order of how many steps they have. The members of the group compete to climb higher on the leaderboard and get more steps. The more steps, the more frequently you win the day's challenge, and as a result — the healthier you get!

I asked some of the members of the group about how it impacts their daily lives. 

"I'm a mildly competitive person with others, but intensely competitive with myself, so hitting my daily and weekly personal goals matter most, despite what others may be doing or not,"Julia DiNardo, who competes in multiple Fitbit groups per day, told me. "It is a good benchmark to see where I rank amongst others, and to push myself to take the long way, one more time, to the office kitchen."

My wife also feels motivated by the leaderboard and step counts. "Having a leaderboard makes me feel more accountable than I would if it were just me and the Fitbit," she said. "Even if it doesn't matter to them, I know they can see if I've been slacking in my steps and it makes me want to try harder. Also, I can set mini goals for myself if I find out I'm not too far behind the next person. For example, if I'm number 2 on the list and number 1 has only 1,000 more steps than I do, I might set a goal to do 1,000 or even just 500 more before I can sit down again."

She continued: "I mostly use it just to track steps, but I think it's a great reality check to know that by 4:00 p.m., I normally have around 8,000 steps, so if I check at that time and only have 2,000 steps, I know I need to get moving."

It's worth noting that the concept of competing for fitness goals through a mobile app is not new. For example, I'm a huge fan of cycling app Strava, which records bike trips and enlists you in challenges to ride more miles than other users all around the country.

But Fitbit is, in many ways, a leader at the intersection of technology and fitness because of its widely known brand name and the popularity of its device. And based on the research we have on the health improvements that accompany a greater focus on consistent walking during the course of the day, there are a lot of positives here.

"Fitbit, for me, is like a coach on my wrist - it makes me feel very accountable for everything I do or don't do in terms of movement and eating," Susan Kaufman told me. And it's hard to argue with that.

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So you want to lose a few pounds.

You've heard the mantra: You need to start eating right and exercising.

But at the back of your mind, you wonder. When it comes down to it, which is more important: getting a salad instead of fries or hitting the gym four days a week?

Severalstudies have suggested that diet — cutting calories from food — is the key player here, since working out burns far fewer calories (and takes far more time) than most people think.

But other studies have shown that if you want to keep those pounds off, you need to eat right and work out regularly.

We recently talked to Philip Stanforth, a professor of exercise science at the University of Texas and the executive director of the Fitness Institute of Texas, about this. He told us that in the short-term, diet is far more important for shedding pounds. But over the long-term, regular workouts are critical to keeping that weight off and staying fit.

Here's Stanforth (emphasis is our own):

Studies tend to show that in terms of weight loss, diet plays a much bigger role than exercise. But when you look at people who've lost weight and are also managing to keep it off, exercise is important.

There was a recent study on this in a large group of people who'd lost weight. And when you looked at the people who were able to keep it off, something like over 90% of those people exercised regularly.

There have been other studies where they've matched calorie deficit with exercise expenditure — [meaning you have one group of people cutting 500 calories from their daily diet, for example, and another group of people burning 500 calories at the gym every day] — you see pretty much the same type of changes.

But thinking practically, keep in mind you'd have to walk 35 miles to burn 3,500 calories. That's a lot of walking. But if you look at eating, a Snickers bar might have, say, 500 calories. It's going to be a lot easier to cut the Snickers bar than to do 5 miles of walking every day.

All of that comes with an important caveat, though, Stanforth says.

Lots of people have lost weight. Fewer people have kept it off.

Again we've seen that 90% of people who keep it off — at least in that study I mentioned — exercise regularly. So it looks like it plays a bigger role there.

What all this research is showing, we think, is that there's something about exercising that helps with weight loss and keeping it off.

Research has shown that in addition to helping with sustained weight loss, exercise can have several other positive effects on our lives, from helping to boost our mood and protect our bodies from the detrimental effects of aging to helping us manage the symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety.

Plus, building and maintaining muscle can often mean your body will actually burn more calories throughout the day.

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Most of who work in front of a computer spend the day with our arms in front of us, shoulders forward, and our heads tilted down. Then we walk around with our eyes and head looking down at the cell phones we hold in front of us. Our lives don't require us to build up strong core muscles that support our backs.

Is it any surprise then that we collectively have terrible posture?

And that forward-bent spine might have implications beyond an ugly slouch. Some think that posture problems are the source of chronic back pain, the leading cause of new and existing long-term disability claims.

Most experts agree that fixing these problems would at least help solve back pain, and would come with other benefits too. Improved posture boosts confidence and is even associated with lower levels of stress hormones in your body.

So how do we start sitting — and standing — up straight?

The real key is strengthening our core muscles so they can adequately support our spine. Losing weight helps too. Carrying extra body fat and having weaker abdominal muscles is likely to pull your back forward — causing that slump and potentially, back pain too.

But quick, small steps can help too. An easy one to do at your desk is a shoulder roll, according to Esther Gokhale, the author of a book about back pain, who the New York Times has referred to as the "posture guru" of Silicon Valley.

Having your shoulders hunched forward makes your back bend in an unnatural position, but a simple shoulder roll can help realign them. You can't just try to pull them back though. That's hard to maintain and won't last long.

Here's how Gokhale recommends fixing that shoulder hunch:

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So maybe you don't think you have the "ideal body," but are you actually overweight? 

By calculating your body mass index (BMI), you can find out once and for all whether you should lose — or put on — some pounds. 

Produced by Matt Johnston and Alex Kuzoian. Special thanks to Josh Neufeld.

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Traveling? No time for a gym? No problem. Here's a fast fat-burning full-body workout you can do anywhere. 

Video courtesy of CJ Koegel 

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It's generally common knowledge that if you're not pushing yourself during a workout, you're not getting the kind of benefit you likely want from your exercise.

But how do you know that you're working hard enough? Heart rate monitors can help, but what if you don't have one?

We spoke recently with Shawn Arent, an exercise scientist at Rutgers University, and we asked him to give us tips on how to know you're working hard enough.

He recommends technology like good heart rate monitors, but he also has some other tricks.

Here's what he told us:

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So you want to drop a couple sizes. You know the drill: Eat more veggies; fewer cookies. Drink more water; less soda. Work out a few times a week.

Still, while most of us know the basics of healthy living, getting trim is hard work.

That's why we recently talked to exercise scientist Philip Stanforth, executive director of the Fitness Institute of Texas and a professor of exercise science at the University of Texas, to find out more about what to look out for when losing weight.

He told us there are three main obstacles that face most people who are trying to lose weight, and overcoming them can make a huge difference.

1. We spend way too much time sitting

"In the world we live today to think people could not be overweight is ridiculous, because in the normal course of the day we expend so few calories," said Stanforth. "The chances are much higher that we’re going to eat more than that." In other words, a daily regimen of sitting at our desks, driving to and from work, and ordering takeout probably means we're going to end up eating more than we burn off.

This, plus the fact that much of the food we eat comes stuffed with calorie-rich sugar and fat, makes evening out this ratio of burning to eating even harder.

There are some simple solutions to a sedentary lifestyle, though. While research has shown that simply working out won't cut it, getting up for a few minutes every hour might just do the trick.

2. We're really, really bad at remembering what we've eaten and how much exercise we've done

Even when we're making an effort to be more conscious of what we're putting into our bodies and how active we are, we tend to give ourselves more credit than we deserve.

"People tend to overestimate their physical activity and underestimate how much food they eat," Stanforth said. "They consistently think they've worked out more and consistently think they've eaten less."

Several recent studies back up Stanforth's observations. In a recent editorial published in the Mayo Clinic's peer-reviewed journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the researchers wrote: "The assumption that human memory can provide accurate or precise reproductions of past ingestive behavior is indisputably false."

The problem here isn't just that memories aren't reliable historical records— it's also that we often overlook the calories in many of the foods we eat habitually.

Take coffee, for instance. Black coffee has just about 2 calories — less than a stick of sugar-free gum. But cream and sugar can add anywhere from 25-150 calories per serving.

"Most people will think, 'Oh I had a coffee this morning and coffee has few-to-no calories,' so it's not significant," says Stanforth." But when you add cream and sugar, that can end up being far more significant."

3. Our portion sizes are way, way out of proportion

In recent years, the amount of food we consider to be a single serving has ballooned. In some foods, it's increased as much as a whopping 700%. What most people would think of as a serving of ice cream, for example, is probably about a cup. In reality, though, a 230-calorie "serving" of Ben and Jerry's is half a cup, or just about 8 large spoonfuls!

"Portion size is a big problem," says Stanforth. "Most people would say, 'Well that looks like a serving,' but in reality it's two or three servings."

Think of this the time you're out to eat. If you get a bowl of pasta, consider taking half to-go. If you're eating family-style, start by covering half your plate in salad greens.

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Cancel your gym membership and throw out those old Tae Bo tapes — getting in shape is now as simple as turning on your computer.

It's super easy to hack your fitness routine using YouTube. Channels devoted to everything from yoga and pilates to weight-lifting and parkour will have you looking and feeling better in no time. 

Plus, it's a totally free way to build a new exercise plan or spice up your current routine. 

Here's a look at 15 YouTube fitness stars who will have you off your couch and sweating in no time.

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Cassey Ho wants you to "train like a beast" to "look like a beauty."

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Combining pilates moves with sculpting workouts, the "Blogilates" channel is wildly popular on YouTube.

Starring certified fitness instructor Cassey Ho, the videos feature popular music to help keep your energy level high during her high-intensity workouts. 

Her "5 Minute" video series is great for fitness in a hurry. Each video involves doing one minute of five individual moves targeted to work a specific area, such as legs, arms, or abs. 

YouTube subscribers: 2,346,042

Try Ho's "Intense INNER THIGH Challenge" to tone up your legs. 

Train with "Official Barstarzz" to impress your friends with some intense new moves.

If you're getting bored with your regular fitness routine mix things up with some of the exciting videos from "Official Barstarzz."

This international fitness team proves that you can get ripped just about anywhere, from your driveway to your office floor. 

"You don't need expensive equipment or gym memberships at all. Anything we do can be done if not at your home, then your local park. This is real strength, functional fitness,"explains the team's Facebook page. 

YouTube subscribers: 513,977

Learn how to do an impressive "back clap push up"here. 

Elliot Hulse can help you make some serious gains.

Strongman Elliot Hulse is focused on helping you "become the strongest version of yourself," with his YouTube channel, "Strength Camp."

Don't be intimidated: Hulse breaks his workouts down clearly, like this video which teaches his top four exercises for getting stronger.  

"Strength Camp" videos do require some equipment, so you'll have to make sure you have the right weights and supplies for your body. 

YouTube subscribers: 1,356,454

Learn how to properly execute a dead-lift with this video. 

We all know it's important to exercise.

The CDC recommends adults get two and a half hours of moderately intense activity — like briskly walking or riding a bike — each week.

But finding the time and energy to do it can be a struggle: Nearly 80% of adults don't meet these basic fitness goals.

You might be familiar with the physical benefits of regular workouts, but the psychological ones are equally important.

Regular exercise may help with everything from boosting your mood to improving your sleep schedule. Keeping these in mind could help push you to hit the gym a little more frequently.

Here are some of the biggest psychological benefits of exercise, which we compiled using research from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP):

1. It lifts your mood.

Research has shown that regular exercise can help give your mood a boost. Several recent studies suggest that, whether you lift weights or go for a run, working out can help reduce anxiety and improve overall mental health.

A recent study of 8,000 Dutch people between ages 16 and 65 found that, in general, people who exercised regularly "were more satisfied with their life and happier than non-exercisers at all ages," the authors wrote in their paper.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has also said that exercising can help make you feel happier — and in some cases the results can be felt pretty quickly. "The link between exercise and mood is pretty strong," Boston University psychology professor Michael Otto told the APA. "Usually within five minutes after moderate exercise you get a mood-enhancement effect."

2. It reduces stress.

Working out can help reduce overall stress levels, as well as improve your ability to cope with and respond to mentally taxing situations.

"Exercise may be a way of biologically toughening up the brain so stress has less of a central impact,"said Otto.

3. It boosts your confidence.

In addition to lifting your mood, regular exercise can also help support a healthier body image, according to a growing body of research.

Whether it's a result of physically changing your body or being proud of completing a set amount of exercise, the positive effects of establishing a workout routine can translate into increased self-satisfaction, the AASP reports.

4. It helps you sleep.

And as we all know, more sleep means more energy throughout the day. And regular workouts can help you keep a regular sleep schedule.

A recent study of young people found that those who worked out intensely in the evenings slept better than their peers who didn't work out or who worked out less intensely. The ones who exercised more vigorously also tended to fall asleep faster, wake up fewer times throughout the night, and sleep more deeply than those who exercised less vigorously.

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OK, so you want to get off your butt and get into shape, but where do you start?

A lot of people jump into an exercise regimen they create themselves without really knowing how to design a productive, well-rounded routine.

That can often lead to developing only certain parts of your body and not concentrating on all areas of fitness.

So when we recently talked with Shawn Arent, an exercise scientist at Rutgers University, we asked him what makes a solid, basic routine for someone just starting out.

He said to focus on mixing it up and to ease up on the single-minded dedication to cardiovascular exercise.

Here's what he told us:

"What a lot of people don’t know is to take a balanced approach including cardiovascular conditioning along with strengthening. People tend to pick one or the other or they heavily rely on just the cardio side at the expenses of others. I think when it comes to exercise programming it's important to pay attention to your weaknesses. A lot of guys go to the beach and all they train is their beach muscles — it's bench press and curls. Well, you've got a back and some legs you've got to deal with too.

"The best exercises when it comes to lifting weights are the ones that require multiple joint movements: Squats, dead lifts, bench presses, shoulder presses, kettle bell swings ... there's all kinds of fun stuff you can do.

"It depends on what [your] goals are [in starting a program], but I think if you had to try to boil it down, it would be: 1. Lift weights. Split it up so that you do upper body one day, lower body the next, and rotate through that in a week. You know — upper, lower, upper, lower — lift four days a week.

"The second part then is: Do cardiovascular exercise at an intensity that makes it difficult to carry on a conversation. We use the 'talk test.' If somebody doesn’t have a heart-rate monitor, and they want to know, 'How hard should I work out?' [The answer is] hard enough that you could still probably talk to somebody but it would be a broken conversation, in other words you couldn't just talk leisurely while you're doing it. You'd have to take a breath every once in a while to catch your breath. So it should be a difficult conversation, but maybe not so hard that you can't talk at all.

"Unless you want to start doing intervals. I would probably save that for ... when somebody really gets going with a program. But if [you] just want to get started and [you're] looking for the two simplest solutions: Lift weights, rotate between upper body and lower body, and do some cardio that makes you sweat, that makes it a little challenging to talk, but something that you can do for 20, 30 minutes at a time."

SEE ALSO: We asked an exercise scientist what you should drink right after a workout

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Chantal Strasburger first heard about the Whole 30 diet after her junk-food-loving friend confessed she overhauled her diet in an attempt to distance herself from sugar. Whole 30, she learned, was not only a break from sugar, but from so many ubiquitous foods. Strasburger was perplexed.

“I’ve always tried to eat healthy,” Strasburger told Business Insider, but liked the specific rules and guidelines this newfangled Whole 30 diet provided. She gave it a shot.

Now, the former Teen Vogue employee admits she’s hooked.

What is Whole 30?

You might have heard about it or seen photos on Pinterest or Instagram, but here are the basics you need to know: Whole 30 is, as its name suggests, a strict 30-day weight loss program that makes you swear off all dairy, grains, legumes, soy, alcohol, sugar, and any processed foods.

More often than not, Whole 30 is compared to its cousin the Paleo Diet, which has been around since the 1970s and emphasizes eating clean foods or nothing that wouldn’t have been consumed by early man (though this has gotten pushback in the scientific community).

While both diets cut out similar food groups, there are a few key differences. Whole 30 allows no added sugar while paleo only prohibits refined sugar; Whole 30 doesn’t allow recreating junk food like candy with approved ingredients while paleo has no problem with it; and paleo wants only grass-fed or grain-fed meat whereas Whole 30 makes no such recommendation.

#breakfast time!!! #whole30 #day4 has begun!!! Yummmmm!!! 3 eggs (cooked with lemon extra virgin olive oil for more flavor) and a grapefruit. So #delicious! Hoping today is full of energy and smiles! 💜💜 . #yumyum #wholeeffort #tasty #simple #paleo #nomnomnom #letsdothis #IAmWhole30 #ISWF #JERF #whole30happy #my30wholedays #nomatterwhat #blog #diary #journal #eggs #grapefruit #grainfree #homecook #itispossible #onedayatatime #sugarfree

A photo posted by Whole30 Challenger! (@my30wholedays) on Jun 25, 2015 at 5:50am PDT

It was started in 2009 by Salt Lake City couple Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. The Hartwigs began writing about their new diet regimen on Melissa’s then-blog after Dallas said adapting to the strict regimen helped reduced his chronic shoulder inflammation.

The couple are both licensed nutritionists, but not everyone in the field agrees with Whole 30.

“The grouping [of banned foods] is both random, and rather bizarre from a nutrition perspective,” David L. Katz, M.D., the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center told Business Insider in an email. “If the idea is good nutrition, cutting out whole grains and legumes is at odds with a boatload of evidence.”   

But that hasn’t stopped Whole 30 from becoming a huge trend. The couple soon grew a following for the brand that has since swelled to over 150,000 followers on Instagram, 1.5 million website visitors, and over 230,000 likes on Facebook. They’ve written two Whole 30 books and have multiple hashtags like #iamwhole30 or #whole30recipes to promote the brand. Each of those hashtags lead to hundreds of photos on social platforms.est.

Many of the people posting those photos are millennials. Despite highly restrictive guidelines banning everything from bread to alcohol, 20-and-30-somethings are flocking to the program — sharing their results and meals while looking for inspiration on Instagram and Pinterest from others on the same journey.

“I have a whole secret Pinterest page filled with Whole 30 recipes,” Strasburger admitted to Business Insider. “I think it is somewhat‘cultish’ you could say. I’m also addicted to before and after pictures on Instagram— I could spend hours looking through them.”

What’s it like to follow Whole 30? 

Strasburger's friend Michael Offerman admits he made fun of her for Whole 30 at first.

Offerman, a New York-based strategist at brand strategy agency Redscout, told Business Insider Chantal would "come over to parties and she wouldn’t drink or she wouldn’t eat pizza, and we would say ‘Chantal, this is insane, this is an absurd diet.’”

But after watching her progress, Offerman decided to give it a shot.

“My roommate and I did it together,” he told us. “I thought it’ll be healthy, it’ll be kind of a fun thing, and it’s only for 30 days. I liked that there was a time frame associated with it so it wasn’t this endless diet.”

Before starting the diet, people are encouraged to get rid of all the food that doesn’t meet Whole 30’s strict standards and go grocery shopping.

Grocery shopping for the last week of #whole30 is done! Got a pot roast in the crockpot that will be ready for dinner! #day24 #groceries #groceryhaul #grocerycart #whole30asfuck #whole30homies #whole30challenge #paleo #cavewoman #veggies #meat #protein #fitfam #fitgirl #fitfood #iamwhole30 #whole9 #iquitsugar

A photo posted by Karla Anderson (@fitgirl_karla_whole30) on Jun 24, 2015 at 8:58am PDT

“We threw out a ton of food and went to Fairway and spent four times what we’d normally spend on groceries,” Offerman said. “Meats and vegetables, we just went crazy.”

But the diet isn’t as easy as an expensive trip to the grocery store. In addition to taking the time to plan meals and allowing both your taste buds and body to adjust, the first week on Whole 30 can be a nightmare.

You’re going to be moody, but not for long

“You start out feeling awful and almost like you’re detoxing because your body is not having as much sugar as it’s used to having,” Strasburger said. “You’re cranky and in a bad mood and hate everything.”

“The first week and a half I was like ‘this is miserable,’” Offerman agreed. “I felt like I was eating more than I actually normally did because I was craving carbs. Not having dairy was also particularly hard for me.”

I posted this on my Facebook yesterday, and woke up thinking about pizza today 😂 ah well over #halfway through #whole30 #absaremadeinthekitchen #cleanlifestyle #dedication #eatforabs #fit #fitfam #fitspo #fatloss #fitgirl #fitlife #fitmind #fitness #fitchick #fitforlife #fitspiration #fitlifestyle #healthygirl #lifestylechange #paleolifestyle #stronggirls #strongnotskinny #traininsaneremainthesame #workforit #weightloss #iamwhole30 #whole30girl #whole30round5 #whole30ers

A photo posted by Vee, 🇬🇧Leeds Lass⬇️-28lbs (@vee1981) on Jun 23, 2015 at 12:10am PDT

But both said that by the second week, they noticed their clothes fitting better, stopped craving sugar or bread in the same way, and had more energy.

“The main thing I found out is you stop missing things,” Strasburger said. “Right before I went on it, I was eating a ton of hummus, I was just spoon feeding it. And I thought it was going to be hardest thing, but after a week or two you realize you don’t need it, you don’t miss it, and your taste buds adjust to what you are eating.”

Your friends will have to get over it

The most challenging part ultimately wasn’t the dietary restrictions, but outside peer pressure. Both Strasburger and Offerman said they thought about ditching Whole 30 in moments like not being able to drink alcohol socially, grab lunch with coworkers, or having the freedom to order whatever they wanted when they were dining out with friends.

“It’s hard when you live in a city where your social life is based around eating,” Strasburger, who lives in New York, told Business Insider.

“There’s so many social occasions that revolve around food and beverage you don’t really notice it until you’re actively depriving yourself of that,” Offerman agreed. “Especially alcohol, I think. It’s much more common than I thought it was.”

Nutrition expert Dr. Katz warns that this pressure could mean the diet won’t be easy to maintain after the 30 days are over.

“It’s very silly, and unlikely to be either sustainable by most people, or shareable with other family members,” he told us. “It is, in other words, a ‘diet,’ not a way of eating well for a lifetime.”

You might not lose weight, but you’ll feel awesome

Whole 30 doesn't package itself as a diet that helps people lose weight, but as a diet that focuses on improving eating habits and changing the way people think about food.

“I think a lot of people, myself included, are a little disappointed you don’t lose any weight,” Offerman said. “That’s not the intention, but it’s still something people think about.”

Instead, the program focuses on what it calls “non-scale victories,” whether that’s clothing fitting better, acne clearing up, or even noticing significant health changes. On it’s website, Whole 30 claims it can help with diabetes, depression, chronic fatigue, infertility, back pain, insomnia, and more.

The black is my before and the pink are after. I see that through my #whole30 i was able to loose some "muffin top" and lose 6 pounds. What I feel is better and more in control. I feel I am better able to or more willing to say no I don't need that instead of sure it's in front of me why not. The challenge was tough and real life events don't really work out too well when you are in it but I was a nice experience. My goals going into this was digestive reset and if weight loss happened then great! I came away with more than I thought I would. I would definitely recommend giving it a go. It is not easy by the benefits are astronomical. Now I'm working on finding a medium that will work for me and my life!

A photo posted by @fitfoodiejj on Jun 25, 2015 at 7:27am PDT

Of course, some experts say there's no secret that eating less sugar and processed foods is good for your health. 

“Obesity itself is a cause of much ill health, and fixing it is apt to feel better,” Dr. Katz told Business Insider about the claims. “This is just another diet for a population that knows the truth about eating well for weight control and health, but refuses to swallow it and just keeps holding out for magical pixie dust.”

But the people who have tried it maintain it works for them.

“It makes you realize how much control food has over us,” Strasburger said. “If it’s hard for you to give up ice cream for 30 days then that’s exactly why you should be doing Whole 30 because you obviously need to work on why you’re eating what you’re eating and what kind of emotional power it has over you.”

“I think I would take the principals I learned from it and do a less strict version [of Whole 30],” Offerman said when asked whether or not he’d commit to Whole 30 in the future. “I would do it again, but with some ability to cheat.”

If you want to try Whole 30, here are their top tips:

Plan ahead for the week. Whole 30 encourages people to have a “meal planning” day where they wash and chop vegetables and get their meals ready. It’ll make you a lot less likely to want to go out and buy a breakfast sandwich in the morning when half of your meal is ready to go.

Use lots of spices.“We went through spices about four times as much,” Offerman said. “We used spices for everything, like sriracha, all-purpose seasonings, or old bay. We put it on anything and it tasted great.”

Get inventive. Strasburger said she would make a pizza crust-alternative out of zucchini and eggs, a chocolate smoothie with cacao, avocado, and banana, or rice made out of cauliflower. Find replacements that might not be an exact recreation for what you’re craving, and make them Whole 30 applicable.

Don’t think of meals as “breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” “With Whole 30, they want you to stop thinking about meals as breakfast lunch and dinner, but meals 1, 2, and 3,” Strasburger explained. “If you stop looking at breakfast as breakfast but rather your first meal, you’re more likely to have brussels sprouts or a salad or chicken, which gives you more options.” 

It’s okay if you cheat…a little. Whole 30 stresses that followers shouldn’t try to recreate foods like pancakes and junk food. But sometimes, a little cheat can go a long way towards helping you finish the diet.  

“In the bulk food section of Whole Foods, we found these coconut, cocoa, almond butter balls that were actually Whole 30, but we’d buy them and that was our dessert,” Offerman said. “It was cheating, but there was no sugar in them, so it was technically okay.”

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There are thousands of diet plans out there with lots of different approaches to achieving the same goal: trim the fat.

Are there universal truths about weight loss that we can all learn? The answer is yes. There is an undeniable science behind the process of losing weight, and it all boils down to a simple equation.

Produced by Matt Johnston

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As healthy as you think your diet may be, there are probably a few things you're overlooking.

It's not your fault: Research shows that, in general, we're really, really bad at remembering not only what we've eaten but also how much exercise we've done throughout the day.

The problem here isn't just that our memories aren't reliable — it's also that we often overlook the calories in many of the foods we eat habitually, from coffee to the occasional handful of granola.

Take this quiz to find out which foods you should eat — and which ones you should avoid — to keep you full and energized throughout the day.

UP NEXT: 17 'healthy habits' you're better off giving up

SEE ALSO: 11 health benefits of caffeine, the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world

It's Monday morning. Before you leave for the office, do you eat A. a bowl of cereal or B. toast and eggs?

You should have picked: B. toast and eggs

Eggs are packed with protein to keep you full and vitamins to power your immune system and keep your hair and nails healthy. And hard-boiling them doesn't add any fat or calories.

The toast adds some healthy carbs for energy and fiber to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

You've been working for a few hours. Your mind is getting foggy and you're fighting off the urge to crawl under your desk with a pillow and blanket. Do you A. head to the kitchen for a coffee or B. put on some tennis shoes and go for a quick stroll around the block?

Breakfast, lunch and dinner do the body good.

But what about a late dinner, midnight snack and middle-of-the night munching?

Research consistently shows that people who eat late at night weigh more than those who eat all of their food earlier in the day.

For example, people who eat most of their food at night have higher body mass indexes than people who eat earlier in the day, according to a 2007 study published in the International Journal of Obesity.

And in one study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants who ate between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. gained more weight than those who kept their mouth shut during those hours.

But what is it about nighttime that makes the fat pack on?

Nothing good happens after 10 p.m.

“Over the years, I have reviewed research that says that only the total caloric intake ingested over the day matters,” says board-certified bariatric physician Dr. Caroline Cederquist, author of "The MD Factor Diet."“I think this is the real crux of the issue. At midnight, people will rarely make chicken and salad. They will eat ice cream or chips, the high-fat or high-sugar foods that our bodies store so effectively as fat.”

In fact, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, nighttime eaters ate 12% more calories than those who ate only throughout the day.

And in the International Journal of Obesity study, nighttime eaters participated in more binge-eating behaviors than those who didn’t eat after dinner.

Binging on high-sugar, high-fat foods causes you to go to bed with elevated blood sugar levels. At any time of day, these set the body up for subsequent sugar crashes and weight gain, with the body quickly storing excess sugar as fat, says Lori Zanini, a California-based registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with HealthCare Partners medical group. But, since your body uses less sugar as fuel when you’re lying in bed as opposed to running around, potentially more sugar winds up in your fat cells when you eat those foods late at night.

Throwing off your rhythm

Still, the problems with late-night eating extend far past what people choose to eat before bed.

Animal research from Northwestern University suggests that eating at night can lead to weight gain – even if you don’t eat excess calories. Researchers claim this is because eating at night can interfere with the body’s circadian rhythms.

For instance, insulin — the hormone responsible for getting the sugar in your blood to your body’s cells for fuel — runs along with your circadian clock. So at night (when your body thinks you should be asleep and fasting), your body’s cells become more resistant to the hormone, according to a 2013 animal study in Current Biology. That means that eating large nighttime meals can cause especially high blood-sugar levels and, over time, fat accumulation, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.

What’s more, eating right before bed can disrupt your sleep to make next-day cravings a biological inevitability. 

Eating, especially a large meal, late at night also increases your risk of heartburn. “Esophageal reflux commonly occurs when our stomachs are full and we lie down, allowing the stomach contents to reflux into the esophagus causing discomfort and affecting sleep,” Cederquist says.

She also notes that in patients who have metabolic dysfunction (common in overweight individuals) and eat high-carb meals before bed, blood-sugar levels nose-dive throughout the night. “This hypoglycemia wakes people right up from sleep and makes it hard to fall back to sleep after, disrupting normal sleep patterns,” she says.

After a bad night’s sleep, the body’s levels of appetite-triggering hormones increase, while hormones that blunt hunger drop, according to a 2013 study in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Peoples' bodies become resistant to insulin’s effects, raising the risk of fat accumulation, obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Hence why one meta-analysis published in Sleep studying 634,511 people worldwide found that those who frequently miss out on sleep suffer from weight gain and obesity.

Eat right at night

“I usually recommend individuals stop eating approximately 1.5 to 2 hours before going to bed to allow for digestion.

Since we digest our food better when we are upright, this allows our body to truly rest and repair while we are sleeping in preparation for the next day,” Zanini says.

“Still, even if it’s late at night, if an individual is hungry, he or she should eat. It’s important to listen to our body’s hunger cues at all times,” she says. Going hungry will set you up for low blood sugar levels, intense cravings and binging once you finally do eat.

If that’s you, fight the urge to reach for high-fat, high-sugar goods and opt for a healthy protein-packed snack. “That way, the food will be much less likely to elevate blood sugar and then cause a rapid fall in the early morning hours,” Cederquist says. Zanini recommends reaching for almonds, low-fat cottage cheese and tomatoes, Greek yogurt with cinnamon or vegetables dipped in hummus or guacamole.

READ MORE: Here's why you should never eat right before bed

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The P90X exercise regimen is not for everyone. You have to commit at least an hour and a half a day to the program to see optimum results — that's over 10 hours a week. Keeping to its strict schedule is doubly tough if yours is already jam-packed with work and social engagements. The DVD program also costs a whopping $140.

Celebrity trainer Mike Karpenko's 30-day workout and nutrition plan, FitLife, focuses on building lean muscle and increasing endurance levels, all while helping you shed stubborn fat. Paired with a detailed nutritional guide, the regimen is ideal for even the busiest of people. That's because it boasts results by blocking out as little as 10 minutes a day. 

The real cherry on top is its price: At an accessible $19, the video series leaves extra room in your wallet for other fun fitness accessories. Bluetooth earbuds, anyone?  

FitLife 30-Day Fitness Challenge, $19 (originally $149), available at StackCommerce.[87% off]

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New research claims that berries, grapes and other fruits can help cut down the type of fat that leads to weight gain. Researchers believe that the study findings could help devise a strategy for the treatment and prevention of obesity.

According to a research team at Washington State University, daily intake of fruits helps convert weight-gaining "white" fat into calorie-burning "beige" fat. This, in turn, prevents an increase in weight.

During the study, researchers provided a high-fat diet to the subject mice. A few mice were supplied with resveratrol, an antioxidant commonly found in almost all fruits. The amount of resveratrol given to the mice was equivalent to between two and three servings of fruits per day for humans.

The researchers noticed that the mice who consumed resveratrol ultimately gained 40 percent less weight than the mice who were not fed resveratrol. Researchers believe that due to resveratrol, the mice were able to convert white fat into beige or brown fat, preventing weight gain. The team believes that similar polyphenols in different fruits might also help in oxidation of body fat.

“They convert white fat into beige fat which burns lipids (fats) off as heat, helping to keep the body in balance and prevent obesity and metabolic dysfunction. We are using resveratrol as a representative for all the polyphenols,” said lead researcher Professor Min Du in a statement.

In addition to berries and grapes, apples and red wine also contain resveratrol. However, grapes have the highest amount of the polyphenol. The study findings have been published in the International Journey of Obesity

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We all have them — habits we think are healthy because we heard them somewhere on the news or from a health-conscious friend. And no matter how much we hate them, we just keep doing them because we think they're good for us.

Take avoiding gluten, for example. Is it really healthy?

Or taking a daily multivitamin. Healthy habit or a little bit of nonsense?

The answers to these questions might surprise you.

Have some we missed? Send them along to science(at)businessinsider.com.

Using a standing desk

A recent long-term study looking at data on nearly 4,000 US adults found no benefit in terms of overall risk of dying from standing as opposed to sitting.

In the short-term, however, standing does burn more calories per minute; so if losing weight is all you're worried about, stand on!

Using toilet seat liners

Viruses like HIV and herpes are fragile, meaning they don't survive very well outside of a nice, warm human body. By the time you sit down on a public toilet seat — even if it was recently shared by someone else — most harmful pathogens likely wouldn't be able to infect you.

Plus, your skin is an effective block against any microbes. (Unless, of course, you have a cut or open wound there, which could allow the bacteria to get in.)

Avoiding gluten

Unless you're one of the 1% of Americans who suffer from celiac disease, gluten probably won't have a negative effect on you. In fact, studies show that most people suffer from slight bloating and gas when they eat, whether they consume wheat or not. So go ahead and eat that bagel.