Nuts have taken a lot of heat over the years. Too high in fat. Too many calories. Too easy to overeat.

Ever found yourself halfway through a bag of chips and thought, Wait … I wasn't even hungry? Yup, been there. This kind of mindless snacking sneaks in, not because our body needs fuel, but because we're bored, stressed, or just passing the kitchen too many times, seeing the cookie jar gleaming from the countertop.

So, you've been practicing intermittent fasting diligently and have lost weight. You feel better, have more energy, and are making healthier choices. Congratulations! Now what? Learning how to lose weight is only half the battle. Understanding how to lose weight and keep it off is the more significant challenge.

Have you ever felt a bit down and sought comfort in a snack? If so, you're not alone. Many people turn to food when they feel anxious, upset, lonely, or some other emotion. In fact, 58% of Americans report gaining weight thanks to stress-related eating. Almost everyone eats for emotional reasons, at least sometimes.

Do you worry about your weight during holidays and vacations? If so, you're not alone. Celebrations, trips, time with family and friends — and, of course, big holiday or vacation meals — all of these can be great fun and add richness to our lives. Yet health-conscious people, or people on longer-term weight loss journeys, sometimes worry about whether these events might derail them.

Have you ever wondered: What's the easiest way to lose weight? Or better yet, what is the easiest way to lose weight without dieting — in other words, without constantly counting calories and worrying about following a set of restrictive rules? The tricky truth is that to lose weight, we have to eat less energy — aka fewer calories — than we burn.

If you're like most people, chances are you rush through your day, ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. Plus, you might find yourself distracted by all the peeps and pings of your electronic devices.

Back in the day, you could eat whatever you wanted, not think about it, and not worry about weight gain or any health effects, or at least that's how it seemed. But today, it's a different story. You're a little older, perhaps less active than you'd like, and now, eating whatever you want means your jeans aren't as comfortable anymore.

If you're trying out intermittent fasting in the hope that it'll yield a positive result in your body, you may be curious about what's going on under the hood. What happens in your body during the various stages of intermittent fasting?