The American middle class is losing ground.

According to the Pew Research Center, which recently analyzed the size and economic well-being of lower, middle, and upper-income tiers in 229 US metro areas, the share of adults living in middle-income households fell in 203 of those areas between the years 2000 and 2014.

"The decrease in the middle-class share was often substantial, measuring six percentage points or more in 53 metropolitan areas, compared with a four-point drop nationally," Pew reported.

Why is the middle class struggling? "The decline of the middle class is a reflection of rising income inequality in the US," Pew reports. "Generally speaking, middle-class households are more prevalent in metropolitan areas where there is less of a gap between the incomes of households near the top and the bottom ends of the income distribution. Moreover, from 2000 to 2014, the middle-class share decreased more in areas with a greater increase in income inequality."

"Middle-income" Americans are defined as "adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the national median," the report explains. Additionally, "Household incomes within each metropolitan area are first adjusted for the cost of living in the area relative to the national average cost of living. Incomes are also adjusted for household size and scaled to reflect a household size of three."

Pew accounted for household size because smaller households require less to support the same lifestyle as larger households. For example, a one-person household needed $24,000 to $72,000 to be considered middle-income in 2014, but a five-person household needed $54,000 to $161,000 to qualify as middle-income.

We took a closer look at how much middle-income households are earning in major US cities. Using data from Pew, we've highlighted the share of the population that qualifies as middle-income in each metro and the median household income of those residents in 2014. We included the same data from 2000 to give an idea of the changing face of the middle class.

SEE ALSO: Here's how much of the population is considered high-income in 19 major US cities — and what they earn

Los Angeles, California

Middle-income residents in 2000: 47.3%, earning a median household income of $76,770.

Middle-income residents in 2014: 46.5%, earning a median household income of $72,570.

Phoenix, Arizona

Middle-income residents in 2000: 55.9%, earning a median household income of $77,610.

Middle-income residents in 2014: 52.3%, earning a median household income of $72,900.

Houston, Texas

Middle-income residents in 2000: 51.1%, earning a median household income of $79,130.

Middle-income residents in 2014: 48.5%, earning a median household income of $73,050.

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "The Walking Dead."

The season seven premiere of "The Walking Dead" kicked off Sunday night with not one brutal death, but two. And if that wasn't enough, Daryl was kidnapped by Negan and the Saviors and Rick was nearly forced to chop off his son's arm.

While you were busy trying to process everything that happened in the first episode, there were some details and references you may have missed throughout the episode we rounded up.

Keep reading to see nine things you probably missed.

Before Abraham was bludgeoned by Lucille, he threw up a peace sign.

Some noticed that was meant for Sasha, the woman he loved. Throughout the show, the two would throw each other peace signs back and forth.

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https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/790446454225637376
I didn't notice this during the show cause I was so emotional but Abe doing a peace sign cause it was Sasha & his thing...😭 #TheWalkingDeadpic.twitter.com/SoPb2tn1PN

We've seen the bridge walker Rick jumped on in the premiere before.

A "flying car" prototype developed by Zee.Aero, the company Google co-founder Larry Page has been funding, was spotted in the wild last week, according to a report Monday in the Monterey Herald.

Witnesses in Hollister, California reportedly saw the vertical take-off plane hover about 25 feet above the ground, land, and then hover again. Many are referring to planes of this nature as flying cars because of their ability to take off vertically, which allows them to be stowed in driveways.

Zee.Aero isn't the only company interested in vertical take-off planes — here are 5 others.

SEE ALSO: Airbus is building a high-speed flying taxi fleet so you never have to sit in traffic again

1. German company eVolo wants to make its multicopter the future of urban mobility. Called the Volocopter, it has 18 rotors and can fit two people.

The Volocopter is powered by six batteries that allow for 20 minutes of flight, but eVolo is working to get that up to an hour. The company has begun manned testing in Germany and aims to roll out a production model in two years.

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The final version of the Volocopter will be able to reach 62 miles per hour. It has 130 independent computers onboard that could allow it to fly autonomously later on.

If you’re looking for your first apartment — whether on your own or shared with a roommate — you’re probably eager and excited, daydreaming about the freedom, the parties and even the decorating. While it’s an exciting time, it’s good to be aware of some of the goofs you might make in your first home on your own.

Here are seven common first-time renter mistakes you could make and how to avoid (or correct) them if you do.

SEE ALSO: 5 credit card mistakes you'll probably make your first summer after college

1. You’ll let your parents do all the talking

“If I’m renting to a younger person, I want to make sure they’re responsible, so they’re not doing themselves any favors by bringing their parents,” said Barry Maher, principal of Barry Maher & Associates, who has owned several rental properties over the years. “If their parents are co-signing the lease, then OK, they have to do that, but I have to see that they are capable of taking care of themselves … and [if] they aren’t depending on Mommy and Daddy, I’m going to feel a lot better about renting to that person.”

2. You’ll make a late payment

If you find yourself in a financial pinch, it’s good to communicate with your landlord. Maher said it’s also better to make a partial payment than no payment at all. Tell your landlord you can’t pay in full, explain the reason why, give them a firm date when the rent will be paid in full and ensure them it won’t happen again. If you do this, there’s a good chance your landlord will work with you and won’t file any negative reports.

“If they’re responsible about it and upfront about it, you do what you can as a landlord to work with them,” Maher said.

In some cases, paying your rent late also can have a negative impact on your credit scores.

Some landlords report rent payment history to the credit bureaus, and the information could wind up on some versions of your credit reports. It’s a good idea to find out if your landlord reports to the major bureaus directly, or if they use one of various third-party services that do it for them.

Some landlords also check specialty renters’ reports compiled by smaller credit bureaus instead of, or along with, your traditional credit reports to see if you have a reported lease history. That means that even if your previous landlord doesn’t report to the major credit bureaus, your payment history could still impact your ability to find another apartment when it comes time to move. (You can see where your credit currently stands by viewing two of your credit scores for free each month on Credit.com.)

3. You’ll try to own a ‘dog-cat’

A lot of leases restrict the types and sizes of pets you’re allowed to have, and if you think you’ll get away with having a pet without your landlord finding out, you’re probably wrong, and it could end up costing you money and the trust of your landlord.

Worse yet, if you think you’ll get away with lying about what type of pet you have, you’re not going to do yourself any favors.

At one of Maher’s apartment complexes, for instance, the lease allowed for indoor cats but no dogs. But that didn’t stop one tenant from trying to pull a fast one.

“She called me up one day and said, ‘Well, I got a cat, uh … but it’s a little bit different. It’s a cross-breed. It’s a ‘dog-cat,'” Maher said. “This is a 19-year-old young woman who hadn’t taken biology, I guess, so she had this ‘dog-cat,’ and it was such an outrageous lie, that I actually stopped and thought for a moment, ‘Is there such a thing as a ‘dog-cat’? … That didn’t win any trust points for her, and the situation went downhill pretty rapidly from there.”

In 2016, watchmakers have pulled out all the stops to keep guys interested in mechanical timepieces. But who needs a smartwatch when you can wear a truly special piece of machinery on your wrist. Herein, the best of what we've seen this year.

SEE ALSO: Take a tour of Cartier's glittery, jewel-filled mansion, which has special rooms for private shopping

Hublot X New York Giants

Shinola Canfield Cannonball

Farer Carter GMT

Warning: There are spoilers ahead if you haven't seen "The Walking Dead."

The season seven premiere of "The Walking Dead" was quite heavy. In addition to two deaths, viewers received a nausea-inducing scene between Carl, Rick, and everyone's new favorite man to hate, Negan.

Scroll down to see what went into creating the season seven premiere.

Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick, and episode director Greg Nicotero discuss Rick's RV scene with Negan. It looks like Lincoln's a fan of Beats headphones.

Here's the scope of that RV scene between Negan, Rick, and the many walkers out in the open.

The fog created for the set was so thick you can barely make out Nicotero giving cues to a walker here.

The INSIDER Summary:

• Skip the bacon, egg and cheese. It'll only make you sleepy.
• Pancakes will just sit in your stomach.

Some of us love avocado toast while others of us are bigger fans of french toast, but no matter your preference, it's important to know how your morning meal can impact how you feel. There are certain breakfast foods that can leave you tired and lethargic, and avoiding them can make all the difference in how you feel the rest of the day. It might not seem like it matters much, but your diet plays a big role in your energy levels and how well you are able to focus.

"Breakfast is the first opportunity to fuel your body for the day after going many hours without anything to eat," says Tory Tedrow, RD, CNSC at SugarChecked over email. "A well fueled person is going to have higher levels of energy vs. someone who hasn’t eaten anything in 8-12 hours. Studies show that people who eat breakfast tend to have more stable blood glucose levels throughout the day. This helps keep your energy stable throughout the day as opposed to having rushes of energy and crashes later on."

To avoid a groggy morning or the dreaded afternoon slump, try ditching the following nine breakfast foods, which can easily zap away your energy.

1. Donuts

They're quite tasty, but we're not sure who invented the idea of a donut for your first meal. "Deep fried and high in sugar — 25-50g a pop — your blood sugar will spike and crash and you will be ready for your next meal in an hour," says Chef Franklin Becker, Founder of Hungryroot over email.

2. Breakfast pastries

Like donuts, this "breakfast food" is more of a dessert. "Breakfast pastries have no fiber, no protein, no B vitamins, and a rush of white flour and sugar that will leave you with a crash 1-2 hours later," saysMonica Heather Auslander, MS, RD, LDN over email. "You will literally feel like pastry filling."

3. Sugary Cereal

Even though you probably ate a lot of cereal as a child, it's not your best option. "High in sugar and lacking in nutrients, you will start your day with a major sugar spike and crash quickly," says Becker. "Don’t be fooled: Fruit Loops and Cocoa Puffs aren’t the only offenders. Make sure to read the label to check on sugar levels, refined carbs, and artificial ingredients."

We've all been there: You wake up psyched to take on the workday, and by the time you go to sleep you feel like you've been totally unproductive.

What happened?

Maybe it's not a question of what you did, but of when you did it.

As in, you drank coffee before you needed it and ended up crashing later, or you spent the whole morning answering emails so you had no energy left to work on the really important stuff in the afternoon.

To help make sure that never happens again, we checked out the scientific research on the best time of day to do pretty much everything. Read and start crafting the perfect schedule.

SEE ALSO: 5-minute morning routines that can make your whole day better

Exercise: before breakfast

Looking to shed some pounds?

Sleep in your exercise gear, make a date with a workout buddy, register for a pricey gym membership — do whatever it takes to get yourself up and moving in the morning.

That's because research suggests exercising in the a.m. — specifically, before breakfast — is most helpful for losing weight. As Business Insider's Erin Brodwin reports, the reason early morning workouts seem to accelerate weight loss and boost energy levels may be that they set up the body for an all-day fat burn.

Drink coffee: after 9:30 a.m.

If your M.O. is downing a cup o' Joe as soon as you wake up, or as soon as you get into the office, you might consider tweaking your routine.

Business Insider UK's Dina Spector highlights an interview with a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate, who says the best time to drink coffee is after 9:30 a.m.

That's because the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates energy, generally peaks between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., so you don't need the boost right then.

Do focused work: during your 'biological prime time'

Your "biological prime time," a term coined by Sam Carpenter, author of "Work The System," refers to the hours of the day when you have the most energy. Everyone's BPT is different.

To find your BPT, take a tip from Chris Bailey, author of "The Productivity Project." Bailey started by cutting out all caffeine and alcohol from his diet, eating as little sugar as possible, and waking up without an alarm. Each day for three weeks, he kept a log in which he recorded his hourly energy levels.

The experiment taught him that his BPTs were between 10 a.m. and noon, and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Once you find yours, you can reconfigure your day (as much as you can, within the constraints of your job) so that you work on your highest-impact and most meaningful tasks during those hours.

Nintendo has always danced to its own beat. The legendary gaming company has little interest in coming out with just another conventional game box, equipped with a standard controller, every five years or so.

Instead, Nintendo tries to completely change how you play games every half-decade — with mixed results. The Nintendo Wii was an unprecedented success that made motion-detection controls a standard fixture in video games, while the follow-on Wii U failed to make an impression on anyone but the most hardcore Nintendo fans.

The recently-announced Nintendo Switch is the company's latest attempt to change the rules of the game, by merging the home and handheld console gaming experiences. As you might expect from a hybrid console, it has several different ways to play. Here is how they all work:

SEE ALSO: Here is how Nintendo Switch works

When you play Switch games on the go, it looks like a fairly conventional handheld console. You have two analog sticks, four face buttons, a directional pad, and four shoulder buttons, with a large, HD screen in the middle.

The two sections on either side of the screen with buttons can actually be detached and used for local multiplayer games, like "Mario Kart," as shown here.

You can also flip out a little kickstand on the back of the screen, set it on a flat surface, detach the controllers and use them to play single player games from a relaxed position.

The best way to build wealth is to prioritize assets over income. But ensuring that your assets outweigh your liabilities can be impacted greatly by the city you call home.

This week, online personal finance consultant Bankrate.com released a report ranking America's best and worst metro areas for building wealth.

To create the list, Bankrate.com ranked the 21 largest metro areas in five categories that contribute directly to an individual's ability to build their wealth:

• Savable income: average income after taxes and expenditures
  
• Human capital: unemployment rate, educational opportunities, and productivity
• Debt burden: non-mortgage debt per capita and average credit score
• Homeownership: average annual change in home prices, foreclosure actions, and homeownership rate
• Access to financial services: Percentage of workers with access to retirement plans

San Francisco came out on top as the best place to build wealth, followed by Minneapolis and Washington, DC.

“In some metro areas, like San Francisco, homeownership can be prohibitively expensive, but higher-than-average salaries can help residents stash more money away in tax-advantaged retirement accounts," wrote Claes Bell, a Bankrate.com analyst and the author of the study. "On the other hand, Minneapolis-area residents don't earn as much, but the area's affordable housing and recovering real estate market provide opportunities to build wealth over the long term through home equity."

Read on to see how the 21 largest US cities stack up for building wealth, as well as the average savable income, homeownership rate, and non-mortgage debt per capita for each city. 

SEE ALSO: 10 of the best American cities to live comfortably on $40,000 a year

SEE ALSO: The most expensive housing market in every state

21. Riverside-San Bernardino, California

Savable income: $9,790

Homeownership rate: 62.6%

Debt burden: $27,682

20. Miami

Savable income: -$3,613*

Homeownership rate: 58%

Debt burden: $25,645

*Analysis showed a negative average savable income for the Miami metro area. This may be attributable to the high population of retirees in the area who are spending more of their savings than they're earning.

19. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida

Savable income: $3,437

Homeownership rate: 62.7%

Debt burden: $27,015

The INSIDER Summary:

• These pairs of celebrities are the same age, though you'd never guess it.
• From actors to models, here's who looks younger (or older) than you think.

All celebrities are fabulously attractive, no matter their age — but it can be surprisingly tough to guess how old they really are. 

Case in point: Check out these 48 side-by-side snapshots of famous actors, musicians, and models. It's almost impossible to believe that each pair is the same age. 

Actors Paul Rudd and Matthew Perry are 47.

This quiz proves that it's nearly impossible to determine Paul Rudd's real age based on photos alone.

Actresses Halle Berry and Cynthia Nixon are 50.

Actors Dylan McDermott (of "American Horror Story") and Steve Carrell are 54.

Ever wondered where your lost luggage ends up?

Chances are you were expecting it to be in an exotic locale far, far, away — in reality, it might only be as far as Alabama.

Scottsboro, Alabama, is home to the Unclaimed Baggage Center, a 40,000 square-foot warehouse filled with items gleaned from luggage lost all over the country.

Let's take a tour of the unusual facility:

Welcome to the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama.

The store got its start in 1970, when an entrepreneurial-minded part-time insurance salesman had the idea of selling luggage that was left behind at a bus station in DC. He started buying bags from the station and selling their contents on tables outside a few days a week.

He then expanded the practice to airlines, moved back to his hometown, and thus the UBC was born.

Brenda Cantrell, brand ambassador at UBC, estimates that the store is home to over one million items at any given time.

The 40,000 square-foot warehouse gets stocked with 7,000 new items daily.

This number is extra impressive considering there’s a less than 2% chance of your luggage really getting lost.

Sure, you know it doesn't make sense to spend an hour deciding which sandwich to eat for lunch.

Or a week deciding whether to accept a job offer. Or a year deciding whether to marry your partner.

Enough, you might tell yourself. Just make a decision. And you do.

But within minutes, that stream of doubts and insecurities starts leaking — and eventually gushing — though the mental fortress you've built up around them.

Everyone's been there — and everyone has their own tricks for avoiding the situation. We checked out the Quora thread, "How do I deal with overthinking?" where many people have shared those tricks, and highlighted the most creative responses.

Read on to find out how to clear your head once and for all.

SEE ALSO: 7 behaviors to give up if you want to be happier

1. Observe your thoughts from a distance

A key component of meditation is that you watch your various thoughts pass, instead of getting caught up in them or trying to stop them from arising.

Quora user Sameer Jain cites mindfulness meditation as a practice that's helped him stop over thinking in the past.

He writes: "Realize that you can actually choose to observe your thoughts rather than getting caught in them. The tendency to over-think is to some extent a natural tendency of the mind (which varies to some degree by person), but one you can change through practice."

In fact, Steve Jobs described this very same process to his biographer, Walter Isaacson:

"If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is ... If you try to calm it, it only makes things worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there's room to hear more subtle things."

2. Write down your thoughts

One way to stop your thoughts from spiraling out of control is to talk out the issues with someone else, who might offer a different perspective.

Otherwise, says Aman Anand, you can write down your thoughts on a piece of paper.

"I usually find that this allows one to organise their thought process a lot better," Anand writes, "whereas if you keep those thoughts stuck in your head, not only can they make a mountain out of a molehill but they can also lead to you coming back to the same ideas continuously and thus over-analysing the same thing repeatedly."

You can go a step further and throw that paper away — science suggests it's a way to make those thoughts less meaningful.

3. Designate 'no-thinking' times

Stefan Papp says he established "no-think zones" to prevent himself from dwelling too much on a single problem. For example, he writes that he doesn't think about difficult things after 8 p.m. because it affects his sleep.

Social worker and author Amy Morin suggests a similar approach. In a Psychology Today column, she recommends scheduling time — maybe 20 minutes — for reflection:

"During this time, let yourself worry, ruminate, or mull over whatever you want. Then, when the time is up, move onto something more productive. When you notice yourself overthinking things outside of your scheduled time, remind yourself that you’ll think about it later."

There are few cars that represent middle-class suburbia better than a midsize Volvo station wagon. For decades, the boxy Swedish wagons have offered dependable, no-frills transportation for the masses. But while it's more mundane siblings were on school-run duty, some Volvo wagons have gotten the performance treatment.

Over the past 20 years, Volvo's high-performance wagons have earned the company great critical acclaim. (One was even raced in the British Touring Car Championships.) For its latest hot wagon, Volvo turned to the specialists at Polestar Racing. Polestar, which is responsible for Volvo's racing program, took the standard V60 wagon and turned it into a full-on performance machine. The partnership worked so well that Volvo decided to buy Polestar's tuning division.

Recently, Volvo dropped off a black V60 Polestar wagon for Business Insider to check out. Our $61,600 test car came clad in onyx black metallic paint. Here's a closer look:

Photos by Hollis Johnson unless otherwise credited.

SEE ALSO: We drove the Aston Martin Vanquish and it's a $300,000 piece of automotive art

The 2016 Volvo V60 Polestar is the latest in series of hot wagons dating to the mid-1990s.

The 850 T5 R kicked off the series with its turbocharged, 2.3-liter, inline-five-cylinder engine.

The 240-horsepower wagon was good for a 0-60 run of just seven seconds.

In 1991, something happened that had never occurred in the history of the Academy Awards: Walt Disney Studios’ musical romance "Beauty and the Beast" was nominated for Best Picture. No animated film had achieved such a distinction before, and only two others — Disney-Pixar’s "Up" in 2010 and "Toy Story 3" in 2011 — have since.

The allure of Disney films is undeniable. Their tales of heroes and heroines, villains and monsters, castles and fairy godmothers, sometimes paired with epic musical numbers, are enchanting, depicting lives and worlds at times intimately familiar and other times as if from a dream. But while live-action films have picture-perfect cities, storied hotels, and otherworldly landscapes at their visual disposal, Disney has had to depend upon the imaginations of their trusted animators to transform plots and folktales into cinematic realms of fantasy.

Many Disney films, of course, draw directly from existing places: London makes a grand appearance in both Peter Pan and "101 Dalmatians," the North American wilderness is a star all its own in "Pocahantas,""The Lion King" takes its cues from the African savannahs of Kenya, and who could forget that spectacular aerial shot over Paris in the opening scene for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame?" Other, more ambiguous settings—such as those depicted in "The Little Mermaid" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"— may not spring to mind so easily, based on storybook worlds unrestrained by country borders.

But all ideas come from somewhere, and even Disney’s most obscure settings take inspiration from locations, sometimes even specific buildings, that can be found—through a bit of research—on the world map. Read on for 12 real-life places that stood in for some of the most iconic settings in Disney films.

Cinderella in Germany

Beauty and the Beast in France

Pinocchio in Tuscany

Companies worldwide will spend $3.5 trillion on IT in 2017, market research firm Gartner predicts.

Above all else, companies are expected to increase their spending on software and services (as opposed to hardware), as they all rush to buy their tech via the cloud computing model, where tech is hosted in the vendor's data center and delivered as a service over the internet.

Software spending is projected to be up 6 percent in 2016, and to grow another 7.2 percent in 2017 to a total of $357 billion. Meanwhile, companies will spend $943 billion on IT services, up nearly 5% over 2016 spending levels.

All this means that there are billions of dollars at stake for the rising tech trends, things that emerged within that last few years are ready to take off and become mainstream next year. 

Gartner and other market research firms predict the following 9 trends will be the biggies in 2017: 

SEE ALSO: 9 tech skills that pay over $120,000 and are in demand

SEE ALSO: The internet is actually controlled by 14 people who hold 7 secret keys

AI and advanced machine learning

Artificial intelligence and machine learning became big buzzwords in 2016.

Google and Microsoft added all kinds of AI services to their clouds. Salesforce rolled out a new AI-infused analytics service, and so on. Even startups started putting AI in their apps, too, like travel site Gogobot.

"The more advanced techniques move beyond traditional rule-based algorithms to create systems that understand, learn, predict, adapt and potentially operate autonomously," Gartner says.

Research firm Markets and Markets estimates that the AI market will grow from $420 million in 2014 to $5.05 billion by 2020.

Virtual assistants

While AI will infuse everything, from cloud services to Internet of Things, there's one area that will really grow intelligent in 2017: virtual assistants.

While Siri, Cortana and Google Now are not exactly new, such services are being stitched into more areas.

For instance, Apple finally opened Siri up to third-party developers in 2016, so you can now tell Siri to send a payment to someone via Venmo. You can use Cortana (via Windows 10) with a bunch of Microsoft Office apps, too.

The global Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) market size is expected to reach USD 12.28 billion by 2024, according to Grand View Research.

Intelligent things

The AI world will have a head-on collision with the Internet of Things in 2017, too, Gartner predicts. 

IoT is where everyday items get chips or sensors, and apps, and join the internet — from your car to your toothbrush. It makes total sense that the apps that control IoT devices will also make use of machine learning.

In 2017, watch for devices to start to communicate and help each other make decisions.

"As intelligent things, such as drones, autonomous vehicles and smart appliances, permeate the environment, Gartner anticipates a shift from stand-alone intelligent things to a collaborative intelligent things model," Gartner says.  

Gartner estimates that six billion connected "things" will be actively requesting support from AI platforms by 2018.

The total IoT market is estimated to grow from $157.05 billion in 2016 to $661.74 billion by 2021, predicts Markets and Markets.

LGBT+* executive network OUTstanding has released its annual LGBT+ Top 100 power list.

As OUTstanding founder and chief executive Suki Sandhu said, it has been a difficult year for the LGBT+ cause.

"From the events in Orlando, to hate crimes in post-referendum London, the bruising of the LGBT+ community on the world stage is a reminder that full acceptance has not yet been realised," he said.

That makes awareness all the more important, and the list highlights the increasing visibility of LGBT+ figures in the business world.

Take a look at the executives who made the top of the list.

*LGBT+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and +. The + represents the numerous other groups of sexual and gender minorities that would otherwise make the acronym too long to use.

17. Brian Bickell, CEO of Shaftesbury

Bickell heads the FTSE 350 Real Estate Investment Trust and is also a board member of Freehold, the LGBT+ group for real-estate professionals. He is a member of Property Week's Open Plan diversity panel, and an ambassador for gay charity Stonewall.

16. Angela Darlington, chief risk officer at Aviva

Insurance company Aviva is frequently recognised for its attempts to increase LGBT diversity in the workplace, particularly through its 'Pride' network. Darlington began to speak more openly about her sexuality at work after following an Aviva Pride talk held by rugby player Gareth Thomas.

15. Paul Wood, chief risk and compliance officer at Bloomberg

Wood is not only one of the most senior employees at Bloomberg, but he also takes time to mentor LGBT+ staff and has spoken at a number of events, panels, and conferences about being an openly LGBT+ leader in business. He was awarded an MBE in 1995.

There are so many diets out there, but which ones actually work?

Luckily, scientists have found that most reasonable diets can help you lose weight, compared to not following a diet at all. Overall, studies have shown that diets rich in plants and low in processed foods are the best for weight loss.

But many popular diets aren't based on sound scientific principles. Here's what the science says about 15 popular diets, so you can decide which one — if any — might be right for you.

SEE ALSO: You lose a bunch of weight every day — here's where it all goes

DON'T MISS: 17 scientific facts to motivate you to eat healthy even when you really don't want to

What you do: The South Beach diet is a three-phase program designed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston in 2003. In the first phase, you cut out all carbs, fruits, and alcohol. In phases two and three, you gradually add some of those foods back in (as far as carbs go, you're only supposed to eat whole-grain ones). It's important to note that this is a commercial diet, so you may have to buy the official plan and materials.

What the science says: The diet focuses on whole foods, which is good since studies have shown this is the best approach for weight loss. Cutting out any of the food groups could leave you lacking nutrients, though. Some people on the diet have reported ketoacidosis, a condition with symptoms including bad breath, dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and constipation. Studies have found South Beach diets (or those very similar to the name-brand version) could help people lose weight in the short-term, but researchers haven't followed people long-term to see if it helps them keep the weight off. The problem here is that while the second two phases of the diet are somewhat reasonable, the first phase is very restrictive, so some people might have trouble sticking to it.

What you do: On the new Weight Watchers (the one Oprah has advertised lets you eat bread), their SmartPoints program assigns foods points based on their nutritional values. You get a set number of points per day depending on your height, weight, activity level, and how many pounds you want to lose. The plan can cost between about $20 and $70 a month, depending on whether you pay for add-ons like coaching or meetings.

What the science says: Research has overwhelmingly positive conclusions about Weight Watchers' sensible rules, and the new program is even more in line with what nutritionists recommend. Participants in a clinical trial on the plan for a year lost nearly 7 pounds. And other studies have found Weight Watchers members also tend to lower their heart disease risk and blood pressure. An interesting analysis found that participants on Weight Watchers for a year typically paid $70 per pound lost, but gained $54,130 in quality of life improvement.

What you do: There are many different kinds of vegetarians, but generally, you don't eat meat or fish.

What the science says: In observational studies, vegetarians tend to weigh less than their carnivorous counterparts. Cutting meat from your diet could reduce your environmental impact as well, research has found. You have to make sure you get enough nutrients (especially protein) from other sources like nuts, grains, and dairy, though. But the benefits could be considerable: Studies have found that vegetarianism is linked with lower chances of heart disease and cancers, and higher chances of living longer.

Many of the notable lists that rank the greatest movies of all time — like the American Film Institute's "100 Years ... 100 Movies" from 1998 — have enlisted thousands of movie-industry names to come up with a consensus of the best films.

When film critics are the only factor taken into account for such a list, however, it's a given that the results may not reflect what's most popular.

We turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the all-time greatest movies, which ranks films by their composite critical reception. The list excludes rereleases and films with less than seven total reviews on the site, so numerous classics like "The Godfather" and "Citizen Kane" are absent for lack of data, and the data skews toward contemporary movies. But it's an odd, fascinating assortment all the same.

Check out the 50 best movies of all time, according to the critics on Metacritic:

SEE ALSO: 14 actors who regret their iconic movie roles

50. "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" (1977)

Critic score: 92/100

User score: 8.7/10

Plot summary (from IMDB):Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader.

49. "35 Shots of Rum" (2009)

Critic score: 92/100

User score: 6.1/10

Plot summary: The relationship between a father and daughter is complicated by the arrival of a handsome young man.

48. "Raging Bull" (1980)

Critic score: 92/100

User score: 6.4/10

Plot summary:An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring destroys his life outside it.

Books can be incredibly powerful. They have the ability to suck us in, take us on adventures, and influence the way we think.

They can teach us, move us, give us new perspectives, and help shape us. And the most powerful ones change our lives forever.

I asked my Business Insider colleagues to share the one book that has significantly influenced them.

If you're looking for life-changing books to read this fall, you may want to check these out:

SEE ALSO: 24 books that will make you a more well-rounded person

'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy

"This book gave me a real sense of my own mortality. I'm usually grateful for this, but not always! It also made me appreciate fatherhood more."

—Nicholas Carlson, editor-in-chief of INSIDER

Amazon synopsis: A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food — and each other.

"'The Road' is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation."

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'The Tao of Pooh' by Benjamin Hoff

"This book introduced me to the idea that simplicity isn't the enemy of satisfaction; it's the essence of it. The inclusion of such familiar and beloved characters also helped the ideas stick in my mind."

—Christina Sterbenz, weekend and features editor

Amazon synopsis: The how of Pooh? The Tao of who? The Tao of Pooh!?! In which it is revealed that one of the world's great Taoist masters isn't Chinese — or a venerable philosopher — but is in fact none other than that effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear. A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh! While Eeyore frets, and Piglet hesitates, and Rabbit calculates, and Owl pontificates, Pooh just is.

"And that's a clue to the secret wisdom of the Taoists."

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'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy

"It was the rare work of fiction that actually changed how I saw the world. It made me want to be a more moral and better person."

—Paul Schrodt, entertainment editor

Amazon synopsis: "Considered by some to be the greatest novel ever written, 'Anna Karenina' is Tolstoy's classic tale of love and adultery set against the backdrop of high society in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

"A rich and complex masterpiece, the novel charts the disastrous course of a love affair between Anna, a beautiful married woman, and Count Vronsky, a wealthy army officer. Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together the lives of dozens of characters, and in doing so captures a breathtaking tapestry of late-nineteenth-century Russian society. As Matthew Arnold wrote in his celebrated essay on Tolstoy, 'We are not to take 'Anna Karenina' as a work of art; we are to take it as a piece of life.'"

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