Fitness Newsletter                                           February 2006

In this issue:

If you've made the occasional "slip" while on your diet, don't worry. Just get back on track immediately. Go ahead, enjoy the indulgence, but keep it reasonable. Here are 10 small changes that you can make for a big weight loss impact.

  1. Wait 2 minutes. Cravings will disappear after two minutes if you walk away and turn your attention elsewhere.

  2. "What do I Want More?" Ask yourself this question when you crave something unhealthy. Do you really want a piece of cheesecake or a strong, healthy body that you can feel proud of?

  3. No one's perfect. Don't allow one bad choice to result in bingeing the rest of the day, or falling back into old habits.

  4. Focus on your meal. Make eating purposeful, not something mindless that you do while watching TV or sitting in front of the computer.

  5. Don't skip breakfast. Start the day by eating a filling breakfast, consisting of protein and complex carbohydrates but low in fat. Eating breakfast will help you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.

  6. Veggies. A large portion of your plate should have veggies on it at both lunch and dinner.

  7. See what you eat. Eat your food off of a plate instead of straight out of a jar, bag, or box.

  8. Don't buy it. Stop buying the food you snack on all day. Just eliminate the temptation.

  9. Eat more fruit. A person who gets enough fruit in their diet doesn't have a raging sweet tooth.

  10. Watch what you drink. Cut back on or cut out high-calorie drinks like soda, sweet tea, lemonade, and alcohol. Making just this one change will result in weight loss.

 

[Oxygen Magazine, October 2005] - For hundreds of years this all-natural, calorie-free and inexpensive herb has been used as an alternative "sweetener" in Brazil and Paraguay but has been - and still is - one of America's best-kept secrets. Why? Is it possible that the FDA refuses to legalize this "sweetener" because it cannot be patented, it's extremely cheap and would take away from the multi-million dollar aspartame and chemical sweetener business in the US? When the FDA approved aspartame for the first time, to be used in dry foods and beverages in 1983, scientists objected to its approval - 90 out of 113 aspartame safety tests showed discrepancies. On top of that, there are 92 different serious side effects of aspartame, which includes headaches, skin lesions, rashes, heart palpitations, memory loss and blindness. Certain amino acids in aspartame have been proven to be a brain tumor agent, and lab rat tests show aspartame ingredients result in side effects such as seizures, mania, severe depression, irritability, anxiety attacks, insomnia and phobias. Over the past 20 years, China, Japan, Brazil, Isreal, Malaysia and Germany have been using stevia. In 1994, despite the FDA's reluctance, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act allowed stevia to enter the US market as a dietary supplement but to this day it cannot be referred to as a "sweetener" or even "sweet." You can find stevia at health and food stores in liquid and powder form for baking or even just tea.

Aspartame Facts:

  • Sold under trade names such as NutraSweet and Equal.
  • Used in more than 6,000 products, including light yougarts, diet sodas, and children's vitamins.
  • 180 to 200 times sweeter than sucrose.

Test your nutrition knowledge.
        - Skipping a meal is a great way to cut calories and lose weight. True or False.

Many women think they are getting an early start on calorie cutting when they skip a meal. But according to researchers, skipping breakfast or lunch, as so many women do, results in frequent overeating later. (False)