FFF Diva Article Research: 7 Sleep-Stealing Foods to Stay Away From

7 Sleep-Stealing Foods to Stay Away
by RealBeauty.com, on Tue Sep 7, 2010

If you find yourself tossing and turning at night, your dinner could be to blame. Our esteemed panel of nutritionists and dieticians list out seven foods that keep you up past your bedtime.

Caffeine
You've known this guy for years. He's gotten you through countless all-nighters and pepped you up for that 8 a.m. Monday morning presentation. But did you know that caffeine isn't actually giving your body any energy? "Though caffeine does provide us with that feeling of alertness, it's just a stimulant," says Michelle Dudash, registered dietician, chef, and freelancer writer. Related: 10 Products to Bring You to a Happy Place

Aged Cheese
If a nap is in your future, steer clear of Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, and other hard cheeses (basically, all the yummy smelly ones!). The high levels of the amino acid tyramine are known to keep you up. Related: 33 Healthy Foods to Fight Off Aging

Spicy Foods
Hot tamale! Those hot wings may taste damn good during the football game, but they aren't going to feel so great come bedtime — especially if you're prone to heartburn, since lying down only amps up its side. Make sure you eat your favorite hot foods early enough in the day to prevent a sleepless night later.

Processed or Smoked Meats
Leave this one on the deli counter. Cynthia Pasquella, CCN, CHLC, CWC, says processed meats contain high levels of tyramine and makes the brain release a chemical that makes us feel alert. These meats also aren't the healthiest ones to munch on either, sleep patterns aside.

Which Celeb Do You Sleep Like?

Alcohol
Even though it's a depressant, alcohol will, oddly enough, keep you up at night. "Many people use alcohol to help them relax, but it actually prevents your body from entering the deep stages of sleep," says Pasquella. Although you may fall asleep, you won't feel very well-rested in the morning.

Milk Chocolate
The average milk chocolate bar contains tyrosine, which is converted into dopamine — a stimulant, says Pasquella. This causes alertness and restlessness, which can keep you up at night. Related: Answers from Our Chill Out Expert

Ginseng Tea
Herbal teas are great for sleeping, but steer clear of ginseng. It's been shown to act as a stimulant, and though some tea drinkers don't feel any effects from the tea, others experience insomnia and hypertension. If you might fall in this category, avoid drinking it several hours before bed, recommends Pasquella.

Caffeine
You've known this guy for years. He's gotten you through countless all-nighters and pepped you up for that 8 a.m. Monday morning presentation. But did you know that caffeine isn't actually giving your body any energy? "Though caffeine does provide us with that feeling of alertness, it's just a stimulant," says Michelle Dudash, registered dietician, chef, and freelancer writer. Related: 10 Products to Bring You to a Happy Place

Aged Cheese
If a nap is in your future, steer clear of Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, and other hard cheeses (basically, all the yummy smelly ones!). The high levels of the amino acid tyramine are known to keep you up. Related: 33 Healthy Foods to Fight Off Aging

Spicy Foods
Hot tamale! Those hot wings may taste damn good during the football game, but they aren't going to feel so great come bedtime — especially if you're prone to heartburn, since lying down only amps up its side. Make sure you eat your favorite hot foods early enough in the day to prevent a sleepless night later.

Processed or Smoked Meats
Leave this one on the deli counter. Cynthia Pasquella, CCN, CHLC, CWC, says processed meats contain high levels of tyramine and makes the brain release a chemical that makes us feel alert. These meats also aren't the healthiest ones to munch on either, sleep patterns aside.

Alcohol
Even though it's a depressant, alcohol will, oddly enough, keep you up at night. "Many people use alcohol to help them relax, but it actually prevents your body from entering the deep stages of sleep," says Pasquella. Although you may fall asleep, you won't feel very well-rested in the morning.

Milk Chocolate
The average milk chocolate bar contains tyrosine, which is converted into dopamine — a stimulant, says Pasquella. This causes alertness and restlessness, which can keep you up at night. Related: Answers from Our Chill Out Expert

Ginseng Tea
Herbal teas are great for sleeping, but steer clear of ginseng. It's been shown to act as a stimulant, and though some tea drinkers don't feel any effects from the tea, others experience insomnia and hypertension. If you might fall in this category, avoid drinking it several hours before bed, recommends Pasquella.

FFF Diva Mo: Markers of Accomplishment (Can't stop the MO-mentum now!)

There have been many times during my weight loss journey that I just wanted to settle. For example: "Hey Mo! You used to be 320 lbs at age 22 & have Sleep Apnea! Even though you have been going back & forth in the 250s lbs that's good enough at 25years old and you don't have Sleep Apnea anymore!" This time I am going to put my foot down and say HELL NO! I started my weight loss journey at 320 lbs back in 2007:



Finally in May 2007 I joined a gym, got a trainer, started eating healthy, and dropped almost 96 lbs in the first year and a half. The first time I hit my 250s was during March 2008 on my first Mexican cruise with friends:



Since March 2008 until today September 2010 I have yo-yoed between 252 lbs - 283 lbs respectively. In Summer 2009 I was in my 280s lbs again and so to change it up I left personal training and decided to join an outdoor cardio boot camp instead called Operation Boot Camp. It changed my life. I ran my first 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon, and full marathon all in less than a year & before my 25th birthday (March 2010). Although in December 2009 I was finally 239 lbs, today my weight has crept back up to 249 lbs (yo-yo'ing between 245-255 lbs respectively in the last 2 months):



My Operation Boot Camp Family have changed my life for the better. They are my support system. They are my motivation. They are my inspiration to keep going. I have great instructors like my old personal trainer Ronny, and OBC Ladies (Jill, Karen, Missy, Lakshmi, Sophie, and Chrissie just to name a few), and of course my idol Melody (Ronny's wife) who has the most awesome arms you have ever seen. I drool everyday for them. These folks are my friends & they understand what I am going through--especially since we work out at Hellyer Park together M-F at 6 AM in the morning. EVERYDAY. Below is a photo of our most recent race together. Run Until the End of Summer 5K/10K in San Jose, CA:



OBC Back of the Bus Crew:


Although I have been losing & gaining & losing & gaining over the year I realized that there are many ways to track weight loss progress. It's not just the number on the scale! Why? Because muscle weighs more than fat! Duh! That's why it's important to do a Hydrostatic water dunk (see fat % and lean muscle % breakdown), measure inches with a tape measure, see pant sizes, and also how your cardio exercise has improved (running, swimming, etc.). With that is my last photo for today's entry:



I haven't bought a ring since 2007 (size 10). On Saturday I broke down and bought this ring and it was a size 7! I almost died. Although my weight loss journeys has its ups and downs it's small reminders such as my new size 7 ring, that I never want to be 320 lbs. again. NEVER, EVER AGAIN!

It is my hope that my journey can keep you motivated, excited, and inspired to either start a healthier journey of your own or to refocus your journey to your end goal(s) whatever they may be. As for me, although I have come a long way I still have another 100 lbs to go but this time I won't care how long it takes me, because I know I am doing it right--the healthy way--one step at a time--one mile at a time--one day at a time. I hope you do too!

All the best,
FFF Diva Mo

FFF Diva Ridiculous News: Goodbye High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hello Corn Sugar

Goodbye High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hello Corn Sugar (Signed, Corn Industry)

EMILY FREDRIX | 09/14/10 04:47 PM |

NEW YORK — The makers of high fructose corn syrup want to sweeten its image with a new name: corn sugar.

The Corn Refiners Association applied Tuesday to the federal government for permission to use the name on food labels. The group hopes a new name will ease confusion about the sweetener, which is used in soft drinks, bread, cereal and other products.

Americans' consumption of corn syrup has fallen to a 20-year low on consumer concerns that it is more harmful or more likely to cause obesity than ordinary sugar, perceptions for which there is little scientific evidence.

However, some scientists have linked consumption of full-calorie soda – the vast majority of which is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup – to obesity.

The Food and Drug Administration could take two years to decide on the name, but that's not stopping the industry from using the term now in advertising.

There's a new online marketing campaign at and on television. Two new commercials try to alleviate shopper confusion, showing people who say they now understand that "whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. Sugar is sugar." http://www.cornsugar.com

Renaming products has succeeded before. For example, low eurcic acid rapeseed oil became much more popular after becoming "canola oil" in 1988. Prunes tried to shed a stodgy image by becoming "dried plums" in 2000.

The new name would help people understand the sweetener, said Audrae Erickson, president of the Washington-based group.

"It has been highly disparaged and highly misunderstood," she said. She declined to say how much the campaign costs.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are nutritionally the same, and there's no evidence that the sweetener is any worse for the body than sugar, said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The bottom line is people should consume less of all sugars, Jacobson said.

"Soda pop sweetened with sugar is every bit as conducive to obesity as soda pop sweetened with high fructose corn syrup," he said.

The American Medical Association says there's not enough evidence yet to restrict the use of high fructose corn syrup, although it wants more research.

Still, Americans increasingly are blaming high fructose corn syrup and avoiding it. First lady Michelle Obama has said she does not want her daughters eating it.

Parents such as Joan Leib scan ingredient labels and will not buy anything with it. The mother of two in Somerville, Mass., has been avoiding the sweetener for about a year to reduce sweeteners in her family's diet.

"I found it in things that you would never think needed it, or should have it," said Leib, 36. "I found it in jars of pickles, in English muffins and bread. Why do we need extra sweeteners?"

Many companies are responding by removing it from their products. Last month, Sara Lee switched to sugar in two of its breads. Gatorade, Snapple and Hunt's Ketchup very publicly switched to sugar in the past two years.

The average American ate 35.7 pounds of high fructose corn syrup last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's down 21 percent from 45.4 pounds 10 years before.

Cane and beet sugar, meanwhile, have hovered around 44 pounds per person per year since the mid-1980s, after falling rapidly in the 1970s, when high fructose corn syrup – a cheaper alternative to sugar – gained favor with soft drink makers.

With sales falling in the U.S., the industry is growing in emerging markets like Mexico, and revenue has been steady at $3 billion to $4 billion a year, said Credit Suisse senior analyst Robert Moskow. There are five manufacturers in the U.S.: Archer Daniels Midland Inc., Corn Products International, Cargill, Roquette America, and Tate & Lyle.

Corn refiners say their new name better describes the sweetener.

"The name 'corn sugar' more accurately reflects the source of the food (corn), identifies the basic nature of the food (a sugar), and discloses the food's function (a sweetener)," the petition said.

Will shoppers swallow the new name?

The public is skeptical, so the move will be met with criticism, said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

"This isn't all that much different from any of the negative brands trying to embrace new brand names," he said, adding the change is similar to what ValuJet – whose name was tarnished by a deadly crash in 1996 – did when it bought AirTran's fleet and took on its name.

"They're not saying this is a healthy vitamin, or health product," he said. "They're just trying to move away from the negative associations."

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Wow. Just wow. Does the corn industry think that we are a bunch of idiots?! Just because you change your name from something scary and ominous as "high fructose corn syrup" to short and sweet "corn sugar" does not mean your product is any less healthy. This is just as bad as those positive TV ads the corn industry ran a couple years ago about how wonderful high fructose corn syrup is.

Just in case you missed the ads:



My friend Kristin and I share the same sentiments. She and I are on a very similar weight loss journey. I will end my blog post with a perfect reflection from her:

"So now they are tricking us into being obese? I'm ready to put down my marriage equality protests signs and start protesting unhealthy food. The fact that I almost tipped the scale at 300lbs (from eating crap like that) terrifies me. I have friends that are way bigger than that and they just don't get it. When are people going to wake up? : / Thank God, we did!!"

Thank God we did.

All the best,
FFF Diva Mo.

FFF Diva Music Video of the Day: The Egg Song

There is an actual cartoon show based on the adventures of eggs. True story for reals. Their opening theme song reminds me 1) to actually eat eggs 2) that Asians like myself are creative, but still odd.

Enjoy!
FFF Diva Mo

FFF Diva Motivation: Just 10 Challenge

With the help of Zappos.com, Dr. Oz has created the Just 10 bracelet, a tangible reminder that you're taking the first step toward a healthier life. Losing just 10 pounds can lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk for a stroke, ward off dementia, lower your risk for uterine and breast cancer, and lower your cholesterol up to 10%. And these are only some of the benefits.

DoctorOz.com and Zappos.com are teaming up to give you something tangible to wear as a daily reminder that you're worth it. The bracelet has "Just 10" on it so you can let everyone know that you're taking the steps toward a healthier life. Anyone can wear it, and YOU can have one for FREE!



When people ask why you wear it, you can tell them the importance losing "Just 10" pounds has on your health. Register for your bracelet today!

FFF Diva Useful Advice: Fast & Healthy Home Cooking

The Diet Detective: Fast and Healthy Home Cooking
By Charles Stuart Platkin
For Active.com

Eating out is certainly convenient, especially with our busy lives. But there are ways to make cooking at home less time-consuming and more feasible for even the busiest people. Here are a few tips for making faster food at home.

Batch Cooking and Other Ideas

Cook and Freeze: One of the most effective ways to ensure that you always have a healthy meal on hand at home is to cook several meals at once. For instance, "Cook pork chops or chicken in huge batches, freeze on cookie sheets and then store in the freezer in a sealed container with waxed paper between the pieces. Take out only as many pieces as you need, spray both sides with no-stick spray, place them in a cold oven, set it to 425 degrees, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning 10 minutes before done," says Antoinette Kuritz, a San Diego-based home cooking expert and mom.

Minimize Cleanup: Do all your major cooking the day before your regular housecleaning day. That way, you won't have to clean the kitchen twice, adds Kuritz.

Here are a few more ideas to help you get started.

Form a Cooking Co-op: "Ask three friends if they'd like to form a cooking co-op. Each person prepares dinner one night a week for all four families. You get four great meals and only one night in the kitchen," says Janet Peterson, author of Family Dinners: Easy Ways to Feed Your Kids and Get Them Talking at the Table (Gibbs Smith, 2006).

Have a Food Party: To make batch cooking a fun event and to share recipes to keep meals interesting, invite a friend or two over to cook batch meals together, or cook in your own kitchens and swap vacuum-sealed meals later, says Alicia Ross, co-author of Cheap. Fast. Good! (Workman 2005).

Make Theme Meals: To take the effort out of deciding what's for dinner, create a theme for each night of the week. For example, Monday can be soup night; Tuesday, taco night; Wednesday, salad bar, etc., suggests Carrie Hanna, the author of Florida's Backyard (Authorhouse, 2002).

Make Extra: As an alternative to cooking entire meals ahead, just double or triple up on some basic building blocks that will speed you through future meals. Browning batches of ground beef and onions, poaching or grilling chicken and baking potatoes ahead of time are easy ways to cut down on meal prep time, says Ross.

Post the Menu: Plan weeknight meals in advance and post them (so there is no, "What's for dinner?" when you get home). That way you shop once a week and get everyone on board, says Peggy Katalinich, food director for Family Circle magazine.

Cooking Out/Dining In: They're springing up all over the country, with names such as Dinner by Design (www.dinnerbydesignkitchen.com), Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com) and Dinners Ready (www.dinnersready.com).

These are basically storefront kitchens where you can prepare an entire week's worth of meals in one session. They do the planning, shopping and chopping and provide everything you need to prepare healthy, delicious meals. Dinners Ready even has a chef and nutritionist on staff. People assemble their meals in the store, which is set up like a home economics class, then take them home, freeze and cook as needed. That way you know you have all the ingredients, your meals are portion-controlled, you can pick what's healthiest--and there isn't any cleanup.

Cookbooks

There are so many quick-and-easy cookbooks available that you would think nobody eats dinner out. Just take a peak on Amazon.com and you'll find a host of books, including:

•Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes by Rachael Ray (Paperback, Clarkson Potter 2005)
•Weight Watchers Make It in Minutes: Easy Recipes in 15, 20, and 30 Minutes by Weight Watchers (Paperback, Wiley 2001)
•American Heart Association Quick & Easy Cookbook: More Than 200 Healthful Recipes You Can Make in Minutes by American Heart Association (Paperback, Clarkson Potter, 2001)
•Cooking Light Superfast Suppers: Speedy Solutions for Dinner Dilemmas, by Cooking Light magazine, Anne C. Cain and Anne C. Chappell, editors. (Hardcover, Oxmoor 2003)
•Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook by Weight Watchers (Ring-bound, Wiley 2006)
Store It

"Oxygen is not a friend to food," says Chef Kirk Bachmann, vice president of education for Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America, "and freezing food that is not protected from oxygen will cause it to dry out." Refrigerators and freezers are actually cold dehumidifiers. One of the easiest ways to protect your food is to put it in a plastic bag with a zipper closing. They come in a variety of sizes you can use for different quantities.

You'll need storage containers in different sizes. Or, if you want to get fancy, you could invest in a sealing machine.

"I use a vacuum sealer to freeze my food, but plastic wrap works just fine. A vacuum sealer removes air and traps moisture in the product, avoiding freezer burn. When you're wrapping food to be frozen, do it tightly and avoid air pockets. Chicken, pork and shrimp freeze well, but I avoid freezing fish, although there are some exceptions to the rule," says Chef John Greeley of the famed 21 Club in New York.

Which foods don't freeze well? "Foods with low moisture content, such as baked goods, tend to get stale or become dry and brittle when they freeze," says Cordon Blue's Bachmann. "For example, frozen bread has a much shorter shelf life when it's defrosted. You can, however, freeze solid foods in broths or sauces relatively easily and still maintain the texture of the food."

"Stews, soups, chili and spaghetti sauce freeze extremely well. Starchy foods like potatoes, turnips, pasta, dumplings and rice tend to become mushy when frozen because the water crystals expand during the freezing process and tear apart the delicate, papery walls of the grains," says Bachmann.

"Make sure to organize your freezer and keep a list of what's in there. A full freezer is a wonderful thing--but not if you forget what you've prepared and leave it until it gets freezer burned," says Kuritz.

"Also, keep in mind that the faster food freezes, the better chance you have of maintaining quality," adds Bachmann. And allow space between frozen items so that cold air can circulate around them.

CHARLES STUART PLATKIN is a nutrition and public health advocate, author of the bestseller Breaking the Pattern (Plume, 2005), The Diet Detective's Count Down (Simon & Schuster, 2007) and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions. Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter at www.dietdetective.com.

Copyright 2007 by Charles Stuart Platkin

FFF Diva Quote of the Day: Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

"Dance like the photo's not being tagged, Love like you've never been unfriended, Tweet like nobody's following." -Anonymous

FFF Diva Article Research: 25 Best Nutrition Secrets

25 Best Nutrition Secrets
By David Zinczenko
Men's Health
Sep 02, 2010

Sarah Palin is on a diet. So is Barack Obama, Glenn Beck, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Peyton Manning, the pitching staff of the Texas Rangers, all the judges on America’s Got Talent, and the entire cast of Glee. In fact, from Chris Rock to Kid Rock to The Rock, everyone you can name is on a diet.

And so are you.

How can I be so sure? Because a “diet” isn’t something you go on and go off of, like a prescription. A diet is what you eat, day in and day out, whether you planned to eat that way or not. So when people ask me what kind of “diet” they should follow, I always tell them to follow the one they’re already on—the way you like to eat is the way you should eat. In researching the Eat This, Not That! book series and seeing people lose 10, 20, 30 pounds or more effortlessly, I've learned that if you want to make big changes to your health, forget about following somebody else’s diet. Just make a bunch of little changes to the diet you’re already following. Believe me, it’s the best way to get results. Below, I’ve listed the 25 best new nutritional tweaks you can make that will improve the way you look and feel—fast and forever!

1. Drink a second cup of coffee. It might lower your risk of adult-onset diabetes, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

2. Keep serving dishes off the table. Researchers have found that when people are served individual plates, as opposed to empty plates with a platter of food in the middle of the table, they eat up to 35 percent less!

3. Think before you drink. The average person drinks more than 400 calories a day--double what he or she used to--and alone gets around 10 teaspoons of added sugar every single day from soft drinks. Swap out sweetened teas and sodas for no-cal drinks and you could lose up to 40 pounds in a single year! (To see more proof of how wayward beverages can utterly destroy your diet, check out the 20 Worst Drinks in America. Many of these drinks contain more than a day's worth of calories, sugar and fat!)

4. Practice total recall. British scientists found that people who thought about their last meal before snacking ate 30 percent fewer calories that those who didn't stop to think. The theory: Remembering what you had for lunch might remind you of how satiating the food was, which then makes you less likely to binge on your afternoon snack.

5. Eat protein at every meal. Dieters who eat the most protein tend to lose more weight while feeling less deprived than those who eat the least protein. It appears that protein is the best nutrient for jumpstarting your metabolism, squashing your appetite, and helping you eat less at subsequent meals.


6. Choose whole-grain bread. Eating whole grains (versus refined-grain or white bread) has been linked to lower risks of cancer and heart disease.

7. Think fish. Consuming two 4- to 6-ounce servings of oily fish a week will sharpen your mind. Among the best: salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, and trout. They're high in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's. Study participants who had high blood levels of DHA also performed better on noverbal reasoning tests and showed better mental flexibility, working memory, and vocabulary than those with lower levels.

8. Sign up for weight-loss e-mails. Daily e-mails (or tweets) that contain weight-loss advice remind you of your goals and help you drop pounds, researchers from Canada found. We're partial to our own Eat This, Not That! newsletter, and to the instant weight-loss secrets you'll get when you follow me on Twitter here.

9. Cut portions by a quarter. Pennsylvania State University researchers discovered that by simply reducing meal portions 25 percent, people ate 10 percent fewer calories—without feeling any hungrier. Serving yourself? Think about what looks like a reasonable portion, then take at least one-quarter less than that. (By the way, studies show today's restaurant servings are 2 to 5 times bigger than what the government recommends!)

10. Turn off the TV. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts found that people who watch TV during a meal consume, on average, 288 more calories than those who don't eat with the tube on.

11. Put your fork down when you chew. Or take a sip of water between each bite—eating slowly can boost levels of two hormones that make you feel fuller, Greek researchers found.

12. Choose rye (not wheat) bread for breakfast toast. Swedish researchers found that rye eaters were more full 8 hours after breakfast than wheat-bread eaters, thanks to rye's high fiber content and minimal effect on blood sugar. As a result you'll want to snack less and eat less for lunch.
13. Eat a handful of fruit and vegetables a day. In one study, people who ate four or five servings scored higher on cognitive tests than those who consumed less than one serving. (Remember: Salad isn't always the healthy choice. Check out 20 Salads Worse Than a Whopper to see what I mean. You'll be shocked.)

14. Sip green tea. It might help you build a strong skeleton, say researchers in China, and help protect you from broken bones when you're older. And one study found that it helps fight bad breath, too.

15. Work out before lunch or dinner. Doing so will make the meals you eat right afterward more filling, according to British researchers—meaning you'll eat fewer calories throughout the day.

16. Hung over? Choose asparagus. When South Korean researchers exposed a group of human liver cells to asparagus extract, it suppressed free radicals and more than doubled the activity of two enzymes that metabolize alcohol. That means you'll feel like yourself again twice as quickly.

17. Sleep 8 hours a night. Too much or too little shut-eye can add extra pounds, say Wake Forest University researchers. Not there yet? Try these 7 simple strategies for longer, deeper sleep.

18 Discover miso soup. Brown wakame seaweed (used in miso soup) can help lower your blood pressure, especially if your levels are already high, say researchers at the University of North Carolina.

19. Drink two glasses of milk daily. People who drink the most milk have about a 16 percent lower risk of heart disease than people who drink the least. (I recommend nonfat or 1 percent milk.)

20. Take a zinc supplement. Just 15 milligrams of zinc a day (the amount found in a Centrum Ultra multivitamin, for example) will motivate your immune cells to produce more of a protein that fights off bacterial infections.

21. Go ahead, eat your favorite foods. Good eating doesn't need to be about deprivation—it's about making smart choices. Why eat a 1,000-calorie cheeseburger if a 500-calorie burger will satisfy you just the same? The bottom line: Eat foods that you enjoy, just not too much of them.

22. Choose foods with the fewest ingredients. There are now more than 3,000 ingredients on the FDA's list of safe food additives—and any of these preservatives, artificial sweeteners and colorings and flavor enhancers could end up on your plate. Do you really know what these chemicals will do to your waistline or health? Of course not. Here's a rule of thumb: If a 7-year-old can't pronounce it, you don't want to eat it.

23. Snack on popcorn. In a 2009 study, people who ate 1 cup of microwave popcorn 30 minutes before lunch consumed 105 fewer calories at the meal. Just choose the kind without butter.

24. Or snack on walnuts. Eating a handful of walnuts each day may boost your HDL (good) cholesterol fastest, while lowering your LDL (bad) cholesterol.

25. Scramble your breakfast. People who ate eggs in the morning instead of a bagel consumed 264 fewer calories the rest of the day, according to a Saint Louis University study. That’s because protein is more filling than carbs.

Bonus Tip: Don't let all of your hard work go down the drain: Avoid this shocking list of the 20 Scariest Food Creations of 2010!

FFF Diva Rant: Hottie in Progress

Earlier this week in the magical world of Facebook:

FFF Diva Mo FB Status:

MAUREEN was told today that she was "a hottie in progress" in regards to her weight loss journey. How do you respond to a comment like that?

Reponses:

‎"...in progress? im a hottie now beeatch" ;)

booo... i dont like that!

Ur response should have Been "flipping ur long locks to the side and say tell me something I do not know biatch" LOL ur amazing cousin!

"In progress? Bitch I'm so hot now you better got away from me!"

"and it looks like you're a dumbass in progress. You're parents must be SO proud!"

"ummm well thanks, I suppose. And I can see you are working toward your Ph.D in douchebaggery." People are so idiotic...you're awesome Mo! Keep up the inspiring work & kick stupid-heads like that in the face with your hotness!!

Tell em "BS - I'm a hottie NOW"!

Just do the happy dance.

Hmm... I don't know.

My response to the FB responses:
Thanks friends! It was totally off the wall. Didn't know whether to say thanks or punch him in the face. BTW: It was totally a guy who said that to me. Of course.

What are your thoughts?

<3 FFF Diva Mo