A FEW GOOD HEALTH TIPS TO GET ON TRACK..

Here are a few things to remember if you are trying to get your health on track. A friend sent these from Joy Bauer's book "YOUR INNER SKINNY".....

DON'TS.....

1. DON'T add sugar, other natural sweeteners (including honey, agave, and stevia), or artificial sweeteners to anything. Sugar, honey, and other calorie-containing sweeteners add 60 calories per tablespoon to your day's intake, so you'll save considerable calories by cutting out the sugar you typically add to your coffee, tea, cereal, beverages, yogurts, etc. Artificially sweetened foods may not have the calories of sugar-sweetened foods, but they keep sweetness on our taste buds and our minds. I recommend cutting out all added sugars (real and artificial) for at least a week to help you break free of your compulsion to eat sweet foods. Then, minimize your intake going forward.

2. DON'T add salt to anything. Eating foods with a lot of added salt causes you to retain water, which drives up the number on the scale and makes you feel uncomfortable. Part of my week-long cleanse is getting rid of salty foods that promote bloating.

3. DON'T eat starches with dinner (including bread, rice, pasta, peas, beans, corn and potatoes). People tend to overeat starches for a number of reasons: these foods have great mouth feel, it's hard to estimate portions, they're some of America's favorite comfort foods, and they're calorie-dense. People are especially conditioned to overeat these foods at dinner. By making them totally off-limits, you don't have to cut yourself off mid-meal (after you've already primed your tastebuds).

4. DON'T drink alcohol. Alcohol adds a lot of empty calories to your diet, plus it lowers your inhibitions so you're more likely to veer off plan and make unhealthy food choices. By cutting out the alcohol, you'll give your liver a well needed break and you'll have firmer resolve to stick with the rest of the diet's "do's and don'ts."

DO'S....

1. DO eat on a schedule and enjoy three meals and one snack each day.

2. DO drink lots of water throughout the day, including two 8-ounce glasses before lunch and two 8-ounce glasses before dinner. (These before-meal waters should be consumed up to 30 minutes before eating.) Enjoy as much additional water as you want during meals and throughout the day.

3. DO enjoy "water alternatives" in unlimited quantities at any point during the day. These include: coffee or tea with 1% or skim milk only, seltzer (plain and naturally flavored), sparkling water, club soda, or water with lemon/lime/orange wedges.

4. DO begin dinner with a healthy appetizer: a large tossed salad (with 2-3 tablespoons reduced-calorie dressing); a bowl of broth-based non-starchy veggie* soup; or any plain vegetable such as a sliced cucumber, red pepper sticks or green beans.

5. DO indulge in non-starchy vegetables* in unlimited quantities at any time throughout the day, particularly when you get hungry between designated meal and snack times.

6. DO engage in 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise everyday (walking is fine).
*Non-starchy vegetables include: asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, green leafy vegetables, eggplant, green beans, mushrooms, okra, onion, peppers, radishes, snow peas, tomato, and zucchini