Slim Down with Soup

A diet high in fiber is satisfying and curbs your hunger. One easy and effective way to include it in your diet is to dine on something that may already be in your cupboard – and that’s none other than soup.

Often containing about 100 calories per serving, soup is healthy and usually packed with plenty of vegetables and fiber. This helps you fill more satisfied than less healthy foods, and keeps you from consuming too many calories overall.

Here’s the skinny on how you can slim down with soup:
• Go for the low-fat and low-sodium version to make it extra healthy.
• Add beans, lentils, additional veggies or tofu to create a more fulfilling meal.
• Steer away from creamy soups and head straight to the broth-based ones.
• Try a fiber-packed bowl of soup before a meal to prevent overeating.
• Can’t find the right soup to satisfy your hunger and taste buds? Make your own healthy homemade version.

—About.com

Learn about Weight Loss NYC's healthy diet plan.

What's in Sugar?

When you read food labels, a few grams don’t sound like much. But did you know that 4.2 grams of sugar equal 1 teaspoon? And one teaspoon of sugar contains 16.3 calories, which can add up.

White, refined sugar is high in calories and has no real nutritional value, yet it’s a main ingredient in a lot of the foods we love and crave. It can make your energy spike and drop throughout the day, but you can take charge of sugar ruling your diet.

• Eat fresh fruits for a snack or dessert instead of treats made with processed sugar.
• Add fruit to your meals instead of processed sugar.
• Choose drinks and snacks wisely that have low or no sugar — and stick with small portions.
• Watch out for “sugar-free” labels on foods with ingredients ending in “-ose” (which can be hidden sugar) or sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol that can be just as fattening as the sugared version.

Yummy Foods That Fight Fat

Dieting to lose weight should not mean depriving yourself of foods that taste good. In fact, eating healthier means you get to eat a lot of richer, better-tasting foods that just so happen to fight fat.

These are just some of those foods that can help you maintain your figure:

Almonds
Why they're good for you: They contain a high amount of alpha-linolenic acid, which speeds up metabolism, and can cut down BMI and weight by as much as 18 percent.

Berries
Why they're good for you: Fresh or frozen, these Vitamin C-packed fruits can improve the quality of your workouts and help you burn up to 30 percent more fat.

Cinnamon
Why it's good for you: Just a 1/4 teaspoon of it on your breakfast can keep you from experiencing an insulin spike, which causes your body to store fat.

Mustard
Why it's good for you: The turmeric in mustard slows the growth of fat tissues.

Oranges
Why they're good for you: Citrus fruit contains flavones that fight fat.

Soybeans
Why they're good for you: They are rich in choline, which stops fat absorption and breaks down fat deposits. (Those with breast cancer in their family history should check with their doctor first.)

Sweet potatoes
Why they're good for you: They're high in fiber and keep the insulin in check.

Swiss cheese
Why it's good for you: It has more calcium than most other cheeses, reduces fat-producing enzymes and increases further fat breakdown. Of course, the lower-fat version is healthier, too.

--Yahoo Health

Sugar or Sweetener?

Over recent years many people have been reaching for artificial sweeteners, thinking that it's healthier than the real thing. It turns out that your tastebuds don't know the difference between sugar and sweetener -- but your brain does.

A new study out of the Netherlands used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses in people sipping two different orangeade drinks -- one mixed with sugar and another mixed with four artificial sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K, cyclamate and saccharin).

The sugar and sweeteners were found to stimulate the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that detects pleasure. Only the sugared drink stimulated the caudate in the brain, showing that the human brain can tell the difference between a caloric drink and a noncaloric one.

Other research on artificially sweetened beverages include:

-They can activate parts of the brain that create appetite, but do not satiate it.
-Increased appetite has been found to occur in people who don't consume artificially sweetened beverages often.
-People who drink artificially sweetened beverages regularly tend to weigh more than those who don't.
-For those who consume a lot of artificially sweetened beverages, however, their brains, can become used to the sweeteners and may not necessarily cause them to eat more.

--L.A. Times