Beanie Books

Why should you eat fruit? People tend to crave sweets. This is especially true during the holiday season. Here is an idea: when you feel the urge for chocolate, cookies, or candy, maybe choose nature’s sweets instead (yup, that’s fruit). Fruits will satisfy you and give you vitamins and nutrients that can help lower your risk for heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Plus, fruits are low in fat, salt, and calories. Now how ‘bout them apples?! Here is how: Remove junk food from your home and work area. Yes, lose those tempting candies and desserts. Replace them with easy-to-grab fruits, like bananas, apples, oranges, and berries. When you’re short on time (and craving sugar), making a healthy choice will be easier. Try these recipes: Frozen banana pops Mix Greek yogurt, honey, and vanilla until smooth. Coat bananas in the sauce. Then, dip bananas in crushed almonds. Freeze and allow the dessert to harden. Yummy fruit salad Slice and dice your favorite fruits — apples, pears, kiwi...

Distract Yourself If you are craving something unhealthy, try to think about the long-term impact of eating that food. Changing your mindset towards certain foods can help you resist the  urge. Instead of giving in and reaching for that unhealthy snack, pat yourself on the back for making the right decision. Click here to see how carbs can make you fat .

Be Grateful, Eat Less Feeling positive about life can help you make better food choices. Focus on being positive and happy before each meal by reminding yourself of what makes  you thankful. Your positive outlook is more likely to make you opt for healthy foods! Click here to read about how you can distract yourself to stop cravings. .

Carbohydrates make you fat Losing fat is not as hard as it might seem. All you need to do is to cut back on carbohydrates. When you eat carbohydrates, they get converted into glucose by insulin ( a metabolic hormone).   Too much glucose can be toxic so your pancreas sends out even more insulin to manage this. Now, instead of burning fat as fuel, you are converting calories into fat and storing it. Your body is great at converting carbs into fat and will gladly do that if there are too many carbs in your diet.  I found this picture on a site that thinks this is all bunk but oddly enough, it pretty much lays it out for you: Gain muscle, Burn fat Try to exercise to exhaustion  twice a week on an empty stomach  when insulin levels are low. This will force your body to release human growth hormones which allows you to use fat for fuel instead of glucose.  Do not eat  for an hour after the exercise to keep your level of growth hormones higher longer w...