The true test for me, however, was this: how does it taste in my morning coffee?

On my diet – there is just one thing I cannot.. .no matter HOW BAD I want to lose the weight, I just cannot, for the life of me, compromise and that is my coffee. I know there are a lot of people out there who feel the same.

Splenda in coffee just is not the same – - neither are any of the other substitutes I’ve found.

I came across Stevia quite by accident one day while searching for organic foods online. I even recommended it to my mother, who is a diabetic and struggles with sugar substitute issues, as well. She is even more picky than I am – - and she’s a faithful Stevia user now!

Here’s the low-down for you on the product (which you can usually find at your local health food store, or in the health/organic section of your grocery):

• Stevia has ZERO calories. Yep – you heard it… ZERO.. as in NONE
• Stevia has a glycemic index of… yea, you guessed it… ZERO
• It is all natural and 100% organic
• Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to Paraguay
• Stevia is 30 times sweeter than sugar in its unprocessed form
• The pure glycosides that are extracted from the Stevia leaves are 250-400 times sweeter than sugar
• For those of Jewish faith, Stevia is 100% kosher
• You can use Stevia not only for sweetening drinks like tea and coffee and quick meals like on grapefruit or cereal – but you can bake with Stevia, as well. There are hundreds of recipes – - below, I reference a Stevia cookbook with some great recipe ideas
• Be aware of the Stevia/Sugar conversion when using it, though – - remember, it is 30 TIMES SWEETER THAN SUGAR! Dont’ make the mistake of using the same volume of Stevia as you would with regular sugar. Below is a conversion table

What are Stevia’s equivilancies to sugar?

Some Great Stevia Recipe Books:

Stevia Sweet Recipes: Sugar-Free-Naturally
A review from Amazon.com says:Of the 3 Stevia cookbooks I own, this is my favorite. I would think that most people who want to use stevia, are looking for healthy too, and lower carb, not just how to replace sugar with stevia. He uses whole grains in his recipies, which are much lower on the glycemic index than their refined counter parts, making them good for diabetics and some less restrictive low carb diets. I was looking for a recipe for zucchini bread and none of the books had one, so I took his Oatmeal Banana Bread recipe and replaced the fruit with zucchini and it came out fantastic! I could do that because the basic recipe is sound. He gives a lot of info on stevia including the fact that you have to adjust it to your taste. He covers pretty much all the bases in this book, except as one person pointed out, the use of liquid stevia, other than to say that he prefers to use the powders to the liquid.

Sensational Stevia Desserts
A review from Amazon.com says:This is a good book. It gives you the nutritional breakdowns which is nice, and compares them to the same products made with sugar. She uses healthy ingredients, but not much in the way of whole grains. It’s definitely low-carb friendly, as you can easily see how many carbs each recipe will set you back. None of the recipies include other sugar sources which is nice to see in a stevia cookbook.

Stevia: Naturally Sweet Recipes for Desserts, Drinks, and More
A review from Amazon.com says: I have been using stevia as my SOLE sugar replacement for just about a year now with the aid of several cookbooks to keep me going. I find it hard to use many recipes that ask for non-nutritive sweeteners because they usually happen to be low-carb, high-protein/fat, and animal products abound. My first breath of fresh air to this dilema was this book. It uses whole grain flours and provides many purely vegetarian (vegan) alternative recipes.

Without any further hesitation – here’s my Saturday Syndication list for today – I hope you enjoy!

• Elaine explores the problems with Food Cravings and Stress
• …While over at LifeTips – they are discussing Dieting, Cheating and Motivation
• Dieting out of a vending machine…. really? Sounds funny…but could it be coming to a cafeteria near you? Kraft Foods is rolling out a vending machine stocked with South Beach Diet branded food.
• So You Think You Can Lose Weight? Forget Weight Loss Diets; They Don’t Work ! Do you agree..disagree? There seems to be a lot of talk about what works and what doesn’t – - I think the key is finding out what works for YOU
• About.Com has a great list of ‘must haves’ for a Weight Loss Friendly Kitchen…”If you’ve just begun a weight loss program, it’s time to take a fresh look at your kitchen. It can be your ally – really. These are the must-haves for making your kitchen diet-friendly…”

And so ends my Saturday Syndication wrap up for today. After reading through so many articles and blog posts about dieting, weight loss and fitness — I’m feeling highly motivated to head to the gym this afternoon.. so off I go. Have a great weekend!

Because the world has almost as many diet plans as it has e-mail spammers, you’d think that just about all of us would know everything there is to know about dieting, about fat, and about the reasons why our bellies have grown so large. YOU: On a Diet is much more than a diet plan or a series of instructions and guidelines or a faddish berries-only eating plan. It’s a complete manual for waist management. It will show you how to achieve and maintain an ideal and healthy body size by providing a lexicon according to which any weight-loss system can be explained. YOU: On a Diet will serve as the operating system that facilitates future evolution in our dieting software. After you learn about the biology of your body and the biology and psychology of fat, you’ll be given the YOU Diet and YOU Workout. Both are easy to learn, follow, and maintain. Following a two-week rebooting program will help you lose up to two inches from your waist right from the start.

With Roizen and Oz’s signature accessibility, wit, and humor, YOU: On a Diet–The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management will revolutionize the way you think about yourself and the food you consume, so that you’ll diet smart, not hard. Welcome to your body on a diet.

Without any further hesitation – here’s my Saturday Syndication list for today – I hope you enjoy!

• Every Friday is Health Tip day at Zen Habits. This week, Zen Habits puts a spotlight on Hassle Free Weight Loss – The Zen Habits Meal Plan. …”Notice that it’s not the “Zen Habits Diet”. That’s because to me, diets are intended to be restrictive and temporary. I’ve created an easy way to plan my meals so that I don’t overeat, so that I’m eating fairly healthy, and so that it’s got some leeway for pleasurable eating. And for me, this has to be something I can do for life…. – click the link to read Zen Habits Tips.
• At 101 Reasons I Hate Being Fat – KaraokeKitty discusses Why she loves to hate celebrity weight loss television shows. …”I love them! I hate them! You know the shows, like VH1′s Celebrity Fit Club or NBC’s Biggest Loser, and a host of others. Honestly I do love to watch these shows….
• Find some Daily Health, Nuturition, Weight Loss and Exercise Tips at the Daily Exercise and Fitness Blog.
• Former Fat Guy discusses Alcohol and Weight Loss – Can you drink alcohol on your weight loss program and still lose the weight?
• At Corey’s Fitness and Weight Loss Journal – Corey is All Slimmed Down With Nothing to Wear!

See ya next week!

…it’s not unusual for someone to experience a yo-yo effect following a low-carb diet. The body loses water, muscle and fat during weight loss, especially on a low-carb diet. A very low-carb diet is not recommended for the long haul. A modest low-carb diet, such as the diet followed by many diabetics, is more healthful, cuts carbs to a reasonable level and focuses on carbs that are high in fiber.

Some low-glycemic (low sugar), high-fiber carbs include:

• Oatmeal
• Whole Wheat Bread
• Whole Wheat Pasta
• Beans and Barley
• Sweet Potatoes
• Vegetables

Eating more vegetables and fruit means you can eat more food and lose weight. Because vegetables and fruit have a high water content, the calorie level is lower. You can eat more, yet take in fewer calories, and feel more full.

Kalyn, at Kalyn’s Kitchen, has a great recipe for sweet potato fries – a lo-carb and tasty alternative to regular fries.

A Veggie Adventure provides an easy and yummy Microwave “Baked” Sweet Potato (Per Serving: 86 Cal (1% from Fat, 8% from Protein, 91% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 20 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; 34 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 15 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol, Weight Watchers 1 point)

Without any further hesitation – here’s my Saturday Syndication list for today – I hope you enjoy!

• Would you lose weight for money? That’s Fit says that studies show people will! Even if its just a little bit of money.
• The Biggest Loser (a TV show, in case you’ve never watched it) contestant, Jerry Lisenby, shares his weight loss secrets on BuddyTV.com. Along with working out, He’s sticking to a high fiber diet, with complex carbohydrates and healthy protein like salmon. He eats a lot of fruit as well. He’s given up diet cola, caffeine and alcohol as well.
• Janet Jackson is adding ‘writer’ to the list of things she’s accomplished in her lifetime. She’s writing a book about her journey in weight loss and weight gain.
• Everyone diets for summer – - but what about dieting for winter? The Daily Yummy has some tips
• All Women’s Talk has a nice 3 Step approach to the best weight loss workouts
• Eating salad on your diet? Exactly when is salad unhealthy? The Diet Blog has some answers
• I’m reading all this noise on the internet about Britney Spears’s performance on the MTV Video Music Awards – - how not only was her performance a disaster… but that she was really FAT. I seriously have to wonder about the media. One on hand, the media is applauding a movement in the fashion industry to ban size zero models on the runway – - but on the other hand, you have them calling Britney Spears fat. check out this image of her from the MTV VMA awards show – - I wish I were that fat! Sure she doesn’t look like she did when she was 17 – - after two kids.. who would? Pfft. At least Renee agrees

That does it for me this Saturday evening!

Remember, You must use the following CODES when placing your internet/website orders…

** 2 Half Gallons, normally $32.00 + $8.00 shipping, totaling $40.00 is NOW only $32.00! – CODE: SFLAH2

** 2 Gallons, normally $56.00 + $14.00 shipping, totaling $70.00 is NOW only $56.00! – CODE: SNOLLAG2

** The 4 gallon case, normally $112.00 + $20.00 shipping, totaling $132.00 is NOW $112.00! – CODE: ESACLAG4

NOTE: You must use the coupon code when placing your order on the website or you will not receive credit back for shipping.

Once again this is a very special offer just for you and your friends… Yep that’s right, You can forward this to all your friends and family but make sure all orders are placed here:

Egg Whites International

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Instant Savings: Save $10 instantly when you spend $49 or more on select Conair products offered by Amazon.com in Health & Personal Care. Enter code CNAIRNOV at checkout. Offer expires November 30, 2006.

Instant Savings: Save $25 instantly when you spend $199 or more on select Medical Supplies and Equipment products offered by Amazon.com in Health & Personal Care. Enter code MEDSUP25 at checkout. Offer expires November 30, 2006.

This week’s Thirteen covers some various diet tools that I’ve found through my travels, readings and researching – some of them are pretty helpful too!

Have a good one to share? Leave it in the comments

1. Weight Loss Calculators – macro-nutrient ratios, body fat %, etc.
2. Weight Loss Calculator – BMR, BMI, RMR, etc.
3. NutriDiary – Tracks food, calories, and weight.
4. FitDay – An extremely popular on-line diet tracker.
5. Spark People – Diet and exercise program that has now removed its fees
6. ExRx – Animations of hundreds of exercises (by muscle group)
7. NutritionData – Has comprehensive information on most foods.
8. Calorie King – Has comprehensive nutritional info, but their Portion Watch tool is unique – it has photos of different portion sizes of many popular foods. (Note that CalorieKing’s diet program is fee-based).
9. PeerTrainer – Diet and exercise program – where you become part of a group.
10. Diet Facts – As well as the standard foods, has manually-entered data from many restaurants
11. CalorieCount – one of the largest, searchable, organized food nutrition databases (more than 40k items) coupled with a food log, activity log, personal weight loss journals. You can communicate with our more than 70,000 members on the forums and by making friends with similar interests.
12. StartYourDiet – Free online weight tracking diet program
13. Nutrisystem – great online diet diary and weight tracking – Nutrisystem is a fee service

When it comes to seasoning food, there’s no shortage of salt options.

But when it comes to health, it doesn’t matter if it was mined in Kansas, solar-evaporated from the Mediterranean Sea or hand-harvested in French marshes. Salt is salt, the experts say, and it’s bad for your health. Chances are you’re eating way too much of it.

If you think setting down the shaker will make a difference, take that advice with a grain of salt. Most salt comes from processed foods and restaurants.

Here’s what’s known. For good health, most people need less than a quarter-teaspoon a day of salt – a natural mineral known as sodium chloride. Of course, except for medically supervised diets, it’s almost impossible to consume that little.

In fact, many foods exceed that amount per serving. Most Americans consume as much as 2 teaspoons of salt a day, far above the recommended half-teaspoon for healthy adults, according to the Institute of Medicine.

That’s a serious problem. Though the mechanism behind it isn’t fully understood, high-salt diets can cause high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart and kidney disease and stroke.

Here’s the rule: If it tastes good, it has either sugar, salt, or fat in it. If it tastes really good, it has either sugar&salt, salt&fat, or fat&sugar. If it is unbelievably, outstandingly good, it has salt and sugar and fat in it. This rule is as infallable as gravity.