Good Eating Practices

1. Use the pyramid as a guideline (not a hard and fast rule) for the day
2. Create a colorful plate. Focus on going natural with a lot of vegetables and fruit. Go for a variety of foods!
3. All foods in moderation. No food is a miracle food that contains every nutrient necessary for proper functioning.
4. Eat nutrients from natural sources, rather than vitamins or suppplements, when possible.
5. Eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full. Take time to notice why you are eating - studying, cravings, moods. Create alternatives to mindless snacking.

The Facts About Weight Loss

Here are some general points to keep in mind:

• Any claims that you can lose weight effortlessly are false. The only proven way to lose weight is either to reduce the number of calories you eat or to increase the number of calories you burn off through exercise. Most experts recommend a combination of both.

• Very low calorie diets are not without risk and should be pursued only under medical supervision. Unsupervised, very low calorie diets can deprive you of important nutrients and are potentially dangerous.

• Fad diets rarely have any permanent effect. Sudden and radical changes in your eating patterns are difficult to sustain over time. In addition, so-called "crash" diets often send dieters into a cycle of quick weight loss followed by rapid weight gain.