We checked with some of the top US nutrition experts, who admitted they secretly spy on the rest of us as we make real-world choices in restaurants and grocery stores. Here are their top five gripes.

1. We can't tell the good fats from the bad ones.
"Most people still don't get that some fats are actually good for you," says Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, an American Heart Association spokesperson. "You want to avoid saturated and trans fats, but you need more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Good sources are fish, nuts, avocados, and soybean and canola oils."

Smarter: Fit in good fats. "If you keep track of total calories, you don't have to worry about how much fat you eat, just what kind," explains Dr. Lichtenstein. Grandpa Po's Slightly Spicy Nutra Nuts use only canola oil (160 cal, 10 g fat, 1 g sat. fat, 2 g fiber, 60 mg sodium); at healthy food supermarkets.

2. We supersize to save money.
"People think that supersizing a restaurant meal is a money saver, but it's not a health bargain if it has way too many calories," says Karen Weber Cullen, DPH, RD, research nutritionist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Smarter: Judge with your palm, not your purse. A serving size is about what fits into the palm of your hand (larger for men than women, smaller for children). For most meals, pick one protein, one starch, one veggie, and one fruit based on the serving that will fit into your palm.

3. We think anything liquid has no calories.
"What freaks me out is the amount of sugared soda and juice we drink," says Judith Stern, ScD, RD, professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California, Davis. "I'd like to see all the sugared drinks sent out into space, where they could orbit the Earth forever." Sugared drinks balloon your calorie intake and squeeze out more nutritious foods.

Smarter: Try a cup of tea. Available in myriad varieties, the calorie-free brew promotes heart health, staves off several types of cancer, strengthens bones and teeth, and protects the skin.

4. We don't know how "hungry" really feels.
"If you don't know when you're hungry, you don't know when you're full, so you won't know when to stop eating," says Elisabetta Politi, RD, nutrition manager of the Duke University Diet & Fitness Center in Durham, NC.

Smarter: Tune in with mindful eating. Here's how.
1. Before you eat, relax, and rate your hunger from 1 (hungriest) to 7 (fullest).
2. Eat slowly, pausing often to rate how your hunger changes.
3. When finished, rate yourself one more time. Try to stay between 2 1/2 and 5 1/2: not too ravenous when you start and not completely full when you stop.

5. We have a microwave addiction.
Many women come home from work and pop a frozen entrée into the microwave. "Eating too many heavily processed foods can leave you short on fiber and antioxidants such as vitamin C," explains Jo Ann Hattner, RD, clinical dietitian at Stanford University Medical Center.

Smarter: Complement a frozen entrée with a green salad, a 100 percent whole wheat roll, and fruit for dessert. Stock up on the freshest fruit for maximum flavor.

Let www.greatpersonaltraining.com Help You!

We have all heard about the relevance of limiting the amount of Sugar we intake to maintain or lose weight.

Diets like the Atkins and the South Beach diet preach the restriction of Sugars to promote weight loss.

But do you know how much sugar is in your food?

You might be surprised to know that Banana’s and grapes are horrible for weight loss!

Why because they are full of Sugar.

The Glycemic index bellow will help you make smarter choices by informing you of how much sugar is in the food you eat.

Making smart choices make all the difference for Weight loss.

Glycemic Index

How quickly do foods raise your blood sugar?

The glycemic index measures how fast a food is likely to raise your blood sugar. This can be helpful. For example, if your blood sugar is low and continuing to drop during exercise, you would prefer to eat a carb that will raise your blood sugar quickly. On the other hand, if you would like to keep your blood sugar from dropping during a few hours of mild activity, you may prefer to eat a carb that has a lower glycemic index and longer action time. If your blood sugar tends to spike after breakfast, you may want to select a cereal that has a lower glycemic index.

The numbers below give that food's glycemic index based on glucose, which is one of the fastest carbohydrates available. Glucose is given an arbitrary value of 100 and other carbs are given a number relative to glucose. Faster carbs (higher numbers) are great for raising low blood sugars and for covering brief periods of intense exercise. Slower carbs (lower numbers) are helpful for preventing overnight drops in the blood sugar and for long periods of exercise.

Note that these numbers are compiled from a wide range of research labs, and often from more than one study. These numbers will be close but may not be identical to other glycemic index lists. The impact a food will have on the blood sugar depends on many other factors such as ripeness, cooking time, fiber and fat content, time of day, blood insulin levels, and recent activity. Use the Glycemic Index as just one of the many tools you have available to improve For additional information on the glycemic index, Carb Counting and blood sugar control, we also recommend The Glucose Revolution Lifeplan, Using Insulin, Pumping Insulin or the Pocket Pancreas. You may also want to read about the Satiety Index, How Carbs Vary, or check out Diet Books

Glycemic Index