Oh, how I once loved fries. I guess I still love them. I just don't eat them.

Fries are one food I gave up cold turkey when revamping my diet more than one year ago. Away they went with sweets, soda, alcohol, and red meat. Ditching these items worked well for me. I'm an all-or-nothing girl, you see. There's no in between. I can't just eat a few fries and be happy -- I have to eat and eat and eat. Bidding a fond farewell to my bad-habit foods was a good choice for me. For you? Maybe you don't need to be so extreme.

The folks at Prevention magazine say even guilty pleasures can be healthful. And according to one Gallup poll, half of American moms think French fries can be part of a well-balanced diet. Potatoes eaten with skin are packed with vitamin C, after all. They are also a great source of potassium and fiber. The key to eating them with good health in mind, though: You must buy them right and cook them right (hint: avoid the deep fryer). Here's what the Prevention people would do.

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When it comes down to it, we all share a common craving: to feel good. University of Oxford neuroscientist Morton Kringelbach knows this. It's why he's writing his new book The Pleasure Center and why he shared with Reader's Digest (August, 2008) some of his revolutionary research. Check this out.

Asked RD: What do people find most pleasurable in their lives? Sex, says Kringelbach. Second is being with friends. Most everything we find pleasurable -- like eating and drinking -- is so much better when shared with someone else.

Another question: Can you help us cure addictions such as overeating? It hasn't been tested yet, reports the scientist, but deep-brain electrodes may help restore the balance of selective satiety mechanisms in the brain -- these are the signals that tell us enough is enough. Obese people may not have the selective satiation that thin people do.

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Eating fish is good for you. Is it good for the environment too? Not always. But a growing number of aquariums and fish conversation programs are offering "guilt-free" guides to help you make the best choices when it comes to buying fish and other seafood.

Fish that are abundant, well-managed, fished, or farmed make the guilt-free list. According to the National Seafood Guide 2007, published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, here are some of the keepers:

Arctic Char (farmed)
Bay Scallops (farmed)
Catfish (farmed)
Clams (farmed)
Mussels and Oysters (farmed)
Pacific Halibut
Rainbow Trout (farmed)
Salmon (Alaska wild)
Spiny Lobster (U.S.)
Striped Bass (farmed or wild)
Tilipia (U.S.)

Now this list is not exhaustive. You can find more information here. You'll also get a peek at fish that are both high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in environmental contaminants -- like anchovies, oysters, and sardines.

Note: Young children, pregnant women, and anyone who wishes to watch their mercury consumption should always avoid seafood with high mercury levels -- such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish.

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Stress is an extremely subjective term, and an extremely subjective feeling. It doesn't mean the same thing to different people, as everybody reacts to life in their own way. So since there's no across the board "cure," the best tool you have for dealing with stress is learning how to relax, for yourself, and the faster you can do that the better.

Try these 3 simple steps the next time you feel the tension creeping up:

• Don't just "do something relaxing" like watching TV or listening to music (although these may help also) -- make a conscious effort to calm down.
• Exercise. Not only will this relax you, but it will relieve guilt from not working out, and relieving guilt is the same as relieving stress.
• Have fun. Do something you enjoy, everyday. Happiness and fun are natural relaxers -- use them!

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Anyone who's dieted knows that there can be a considerable amount of guilt involved -- especially when you eat foods you're "not supposed to." Recent research suggests that the act of dieting actually enhances cravings for these sorts of foods, and that, subsequently, dieting may be counterproductive.

Women who participated in the study were shown pictures of chocolate or magazine ads not related to food. Researchers found that women who had dieted felt more guilt about chocolate -- guilt that, in turn, could lead to cravings.

According to Karen Pine of the University of Hertfordshire, who led the study, "Instead of helping people to eat more healthily and to cut down on products which are bad for their health, the negative effect induced by dieting appears to have the opposite effect in that it can increase the desire for the actual foods they are trying to avoid."

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In one day I once ate an entire box of those cheap cherry cordial chocolates they have in all the drugstores around this time of year...for some reason I just couldn't resist, and I felt bad about it for days! Truth is we all mess up sometimes on our diets, whether it's an intentional "cheat day" or a binge that snuck up on us from behind. And of course, this time of year is one of the worst, with all the homemade and store-bought goodies tempting us from every direction. At work, at home -- it seems impossible to resist it all.

Well I'm not one to resist it all, that's for sure! I try to pick and choose when to indulge, and sometimes I do better than other times. For those "other times" when guilt sets in, iVillage.com has created a place to confess your dieting slip-ups, and then leave them behind. Find comfort and comraderie reading through the other dieting confessions, and then add yours to the list and move on -- guilt free!

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