Next time you find yourself salivating over that scrumptious-looking slice of pizza, think long and hard about the calories, the fat, the grease – and just imagine how long it will take you to burn off all that yuck.

The key to making good food choices may be focusing on the negative, say Boston College researchers. It seems scaring yourself away from something fattening can be more effective than thinking about something nutritious.

Time to practice: Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread or bucket of fried chicken? Don't think about how healthy that sandwich is. Instead, think of how hard you'll need to work to remove the fried stuff from your hips, butt, and gut. Yep, that turkey sounds pretty good, now, doesn't it?

(via Family Circle magazine, October 2008)

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Endurance athletes are some of the most disciplined, dedicated people. Tap into that mojo by learning how to think like they do.

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Smarts: most of us think we have them but surprisingly, few really do. Although it's true that your intelligence is in good part determined by factors out of your control (like genetics and whether or not your parents let you eat lead paint chips as kid), it's also true that you have more control over your brain power than you probably think. All kinds of daily decisions affect how well your brain works and how "smart" you are, including everything from what you eat to how you act to what exercises you choose for your workout. Are you maximizing your mental potential? If your coffee cup is too big or you often try to multi-task while working out you probably aren't. The following is a list of a few of the ways you can make the most of what you've got in the smarts department (don't worry, they're all pretty easy!).

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Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

The Carrot Museum calls your average carrot a nutritional hero. Storing a goldmine of nutrients, no other vegetable or fruit contains as much carotene -- this converts to vitamin A -- as this herbaceous plant containing about 87% water. Good raw or cooked, carrots provide healthy doses of vitamins B, C, D, and E, potassium, folic acid, and magnesium. Cooked carrots are best, however -- they are more nutritious this way.

Even small amounts of carrots do the body good with their essential oils, carbohydrates, and nitrogenous composites. Well-known for their sweetening, healing, diuretic, remineralizing, and sedative properties, carrots are important for their three most powerful elements: Beta-carotene, Alpha Carotene, and Phytochemicals. Beta-carotene gives us vitamin A which strengthens immune systems, keeps the skin, lungs and intestinal track in order, and promotes healthy cell growth. Alpha Carotene helps inhibit tumor growth. And phytochemicals may reduce the risk of cancer and strokes, hinder the aging process, balance hormonal metabolism, and promote antiviral and antibacterial properties. Combine these three elements and carrots are yes, nutritional heroes. Just look at some of what they can do.

• Boost immunity, especially in older people

• Reduce risk of heart disease

• Improve muscle, flesh, and skin health

• Fight anemia

• Reduce acne

• Improve eye health

• Heal minor wounds and injuries

• Fight infection

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For years, researchers and exercisers alike have spoken about a mind/muscle connection. The assertion is that by focusing on a particular muscle or group of muscles while you work them (for example, if you are doing squats you would focus on your leg muscles becoming stronger), you will stimulate a greater amount of muscle activity than if your mind was on, say, that presentation you have to do for the board of directors tomorrow morning. The same goes for your overall health.

Harvard scientists put this theory to task by explaining to a group of forty housekeepers that their work keeps them in shape. Then, they chose another group of forty housekeepers to study, only they did not say anything to these people. Four weeks later, the researchers found that the group that were told that their work was keeping them fit actually lost an average of 2 pounds and reduced their body fat, BMI, blood pressure, and even their waist size. The other group -- the housekeepers to whom the researchers did not say anything -- showed no sign of physical change.

Without a change of diet, exercise program or anything else, the mere thought that their work was making these forty housekeepers healthier actually made it come true. This clearly supports the mind/muscle connection, in addition to lending credence to all that positive thinking stuff in the book "The Secret."

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Dieting isn't just a physical thing -- it's a mental thing too. In order to achieve your weight-loss goals, you have to be positive and confident in yourself. But that's not always as easy as it sounds, especially if you're used to beating yourself up over your weight. WebMD has some great tips on how to change your thinking and get thin:

• Have patience: weight-loss is a big, long, difficult journey. Don't get frustrated if you don't achieve your goal in a few days
• Picture it: Imagine yourself thin, and imagine how good it will feel.
  
• Be realistic: You're not going to lose 10 pounds a week. Expect to lose 2 pounds a month, and re-evaluate that goal after 6 months.
  
• Set small goals: Don't plan on running a marathon right off the bat -- aim for something manageable, and make a bigger goal once you're comfortable with that
  
• Seek support: It's much easier when your friends and family are on board with your plans
• Plan: create a detailed plan -- don't think you can just wing it
• Reward yourself -- often: The best way to keep something up is to implement a rewards system -- just make sure the reward isn't food!
• Identify your bad habits and slowly try to break them
• Keep track of your progress: Weigh and measure yourself often to find out where you are on the journey.
  

How do you think yourself thin?

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People make jokes about how it hurts to think, or that it's so exhausting sometimes it's just not worth it, and although we all laugh it turns out there may actually be some truth to those comments! Thinking too hard can actually make you tired.

It all comes down to the fact that our brains need glucose to work, and that when we concentrate we use up glucose faster than when we don't. And the older you are (keep in mind this was done with rats so take it with a grain of salt) the longer your glucose levels take to bounce back up to normal.

So now you can say how tired you are from thinking all day, and when people laugh just look at them, "I'm serious, man."

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When you read the title of this post, did you get your hopes up, thinking I would tell you that one minute is all it takes to lose the weight and get in shape? I would love to tell you that, and I would love for it to be that easy but alas, it's not. ONE MINUTE is all it takes to sabotage your healthy lifestyle, to fall off the wagon ... for good.

In that one minute, you can gobble down some fries or you can use that minute to stop and consider your decision. This is what eDiets suggests you do in a minute to save your diet:

• Slow down: Often, when we reach for that tub of ice cream, we're stressed, in a hurry and not thinking about what we're doing. So stop for a minute and take some time just to breathe.
• Think: about what you're about to do, what you're going to lose if you do it. If you're stressed out, think about what's causing your stress, and how you can get away from it.
• Open your mind: As you're thinking, let your thought flow freely. You might realize something you hadn't before
• Pay attention: to your thoughts and what's causing them. You should find it easier to make a rational decision.

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