1. The truth about "negative calorie" foods.
2. How can I curb my sweet cravings?
3. Meat confusion-clarified!

The truth about "negative calorie" foods.   A coworker of mine keeps going on and on about her "negative calorie" diet. I don't see how food can have fewer than zero calories, but whatever she's eating, it's working-she lost 20 pounds fast! Is it too good to be true?

The idea of a negative-calorie diet may sound strange, but it's actually a real phenomenon that does facilitate weight loss. That's because these diets are rich in foods so low in calories that the body expends more calories digesting a food than that food itself contains. For example, the body burns 80 calories digesting a 25-calorie piece of broccoli, leaving you with negative 55 calories. To enjoy the benefits, nosh on negative-calorie foods like asparagus, apples, carrots, cucumbers, onions, oranges, papaya, pineapple and spinach.

How can I curb my sweet cravings?   Eight weeks ago I gave birth to my first child, and (despite breast-feeding!) I-haven't lost a single pound. I've always watched my weight, but my cravings for ice cream and candy were so bad during pregnancy that I packed on 60 pounds! I thought they'd go away when my hormones returned to normal, but no such luck-I'm still eating enough sweets for two. What can I do to overcome these cravings?

You can soothe your sweet tooth by drinking 64 oz. cran-water daily. (Mix 8oz. pure cranberry juice, like R.W. Knudsen Family Just Cranberry, with 56 oz. water.) The antioxidant arbutin in cranberries has been proven to regulate insulin (the hormone that controls blood sugar) to curb the sugar crashes that trigger cravings. Another effective crave--cutting tip: Aim for at least 1,000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. Consuming this amount helped women in one Finnish study reduce sweet cravings by up to 60 percent. (And as a breast-feeding bonus,  essential fatty acids have been shown to benefit infant brain development through breast milk.) To get the study-backed dose, enjoy foods like omega-3-enriched eggs (such as Eggland's Best) and salmon, or try adding 2 Tbs. ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil to -salads and smoothies daily.

Meat confusion-clarified!  I recently read about the antibiotics in meat and how they're linked to "super bugs" in humans that don't respond to antibiotic medications. But when I tried to buy antibiotic-free meat, there were so many labels on the packages like "no antibiotics," "natural" and "organic" that I wasn't sure which to get. What do you suggest?

As you said, consuming meat that has been raised with antibiotics can cause the human body to develop resistance to these medications. So I agree that going antibiotic-free is a wise choice. Opt for meat labeled "raised with no antibiotics," "no antibiotics administered" or "organic." All of these mean that the animals were raised without the drugs. (The label "natural," however, doesn't necessarily mean the -animal was never administered antibiotics.) Some grocery-store brands to try: Niman Ranch, Laura's Lean Beef and-my personal favorite-Ranch Foods Direct (at 866-866-MEAT). When you call Ranch Foods Direct, mention the code "ALG" to get a 20% discount.