1.

Apples Just Got More Fattening

Formerly FDA-rated as 80 calories, apples are now 130. The reason: Supermarket fruit has supersized over the years, so that yesterday's medium is today's small. In response, the FDA revisited its food labels. Other fruits hit with a calorie upgrade include peaches (which rose from 40 to 60) and oranges (from 70 to 80). The good news: Their vitamin and fiber counts have gotten a boost too

2.Stay-Skinny Pasta
How to indulge without gaining: Cook the pasta al dente, so it's firm to the bite. Why? The longer you boil noodles, the more the starch breaks down, which raises the pasta's glycemic index. This causes your blood sugar level to rise faster and may increase your junk food cravings too. Studies show that when you cook spaghetti for five minutes, its glycemic index is 38; after 20 minutes, it shoots up to 61. But even al dente cooking doesn't mean you can eat piles of fettucine Alfredo every night. And high-cal pasta sauces are still off-limits.

3.30-Second Exercise Trick

Now you can work out less and get more fit. A recent study from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, showed that about a half-hour of sprint cycling (alternating speeds by pedaling quickly for 30 seconds and then at a slow pace for four minutes) is as effective as an hour and a half of moderate pedaling. The key is the series of 30-second power bursts.

4.Cold Comfort
6 Natural Choice Organic Full of Fruit Frozen Fruit Bars (around 53 calories each) = 1 Vanilla & Almonds Hagen-Dazs Ice Cream Bar (320 calories)

5.Best Diet Breakfast

Say good-bye to bagels. Researchers from Louisiana State University System tracked people on a low-cal diet and found that those who ate two eggs in the morning lost 65 percent more weight than those who had a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories. Plus, the egg eaters' cholesterol levels didn't go up. How did they shed the extra pounds? Compared to the bagel group, they felt fuller after breakfast and ate fewer calories during the day.

6.Listen to Lose
Exercising to the right song can help you get fitter, report researchers from Brunel University in England. They found that music helped participants work out longer. The

key is to find tunes that get you going (think James Brown's "I Feel Good"). Once you sit down to eat, however, silence is best. A study from Georgia State University showed that people munched more when music was playing.

7.Laugh Off 40 Calories

It's no joke! A study from Vanderbilt University showed that you can burn up to that many calories by laughing genuinely for 10 to 15 minutes. (Watch Groundhog Day to giggle off even more weight.)

8.Go Online Before You Dine

Eating at restaurants doesn't have to be lethal to your diet. You can find healthy menu choices at nearly 30,000 eateries (from fast to fancy food) at healthydiningfinder.com, which is partly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other slimdown tricks: Ask for sauces on the side, steer clear of the bread basket, and skip highcal drinks

9.Bye-bye Baby Weight!

To shed post-pregnancy pounds, turn off the tube and head outdoors, say researchers at Harvard Medical School. They tracked 902 new moms and found that for every hour of TV watched daily, a mothers risk of retaining baby weight increased by 24 percent; for every hour of walking daily, it fell by 34 percent.

10. 3 "Healthy" Foods That Aren't

Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins: Raisins? Check. Yogurt? Check. So what went wrong? The white coating mostly consists of sugar and partially hydrogenated palmkernel oil. A 1-ounce boxaround 35 raisins has 120 calories and a big dose of saturated fat (20 percent of the recommended daily limit). Calbee Snapea Crisps: They're just baked peas that sounds innocent enough. But these tempting treats are so full of fat, just 1 ounce (22 chips) packs 150 calories. That's the same as regular potato chips. Eat the entire bag (it's frighteningly easy to do), and you'll put away nearly 500 calories. R.W. Knudsen Lemon Lime Spritzer: How can seltzer with a splash of lemon and lime be anything but low-cal? Because the beverage is sweetened with fruit juice concentrates, which add up to 170 calories a can. (Thats 2 more grams of sugar and 30 more calories than in Coca-Cola Classic.)

11.Sweet (Diet) Snack

Finally, a sugary treat that's good for you. Packed with antioxidants, potassium, and fiber, Sunsweet Ones prunes are surprisingly delicious (in our test, tasters couldn't resist

sampling several). And the individually wrapped dried plums are only 25 calories each ($3 for a seven-ounce canister).