If you have a craving for Japanese food, then you'll want to check out our newest ethnic dining "Quick Guide" -- it's got all the best choices (and worst!) listed in a simple, printable guide that you can print and take with you so you can make a smart choice!

See: Ethnic Restaurants Quick Guide: Japanese

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If you're not already keeping one, why not start today? It's an excellent first step toward losing weight or to maintain a healthy weight if you're already at your goal. Here is some advice on getting started:

More: Six Steps to a Great Food Diary

I have finally found a diet-friendly alternative to my beloved Eggo syrup. At 240 calories per serving (due to 40 -- gasp! -- grams of sugar, no doubt), my childhood fave had to be used very sparingly to top those cakes. A little drizzle and I was done. But pancakes just aren't the same when they're dry, no?

Well, good old Aunt Jemima to the rescue! I recently tried Aunt Jemima Lite syrup and I am happy to say it is just as tasty as my tried-and-true Eggo brand and it has 100 calories per serving. That shaves off 140 calories off my breakfast in a snap! Sweet!

Fresh fruit is always a diet staple, but it's especially refreshing in the summer -- it will cool you off when it's served up chilled and it helps you stay hydrated due to its high water content.

So, be sure to take advantage of the tasty fruits that are in-season this time of year:

• blackberries
• blueberries
• cantaloupe
• cherries
• plums
• raspberries

Your local farmer's market will be offering all these fruits at a great price throughout the month because July is when they are at their peak! Yum!

Image: Fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov

• Taking the stairs for 15 minutes total throughout the course of a day instead of taking the elevator each trip will burn 159 calories.
• Playing badminton with your kids for 30 minutes will burn almost 200 calories.
• Wash your car by hand for 20 minutes instead of using a drive-through wash to burn about 60 calories.
• Get out into the garden and weed and garden for 15 minutes to burn about 80 calories.

What's your favorite way to increase summertime activity while still keeping your cool? Post your ideas here in the comments section!

Keep in mind that the amount of calories you burn doing any activity changes with your weight. A 150-pound person walking an average of 3.5 miles per hour burns about 130 calories an hour. When you weighed more, you burned more calories with the same workout.

If you don't lose weight when walking anymore, mix it up. You may be experiencing a plateau because your body has become accustomed to what you've been doing -- that means you're burning fewer calories. Remember the FITT principle? It stands for frequency, intensity, time and type of exercise.

You may have to adjust all four of these factors to start peeling pounds again. If you can't alter all aspects at once, tackle one a week (Walk more often this week; walk faster the next week, etc.). If you find you can't consistently make workout changes, you may need to adjust your food and beverage caloric intake to be lower. The lower your weight, the fewer calories you need.

Consider alternating your regular walk with another type of exercise such as a kickboxing class or starting Pilates. This will give your weight-loss efforts a boost and will introduce you to a new activity that you just might find more enjoyable than that same old, same old walk!

More: Seven Things You Don't Know About Walking for Weight Loss

That got me thinking about all the health issues we face when we gain weight and stay at a high weight a long time. Those are high costs -- both physically and financially. So in essence, when you lose weight and stay healthy you really are "paying" yourself to lose weight. The money saved in health care costs alone is virtually like cash in the bank.

But then again, like the research discussed in the article, even cold hard cash doesn't seem to motivate some of us. It's not easy to stay focused on the chance of better health when we're faced with 30, 40, or 100 pounds or more to lose, right? It's tough to look at it that way when all you can see is the pounds left to take off before you hit your healthy weight.

What do you think? Is there more than one big "pay-off" to losing weight? Is it about money? Is it your health? Your appearance? Greater self-esteem?

What is the "pay-off" to staying overweight? Is there one? For me, a "pay-off" to staying overweight for many years was lowered expectations. I had a list of things a mile long that I would do "when I hit goal weight" and somehow that day never came and I never had to face those challenges. (My unrealistic, unreachable goal weight kept all of them at bay!)

Post your comments and share your opinion.

I had to do a lot of trial and error to find what works for me, but once I found them, they remain favorites and have stood the test of time. The clothes and music may seem dated now, but I don't mind.

Of course, it wasn't always that way... I was one of those kids who always had a note for P.E. As a teen, my idea of a good workout was high impact shopping. Then, one particular boxing aerobics video literally changed the way I felt about exercise. I realized working out could be fun and looked forward to!

Are you ready to give exercising indoors with videos a whirl? Here's how to get started.

Switch to a medium order of Burger King onion rings and you'd take in 320 calories, saving a "whopping" 1,045 calories at the "Home of the Whopper"!

Craving something else? You can find out the calories for more of your favorite foods at both of these restaurants at Calorie Count:

• Burger King
• Chili's

More: Guide to Healthy Snacks