That's Fit

We know how tempting those low-fat, low-cal products on the store shelves are when you're watching your weight. But some of those so-called diet foods are total impostors loaded with calories and sugar. The editors at AOL Health put together a photo gallery of some of the top offenders.

Now, we want to hear from you. Forget fake diet food, tell us what smart substitutions you make that help keep your diet on track. Share your tips in a comment below.

I ran a marathon in 2006 and it was an amazing experience. Having a goal like that to aim for kept me motivated to train, and gave me a reason to stick with my workout routine all year long. I was never more dedicated, which is why I'm a big fan of setting concrete fitness goals, like competing in a race.

Marathons aren't just for hard-core runners. My longest run prior to my marathon training was probably 4 miles, but I had a great training plan that I followed to the letter, along with a running buddy, which I highly recommend. (You need someone to keep you company when you're running 15 miles.)

And just as important as all the training preparations, is the race itself. I used to think all marathons were the same, but each has its own personality and draws very different participants. Some have more first-timers than others, some have time limits; there are those that don't have many fans, are very small, quite large, flat, fast, hilly or are known as tough courses. Here's a great story about the best marathons to run in 2008. I strongly suggest you do your research before you sign on for one to make sure you have the best running experience possible.

After all, if you plan to finish in 6 hours, you should you know which marathons have a 5-hour time limit, right?

For years now carbs have a much maligned food for people watching their weight. But there's some new and exciting research out there that gives us a reason to put potatoes, corn and rice back in our diets. Experts have found that these foods contain resistant starch, which is a kind of fiber that may actually aid weight loss, especially when these foods are cooled. They increase your body's fat-burning ability and are filling so you're less hungry.

Because resistant starch is bulky, it takes up space in your digestive system which means you can't absorb it so it's not stored as fat like most carbs. That's a pretty impressive reason to be smart about the carbs you eat.

Great news! Our AOL.com portal has recently rolled out new Preview Panels for AOL users to create customizable home pages. The Preview Panels are the four large buttons at the top right of the page underneath the sign-in that expand when you put your mouse pointer over them.

Preview Panels present a lot of information on your home page with little clutter. Just roll over the Preview Panel to see the content you want without having to click off to another page. Plus, customization options allow you to choose the Preview Panels you want to appear on your home page.

We're excited that one of the new options is a Health Preview Panel so you can get all the latest health and diet headlines, and easily find your way to AOL Body and That's Fit.

To select the new Health panel, simply click on the small triangle in the upper right of any of the Preview Panels (except Mail, which is permanent). Once you choose a new Preview Panel, your web browser will remember your choices and load these up for you every time you open the home page.

Judging from how packed my gym is this week it's clear that everyone probably made the same New Year's resolution -- exercise more, lose weight. I have to admit, I find making resolutions to be a bit intimidating.

Which is why I'm a big fan of Jillian Michaels's approach to weight loss. As part of America Takes It Off, Jillian lets you choose your own resolution. She gives some really great tips on how cut calories, burn fat, and even how to slim down fast for a big event. Some tips are tough, like her leg toning workouts, but some are a bit easier. I'm definitely more likely to follow through knowing that I'm making a challenging change that isn't permanent -- even if it's a bit uncomfortable in the short run.

But best of all, I love having the option to do it the easy way or hard way.

It can be difficult to stay on top of all the diet and fitness news, but we're making it easier for you. Get free diet and fitness headlines delivered right to your iGoogle homepage with our new gadget.

As a vegetarian, I never ate a lot of frozen dinners because there didn't seem to be a lot of good veg-friendly options out there. Then along came Amy's brand of organic, vegetarian foods and I was hooked. I'm especially a big fan of their Indian dishes, like Palak Paneer, and I love their spicy black bean vegetable burrito.

For someone who's watching her weight, frozen dinners are ideal because I know exactly how many calories I'm getting and it's already pre-portioned -- I'm in no danger of overdoing it on rice or going back for seconds. Recently, I contributed to a story on the best and worst low-cal frozen dinners. My colleagues opened my eyes to a whole world of tasty diet-friendly frozen foods beyond Amy's. And of course, I now know which ones not to bother trying.

What are some of your favorite diet-friendly frozen foods?

I just learned about an interesting new study that found that as dieters exercised more, they tended to increase their calorie intake. As a result, they only lost about as much weight as people who spent a lot less time working out, when they should have lost a few pounds more.

I can definitely relate to this phenomenon. There are so many times I've eaten a little "extra," telling myself it's okay because I ran or exercised a little bit longer than usual. But, let's face it, those little extras still add up. And it's much harder to burn calories than it is to avoid eating them in the first place.

Sometimes to help myself avoid overindulging after a workout, I think about how long it would take to burn off that particular food. For example, one bagel equals 3.5 miles of running. And that's without the cream cheese!

Hi diet savvy readers,

I'm Jennifer, a diet and fitness editor at AOL Body. We are excited to be kicking off this blog to offer you insider information on how to look and feel your best. I'm looking forward to sharing and swapping diet and fitness tips -- I learn new ones every day.

In fact, I did some research for a quiz that tests how much you know about the calories in fat in some splurge foods to see if you're making the best bad decision. The first time I took the quiz, I didn't even get half of the questions right. It's pretty shocking to see how foods like French fries and onion rings compare or mozzarella sticks and wings. If I'm going to indulge (and I do regularly) it's good to know I have some smart options, like Oreos.