That's Fit

Photo: Watermelon is a sweet summer treat. sxc.hu

Day 3: If you're trying to build a five-a-day habit (or even better, more!), summer is the time to do it. My fridge is overflowing with fresh tasty produce: Lettuce and green onions from the garden, fresh-picked strawberries from the farmers market, melon, every color of pepper, cucumbers -- you get the idea.

An easy place to start is incorporating just one fruit or veggie into every meal or snack. (If you're not a snacker, aim for two servings at every meal.) Today, I ate two small plums with my breakfast smoothie, a whole bunch of carrots and cucumbers with hummus for lunch, and I had a big bowl of fruit salad -- cantaloupe and watermelon -- with my grilled turkey sandwich (also topped with romaine and tomato) for dinner.

I don't like to spend a lot of time at a hot stove in the summer, so these simple meals worked perfectly for me.

Photo: richardmasoner, Flickr

Day 1: Eight o'clock at night, I suddenly realized that I'd completely forgotten to exercise. I'd taken my kids out for a long bike ride earlier in the day -- which is probably why I forgot -- but that doesn't count as exercise for me. My 4-year-old goes slow enough that I do more pedaling backwards than forwards.

Since my bike was still out, I jumped on it for a fast and furious ride that made both my thighs and lungs burn. I was enjoying myself so much, I didn't notice the clouds rolling in and got stuck three miles from home in a downpour. Still, soaked to the skin or not, I tasted the sweet victory of breaking a sweat and reaching my goal for the day.

Thirty minutes isn't hard, and it can even be broken down into several shorter workouts over the course of they day.

When it comes to weight loss, there are a lot of gimmicks out there. But That's Fit readers know this: Gimmicks never work, and sometimes they can leave you with more weight to lose than when you started. The other day, however, a friend told me about an idea that sounds gimmick-y, but is actually just a new way of looking at solid, time-tested advice.

It's called the 5 and 30 plan. The idea is easy -- eat a minimum of five fruits and vegetables a day and get 30 minutes of moderate exercise. Essentially, the plan reduces calories, increases fiber, improves nutrition and ensures daily physical activity. But at the same time, it sounds pretty simple.

It's not a diet, it's a way of life. And this week, I'm going to try it on for size.

That's Fit: Can you explain why "inefficiency" in exercising may help you achieve a leaner body?

Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic: Think about it in the way gasoline fuels your car: If your car is really efficient, you can go farther on less gas (which is what most of us want for our cars), but if it's inefficient, you burn more fuel faster. In the case of your body, when it's "inefficient," when you start running out of fuel (i.e., food energy), your body will need to tap into other resources to help it perform. This sometimes will be your fat stores because they are the most energy-dense fuel in your body. However, you have to eat fat to help your body burn fat, otherwise it will use other sources in your body such as glycogen (stored carbohydrate) or muscle protein (not desirable when that's what you're trying to maintain or increase). So, try to avoid eating a fat-free, or ultra-low fat diet or your body won't be able to burn the fat within you that you're trying to get rid of.

Photo: Portland Marathon

By now, you know I'm a travel hound who will do anything to travel. Even if that means tackling a marathon. Granted, I could do a marathon close to home and spend no time on the road. But half the fun of doing a marathon is escaping to a cool destination. Which is why I decided to tackle the Portland, Ore. marathon two years ago.

Not only is this marathon consistently ranked in the top 10 in the country, Portland is also one of my favorite cities with its tax-free shopping and awesome restaurants. But there's another reason: Portland is the only U.S. marathon to sanction a division in Nordic walking, an activity I'm addicted to. As crazy as it sounds, it's also the Nordic Walking World Championship.

Bocce: Not just for aging Italian men anymore. Photo: Eric Perrone, Flickr

Even those of us with the healthiest habits can get thrown off course on a holiday weekend. Too much eating and drinking paired with a lot of sitting and chatting can totally derail your diet. However, with the slightest amount of planning, you can mitigate the damage (at least a little bit).

Take bocce, for example. The D.C. Bocce League (whose motto is "Our balls are harder") allows people of all ages (yes, young folks play bocce, too) to get together and be, well, somewhat active. Definitely more active than, say sitting in a lawn chair. Or a bar stool. Or the couch.

The game, for those of you who are unfortunate enough to be unfamiliar, is an ancestor of bowling that initially became popular when soldiers in ancient Rome tossed stones to stave off boredom between battles. It now consists of tossing a two-pound ball toward a small white ball across a lawn. No, you're not going to work up a sweat, but it'll burn more calories than the 12-ounce curls you'd planned on.

Photo: Qole Pejorian, Flickr

The arrival of a screaming baby does not mean triathlon training is over. Parents with infants or young children who continue to stay in shape make cross-training concessions. The best part? Adapting your fitness habits to consistently include your kids will someday deliver a teenage workout partner capable of smoking you in a 5K.

Here are ideas for your next Fit Family Summer Assignment:

• Consider This Book. "Fit Family: The Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Years" is a recent 2008 release to inspire family fitness during your kids' most formative, needy years, which just happen to be when your fitness habits are most at risk.
  
• Now Plan It. Organize family bike rides, hikes and swim adventures. Find family-friendly routes -- the track or a car-free trail are terrific for new bike riders or a jog stroller. A quality baby backpack is a great investment.
  
• Invite Them. Whether you're embarking on a walk, jog, hour of yoga, at-home weightlifting session or popping in a fitness DVD, regularly invite your kids to join you. They learn fast, and they want to be with you. Consider family time or one-on-one special time with your kids as a chance to schedule fitness together.
  
• Buy the Treadmill. Parents need at-home cardio to fold in fitness. Hauling kids to the gym can be impossible some days, especially during cold/flu season. Besides, they'll actually witness you working out instead of sitting in a sterile room packed with runny noses.
• The Subtle Invitation. Whether you're jumping on the treadmill, the resistance bench or the yoga mat, have kid-friendly fitness gear scattered around (hula hoop, light weights, ab roller, resistance bands, a second yoga mat).
  
• Rely On Friends. Sneak in fitness while friends step up to supervise. Go to the pool with a friend and slice away 30 laps while she watches your kids. Switch.
• Bird or Owl Training. On the days you must have solo sweat time, work out early with the birds or pump iron late with the owls. Hopefully your kids are typical, diurnal sleepers and you have small windows of time to yourself. Remember, putting your kids on a strict sleep schedule is about your fitness sanity, too.

Photo: FranUlloa, Flickr

Getting into a bikini requires a certain amount of confidence -- and a fit body doesn't hurt, either. CafeMom shares five bikini body tips from Declan Condron, the co-creator and exercise physiologist of PumpOne FitnessBuilder.

Work in exercise every day. You don't have to be sweating away for hours upon hours -- just make a commitment to be physically active every day. No excuses!

Forget about spot reduction. Targeting one area of your body for weight loss is a myth. Strength training can target the muscle groups in certain areas, but that has nothing to do with weight loss. A healthy diet and consistent exercise will help your body lose weight (from all over) at a steady pace.

Set milestones. It's great to have a long-term goal such as losing 25 pounds, but if that's all you focus on, it can be demotivating. In addition to your long-term goal, set smaller, achievable milestones.

Stick to water. Frozen margaritas and tasty blended drinks may tempt you when the mercury rises. But those summer treats really pack on the calories. Stick to ice water and avoid all of those liquid calories.

Mix up your workout. Don't get stuck in an exercise rut. Have a well-rounded workout routine that includes cardio, strength training, and flexibility moves.

As an avid runner for many years, I've suffered through the gamut of injuries associated with this high-impact sport -- stress fracture, plantar fasciitis, IT band injuries, knee pain and bursitis. The countless specialists I've seen all seem to agree that this is the price you pay to participate in a dangerous sport.

Danny Dreyer, author of "ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running" paints a different picture. He rejects the idea that running itself causes injuries. Instead, he says, the primary cause of running pain is bad form and poor biomechanics. Dreyer, who has spent years studying the physics of running, argues that by making a shift in your posture and foot-strike, you'll enjoy easier, more efficient and injury-free runs.

Lured in by the promise of pain-free runs, I attended one of Dreyer's Chi Running workshops along with about 30 others in New York City (he holds them around the country), hoping for a total running makeover. Dreyer opened the workshop with this whopper -- "Everything you know about running is wrong," he said.

Getty Images

Welcome to Twitter Fit Tips. Keep track of the latest diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Each week AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's Fit will post fitness-related questions and the best tweet responses will get posted here. Start following Healthpop and That's Fit today.

This past week we asked, "Which do you like better -- exercising in hot, humid weather, or icy, windy?"

Here's what our fellow getting-fit Twitterers had to say:

boschae@HealthPop I have my treadmill on the deck in the shade for summer. Can't stand really hot weather but like the view! lol

LouLou197533@HealthPop Somewhere in between is probably ideal but if I had to pick one it'd be icy cold. Bring on the brr, brr, brr.

RemoveMyFatSuit@HealthPop hot, & humid =D I hate the COLD!!

choose2befit@HealthPop Hmmm...that's a toss up. Hate exercising when cold, but don't care to be TOO hot either. My vote is hot over cold.

Photo: Rance Costa/Flickr

Morning workouts are pretty ideal for most people -- you've got plenty of energy first thing, you get to check something of your to-do list right away and what a great way to start the day. But what if you just can't fit fitness in right after you wake up, or at lunch, or right after work? Sometimes, the only free hours you have for exercise are late at night. And that's OK (unless you have trouble sleeping, and then exercising at night might not be a wise move). FitSugar shares tips for moving your body long after your work day ends, and in the privacy of your own home.

Photo: Mychele Daniau, AFP / Getty Images

Apparently July is Cankle Awareness Month. Or, at least it is at Gold's Gym (it's also National Ice Cream Month, by the way). Hoping that everyone is more interested in the former rather than the latter, Gold's Gym has launched a very tongue-in-cheek campaign to encourage people to hit the gym for a 'cankle-busting workout.'

It's all pretty ridiculous, mostly because as Gold's Gym celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza acknowledged, "Cankles are just like anything else -- you can't spot reduce."

Since spot reduction is a myth, pray tell, what are you meant to do if your calves blend right into your ankles? Plenty of people were cursed with unshapely legs from their gene pool, so there isn't much that can be changed through exercise. But just like muffin tops, cankles are often due to extra weight. Lose the extra pounds, and you're going to lose fat everywhere, including your ankles.

And who, exactly, is clamoring for cankle-reduction? Braganza also admits she has never had a client specifically asked to get rid of cankles, but she swears it's a common concern.

Photo: j / f / photos/Flickr

Yoga is great, but can it help you lose weight? Sure can, says Sarah Brown at That's Fit.ca. The best type of yoga for shedding pounds, she says, is the technique that combines a cardiovascular workout with strength building and flexibility. Try vinyasa-style (either Bikram/Hot Yoga or Ashtanga) and watch the weight melt away. Don't forget a healthy diet, though -- exercising and junk food just don't work well together.

Lance Armstrong is teaming up with Nike this summer in the fight against cancer, and he's recruiting others to join him in the "It's About You" campaign.

"Lance is just one person," says wearyellow.com. "He can't fight the global cancer epidemic alone. So he asked artists, other athletes, survivors and writers to join his peloton. Now he's asking you. What's your bike? There are many ways to get involved and make a difference. How will you help?"

You can help fight cancer through a variety of social networking avenues. You can participate in a "Chalkbot" by submitting an inspirational message that will be written in yellow chalk on the roads of the Tour de France. You'll even receive an email with GPS coordinates providing the location of your message -- how cool is that? If you live in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Chicago, local artists will feature yellow chalk art on the streets, and you can add your message there too.

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

Think a calorie is a calorie? Think again -- as Calorie Lab points out, not all calories are created equal, and knowing the difference can make a big impact on the scale.

Over at Health.com, they're counting down the best fitness buys of 2009.

How cute -- Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have matching his-n-hers fitness gear. You know what they say -- a couple that exercises together ... erm ... stays together ... ?

Over at Shape Magazine, a few of country's hottest stars are talking fitness -- in their bikinis.