That's Fit

While our health is largely reliant on the effort we put into it -- eating healthfully, exercising regularly, and getting proper medical care -- our environment can make a big impact on our health. Economic considerations and the structure of a city are just two components that can affect health.

The CDC does an annual health survey that asks city residents to rate their overall health as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. And while the CDC itself doesn't (quote-unquote) rank cities based on their surveys, their database does order the cities based on the results.

When all self-reported ratings are considered, Lincoln, Nebraska gets top honors -- 92.8% of residents state their health is good or better. Huntington, West Virginia comes in last on the 184-city list -- nearly half of the adults in Huntington are obese, but the mayor (who recently lost 80 pounds) says that the city's economic woes are of greater focus.

Health.com recently published an article titled "America's Healthiest Restaurants: Our List of the Best Casual Dining Spots," and boy, did it get some people talking. And it's no surprise -- some of the restaurants on the list have also been on recent "Least Healthy" lists. So what gives?

The article makes it clear that each of these restaurants offers healthy options -- you can go to Bob Evans and order grilled chicken tenders for your kids, or hit Uno Chicago Grill and chow down on antibiotic-free chicken and brown rice. However, if you decide to go with one of the less healthy options, you've pretty much blown your calorie allotment for that day and the next.

I think the moral of the story is that, if you make the effort, you can find a healthy choice at just about any restaurant. Looking for some tips and tricks for going out to eat without bailing on your diet? We've got you covered!

Are you a fan of calorie counts on menus? Do you check out the online nutritional info. before heading out to a restaurant so you can make sure you order the healthiest thing on the menu? If you answered yes to either of these, how upset would you be if you found out that the nutritional information listed wasn't true? Let's say, for instance, the dish you ordered was listed to be around 400 calories and you later found out it was 600? You'd be pretty mad, right?

That's just what happened to some people dining at Applebee's, and they're taking their anger all the way to the courtroom. In Kansas City, the restaurant chain, along with Weight Watchers and DineEquity are being sued for providing false information on their 'diet' menu after it was found that some so-called 'healthy' dishes ha twice as much fat and 25% more calories than indicated. You can read more here.

I suspect this won't be the last lawsuit we see of this kind -- what do you think?

(via CalorieLab)

I spent many of my summer vacations as a little girl visiting SeaWorld. I loved it so much that I almost pursued marine biology. The thought of riding Shamu was and still is more enticing to me than flying or any other magical act. So, bringing my family of four to SeaWorld last week was a no-brainer. This time, though, not only was I in search of fun ... I decided to dissect the park and find out how it fared in the healthy living department. Could we leave more fit than when we arrived?

I've done this experiment before at other major theme parks and vacation destinations and these are the things I look for.

• Is there an opportunity to be physically active?
• Is healthy food readily available?
• Will I and other guests be inspired to do and be better?
• Is the vacation fun?

Here, I focus on physical activity.

Fitting exercise in when you are a parent can be challenging enough. When you are a parent on vacation, you can almost forget it. Unless a trip to an amusement park, as they are called, happens to be on your itinerary.

I should have worn a pedometer when we went to Sea World in San Diego last week. Even without measuring, though, I'm pretty sure we cleared at least five miles. We're talking brisk. No strolling. Not even close. With a show schedule and a 3-year-old, you simply cannot be leisurely. Remember, though, if you want to count a walk in this kind of park a workout, you must bypass the junk food around every bend.

Of course, I'll need a vacation from my vacation when I return home. The good news is that going to the gym will feel like one.

Over at Science Daily, they've been talking about a group of nomadic cattle farmers in Africa called the Masai. What's so interesting about them? They eat a diet high in fats, and yet their rates of cardiovascular disease are way down, they have low average body weights and their blood lipid profiles are generally healthy. What's their secret? Walking.

We're not talking about mega-fast speed walking here -- just some low-level strolling ... and lots of it. In fact, the Masai are believed to walk about 20 km a day -- that's about 12.5 km.

OK, so walking that much every day isn't an option for many of us, but getting in our 10,000 steps a day and eating a balanced meal are things we can -- and should -- do to keep our chances of cardiovascular disease down.

(via Mark's Daily Apple)

Here's a random-sounding connection: The older your house, the healthier you are. Confused? I know what you're thinking: How does one factor have anything to do with the other? Don't worry; there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.

It's not so much about the age of your house--it's about the age of your neighbourhood. You see, old neighbourhoods tend to be more walkable, whereas newer neighbourhoods tend to be built around this unfortunate habit we've developed of driving everywhere. And not so surprisingly, how walkable a neighbourhood is has a direct impact on the levels of obesity in the area.

So next time you're in the market for a house, consider buying into a older neighbourhood--or at least one where you can walk to the store.

Women's Health magazine just sent me a release with some fun tips entailed, and I thought I'd share this one with you. Four fabulous moves useful for those of you guilty of missing morning workouts to sleep in late, and then missing the gym after work due to fatigue. As your online trainer I want to make this clear to you: skipping your workouts on a regular basis is detrimental to your health!

Of course, early morning workouts can be tough. They're also what keeps you full of the energy you need to get through each day with vigor! Check out this gallery, and next time you go to hit the snooze button ... get your fanny up and do the Cat Cow pose instead. (No moo-ing necessary!) These four easy moves will give you the energy to get to the gym and start your day off right!

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

If you've been in tune with national sporting news this week, you're probably aware of the big hub-bub created by Mike Nadel, a cranky reporter of the Peoria Journal Star, who wrote a venomous article about the both young and beautiful sideline reporter for ESPN, Erin Andrews. The "big news" and "big deal" was that Erin wore a dress that hit right above her knee (the outrage!), and her dress was not a turtleneck (hussy)! Nadel even noted that Erin went so far as to grope Alfonso Soriano's bicep at a gathering (she was just looking at his scar from a recent surgery).

Here is the truth about Erin. She's a college educated, ambitious, down-to-earth woman who started on a small network and proved her reporting worthy of a high profile on-air position at ESPN. She loves sports and is great at delivering the news we want to know about our favorite athletes, coaches and teams. Erin and I relaxed on a sunny afternoon in both of our alma mater's football stadium, the University of Florida's SWAMP, to chat. She's funny, sarcastic, and truly grateful to have the job she's dreamed of. She often travels with a band of brothers, the mostly male ESPN GameDay crew, and has had to learn the hard way that she really isn't a guy. Some fans with cell phone cameras taught her that.

Fitz: You are pretty great shape! What do you do?

Erin: Traveling for my job makes staying in shape really hard. We're on the road so much, and for me ... it's tough cause I'm one of the only girls on site. I'm really close with the other talent and the broadcasters, so we go out to eat all the time. Today we had hamburgers! Eating on the road is the worst way to eat. Not only that, but I'm surrounded by guys! When you're surrounded by men, you eat and drink like a guy.

Fitz: Not good news for a slender woman like you!

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hello! I came across your trip reports from your Disney World vacation in June while searching the web for some advice on healthy eating at Disney. Very helpful posts -- thank you! Our family was there last summer and we are going back next week. However, since January I have lost around 55 lbs (with a few more pounds still to go). I wasn't that concerned about eating healthy last summer, but I am worried this summer that I will gain weight during vacation instead of maintaining or losing weight, as I am still trying to do. I know that Disney World is tons of walking (it's me, my husband, and our two boys, ages 7 and 5), but there is no nutrition/calorie information for any of the food from Disney's table or counter-service restaurants. The main way that I have lost weight is by counting calories and exercising. So I feel a little "lost" when it comes to what I will eat on vacation. Also, my husband and kids are fairly picky eaters and so we pretty much only eat at places that offer the standard "hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza", etc. Thanks for your trip report -- sounds like you and your family had a wonderful time at Disney World!!! Melody from Delaware

A. Hi Melody. Lucky you! I wish I were going back to Disney next week! Hopefully my answer will prove to be the simple reassurance you need to relax and enjoy the magic of Disney. Sweetie ... you've lost 55 pounds; you already know what you are doing! All I want you to do is to continue pursuing the same fabulous food you choose at home in Delaware. Disney has totally cleaned up its act in the healthy food department. I literally found healthier menu items at Disney's Magic Kingdom than I have ever found in my own home town!

Forget the idea that training in the pool is a mamby-pamby workout. AquaLogix is throwing that idea out with the theory that one catches a cold from going out with wet hair! I've been testing out some amazing new fitness tools that can literally cater to both the elderly crowd in nursing homes and professional athletes. I'm on the uber-fit side, and these things kicked my ass! Excuse my language, but an hour in the pool using an advanced level set of Cardio Bells and Cardio Fins left my arms and legs trembling for an incredibly long time.

I'm sure many of you have used the traditional foam dumbbells in the water. They're awkward, right? I've been teaching fitness for 20 years, both in and out of the water, and I still look at the foam dumbbells with a question mark over my head! They drive me nuts, because they limit our mobility drastically. Up, down, up, down and that's it. Cardio Bells are the answer to that issue and many more. Their unique design allows the user to move in absolutely every direction, and the resistance they create is insane! I shared my new "cool tools" at the lap pool this week with dozens of fellow exercisers. Absolutely every last person from ages eight to 85 were both astonished at how much drag they created and how comfortable they are to use.

The other cool tools I received from AquaLogix were Cardio Fins. A brilliant innovation. Cardio Fins are soft Velcro bands that strap around the users wrists or ankles and create incredible drag. Using the advanced level Cardio Fins as I ran laps in the pool today made me feel as though I was climbing Mt. Everest. I love a challenge and the combination of the Cardio Fins and the Cardio Bells kept me struggling with gritted teeth.

During an architectural boat tour of Chicago yesterday, my eyes soaked in the beauty of the older buildings, such as the Civic Opera House, Wrigley Building and Merchandise Mart. The sleek, reflective, modern behemoths dotting the riverfront didn't compare -- my subjective two-cents.

But one new study weighs in more objectively when it comes to the relationship between older neighborhoods and thinner residents. After studying the fitness and addresses of more than 450,000 Salt Lake County, Utah residents, researchers determined with each extra decade of a neighborhood's age, the risk of obesity was 13 percent lower for men and 8 percent lower for women.

What does older architecture have to do with thinner residents, you ask? It's not the architecture, it's the layout. Mainly, walkability. Older communities often offer more stores and businesses nearby, better sidewalks, larger shade trees and intersections at shorter intervals. Another predictor of thinner residents and walkability -- how many neighborhood residents walked to work. Now there's a novel idea.

I've been drenched this summer. About a million hours so far racing around water parks, pounding out cannonball after cannonball with my children and running laps in pools with clients striving to become more fit. I just thought I'd give credit to the one thing that's allowing me to get through it all and keep coming back for more: my pool shoes.

I tell you, they're ugly, fugly, and completely unflattering with my brown polka dotted bikini. They are, in fact, the only thing keeping me from tapping out of summer fun though. I realized this yesterday as I went to work at my client's lap pool and forgot them. Oh man! Every step I took was more excruciating than the last. It was dreadful. I also had a rotten experience a bit back when I hit Disney's Typhoon Lagoon without my fancy footwear. Between the heat, the concrete, and the sand ... my feet took quite a beating.

So! If you too, are working out in the water this summer and want to take it up a notch ... protect those tootsies and get yourself some pool shoes. They're one of the most functional fitness tools I've used all summer!

I was roaming around Central Park this week while working in New York City , and came across the nicest yet strangest thing. This man, pictured at right, was ambitiously pursuing a workout in the park. That's the nice part.

The weird part is two-fold. First oddity, he was only wearing his boxer shorts. I suppose that is better than frolicking around in a pair of bikini briefs, but still ... it looked a bit silly to me. The second bit of strangeness was his routine. Of course I'm always telling you guys and gals to 'just move', but this dude took that movement to another level.

He flailed his arms around, tip toe jogged in circles, and frequently practiced handstands (at right) against this tree. I both admired his ambitiousness and marveled at his lack of concern for what others thought. I also giggled a lot too.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

My guest this week became famous as one of the hot, yet capable babes of Charlie's Angels. This role that burned Cheryl Ladd's name and face into our minds forever, in my opinion, will not in the end, be what we remember her for. We spoke recently both over the phone and in person, and she definitely showed a side of her I hadn't expected to see.

Although stunningly beautiful, and more capable of turning heads at age 57 than most women are at 25 ... Cheryl's most impressive quality in my book is her willingness to take care of other women. She's investing a lot of time in guiding and educating other Baby Boomer women about menopause. Menopause is often a taboo, hush hush topic. But Cheryl has embraced her age and stepped up to the plate to help make her personal experience with menopause an educational experience for others. She shared a bunch of private experiences with me and offered advice for growing more beautiful each year. Read on to learn how to age as gracefully and gorgeously as she has.

Fitz: You're an iconic figure in beauty. You've aged flawlessly, and to me ... you're prettier today than you were 30 years ago starring in Charlie's Angels. What can we do, to be more like you?

Cheryl: First of all, I think it's most important for women to have a close relationship with their doctor. It's important to trust your doctor, so when things go weird you are comfortable addressing the situation and taking care of things. Be proactive with your health! You also have to love yourself! Beauty comes from the inside first.

Fitz: Well your outside is pretty fantastic too. Let's start with your fitness routine. What do you do to stay in such great shape?

Click here for a sneak peek at Fitz's live interview with Cheryl!