That's Fit

Almost everyone I know has hit the dreaded diet plateau, and I'm no exception. When the scale refuses to budge, I sometimes wish I could wash down a magic pill with a Wendy's Frosty and still melt pounds off my midsection. There are mountains of diet pills lining the walls of any GNC, all promising to do just that, and diet pill companies will do just about anything to make you feel at-ease enough to purchase and consume their product. Here's the trick:

The word "natural." These companies hope that by slapping "natural" on the bottle consumers will interpret it to mean safe. You know what else is natural? Bear poop. Also, magma. But you wouldn't catch me consuming either, even if the word natural is on the bottle.

An ongoing investigation by the Food and Drug Administration has led to a growing list of dozens of over-the-counter weight-loss supplements that contain dangerous and illegal pharmaceuticals that have been left off labels, according to a recent article by the New York Times.

If you have a slice of delicious cake, would you think it's OK to chow down the whole cake in one sitting? Of course not. Common sense would tell you that a whole cake is just too much. Unfortunately, when it comes to health advice, not everybody uses common sense.

I recently wrote a post about the benefits vitamin D can have on heart health. That's only one of the perks of vitamin D that has been in the press lately. Now many people -- buying into the vitamin D kick hook, line and sinker -- are buying high-dosage vitamin D supplements from pharmacies and health food stores.

There is no science that says high doses of vitamin D are necessary. And why waste your money on a supplement when vitamin D is so readily available from other sources? Sunlight is your best source, but again, it's important to be reasonable. You don't want to spend too much time in the sun without the protection of sunblock, so a few short 10-15 minute walks outside each week will do. Vitamin D is also available in fortified foods such as milk, some cereals, and orange juice, and it's naturally found in salmon and other oil-rich fish.

Eight short years ago, Marion Jones was the pride of the US -- raking in medals at the Sydney Olympics. Then things fell apart when it was revealed that Jones took performance-enhancing drugs. She was stripped of her medals and was sentenced to time in prison for lying to federal prosecutors. In her first interview since her release, Jones spoke to Oprah about what really happened.

According to Jones, her former coach, Trevor Graham, gave her pills he described as flax seed oil. Jones, who took numerous substances such as vitamins and creatine, didn't question what he was giving her. Jones said she was instructed to put the tablet under her tongue for a while and then swallow it. Later, during the investigation, prosecutors showed Jones a vial of a designer steroid nicknamed "the clear." Jones now admits that she recognized it immediately as the substance her coach had given her. "I made the decision I was going to lie and try to cover it up," explained Jones. "I knew that all of my performances would be questioned."

There's a lesson for all athletes here. From the average Joe to the high school quarterback to elite athletes -- we're all responsible for what we put into our bodies. Supplements such as whey protein and creatine are frequently used by athletes. But even legal supplements shouldn't be used without knowledge and caution. Proper nutrition, consistent exercise, and appropriate training are your best bets for keeping your body in peak condition.

For the serious lifters out there (and I know there are at least a few of you), you've almost certainly at least heard of creatine. And, there's a good chance you've used this nutritional supplement. Nevertheless, you may find the following tips helpful, as may the lifting newbie who may, at some point in his or her illustrious career in the weight room, consider trying creatine.

First of all, regardless of the type of creatine you take (monohydrate, ethyl ester, alpha-ketoglutarate), you should take it every day for a cycle of five to six months, according to Muscle & Body magazine. Then, stay off creatine for a month to provide your body with the chance to reduce its muscle creatine saturation. This way, if you decide to start using it again, your body will respond with better results.

Also, if you weigh less than 200 pounds, it's not necessary to take the bottle-suggested 5-10g (or 3g if you're using the more potent ethyl ester or alpha-ketoglutarate kinds). You will do just fine with around 3-5g (or 2g ethyl ester or alpha-ketoglutarate), and you'll save yourself a little bit of coin in the process. The best time to take creatine, experts say, is about 30 minutes before a workout and then again 30 minutes after a workout. On non-training days, take with a meal or protein shake at any convenient time of the day.

**Before trying creatine or any nutritional supplement, first check with your doctor to see if it's safe for you.

Y Water is looking to tap into more than just the bottled water market by appealing also to the healthy and fit kids market and those shopping for ways to be friendlier to the environment. They offer four specialized low-calorie formulas to target the brain, muscles, bones, and immunity, plus once the water's gone, the leftover bottle (specially created by designer Yves Béhar) can be used as a building block of sorts to make toys and encourage creativity.

Sounds like a great way to get your kids to drink more water and get more vitamins and nutrients, all while helping the environment and stimulating their brains (or at least giving them a few minutes of entertainment).

Via Inhabitat

On the run? Grab and energy bar -- they're a good source of the nutrients you need when you're in a hurry. But sometimes it's hard to find one you like, so one company has come up with a novel approach to finding the right energy bar.

Element Bars offers you the ability to build your own energy bar. You start by choosing the core of the bar -- your choices are chewy, oaty, crispy and datey. Then you select your fruit--blueberries, cherries, apricots, etc.--followed by the kind of nuts you want and any sweet stuff you care to add (including chocolate chips ... mmm.) Finally, you can select add-ons like protein, fibre and Omega-3s. Neat, huh?

The best part? They have a nutrition chart on the side that let's you know the running calorie count of your custom bar so if you're watching carbs, calories or fat, you can make sure you stay within an acceptable range.

Thanks for the tip, Gadling!

If you've been debating whether or not to try a nutritional supplement, you may be surprised to know that you've already been using one for quite some time -- even if you didn't realize it.

Ask almost any regular exerciser what one of the most effective and widely-used supplement is, and they'll surely tell you it's caffeine. Research shows that drinking a caffeinated beverage prior to a workout can help a person lift more weight and complete more reps. What's more, caffeine -- in particular, coffee -- is one of the main single sources of antioxidants in the American diet, which means that it helps neutralize free radicals as it helps burn fat and improve athletic performance.

There have been over 21,000 studies conducted on the health benefits/detriments of caffeine on the body. And though I obviously focused on a benefit in this post, it's worth knowing that other research indicates that consuming too much caffeine can restrict blood flow during exercise. Clearly this falls into the "detrimental" category. However, in this study, participants consumed 300mg of caffeine, or the equivalent of about three cups of home brew. Therefore, using the results of said study as our guide, if you keep your pre-workout caffeine intake to one cup, you should be just fine.

Despite what many late night infomercial spokespeople may claim, there's no magic pill that can make you lose weight. Even the fat burners that have shown some promise still require that a healthy diet and regular exercise program are still followed.

Could it be possible that it's the diet and exercise that's actually causing the weight loss, and that the fat burner pills have no impact whatsoever? It's entirely possible, actually. And, there are some definite cons to using fat burners, chief among them being an increase in blood pressure. What's more, certain fat burners may also disrupt sleep cycles if taken too close to bedtime, in addition to causing some people to feel jittery and anxious.

So, even if there is any truth to the claim that fat burners can help boost metabolism, it may be at the expense of your overall health.

We've made tremendous progress in the fields of food, health and technology since the Victorian era. And yet we're not nearly as healthy overall as we were then. What gives?

Recent research is showing that not only did people live longer in the late 1800s, but they had strong immune systems too. Of course, there are several differences in the average Victorian diet compared to ours. Here's a rundown:

• They ate more, around 4,500 calories a day for men and 3,000 for women.
• But they also burned more calories, spending their working hours doing hard manual labour.
• Salt, sugar and tobacco weren't as readily available, and were rarely consumed.
  
• They ate between 8-10 servings a day of fresh fruits and veggies.
  
• In fact, all their food was fresh. After all, they didn't have fridges.
  
• They consumed lots of yeast, in both breads and beer. Yeast helps strengthen the immune system.
  

Want to know more? Read the full article over here.

As I mentioned yesterday in a post about bathroom medicine cabinets, the heat and humidity from your shower -- and the effect that has on the potency of medicine -- makes the bathroom one of the worst places to keep prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs.

Here are a few more medication-related tips, some of which may come as a bit of a surprise to you:

• Throw away any pills that have changed color, texture, or smell, as well as capsules or tablets that stick together or are cracked or chipped.
• Take the cotton plug out of an opened bottle once it's opened. The cotton can suck moisture in.
• Be sure to get rid of and replace expired medication. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) suggests crushing meds and dissolving them as completely as possible in a plastic container or bag filled with water. To further breakdown the meds, add coffee grounds, cat litter, and saw dust to the water, and then seal and throw the bag away (away as in into the garbage, not flushed down your toilet).

Alternative medicine may not always works as effectively as traditional western medicine, but they can't harm you, right? Not true. Recent studies recently found that one in five Ayruvedic medicines contains poisonous metallics like lead, arsenic and mercury.

Of hundreds of Ayurvedic remedies purchased from 25 different websites in the USA and India, 21% contained detectable levels of at least one of these metals, and of that 21%, half had higher levels than would be considered healthy.

Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient practice that promotes overall health using a balance of medicine, meditation, exercise and diet, and while it can be part of a healthy lifestyle, it's always a good idea to talk to your doctor first before taking any kind of remedy, natural or not.

I have a total love/hate relationship with medicine. Although I value science and medicine, quite often I can't stand the affects they have on me. I simply can't stand to be drowsy, foggy or affected in any way. Prescriptions are great if they fix what's wrong with you, but all of the side effects are for the birds. I suppose if we all took each drug correctly, we may have less. So, I was particularly intrigued when Women's Health posted a study regarding drug labels.

According to a survey in the Annals of Internal Medicine, almost half of the participants misunderstood drug warning labels, and most ignored the directions altogether. This gallery provides some of the most common instructions you'll find on those little stickers slapped on each bottle and what they really mean.

Nearly every time my son and I go grocery shopping, he begs me to buy children's vitamins. I know parents tend to disagree when it comes to children's vitamins. Personally, while I don't think they're harmful, I don't think they're necessary. My son eats plenty of fruits and vegetables, he gets sufficient calcium from milk, yogurt, and fortified orange juice, and he eats a broad range of other healthy foods as well.

But my kid LOVES his candy. And I'm quite certain that is why he wants those gummy vitamins he sees in the store so badly.

Angie over at ParentDish recently wrote about a study regarding children's vitamins. The study reviewed 14 types of vitamins and found that only five of the reviewed brands had the 12 essential vitamins you would expect. Some brands had as little as four vitamins. The researchers state that the vitamins are little better than candy.

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.

Nutrition expert, Elizabeth Somer, and I recently sat down in New York City at the Prilosec OTC round table event to chat about aging without feeling or looking OLD! She tosses out tons of great advice about living well, living long and looking hot while doing it. The interview was fun and her books are great!

View Elizabeth's books below:

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. Hi Miss Fitzness, I'm a vegetarian, but still weigh 34 pounds more than I'd like to. What gives? I thought vegetarians were supposed to be skinny, and I hate being chubby! Meredith

A. Hello Meredith, Thanks for writing! Vegetarianism can have tons of benefits, and a trim physique can be one of them, if done right. Having said that ... it's very easy to go wrong as well. Here is the deal. Vegetarians don't necessarily eat all fruits and vegetables ... vegetarians just don't eat meat. There are tons of products that have no animal products in them, yet are still super high in calories and fat. Let's start with a short list of some vegetarian approved products:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Oil
• Frosting
• Gummy Bears