That's Fit

Did you eat breakfast today? How about yesterday? If you answered No, you may be interested to learn that starting the day off with a substantive meal can help keep your weight in check.

The American Journal of Epidemiology reports that participants in a recent study who sourced 22 to 50 percent of their total daily calories from their breakfast gained an average of only 1.7 pounds over a four-year span. By contrast, those who did not eat breakfast -- or only sourced up to 11 percent of their daily calories from breakfast -- gained about three pounds.

Researchers posit that eating a meal after a long period of fasting -- as in, sleeping through the night, skipping breakfast, and then eating at around noon -- releases excess amounts of insulin, leading to fat storage and, as a recent Japanese study revealed, prevents the breakdown of stored fats.

How long does it take McDonald's to make a hamburger? My guess is around 30 or 40 seconds. How long does it take to make a healthy meal at home? Much longer, right? Not quite, says Keri Glassman, registered dietitian and part of the Women's Health magazine team. Glassman suggests the following ten easy food flips to help you prepare healthier meals in a jiffy.

1. SWAP THE MAYO (or the sour cream). Instead use nonfat Greek yogurt as a much healthier, low-fat substitution. In addition to being much lighter in the calorie department, nonfat Greek yogurt is high in protein, calcium, and also contains digestion-aiding probiotics.

2. PUREE. Freeze your favorite fruits and vegetables and then days or even months later you can puree them in large batches. In a matter of seconds you can have a healthy and tasty snack. For kids, Glassman suggests purchasing the containers that ice cream manufacturers usually use to make push-pops and filling it with a fruit puree.

3. INCREASE VOLUME. Make your meals bigger without adding any calories. Trust me, it's easier than it sounds. For some easy ways to do this, click here.

4. GO FOR CHICKEN STOCK. Using the low-sodium version, add chicken stock to mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower instead of butter or cream. You can also use chicken stock when you steam vegetables for added flavor rather than using butter or oil.

5. CONDIMENTS. Steer clear of those high in fat and sugar and instead opt for herbs, spices, and even low-sodium soy sauce, lemon juice, brown mustard, vinegars, and salsa.

It's all about the beer. So say that ads, anyway. And, there's no harm in cracking open a cold one once and a while, so long as you're not drinking them with near abandon.

This also applies for those so-called "healthy" beers. You know, the Michelob Ultras and other brands that feature very fit people exercising in their ads, as if the beer was a sports drink. While it is true that these beers tend to have less calories (thereby making them the better choice in that department), drink a six pack a night and you're guaranteed to look nothing at all like the men and women pictured in the ads.

Simply put, one Michelob Ultra = 95 calories. A six-pack of Michelob Ultra = 570 calories. Considering that the FDA recommends a daily caloric intake of around 2,000, you will have less than 1,500 to spare after your "healthy" beer binge.

Keep your red and processed meat consumption to a minimum to avoid an increased risk of cancer, says a new study by the U.S. National Cancer Institute in the Public Library of Science Medicine.

Researchers found that people who ate the most of these specific types of meat had the highest risk of developing colorectal and lung cancers. Evidently, compounds created during cooking or the digestion of these types of meat damage DNA and in many cases result in the growth of tumors.

To help minimize your risk, the best -- and most obvious way -- to do so is to cut back on the amount of red and processed meat you consume. Researchers suggest sticking to around 3g per 1,000 calories you eat.

This Mother's Day, be sure to thank your mom for everything she has given you. All the love, all the affection, all the attention one person could ever ask for. But, there may be one thing your mom has given you that, if you had a say in the matter, you may have respectfully declined: her overweight genes.

Well, mom isn't completely to blame for this; dad's weight factors in equally. An article in Muscle & Body magazine points to a British study suggesting that you have a 75 percent chance of being overweight if both of your parents are. Specifically, it seems that the accumulation of body fat and waist circumference are very hereditary, whereas environmental factors played a far more limited role.

Does this mean you're doomed to be heavy if your parents are? I wouldn't say doomed. Not at all, actually. Predisposed? Perhaps. But that doesn't mean that you can't do anything to change what would appear to be your fitness fate. Regular exercise and eating a healthy diet will work just as well for you to stay fit as it will for someone whose parents are quite lean, so don't even think about counting yourself out before the race even starts.

With the temperature on the rise these days, it may soon be time to break out the grill and officially kick off backyard BB-Q season. Generally speaking, hot dogs, hamburgers and the like aren't known for being the healthiest of foods. But, there are always little healthy switcheroos you can pull on your guests without them even tasting the difference. Turkey burgers instead of ground beef, whole wheat buns instead of those made from enriched flour ... that sort of thing. Still, even with your best intentions at keeping the calories and fat to a minimum, there may be something you're forgetting: the condiments.

That little tablespoon of mayonnaise you slopped on your burger? 100 calories and 11g of fat. The barbecue sauce you slathered onto your ribs? 26 calories, including a good amount of sugar. And, who could forget about the pats of butter you spread across your rolls? Yup, those will cost you 102 calories and 12g of fat. While these, in and of themselves, may not seem to be all that damaging, you have to remember that they aren't the actual food; rather, they are simply what you're adding to it!!

If you want your turkey burgers or turkey hot dogs on whole wheat buns to stay as healthy as they can, swap out ketchup (15 calories per tablespoon) for mustard (10 calories). As for the dips for your chips, don't even think about the 60-calorie and 6g of fat per tablespoon ranch dip. Instead, reach for the fresh salsa, which usually has only 4 calories and 0 fat.

Revolution Health has a new interactive tool, momScore, that ranks states based on the accessibility and quality of maternal health care. To determine the score, a team of health experts compared state-to-state criteria including:

• Access to prenatal care
• Maternal mortality
• Risk of pregnancy complications
• Childcare availability per capita
• Infant mortality
• Air quality
• Violent crime rate
• Access to health insurance
• Affordability of children's health insurance
• Mandatory paid leave policy
  

You can check your state's score overall or by specific health topic. My state ranked roughly in the middle, which was what I expected to see. Where does your state rank?

It's no wonder we're always hearing horror stories about young women starving themselves in efforts to look like so many emaciated celebrities -- our minds seem to actually be complicit in that health crime.

A new study in the American Journal of Public Health sheds some interesting light on self-image and how our perceived health plays a role in our actual health. Researchers surveyed over 150,000 adults to answer questions about their current weight, their ideal weight, and how often they felt unhealthy. Researchers found that the less happy people were with their size, the less healthy they felt -- irrespective of how much they actually weighed.

So, it would seem that thinking you're out of shape can actually play a role in feeling out of shape, even if you're weight tells a different tale. You may not look like this person or that person, but that doesn't mean that you're too fat or too skinny or too anything. Listen to the people around you -- and not the glamorized, celebrity-obsessed media -- when they tell you that you look great, because chances are you do.

Losing weight is tough enough, but keeping it off -- now that can be really tough. Statistics show that 90-95 percent of overweight people who lose weight will regain it all (and in some cases, even more) within five years.

So, what's a person to do to stay slim? Work out harder, say researchers from Brown University. This may seem like a no-brainer at first, but what their study found was that duration during exercise does not matter as much as intensity when it comes to maintaining weight loss over time.

The good news is that you won't have to spend as long in the gym; the data shows that around 25 minutes per day is perfect. The bad news is that you won't be spending long, leisurely walks while reading a book on the treadmill anymore, because you're going to have to kick your workout into high gear.

The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty has been based upon the idea that, while our bodies might have flaws (real or perceived), we're all beautiful. It's a good message, and they're looking to boost the self-esteem of females of all ages, starting with young girls. I'm all for it -- it's important that women realize that they don't need to be able to trade clothes with their favorite actress or be stalked by paparazzi in order to be beautiful.

However, some discussion has recently surfaced saying that the women in the Real Beauty ads were retouched. Premiere retoucher, Pascal Dangin, told The New Yorker that there was a great deal of retouching done on those ads, "But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone's skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive."

What do you think about this development? I can't say I'm surprised -- I appreciate the fact that Dove still used women of different shapes and sizes. I mean, these are regular women being photographed and filmed in their undies! I can't say I would object to a little digital help were I in their position. But, others feel that it destroys the message -- they're not showing "real" beauty if there's retouching. What do you think?

This week I've been sampling Dannon's Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt, and I absolutely love it. Before I go any further though, let me tell you how I feel about yogurt. I like it, but only if I feel like I'm getting a high in calcium, low in sugar, legitimately fruit-filled snack. Now, there is always yogurt stacked up in my fridge, because I have two little children. But, rarely do I even open up a cup for myself. Not that I would ever buy my babies anything "bad"... cause I don't. But I regularly expect perfection of the things I put in my mouth. I'm simply not willing to waste 100 calories on a teeny cup of yogurt. I'd rather have two big pieces of fruit.

So! I was thrilled instantly by the calorie count on Dannon's new Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt. Each cup boasts only 50 or 60 calories, depending on the flavor. That I can do! The fruity varieties are also full of real fruit chunks. Fresh and healthy fruit chunks, not the icky stuff dumped in from a can. On top of all that, each flavor has proven to be delicious to both my children and me, and then a few of my personal training clients as well.

Before you go give Dannon's Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt a try, I encourage you to do a side-by-side comparison of it's nutritional content versus that of other yogurts. I did this a few days ago and couldn't find anything as good. This is the type of thing you want to put in your fridge if you're trying to lose weight. It's a great fix for your sweet tooth, while providing a decent amount of protein, calcium, vitamin D and other important nutrients.

Looking great and feeling great often go hand in hand. Partly, that's because good nutrition truly shows -- your hair, your skin, and your nails all look their best when you start by eating the right foods. And so, if your current beauty goal is to grow long, beautiful nails, start at the dinner table by eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to get the necessary vitamins.

Now that you've got the nutrition aspect under control, let's talk about some other things you can do for healthy nails. According to ehow.com, there are five steps you can take to get your best nails ever.

Click through the gallery to learn more about the vitamins you need and to see the steps -- but don't break a nail!

How about making this Sunday's Mother's Day an active one? If you like to run or walk, snag a last minute spot on one of the many Mother's Day races around the country.

Active.com has a great Mother's Day race locator -- just pop in your zip code, find a race and see if you can still enroll. If online registration is over, give a call to race officials to confirm you'll be able to register right on race day. Just think of it, a stellar early morning workout on Mother's Day with a t-shirt and racer goody bag to boot. Don't forget to invite your family to run or walk by your side or cheer you on at the finish.

Then be sure to return home to those flowers and a healthy Mother's Day brunch!

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.

I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Shane "Scooter" Christensen of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters. Now, when handed the opportunity to pick the brain of a Globetrotter....I had to learn some skills! Cause quite frankly, when it comes to basketball....I have none. Well, I had none until I met Scooter. Now I know how to dunk.

My mom is one of those hard-to-buy-for types. She and my dad are, thankfully, in a position where if they need or want anything, they can go out and get it. But when birthdays and holidays like Mother's Day roll around, it leaves my siblings and me with very few options. This year, I think I'll try to give my mom something in keeping with her healthy lifestyle. If you're thinking along the healthy lines for Mother's Day gifts too, here are some ideas to consider:

• A day at the spa. Moms rarely take time for themselves. Give your mom a gift certificate for the spa and help her relax.
• Skin care. Whether you give a face mask, moisturizer, hand lotion, or cleanser, skin care gifts are always appreciated.