That's Fit

Is an apology really an apology when it's mandated? I don't think so, given the fact that it's not really rooted in sincerity. Maybe it's better than nothing, though.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper was made to apologize to the daughter of Elvis after printing last month that Presley, like her late father, was packing on the pounds with a poor diet. But Presley wasn't "growing just like her dad," as the paper claimed. She was growing because of the baby in her belly. So Presley sued for libel. And the paper published an apology. It went like this:

On March 4 we published a photograph of Lisa Marie Presley while she was dining with friends. We suggested she might have an unhealthy appetite similar to her late father. We now accept that the suggestion is untrue and apologize to Ms. Presley for any distress caused.

Presley, 40, is expecting her third child this Fall.

I've learned a lot about diet and nutrition over the past year. Still, I'm sometimes confused by food labels. Drawn to any product slapped with a health claim, I often wonder how good certain foods are for me. How low-fat is a low-fat item, for example? How trans-fat free is a trans-fat free treat? What exactly does it mean if my cereal box comes marked with a red heart and a white check mark?

Woman's Day magazine recently published a chart to help me decode label lingo. See if this helps you too.

"May reduce the risk of heart disease" or "Helps lower cholesterol"
The FDA says if eaten regularly as part of an overall healthy diet, this food may help prevent heart disease and/or lower LDL cholesterol. This labeling is usually found on produce and foods rich in whole grains, soluble fiber, soy protein, and/or plant sterols or stanols.

A red heart with a white check mark
The American Heart Association certifies that this item is low in cholesterol, total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. It has less than 480 mg of sodium and naturally contains at least 10 percent of the daily value for vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, protein, or fiber.

A yellow and black "whole grain" icon that looks like a postage stamp
The Whole Grains Council verifies that this product has at least eight g of whole grains in 1/2 serving. If the stamp reads "100 percent whole grain," then it has at least 16 g of whole grains in one full serving. Three daily servings of whole grains are recommended.

"Low Sodium"
Low sodium foods have fewer than 140 mg per serving.

"Low Fat"
This one has less than three g of fat per serving.

"Low Saturated Fat"
Items touted as low in saturated fat have fewer than one g and less than 15 percent of calories from saturated fat per serving

"Low Cholesterol"
Fewer than 20 mg of cholesterol per serving.

"Trans Fat Free"
Fewer than 0.5 g trans fat per serving.

You've hear it before: Eat smaller portions. Use smaller plates. A little friendly reminder never hurt, though, and to drive these points home, consider this: A muffin once weighed 1.5 ounces and housed about 210 calories. Today's muffin is not so dainty with its hefty four ounces and 500 calories. I know. I know. I ate a pumpkin muffin recently and was appalled at what actually went into my body.

The point here, according to the Publix Greenwise magazine is that everything, from bagels to burgers, is ballooning in size. So are our waistlines. It's more important than ever then to watch ourselves. Watching how we distribute the food on our plates is a good starting point. So start with a nine-inch plate and proceed as follows.

Divide your plate into quarters. In three of your quarters, pile on the whole grains, the veggies, the fruit. Fill the remaining quarter with lean meat, fish, or poultry. That's it. The smaller plate, dominated by plant-based foods, is key for keeping calories in check. Simple stuff, right?

I took my boys strawberry picking on Friday. We go every year. Each time, the experience gets better. When my guys were toddlers, it was a pretty daunting excursion -- think wobbly steps, sunscreen, smashed berries, dirty clothing, whining, crying, and more. Still, it was worth the headache. The sight of little fingers manipulating the fruit of the Earth was beautiful. It still is -- the fingers are just bigger and more skilled at their work. The steps are solid and purposeful. Few berries are sacrificed. And whining and crying are non-existent. The sunscreen and dirty clothing are still issues we contend with but are never a deal breaker.

Seven-year-old Joey and four-year-old Danny were in heaven walking the strawberry fields the other day. Armed with their very own buckets, they plucked perfect red berries, one by one, from the ground. "Look at this one," they'd exclaim, comparing their finds with one another. They were amazed by every strawberry they dropped in their buckets and kept picking until they could hold no more. They yielded way too many berries but I just couldn't make them stop. Happy boys, marveling at nature while collecting nutritious food, are just too hard to come by. I let them go overboard. The loved it.

Twenty-four dollars worth of strawberries sit in our kitchen. We've already made a pretty good dent in our supply, and we've delivered a few berry bags to some neighbors. Blueberries will be our next conquest. I can't wait.

Have you ever gone picking? If not and you'd like too -- I highly recommend it -- just visit www.pickyourown.org and you're sure to find some farms in your area.

Lisa Marie Presley is one celebrity who is not putting up with media reports pegging her as fat. In fact, she's suing British newspaper the Daily Mail for suggesting she has an unhealthy appetite and is gaining weight like her father Elvis did.

It's not appetite plaguing Presley. It's pregnancy. Yep, the 40-year-old singer is pregnant. That's why her waistline is expanding.

Presley is none too happy to be announcing her news in this fashion and on this MySpace Celebrity blog, she writes with fervor about sharing her happy news amidst a media attack.

Will Presley win this lawsuit? It's a possibility, says Mark Stephens, a leading London media law expert who says "for an observation that would not be actionable in the USA, she will undoubtedly be recovering damages in London."

I wasn't sure what my physical therapist meant when she told me to "zip it up" as I was exhaling during an ab exercise. So she explained: Suck in your stomach just like you would if zipping really tight jeans. Aha. We all know how that feels, right? My exercise suddenly became easier.

Here it is, a little something designed to strengthen the lower transversus abs.

• Lie on your back.
  
  

• Place hands on your lower abdomen.
  
  

• Inhale and feel your abdomen expand. Your tummy should pushed out and full of air.
  
  

• Exhale as you pull your lower abdominals in, just like you would when zipping tight pants. The more forcefully you exhale, the stronger the transversus abdominus contraction.
  
  

Do 10 to 15 reps twice daily and before you know it, those tight jeans won't be so tight.

Oprah's favorite medical guy Dr. Oz tells Reader's Digest (March 2008) about four lifesaving numbers we simply must know if we plan to say on top of our heart health. Do you know them? If not, you should.

• Blood pressure: It's a major driver of heart disease risk. The lower it is, the better off you are. In a perfect world, yours would be under 115/75 mm/Hg.
  
  

• Cholesterol: HDL is the important type and the higher the better on this one -- strive for over 40mg/dL. While LDL is less important, you should ideally keep it under 100 mg/dL.
  
  

• Blood sugar: Keep this one under 100 mg/dL too. If you can't maintain this, it's likely you'll acquire some form of diabetes.
  
  

• Waist size: Measure at the level of your belly button and make sure it's half your height or less. That's 33 inches if you're 5'6".

I know I need to keep my bones strong because my grandmother, when she was alive, had osteoporosis. The more she aged, the more rounded her frail little back became. And like many seniors do, she eventually broke a hip and struggled to recover from this bone-crushing experience.

Ideally, I would have built strong bones nearly a decade ago -- it's most important before the age of 30 and can be the best defense against developing osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile and are more likely to fracture, or break. Typically occurring in the hip, spine, and wrist, osteoporosis can be prevented. Good thing, because there is currently no cure or treatment for the disease.

Straight from the National Osteoporosis Foundation, here's how you can baby your bones.

• Get your daily recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D.
  
• Engage in regular weight-bearing exercise.
• Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol.
• Talk to your healthcare provider about bone health.
• When appropriate, have a bone density test and take medication.

Not only should you dish out hugs and kisses on Valentine's Day. You should dish them out every day, because these natural signs of affection -- holding hands counts too -- can really do a body good.

The reason most of us reach for a hand, cuddle our loved ones, and smooch sweet little babies is because it feels good. I guess that's because it is good.

Researchers are now looking deep into the brain to explore how these loving practices help the heart, boost the immune system, and lower blood pressure. What they're finding is that human touch triggers a cascade of events inside the body, reprogramming heart rate, blood pressure, and certain mood-altering brain chemicals. Consider this:

• Couples in one study who held hands for several minutes and then hugged for 20 seconds experienced an immediate drop in blood pressure and heart rate. Couples with no close contact had no such benefits.

• A Japanese researcher found that when men and women with chronic skin allergies or hay fever spent 30 minutes kissing their partners, blood levels of immunoglobulin E, a compound that triggers allergic reactions, plummeted. Those who spent time cuddling, but not kissing, did not reap the same reward.

• When deep in stress, women who hold hands with their husbands gain quick relief.
  
  

The point of this post: To urge you to not just celebrate Valentine's Day tomorrow but to celebrate it all year long. You might be a happier, healthier person if you do.

Americans eat out on average four to five times per week, says a survey conducted in 2000. Once a special treat, going out to eat is now routine, which makes it more important than ever that we're careful about what we consume. Keep these guidelines in mind when enjoying your favorite cuisines.

Italian

• Don't go overboard on portions that come with the names pesto, creamy tomato, alfredo, carbonera, pancetta, sausage, pepperoni, parmigiana, stuffed, or frito -- this means fried.
• Cut down on your servings of pasta dishes stuffed with cheese, like manicotti and lasagna. Instead choose noodles with a sprinkling of cheese.
  

Chinese

• Watch out for sauces. They are generally low in fat but high in sodium or sugar. Examples are: Black bean, hoisin, oyster, plum, and sweet and sour.
• Steer away from the words fried, crispy, or golden brown. It means the food has been battered and fried. Think egg rolls, egg foo young, spring rolls, pot stickers, won tons, and sesame noodles and you'll know what I mean.
• Beware of MSG (monosodium glutamate), a flavor enhancer that may come with sensitivity issues. Ask for your food to be prepared without this additive.
  

Japanese

• Minimize your sodium intake by passing on some of these: Miso, soy sauce, and teriaki. Try balancing these items with a lot of fruits, veggies, and water.
• Be mindful of the amount of cream cheese, avocado, and fried foods that are packed into your sushi rolls.
  

Mexican

• Choose your sides wisely. Most Mexican meals automatically come with chips, beans, rice, and tortillas. Forgo some and pick only what you really love.
• Order a side salad instead of either rice or beans for added nutrition and fiber.
• Take black or pinto beans over the refried variety -- these are higher in fat and some restaurants still use lard when preparing them.
• Use salsa and pico de gallo -- they are loaded with nutrients -- to add flavor without adding fat.
  

Fitzness Fiends is a section devoted to you, the reader! We all have learned so much on our path to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! Fitzness Fiends are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect, some are not. All have health on the mind. Please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: George O'Neal

Age: 54

Occupation: Retired USAF; and am now a full-time grandparent.

How often do you exercise? Seven days a week.

What type of exercise do you do? Seven days: One hour of cardio on an elliptical machine. Six days: Weights (no weights on Sundays).

What gets you to workout, even when you're feeling lazy? I've exercised daily since October 1, 1973. It's simply part of my day.

It seems blue is the least desirable color when it comes to eating -- so whip out those blue plates if you wish to slim down your appetite.

Other tricks for trimming down, according to E! News, include popping some breath strips before eating -- this will temporarily kill your taste buds -- and snacking on parsley, enjoying a handful of nuts 30 minutes prior to a meal, partaking in a little salad with vinegar on top, and brushing your teeth. Matthew McConaughey reportedly does it 10 times a day. Maybe that's how he keeps his killer bod.

Reader's Digest experts offer a few tips for controlling cravings. Destroy temptation, they say. And they mean destroy. Take the package of cookies you mistakenly bought, dump them in the sink, and douse them in water. Your temptation will be gone, and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment at having licked your binge.

Some say fill half your plate instead of the whole thing and you'll consume less food, less calories, less fat, less everything. Just don't go back for seconds and this idea works well. Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., says something different.

"Just fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables," says Pivonka. This leaves little room for the fattening stuff. Now don't go back for seconds with this plan either.

Stock your kitchen with plenty of fruits and veggies -- fresh, frozen, canned, and dried produce fit the bill -- and grab some 100 percent fruit juice too. According to Pivonka: "When you have all these different forms of fruits and vegetables in your pantry, you're more likely to include lots of them in your diet."

Makes sense to me.

I don't love to travel. I've done my fair share of it -- I can't even count how many times my family trekked from our home state of Ohio to Florida when I was a kid or how many trains I hopped in Europe while visiting country after country after my high school graduation. I've been to Hawaii, Arizona, Tennessee, Missouri, California, and a handful of other states too. I've been on two cruises, an abundance of car trips, and airplanes galore. You'd think I'd be OK with shuttling to and from worldly destinations. But I'm not. I just don't like to travel. I don't like the packing or the time it takes to get to faraway places. I don't like living out of suitcases, re-packing, unpacking, and the dreaded return home. And now that exercise is a part of my daily routine, I don't like the struggle of fitting in fitness while on the road. I'm getting better at it, though.

While in Virgina visiting family recently, I managed to accomplish a workout every day, just like at home. I did it by scoping out the area around me and making it happen. What I found on this trip was a great path that wound me through beautiful scenery for four miles. After working out in the Florida heat lately, the chilly temperatures were a welcome change and the hills I encountered offered me an extra challenge. Working out on the road wasn't hard at all. And that makes travel, for me, a bit more manageable.

Next time you head out on the road, see what kind of fitness feats you can master. Look for outside workout opportunities, find a gym at your hotel, or pack some essentials -- like resistance bands or water weights -- so you can achieve your goals wherever you land. Take it from me, staying on track with your exercise expectations can make a world of difference.

For a no-equipment travel workout, check out this site.

Rosemary Ellis, Good Housekeeping magazine's Editor in Chief, writes in her January 2008 Editor's letter about this weight loss secret: It's not what you eat and it's not how much you exercise -- it's what you write down about what you eat that matters most in the battle against the bulge.

"Jotting down every bite makes you increasingly aware of what you're eating," writes Ellis. "And when you're more in tune with that, you tend to make smarter choices. The extra weight drops off and is more likely to stay off -- as long as you keep writing."

Why do food diaries work? Because they keep us in the moment and require us to make judgment calls. They make a record of what we're putting in our bodies and that tends to be enough for many to forsake an indulgence.

If losing weight is on your to-do list, consider investing in a notebook and a pen and scribbling down your own bites. See if it makes a difference in how you eat and how you carry your weight. If this technique works for weight management, it might help in other areas of your life too. Maybe an anger journal would help keep your outbursts to a minimum -- instead of shouting at the target of your upset, write instead and calmly approach your subject at a later date. Keep an exercise journal, a happiness journal, a gratitude journal, or a parenting journal. Just keep writing and you're sure to become better at the topics that unfold at your fingertips.