That's Fit

Can dark chocolate keep your holiday pudge from packing on? Maybe, says Maggie in this post. Maybe heading over to the dark side will give your health a boost too.

Need one more platter for your holiday dessert table? Try Maramor's Dark Chocolate Squares. If a bit of dark chocolate alone does a body good, this stuff, packed with omega-3 fatty acids, should keep you in tip-top shape.

No, it doesn't taste like fish. And it isn't a supplement topped with chocolate. It's actually fine chocolate with fish oils added. The best part: Only 50 calories per square, so you can have three for a full day's worth of omega-3s. It'll cost you $14.00 for a box of 30 at GNC stores. Try GNC.com too.

The nutritional supplement industry is an economic juggernaut, one that continues to thrive even during these tougher financial times. Unlike prescription medications, supplements do not have to undergo a vetting process by the FDA, which serves to explain why manufacturers are able to make many unsubstantiated claims with relative impunity.

Does this mean that all supplements are worthless? I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say that. What I would say, however, is that it is wise to speak with a medical professional before taking a supplement to find out: a) If it is safe for you to take it, and b) If it will help you achieve your specific health and fitness goals. In efforts to expedite that conversation (doctors are busy people), at least narrow your options down to supplements that have shown promise in peer-reviewed studies.

Here are 5 of them:

5 - Protein Shake. While it's entirely possible to get enough daily protein from your regular diet, it's sometimes quite difficult to do so. Protein shakes provide you with a convenient and tasty way to get at least 20-25 grams of protein and a substantial amount of amino acids with each serving.

Going for your first run or lifting your first set of weights can be an exciting point in your fitness existence. You're hopeful, eager, and perhaps even thrilled to be taking the first step to building a healthier you. However, it seems it's a natural part of human nature to become bored with things -- even things we at one time enjoyed so very much. Remember buying that new car? Felt cool tooling around town in it, didn't you? Couldn't think of enough excuses to take it for a spin, right? But how do you feel about that car now? Chances are, you're tired of the way it looks, the way it drives, and the way it no longer gets you excited to be behind the wheel. And, there's also a good chance that you're contemplating buying another new car to replace it. Well, our penchant for growing bored with cars and other material goods is not all that dissimilar from how we are also prone to becoming bored with our workouts.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help prevent your workout from becoming boring and stale. So, if you've been dreading your workout lately, try some of these tips on for size. You may find they are exactly what you need to eliminate your feelings of workout "buyer's remorse."

Workout at a Different Time of Day. Are you typically a morning exerciser? If so, you probably see Charlie, Dave, Lisa, and Mrs. Tuttle at the gym every time you're there. Pleasant folks, all of them, but seeing those same faces every day only serves to further create a phenomenally boring, Groundhog Day-like experience. Try exercising at night instead, or vice-versa if you already workout at that time of the day. Being around different people may not be much of a change, but it may be enough mental stimulation to keep things interesting. And, who knows -- maybe the guy or girl of your dreams works out at 6pm.

While recently picking up some protein powder at my local Vitamin Shoppe retail store, I happened upon a promotional table for a so-called "Super Food" vegetable drink mix.

"Hey, man. Do you wanna' try some greens?," an upbeat, Toni Robbins-esque voice said in a way that sounded more like a command than a question.

"Um, no. Actually, what the heck do you mean?," was my best attempt at fending off the retail assault.

"Check it out. I know you're going to like this," he said, knowing that I was already at his mercy for the next few minutes.

And so it went, for far more than a few minutes I listened to Mr. Positive talk to me about a vegetable-based product that his company was selling in Vitamin Shoppe retail stores nationwide. He handed me some literature on their product lines and let me try samples of their drink mixes, each containing 72 "Super Foods."

One of the more popular supplements to come along in the past five years has been Nitric Oxide (or NO). In fact, I did a post a while back on my experience with one of the more popular NO products on the market: No-Explode. Though I have stopped using this product since (mainly because its very high levels of taurine and caffeine made me a bit jittery), I may try supplementing with the primary active ingredient, which is an amino acid called arginine.

Research out of the Univeristy of North Carolina, Wilmington revealed that arginine can simultaneously help you build muscle while dropping body fat. In their study, fifteen female athletes consumed 6 grams of arginine supplements per day for four weeks. Researchers found that these women lost 2 pounds of body fat while at the same time gained 2 pounds of muscle, all without any change to their diets or exercise programs.

Now, before you rush out to your nearest GNC and pick up some arginine, you may want to first discuss things with your doctor. But, if you've already tried supplementing with this amino acid and would care to discuss your experience with it, we'd love to hear what you have to say.

Supplement retailers such as GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, and Vitamin World make enough money to veritably buy small countries and finance their wars for independence. Astonishing is the word that immediately comes to mind when you really stop and think about how many of these stores are actually out there. Couple the geographic presence with the fact that products being sold (and bought at an incredible rate) generally sell for around $20 or $30 dollars, and it becomes quite clear that this is not a business as much as it is a financial empire.

Problem is, half the stuff that these stores are selling is worth less than what it's being sold for. Or, in some cases, just plain worthless. I'm not even going to go down the road you think I may be heading -- which is the whole "Supplements aren't approved by the FDA...blah, blah, blah." It's true, almost all supplements are not FDA approved, but that's not the issue to which I refer. Instead, it's the unsubstantiated claims that so many supplements make, with little or no R & D available to back them up.

A little while back, I mentioned 5 worthwhile supplements. This is not to say that there aren't any others worth taking, but it bears repeating that not all supplements are created equal. Caveat emptor - buyer beware (don't ask me why I felt it was necessary to first say that in Latin) is a pretty safe mantra to live by when it comes to finding which supplements work to improve your health and fitness, versus those that merely work to make you lighter in the wallet.