That's Fit

Today was the day for my great friend and fellow blogger, Jacki Donaldson, to have her tummy tuck. Jacki is a beautiful woman, wonderful mother, amazing friend and brilliant writer. Since she lives in my neighborhood, attends the gym I work out at, and used to be one of my personal training clients as she was recovering from chemotherapy....I've seen Jacki literally work her ass off. Not only is she aggressive at the gym, she's done a complete 360 with her eating habits. To say I've been impressed would be the understatement of the year.

Jacki had two big babies and has done everything she could possibly do to create a fit body. She's lost a ton of weight but has been left with a bit of extra skin around the mid-section which has really been point of frustration for her. An emotional burden. She's no better of a person now that her tummy tuck is complete; she couldn't be any more perfect. She is however, going to be a girl who no longer has the anxiety that goes along with as she puts it, "tucking in" her tummy.

I have a cold, so I won't be running the two blocks over to check out Jacki's new abs. Sick germs don't belong at a house with a post-op patient. But when I'm better....I promise to go check out her final product and give you the scoop. Most importantly being.....Jacki is recovering fine, hopefully in little pain.

One of my all-time favorite goals in life is to feel good about myself. I want to feel good about my state of mind and the state of my health, about my family and my job. I want to feel at peace about the decisions I make and the manner in which I relate to others. I want to feel upbeat and positive about the curve balls life throws at me. And toward the top of my feel-good list is this: I want to feel good in my skin.

I don't have the magic recipe for achieving all this goodness. But SHAPE magazine offers 25 tips that I might just borrow. Here are 12 of them.

• Find balance
• Show off
• Achieve exercise
• Get sleep
• Find support
• Seek mentors
• Take a break
• Write it down
• Do tell
• Forget envy
• Go positive
• Celebrate success

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: Jacki Donaldson

Age: 37

Occupation: Freelance writer & Mommy

How often do you exercise? Every day, although I occasionally force myself to take a day off to allow my body some "silence" -- this is what the folks at my gym say for the word "rest."

What type of exercise do you do? I run and walk, lift some weights, hover in the plank position, make attempts at push-ups, and most recently: Play on my new BOSU toy!

Walk, walk, walk. There's so much good news about walking. It's good for the heart, good for the soul, good for fatigue, good for preventing illness and disease, good for muscles, joints, and bones. The list goes on and even includes easing the stress and psychological symptoms associated with menopause.

Walking may not knock out those annoying hot flashes, according to one study, but participants did report that walking briskly for 40 to 90 minutes five days per week helped minimize the overwhelming anxiety and depression that come with hot flashes. Another conclusion: The more women walk, the better they feel.

Score another point for walking.

The folks at Reader's Digest surveyed 1,800 men and women recently about the topics of weight and sex. Here are some basic findings:

• Of the women surveyed, 46 percent categorize themselves as overweight, and 11 percent consider themselves obese. Men: 45 percent say they're overweight; 5 percent say they're obese.

• About 43 percent of readers say they've gained weight in the past six months.

• About 78 percent of all respondents say losing weight will improve their sex life.

OK, now check out this finding:

• More than 26 percent of women who consider themselves overweight would rather eat live bugs than let their partner watch them walk naked out of a well-lit room.

Surprised? I am. I guess the thought of eating bugs scares me more than parading around in the buff, loose tummy and all.

There's more where these statistics come from. Click here to take a peek at all survey results -- you'll find out how many women rate themselves as "yuck," "OK," and "hot" and what women have to say about short skirts and low-cut tops.

I heard it on the radio yesterday, the news flash revealing that some police officers in Canada are parking themselves at fast-food drive-thru windows in order to catch drunk drivers. Why go fast-food? Because law enforcement officials kept hearing from drive-thru employees, "You should be here late at night." And because who doesn't like to eat after consuming too much alcohol?

Project WULF -- stands for "would you like fries?" -- puts cops right in the drive-thru booths where they can pick up on slurred speech and can sniff out the smell of liquor. When suspicions mount, the observing officer advises a second officer who stops the vehicle as it departs.

Already, a number of impaired-driving charges and roadside suspensions have been issued as a result of Project WULF. But does this make it a good venture? One of my morning radio co-hosts says it's a great thing. Getting drunk drivers off the road is critical, he says. His partner says it's totally unfair, a form of entrapment even. What do you think?

How does actress Brooke Burke, pregnant with her fourth child, stay so fit and trim during and after the rigors of pregnancy? It's an on-going process, the 36-year-old says. And she works darn hard at it.

Pilates is one of her secrets -- she's been doing it for eight years and believes the core work involved in these workouts is great for the abs and the back. It also makes her deliveries so much easier.

Another secret: Burke wraps her post-delivery belly in a compression wrap called Taut. She credits this invention for getting her back to her pre-pregnancy size.

Overall, Burke, who is engaged to actor David Charvet and gained 30 pounds during her last pregnancy, says exercise is key.

"The more fit you are during your pregnancy, the quicker you're going to bounce back," she says. "I probably started up two weeks after delivery and I felt I could handle that."

Three years ago, seven staffers from the Live with Regis and Kelly show faced off in a fitness and weight loss challenge. Partnering with SELF magazine's exercise and nutrition experts, these challengers lost loads of weight and body fat. Fast forward to now and many have gained back both the pounds and the fat. Some put on a little weight -- one contestant gained one pound -- and some are carrying upwards of 20 extra pounds. So they're back at it -- the same seven, another 12-week challenge, again with SELF magazine, and this time the stakes are higher: Everyone involved wants the results to stick.

It's not always people who fail at weight loss, remarked one SELF editor on Tuesday's Regis and Kelly weigh-in show. In fact, 85 percent of those who lose weight gain it back. It's often the diets that fail. Find the right diet, the right exercise, the right commitment and change should be permanent -- right? Only time will tell for this crew.

To chart the progress of the hopeful seven, turn that TV on each morning or simply log on to liveregisandkelly.com for updates -- and for tips you can use at home.

What risks would you take to inspire your own weight loss? See yourself writing, producing, marketing, and selling skinny songs to help get your butt in gear? Venture capitalist Heidi Roizen, 49, may not have ever predicted she'd do such a thing. But it's exactly what she found herself doing when her weight hit an all-time high and she wanted more than anything to fit into the small clothing tucked away in her closet.

After her hunt for inspirational diet music was met with defeat, Roizen decided to write her own lyrics. Hiring two music producers came next and now her CD Skinny Songs is available for $14.99 on Amazon. Her songs -- I'm a Hottie Now, Skinny Jeans, and Thin are three of them -- can also be downloaded on iTunes.

Roizen, whose goal was to go from a size 14 to a size 8, can now fit into her skinny jeans. And she plans to keep it that way. She hopes to help others reach their own goals too.

"I've made a lifelong commitment to a lifelong change," says the mother of two. "I started writing the music to inspire myself, and now I hope it will inspire others."

My kids eat a lot of fruit -- apples, strawberries, bananas, you name it. I don't think they've met a fruit they don't like and when I discourage them from their junk-food tendencies, they always opt for fruit. I've always considered this a good thing. Fruit is healthy. Why not let them eat their little hearts out. But today, after serving seven-year-old Joey his third bowl of strawberries, I wondered: How much fruit is too much fruit? So I did a little digging and found these answers.

According to this Woman's Day website, if eating fruit replaces sweet foods like candies and muffins, then indulging is A-OK. "I don't know anyone who has got fat from eating fruit," says writer Judy Davie who warns us not to forget a balanced diet consisting of other essential nutrients such as Vitamin A, B group vitamins, iron, and calcium

The folks at The World's Healthiest Foods say fruit can cause weight gain -- any food in large quantities causes weight gain -- although fruit may be safer to eat in excess than other foods. Fresh fruits contain about 15-20 calories per ounce -- a medium-sized apple contains about 120 calories, for example. Calories are calories. Unless you burn them off, they stick around. And dried fruit is particularly dangerous. Beware: Six ounces of raisins contain about 500 calories.

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.

It's easy to take good health for granted, to skip along happily through life fully intending on never falling prey to a major health issue. Yet, we all are at risk for a health catastrophe. How you handle such a crisis may remain to be seen. How Kelly Corrigan handled her nightmare can be seen, well read, in the pages of her book The Middle Place.

"The Middle Place is about calling home," writes Corrigan. "Instinctively. Even when all the paperwork -- a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns -- clearly indicates you're an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you're still somebody's daughter."

Corrigan, now surviving stage 3 breast cancer, learned in the midst of treatment that her dad had cancer too, for the third time. Her story is about her own dance with cancer, her dad's repeated encounter with the disease, and how their lives unfold because of it all. It's a touching story and an enlightening one too. It will remind you to never lose sight of the day, for it may be one a few you have remaining.

For more about the woman who writes this tragic and happy book, visit kellycorrigan.com. To view The Middle Place trailer, take a peek here.

While running and walking on the treadmill today at the gym, I tuned into Live with Regis and Kelly on my cardio theater TV. Well, it was Pat Sajak and Kelly this morning but the format was still the same -- chit-chat over coffee, a review of a few newsy items, spinning of the prize wheel, and then a few guests. The show kept me entertained, passed the time while I pounded away on the rubber beneath my feet, and actually gave me something to think about.

One of today's guests was Hulk Hogan, semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, and sometimes rock bassist who starred on his own VH1 reality show Hogan Knows Best and is the new host of NBC's American Gladiators.

Anyone who knows what Hulk Hogan looks like knows the man is bursting at the seams with muscle. This is exactly what prompted host Kelly, who admitted she was admiring his biceps, to ask this giant person about his New Year's resolutions. Did he resolve to go to the gym more? Or less? Nope on both counts, said Hulk Hogan, who shared he spends two hours every day in the gym. His resolutions this year are (1) To stay positive and (2) To be happy.

I like these resolutions. I just might adopt them as guiding principles for the year. For each scenario that faces me, I think I'll strive for the most positive attitude possible. And I'll only choose courses of action that truly make me happy. Now I plan to go to my fitness center more too, unlike Hulk Hogan who doesn't really need any more gym time, but as for my non-specific resolutions, I say Cheers! to being both positive and happy.

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

If you're a fan of the onion, I've got good news for you: The very bulb blamed for both bad breath and teary eyes simply bursts with health benefits, making it a SuperFood worth pursuing.

Onions, part of the Allium family of foods, inhibit growth of cancerous cells, increase good cholesterol when eaten raw, reduce overall cholesterol levels, minimize blood clots, ward off colds, pump up the immune system, cut the risk of diabetes and certain cancers, promote antibacterial and antifungal properties, and relieve stomach discomfort. Onions can even boost bone density (well, in newborn rats anyway), according to the May 2005 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. And they contain more of the antioxidant quercetin than any other common fruit or vegetable. This makes the onion capable of reducing the risk of both heart disease and Alzheimer's.

Worried about the the onion's odor? Don't be -- the very sulfurous compounds that give onions their strong smell are what activate certain enzymes in the liver, prompting protective activity that lasts for hours.

Want the food you put in your body to really matter? Then try these healthy combinations, compliments of Publix.

To yield more phytonutrients: Add a little olive oil to a salad of baby spinach, shredded carrots, and red onion. Or mix avocado, tomato salsa, and lime juice for a tangy guacamole.

To score more iron: Serve black beans with salsa and a sliced orange, drop some cut strawberries into a bowl of whole grain cereal, or stir up some brown rice, tofu, and red and green bell peppers.

For stronger bones: Create a quiche with broccoli, eggs, and low-fat milk or how about the leafy vegetable chard and garlic in olive oil, topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese?