Doing sit-ups with separated abs makes your intestines bulge up, says one pelvic floor expert over at Julie's Health Club. Two exercises to consider are traditional kegels and "tucking in" methods engaging the transversus abdominis (TVA) and oblique muscles. To tuck in, lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on floor. Pull in your belly button toward your spine, making your stomach cave in. It's a great place to hangout, I always feel skinnier in this position. Relax and breathe while holding the tuck for a minute or two. Do two sets of 10.

Be-FitMom also offers a thorough description of the condition and the Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning DVD can help you get rid of that pooch.

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Should your apple sparkle like a diamond before you take a bite or should you remove commercial grade wax added by apple packers before that delectable crunch?

Except for apple pie and applesauce, I always eat the peel. So what about that wax ... is it trapping pesticides? Is it necessary? Why wax in the first place?

According to Julie's Health Club, the U.S. Apple Association and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), here are a few apple wax facts:

• Used on fruits/veggies since the 1920s, different waxes applied to produce are allegedly safe to eat, says the FDA.
  
• Apples possess a natural wax, which is mostly lost after post-harvest cleaning methods.
• Waxing apples facilitates earlier harvest and longer storage, but earlier picking also means fewer vitamins/minerals.
  
• One expert shares that to scrub wax off -- and any pesticides lurking beneath -- add a tablespoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of baking soda to a sinkful of water. But watch out, that germ-ridden kitchen sink is the worst place to set fruit before washing it!
  
• Scrub apples under lukewarm water with a vegetable brush, says the U.S. Apple Association.
• The FDA also offers a set of recommendations on how to wash, scrub and dry various produce before eating.

Apple wax on or wax off? Let us know in the poll below. At the very least, elbow grease burns calories.

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Finalists in the Survivor reality show have a lot in common with a miniature Reeses Peanut Butter cup -- they both have a knack for flying under the radar. But the mini-chocolates don't win anyone a million dollars. Instead, they add pounds as they avoid self-regulatory consumption surveillance and land right into your mouth.

A new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research reveals this mini-portion sabotage. When tempting products came in large package formats, consumers deliberated more before consumption, were least likely to choose and chowed down less. While consumers believe small portions help regulate consumption, those self-regulation skills can backfire and you end up peeling and popping half a dozen miniature Snickers.

Besides, you're also left with a pile of wrappers and a bigger carbon footprint, too. Shop for the King Size chocolate bar -- you're less likely to buy it.

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With all the concern over bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles and water bottles, we're hearing louder rumblings of BPA-free alternatives. However, beyond tainting baby and water bottles, BPA is also in many canned goods, which has made me wonder if there are any BPA-free cans on the marketplace. BPA is linked to precancerous tumors, urinary problems and early puberty in animals. It's also a known endocrine disrupter.

Julie's Health Club just turned me on to Eden Organic Beans. According to Eden's website, they spend 14 percent more to can all their bean varieties in a BPA-free steel can. They're the only U.S. company using this type of can, lined with an oleoresinus (a natural oil and plant resin mix) c-enamel. Eden also states the acidity of their canned tomato products do require an epoxy-based coating which may contain BPA, however they claim it's a minute amount.

So there you have it -- organic, canned beans without any BPA. While I'm not a big canned goods consumer, beans are my number one canned goods purchase. Nice to know Eden's been using BPA-free cans for nearly a decade.

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