It's good timing that bikini season falls during summer, because it's the best time for slimming down. The warm weather means outdoor exercise opportunities are abundant, fresh fruits and veggies are plentiful, and with kids out of school, family fitness kicks into full swing.

Summer is the ideal time to lose weight and keep it off, says Lynn Goldstein of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. And as Memorial Day comes to a close and we embark on the unofficial start of summer, it seems appropriate to start brainstorming strategies for trimming down and tightening up during the next few months. Here are a few:

• Satisfy a sweet tooth with fresh fruit instead of cakes, cookies and ice cream, says Goldstein. Fabulous Foods offers tips for selecting the best summer fruits.
  
• Summer is perfect for salads, and Prevention magazine names 25 low-cal ideas for mixing up greens and other mouthwatering ingredients.
• Grilling is great this time of year, and AOL Health helps you make sure your meats are safe and healthy.
• Exercise at the beach. Practice yoga on the sand, says Women's Health magazine, because the uneven surface will really work your muscles. The sand is also great for power walks, jogs and family football games.
• Torch some calories in the pool while your kids splash around. Fitz has the perfect water workout.
• Tennis is a super summer sport. Just understanding the game might help you lose weight too, says Jonny.

What are your plans for getting fit this summer?

Source

If you believe relaxation contributes to good health and you believe cruises lead to relaxation, then sailing the oceans blue might be just what you need. But if you believe there will be dependable medical care on board should your health take a detour, then you'd possibly be wrong and therefore, a cruise may not be just what you need.

Nearly 10 million Americans will set sail this year. What these 10 million may not know is that cruise lines claim no responsibility for doctors' actions. Cruise lines hire doctors, and they assign them as part of the crew -- but the buck stops there. The doctor merely has to claim to be competent. If he or she is not, cruise lines disavow any responsibility whatsoever.

This fact can be found in the fine print on tickets, Web sites, and brochures. But most of us don't read every detail and for some, discovering this hidden wording occurs too late.

If cruise lines are not responsible, then the doctors must be, right? In theory, perhaps. But many doctors are foreigners who and are tough to track down in legal scenarios.

In the book Unsafe on the High Seas, Miami attorney Charles Lipcon offers advice for protecting yourself : Get travel insurance if yours doesn't have an evacuation provision, he says. And bring copies of your medical records, and tell the cruise line about pre-existing conditions. And most important: If you have a serious medical problem, maybe a cruise is not right for you.

Source