That's Fit

To sip or not to sip? When you're talking tea, the consensus among health experts seems to be: sip up! Tea is nutritious, delicious and virtually calorie-free. Over at Mark's Daily Apple, they're talking tea. Here are 10 reasons to start brewing:

• Tea is full of antioxidants.
• It also has anti-inflammatory properties, meaning it can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, among others.
• It can lower the body's absorption of carbohydrates.
• It can protect you against ovarian cancer.
• If you have it sans milk, it counts as a glass of water against your eight glasses a day.
• It can curb hunger and help satisfy cravings.
• it's lower in caffeine than coffee
• To get the most positive impact from tea, drink two to three cups a day. If you can't? One cup should be fine.
• Loose, fresh tea offers more benefits than bags of tea.
• Worried about staining your teeth? Drink white or green tea instead of traditional black tea.

What do you love about tea?

Bring your lunch to work is a great way to make sure you're avoiding the diet pitfalls of a food court or restaurant. But what if you reached into the fridge to grab your healthy, delicious lunch only to find that some office lothario has poached it? I've had this done to me, and let me tell you, it is annoying and frustrating, particularly when you've put together something particularly tasty.

Protect your goodies with the Anti-Theft lunch bag designed by New Yorker Sherwood Forlee. The bags come with moldy spots already on them, so whoever grabs your nosh will (hopefully!) be too grossed out by the 'mold' to eat it. Clever, huh?

(via Slashfood)

Do you know you can decaffeinate your own tea? Family Circle senior editor Gay Edelman does it. And in the October 2008 magazine, she tells readers all about it. Here's what she has to say.

Since 80% of the caffeine in tea is released within the first 30 to 45 seconds of steeping, it's easy to decaf your own tea, says Edelman. Just pour boiling water over the tea leaves or bag, wait 30 seconds, then discard the water. Final step: Brew with fresh hot water -- and enjoy.

Edelman says she can try all sorts of healthy tea flavors with her decaf trick, and she never needs to worry about the jitters. Got any of your own DIY food or drink-related tricks? Do share.

Are you already stressing today about what you'll do for lunch tomorrow? Here's an idea: Pass on the temptation to eat out -- it's much healthier and much more affordable to brown-bag it -- and consider throwing some of these items together. Don't wait until the craziness of morning arrives, though -- do it today so all you'll need to do as you head out the door for work is grab your lunch and go.

• Think fruits and vegetables, and drop a few servings in your lunch box. Portable fruits, like apples, oranges, and bananas, are great for snacks throughout the day.
  
• Top sandwiches with cucumbers, tomatoes, and spinach.
• Work in some whole grains but vary your choices from day to day so you don't get bored. Try popcorn, whole grain crackers and bagels, rolls, pitas, and tortillas.
  
• Consider making extra portions of healthy dinners so you can pack up leftovers for work the next day.
  
  

The message here: Plan ahead to beat the lunch rush -- and eat well too.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hello Miss Fitzness, I see you have an extensive history as a kickboxer. I also like to kickbox, although I've never actually had a fight. I've since left my trainer though. I have bought a water based heavy bag, and know all of my punches and kicks. It's just hard to come up with things to do each round like my trainer you to have me do. I'm getting bored now without a goal. Have any advice? Scott

A. Hi Scott! Thanks for asking! Yes, my competitive kickboxing days go way back to the mid 1990s and I'm still desperately in love with the sport. It's a ton of fun, and a tremendous workout. Plus ... I personally enjoy kicking people in the head! Only those who have willingly signed up for a charming bit o' competition though, of course! I have also spent the past 15 years as the Fitness Division Director of the International Sport Kickboxing Association. The ISKA is the sanctioning body of the sport, just like the NFL is for pro football. So, yes sir! I can help you with that heavy bag training.

Summer's almost here. But that doesn't mean school's out for everyone -- think daycare programs, summer camps, educational field trips -- which means there's still reason to pack kid lunches long into June, July, and August. For all you lunch packers out there, may I suggest this: Go organic.

If you've not already gone organic for your kid lunches, let this post inspire you. And if you don't have a kid in a summer program this year, use this inspiration to plan ahead for Fall. Practice at home and you'll be set for a healthy school year ahead.

Why organic for your kiddos?

When it comes to using dishes, I've always been a bit, um, frugal. I don't like doing 'em, so I do what I can to use a few dishes as possible. This mean eating from the bag, box or whatever. When I'm grabbing some crackers, chips or even dried cereal, I grab the bag and munch away.

Correction -- that's what I did do. I saw this great tip on Fitsugar a while ago and it makes a lot of sense. Instead of eating from the bag, put a serving into a dish, then seal the bag and put it away. Out of sight, out of mind -- this simple step will keep you from mindlessly eating the whole bag. You're able to snack away while controlling how many calories you consumer -- now, is that a perfect solution or what?

Yes! Yes! Kickboxing in preschool! Last week, I had a little visit with my daughter's preschool class; I brought in a child-sized heavy bag and some (adult-size) gloves. Since I'm the Fitzness trainer Mommy, and kickboxing is one of the most fun things I do and teach ... we thought it would be great to share the fun with her buddies.

We spent the first few minutes chatting about being healthy. Choosing healthy foods and exercising was easy to discuss with these little ones. They were desperate to tell me about their favorite fruits and the fun things they like to do. In fact, I heard in great detail about each child's favorite bike, scooter or jump rope. This of course, was fun to for me. We talked sports too, and I addressed kickboxing as such.

Today, I made the change. I said "no, thanks" to my grocery store bagger when he offered me paper or plastic and instead allowed my new green totes to shimmy up to my cashier where she promptly handed them over to Mr. Bagger -- who then shared with me a few facts about my eco-bags.

Bagger Boy told me the tote trend makes life a bit hard for baggers because they hold so much darn food. Typically, like foods are stashed together and with plastic, this works well. The bags are small and it's not a big deal to use a pretty good stack of them if necessary (well, it is a big deal, environmentally speaking). But the roomier alternatives often lead to food cramming. Un-like foods sometimes end up together -- think bread with eggs with cereal boxes -- and this is well, problematic, said the guy strategically placing my kids' popsicles with my few crates of strawberries.

Bagger Boy also told me these planet-safe bags aren't doing customers any favors. With the high cost of everything nowadays, people like to believe they're getting a lot for their money. You get a lot with plastic. Not so much with totes -- I have six, for example, and will rarely use that many -- so buyers feel they're getting less for more.

As a kid playing sports, I always lugged around a huge gym bag -- I kept a change of shoes and clothes, deodorant, hair stuff, and sometimes my school books in there. Seriously, I think it weighed almost as much as I did on some days.

My fitness routine has certainly changed since then (no more having to stay after school for practice and then go cheer on the football team for the big game, etc.), but my bag stayed the same. I've been lugging this huge bag to the gym, filled with stuff I definitely don't need for my one-hour workout, making it really difficult to find what I do need. Sometimes I would try just carrying in what I needed, but inevitably I would drop my phone or leave my keys on a treadmill or lose my water bottle.

Last week, I was contacted by the maker of the Fitness Caddy, who kindly offered to send me a sample to try out. I was skeptical -- the Fitness Caddy is quite small and looks really simple, and while it seemed like a nice idea, I just couldn't imagine it would hold everything I needed. I was wrong.

Have you ever been playing a basketball game and it was so intense and fast-paced that you couldn't take the time to look up at the scoreboard?

Well, I haven't (at least not in a long time), but for those of you who have experienced this, you're in luck, or, at least, you will be. An Australian company is working on jerseys that have "electro-luminescent displays" which will show information for the players, like the score and time left.

Want to know what professional trainers like me wish for, for Christmas? Sing along!

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, one water-based heavy bag.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two boxing gloves.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three ropes for jumping.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four Body Buggs.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five Versa Steps.

I have a definite bag of tricks when it comes to fitness. In my bag, I've got running, walking, push-ups, a handful of core exercises, some resistance band stuff, and occasionally, some weight lifting. That's about it. It seems enough on the average day. It gets my heart beating, causes me to sweat, and lets me know I've worked some major muscle groups. But sometimes, when I throw something new into my bag, I realize there's so much more I could be accomplishing.

Recently, my mom and I hopped on our bikes and peddled around town for 90 minutes. We never realized how hilly our area is until the burn in our legs made it abundantly clear. It was also clear my core was engaged in a whole new way. My arms were tensing and tightening differently. My butt was sore. My hands were too. And my back -- well, my back is apparently very weak.

What I realize now after mixing up my workout routine is that I need to do it more often. I need to distribute my physical work more evenly so all my muscles benefit. Consistency is good. But so is variety. So I'll stick with what works for me on the average day. When I get a chance to change gears, though, I'm going to embrace a little diversity.

It seems a little variety is not only good for the body -- it also helps us stick with our fitness goals. Read here for more about this topic.

Got some get-up-and-go this morning? Great. Now put on those running shoes, strap on your iPod, and do whatever it is you do to prep for your fancy fitness routine. Whatever you do, just make sure you do it outdoors -- and with a trash bag.

You are about to embark on an eco-running journey. The concept, started by Samuel Huber of Milwaukee, is simple: Just hang on to that bag and pick up any trash you encounter along your exercise route. Huber wants runners to combine their passion -- running -- with a purpose -- cleaning up the environment. He's sure it will make a difference. According to treehugger.com, studies show that by cleaning up an area you remove the incentive to contribute to its mess.

If you're not a runner, have no fear. You can still pick up litter while you walk, rollerblade, skateboard, or hike. Use your imagination. Just don't forget the trash bag.

Maybe you've heard of "Purse Pals" before, or any other number of bag hooks that are meant to keep your purse, handbag, or light tote up off the floor at restaurants, coffee shops, and other public places. I think they're a great idea, not to mention small, easy, and cheap enough for everybody to have one.

On that note October is Breast Cancer Care month, and now you can both support the cause and indulge your inner germophobe by getting one of these Tchibo bag hooks. They're available in Tichibo stores starting October 3rd for just $5 each.