Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, blah, blah, blah. Enough already. We know. What we might not know, though, is how to actually make this meal the best it can be. Because let's face it: A bowl full of sugary cereal with a side of donuts and a Diet Coke to wash it all down can turn breakfast into the worst meal of the day. Here, eight ways you can make it the best.

• Cereal -- Choose one with at least five grams of fiber and no more than eight grams of sugar per serving. Watch out for granola. Sounds healthy but most are high in fat and sugar.
• Toppings -- Forget syrup and cream cheese. Instead, pick fresh fruit (or a 100% fruit spread), a little peanut butter, skim ricotta cheese, or a thin layer of almond butter.
• Breakfast Bars -- Some are no better than a candy bar. Substitute with whole-grain toast and a 100% fruit spread. Need something to go? Grab a trail mix of nuts, dried fruits, or dry cereal.
• Wheat -- Go with whole-wheat bread and small whole-grain bagels, not donuts, pastries, croissants, and biscuits.
• Substitute --For pancakes, use half whole-wheat flour and half white flour and add applesauce or grated fruit to the batter. For French toast, dip whole-grain bread into an egg substitute or a mixture of one whole egg and one to two egg whites (which also works for omelets).
• Meat -- Choose low-fat turkey bacon and ham or a nontraditional choice, like grilled chicken or salmon. Or go meatless.
• Fruits and Veggies -- Use them whenever you can, in omelets, cereal, yogurt, you name it.
• Smoothies -- Nix the full glass of juice and blend a half cup each of orange juice and plain low-fat yogurt with half a banana and some frozen berries.

Before or after eating your most important meal of the day, try these morning moves to wake up your core, hips, glutes, thighs, and more.

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When you're grabbing a meal on the run, most of us know better than to order our meal with fries. Why? They're loaded with fat and sodium, and will make a big caloric dent in our daily intake.

But when a sandwich isn't enough, what can we get to go with our fast food entree? Most places now offer sides of stuff like salad, fruit or other healthy fare. And at Wendy's, you can even enjoy potatoes without having to order them deep-fried and covered in salt -- you can order a baked potato on the side.

But are baked potatoes a healthier option than fries? One would think so, based on the fact that they're cooked in the oven instead of the deep fryer. But what baked potatoes lack in deep-fried goodness, they make up for with add-ons like sour cream, bacon bits, butter and cheese. Still, how bad can it be? You tell me.

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February's Better Homes and Gardens team offers some innovative methods for getting fit without even leaving your house. This room-by-room guide will foster a healthier heart and a healthier you. It all starts at your front door.

Front Door
Place a pair of tennis shoes in your entryway by the front door. Put them in a fancy bin or basket so they're handy for exercising. You might also hang an inexpensive pedometer on a hook by the door and clip it to your clothing at the start of day so you can monitor how many steps you're taking. Shoot for 10,000 steps a day.

Living Room
Resolve to keep meals and snacks out of the living room. People tend to overeat far more in front of the TV because they want something to do while watching a show.

Kitchen
Add a kitchen scale to your counter so you'll know exactly what three ounces of meat looks like and how much an ounce of cheese turns out to be. Measuring your portions will help you manage your weight. Invest in a few healthy cookbooks too. And be sure to use them.

Bathroom
Break out the floss for your dental health and your heart health too. Researchers link the inflammation caused by gum disease to heart disease. The healthier your mouth, they say, the stronger your heart will be. And dust off that bathroom scale and jump up on it. Those who weigh themselves daily are the ones most likely to keep weight off.

Bedroom
Ask someone to monitor you for a bit while you sleep. Ask your observer if you snore. This could be a sign of a disorder called sleep apnea, a condition that causes lapses in breathing for a few seconds at a time. If all is well in your sleep department, consider an afternoon nap. Napping might cut your chances of dying of heart disease by 30 percent.

Stairs
Your heart rate and breathing should not change significantly when you climb stairs. But do they? If so, check with your doctor and then tackle those same stairs for just three minutes a day to increase your cardiac endurance.

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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 two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, I'm trying to lose weight, but exercising is a problem for me since I am almost 300 pounds. I have a bad knee and my hip hurts, so I am looking for an exercise tape that is low impact but helps me burn as many calories as possible during the work out. Thank you, Paula

A. Hello Miss Paula, I'm glad to hear from you. I've trained many people who weigh between 300 and 500 pounds, and the pain you're feeling in your knees and hip is not unusual. The more weight we carry, the more strain our joints endure. You're wise to look for low impact exercises.

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Feeling charitable? Then get out there and give of yourself. It's good for others, and it's good for you too.

Studies investigating the link between health and volunteering show that givers live longer and have lower rates of depression than those not engaged in altruistic acts. Seems right. I know I aways feel better when I help someone. The feeling of brightening someone's day works wonders on my spirit. It also distracts me from my own issues.

Check out this article supporting the scientific evidence that helping out produces health benefits. And take a look at this website to locate volunteer opportunities near you.

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Ah, the age old question -- as debated as whether Archie should go for Betty or Veronica ... because they both have their merits, but deep down, you know he should choose kind, safe Betty. I'm talking about Diet vs Exercise here -- which makes more a difference when you're trying to lose weight? We know that both have their benefits, but many of us suspect that it's diet that ultimately makes the difference.

Not so, according to this article. In a study where one group exercised only and one group change their diet only, with the calorie reduction the same in both groups (so, the exercise group would burn, say, 25% less calories a day and the diet group would reduce their %caloric intake from food by 25), it was found that it didn't matter whether the method of weight-loss was diet or exercise -- what mattered was the calorie reduction. But exercise has one distinct advantage -- the benefit of improving cardiovascular health.

I think the real key to weight-loss is a balance between the two. Don't you agree?

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If you take statin drugs to lower that cholesterol level, you may have some protection from heart attacks up to ten years later after you cease taking those drugs, according to new research.

Pravacol, a stain drug commonly used in Europe and elsewhere to regulate cholesterol levels in at-risk patients, was found to 'substantially' lower heart attack risk and heart-related death. The study's participants included middle-aged men who had never had a heart attack but had a very high level of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

While this is good news, there definitely needs to be more insight into the benefits of statin drugs in order to offset the problems that have been reported by this class of drugs.

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I want to tell you something in the hopes that it might inspire you to kickstart a fitness routine or go to the gym today: I've never, ever regretted working out. I've never felt worse after than I did before. Not once in probably thousands of trips to the gym. Even when I was feeling sick, when I was deadly tired, when I was swamped with work. Not even when I sprained my ankle and was worried about making it worse. Even then I felt better coming home from the gym than I did going to it.

I've regretted things I've ate, movies I watched, books I read, things I said. But working out is one thing that has never let me down. After my best workout, I come away feeling strong, confident, energized. After my worst workout, I come away feeling satisfied that I did something good for myself instead of bingeing on a tray of brownies. It's made me feel at least slightly better 100% of the time, and I like those odds.

So quit surfing the 'net and go to the gym! You won't regret it either.

On pretty much every TV show about hospitals there's always a hot-shot surgeon or sexy intern who seem to care more about their image than consoling patients. They use overly-complicated medical jargon, rush through a diagnosis and give patients little emotional care -- they help heal the patient but they don't really make them feel better.

Does this sort of thing just exist on TV? It looks like no according to a study done at the University of McGill in Montreal. The study examined results of a clinical skills exam taken by over 3000 doctors in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The physicians who scored low on the test also had more patient complaints lodged against them, and the majority of these grievances were communication issues. Doctors who, just like the hot-shots on shows like ER and Grey's Anatomy, were judgmental, condescending and ignored what patients had to say.

So while being a good communicator doesn't necessarily make one a better doctor, the best doctors definitely know how to communicate.

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If cardio and strenth training were to face off in a head-to-head battle for "who's the best overall" which one do you think would win? Is it that simple really? Well Women's Heath set out to find out, comparing the two with good old fashioned 'pros and cons' lists based on what your goals are. Weight loss? Strength training is best (really? I'm surprised). Stress relief? Cardio. To live longer? Cardio. To look sexy in front of a mirror? Strength training.

Surprised by any of these? It looks like overall they pretty much even out, so the best advice might be to mix it up and do some of both as part of a consistent routine -- why not get the best of both worlds?

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One of the most frustrating things to me, as a fitness trainer is to see people who work so hard towards fitness get duped. The I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray is one of those things. Now....I'm not suggesting the folks who make that product are liars. Cause they're not. I think the idea of their product is incredibly deceptive though, due to the fine print.

Did you know that the I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray has zero calories and fat ONLY IF YOU USE 1.25 sprays. WHAT!? Who does that? If you use any larger portion though.....you're screwed. And how exactly do you accomplish a .25 spray?One teaspoon bags 20 calories and 2 grams of fat. Most people never read that fine print. In fact, most folks I know claim to pour it on their rice, pasta, and bread because they truly believe it's a completely fat-free product. Who knows how many thousands of fat calories these poor people have been unknowingly consuming for years? Do you think it's fair and reasonable for them to advertise ZERO CALORIES on the front of the bottle?

When I lecture on fitness I always address this topic, and I can't tell you how many jaws come crashing to the ground when I drop this information bomb. First looks I get are of shock. Second looks I get are of pure anger. They feel cheated and they have every right to. Of course, it would be nice if they read the ingredient lists which lists OIL as it's number two ingredient. But I still feel bad for the consumer, because they are lead to believe the product is completely fat-free and can be used at leisure. Fortunately though, I've found an amazing substitution which is legitimately fat-free, low in calories and delicious. I even bake with it!

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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 two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz, Ack! Swimsuit season is just around the corner. I'm obviously not going to lose a bunch of weight or get buff in only a couple of months, but what are some simple things I can do to feel better about myself when I'm on the beach? Thanks, Meghan

A. No worries Meghan. There is a ton you can accomplish in a few months. In fact, if you get serious today...you'll see results in just a couple of weeks. I'm not sure how much weight you'd like to lose, but better is better and you can definitely feel better then than you do now. For one, up the ante on your fitness routine. Find a way to exercise most days of the week. When you do exercise, here are my rules of thumb. Huff & puff when doing cardio. Grunt while strength training. And wince.....juuuuuuuuust a little bit while stretching.

If you are compelled to huff, puff, grunt, and wince, you're definitely challenging yourself and making progress. Being challenged is vital to the progress of folks at all fitness levels. Of course, don't try a marathon tomorrow. The whole weekend warrior thing leads to pain and a feeling of failure. Just get up each day and go sweat. Show your body what it's capable of and it will start to change.

Start paying attention to what you eat too. Diets are stupid. They're temporary behavioral changes that only lead to temporary results. Just be particular about what you put in your mouth. Seek out highly nutritious, low calorie foods to enjoy. Not everyone is capable of looking like they belong on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition by this summer, but EVERYONE is capable of looking and feeling better! Good luck Meghan. See you at the beach.

Q. Hi Fitz, I would really like to hire a personal trainer to help me get over some obstacles in my weight loss and exercise programs but I don't want to get yelled at. Do all personal trainers get boot camp tough with their clients? LaShaun

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If you're trying to lose weight or significantly improve your fitness level, I have one simple rule for you. The stinkier you end up......the better! I see too many folks strolling along on the treadmill or coasting lamely on bikes. They look comfortable and comfort does not lead to improvement. You don't have to be a jock to do work hard, you just have to your personal best.

Next time you go for a workout, see how gross you can get. Challenge yourself! In order to improve you must look red-faced, nasty haired, flaunt all sorts of icky wet patches on your clothing and carry an odor nobody would care to be subjected to. If you've accomplished these things, you've probably done a lot of huffing and puffing and burned a zillion calories. Mmmmm. I love the stench of success!