While Laila Ali has certainly been in the public eye through her boxing, appearance on Dancing With the Stars, and her job hosting American Gladiators, she's not under quite the same pressure as some Hollywood starlets to stay thin throughout her pregnancy. However, in an interview with Pregnancy, Laila spills about her stresses, and I think many of us can easily relate.

"I always thought I was going to gain a lot of weight because I'm a big girl naturally," said Laila, who, at 5'11' normally weighs in at around 175. "I thought, 'Oh God, I'm going to be like 250 lbs. and huge.' I know a lot of women have that fear. But, because I'm already a big girl, I was just imagining myself to be giant."

Her concern doesn't really stem from vanity -- she's mainly worried about having a big baby. She has a big sweet tooth, and she's working hard to control it, especially now that she's in her third trimester. She continues to hit the gym four days a week for cardio on the elliptical and light upper body weights, and it sounds like she's appreciating her body through her pregnancy. I bet she'll follow a sensible plan after the baby to get back to her fighting weight!

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I was roaming around Central Park this week while working in New York City , and came across the nicest yet strangest thing. This man, pictured at right, was ambitiously pursuing a workout in the park. That's the nice part.

The weird part is two-fold. First oddity, he was only wearing his boxer shorts. I suppose that is better than frolicking around in a pair of bikini briefs, but still ... it looked a bit silly to me. The second bit of strangeness was his routine. Of course I'm always telling you guys and gals to 'just move', but this dude took that movement to another level.

He flailed his arms around, tip toe jogged in circles, and frequently practiced handstands (at right) against this tree. I both admired his ambitiousness and marveled at his lack of concern for what others thought. I also giggled a lot too.

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"Pretty Boy Floyd" is not known for mincing words or sugar-coating anything. In fact this elite fighter who has won six world championship belts in five weight classes and has gone undefeated as a professional says it straight. He describes himself as the "greatest athlete ever," and honestly ... has done a lot to back that up.

He's featured in the book, Men's Health Celebrity Diet Secrets 2008, and I think one of his quotes is both poignant and hysterical. I encourage you not to read any further if you're easily offended though. He wasn't vulgar, but his thoughts on maintaining flat abs isn't for children either.

Before I go there, I just want you to know that Floyd not only walks the walk, but he has made it possible for his team (those who bust their butt to keep in at the top of his game) to get and stay fit as well. He's purchased memberships to 24-Hour Fitness for all of his employees. "I want to keep everyone around me healthy and in shape," he says.

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Choosing the right sneaker is one of the most important components of surviving a great workout without any injuries. Just as a mouthpiece is vital to a boxer, proper footwear is important to you. I've seen folks running in basketball shoes and doing dance aerobics in running shoes. Both cases are an injury waiting to happen.

Nowadays, we walk into a shoe store and see a zillion different shoe types: runners, cross trainers, cleats, high tops, low tops, all terrain, etc. Why so many? We didn't used to have so many options. Sneakers were sneakers and that was that. Well, research and technology is your answer. Now that we know better, we do better. Each shoe is now specifically designed to provide support in places where certain activities cause the most shock. I'm listing a few examples, and before you read the supporting text. Think about what each athlete's feet and ankles endure.

Runners. Every time a runner takes a step, three times his/her body weight is impacting down on each foot. That is why there are often gigantic air pockets on the bottom of each shoe. Running shoes are created so that both your heel and forefoot are extremely supported with padding. The bottom tread is rough to grab the road and help prevent slipping. This shoe is light so the weight of each shoe doesn't hinder the users performance. Runners are normally only moving forward, so lateral ankle support of a high top is unnecessary.

We have two kinds of dogs in our household. Those that love to ride in the car and those that hate to ride in the car and get sick. Our Dalmatian, Kiva, loves to ride in the car more than she loves to eat steak and will literally howl at the kitchen window if she sees me drive off without her. But our boxer/bulldog mix, Joey, lays in the back of the station wagon and gets sick just about every time he is taken for a ride or has to go with us on a trip. We often gave him small doses of Dramamine and didn't feed him before we had to put him in the car to go on trips.

Now there is hope for many pets that experience motion sickness and vomiting while riding in a car. The FDA, Food and Drug Administration, said the drug, Cerenia, is the first to prevent and treat vomiting in dogs. When used in tablet form, the drug can prevent vomiting associated with motion sickness. The drug also can prevent and treat acute vomiting due to chemotherapy, parvovirus, kidney disease, pancreatitis and other causes. This is great news for Joey.

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