To me, nothing says spring quite like long leisurely lunches with friends on warm afternoons. And nothing says lunch quite like a sandwich. Opting for a fresh sandwich loaded with veggies and topped off with whole grain bread over something laden with fat and calories, like a burger, seems like the healthy way to go. And I always give myself bonus points for ordering a salad on the side instead of the standard fries.

But are sandwiches always the healthier option? Take one of my favorite -- the club -- and tell me.

How's this for alarming stats -- an astounding 80 percent of us are eating more than the recommended daily intake (RDI) of saturated fats every day. That's pretty shocking -- I expected the number to be high but not that high. Considering February is heart health month, I think it's time to face the facts about our saturated fat intake. For the record, the RDI of sat-fat is 20 g per day. Keeping that in mind, consider this:

• One croissant has 20 g of saturated fat
• Eight ounces of cashew nuts has 30 g. So does one-third of a roast chicken.
• If a food has 5 g of sat-fat in a serving, avoid it.
  
• Soft cheese has less sat-fat than hard cheese.
  

Want to know the sat-fat content of some of your favourite foods? Here's a pretty thorough list, and click here for more facts and myths on sat-fat.

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I've been in Europe for the last month or so, and one thing that I've been adjusting to is the European eating habits. It sounds cliche, but wine and cheese is definitely pretty big over here -- luckily for me, these are two of my favourite things in the whole wide world. Then again, given the slight 'shrinkage' on my favourite jeans, maybe this is an unlucky coincidence.

So I ask you: Is a plate of cheese and fruit accompanied by some delicious vino really that bad for you? What do you think?

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When I was cleaning up my diet more than a year ago, I bid a fond farewell to cheese. It wasn't exactly my favorite food or anything, but I was no stranger to it either. I ate it on pizza, tacos and crackers, and I liked it. It was an easy cut from my diet, though, and I'm pretty sure I lost a few pounds when I nixed it.

Cheese has slowly crept back into my diet in small amounts, which is a good thing. Well, Reader's Digest says it's good, anyway, and reports that eating cheese can be heart healthy. Women in one study who ate a serving a day (think the size of about four dice) had higher good HDL cholesterol and lower bad LDL cholesterol than those who ate less. Men didn't enjoy the same benefits -- sorry, guys -- because they tend to pick cheeses higher in salt and saturated fat.

If you're a fan of cheese, by all means, have some. Just have it like this:

• Pick part-skim. Less saturated fat but just as much taste. Still bunches of calcium and essential fatty acids too.
• Skip fat-free. Too much sodium to cover for lost flavor, and the texture can be rubbery.
• Get gourmet. High in fat but rich in taste so you won't eat too much.

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If you resolved to eat better/lose weight/count calories this year, I'm going to bet that, by now, you're figuring out which foods are really challenging for you. I can tell you what my weakness is -- cheese. I love it, and I maintain that it's not a bad thing -- it's a good source of dairy and protein. But, it also has a good bit of fat, and once I start slicing it up to put on (low-fat) crackers, I lose all conception of a serving and just keep cutting.

I know the best idea might be to just not have it in the house, but I also know that if I don't get my cheese fix, I'll want it even more and have a hard time not eating a lot when I finally get the chance. So, I bought a package of the 50% Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar by Cabot today and had a pleasant surprise -- serving sizes are printed on the packaging, like on a stick of butter, so it was easy for me to slice off a single serving, which I then shared (somewhat unhappily).

I know not everyone approves of low-fat cheeses -- personally, I prefer regular, but I don't mind it. Anyway, I checked the Cabot website, and it looks like a lot of their cheeses have the serving sizes printed on the package regardless of whether they're low-fat or not. No excuses for overindulging on the delicious, delicious dairy goodness now!

For more tips on losing weight, be sure to check out America Takes It Off -- just click on the badge below!

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

The Hills season finale on December 22 is quickly approaching on MTV, and I was able to catch up with reality star Lo Bosworth for a quick interview. To find out how she stays in shape and what her "realities" are while starring on this hit show, read on.

Fitz: How'd you end up on The Hills? What goes in to that?

Lo: Well, I started out on Laguna Beach back in high school. Then I went away to college. I was at UCSB and I transferred to UCLA my junior year. That was when Lauren and I were able to spend more time together. So I started going out a little bit and sometimes they would be filming. And then at some point, the producers just asked me to re-join the show.

Fitz: You're on a reality show but not necessarily a "performer" in Hollywood. You're supposed to be "real," but do you feel tons of pressure to be thin, beautiful and well dressed all the time?

Will Lo launch her own fashion line? Read on!

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One FitSugar writer admits in this post that cheese is an absolute favorite. It adds flavor, protein, calcium, and cheesy goodness to just about any dish. It just makes everything better, says this writer, who buys bags of shredded cheese to sprinkle on salads, soups, sandwiches, pasta, and omelets. Yummy.

But for the diet-focused folks of the world, is adding a pinch of cheese to most meals a nutritional move or an unhealthy one? Check out this FitSugar chart and find out how those make-life-easier bags of cheese stack up. Said writer shares the lowdown on more than 20 brands. Comparing them might just make your next trip to the market a healthier one.

Wondering whether to buy Kraft Sharp Cheddar or Kraft Organic Mozzarella? Do your research here and see if your decision gets any easier.

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For some people, the word salad equals healthy. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Take Wendy's Southwest Taco Salad for example -- it has 640 calories and 39 grams of fat. Or McDonald's Premium Southwest Chicken Salad, which has 430 calories and 20 grams of fat, and that's before you pour on the dressing.

But salad slip-ups aren't limited to fast food or other restaurants. People make plenty of not-so-healthy choices when it comes to the salads they make themselves. Divine Caroline shares 10 common salad saboteurs to watch out for:

• Bad choices. Skip the creamy pasta salads, gelatins, and other choices on the salad bar. Instead, load up with tons of veggies.
  
• Choosing lesser greens. Avoid the iceberg! It has little nutritional value, so opt for spinach, spring greens, or other dark greens.

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Food has a very definite connection with our emotions -- it can take us back in time and privide us with the comfort of familiarity when we need it. Chances are, we all have one dish or another that qualifies as comfort food -- what's yours?

eDiets recently revealed what they think are the top 10 comfort foods:

1. Macaroni and Cheese
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Ice Cream
4. Pizza
5. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
6. Tomato Soup
7. Popcorn (probably with lots of extra butter!)
8. Chocolate Shakes
9. Pancakes
10. Homemade Soups and Stews

Most of these will not only provide momentary comfort, they'll pad your waistline too. My advice? Avoid everything except tomato soup and find comfort in a good book and a steaming cup of herbal tea.

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One of my favourite things to do on a lazy Sunday morning is head out for brunch with my friends. The way I see it, it's the perfect way to start a day because not only do I get the company of my closest pals, I get to eat a yummy, reasonably-priced meal without having to worry about cleaning up the kitchen afterwards.

But although brunch at a restaurant is oh-so-convenient, it's also important to most of us to have healthy options available, options that won't mean having to starve ourselves for the rest of the week to break even on the caloric intake.

What's a healthy brunch option? Pancakes and waffles are questionable -- too much sugar in the syrup and whipped cream. Eggs Benedict is far too rich, and bacon is far too fatty. Cottage cheese, fruit and/or oatmeal is a good choice but not satisfying enough, especially when everyone else at the table is having a feast. What about ... an Omelet?

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I'm so excited to share with you the recipe for my Protein Power Potato. It's something I've been eating several times a week, and it really has served me well. I insist that my food be: low cal, low fat, high fiber, often high in protein and overall nutritious. This Protein Power Potato fills me up, and gives me the energy to get through tough workouts or wild days with my kids. (It keeps me really trim too.)

I've included an option for making this a vegetarian or carnivorous option as well. Since I understand food, and know what I want out of it ... sometimes I just look in my fridge and concoct something that's going to give me what I need. That's how we got this meal. Did I mention this thing is delicious too? Mmmmm. I could eat it every day!

To give it a try, visit the Recipe section available at Fitzness.com, page 42.

When you think of cheese, do you you think happy thoughts? A strange question, I know, but I promise that the apparent oddness of my question will fade after hearing why I asked it.

Here's why: the Journal of Food Science reports that phenylethylamine (PEA) -- a chemical found in cheese (that also happens to be related to amphetamines) -- causes the release of mood-enhancing hormones.

While chocolate has long been considered to be among the top "happy foods," cheese, especially cheddar, contains ten times more PEA, according to a report from the British Cheese Board. What's more, cheese is also purported to help reduce pain and beat stress and anxiety by increasing the release of endorphins.

Hopefully my question doesn't seem so strange anymore.

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The latest trend in food manufacturing seems to be adding active cultures to dairy foods like yogurt and cheese. You know how it is... you see a celebrity touting "bifidus regularus" in a certain yogurt, and though you've never, ever heard of bifidus regu-what-is, all of a sudden you've got to have it.

So what exactly are active cultures and do they really help? AOL Body clears up the confusion about cultures.

Micro flora that live in our digestive tract are essential for immunity and proper digestion. Yogurt, cheese, and fermented dairy products contain probiotics -- forms of this beneficial bacteria. Many new products are showing up on grocery store shelves claiming their probiotic content. Like most marketable items, the food industry has its trends and this is a current trend. To make sure the product you're considering purchasing actually has additional probiotics, check the label for the probiotic strains and the amounts.

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If you're trying to lose weight, you'll have to fill up on salads and veggies. But salads can get boring -- fast! And when you get bored with your meals, that's when you reach for the junk food.

Which is why we need to keep our healthy foods fresh and interesting -- Fitsugar calls it 'Pimping your greens.' Here are some of my favourite ways to spice up my salads -- feel free to share some of your own in the comments.

• Try different dressings, but make sure to check the label before buying because certain dressings (like the creamy ones) can be loaded with fat and calories. Better yet -- try making your own!
  
• Add some nuts and seeds. They'll add protein and flavour to your greens.
• Think outside the veggies. Slices of fresh fruit can add a lot of flavour to your salad -- strawberries, grapes and mango are my favourites.
  
• Cheese, please. I love cheese and if adding it to my salad means I look forward to chowing down on my greens, so be it.
  
• Get inspired. I sometimes spend my lunch hours perusing the internet for interesting salad recipes -- I rarely follow a recipe by the book but it's great for ideas and inspiration.

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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