When trying to lose weight, there are probably a few rules you follow, including lowering your intake of fats and sticking fast to your lower-calorie diet. But, maybe you shouldn't -- AOL Health took a look at some of the ideas behind Crack the Fat Loss Code by Wendy Chant, and some of the suggestions might surprise you.

• Pig out -- Not all the time, of course, but every 18 days -- this keeps your body from getting used to the same caloric intake, thereby increasing your metabolism.
• Forget fat-free -- Skip the skim and opt for low-fat (or -- gasp! -- even full fat) dressings and dairy products, and make sure you get omega 3 fatty acids like tuna and flaxseeds, and monosaturated fatty acids like you find in nuts and nut butters.
• Spice things up -- Adding just half a teaspoon of a spice, like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, or cayenne can boost your metabolism nearly 80%!
  
  

AOL Health has plenty more tips and tricks for cracking the fat loss code, and you can find them right here.

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It's easy to blame our diet and exercise woes on outside factors. We're too busy, too tired, too poor to afford a gym membership. There's a zillion excuses for explaining why we eat junk food, why we ditch our fitness routines, why we pack on the pounds. Most of them relate to our individual behavior. But environment plays a part too. In fact, your very own ZIP code may be at fault for that extra jiggle you're carrying around. Chris Sparling took this topic for a spin on Thursday. Here are some more details.

Zip code 98103 is one of Seattle's skinniest ZIP codes. Is it because the neighborhoods in this area have destination parks, crosswalks, corner grocers, and one of the densest concentrations of farmers markets in the city? Yep. These perks are exactly what makes this ZIP code so popular -- and what keeps its residents so fit and trim. In other areas, with a lack of access to fresh produce, health insurance, and nutritious and affordable groceries, obesity rates are higher. In ZIP code 98133, obesity rates are higher than 20 percent.

The strongest predictor of obesity rates isn't income or education, according to University of Washington researchers. It's property values. Each additional $100,000 in median home value for a ZIP code corresponded in one study with a drop in obesity of two percentage points.

What do you think? Is your ZIP code making you fat?

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It's something that's probably decades overdue, but doctors in England will soon have those neckties, wristwatches, long sleeves and even those long white coats banished from the workplace.

You see, all that garb can make deadly infections spread all over a hospital, since a normal doctor may visit several patients and other areas each day (or each hour). All those items are potential carriers of disease.

This move should be a requirement for any modern hospital, yes? It's odd to think that a doctor be outfitted like a clean-room computer technician, but that is exactly what is needed. Let's hope hospitals in the U.S. get with this soon.

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