I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think 100-calorie packs are a completely ridiculous concept. Why? Well, I'm not against the easy calorie control. However, I think that some people get lured by the siren's song of "100 calories" and start to think they're eating healthfully. Sorry, but junk food is junk food. It reminds me of the low-fat craze in the early 90s; my college friends and I used to by Entenmann's fat-free pastries and we seriously thought -- because they were fat free -- they wouldn't contribute to weight gain. Yeah. I left college about 35 pounds heavier than when I started.

Oreo Cakesters has a commercial which is just so wrong. I thought I was being overly critical about it, until I found another health blogger who feels the same way. Watch the video and you'll see women chasing down a Cakesters delivery van. Notice there's not a heavy woman among them. Notice there's not a man among them. Notice how they're all completely maniacal and crazed over these 100-calorie packs. Okay, okay ... I get that it's supposed to be a joke. But there's a kernel of truth to most jokes, and people have gone a little nutty over 100-calorie packs.

What do you think about the commercial? Do you find it borderline offensive like I do? Or do you think it's funny?

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Baking up goodies for parties, gifts and Santa is a terrific part of this festive holiday season -- even for me, your loving fitness trainer. Baking doesn't have to be bad for your body though, nor does it have to contribute to that traditional December weight gain.

If I weren't a fitness professional, I'd be a baker. It's fun and allows me the ability to be creative while making people happy. I love making people happy. I don't, however, enjoy putting fat on my hips or the hips of others. This has lead me to be really creative.

I've got a few suggestions for you to follow and a link here to my favorite baked treats in my online recipe book at Fitzness.com.

• Substitute eggs for an egg substitute like Egg Beaters.
• Substitute butter/oil for a sugar free syrup like the ones sold a DaVinci Gourmet. (Use equal amounts as the ones given for the oil/butter.)

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Susan Sarandon is a fantastic actor, a terrific mom and an all-around good role model for young Hollywood starlets. And, at 62, she look phenomenal, don't you think? People magazine recently talked to the iconic actress about her eating habits, and it turns out she has one that few other stars would admit to indulging in: Cookies.

When she's craving something sweet, Sarandon reportedly munches on a few of her favourite banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, made for her by natural foods chef and star of The Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel. But seeing as they're full of healthy ingredients like vegan dark chocolate, whole oats and walnuts, she shouldn't feel too guilty.

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My sisters, mother, and I used to have a cookie exchange every year. It was a lot of fun, but we'd all go home with ridiculous amounts of cookies. It's nice to have some -- after all, a carrot stick doesn't exactly scream holiday spirit -- but too many is just too many. We ended up canceling the tradition altogether and now we just get together for a fun girls' night.

If you're planning on baking some of your family's favorite holiday cookies this year, here are some tips for enjoying without going overboard:

• Cut your recipes in half. Fewer cookies means fewer pounds on the scale. And only make your very favorites -- nobody needs 10 different kinds of cookies.
  
• Know the difference between holiDAYS and holiMONTHS -- Fitz tells you how.
• Don't leave cookies out on a tray for everyday noshing. Only set them out on the special holidays.
  

A girl after my own heart, Cat Lincoln over at Holidash writes about the value of burning scented calories to satisfy that craving for something sweet. It's what I've been doing for a long time, and it serves me well.

With cookie-filled holidays right around the corner and the possibility of a few extra pounds lingering close behind, candles might be the secret to staying slim. My recommendation: Yankee Candle's Christmas Cookie fragrance. It will fill your house with scrumptious scents, convince your guests you've been baking for hours, and allow you to fit into that perfect little party dress. You've got to be able to hack the temptation, though. Think you can do it?

If you're not all that keen on the aroma of baking cookies, check out the gallery below for some other sweet scents.

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Today I had more than bills in my mailbox. When I opened it up, there was a little treat waiting for me. A free cookie, courtesy of Kashi. I love Kashi cereals, so when I saw a commercial for free samples of their cookies, I thought I would give it a try. The sample was an Oatmeal Dark Chocolate cookie, and it was totally yummy.

More importantly, it's packed with nutrition. The main ingredient is a blend of seven whole grains (hard red winter wheat, oats, rye, triticale, barley, long grain brown rice, and buckwheat). It also has sesame seeds and, of course, tasty dark chocolate. Even though it's all natural and contains lots of good ingredients, it is still a cookie -- it has 130 calories and five grams of fat (1.5 is saturated). It also has eight grams of sugar, but thankfully none of it is from high-fructose corn syrup. Honey and and brown rice syrup are used for sweeteners.

The cookies are also available in Happy Trail Mix (cranberry, raisin, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and shredded coconut) and Oatmeal Raisin Flax flavors. Go ahead. Steal a cookie from the cookie jar and see what you think.

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As I sit here typing this, my three-year-old -- according to her anyway -- desperately needs a cookie. The trouble is, it's only 8:44 A.M. and she just had breakfast. It's not easy being being the one who has to enforce healthy habits, because I'm sure things would be a lot more pleasant around here if I'd just give her the cookie. But teaching kids good healthy habits are part of being a parent.

Denying a poor little child an A.M. cookie and giving her some fruit instead isn't really all that tough. But when kids get older, we not only give up some of our influence over them to friends, teachers, and TV commercials, we also aren't with them every minute of the day.

I like the idea of "family health rules." Just as kids know that they need to look both ways before they cross the street, they should also be taught about the importance of healthy lifestyle habits. FamilyDoctor.org has some great suggestions for laying the groundwork for family health rules. Teaching healthy habits is a lot easier when kids learn them from the get-go (like no cookies for breakfast), but even if you're just now making lifestyle changes for yourself and your older children, it's not too late to teach them healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

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If you're craving something festively sweet this holiday season, reach for a gingerbread cookie. It's sure to hit the spot -- with it's mere 180 calories -- and it just might fight cancer at the same time.

Two recent studies indicate that the compounds in ground ginger -- the kind used in most gingerbread recipes -- help battle breast cancer. Another study finds ground ginger causes ovarian cancer cells to attack themselves and die. It's not yet clear how much ginger is necessary to combat these diseases, but using ginger in everyday dishes is a good start.

If your mouth is watering for a little gingerbread, check out this cookie recipe.

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Let's say it's your lunch break and you've convinced yourself to eat one of the low-fat subs at Subway, rather than one of those other, less healthy fast food choices. You're feeling pretty good about your decision, so it's tempting to treat yourself to one of their famous fresh-baked cookies for dessert. Personally, I'm crazy for the white chocolate macadamia nut ones. But will that one cookie ruin your entire healthy meal choice?

How many calories are in a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie from Subway?

a) 73
b) 120
c) 188
d) 220

Continue reading How many calories... in a Subway cookie?