That's Fit

Who says pregnant women can't enjoy a drink now and then? Well... doctors for one. And study, upon study, upon study supports that fact. Alcohol is a no-no while pregnant. Though I have heard some women say their doctors told them a few ounces of wine once or twice a week wouldn't hurt, if I were pregnant I wouldn't risk taking a drop of alcohol. But you can still enjoy a fancy mocktail at parties or while relaxing on your patio. Here are a few options:

• Post-Sex on the Beach. Orange juice, cranberry juice, peach nectar, and grenadine combine for a non-alcoholic version of an old favorite.
• Chunky Monkey. So maybe you won't catch Carrie Bradshaw drinking this one; it's so delish, who cares if it's trendy? Just blend a banana, low-fat milk, and some chocolate syrup.
  
• Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. A brandy-less version of a hot toddy, this drink combines warmed apple cider, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, imitation brandy extract, and brown sugar.
• Virgin Margarita. With this tasty blend of sour mix, lime juice, and orange juice, you won't even miss the tequila.
  
  

Even though these are alcohol free, you still want to enjoy in moderation because the calories can really add up.

Kim Cattrall, Hilary Swank, and Mariska Hargitay have something in common, and I'm not talking about their wildly successful careers or their overflowing bank accounts. It has to do with health, a drink, and the color green.

The "green drink" is their collective beverage of choice and here's what it's made from: Cucumber, celery, fennel, chard, kale, parsley, and apple. Full of antioxidants and only 50 calories for an eight-ounce glass, this energizer can be yours -- get the recipe for this fresh juice here.

So why the allegiance to this green concoction? Because all three women follow the nutritional wisdom of Oz Garcia, author of the new book Redesigning 50: The No-Plastic Surgery Guide to 21st-Century Age Defiance. Learn more about this nutritionist to the stars here -- and see if this guy has what it takes motivate you in healthy directions.

The recommended amount of calories for most adult men and women is somewhere around 2,000 per day (give or take, depending on factors such as weight, basal metabolic rate, activity level, etc.). Now, factor in the 458 calories the average American takes in a day from juice and soft drink consumption (source: Obesity), and it's clear that there isn't all too much room left for actual food.

Calories have to count. If getting 2,000 of them a day is the goal, wasting almost a quarter of them on sugary drinks -- many of which offer no nutritional value -- is truly doing your body a disservice. This is the same reason why I'm not much of a fan of those 100-calorie snacks, as I've written in the past. True, these so-called "healthy packs" contain far fewer calories than the more traditional size packages, but there's nothing healthy about empty calories.

If you're drinking almost 500 calories a day, in addition to popping one or two 100-calorie snack packs, a waistline expansion is likely in your future. The only way to prevent it would be to cut back on the actual real food you eat, which is probably the worst option. Rid your diet of the soda and snack packs instead. As for your real food consumption, if you stick to the suggested average of 2,000 calories a day, you should be just fine.

Trying to take off the pounds? I have a trick that's worked well for me and several of my friends: Drink up. I'm not talking about calorie-laden drinks like soda, cocktails or juices. Rather, you should fill up on healthy, low-calorie liquids. We're talking water, tea, vegetable juice, soup, even diet soda and juice from time to time.

You see, sometimes when we think we're hungry, we're mostly just thirsty, and having a tall glass of water can curb your hunger and keep you from binging on junk food. So try this: Next time you feel hungry and find yourself craving something unhealthy, either chug a low-calorie drink or have a small bowl of soup. Wait 20 minutes, and if you're still hungry, have something nutritious to eat.

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. Fitzy. I work out a few times a week and eat pretty well, but "six-pack" abs have always escaped me. I do plenty of crunches, but nothing seems to bring me even close to the abs I see on the cover of Men's Health magazine. What is the secret to it? Chase

A. Ahhhh Chase. The elusive six pack. Doesn't every body wish for that? Yes ... almost everybody does. Very few actually achieve it, though. This is the deal Chase, the "secret," if you will. If you want to look like an athlete, you're going to have to behave like an athlete. Train ridiculously hard and eat ridiculously well. Six-pack abs are a sign of elite fitness for sure, and you're probably not going to earn them working out a "few times a week and eating pretty well."

It's almost Cinco de Mayo, which is, unfortunately, one of my favorite holidays to celebrate because, even though it packs a lot of calories, I really love Mexican food. And, what good is an enchilada without a margarita?

In case your mouth is watering just thinking about a cold, delicious margarita (because, honestly, mine is watering just writing about it), I've pulled together some links that look like good options. They'll keep your calories lower than a regular margarita, but it's no free pass -- most of these still pack over 100 calories per serving. But, if you have a recipe you dig, share the love! And feliz Cinco de Mayo!

• Fitnessmagazine.com -- Frozen Lime Margarita
• Hungry-Girl.com -- Rockin' Razzy Rita, HG's Fruitylicious Margarita, and HG's Magical Low-Cal Margarita
• Ehow.com -- Delicious Low-Cal Margarita
• MargaritaTexas.com -- Low-Cal Margarita
• Suite101.com -- Low Calorie Agave Margarita

As your loving online fitness trainer, I'm constantly searching for fun new products to help you achieve ultimate fitness with the most ease and enjoyment. Thomas Kemper Low Calorie Root Beer, with only 20 calories per 12 ounce bottle, is one of those products. Look. We all know that plain old water is the best beverage in the world health wise. But...I'm a big fan of the no and low calorie drinks as well. I find that a diet soda satisfies my sweet tooth and keeps me from hunting down muffins throughout my day. It keeps me in the teeny jeans I like to wear as well.

Thomas Kemper did a great job creating the perfect low calorie version of their Original Root Beer. It tastes delicious and my die hard root beer loving neighbor guzzled it down to rave reviews, without even knowing it was a low calorie drink! He almost fell off of his chair when I told him it was a 'diet' drink. Having said that, I think his new addiction to Thomas Kemper Low Cal Root Beer is going to help him get rid of his 'regular beer belly'. Such an easy way to lose weight!

Not only is the Low Calorie Root Beer a yummy treat, the bottle will make you feel fancy. It's brown and beige with a cutie logo, and will make you feel like you're sitting on a farm with Wilford Brimley and Huck Finn. Not that those two characters were known to hang out together, but Thomas Kemper will make you feel like they did. It will make you feel like you're all three together on the farm throwing rocks....or something else sweet and old fashioned like that!

All drinks taste better when you make your own straws, say the folks at thinkgeek.com of their DIY Drinking Strawz. Intended for adults, I imagine, these straws -- you buy the parts, then put together at home -- made an appearance in the April issue of kids magazine Wonder time. No doubt, this contraption could be pretty cool for the little ones in your life.

Wonder time suggests you use the DIY Strawz for this refreshing watermelon drink. Feel free to substitute another fruit for the melon if you wish.

• Puree two cups diced watermelon and two cups water in blender
• Pour into pitcher
• Stir in another cup of water -- or more to best match your taste
  
• If not sweet enough for you, add 1/8 cup sugar
• Chill for one hour
• Pour over ice and serve

Women drinkers may have something to lament from now on, if they buy into this new research that is! According to psychiatrists, wine causes more damage to the brain in comparison to beer. The study shows that this affects the hippocampus area for women more predominantly than men.

Wine has been touted as a beneficial drink for health reasons, so this could be seen as a bummer for people (particularly women) who may often indulge with a glass. So how exactly does it hurt the brain anyway? Researchers were able to study the brain and assess the shrinkage that this type of alcohol helped contribute to.

The hippocampus was shown to be 10 percent smaller in those who drank wine than the drinkers who preferred spirits and beer. However, I think it's worth taking this study with a grain of salt because the way they got these results was by comparing diagnosed alcoholics to healthy brains. So in other words, this references alcohol dependence and not necessarily people who are moderate drinkers. That's not to say a smaller scale association can't be made, but it's not worth panicking over.

Lemon slices are often standard in some drinks at restaurants. And since lemons are a pretty healthy way to add some tang to your beverage, we don't think twice about this. But experts caution that we should think about what's in--or at least on--that lemon. Recent studies revealed that 77% of lemons were loaded with a number of alarming microrganisms, as well unwanted add-ons like ... ick ... fecal matter.

What do you think? Should we be worried about the lemons at restaurants, or is this another example of a minor issue blown out of proportion?

With spring break right around the corner, alcohol will flow like water on the beaches where so many young people will flock to like birds. Somewhere in the course of all that frivolity, binge drinking may occur. It's a topic that has been studied, researched and enjoyed by countless people. But what's the reasoning behind why people binge drink?

On some level, researchers have found that there's a self-fulfilling pattern to booze. For example, one study observed students who were given alcohol, and what they thought was alcohol. The latter was merely a super chilled drink made to resemble icy vodka. But the results showed that people who thought they were getting drunk (who weren't) still acted the same way!

Whether it was aggression or affection, the expectations behind the alcohol fulfilled almost the same results as the people who were actually getting tipsy. But this binge drinking behavior could be rooted in some people's need to take a mental vacation. For others, it could be a reason to act out of character. It's one of those questions that may never fully be answered.

I tend to think that moderation is the best way to go when it comes to most things, including alcohol consumption. However, I'd be a liar if I said I always followed my own rule. We all overindulge from time to time -- sometimes it can be easy to get carried away when you're having a good time. Despite the resulting hangovers, life goes on and we all have to pay for our overindulging.

If you find yourself in a situation where you've woken up with a raging headache, nausea, red eyes (etc) and don't have the luxury of laying around all day recovering in front of the TV, here are some tips from AOL's All About You on how to look good if you're hungover but still have to go about your daily life.

Does two and a half bottles of wine sound like a lot to you? It does seem a bit high, but apparently, that's the amount you should be drinking each week in order to protect your heart, according to recent studies. Drinking two glasses of wine a day can help ward off heart attacks and, more surprisingly, will help make your heart healthier than those who don't drink at all.

But keep in mind, that's two and a half bottles per person, per week, so drinking that on Saturday night and teetotalling for the rest of the week is not a good idea, and won't do your heart any good.

With yesterday's game coming down to the wire the way it did, there were very few people who left their respective Super Bowl party early. There have been plenty of Super Bowls that turned out to be completely one-sided blow-outs; making a third quarter or early fourth quarter departure from a party perfectly okay. Not yesterday, though. That game literally came down to the last play, so leaving early was not an option. For some, this also meant that there was at least one more full quarter of boozing, and today you may be feeling the effects.

Chances are, you've heard your fair share of hangover cures over the years. In fact, you've probably heard plenty of drinking tales, too. But, the truth is that most of them are nothing more than myths. If last night's Super Bowl party is causing your head to feel like its being sacked by Michael Strahan, don't listen to people who tell you to drink a mimosa or try any other misguided method. Just the same, don't believe all those tired "liquor before beer" sayings, either.

Here is a WebMD list of popular drinking myths, many of which you've possibly already had suggested to you this morning by co-workers:

Myth #1 - A MORNING MIMOSA EASES A HANGOVER

Myth #2 - POPPING ACETAMINOPHEN BEFORE YOU GO TO BED MAKES MORNING EASIER

Myth #3 - DRINKS WITH FEWER CALORIES ARE ALWAYS A HEALTHIER CHOICE

Myth #4 - EATING BEFORE BED WILL ABSORB THE ALCOHOL AND MUTE A HANGOVER

Myth #5 - WINE IS BETTER FOR YOU THAN BEER

Myth #6 - DRINKING THROUGH A STRAW GETS YOU TRASHED FASTER

Myth #7 - IF YOU WEIGH THE SAME AS YOUR BROTHER, YOU CAN MATCH HIM DRINK FOR DRINK

Myth #8 - IF THE DRINKS ARE FREE, THE CALORIES DON'T COUNT

Myth #9 - BEER BEFORE LIQUOR, NEVER SICKER

Remember when everyone thought that fruit smoothies were healthy? To be fair, it's not that they were unhealthy (they did have real fruit in them, which is a good start), they just weren't as healthy as people tended to believe. The reason why was the extremely high number of calories and carbohydrates they contained.

So, smoothies became a little less popular -- replaced, by some, by trendy coffee drinks from Starbucks and Seattle's Best. Buuuuut....people soon realized that those drinks had just as much sugar and calories as the smoothies, not to mention a whole lot more fat, too. From there, it seemed like everyone just decided to stick to bottled water. Like comedian George Carlin aptly pointed out in one of his bits, it was like all of a sudden everyone became thirsty. As popular as water was and still is, it seems to have gotten a little boring. This brought on the flavored waters like Propel and Vitamin Water. The tricky part here is that these flavored water have sugar in them, as well as some calories (though not nearly as many as smoothies and fattening coffee drinks). Oh yeah, and then the New York Times did a piece on Aquafina and Dasani a while back, pointing out that their bottled waters are nothing more than purified tap water. The drink craze continues; the search for something tasty, refreshing, and healthy -- a troika of unreasonable qualities?

Well, not necessarily. While bottled water is still the best health and refreshment option (regardless of whether it is purified tap water or actually from a spring, like Evian and Poland Spring), you still kind of miss out in the taste department. So, to help you along, here's a look at how three relatively healthy, refreshing and tasty drinks stack up.