That's Fit

Do you think a majority of sports drinks are marketed to men? One group thinks so, mainly because women allegedly don't vibe with the (sometimes) high caloric intake. After all, a good serving of Powerade can weigh in at a hundred calories or more depending on how thirsty you are when working out.

For this reason, lighter alternatives are starting to gain traction among female gym enthusiasts. A nutritionist and triathlete reviewed four of these for the NY Times to get a good idea of what is available to women in the sports drink market. With a touch of flavor and ample hydration properties, one of these products could be what you're looking for.

The cheapest option she reviewed also had the weirdest name. It's called Nuun, and it costs about $9 for 16 tablets. Simply drop one of these in your water bottle to get a boost of folic acid, vitamin B2 and magnesium. Any Crystal Light fans out there? Their hydration packets come in 1-ounce servings and contain only ten calories. With no sugar people can mix this into their water for moderate electrolyte replacement. I'm sure there are other light sports drinks out there that appeal to men and women alike -- you may even have a unique preference of your own!

Vitamin water, Propel, Kellogs K20 -- these are all examples of water with a touch of "enhancement." They're popular too, because sales of designer water have boosted beverage companies' revenue over the billion dollar mark. But an interesting question is being posed: Are these bottles of H20 worth the cost, and the extra calories?

Sure, it's better than downing a can of soda. But big businesses have found out how to make normal water look even more appealing. The result is a bottle of water which they claim is healthier than its bland alternative. However, don't be fooled: some of these "vitamin waters" are packing additives that aren't even water-soluble.

So basically consumers are getting a bunch of sugar water for the $3 price tag. If you're an athlete, this can be well worth the cost. But for everyone else just trying to get their H20 for the day, you might be drinking down extra calories without even being fully aware. Sobe Life Water, for example, weighs in at 150 calories per bottle! This may not be an issue for some people, but others may want to pay more attention to the nutrition facts next time.

Warning: Be careful the next time you go you to eat. The "Sullivan Nod" may cost you a few extra bucks and a few extra pounds.

The Sullivan nod, developed by restaurant consultant Jim Sullivan, is a sales technique used to create a subconscious suggestion to a customer to purchase one of a list of items. Picture this: Your server approaches your table, welcomes you to the restaurant, and then recites a list of specials. At some point during the rundown, your server nods by about 10 to 15 degrees. This happens just when he or she wants you to choose a particular item. Perhaps the nod arrives at the very mention of an expensive cocktail or a slab of cake dripping in chocolate fudge. It won't be an overly obvious nod -- the server doesn't want to distract you -- but it will be subtle and of course, suggestive.

Beware: The nod, best implemented with lists of five or more items, is effective 60 to 70 percent of the time.

If you are an average exerciser, working out about an hour a day, you'd be wise to steer clear of high protein energy drinks or drinks made with whey protein. Fitness experts warn that most of us mere mortals don't require specialized drinks, especially if we're trying to lose weight.

"Your present diet should provide enough carbohydrates and protein for the exercise you are doing and should not have to rely on additional sports bars or drinks," says Kendra Evans, registered dietitian and fitness instructor with the Greenbush (N.Y.) Area YMCA.

It's no surprise people get confused about how to prepare for workouts with all the conflicting information circulating about. But the bottom line is this: The average person does not need the same refueling as those engaged in endurance or heavy-duty weight training. What they need to do is this: Hydrate with water at least an hour before a workout and eat three small 100-calorie snacks throughout the day. Ideas: An orange or low-fat cottage cheese.

For many people who are following a low-carb diet, special events can mean diet disaster. Luckily, Fitsugar recently posted the carb counts of some favourite drinks, and just in time for New Year's Eve too! Here's the breakdown:

Low-carb drinks:

• Champage: 1.2 g
• White Wine: 4.5 g
• Red Wine: 4.4 g
• Long Island Iced Tea: 5.3 g

High-carb drinks:

• White Russian: 35 g
• Mai Tai: 17 g
• Cosmopolitan: 13 g
  
• Beer: Usually between 10 and 30 g, but it depends on the type.
  

Want to know more? Click here.

If weight loss is topping your New Year's resolution list but you plan to ring in 2008 with a few drinks, here are a few weight-sparing swaps to help you navigate the calorie-laden waters you are about to drink.

• Instead of ordering a Cosmo, have an Apple Martini. You'll save 91 calories.

• Don't knock back a White Russian. Enjoy a Mudslide, and you'll be 154 calories richer.
  
  

• Long Island Iced Tea? Nope. Get the Tequila Sunrise and save 114 calories.
  
  

• Nix the Margarita, and embrace the Mojito -- there's 206 calories in it for you.
  
  

• Dump Tom Collins and pick up a Gin and Tonic. Savings: 105 calories.
  
  

If you're really trying to save calories, you might want to forgo the alcoholic drinks altogether. But if you wish to enjoy the season with a cocktail or two, consider these drink switch-ups a healthy trade as you kick off your weighty resolutions.

People drink more hard liquor during the month of December than any other month of the year -- that's amazing! I don't know if it's the festivities, the family and friends, or the stress, but all those extra drinks are not only relaxing and fun but they're fattening too.

Also during this time of year people tend to pass on beer and wine and go instead for fancy mixed drinks, which in addition to having more calories the alcohol can lower our inhibitions and lead to more eating and snacking. Your best bet is to pass on those fancy mixes and stick with wine or beer instead, but if you must indulge then you might as well know which ones are the worst.

Which holiday cocktails are the most fattening? Click on the images below to find out:

Ok, so this holiday season, Egg Nog is out -- it's really high in sugar and saturated fat and relatively low in, well, any sort of nutritional value. Ok, so what can we drink this holiday season to feel festive? AOL Body has done up a handy list of naughty and nice Christmas drinks:

Here's what you should drink more of:

• Champagne
• Wine spritzers
• Red wine
• Beer
• Vodka or beer with Soda
• Mulled wine
  

Here's what to avoid:

• Hot toddies
• Fruity martinis
• Fancy drinks like pina coladas, daiquiris and so on.
  

Want to know why? Click here.

If you were to find out how many calories was in that alcoholic beverage, would you be apt to drink less than you currently do? If you're into dieting and watching your caloric intake, probably yes.

The labeling of sugar, calories and preservatives is absent in beer and wines here in the U.S. If many of us were to know what we were drinking, we'd probably cut back a bit. That is, if we were concerned about weight gain.

In an April 2007 survey, 75 percent of respondents said that they wanted to see both ingredients and nutritional information displayed on alcoholic beverage packaging. Would you?

A recent study in Chicago found that an alarming number of restaurants, more than 1 out of every 5, has more bacteria and fecal matter in their ice cubes than in a random testing of toilet water.

Seriously? I don't even know what to say! But I do feel a little sick.

Apparently the bacteria found wasn't the kind that's necessarily dangerous to the average person, although the potential for illness is definitely there for the very old, the very young, and people with compromised immune systems. But still! How can that be okay with health inspection agencies?

Via Gadling

I think this logic applies to adults and kids alike but the blurb I just read in the November issue of Family Circle puts the kid spin on diet foods and drinks. And this is what it says: Diet foods and drinks may actually lead to obesity.

Research suggests that kids who eat low-calorie versions of foods may develop distorted connections between taste and nutritional content. If they never really experience the good stuff, they are more likely to overindulge when they do get a taste of it. So it's best to skip the diet goods and instead teach kids to eat all foods in moderation. Like the kid who never gets to watch TV and then arrives in front of a television set and can't break away, kids who are restricted from regular foods may one day go way overboard.

This makes sense to me -- that's why I think we adults can also benefit from this little diet lesson.

For more on this topic, take a look at this article.

My husband told me about this ground-breaking news flash today at lunch, and I suspect that the little blurb he first heard on talk radio is going to soon infiltrate the media. It's that big. Here's what he heard: Excess body fat almost certainly causes cancer.

The evidence is stronger now than ever before and is detailed in a landmark report issued today by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). Evidence linking cancer with consumption of alcohol, red meat, and processed meat is also pretty darn convincing.

The report, available here, has been five years in the making and consists of data pulled together from nine independent teams of scientists from around the world and 21 international experts who analyzed more than 7,000 large-scale studies.

If you were unsure about the connection between cancer and diet before today, consider this: Body fat is convincingly linked to six different cancers -- colon, kidney, pancreas, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and endometrium, and post-menopausal breast cancer. And this is just one striking point made in the 517-page report. There are 10 other issues outlined, which have led to these ten recommendations:

If you're a woman and you drink about three times per day, you may be increasing your breast cancer risk, according to research out of the U.S. this week.

In fact, the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes is what three drinks per day will get you in terms of breast cancer risk. That ought to rattle some chains if you're a female drinker who does not smoke.

The new pieces of information with this study looked at the alcohol itself and the amount consumed when related to breast cancer risks, instead of the specific type of drink.

I recently saw this article from eDiets on the best alternatives to soda. Their choices? Vegetable juice, fruit juice, teas and coffees, enhanced waters and spring waters. These are all great choices, but if I was a soda addict, I don't know that they'd cut the mustard. So I decided to come up with my own list of my favourite soda alternatives:

1. Club Soda and Cranberry Juice. I drink this pretty much every day. It's basically just half club soda and half low-cal cranberry juice. It's refreshing, fizzy and very low in calories.
   
2. Italian Sodas: Italian sodas are kind of like the previous drink, but with flavoured syrup. I buy low-sugar vanilla-flavoured syrup, add some club soda or carbonated water, stir and enjoy! And the Olive Garden has delicious Italian sodas if you're out for a meal.
   
3. Homemade Lemonade: I make my lemonade the old-fashioned way -- with lemons and Splenda. It's quite a treat!
4. Homemade Iced Tea: Here's how you do it -- take your favourite flavour of tea, brew it with boiling water in a jug, ad some ice and and a squeeze of lemon, and let it cool in the fridge for a while. You can also add Splenda if you like it sweet, but I like mine au naturel. My favourite tea flavours to use are peppermint and Rooibos.
   
5. Chocolate milk: If I am really craving something chocolaty, I'll have a half-glass of chocolate soy milk. Or I'll use skim milk with some reduced-sugar nestle quick. It leaves me feeling quite full and satisfied!

Of course, I'm also a water fiend--I drink at least 64oz a day--so enjoy these but please make sure you're getting you share of good ole' water too.

For me, fast-food is a turn-off. And I fear the day I have no other option than to end up in line at McDonald's. What ever will I do when faced with the unhealthy options available at such as establishment? Have no fear, says one Kansas dietitian, who reports there are tactics for surviving my worst fear. Here are a few:

• Go plain. The plainer the food, the healthier it is. A plain hamburger at McDonald's has nine grams of fat; a double cheeseburger has 23.

• Choose mustard and ketchup. Say "no thanks" to mayo and special sauces and you'll save 10 to 17 grams of fat.