Looking for an inexpensive and effective way to get fit? Look no further.

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Years ago, I used to make myself feel better about eating a gallon of ice cream by saying, 'Well, I worked out for two hours today ... ' Thing is, that two hour workout was not what you'd call difficult. In fact, I probably barely even broke a sweat. Still, for me, quantity was better than quality, hence me padding a few extra pounds over the years.

I think you know where I'm going with this one. Working out longer only does you any good if you work hard. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time. It's important to make sure your workout is effective, and no surprise here -- the more effective your workout, the less time you actually have to do it.

Still, with all these super-quick workouts popping up, either at the gym or in DVD format, I have to wonder -- can you really only commit 20 to 30 minutes a day and see major results?

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Flu shots may not be that effective (if at all) for those over 65, a new piece of research has concluded. In fact, the risk of death related to flu complications in this age group is, according to researchers, 'greatly exaggerated.'

How is this possible? Well, it all comes down to measurements and process problems with data collection, it appears. The researchers noted that the noticed exaggeration could be the result of "frailty selection bias". This means that some elderly folks are vaccinated more often than others (healthy versus non-healthy).

Also, death in this age group can be lopped into a huge bucket, without specific, clinical trail endpoints. Data rules all, I guess. You have to wonder how many studies are somewhat invalid just based on the incompetence of the data collection and measurement systems alone?

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You know you're sleeping ineffectively if you regularly get enough sleep in terms of hours but rarely or never feel truly refreshed and awake. I think that fits a lot of us, and it means that although you are sleeping you're not getting quality sleep -- it's is a perfect case of quality versus quantity. Men's Health has a list of tips to help everybody (not just the guys) sleep more effectively. It's hard enough to even find the time to sleep, let alone deal with poor quality sleep once you do! Try the tips in the article and see if they don't help, or do you have some tricks of your own that work? Please share!

Via Lifehacker

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In a list of headlines you never thought you'd see on ThatsFit, this should be number one. The claim stems from UCLA research which includes "the most comprehensive and rigorous analysis of diet studies." They start out by saying you can lose five to ten percent of weight while on a diet, but in the grand scheme of things it does little more than put abuse on the body.

According to the research, dieting does nothing for sustained weight loss nor does it have any health benefits for the majority of people on them. Now, if you asked any one of us for an opinion regarding that statement most of us would say it came from a tabloid. Dieting has no health benefits? Who can believe something like that? Well, going back to the study, it all boils down to what people do post-diet. Within six months of dieting, people see positive results. But four or five years later people end up gaining back more weight than they lost in the beginning.

This flip-flop weight gain puts stress on the body and is even related to cardiovascular disease. So if a majority of people end up gaining it all back, what's a person to do? Well first off, realize this is simply a study. Dieting does work for a lot of people, and at most this research shows what can happen if you don't maintain it. More important, however, is leading a healthy lifestyle of exercise and moderate eating for long-term health benefits.

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