SlimQuick is a weight-loss product that claims to be the first fat-burning aid created especially for the fat-storage issues of a woman's body. The weight-loss formula uses vitamin and herb complexes to "overcome the physiological and hormonal barriers" of losing fat."

Reviews of SlimQuick are mixed. On the positive side, the SlimQuick program advocates an exercise program to accompany the use of the product. One testimonial on the SlimQuick web site said, "I was faithful to the diet and exercise program that was outlined. I have never had such quick and excellent results in any diet program."

But there are dissenters out there, too. "Products like SlimQuick perpetuate the growing trend of misinformation under the guise of 'science.' At best, it offers false promises of health and fitness in a bottle," said Melissa Urban, owner of CrossFit 603. "At worst, it could be dangerous to your health."

High-intensity interval training (HIIT), also known as sprint-interval training, is not a new concept. It gained popularity with the general gym-going population in the 1990s and has been used by both serious and casual athletes ever since. In case you can't tell by the name, HIIT consists of doing intervals of moderate intensity exercise, like jogging, with intervals of high intensity, like a sprint.

The benefit of HIIT over a steady jog is that, for one, HIIT can suppress your appetite, facilitating weight-loss. There are claims that interval training is more effective at burning fat and while that's disputed by some, there's no doubt that it's an effective workout.

I think HIIT is more fun -- every 60 seconds, I face a new challenge, and it forces me to pay attention to my workout instead of zoning out and listening to music. (Although, there are definitely times when I go for a run specifically to zone out, but that's another post.) How about you? Have you tried HIIT?

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What do you do first -- cardio or weights? Me, I've always done the following: stretching, a 10-minute warm-up on a cardio machine, 25 minutes of weights, followed by 35 minutes (or more) doing cardio. I do it this way because a personal trainer told me that I would burn more fat if I revved my heart rate with weights and then did cardio. Plus, I enjoy doing cardio more than weights, so the cardio session is what motivates me to keep going.

The reason I bring it up is Fitsugar posted on this exact question. There are good arguments for doing both cardio and weights first, but I'll stick to my routine. How about you?

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When personal trainers get together and give advice it's usually a good idea to listen. And so here's a list of 13 fat burning "secrets" from some of America's top trainers (I guess they're not secrets any more!):

• Warm-up before a strength training session (not just before cardio). Just 5 minutes can get your blood flowing and give you better muscle contraction and therefore better results.
• Vary your cardio. Switch regularly between 2 or 3 different exercises .
• Use several cardio techniques, such as continuous, interval, circuit, and speed play training styles.
• Schedule workouts in phases, meaning a few weeks at longer lower intensity sessions followed by a few weeks at shorter but higher intensity sessions.
  
• Circuit train, with cardio and strength training.
• Choose strength training moves that work more than one joint at a time.
• Workout first thing in the morning.
• Eat a small balanced meal prior to working out for more energy and more fat burning.
• Exercise intensely. Push the limits (safely) of what you're used to -- break out of the box.
• Stay hydrated!
• Perform bursts of activity throughout the day, i.e. sprint to the mailbox for the mail.
• Journal -- writing, tracking, and documenting both your goals and your progress is a proven way to get results.
• Get an exercise buddy, and stick it out together.

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Strength training is an important component to fitness, but no one will be able to admire those flat abs and strong biceps if they're hiding under a layer of fat! That's why fat-blasting cardio workouts are important too, and if you're finding yourself struggling with too-slow fat loss, check out these tips for feeding your fat-burning furnace. You'll probably be familiar with a lot of these ideas, like eating breakfast, drinking lots of water, being as active as possible -- but there's some new information there as well:

• Calorie cycling: If you've reduced calories to lose weight, increase your calories by 400 every fourth day. It'll surprise your body into burning more fat, but make sure it's 400 nutritious calories you're eating!
• Break up your workout: If you're having time squeezing in that daily workout, two shorter workouts will work just as well.
• Try hydrotherapy: Drink 32 ounces of super cold water 30 minutes before breakfast in the morning. Apparently, this will force your body to raise it's temperature which will boost your metabolism. You can do it before lunch as well, but you have to be cutting calories for this to work. (Word of caution: I tried this yesterday and the cold water on an empty stomach made me really nauseous for about an hour!)

Has anyone tried any of these tips? Share your success with us!

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Each week, Debbie will share her goals, challenges, successes and tips on how to fit in fitness when caring for a rambunctious toddler.

Last week, I wrote about Jorge Cruise's Eight Minutes in the Morning, and how I added the strength training piece of his program as the first "installment" of my attempt to fit in fitness, toddler and all. And I am feeling pretty good about it. The TV-as-babysitter guilt has somewhat subsided, and I am willing to make my next move.

Cruise's book is set up to target two muscle groups each day, six days a week. The first three days are upper body (chest and back, shoulders and abs, biceps and triceps), the last three days lower body (quads and hamstrings, calves and butt, inner and outer thighs). What I plan on doing (and have successfully done in the pre-baby past) is doubling up, and doing four muscle groups a day, so that each group gets worked twice a week, and I do an upper body group and lower body group each day.

The results I am hoping for are faster toning, more fat burning and a heightened energy level.

So again, I ask you, how much will Owen's IQ drop if he watches an extra sixteen minutes of television a day?

Looking to zap fat without starving yourself? This article lists a number of foods that can help burn fat and keep you feeling satisfied. Green tea, soup, whole grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy -- all of these will apparently make a difference on your waistline. However, I think it's important to keep in mind that you need some of each of these things -- you can't just live off of whole grain bread and low fat cheese and expect to lose weight. You need a balanced diet and you need to watch your portion sizes -- too much of one thing is unhealthy, no matter how nutritious that food is.

What fat-burning foods do you know of?

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