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Exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer Bob Greene has helped millions of people slim down, most recently with his online program TheBestLife.com. The best-selling author shares the sure-fire strategies for losing weight, protecting your health and living your best life.

However, if you work out hard enough (which should be at about 80 percent of your target heart, or vigorously enough that you still could still carry on a conversation during the workout, but would prefer not to) you'll likely burn more calories than you take in -- even if you experience an increase in appetite. And the fitter you are, the longer and harder you can work out, which will further increase your calorie burn not only during the session, but throughout the day as well.
Labor Day Weekend is here, which means that it's time to squeeze in one last barbecue before the summer season officially ends. Make this a get-together to remember by serving creative -- and of course, healthful -- food that your guests will love. Instead of the same old hamburgers and hot dogs, try my grilled salmon recipe. I've been spending the summer in Hawaii, and I have to say, I've gotten hooked on grilled fish! Pair it with a roasted potato salad dish instead of standard fat-laden sides, like macaroni salad, and you'll have a satisfying summer meal that won't sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Check out the recipes for these two great dishes below and enjoy your holiday weekend!

Grilled Salmon (makes four servings)

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound wild salmon fillet
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, including flat parsley, dill, thyme and oregano
• 2 lemons, cut into thin slices

Photo: woodleywonderworks, Flickr

Grilled food is simply delicious and compared to other cooking methods like frying, it's generally healthier. But grilled food is not without a caveat. When the high heat from the grill hits the meat, cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are formed.

According to a post at CafeMom, a tasty trick can minimize the chances of HCAs forming. Just use antioxidant-rich herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage or oregano in your marinade before grilling. Besides adding a layer of safety, marinading your meat makes it tastier. In addition to the fresh herbs, other healthful ingredients for your marinades include olive oil, fresh citrus and balsamic vinaigrette.

Remember, meat isn't your only option for the grill -- try grilling an all veg dinner or try some of these creative grilling ideas. AOL Health has more tips for safe, healthful and tasty grilling.

Grilling is a summertime treat -- and a great way to get out of cooking in that hot kitchen. Before you pull out that package of hot dogs, though, consider that your grill is the perfect place to cook fruits and veggies, too. Getting in your five to nine servings a day has never tasted so good!

• Firm vegetables like corn, peppers, eggplant and onions can be cooked directly on the grill. Baste them in your favorite marinade for extra flavor, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Some veggies are perfect for steaming. Make a pocket out of tinfoil, put in carrots, zucchini and potatoes, then add seasoning and a small amount of water. Put the entire package on the grill and heat.
• Bite-sized veggies, like mushrooms, grill up great on a skewer or in a grill basket.
• Satisfy your sweet tooth with grilled fruit. Brush fruits like apples and peaches with a small amount of oil and sprinkle with cinnamon, or serve grilled bananas with a scoop of low-fat yogurt.

Serve up great nutrition this summer by putting fruits and veggies on your grill -- indoor or outdoor. Check out Maggie's post on creative grilling for more healthy and delicious ideas.

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When the warm weather arrives, nothing tastes better than a meal cooked on the grill. But don't limit yourself to hot dogs and burgers. There are lots of creative options for the grill that are light, nutritious and delicious:

• Dinner on a stick. Skewer healthy ingredients like shrimp, chicken and veggies. Toss all the cut ingredients with a little olive oil and sprinkle with herbs before skewering them. Grill until the protein is thoroughly cooked.
• Pizza pizazz. Pizza is great on the grill. Lightly brush a prepared pizza crust with olive oil and grill one side. Flip the crust over to grill the other side and add your toppings. Keep on the grill until cheese melts. (Make sure other toppings are already cooked -- you can grill those before starting the crust.) Remember, choose pizza toppings that are in keeping with your healthy eating goals.
  
• Tropical burger. Make the traditional burger a bit healthier by choosing lean turkey instead of beef. Then, put a twist on it by topping it with grilled pineapple and mango. You can even grill the whole wheat bun.
• Grilled greens. OK, you don't really grill your salad. But you can add some summery flavor to your salad by grilling salmon, shrimp or chicken to go on top.
• Dessert on the grill. Many fruits are delicious after grilling -- the heat caramelizes the sugars and gives them a whole different taste.

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It's good timing that bikini season falls during summer, because it's the best time for slimming down. The warm weather means outdoor exercise opportunities are abundant, fresh fruits and veggies are plentiful, and with kids out of school, family fitness kicks into full swing.

Summer is the ideal time to lose weight and keep it off, says Lynn Goldstein of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. And as Memorial Day comes to a close and we embark on the unofficial start of summer, it seems appropriate to start brainstorming strategies for trimming down and tightening up during the next few months. Here are a few:

• Satisfy a sweet tooth with fresh fruit instead of cakes, cookies and ice cream, says Goldstein. Fabulous Foods offers tips for selecting the best summer fruits.
  
• Summer is perfect for salads, and Prevention magazine names 25 low-cal ideas for mixing up greens and other mouthwatering ingredients.
• Grilling is great this time of year, and AOL Health helps you make sure your meats are safe and healthy.
• Exercise at the beach. Practice yoga on the sand, says Women's Health magazine, because the uneven surface will really work your muscles. The sand is also great for power walks, jogs and family football games.
• Torch some calories in the pool while your kids splash around. Fitz has the perfect water workout.
• Tennis is a super summer sport. Just understanding the game might help you lose weight too, says Jonny.

What are your plans for getting fit this summer?

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It's that time of year ... early Fall, when apples abound, but warm enough that you can still grill without a parka. So what's this all mean to you? Another fabulously delicious recipe to make, which includes apples on your grill: Apple Halibut Kabobs.

Grilling is a healthy coop all to itself because you use so much less fat than you would if pan-frying or even oven roasting. Yes, healthy fats are good for us in moderation, but you'll get those in the halibut -- so grill while you still can.

You want more healthy reasons to make this recipe? How about the loads of vitamin C in the apples and peppers? The onions and thyme lend their own healthy benefits as well.

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Salmon is by far my favorite type of seafood. Not only is it delicious, it's good for you, too; it's rich in omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D, selenium, protein, and vitamins B3 and B12.

While it's important to me to serve healthful meals for me and my son, I'm not the world's most innovative cook. That's another reason why salmon is tops on my list. It's so easy to cook ... you really can't go wrong. My favorite method is to drizzle it with just a tiny bit of olive oil, sprinkle some paprika on top, and grill it. The same method works in the oven, too. I usually pair it with some seasoned brown rice and steamed asparagus.

Real Simple has eight salmon recipes that are much more creative than my stand-by preparation method. The Dill Salmon Burgers sound awesome as does the Blackened Salmon.

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This summer I joined some friends on their pontoon for a day of cruising around the lake and docking in the shallows with about 30 other boaters. My friends told me we'd have lunch on the boat, so I had brought along some simple fare. Instead of keeping it simple, my friends attached a small grill to the back of the pontoon and grilled a fantastic lunch. In fact, they made so much that they filled a styrofoam cooler with the food and walked it through the shallows offering other boaters food from their floating restaurant. Needless to say, the other boaters were thrilled.

Just as my friends wowed their water-loving comrades, you can wow your fellow football fans when tailgating. Cooking Light has four great menus for you to try. You don't have to stick to hot dogs or cold sandwiches. The Cooking Light menus are much more ambitious -- not to mention delicious; salmon, cous-cous, barbecued chicken, and peaches with caramel sauce are just a few of the tasty treats they recommend.

Want more tailgating tips? Check out Kristin's post on vegetarian tailgating.

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I have learned that when I go tailgating, I'd be wise to bring a cooler with my own food -- most people don't think to throw some Boca Burgers in with the brats, and I don't expect them too. Being a vegetarian is my choice, not theirs. However, if you know you have some vegetarians coming to your tailgate and want to plan for that, I have a few tips for you!

First of all, know your options. You can very easily stock up on a few store-bought options and keep everyone very happy -- there are some delicious veggie burger, chicken patty, and hot dog options out there. However, you need to read the instructions carefully because these items don't cook quite like meat, and some really aren't meant to be grilled at all.

Second, plan out your grilling. Many vegetarians would prefer not to have their food grilled on top of meat particles. If you have a couple of grills going, that should be pretty easy, but if you're using just one, your guests would probably appreciate it if you did a thorough cleaning and scraping before slapping their vegetarian fare on.

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So what are your plans for Labor Day? Frankly, the holiday sneaked up on me this year. What with back-to-school and work deadlines and other things I have on my mind, I completely forgot about it. My son and I will find something fun to do, though. We'll probably visit with family and maybe go to the BMX track (my son's favorite activity).

When making your Labor Day plans, keep health in mind. Some ideas:

• When grilling for your Labor Day BBQ, choose leaner cuts of meat and grill plenty of vegetables. You can also grill some fruits (peaches, plums, pineapple) for dessert. Remember to keep grilling safety in mind, too.
  
• Skip the chips and mayo-laden salads. Instead offer more healthful choices like veggie trays, yummy mixed green salads, and fruit salad.
• Plan some active time with family and friends. You can set up a volleyball net in the backyard, hold a basketball competition, or swim. Kids would also enjoy relay races and active games like red light, green light.
  
• Go on a Labor Day outing. Hike along a nature trail, bike on a rail trail, or visit a nearby beach (and don't just lay around -- swim and be active).

When I plan out meals for the week, I often look for ways to cut some corners on time. For example, if I'm going to brown ground turkey for lettuce wraps, I make sure to buy enough meat that I can reserve half of the browned meat for spaghetti or lasagna the next day. (If you're wondering about the lettuce wraps, I brown the meat, add teriyaki sauce and a little garlic, spoon the mixture into romaine leaves, and then top with shredded carrot -- delicious and healthy!)

Cooking Light has some ideas on how you can apply the "cook once, eat twice" principle to grilling. It's a great time saver and, when it comes to outdoor cooking, lighting up the grill only once for two meals is much better for the environment.

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You've only got a limited time to enjoy the summer, now that we are already into August. If you are like me, many of the fun things on your summer fun to-do list either haven't gotten done yet, or seem so monumental that you don't feel like attempting them anymore... canoeing with a three-year-old comes to mind....

Never fear, you can enjoy summer with some easy activities that keep your body active and your mind serene. Ten healthy ways to enjoy summer include:

• biking
• yard-saling
• enjoying nature
• brewing sun tea
• enjoying a good book
• grilling
• fishing

Visit Monica Resinger's original article for all ten ways and then go out and have a healthy rest of the summer.

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There's just something about summertime that begs for food to be prepared on a grill. This summer, while grilling out, keep the environment in mind and make your barbeque a little greener:

• Often barbeques focus on the meat. But, when it comes to thinking green, meat production has a big impact on the environment. So, reduce the overall amount of meat you serve and make sure whatever meat you do grill was local, organic, and humanely-raised.
• Visit your farmer's market and buy some locally-grown organic veggies. Peppers, onions, zucchini, and summer squash are delicious when grilled. You can cut thick wedges, lightly brush them with olive oil, and grill. Or, skewer chunks of veggies and grill them like that. Corn is also great on the grill, but avoid the butter because it can really crank up the calories.
• Dice potatoes and grill them in a foil packet. You can also grill potatoes whole -- try a Yukon Gold sliced open and sprinkled with olive oil and rosemary. Thick wedges of sweet potato are also delicious on the grill.
• Serve a mixed greens salad topped with strawberries (all purchased from the farmer's market, of course).
  
• You can even grill fruit for dessert.
  

Your healthy -- and green -- feast is sure to be a hit with friends and family. Enjoy!

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Craving a juicy burger on the grill this summer? Grilling has come (no pun intended) under fire lately, due to a cancer-causing compound that's created when meat is grilled.

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