That's Fit

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There's little doubt that the Obamas care about their own personal health. They eat light -- Michelle is known for asking White House chefs to cook cream of broccoli soup without the cream. They're champions of local foods, and they're committed to exercise, despite heavily scheduled lives. But their concern for health and fitness goes far beyond their own family -- they want America to shape up too.

Obama's health reform bill is expected to be heavy on prevention: Workplace wellness, money for bicycle and walking trails, obesity screening, grocery stores in poor neighborhoods and improved nutrition and exercise in schools. "He has expressed more interest in preventing diseases and promoting health than any previous president. It is not a breath of fresh air. It is a tornado," Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, recently told Politico. "That contrast is breathtaking. This is really a rare opportunity to make progress on so many issues."

Photo: athleteoutfitters.com

Who among us hasn't used our personal gym towel to wipe a bit of sweat off a piece of equipment at the gym and then used the same towel to wipe our faces? Not only is that completely gross -- it's also dangerous. Just ask Matt Barker, who contracted a staph infection that entered his lungs and caused pneumonia from a public gym. And so, he founded Athlete Outfitters and invented the Safe Side Towel.

The Safe Side Towel has a clearly marked GYM side and a FACE side, so you always know which side is safe. In addition to nasty things like staph infections, it's easy to catch things like a cold and the flu if you're not careful with your towel. And now, you have a chance to win three Safe Side Towels of your own!

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below telling us what your favorite piece of equipment at the gym is.
  
• The comment must be left before 5pm ET on Friday, June 19, 2009.
  
• You may enter only once.
• Four winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  
• Four winners will receive a 3 Pack of Safe Side Towels in White, Pink, and Coffee (valued at $29.80).
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• Click here for complete Official Rules. Winners will be notified by email, so make sure to check next week to find out if you've won!

Today is National Start! Walking Day, and if you ask me, that's as good an excuse as you're ever going to find for starting a walking program. Whether you're doing it to lose weight, become a little more fit, or just because it feels good to get moving, you can't deny that walking has tons of benefits. And now, there are some great ways to get started.

The American Heart Association's Start! Walking Program and ExerciseTV have teamed up to offer everyone the instruction they need to get started with the Start! Walking at Home With Leslie Sansone videos, which are available for purchase on DVD and for download on the ExerciseTV website. The videos start from the beginning, with a short intro, and build up to a three-mile walk.

By walking less than a half hour each day, you can improve the health of your heart, which I think we can all agree is fairly important. Not sure walking is for you? Consider these statistics:

We take care of the kids -- shuffling them to school, to practice and taking them out to fun places whenever there's a quiet moment. We take care of our spouses and homes and jobs and extended families. But most moms have one major flaw -- we don't slow down to take care of ourselves.

As busy as you might be, it's important to take care of your own health. CafeMom has five better health tips for busy moms.

Calling all moms: Do you make your health a priority?

Every couple fights from time to time, but I think it's safe to say we all wish we would fight less. "CafeMom" reports that sex may be the surprising answer. What's more, when you stop focusing on the little things that annoy you and ask yourself how you can put sex back in your marriage, you'll reap the other benefits of a healthy sex life, including reduced stress, improved immunity, better cardiovascular health and higher self-esteem. All that, plus you're burning calories!

When it comes to eating a healthy diet and staying fit, what's your biggest motivator? Is it feeling good? Staying active? Fitting into your jeans? Maybe it's all of the above. Those are all good reasons for staying fit, but here's maybe the biggest one of all: Being obese could cut your life by 10 years. I don't know about you, but I'm suddenly feeling very motivated.

This finding comes from an analysis of 57 different studies that included almost 900,000 people. The short story is this:

• A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9.
• Death rates were lowest among people with a BMI of 23 to 24.
• A BMI of 30 to 35 could potentially take two to four years off life.
• Being morbidly obese, or having a BMI of 40 to 45, could shorten life by eight to 10 years.
• Being underweight, with a BMI of less than 22.5, was also associated with a shorter lifespan.

Unless your man collects teddy bears, the usual Valentine's fare just isn't going to cut it for him. You could get him a nice watch or some cologne, sure. Or you could show him how much you love him by giving him a gift that encourages his healthy diet and fitness habits.

What's sentimental about new running shoes? you're thinking. Well, nothing. But unless your guy is the romantic type, sentimental probably is more important to you than it is to him. Giving a fit Valentine's gift not only shows that you support his interests, but that you care about his health, too.

Get some ideas in the gallery below, and don't forget to check out our fit Valentine's Day gifts for her, too.

That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader! We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind.

Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Everlast and Everlast Woman are giving gorgeous workout T-shirts to each featured member! To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Matt Dunn

Age: 31

Occupation: Software Engineer

How often do you exercise? Five times a week.

What type of exercise do you do? Mostly running -- I'm currently training for my first and second marathons this spring.

The secret to thin legs. How to plump up the appearance of a flat fanny. How to stay trim. What exercise does and doesn't count. Carol Burnett shared superb advice on all these topics.

I just saw the legendary funny woman last night and was fortunate enough to ask her a couple of questions. At 73 years young, she really does have a body most women would dream of at that age (including me). In fact, she's always had an amazing physique; just check out her old pics from The Carol Burnett Show!

Burnett is starring in Laughter and Reflection with Carol Burnett: A Conversation with Carol Where the Audience Asks the Questions and besides answering my questions, she answered some from the audience as well.

On the topic of how she keeps her legs so thin: "I shave off loads of excess hair each day."

-The ape woman population will benefit greatly from doing this.

Liz Neporent is a diet and fitness expert and author of 12 fitness bestsellers. She regularly appears on national TV programs and is the president of Wellness 360, a New-York based wellness provider.

Hello, hello. My name is Liz Neporent and as a career health and fitness professional, I am thrilled to be sharing weekly posts with you. I hope you enjoy the dialog and relationship we create here. To kick things off, let me tell you a little bit about what to expect from my posts.

If you're looking to follow the latest get-fit-quick scheme or drop 10 pounds in a week, my darlings, you've entered the wrong blogosphere. What you will find here is honest evaluations of the latest health, fitness, wellness and diet trends through the filter of an expert who relies on 20 years of experience, a solid educational background and good old-fashioned science to back up or rip apart any claims that come across her desk. I'm not here to sell you anything but I will tell it like it is about everything from Oprah's most recent low carb scheme (it's doomed to failure; she really should start listening to Bob Greene) to exercise equipment (in love with the new Icon Incline Trainer) to toothbrushes (did you know that clean teeth are just as important to cardio health as regular workouts?).

Nearly 44 million people in the U.S. are living with osteoporosis. The disease, which causes bones to be thin and brittle, strikes women more often than men. It's never too early to make the lifestyle changes that will help develop strong bones:

• Weight-bearing activity. Exercises such as walking, jumping rope, and jogging help build bone. Strength training is also important for bone health.
  
• Calcium. Eat a diet rich in calcium and be sure to get appropriate amounts of vitamin D (through sun exposure and fortified foods -- supplements are also available).
  
• Salt. Limit salt intake as it causes your bones to excrete more calcium.
  
• Break bad habits. Smoking can be bad for bone health as can drinking alcohol and drinking soda.

Check out the gallery for age-specific bone health recommendations.

I'm not sure running outside is what caused the basal cell skin cancer to form on my arm -- I think years of Florida tanning during Ohio Spring Break weeks probably sealed my fate -- but ever since I learned of my cancer spot last week, I have paid close attention to my arm while pounding the pavement in the great outdoors, because I realize now that the scorching rays are just as harmful when I'm jogging on the side of the road as when I'm basking on the beach.

Sure enough, the affected part of my arm cooks like a strip of bacon in the hot sun for a few miles every time I run (which happens to be quite a lot when I'm not slumping). Bummer. Because besides running to stay trim, I run to stay healthy. But baring my unprotected pale skin in the hot sun isn't keeping me healthy. I've got an armful of stitches and an allergic reaction to latex bandages to prove it. Ouch.

To ensure running works only to protect my health, I'll soon be investing in some heavy-duty sunscreen. And maybe some long-sleeve UV shirts that also happen to wick away my sweat. I may even opt for evening or early-morning runs so I can leave the sun out of the equation all together. I'll be considering all of these tips from the Skin Cancer Foundation too. While they are written for marathoners (which I totally am not), they are solid and safe -- and they might just save me from subsequent cancers of the skin.

Weight loss. At this time of year, those two words are a gold-medal-like goal for many people. But sometimes, weight loss isn't necessarily a good thing.

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, has lost massive amounts of weight recently ... and not because he wanted to. In recent months, he's been so thin, many people were afraid for his health. Jobs recently sent out an open letter to the Apple community that explains his dramatic weight loss. Jobs is suffering from a hormone imbalance. Jobs said, "The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment."

Unexplained weight loss can be a sign of many medical issues, such as Jobs' hormone imbalance. If you're experiencing unexplained weight loss, be sure to make an appointment with your doctor ASAP. If, on the other hand, you're on the flip side of the coin and struggling to lose unwanted pounds, check out the America Takes It Off: Shrink a Size program.

Need another reason to exercise? Do it to boost your immunity this winter! But, beware -- exercising too much can actually have the opposite effect.

Exercising too much and too intensely can cause upper respiratory infections -- which makes me wonder if all my years of playing basketball and volleyball had anything to do with my yearly bout with bronchitis, which tapered off when I entered college.

Basically, you want to exercise enough to maintain a healthy weight, which will in itself help you battle colds and flu, and you'll sleep better. Body + Soul magazine also recommends managing your stress as much as possible by eating well, getting some probiotics, taking the right supplements (like astragalus) and making sleep a priority.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. 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 one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, I love to exercise, but may only have about 15 minutes to do anything on Christmas Day. Can you give me a quick circuit to do at home before we take off for the family party? Thanks and Merry Christmas, Johnny

A. Sure, Johhny! I'd love to. Before I do that, though, I want to tell you how impressive it is that fitness is such a priority for you. Lots of folks are going to use the holiday as an excuse to do nothing. You and I both know that a brief workout will probably make us feel more energetic and happy on the big day and give us a little more wiggle room to enjoy an extra indulgence without paying the price. High five to you!