That's Fit

I won't to lie to you -- I don't generally spend a lot of cash on makeup. I buy what you find at the drugstore, and even then, I look for a sale. My reasoning is simple -- I've never used something high end that felt like it was worth the price. If it's not all that different, why would I pay more?

There are reasons to pay more -- being particular about the ingredients is one, and of course, if it's can't-live-without-it amazing, I'm happy to save my pennies. But first, I need to know it's worth it.

I received samples of von Nature's Mineral Makeup Eye Colour, Sunset Light Face & Body Shimmer, and Magnolia Powder Foundation in the mail, and busted out my brushes immediately. For someone who is so involved in fashion and beauty, I have embarrassingly little experience with mineral makeup because it tends to cost more, and without trying it, I wasn't willing to spend the extra cash.

Ever read the ingredients on your beauty products? Our friends over at The Beauty Brains recently did and found that one Oil of Olay product contained a surprising ingredient--Butane, aka that stuff that goes into cigarette lighters.

But is washing your face in butane safe? The brains seem to think so -- while it's not ok to wash your face in lighter fluid, having butane in your face wash isn't a problem. Butane is used as a propellant in aerosol cans, and that's about the end of it's use. Once it's exposed to air, it quickly evaporates and most likely doesn't even end up on your face.

Interesting, huh? The Beauty Brains have lots of inside info to share -- head on over there to learn more about your beauty products.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly, our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Mmmmmm. Just the mention of Chef Jens Dahlmanns's name puts my mind in ecstasy. His is the name of the man who created what I'd choose as my 'last meal.' He's the premier Chef of Disney's signature restaurant The California Grill, who also oversees a staff of award-winning chefs atop Disney's Contemporary Resort. Chef Jens was classically trained in European kitchens and worked for Le Cirque 2000 in New York City and Cafe 'L Europe in Palm Beach, Florida, before joining Disney in April 2004.

We first spoke on the phone a week before I was to dine at his spectacular grill. From a fitness trainer standpoint, he gave all of the 'right answers.' Not that he was contrived, but his stance on cooking is what I would wish to hear. If you've read my features before, you'll know that I preach the importance of lean fresh foods. Read on to see how dead-on Chef Jens is to that style of eating. From a regular gal's point of view, it was just really exciting and fun to hear Chef Jens talk about food. He described white asparagus the same way most men would describe a beautiful woman. I could imagine what each item tasted like as he described them.

My experience at The California Grill was almost indescribable. Chef Jens and his staff were pampering to say the least. He greeted me with a sample of the white asparagus he gushed about, and I knew I was in for something special. The combinations of flavors and textures were to die for! I relished every bite and cleaned each and every plate that landed in front of me (highly unusual for me). The man knows how to make fresh food taste divine. The advice he gave in this interview is exactly what I, as your online Fitzness Trainer, want you to follow. Chef Jens just knows far better than I, how to make all of the healthy stuff taste heavenly.

Fitz: How much does "healthy" influence the foods you create for your menus?

Chef Jens: Healthy actually has a lot to do with our menu. First of all, Disney has set an initiative for enhancing our menus in a healthy way, so across all of the Disney parks and restaurants you'll find better choices. On my part, I'm always driven by what's fresh in the market. We create meals based on the season. At the California Grill, our menu changes according to what foods are in season. Fresh food equals leaner and "cleaner" food. I never use processed ingredients.

I'm just back from a Memorial Day beach getaway that featured time on the sand, time at the pool, time with family, and time with ... food. For two nights straight, my family of four dined with cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends, and the home-cooked meals we were served were simply scrumptious. They were no doubt loaded with ingredients we rarely consume too. This had me worried.

I scarfed down plenty of healthy goods this weekend -- like right-from-the-ocean King Mackerel, fresh-from-the-garden lettuce, freshly-made salsa, broccoli, and fruit salad. The iffy, and downright yummy dishes, were cheesey scallop potatoes one night, once baked-once fried potatoes the other, clam chowder, and all sorts of chips for the fresh salsa. These items were bound to add a few numbers to my scale, and when I returned home yesterday, I hopped on that thing to see just what I'd done.

Nothing. No change. My weight is the same. I'm shocked. Well, maybe I'm not. It just goes to prove that I don't have to be hard-core all the time. I can take a break. I can indulge for a day. I can go for broke occasionally without actually breaking the bank. And now that the holiday weekend is over, I can get back on track and pick right up where I left off, without have to whittle away at a few extra pounds.

I don't know about you, but I love flipping through the pages of Cooking Light magazine (or, really, any gourmet food magazine). The pictures are gorgeous and inspiring, and the recipes are well written -- even I haven't managed to botch any of their recipes. However, while the pictures and dishes send me into a state of bliss, there is something I don't like -- the ingredient lists that run the length of my arm and cost that, plus a leg.

For special occasions, I'm willing to spend a bit extra for special ingredients. However, if I'm looking for an everyday recipe that I can make on a weekly basis, I don't want to have to keep purchasing a huge variety of expensive ingredients. I want a recipe that looks and tastes like a fancy dish, doesn't pack a ton of calories, and doesn't blow my budget every time I make it. Is that so much to ask?

I generally try making the recipe as it's written the first time, and remove or substitute something for the expensive ingredients after I've tasted it. It's not a perfect system, but it works for me. Do you have tricks to keep costs down on would-be cost-prohibitive recipes? Or do you just bite the bullet and make the dishes will all ingredients listed? Or, do you just find healthy recipes that are inexpensive to make in the first place?

We talk a lot about reading labels here at That's Fit, like how whole wheat bread isn't always whole wheat, and "natural" and "organic" can mean several things. However, more than just your food is labeled -- so are your cosmetics.

In honor of Earth Day this past Tuesday, I wanted to tell you a bit about how you can find cosmetics and beauty products that are truly cruelty-free. After all, causing pain for an animal just isn't pretty.

Companies use several different types of wording to make the extent of their animal testing ambiguous. For example, if the label says Final product not tested on animals, that means that while that particular lip gloss might not have been put on an animal, the ingredients going into it might have. Or, if it says This brand does not test on animals, it could mean that a supplier or lab that brand works with tests on animals.

You've heard it before and you'll hear it again: Read the labels at the supermarket. But unless you're well-versed in all things healthy, it can be hard to know what to look for. So next time you're shopping around, take a quick glance and look for these five things:

1. Bad fats. If it has any trans fat or over a few grams of saturated fat per serving, skip it.
   
2. Sugar. Has it got more than 10 g of sugar per serving? If the answer's yes, skip it.
   
3. Fiber. Fiber is good for curbing hunger, among many other things. Particularly when choosing breads and cereals, look for items that are high in fiber -- think 4 g or more.
   
4. Ingredients. Does it have a list of ingredients as big as the dictionary?Are most of them unpronounceable? Think: Do you want to put all those chemicals in your body? Yeah, didn't think so.
   
5. Servings size. Pay attention to just what constitutes a serving. For instance, you might think 5 g of sugar isn't that bad, but if there's 5g of sugar in a two tablespoon serving? That's a lot.
   

I know you know this. I know it too. Still, sometimes I end up fooled by the spin some companies put on their nutritional information. I don't mean to imply they mess with the numbers at all. I just mean they communicate them in a way that can mislead consumers.

I just saw a magazine advertisement for Kellogg's Rice Krispies® treats. Did you know this ooey-gooey snack, wrapped in an individually-wrapped package, contains only 90 calories? Yep, that's what the ad tells me. But with it's accompanying fat, carbohydrates, and sugar, is it really that great a deal? For those only concerned with calories and those who are satisfied with this mini dose of food, maybe. For those wishing for a wholesome, nutritional bite to eat, I think not.

I write this post to remind you -- and myself too -- to remember that when some food item is touted as low in one category, it may be high in another. If it's low in fat, take a peek at the sugar and sodium and other ingredients used to bind your indulgence together. Sugar-free? Look at everything else that went into creating your favorite guiltless goodies. Some things are just too good to be true. Really, the are.

Being healthy and fit is a complicated thing to achieve these days, given all the studies that seem to contradict each other on an almost daily basis and all the "diets" out there vying for your attention and claiming to be the best. But what if it the diet part of it could be simplified into a list of just 10 foods that could help you lose weight and be healthy -- would that make it easier?

Dr. Michael Ozner seems to think so, because he wrote the book The Miami Mediterranean Diet. Obviously it's a spin of the more well-known Mediterranean Diet, and not only does he think it will simplify things for people interested in being healthier but it will also help them actually be healthier. People in the Mediterranean following a Mediterranean diet naturally have much smaller risks of heart disease and other ailments like obesity, and he thinks he knows why. According to him, incorporating these 10 ingredients into your diet and lifestyle will result in improved fitness and health:

Want the perfect recipe for weight-loss success? eDiets may have the solution -- they've listed these 10 things that you should add to your diet to healthify your life:

• Olive Oil
• Red Wine
• Nuts and almonds
• Whole grains
• Cold water fish
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Dairy
• Moderation
• Exercise

The key is the second-to-last item -- moderation. Yes, you can enjoy your cheese and wine but make sure you don't go overboard. And be sure to work activity into your life too.

What's your ingredient for success?

It seems like the more health-conscious we all get the more confusing grocery shopping becomes because food manufacturers keep coming up with new gimmicks and catch phrases to try and trick us into buying their not-so-healthy products. One area that can be especially confusing is whole grains. Whole grains are great for you because of all the nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants that are left intact due to less processing, but finding them can be tricky due to terms like 'wheat' and 'multigrain' that are intended to be misleading.

The best way to get around all the hype is to go straight for the ingredient list, and in the case of whole grains you'll want to see 'whole wheat flour' at the top as the #1 ingredient (as opposed to'wheat flour' and 'unbleached enriched wheat flour' which are the refined versions). Of course you can also look to the nutrition label and get a fiber reading -- whole grain foods will have at least 2.5 grams of fiber per serving in most cases.

For those who don't know, Dr. David Katz is a medical correspondent for ABC news and in addition has shared his thoughts on healthy living in 9 books. So, chances are, he knows what he's talking about and after reading this, I would have to agree. His suggestions for living a healthy life make a lot of sense, and I think everyone would be doing themselves a favor by following them. Here's what he suggests:

-Buy organic, locally-produced food when able
-Read the labels. This includes both the nutrition facts and the ingredients. If it has too many unpronounceable ingredients, it's best to skip it.
-Avoid Hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup
-The more fiber, the better
-Don't be fooled by lofty promises on the front of the package

What's your take on these suggestions?

Recently, Maggie wrote a post about how natural ingredients like ginseng and flaxseed may help treat cancer patients. While I've heard stories about natural therapies and ingredients being utilized more and more to treat serious, life-threatening illnesses -- paired with more traditional drugs, for example radiation and chemotherapy to battle cancer-- I haven't thought much about how stuff from the earth can help heal some of the minor bites and cuts that irritate us on a regular basis.

If you're interested in finding out how to use herbal remedies to treat everything from sunburns to toothaches to bee stings, check out this article that lists dozens of natural cures. Various interesting ideas include ginger for motion sickness (I've tried this before on a boat trip and while I didn't feel great, I definitely felt better than some of the green-faced women losing their lunches into paper bags), cinnamon as a decongestant and olive oil for chapped lips.

While a lot of the ingredients will be familiar -- aloe for a burn and vitamin E for rashes are both fairly well-known -- there are bound to be a few new tricks for everyone as well. So take a look and be prepared when your next ear infection, sore throat or nosebleed strikes. For those of you into natural healing, do you have any of your own tips to share?

One of the most frustrating things to me, as a fitness trainer is to see people who work so hard towards fitness get duped. The I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray is one of those things. Now....I'm not suggesting the folks who make that product are liars. Cause they're not. I think the idea of their product is incredibly deceptive though, due to the fine print.

Did you know that the I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray has zero calories and fat ONLY IF YOU USE 1.25 sprays. WHAT!? Who does that? If you use any larger portion though.....you're screwed. And how exactly do you accomplish a .25 spray?One teaspoon bags 20 calories and 2 grams of fat. Most people never read that fine print. In fact, most folks I know claim to pour it on their rice, pasta, and bread because they truly believe it's a completely fat-free product. Who knows how many thousands of fat calories these poor people have been unknowingly consuming for years? Do you think it's fair and reasonable for them to advertise ZERO CALORIES on the front of the bottle?

When I lecture on fitness I always address this topic, and I can't tell you how many jaws come crashing to the ground when I drop this information bomb. First looks I get are of shock. Second looks I get are of pure anger. They feel cheated and they have every right to. Of course, it would be nice if they read the ingredient lists which lists OIL as it's number two ingredient. But I still feel bad for the consumer, because they are lead to believe the product is completely fat-free and can be used at leisure. Fortunately though, I've found an amazing substitution which is legitimately fat-free, low in calories and delicious. I even bake with it!

The veggie burger industry is growing steadily as more people look for alternatives to red meat and animal products. As a result, the recipes and methods are getting better and the days of "cardboard burgers" are pretty much over. I'm not crazy for the super-fake options like artificial bacon, but a good bean burger can be really good with the right toppings.

But reading the label on a box of soy burgers can be a little scary, especially if you're a health-conscious consumer (and people don't usually choose soy burgers unless they are). What is all that extra stuff in there with names like disodium guanylate3 and methylcellulose? If you're wondering then this article, coming from MSN, breaks everything down in easy-to-read terms. No more "mystery meat" mysteries!